Some Great Books

I have finally got my own copy of India Flint's book Eco Colour. This book is the bible for eco and natural  dyeing for me. Until now I have been borrowing it from my library. I got it out so much lately that I thought it's time to get my own copy. It's such a great book, informative and easy to understand the dyeing terminology. Another great thing I found is the information on Australian plants that can be used for dyeing. 

Another book I got is on Shibori Designs and Techniques by Mandy Southan. I have been taking an online Shibori dyeing technique workshop with Glennis for over a month now and I feel that I need yet another book to give me  a greter variety of patterns and techniques. 

And here is some of my eco-dyed fabric. From the left the purple gray piece was dyed using prunus leaves on silk, steamed for 45 minutes, and left to stand outside for a couple of days. Behind the gray piece is silk, dyed with onion skins and vinegar.  Sorry that you can't see it very well in this photo. I will post that separately some other time. On the right are shibori dyed pieces using stitched shibori technique.

 

I have received another great book from Amazon. I put in an order for 2 copies of Word Play Quilts by Tonya Ricucci in December 2010 with a few other books for Christmas presents. The book was out of stock and I was supposed to receive it by February 14th, 2011. I was okay with that because it wasn't for a gift. February 14th came and went. At the end of February I checked my order history and it had been sent, but where were my books? I emailed Amazon inquiring about my order. They told me it was sent. They were very sorry and said that they would send me the replacement straightaway. On top of that they would refund me the purchase cost in full including the cost of freight. Not all was lost, I have got these books free of charge. Thanks Mr. Amazon! I just want to share with you my positive experienced with Amazon. 

A little about the book. Tonya Ricucci of Lazy gal Quilting has always been making quilts from alphabets. She posted tutorials on her blog before this book was published. This book covers all instruction for piecing alphabets in both lower and upper cases plus numbers. There are also projects that you can make as well. 

I started making some blocks last year. You can see some of my blocks here. The design is words representing happiness for a 'Happy Quilt'. Yes, the quilt is very bright and it has  happy colours.