Quilting Books & Magazines on eBay

Update: ALL SOLD - THANK YOU!

I have listed some hard-to-find books and magazines on eBay. [See the listings here]

All of them have starting bids of 99 cents!

Here's some that may interest you:

Art / Quilt magazines - rare - 10 issues
This sporadically-printed magazine is a treasure for anyone who loves art quilts. Each issue is packed with photos and stories about the art/quilt world and quiltmakers.

Thread Magic by Ellen Anne Eddy (1997)






Quilting Curves by Vikki Pignatelli (2001)
Curves in Motion by Judy B. Dales (1999)

Practical Encyclopedia of Quilting and Quilt Design
Keeping It All Together by Jean Ray Laury
Quilting Masterclass by Katharine Guerrier (2000)
Rags to Rainbows by Miranda Innes








Other items:

Romantic Homes magazines *5 issues*
Martha Stewart KIDS *5 Issues*
Victoria magazines 1993-2003
ROSIE magazine Rosie O'Donnell 8 issues 2002 \



Mosaics books - instructional
Cloth doll making magazines
Piecework magazine
Mary Janes Farm

The auctions are live now. Be there or be square!

See all of my current auctions here

Reader Questions and Art Work

Sharon of apeasofmylife.blogspot.com
sent this photo of her daughter's lovely art work created using the gel glue batik method explained here. It's a really simple way to achieve a batik-like effect without the hassle / wax removal. And it's ideal for kids because it simply involves drawing with glue and later painting with fabric dyes.

The free instructions for this technique are listed here:
http://fabricdyeing101.blogspot.com/2006/11/how-to-make-batik-like-fabrics-with.html

Here's some recent reader questions:

May I print out your instructions?
Yes, you may print out anything you find here for personal reference. I've also received a number of requests for an easy to print version of the site and I've got that on my To-Do list.... Others have written in requesting a slam-dunk full-on gorgeous how-to book on fabric dyeing with lots of breath-taking photos. I'm still thinking that one over.

What thread count should I look for in dyeing fabric?
Any thread count is fine as long as the fabric is truly 100% cotton. It's best to select the fabric based on your own preferences keeping in mind:
1) how it feels,
2) how it looks,
3) how it dyes,
4) how it shrinks or not
5) how it sews, and
6) what you will be using it for.

In general, the denser the thread count, the less mottled the appearance of the fabric after hand-dyeing, which isn't a bad thing, just a difference. Personally, I am a mottle fanatic, but in practice I find the lesser mottled fabrics get used a lot faster for quilts. Mottles tend to act like patterns that distract from the overall design. But that of course does not stop me from forever creating more fantastic mottles.

Also, I have found that most mercerized cottons don't dye quite as vividly as non-mercerized ones. But this said, it's a big old world out there and the variations in fabrics is endless. No dyer can test them all, and even the tried and true ones can vary from lot to lot.

My advice? Get sample pieces, and conduct small scale tests, both dyeing and sewing to see what fabric you like best. Also, be sure to run the fabric through the dryer to see how much it shrinks. Personally, I like to shrink my bed quilts after they have been sewn and quilted for a maximally pruney look, but others don't like the surprise or texture and are best off preshrinking before cutting and sewing.

Are you teaching classes in fabric dyeing these days?
No, I'm not, but I wish I had a dollar for every time I'm asked! Ca-ching! Never say never but right now I'm involved in some other pursuits that are gobbling up my time. However, if you are reading this and you are a fabric dyeing instructor, feel free to leave your info and location in the comments box so others may contact you.

Do you do custom dyeing of garments?
No, I do not. It's a risky, risky venture in the best of circumstances, and not something I would do for someone else. I prefer to leave that kind of work to the professionals who first have you sign away your life with waivers because if there's one thing I know from all the fabric dyeing experiments I have conducted: you never know what a fabric really is until you see how it dyes. And, not to scare the pants off you but, I personally would never hire someone to dye a precious garment unless I could deal with the possible destruction of it. Fabric dyeing garments is much like investing in the stock market: only invest what you can indeed afford to lose.

The short list of risk factors are:
-the fabric may not be what the label says it is,
-the thread may not take dye,
-the seams of the garment may gobble up extra dye and give an uneven appearance,
-the colour may not come out as predicted,
-there may not be enough hidden seam fabric to conduct initial colour tests....

And on that cheery note, I think that's it for today. Thank you for all your emails. I receive more than I can reply to but I do read them all and answer questions as much as time permits. It is forever a delight to hear from people who have used these free instructions and produced some great fabrics.

Lots more frequently asked questions are here:
http://fabricdyeing101.blogspot.com/2007/03/faqs-frequently-asked-questions.html

Quilting Arts Magazines for sale

A quick note to let you know that I have listed all my back issues of Quilting Arts magazines for sale on eBay. In the spirit of happy-to-see-them-reused-and-enjoyed, I have put the opening bids at 99 cents U.S. They are divided into lots by years. These magazines have lots of instructions for art quilting, embellishment, fabric painting, and other forms of fabric surface design.

There are also back issues of other magazines including ten years of Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion and the premiere issues of CRAFT magazine.

See all my auctions here.