Embellishing with RibbonSmyth hand-dyed rayon tape

This is a pieced block ~  from our Gold Fabric Pack.

I hand-pieced this block while vending at last week's quilt show. I used RibbonSmyth hand-dyed vintage rayon tape stitched among the brown leaf trim. The ribbon colorway is "Spring" and it is gorgeous; dyed with all my favorite vintage shades. I overdye  rayon tape colors as I prefer the look over dyeing white ribbon. I have several hundred rolls waiting to be dyed. I never know what the ribbon will look like until it has dried and been ironed. Then the colors "pop". I dyed the ribbon in shades of gold, mauve, platinum. It's a dream to use for embellishing. The ribbon can be manipulated to do absolutely anything. Above the folded ribbon rose, I added ruched petals. Can't wait to see how this block will look when finished. Right now it's at the top of a heap of WIP's! The block size is 11"x14".

Fabric prices in Rome, Italy

Check out the prices for fabrics in Rome! No Italian fabric made it into my spare duffle bag that I brought along...just for fabrics! The bottom listing is for silk organza at 75 US dollars, per metre.  But I certainly enjoyed time spent in each fabric store I found. Fabrics in New York now seem reasonably priced!

Rome Fabric Store Gowns

Took this photo when I found a fabric store near our hotel in Rome.

It was late at night window shopping.



Orchid at Philadelphia Flower Show

This is Jolly Green Gem. Another work of art.

Orchids from the Philadelphia Flower Show

Mother Nature at her best. Check out this color palette - fucshia, burgundy, pink, lime green, soft green and grass green.

This photo was taken at the Philadelphia International  Flower Show. This year's theme was Hawaii.

Art Nouveau Black Block Work in Progress

This rectangle block is in the early stages of embellishing. There will also be two additional "sister" blocks. I work from the center to the outside of the design when creating collages. I don't know if there will be stitches on the seams.  It's all about the eye flowing  within the entire design.

I've used a fashion plate from 1885 for the vintage image and pulled in silk colors from the RibbonSmyth doupioni assortment pack. With those pieces, I used fabric patches from a Victorian velvet jacket, shattered lace netting, tambour-embroidered with a massive amount of black sequins, a Victorian shattered lace bodice, floral-print silk from a skirt, and the brown velvet diamonds and embroidery are from the most amazing 1930's fur coat lining. I have a "thing" for old fur coat linings.
I dyed a rayon leaf to match the colors in the vintage image, using RibbonSmyth rayon dyes. I made a mother of pearl button to match the colors of the image and tacked it into the top left corner. For balance, a piece of Ribbonsmyth moss bias-cut silk was added to the bottom corner. To tack the silk ribbon in place, French vintage black-jet glass sew-ons were added. These small diamond-shape beads have the stamp of the couture house pressed into the back of each bead. Iris tri-cut beads and black buttons will be added.
I don't know how the pieces will turn out, but the process working with black has been interesting.  

Doilies and Ticking Fabric WIP

This is the lay-out for a ticking wall-hanging using embroidered doilies. The border around the embroidery will be 4 1/2" wide and may include a solid fabric border, so as to not be so "dizzy", but the project is being designed to cover an electrical panel in our utility room; which currently functions as a kitchen pantry/office with wall space. No matter how it turns out, I'm going to like it. It reminds me of the endless hours embroidering as a little girl at my grandmother's house.

Embroidery and Ticking fabric wall-hanging

How could anyone not love ticking fabric? This little stack has been sitting on the dining room table for awhile. I rarely find 6 doilies embroidered in the same pattern. I can still see the pre-stamped pattern on the pieces. I believe the embroidery was done in the 1950's with 6 strands of cotton floss and beautifully embroidered.

In our utility room, which is  laid out like a kitchen with an office, we have a large electrical panel on one wall. I continue to remark that I will make something to hang over the panel. The embroidered pieces were basted to rows of  simple crazy quilt strips. The white space in the doilies was so glaring that I've cut the doilies down to a much smaller size. Now I think I've cut them too small!  Thanks to Leonie and Stephanie...their assembly tips are greatly appreciated.