Author: Lisa Reber

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Back to school and teaching and quilting

Greetings! Busy as usual here and ignoring the blog. Just took a look at my recent photos to try to figure out where the time has gone. My family surprised me with an early birthday present – a trip for everyone to the Phillies-Mets game. So now I have a Phanatic dangle hat, because I’ve always wanted one! And the Mets won, so the nice guy behind me was happy. And we got to see Rhys Hoskins first hit. Once he got that, he’s been on fire! He’s the NL Rookie of the month for August, and I’m personally taking all the credit. (Ha!)
It’s almost time for our last show of the year, the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza at Oaks, PA. That’s just west of Valley Forge, for those of you outside the area. There’s still room in my Dye Basics class – and you can still sign up online here, by phone or in person next Wednesday 9/13 or Thursday morning, 9/14 before 9 AM. Let me know if you want to buy a kit with fabric.
Coming up next spring I’ll be teaching at MAQF in Hampton, VA in February and – New Date and Location – QFNJ in Edison in April. If none of those dates or locations work for you – I have some really big news! I will be teaching at Pro Chemical and Dye on May 17 – 18. Sign-ups begin in October – watch this space for a link! And below is a picture of one of my class samples.

Look for quilts by Lisa in next year’s shows – there are currently three on the to-do list that tie into either the upcoming classes or general business of dyeing.
The to-do list also has ‘blog more’ included – hope I will see you here!
P.S. – in you are coming to the show at Oaks and don’t get the newsletter ‘Hues & News’ from DippyDyes, please sign up (we send show coupons.) There’s a link at the top of the column to the right, or click here. Thanks!!

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So you want to dye some fabric?

A recent Facebook post by Robbie E. turned into a wonderful discussion all about dyeing and washing out cotton fabric. I made a couple new friends that way; one wrote: “This is making me so confused. All I want to do is start dyeing! Any tips on where to start?” Lots of people pitched in before me to praise Ann Johnston’s book “Color By Accident.” It’s still the standard reference, and I was happy to recently revisit some of Ann’s techniques. I’ve been able to scale up to larger pieces of fabric, given the right container.
Another excellent book for beginners is “Tray Dyeing” by Claire Benn & Leslie Morgan. Time to re-read that one!
There are great on-line resources available at Pro Chemical & Dye and Dharma Trading, plus Paula Burch’s website here.
And, if you’re coming to the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza show at Oaks, PA, I’m teaching Dye Boot Camp on Thursday, September 14.
Now that the nice weather is here, it’s time to give dye a chance!

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Dye Cadets, at ease.

Dye Boot Camp is coming up at MQX – the Machine Quilters’ Festival in Manchester, NH. I will be teaching and lecturing there all week – the first class is Dye Boot Camp on Wednesday, April 5 at 8 AM! It will be a quick four-hour version covering everything you need to know about dyeing cotton quilt fabric – AND about washing it out! #MQX
Sign up here! (It’s the third on the list.)

Class hard at work, learning something new. 🙂
 Colors, colors and more colors!
No hat this year, but the whistle might have to be pulled out!
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One time event!

This week is the Quilt & Sewing Fest of New Jersey. It’s in Somerset, at the Garden State Convention Center. I’m teaching on Saturday, and it’s the only time I’m taking this class on the road. There are only three seats left, and you can sign up Thursday and Friday at the show. Here’s a peek:
https://youtu.be/0ugDcsgLvr8

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It’s show time!!

The spring quilt shows are here!
Join us at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, February 22 – 26, booth 605.
Join us at the Quilt and Sewing Festival of New Jersey, March 2 – 5, booth 604.
Join us at the Machine Quilting Exposition, April 5 – 8, booth 180.
If you receive our newsletter, you already have a coupon you can use in the booth. If you don’t get it – why not? You can sign up here in the box to the right. Thanks!

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Knitting and Dyeing and a Factory, Oh My!

The ladies in the Shoo Fly Quilters of Boyertown know that I have a soft spot in my heart for old machinery. Hubby and I used to own Bahr’s Mill – an historic woodworking mill just outside of town. And when we travel, we try to find factory tours where ever we can. (Tip – Lowell, Massachusetts, north of Boston, is home to Lowell National Historical Park. Go there!)
Last week I was able to get my factory fix at Kraemer Yarn in Nazareth, PA. (Yep, Nazareth, and that’s close to Emmaus and Bethlehem for those of you who aren’t from around here.) And it turns out that they sell skeins of yarn – thirty-six different varieties – for dyeing! I have eleven here now and need to narrow that down to about three or four to add to my collection, er, inventory. I’m definitely keeping the super-chunky thick and thin variety. It’s at the top of this picture. I also got some already-dyed yarn, but can’t share the details until after December 25th. Another plus is that not only is it spun right here in Pennsylvania, it’s made from US wool!
Now around here I’ll dye anything that can’t run away. Can you help me by answering some questions? There’s a survey here. And if you’re not on the DippyDyes mailing list, you can sign up at the bottom. Thanks!

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1000 Yards of Fabric Looks Like This:

Hundreds of yards of PFD fabrics


The FedEx Ground guy stopped by the house today and delivered my winter’s work. It’s 500 yards each of Pimatex and Kona in PFD bleach white. For comparison, if this was on 15-yard bolts, there’d be 67 of them.
The next step – moving them to the storeroom on the third floor. And if you wonder – the three boxes these came in weighed 341 pounds all together. Who needs a gym membership?!
PS – praying for snow next!

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What I did on my . . . sabbatical(?)

Is it a sabbatical if you don’t work in academia? Well, I spent three weeks away from home focusing on surface design, and I got to sell some fabric too. That seems to parallel the idea of a break from the normal routine to take time to study. I’ve taken single week classes before, but never longer. I wish I could say it was an instant-gratification, earth-shattering, life-changing experience, but life doesn’t work that way. This was certainly gratifying, but any change will have to come from within, which, like thinking, is hard. Whaaaa. 🙂
Using this sticky keyboard is a pain, too, so let me see what pictures I can find.

Twenty-four monoprints in one day!!

Critique of ‘Impaired’

Lovely fungus – need to make printed fabric in these colors

First stage of a monoprint, worth repeating

View from the B&B where we spent three nights. At dawn. I don’t do dawn.
This is where we spent the remaining eighteen nights. Much more affordable. Plus we visited my sister on the way out and back. Great way to break up the trip – thanks!
Very grateful to have the opportunity to attend, to be able to sell fabric and dye tools & toys to be able to afford to attend, and support from family to encourage me to attend!