THE TRADITION CONTINUES

 A tradition Vince Lombari began continues to this day as Packer players ride kids bicycles to practice.  What a thrill for the children involved.  Check it out here.....it will warm your heart!

GO PACK GO!!

INDECISION

Oh my.....talk about indecision.....I wasted most of my day in the studio switching back and forth with ideas that just didn't seem to jell....then boldly making matters worse with impulse trimming.  Big sigh......

 After making a pile of note cards the other day that utilized my eco-printed hand-made papers.....I moved on to work with a half dozen felted pieces that had also been printed.  Initially one was to be the focus of a piece of ice-dyed felt, mounted on a canvas covered frame.

 That began by trimming both pieces.

 .....then foolishly trimming again.  Next, way too much time was spent auditioning some embellishments. That's where it all came to a screeching dead end.  Truly nothing worked.

 Finally accepting defeat.....I trimmed even further.....and used it to decorate a felted basket that I made with the ice-dyed base fabric......

Hey, sometimes ya gotta just move on!

FLASH FABRIC SALE - FABRIC FREEDOM, LONDON, ENGLAND

I've been hanging onto this collection of florals...thinking perhaps of making a 'little girls' quilt', but now that we have two strapping grandsons....it's time to free up closet space.  Never used, barely unfolded if truth be told!!

FABRIC FREEDOM - LONDON -  8 - 1 yard cuts, plus a 1/2 cut (lilac/white center bottom)  $50 plus $14 = $64   Shipping via USPS 2 day priority flat rate with 1 day of payment.  Email me for billing options - link on right side bar.

WHAT TO DO WITH THOSE ECO PRINT ITEMS?

After the thought entered my head to incorporate the recently created eco-print hand-made paper into note cards......the process began without any thoughts of documenting the process.  NOT that there was all that much preparation....

 Each piece was hand torn to size that fit blank note cards.  Using spray mount adhesive, they were attached.

 Here's a close-up of one print.

After a couple of hours, 3 packages are nicely tied together ready for gift giving.

THUMBS UP DOCUMENTARY

A notice  on Art Daily that the University of Chicago has received a gift of vintage Vivian Maier prints reminded me of the documentary film:  Finding Vivian Maier.....one of the most interesting films I've ever seen!!

It traces the life story of the late Vivian Maier, a career nanny whose previously unknown cashe of 100,000 photographs has earned her a posthumous reputation as one of America's most accomplished and insightful street photographers.  

The skill of the film maker, combined with the photographs will be worth your time to watch.  The story of how the photos came to light in itself is fascinating....the documentary link above has a ton of information online but I do encourage you to seek out the film.  We got it on Netflix in DVD format.

QUILTS WELCOME CUSTOMERS AT WOOLWORTH WALK

New artists to Woolworth Walk in downtown Asheville, NC are assigned space in the lower level.  Often customers find so much to look at upstairs that they miss visiting half of the store!

 We all know fiber lovers will go out of their way to get their 'fix' of textile art....now the work of Judy Simmons (left) - Mary Stori (center) -  Kate Weston (right) have the opportunity to greet customers as they enter the gallery space.

Judy works in a smaller format and her diversity is visible here with two of her wall quilts.

JAPANESE INFLUENCES #3 - 49" x 58.5" - by Mary Stori

AVAILABLE HERE

Cotton fabrics, machine quilted

THE COUNT DOWN

Many thanks to my pal Lynn for alerting me to this awesome reminder....

Let me be the first to say this season.....GO PACK GO!!

FIBER JUNKIES JULY - PART 3

This meeting was like having an 'independent study' day....with encouraging classmates ready to advise and assist.  Everyone brings supplies and it's all readily shared.....cooperation is one of the many keys for the success of this group.

Val worked on painting fabric.

Her keen eye for color is the envy of all of us.  We know this is just the beginning of another wonderful project.  I expect she'll be screen printing over the paint soon.

 By no means is this group competitive.....cheer leading for each other is common.....and Gen is doing just that!

Kate spent most of her time painting with dyes and eco-printing. She's scribbling with a dye filled syringe on white cotton.

Next she began adding paint with a brush. Denny's influence of layering designs has now been ingrained with all of us.  You can be sure this is just Kate's first layer.

Judy also eco-printed and did some deconstructed screen printing.  I LOVED this piece......the design comes from a place mat.

 My last post showed a table of supplies for eco-printing......Val also took the trouble of having fresh eucalyptus on hand....which prints beautifully.

