Friday, December 30, 2016

PUTTERING

My studio time continues to be somewhat limited as 'the husband's' recovery moves along slowly, but definitely in the right direction.  

My pal Helen gifted me 2 boxes of black and white fabric which I've played with several times over the last couple of years.  A small stack of cut rectangles were just the incentive needed to jump start some simple patchwork.  But first, several design options are being considered.

Stay tuned.....to see the result.......





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Sunday, December 25, 2016

MERRY CHRISTMAS

 Wishing you all a very Mooooory Christmas!
It's been such a pleasure sharing my love of fiber with all of you this year.

Saturday, December 24, 2016

HO HO HO - THE PACK WINS

HO HO HO.....THAT'S 5 IN A ROW!!!

GO PACK GO!!!

REALLY?!?!

Everyone KNOWS The Green Bay Packers hold the designation as "America's Team".......

Look at the support they get......as hundreds of folks help prepare the stadium by shoveling the snow from the stands for today's MAJOR important game.

But wait!?!?  What the heck???  About 80%+ of the country will be able to view the game live on TV.....NOT SO here in Western NC.....oh no.....the 'meaningless Atlanta vs Carolina game will be aired here instead.  Boooo hiss....  (sorry Panther fans)

Perhaps the Packers will continue their winning streak as I listen online to the 5th untelevised game in a row.  Maybe they don't need me jumping up and down or pacing in front of the TV to help them win.......  GO PACK GO!!!!

Thursday, December 22, 2016

WHAT A MESS!

Studio time has been infrequent but it hasn't disappeared all together!
With a little extra time on my hands, some beautiful Merino wool roving was calling.  I've actually become fairly comfortable with the process of wet felting (or so I thought).  I set out to use up a small bit of coarse brown roving, topped with this multi-colored Merino.  The problem was the top layer would NOT felt to the inside layer....I worked and worked and worked at it.  

My conclusion was that the inner layer felted so quickly, the outer one didn't have a chance to bond.  Yet, it didn't do a great job of bonding to itself either.....  The result wasn't a total disaster as I now look at drying above.
 Throwing caution to the wind, I embarked upon another small vessel using just the blended colors of Merino roving.  My upper arms still ache......it WOULD NOT felt....the product came from a reputable supplier.  It simply fell apart as I took it off the hard rubber ball I was using as a form.
Giving up is NOT in my DNA.......so I tried using some of the still wet strands of roving for highlights in a larger wet felted bowl.  This view shows the bottom......it's still wet....but at least I now have a use for the fibers.

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

FURROWS

Here's my last piece of 2016.  It was inspired by a small dyed piece of wool felt.....using hair clips as the resist.

It was paired with National Nonwoven's Woolfelt...detail above. 

 FURROWS  13" X 11.5"  © 2016
Resist dyed felted wool, wool felt, hand embroidered,
machine quilted & beaded.

NOTE FROM MARY:  Kathy inquired about how I prep my pieces for hanging.  A long ago post addresses my method for wool pieces....with an extra step if for some reason I feel the piece offers two hanging orientations.  Click here to learn more.  
Traditional fabric sleeves are still my preference for cottons/most woven fiber projects.


Sunday, December 18, 2016

A HEART STOPPER

WOW.......though my heart nearly stopped many times.....our team did it.  We had to listen via internet again but my Packer Backer pal Lynn who has Direct TV knew the status minutes before I did....kept me informed by text.  I don't know if I'd be more or less stressed if watching on TV.  GO PACK GO!!!!






A MUST WIN

My friend Lynn is already in the mood to cheer on our Green Bay Packers as they go up against Da Bears today.  It's a MUST win on so many levels.  The teams have a huge rivalry....really HUGE.  WE LOVE BEATING DA BEARS!! 

This year it's even more vital.  'The Pack' needs to continue their late season winning streak.....a loss would knock them out of the playoffs. They've been in the Playoffs every year since 2009.

 Thanks for modeling Lynn!!
Say it with me -   GO PACK GO!!!

Saturday, December 17, 2016

MOUNTAINS AT DUSK

Last night I captured this view from our front porch at dusk.  Beautiful no?

