​Size:   61" x 80" (155 cm x 203 cm)

Batting:  Nature's Touch 80/20 Natural Blend Batting.

Backing:  The quilt is fully reversible with Navy Blue Moda Bella cotton quilting fabric.  

Quilting:  Stippled quilting pattern using the traditional white and blue variagated Coats & Clark cotton thread.  

Binding:  Navy Kona cotton fabric that is machine stitched to both sides for durability.

The first quilt in my 52 Quilts in 52 Weeks series is a 64" x 80" lap quilt.

Look for it on Etsy in the coming week.

North Carolina State University quilt.  

Some of you know that I "retired" from teaching back in June.  I was pretty excited about it.  I was going to take a few months off, substitute, travel, and then be a part of a team that opened another school.

That was my plan.  It was an awesome plan.  I REALLY liked my plan.

Funny thing about my plans to leave teaching, I’ve tried it twice now and it hasn’t worked out.  George Costanza said it best, “Every time I think I’m out, they pull me back in.”

I’m happy to announce that I will be back in the classroom teaching 4th through 8th grade art at a charter school in North Carolina.  In preparation to go back I created a lesson planner to use. 

The lesson planner is a two page spread.  It features:

• Weekly Planner with 7 blocks (I use one block for my planning). 
• Column on the left to insert your classes / schedule
• Dated from August 2015 to June 2016.  
• Areas for important items, goals, coming up, prep work notes, and a to-do list.

Please feel free to download it for your personal use and let me know what you think.

The printable files were created by me, Rebecca Policastro Aranyi, for my personal use.  I'm thrilled to provide them for your individual use.  Please keep in mind that I reserve all rights on my photos, patterns, files, and blog posts; all of which were made by and belong to me, Rebecca Policastro Aranyi.  These materials may not be republished or distributed without my express written permission.  Printables come with no guarantee as to the outcome of the finished project, proceed at your own risk.

So, what does all that mean?

It means that I would love for you to use the lesson planner for you, your friends, and your family.  If you blog about the lesson planner, please link back to the original blog posts and not directly to the pdf files. 

You may not republish material from my blog on other sites (including linking directly to the pdf files).  Do not distribute hard copies of the lesson planner to others.  Do not distribute electronic copies of lesson planner via e-mail.  Do not resell my lesson planner on Etsy, at craft fairs, or in any other commercial venue.

I am in the process of reworking my studio space to make it function better.  As I move things around I am realizing that I just have way too much.  So the purge of supplies has begun.

I have started listing some supplies on eBay - mostly scrapbooking at the moment but more will come.  Knitting / Fibers, Fabric - hand dyed and commercial, notions, etc. 

Check out my eBay and Etsy shops for more information.  I am adding items daily. 

Thanks!

Searching for inspiration at Cline's Country Antiques.

The opening reception for the Artist in Residence of the Hungarian Multicultural Center and Library Thoughts 3 took place on Tuesday, August 27th.   It was held at Barabas Villa (1122 Budapest, Városmajor utca 44) and will be open until Tuesday, September 10, 2013


A few of the pieces I created during my Budapest Artist Residency are in the show.  These peices explored the Archeological Remnants concept with more layering.  I wish I could have been there, but I am back in the classroom teaching and having an amazing time.

Library Thoughts 3, AIR/HMC, Budapest, MAVF

Barabas Villa, 1122 Budapest, Városmajor utca 44.
Tuesday, August 27 - Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Opening reception: Tuesday, August 27 at 7:00pm

Opener: István Szirányi és Beáta Széchy
Curator: Beata Szechy, HMC

Library Thoughts 3 - International artists:
Aleánna Luethi-Garrecht, NY, Alice C. Walsh, NY, Barbara Milman, CA, Beth Evans, AUS, Betzaida González, Puerto Rico, Daniel J Wilson, NY, Isabel Vazquez, Puerto Rico, Jan Conradi, NJ, Jill Slaymaker, NY, Kathleen S. Pompe, SC, Liz Obert, OR, Lucas Kunz, D, Maciej Jabłoński, Poland, Margit Hideg, CAN, Nicci Haynes, AUS, Nancy Hart, TX, Patricia Gulyas, CAN, Roland Ruisz, D, Saba Ferrari, Italy, Sandee Johnson, NC

Library Thoughts 3 - Hungarian Artists:
Eva Andorjan, Rozi Bornemissza, Andras Butak, Istvan Damo, Nora Gergely, Csilla Kelecsenyi, Balazs P. Kovacs, Csaba Pal, Lajos Sejben, Beata Szechy, István Szirányi