 The photo is poor but squint and you can make out 4 bundles right out of the vinegar/water bath.  Both paper and fabric have been layered with leaves and other flat objects, secured with thin cedar shingles and binder clips.

 Honestly, you can not imagine the squealing that went on when we opened them.  Here's one of my pieces of felted wool that was a left-over from making baskets.  Interestingly, this same fabric was far less successfully printed when the metal disc wasn't included.....it seemed to provide enough of a chemical reaction to the vinegar to generate wonderful color.

 Paper

Dress weight wool.....not felted....that had been previously over-dyed a yucky pale pink....but now....hey, I like it.

More small paper pieces drying....

NOW....a question for the readers in the hopes that someone might guide me.  Some of the paper prints have a strongish vinegar odor. Obviously, that can't be washed away......will time dissipate it?

PRINTED BY NATURE - WALL ART

 .....continued from previous post......the piece has now been completed.

PRINTED BY NATURE  14" X 28" 

AVAILABLE HERE

Eco-printed leaves on ice-dyed wool, machine quilted.

Prepared for hanging but could easily become a table runner.

Detail

FIBER JUNKIES JULY - PART 2

......Fiber Junkies July meeting continued....

It was another free for all gathering, yet not as uncontrolled as one might expect with 6 very excited attendees!  Val hosts our group in her outdoor studio from spring to fall.  Honestly, there are no words to say how generous she and husband Skip are. Here's a view of the supplies needed for eco printing....all gathered and organized for us to jump in and get started!

Kate is carefully pulling out our wood encased bundles after an hour in a vinegar/water bath.  Obviously it's hot so we let them cool before unbundling.

I very quickly made up two bundles for the eco-print pot (results in next post) and then turned my attention to the indigo pot Val had ready for us.  Did I say how very, very, very generous and thoughtful she is?!?

Indigo is a favorite color of mine and since my stash was nearly depleted of dyed fabric from previous sessions, I knew I wanted to concentrate on this activity for most of the day.  I'd came prepared with dowels, rubber bands, string and fabrics that I wanted to over-dye. 

This is my first piece which had been a light tan small checkered print.  I'm starting small just to test out the strength of the vat dye.  

As you may know, the fabric turns greenish when it's dipped in the vat.....when removed and hits oxygen...it turns blue.  This view is right after unfolding the fabric.

Here it is again on the left....drying in the sun on some bushes.  I think I'm in love!

Our son and DIL are so very thoughtful....they've picked up fabrics for me during their world wide travels.  If I hadn't been in such a frenzy to get started I'd have taken a photo of the selvage to document where it came from.  Large scale prints are difficult for me to use, as is this color scheme, so I over-dyed it.

Again, I was met with success and am over-joyed!

Here's a look at most of my indigo pieces drying in the sun along Val's driveway.

I'm not the only one who used the indigo vat pot.....Val did some clever folding with these great results.

Part 3 is next....check back in won't you?

FIBER JUNKIES - JULY SHOW AND TELL

We begin our monthly meetings with coffee/snacks (hey we are quilters.....so treats are just part of any gathering)....as is Show and Tell. Inspiration abounds and I'm only sharing a glimpse of this month's eye candy!

Val has an enormous collection of her own silk screen designs...this fern is one.....it's printed over a deconstructed print fabric.  The color she chose is unexpected yet perfect!

Here's another piece Val screen printed.....I folded a section of the back over on the right side of this photo so you can see just how effective her screen printed design is. (Kinda a before and after look.)

Val's - layer #1 paint on cotton, layer #2 silk screen mesh design, layer #3, silk screen motif....again using robin's egg blue color.

Val's - painted cotton with silk screen image.

Val's - I just love the simplicity of this piece, painted with thickened MX dyes.

Kate brought this stunning large quilt.....straightforward piecing while her choice of colors and the addition of the black vertical bands makes it a real stand out.

Denny participates in several online classes.....and of course I can't recall the name of the one she's currently enjoying.  A bonus for the group recently was a pattern for this tote bag featuring houses that are also incorporated into the class quilt.

She loves the size as it fits this clever Lap App. It's a padded device that sits on ones' lap to create a comfortable height for hand sewing or reading.

When not in use, it collapses and fits nicely in her tote bag!

Here's another piece Denny made....she's the queen of layering......

Gen continues to play with alcohol inks.....doing a bit of 'tangle drawing'...these are awesome!

Visit again when my next post unveils this month's successful activity.....