"Rising Above Adversity with a Clear Conscience" (seen on the right) just won 3rd place in "Uncommon Threads", a juried fiber arts exhibit at the Davie County Arts Council!!!
The award came with a check! That's a first for me. A fun first.
:)
Happenings from the studio of Karen Newman Fridy
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Big News!
In another one of my "why not?" moments I decided that if I'm going to design patterns for the classes I teach, I might as well publish them. Sounds like a good plan to me...see what you think!
My first offering: Falling Leaves
My first offering: Falling Leaves
Complete with photo illustrations of the process, this pattern is available for $12 USD.
To order, please visit my website at www.kfridy.com
Sunday, October 4, 2009
How I Dyed
A few people have asked how I got the results with my adventures in dyeing, so I thought I'd post it here.
First, the color dye....I used Procion dyes and you can see in the set up photos a few posts down that I just used a card table in my garage, some quart size zip-top plastic bags, an old shower curtain pole suspended over one of my kids sleds (a trick I learned in Robbie Joy Eklow's first book) and bottles I picked up at the beauty supply store that are supposed to be for hair dye (long tip squirty bottles). First I pre-soaked my PFD fabric in a soda ash solution, squeezed out the excess back into the soda ash bucket (use gloves!), then either bunched it up in a bag or draped it over the pole. Next I mixed my dye colors using all the necessary safety precautions - respirator, gloves, etc. - straight into the squirt bottles, then proceeded to squirt the colors of choice either into the bags which got mushed about to distribute the color(s), or across/down the fabrics draped on the poles. I even threw one FQ into the sled (drip catcher pan), which turned out to be one of my favorite ones! I left it all to batch for a few hours, then did the 'rinse,repeat' until the water ran clear, at which point I gave it all a good hot wash in Synthropol (colors separated), more rinses and then dried and ironed it all. I know there are dyers out there who have controlled formulas for achieving consistent results. Fascinating to me, but I'm not one of them! I think it's fun to just say 'what if'...that's how I approach most of my work. I mixed the colors until they looked yummy and from there I played.
For the rusting...the first few photos were done by fan folding the fabric, wrapping it around a decorative, unfinished metal stair picket, and then wrapping that with unfinished floral wire. I covered it in plastic wrap and left it outside for a day or two. The last photo was done with metal washers in various sizes tucked into the fabric folded multiple times. In all cases I pre-soaked the fabric in a white vinegar/water solution, mixed about half and half, squeezed out most of the liquid, then proceeded as described. I washed the final products in hot water and Synthropol. Sometimes I soak the end results in a salt water bath before I do the final wash.
It doesn't take a great lot of space to do. Time, yes. Which is why I only processed about 6 yards in this session. But it's all really easy and fun to do!
Give dyeing a try!
First, the color dye....I used Procion dyes and you can see in the set up photos a few posts down that I just used a card table in my garage, some quart size zip-top plastic bags, an old shower curtain pole suspended over one of my kids sleds (a trick I learned in Robbie Joy Eklow's first book) and bottles I picked up at the beauty supply store that are supposed to be for hair dye (long tip squirty bottles). First I pre-soaked my PFD fabric in a soda ash solution, squeezed out the excess back into the soda ash bucket (use gloves!), then either bunched it up in a bag or draped it over the pole. Next I mixed my dye colors using all the necessary safety precautions - respirator, gloves, etc. - straight into the squirt bottles, then proceeded to squirt the colors of choice either into the bags which got mushed about to distribute the color(s), or across/down the fabrics draped on the poles. I even threw one FQ into the sled (drip catcher pan), which turned out to be one of my favorite ones! I left it all to batch for a few hours, then did the 'rinse,repeat' until the water ran clear, at which point I gave it all a good hot wash in Synthropol (colors separated), more rinses and then dried and ironed it all. I know there are dyers out there who have controlled formulas for achieving consistent results. Fascinating to me, but I'm not one of them! I think it's fun to just say 'what if'...that's how I approach most of my work. I mixed the colors until they looked yummy and from there I played.
For the rusting...the first few photos were done by fan folding the fabric, wrapping it around a decorative, unfinished metal stair picket, and then wrapping that with unfinished floral wire. I covered it in plastic wrap and left it outside for a day or two. The last photo was done with metal washers in various sizes tucked into the fabric folded multiple times. In all cases I pre-soaked the fabric in a white vinegar/water solution, mixed about half and half, squeezed out most of the liquid, then proceeded as described. I washed the final products in hot water and Synthropol. Sometimes I soak the end results in a salt water bath before I do the final wash.
It doesn't take a great lot of space to do. Time, yes. Which is why I only processed about 6 yards in this session. But it's all really easy and fun to do!
Give dyeing a try!
Monday, September 28, 2009
That's my most favorite one of all!!Monday, September 21, 2009
Ooohhh!
Dyeing is fun...here are a few of the things I did
Wait 'till you see what I did with RUST!!
Wait 'till you see what I did with RUST!!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Dyeing...
...as opposed to the alternative spelling.
I spent all day yesterday in the ER with my DH (nothing life threatening, thank goodness! Just a 4mm kidney stone...ugh). And after fighting two weeks worth of my allergies turning into cold turning into bronchitis I finally dragged my own self to the doctor today.
I hate being sick.
This is my way of fighting back...
I'll post the results in a day or two...once the antibiotic has kicked in... :)
Thursday, September 10, 2009
SOLD!
I just found out that my piece "Jelly Ball" has sold! It was hanging at Associated Artists in Winston-Salem, NC ...a great place to shop, BTW :-)
Scroll down the page and have a look. It is in the right side bar.
What a fabulously good bit of news to start my day. I'm going to grab a cup of coffee and float on cloud nine for a few minutes...then it's back to work!
Scroll down the page and have a look. It is in the right side bar.
What a fabulously good bit of news to start my day. I'm going to grab a cup of coffee and float on cloud nine for a few minutes...then it's back to work!
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