AIR/HMC, Budapest artists:
Martyna Matusiak, WV, Abbie Merryman, WV, Amanda Carney, WV, Elizabeth Carr, WI, Emily Hastings, WV, Anne Wedler, AK, Eun-Kyung Suh, MN, Katherine Mojzsis, NJ, Rebecca Aranyi, NC, Stephen D'Onofrio, IL, Debra Benditz, TX, Kyle Buttram, NC, Alexis Neider, NY, Rexy Tseng, CA

Video Artists:
Bruce McKaig, Washington DC, Katrina Stamatopoulos, AUS, Lisa Marie Evans, CA, Liz Goldberg, PA

While in Denver, Colorado recently I spent almost an entire day in the Denver Art Museum.  I have been in quite a few museums and I have to say this one was spectacular.  Not only were the exhibits amazing, there were hands on activities where children could learn about a specific piece of art and create their own, and comfortable chairs to sit and take in the art, there were also journals throughout the museum that allowed visitors to share their thoughts on the works.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about the staff and the quality of the exhibits. If you ever have a chance to go and visit this museum, do it.

I was so inspired by this visit, not only the museum but the city as well, that the next day I sat down at an outside café and sketched for several hours.

Here are a few of the images from the museum that inspired me:

While the indigo vat was going and the eco-dyeing was brewing, I also had a wagon full of rust dyeing going on as well.  This summer I want to experiment with using the rusted elements and dyeing paper.

Here are the results of the rust dyeing. 

I really enjoyed the indigo experiment and plan on doing another vat in the near future.  Here is my favorite piece that came out of that process.  It is this beautiful banana fiber yarn that I found at Darn Good Yarn.  Be careful, that website is a feast for the eyes with delicious yarns.

Back in the beginning of April I created several eco-dyeing bundles. You can read about the process here.  They had been stewing for about 3 weeks when I decided to take them out.

For the most part I was pleased with the results.  I will make changes for the next batch, leaving them longer in the sun to stew and I might even cook them up a bit.  I will wrap the bundles tighter and use twine.  

Here are some of the results:

Here are the images from my Indigo vat dye experiment. 

Part of my work deals with textiles that have been dyed using natural materials.  At the present moment I have a few plant bundles brewing in jars, and a several large pieces of cloth wound around rusty objects.

I have wanted to work with other natural dyes for quite a while, Indigo in particular.  Looking back through my fiber / textile sketchbook it has been almost ten years since this amazing natural dye has inspired me.  The delay in moving forward with this idea was that I really did not want to deal with the prep work to get the indigo ready and working with Lye.  Natural Indigo takes a considerable amount of effort to get it into a working dye bath.  Since it is not soluble in water, it has to be ground, pasted up, and reduced chemically with Sodium Hydrosulfite and Lye.  The process is quite involved and extremely time consuming. 

Not anymore, as Jacquard has this amazing product:  pre-reduced indigo crystals.

It is amazing!  The indigo has been pre-reduced chemically, and then dried, so it dissolves quickly in water.  All I needed to add was Thiox (Thiourea Dioxide) and soda ash.  It only took a few minutes to prepare the dye bath and, according to my research, it can be refreshed with the addition of more of the crystals and / or chemicals.  I can keep this vat going for quite a while.   

I tried several different types of fabrics (silk, cotton, and a cotton blend), yarns (cotton, wool, and rayon), and textiles (rust dyed cotton and silk) with a few different resists (rubber bands, carpet warp, hemp twine, binder clips, wood, stones, clothes pins, and rayon thread) to create the patterns.   Creating these experimental pieces inspired me to move forward with larger pieces that will take time to design and prepare before my next dyeing session.  Until then, the beautiful vat will live under the house.

The four jars have been in the sun for about a week now.  The changes are amazing.  Looking forward to taking them out in a week or so.

I have started to experiment more with natural dyes and eco dyeing.  For my first experiment I soaked my fabric (cotton and different silks) in vinegar.  Then I laid out various leaves, red onion skins, eucalyptus leaves, and berries on the fabric; wrapped it tightly and put the rolls in mason jars to stew.  

Now we wait.

For the last two days I have been working on these scrolls.  I woke up the other day with this idea in my head. So I sat down and began creating them. 

Took out my folder of miscellaneous book pages, random vintage papers, and the Hungarian Books I purchased in Budapest, and began creating these scrolls.  Some were wrapped with cheesecloth, others with paper twine, a few were dipped in beeswax, and others were just left as is.  I still feel this need to create more. Many more.

Some days I wish my creative urges came with a game plan so I knew what was coming next.

Walking around Budapest for the last 2 weeks has pushed me further into my concept of layering.  All around I see layers of some sort.  Layers on the building from weathering, pollution, and construction.  Layers of paint and rust on metal.  Layers of history of this beautiful country and culture