All things Peacock

I have always loved peacocks and their feathers. It is kind of ironic that I married a man with the last name Cox. When writing my new married name, I realized I was P.Cox. Hence the name of my blog. I guess you figured that out on your own.
Since then, I have created some pieces using the peacock. I am posting my peacock jacket today. I have done an ATC which was in a previous post, an art bra which I entered into a contest but don't think I made it in and I have just finished a postcard of a peacock. I will put that up in the next few days.
I finished it over a year ago and had the guts to wear it to the International Quilt Show here in Chicago in April. It was my first art show attendance ever and I was so excited. I completely forgot I was wearing it until I kept getting stopped to "model" it for everyone. What a heady experience! I had one lady tell me to submit it to Belle Amore and another one asked me to show it off so she could take pictures! I felt like a mini celebrity. A lot of people wanted to pet it! I have to admit, my self esteem got a much needed boost that day. My mom kept teasing me because I would apparently blush profusely when stopped and asked about it.
What a glorious day. It made me all the more determined to keep at it with this medium. I think I have become more fearless because of that experience. So much so that I put my art quilt on line at HGTV's Rate My Quilt. If you would like to check it out, it is labeled as Waterfall. Too bad the photo was so dark. I think it would have done better had the picture would have been a little brighter. Oh well, you live and learn.

Rust Dyeing

I have been a lazy slacker when it comes to my blog lately. But in my defense, I have been busy signing up for various challenges and finishing up other projects.
For instance, I did rust dyeing on fabric for the first time and it inspired me to do my last set of postcards for my exchange. Very cool to get something done.
Rust dyeing fabric was deceptively easy. I thought it would be this long drawn out process that required all my time and a bunch of expensive materials. Was I wrong! I used a remnant piece of white cotton that was prewashed and soaked it in vinegar. I placed it in a pan and put things that rust on top of it. I used steel wool and long rust nails. I placed it in the sun - 90 degree days) and watched the miracle unfold. I just kept moving the material around as various areas rusted and added more vinegar when it was looking too dry. Two days later, I have new material to work with. You have to rinse out the vinegar. I rinsed until it was clean and then added some soap and water to make it smell less like rust. I let it hang dry and it was ready to go. I don't recommend the steel wool because it breaks down into tiny pieces and is a mess to clean up. Use nails, screws etc. - much better.
I am posting photos of the two I did. One was on the white fabric and then for fun, I used a predyed sky blue fabric. That one turned out awesome and was the inspiration for my postcard series. I will post them once I finish the last one. But the blue fabric turned this interesting rusty orange/brown and green color. So now I will have to make some more since it was fun and easy. However, I ran out of vinegar and need more. Some people add salt to there vinegar. I tried both ways and both work.
Later