Tribute to Katy Sirovatka

 

Katy with a white elephant gift at one of our Christmas parties.  

We always laughed a lot at these parties!    All for a box of old nuts.

On March 16, 2012, CinCer Katy Sirovatka lost her battle with melanoma.  

She was only 37 years old.  Read her obituary. 

For years Katy was an energetic, creative, driving force in Conversations-in-Cloth.  I don't think I've ever met anyone as organized as Katy.  She kept us on track, programmed our evenings, and kept us informed with the Newsletter.  She also managed our Treasury.  When she stepped down to spend more time with her new family, it took no less than 4 people to fill all the jobs she was doing single-handed.  She was a remarkable person.  She will be greatly missed.

Enjoy this review of some of the work she shared with us through the years :


That's a detail shot of Katy's quilt in the promotional materials for this show at the Oshkosh Public Museum!  Cool beans!


Here's Katy standing next to her quilt at the Oshkosh Public Museum Show. 










Katy's Thread Painted Dragon.


Christmas Stockings for her new family.






 Katy called this set a Tryptic.







 Katy with the Thread Scarf she made after one of our workshop nights.


Couching on a purse.


Elegant couching on 2 coffee cuffs.  

  Stars Table Runner.


 


I always loved this tree Katy made on a Mess-Making Day.  She used bleach to discharge the black color from the fabric, revealing the red/brown underneath.  




CinC has made a donation to the Melanoma Research Foundation in Katy's memory.  Please join us in the effort to find a cure for this devastating disease.

May Program : Color Block Portraits

Oliver by Michele M. Read more about it here.

The program this month was Maria Elkins' Color Block Portraits as shown in her DVD, Making Faces.

Maria Elkins offers written instructions for Beginning Portraits on the Quilting Arts website.

Michele did a few of these portraits last summer, and CinCers wanted to know how to do it.


Self-Portrait in Blue by Michele M. Read more about it here.

I hope some of you give this technique a try.

May Show-and-Share

Here are some of the finished tissue paper-dyed silk scarves that we made back in March. Yummy colors!


Sandy took a class at the local tech school to learn how to dye these scarves.
Sandy also shared that the Annual Bead and Button Show will be in Milwaukee June 10-12.



Betty beaded these boxes as demonstrated by Karen back in January. Don't you just love how we learn from each other? Betty has also been very busy Zantangling :







Pat is back from her winter sojourn. She's been busy! She made this cat pin cushion (above) and a Spirit Doll (below) :



Here's a close-up of Pat's Spirit Doll. She explained that the turquoise-colored beads are made from something very unusual. Take a guess and then scroll down to see the answer ...
She also incorporated other natural things from the desert like dried cactus, devil's claw, and pomegranate husks.


JoAnne completed this reversible vest. She also brought this gorgeous coffee table book :




Pat did a small challenge quilt where she had to use this fabric, shown here as the quilt backing.
This is what she did on the front of this fun piece :


Michele has also been busy experimenting with Citra Solv to dissolve the ink in old National Geopgraphic magazines. Feast your eyes on some of the results :

From National Geographic and Citrasolv backgrounds

If you want to try it yourself, Diana Trout has a how-to video.

Michele also mentioned The Sketchbook Challenge as a source of inspiration and techniques to try. Each month, they offer a new theme. It's not too late to join!


Fire Fall Journal Quilt by Michele. Read more about it here.


Red-Wing Black Bird Journal Quilt by Michele. Read more about it here.

Answer to the Blue Bead Mystery : Pat's Turquoise-colored beads are made from diced, dried, and painted potato. Can you believe it?

Dyeing Silk Scarves with Spectra Art Tissue : Demo by Joanne

At the March Meeting, Joanne taught us how to dye silk scarves like these with Spectra Art Tissue and a spray bottle with water. This method is safe enough to use with kids.

Joanne provided a Kit (Kit Fee $5) containing 1 silk scarf, an assortment of tissue paper (SpectraArt Tissue Paper).

Other things to bring :
Spray bottle with H2O
paper plate
gallon-size zip-lock bag (to take it home)
rubber gloves
plastic drop cloth / garbage bags to protect the tables


To begin, you just tear the tissue paper into pieces the size you want to use.
Then just lay the tissue paper on the scarf. Spray it with water, so that the color migrates from the tissue to the silk. Keep layering the silk with tissue paper and spray it with water.

It doesn't take long ...




In this picture, you can see the "spent" tissue paper next to the newly dyed silk scarf. All the color has migrated to the silk--which is exactly what we wanted to happen. 

Let the silk scarf dry and then heat set the colors. Joanne used a warm dryer for 10 minutes. You could probably also use a warm iron, too.

Bring your scarves back next month so we can see how they turned out!

************************************

Please note : If you try this technique and have problems, please re-read the instructions.  
There's NO vinegar and NO cold (or-hot)-water rinse in this technique.  The scarves are left to air dry on their own, then HEAT SET with DRY Heat (as from an iron or a dryer).  I have several scarves from this session (and later) and I've never had a problem with the colors running.   Just follow the directions ...   [Note added 9/22/2015]

March 2011 Show and Share

Betty beaded the hems of this silk scarf she dyed at Lynda's Christmas Break mess-making day last December.

Another one of Betty's scarves dyed at Lynda's Christmas Break play date in December.


Betty brought the basket she made after Lois' demo last October. Nice job!


Betty's beaded box.


Joanne's quilted table runner (?). A work in progress ...


Another one of Karen's beaded boxes. This is the one she keeps in her purse for pills. The beads seem stable with that type of wear and tear.


Lois's Ugly Block Challenge that she and a friend are doing together. She fractured the purple and green star block you can still make out in the corner (where Karen is pointing in the picture).


Karen's latest brooch, beaded and felted. Somehow Mop'n Glow was used on the felt, but I missed the details ...

Karen has also been Zentangling in her sketchbook. Check it out on her blog, Hanging by a Thread Studio.


Michele took a class called Beyond Meandering with Chris Lynn Kirsh at the Fox Valley Technical College's Sewing and Quilting Expo. This is a quilt sandwich to practice the designs.