Month: May 2019

Museum in the Country

It was Saturday, the day for adventure.  Our “ride-about” for the day took us to some antique stores; old favorites and a new one, a reliable lunch spot for a bite to eat, and then…

part of a huge hooked rug designed by Steffen Thomas

Then we found ourselves visiting an art museum in an unusual location.  Our car’s navigation system complained, “this destination includes roads with incomplete information”. 

This art museum has an address with Nature’s inspiration all around.

A quilting friend had told me about an exhibit here showing art quilts interpreting some of the work of Steffen Thomas.  The art quilts were nice, for sure.  But the discovery of Steffen Thomas’ artwork, the man himself, the museum, and the docent, Ashley, were all pleasant surprises to add to our day and to our bank of memories.

Steffen Thomas was a German-born artist who spent much of his career working from his home near Atlanta.  His work includes massive bronze sculptures, mosaic tile work, welded iron pieces, and paintings using oil, acrylic, and mixed media. 

I was entranced and inspired by all of his work, some pieces mesmerizing me more than others.  The museum set up allowed me to examine details of his techniques up close.

I wasn’t disappointed in the quilters’ interpretations of Thomas’ work, either.  Interesting textile techniques, materials, and stitching were represented.  I even recognized the names of some of the fiber artists whose work was there.

The month-long exhibit has included lectures and demonstrations on not only fiber arts, but floral arranging and edible flowers, too. 

An informative brochure provided to accompany this exhibit states that “Steffen Thomas was joyful person.”  It shows in his work and in the museum dedicated to his art.  

What a fabulous discovery we made.  Thanks, Kaye, for insisting that I travel to see this exhibit.  

This Arts in Bloom exhibit will be at the museum through May 25, so you still have time to see it.

The website for the Stefffen Thomas Museum is here.

For those who expect to see one of my quilts in a post, here it is.  We did take a couple of small quilts along.  This old brick building and tree beckoned, so I posed Granny Zee’s Baskets on a chair.  The story of this quilt is shared in detail here.

Dipping in the Indigo

I recently gave a talk to a guild about using indigo fabrics in quilts.  I shared old quilts and new ones I had made.  I included purchased indigo fabrics from Africa (again, both old and new ones), commercial reproductions of indigo fabrics, and fabric I had dipped in the indigo dye bath myself.

Once home, I rearranged quilt displays so I could visit with these pieces more.

And, with warmer temperatures outside, I knew it was time to resurrect the dye pot and get busy.

So for the past couple of days, I’ve been dipping. Yes, even a lampshade.

This is a tablecloth my mother crocheted for me in 1985.  It was beige.  I would see examples of this in antique stores and think how beautiful these objects would be if they were blue.  

So I bought one to test my theory.  I dyed this one on Tuesday and I liked it so well that I dared to dye Mama’s handwork on Wednesday.

I dipped a lot of other fabrics each day, too.

Napkins are always a favorite.  The group pinned together is 9 matching linen napkins that had never been used.  All the same size, I think they will be great backgrounds for appliqué.


A printed black on white linen skirt takes the dye beautifully.  And, one of the most delightful pieces I dipped is a piece of Moda’s new line of barkcloth.  It’s 100% cotton, but beefier than quilting cotton, and dipped and washed and dried, it is soft and buttery and ravels beautifully.  Raveling well is important to me.

I’ve joined a new online group with Jude Hill, her latest adventure in soulful stitching.  Ragmates in this journey with me can expect to see some of this dye lot in future explorations.  I’ve written about Jude before in many posts, but she is the one who convinced me that I could explore indigo dying.  Thanks, Jude.