quilting Archives - Botanical Colors

Sunday Visit: Dream Making with Sara Buscaglia

For Sunday Visit, Botanical Colors sits down for an interview with a luminary in the natural dye, textile and art world. This week we sit down again with our inspiring friend Sara Buscaglia of Farm & Folk. Sara is an organic farmer, natural dyer and textile artist residing in the high desert of southwest Colorado. Her inspiration is found in the paradigm shifting slow processes of tending soil, seeds, and plants. Through her experience of being directly connected to food, natural color and fiber she has gained an understanding and appreciation of their true value. We hope you join us for her upcoming … Read more

Sara Buscaglia Of Farm & Folk Teaches Applique Dream Quilts

Sara Buscaglia of wildly popular Farm & Folk has captured our imagination with her beautifully designed quilts and color work using natural dyes that she grows on her farm in Durango, Colorado. Each piece tells a story about her commitment to farming, land stewardship, and the joy and dignity of hand work. We are so pleased to have her return and teach a 5-day quilting workshop in Seattle with us in February 2025! This year’s focus will be on applique to create a quilt approximately 30×30 inches. Applique is a needlework technique where fabric and motifs are stitched onto whole or pieced cloth, allowing the quilter to create beautiful, free and figurative designs on the quilt. Each participant will work with a palette of naturally dyed color created especially for this workshop. Sara will demonstrate several applique methods, guide color choices and motifs. Join us for a wonderful 5-day creative studio session dyeing fabrics, designing colorways and making hand-stitched quilts!

Sunday Visit: Dyes, Quilting + Farming in Colorado’s High Desert With Farm & Folk

Today on Sunday Visit, we welcome Sara Buscaglia of Farm & Folk. Sara is an organic farmer, natural dyer and textile artist residing in the high desert of southwest Colorado. Her inspiration is found in the paradigm shifting slow processes of tending soil, seeds, and plants. Through her experience of being directly connected to food, natural color and fiber she has gained an understanding and appreciation of their true value. Her naturally dyed quilts are an embodiment of that. On September 26th, Sara debuted her first book Farm & Folk Quilt Alchemy: A High-Country Guide to Natural Dyeing and Making … Read more

MORDANT MONDAY: Penny Circles + Mordanting Wool

We get mordant questions all the time at Botanical Colors so why not create Mordant Monday??? Got mordanting questions? Email [email protected] YOU ASKED: I am looking for something to dye 100% wool. I mostly eco dye and not familiar with dyeing wool. I’d like to do several colors to make penny circles. I have a whole bolt of the wool. Can you recommend something for color and mordant? (My wool has been scoured.) KATHY ANSWERED: Since penny circles are fairly small, you have a lot of options to make some lovely color combinations. A small amount of fabric – something … Read more

Some of the Best Quilting Cotton Was Hand-Dyed in Japan Thirty Years Ago

Okan Arts imports vintage Japanese yukata cottons for adventuresome quilters. Okan Arts, owned by textile and natural dye artist Patricia Belyea, is a home-based shop in Seattle, bursting with over 1,000 bolts of vintage Japanese cotton. Hand-dyed by artisans in Japan from 20 to 50 years ago, the cottons radiate luscious colors and a graphic boldness. Simple cousins to the gold-enhanced reproductions of kimono silks typically found in quilt shops, these yukata cottons were made for casual unlined summer kimonos. “The summers are hot in humid in Japan so breezy, light kimonos made of cotton are perfect. Silk kimonos are … Read more