Break out the Big Box of 96!

Break out the Big Box of 96 crayons! It's coloring time again.

Prepping for the annual Easter egg coloring event.

The eggs are hard boiled.

The collection of egg dippers came out of the drawer.

Butter is softening for cookies.

I rummaged through my vast assortment of cookie cutters and pulled out the bunny, chick, lamb and egg.

Oh, and I found one cutter in the shape of a hexagon—well, just because I've had hexies on my mind.

We're looking forward to several free-motion egg designs, a little shibori dying, and the traditional—and always wildly popular—baseball egg.


Hope you're enjoying the season, too.

Cookie cutters.

I wonder if the hexagon cutter will be very efficient for cookie dough cutting… we'll see.

Color Knitting Class starting

Want to add COLOR to your knitting projects? 

My No Fuss Color Knitting class starts next week on Tuesday evening. This class is packed with information, techniques and a mix of quick projects to help you gain color knitting confidence. This 4-session class also includes color theory, and fun, in-class exercises on color and value. 

The Deana Wrap

Contact me at veronica quilts@gmail.com to get a supply list and register for class. Class begins Tuesday, April 17. Here are photos from previous No Fuss Color Knitting classes.

Let's play the Stripe Game!

This is the Deana Wrap. We'll explore four different "No Fuss" color knitting techniques with this project. You'll be surprised at how deceptively easy they are!

Students show off their colorwork projects.

No Fuss Color Knitting class: The Deana Wrap.

"More color... More fun!" says Crayola

Did you get out your "Big Box of 96"...
                                with the built-in sharpener...
                                                        and hard boil a big pot...

of  eggs ???

The coloring of the eggs is an annual Easter event at our house. As Crayola puts it, "More colors... More fun!" We like to mix and double dye with all the colors. 

Upper left: multi-dipped.  Center top: shibori.
Far right: pre-marked with Crayola crayon. 

The hand dying techniques this year included multi-dipped (over dying), pre-dye patterning with Crayola crayons, and shibori (using a rubber band for the resist). Only two eggs were lost due to premature cracks.

Dyed eggs are drying. Baskets await assembly.
Chocolates are standing by.

Even though Crayola doesn't make a color for your eyes, my husband draws a "baseball dude" egg (complete with a baseball cap on his head) or, this year, a self-portrait. This self-portrait egg does not do justice to my DH's gorgeous blue eyes.

The Larry egg.

Happy Easter!

Crayola doesn't make a color for your eyes

Welcome to December! Celebrate the season: draw, or paint, or quilt, or sew, or collage something that makes YOU smile. This will get you started, or at least get your toes tapping...  Enjoy!

Inspiration from the garden

I couldn't resist capturing and preserving this show of color in a photo. The flower marker with the name of this perennial has been washed away or mulched over, but they are some variety of lily. Regardless of the lack of its proper name, the color is just as vibrant--and will be the inspiration for a future wearable art piece, art quilt or ATC (artist trading card).

I love color!

Coloring Easter eggs is an annual “event” at our house. We rummage for the remains of last year’s egg coloring kits and combine them with the new stickers and trendy rub-ons in the current year’s kits. Out comes our vast collection of egg dippers—including the one with the bent handle for the duotone eggs—and the box of 96 crayons (with the built-in sharpener!) for making wax resists. We even use a crayon to draw stitching lines on at least one egg to make it look like a baseball (see the dark orange one on the far left). Then we dip and dunk, and within 30 minutes, a rainbow assortment of a dozen or more hard-boiled eggs is drip-drying and ready for Easter basket assembly.

Whether eggs, fabrics, yarns or threads, playing with the color is always delightfully inspiring.