Friday, December 16, 2016

SUN DAPPLED

At the most recent girlfriend ice-dyeing gathering, I overdyed some cotton prints that no longer interested me.  Naturally a 'before' photo of the pale blue print with white stars didn't occur to me at the time.
 These two after photo show the bizarre results....each side of the fabric was completely different than the other and we are still puzzled how/why that happened.  The color and pattern on this - the wrong side of the print - was successful.
I considered this one - the right side - to be a mess.  Some sections along the edges (not shown) were only spot dyed.
 However, those barely dyed sections were brought to another Fiber Junkies meeting where we printed with thickened dyes/textile paints/and generally just played with our failed fabrics.  The two leaf prints above were made that day....  At home I pinned them to my design wall where they were forgotten for a long time.
 As I was gathering handwork projects to do while hospital sitting, they yelled out loud....pick me, pick me.  Scooping them off the wall, carrying to the closet where I store my altered cloth.....suddenly that ugly yellow ice over-dyed fabric,  caught my eye.  The rest as they say is history.
 There actually wasn't a whole lot of handwork on the piece, though I had originally planned to hand embroider the background.  The busy ice-dyed fabric needed more texture and definition so it was machine quilted instead.
SUN DAPPLED  20" x 14.5"
Ice-dyed & eco-printed cotton, hand embroidered, machine quilted.

Get inspired by viewing what other artists have been up to this week:  Sarah's Whoop Whoop Friday, Nina-Marie's Off The Wall Friday, Crazy Mom Quilts.

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Monday, December 12, 2016

3 IN A ROW!!!!

Living in the state of NC with 3 NFL teams in the vicinity, the Packers are rarely featured on TV here........boo hiss.  My friend Kay who lives in FL has the same problem....so we've missed watching the last 3 winning games.  After the blowout yesterday, she wondered if we would be willing to give up viewing the rest of the season if it meant they would continue to win.....

So, from the bottom of my Packer loving heart.....thanks for the win....GO PACK GO!    Packers 38 - Seattle - 10......



Friday, December 9, 2016

JAPANESE MAPLE

You'll see just how much 'seat' time I had during 'the husband's' hospital stay....here's another semi-prepared project finished off with hand stitching during this time.
 My pile of deconstructed screen printed silk noil is slowly shrinking.  It's one of my favorite methods of altering fabric.  When planning to mount a project on a canvas wrapped frame, it's helpful to baste reference lines to ensure ample turn over margins are available. 
 Awhile ago I prepared this background and played with featuring an Asian design.  It just wasn't hitting the mark for me so I put it aside.
The fall season brought my attention to a beautiful Japanese Maple tree located at the entrance to our tiny subdivision. Large scale, richly colored leaves made using commercial batik fabric was a better design choice.
 The veins were hand embroidered.....a bit of a challenge due to the number of layers (plus stabilizer) that had to be pierced.
JAPANESE MAPLE  14" x 11.5"
Deconstructed screen printed silk noil, machine appliqued,
hand embroidered, mounted on canvas wrapped wood frame.



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Thursday, December 8, 2016

FIBER JUNKIES HOLIDAY FUN

I untethered from home for a few hours to spend time with the Fiber Junkies for our holiday gathering.
Judy's beautifully decorated home was so welcoming.  She's always such a gracious hostess!
With no family close by, we haven't enjoyed a Christmas tree in our home for many years so it was so festive seeing Judy's.
A favorite activity at every meeting is Show and Tell. There's never a piece that Judy creates that I don't want to own.  This is no exception.  The realistically painted water wheel motif is displayed against a fabric stone wall backdrop.  The silk ivy leaves softens the scene. 
Judy used numerous techniques to make the leaves which look almost real!
Gen continued to experiment with the transfer papers we all created at a recent meeting.  Above and below are some of the results after pressing/transferring onto peach skin poly fabric.

Val's eco-printed hand-made paper had us all drooling.

Denny has been on a roll, making really large quilts incorporating her amazing collection of unique fabrics.
Detail
The backing is so darn interesting.....it's a print but appears as if it's vintage patchwork.
Judy and I photographed the scene at the same time, our dear Val is seated, calm and smiling as usual. 
Denny treats us annually with a stunning Yule Log.....trust me, it tasted even better than it looks.
This year we decided to exchange a 'nice' white elephant gift.  These fabulous resist dyed wool pieces were made by Val and were placed in the covered fabric box that she also made.  There was some 'stealing' of gifts as is normally the case in any white elephant exchange......however these good buddies generously stayed away from my gift.....everyone knew how perfect it was for me to take home.

Friday, December 2, 2016

FOLK ART FLOWERS

It's been awhile since my last fiber post.  My heart has been warmed by the many personal emails I've received wishing 'the husband' well with his cervical spine surgery and the long recovery ahead.  I'll skip over the drama and simply say it's been rough, but thankfully except for the tremendous pain, the other negatives/risks have been avoided.  My household duties have expanded but it's nothing I can't handle.

So.....this is what was accomplished after nearly a week sitting in a hospital room.  How very fortunate it was to have something to distract and occupy my mind.

A smallish section of a hand-dyed felted wool had been calling me for quite awhile.  I'm partial to folk art styles of design and thought that flowers would translate well.
Samples of hand dyed plaid wool were fun to incorporate.  The hand embroidery was time consuming yet very satisfying....the perfect technique given the circumstances.
FOLK ART FLOWERS  20" X 11"
Hand-dyed felted wool, hand embroidered.

Visit these sites to enjoy the work of fellow stitchers:  Nina-Marie's Off The Wall Friday, Crazy Mom Quilts, Sarah's Whoop, Whoop Friday
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Tuesday, November 29, 2016

WHEW!!!!

PACKERS 27 - EAGLES 13
GO PACK GO!!!




Monday, November 28, 2016

WISCONSIN ON HIS SHOULDERS

Wisconsin Cheeseheads and those around the country are hoping the Packer's losing streak will end with tonight's game against the Eagles.

GO PACK GO!!!!!

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

FIBER JUNKIES - NOV. MEETING

Last week was a busy week.  Generally both PTA and Fiber Junkies don't meet in the same week, never mind back to back days.

But it is our duty to have fun with our fiber friends!!
We met at Judy's.....as always we are so appreciative of having access to her large, well equipped and beautiful studio.  Denny brought her die cast cutting machines....there are several manufactures of these machines with accompanying dies that make fast work of cutting both simple and complicated shapes.  

We were all awed by her large electric one.....not to mention the huge inventory of shapes she owns.
Gen was very methodical and concentrated on cutting specific colors and shapes.  She's trying to get a bunch of kits prepared in anticipation of a huge downsizing and move.
Each of us had piles of fused fabrics ready to be cut.
Here's an example of the Ohio Star block Denny cut using her machines.  I love the unusual color & busy print combinations, the black sets it off so well.
She also worked on a t-shirt quilt for her husband.....using his collection of very unique shirts.
The backing is personalized too....he grew up in Scotland and is an engineer type.....thus the numbers and sport theme.
Kate has been on a roll creating the most charming small pieces from orphan blocks.  She has an extensive fabric collection which she utilizes with her great eye to make the blocks so much more interesting.
And....a total surprise for me.  I had a rather big milestone birthday back in the spring.  We don't normally celebrate birthdays, only the significant ones.  However, about that time, two of our members had major family matters to cope with and the time passed.  That was totally fine with me as it made it easier to ignore the big 70...unlike many who worry too much about those things.  But....the FJ's didn't forget.....and when I walked in to Judy's house I was greeted with birthday greetings and all the wonderful trappings.  The theme was beads as you can tell. 
As is tradition, each birthday girl is given a crown & scepter. I also received this beautiful eco-dyed scarf that Val created....complete with the screen printed words "Bead Queen on Board". I'll treasure these memories forever.   Thank you dear friends.....this was such a wonderful surprise!!

AND....on another personal note.....'the husband' is now recuperating from major surgery and I'm playing nurse maid and wicked witch.....keeping him from doing things he is not supposed to do.  The recovery is going to be LONG.....however with any luck I'll be back blogging and in the studio before too long.