ORIENT EXPRESS

Now that I'm back in business with a sewing machine that works......I was able to complete another Asian inspired pieced wall quilt.  The fabrics feature beautiful scenes with a multitude of colors.

ORIENT EXPRESS 
61" X 61"
AVAILABLE HERE
Cotton fabrics, machine stitched.

PFAFF OWNERS

Attention Pfaff owners......I still have some remaining parts available from my dead Pfaff 2140.  The bobbins and bobbin cases have been purchased. 

 The biggie item that will be hard to get in the future is the foot control.  Now that Pfaff's ownership has changed so many times, parts for older machines are near impossible to obtain.

Email me at:  mary@marystori.com if you or anyone you know is in need....All the original feet, plus numerous more (with the exception of the free motion foot) are available as well. 

                            SOLD 
**** Owners manual is still available......I'm happy to send it to someone in need - just pay the postage.

STALLED

When creating small works, I prefer to post a complete overview, beginning to end.....but sometimes projects stall....like this one has. 

I was so anxious to work with this hunk of altered bamboo rayon felt from National Nonwovens. 

Ages ago I had dyed it to achieve what I thought was a fairly nice piece....but I never did anything with it.  On a recent Fiber Junkies play day, I hauled it out and mono-printed it using acrylic paint. (See first photo)

My work has been concentrating on botanical themes lately in preparation for an upcoming exhibit at the NC Arboretum, Spring 2016.  Thus.....trees came to mind to utilize this special fabric.

The problem was/is......the tree tops are fairly small and no matter what color thread was pared with it.....from more than a foot away, it blended into the fabric too much.  Of course if I hadn't chosen this black felted background other options might be easier to find.

A 2 AM thought last night/early this morning might provide a new direction for me to explore..........NO -  it was NOT a dream.....I have to work harder than that!!......

Stay tuned, won't you???

Linking to what others have been up to this week:  Nina-Marie's Off The Wall Friday, Sarah's Whoop, Whoop Friday, and Richard and Tanya Quilts.

BLUE JANOME 8900 - IMPRESSIONS

I FINALLY have a sewing machine again!!  The Janome dealer graciously switched out the Grey front 8900 (that was having issues) for a new Blue model. I've now had a chance to get somewhat acquainted with this brand of machines.

Here's some first impressions:

LIKES:  11" workspace, free arm, good lighting, knee lift, presser foot lever, extra high lift to pressure foot, speed control, needle down, Accufeed feet in two sizes, comes standard with lots of feet, a soft cover, and a really sturdy extension table, pre-programed 1/4" dedicated setting, ease of pattern selection and storage of customized stitches, single hole stitch plate that actually has 3 holes: center - left and right to provide more accurate seam width options, and easy bobbin replacement and threading.

DISLIKES:  no low bobbin reminder, a biggie dislike; screen display does not ajust size of stitches as they are changed (for instance - zig-zag stitch identifier will not enlarge or reduce....which would be soooo much handier to view than guessing),  Accufeed feet are too bulky and it's a pain attaching and detaching them, Narrow Accufeed needs fabric leader at the edge of fabric in order to actually stitch the first 1/4" - ridiculous!!  Unnecessary embroidery stitches.....and of course that's one of the reasons machines are priced so high these days.....it's frustrating that in order to get a machine with a larger harp, one has to pay for so many things that are not wanted, not needed, and will never be used.

So with all this said, it turned out to be a good choice for me. Yes, full disclosure, I have been part of the Bernina Ambassador Program for many years....they make great machines.  However, the initial cost, plus all the extras for the type of machine I required was simply not in my budget.  Happily, numerous people steered me toward the Janome.  

PACKERS SUNDAY

Yeah......another Sunday, another Packer game......we've been lucky this season that so many games have aired on TV here in the mountains of NC.

GAME DAY means BRATS!!!  I grew up in Sheboygan, WI......home of the Bratwurst....and a staple for every Packer fan.  Here are two recipes posted on the Packer's website....though I have to say....never in my life have I eaten sauerkraut on a brat nor eaten a brat that has not first been cooked on a charcoal grill.....   NOT in Sheboygan!!!

GO PACK GO!!!!!!!!!!!

THE TRIPLE BYPASS

Ingredients

- 6 brats
- 2 T butter
- 1 Med Onion, thinly sliced or diced
- 1 bag, can or jar (homemade) raw sauerkraut
- 1 lb. of bacon
- 12-20 toothpicks
- 6 large brat buns

Preparation

- Simmer the brats in 50/50 beer and water until cooked through.  (Never let it boil).
- Reserve some of the cooking beer and let the brats cool.
- While the brats cool, saute the onions and sauerkraut in the butter until translucent.  Some of the brat cooking liquid can be added for flavor. 
- Remove from heat and let cook slightly.
- Slice the cooked brats lengthwise, like a bun, but not completely through.  Again, like a bun.
- Using your hands, stuff each brat with the sauerkraut/onion mixture.
- Wrap the stuffed brat in bacon.  Pin one end of bacon to the brat with a toothpick and wrap diagonally.  It usually takes two pieces of commercial bacon per brat.  Overlap one piece with the other, pin in the middle where both pieces meet if necessary and again at the end of the 2nd piece.
- Head to Lambeau.
- Fire up a grill with indirect heat.  When cooking it’s important to realize the bacon will release a lot of grease.  It’s important to have a tight fitting lid to reduce flareup and long tongs.  Cook over indirect heat until bacon is crispy and delicious.
- Remove toothpick stubs!
- Eat on large brat bun with fixings of your choice.  Usually more kraut, onions and horseradish mustard.

BRAT HOT TUB

When folks are ready for seconds or thirds--or when stragglers show up late - grab a Johnsonville Brat out of the hot tub and enjoy!

Ingredients

- 11 x 9 x 2 3/8 inch aluminum foil baking pan 2
- 3 cans (12 oz.) beer
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1 medium yellow or white onion
- Sliced Brats

Preparation

- Put the pan right on the grill, being careful not to singe your knuckle hair.
- Pour in the beer, and Add the butter and onions.
- Grill your brats to a juicy, golden-brown perfection.
- Serve immediately to your hungry guests and place any remaining brats into the steaming hot tub.

ALMOST OVER

No wonder our area is such an attraction for fall tourists.  These are untouched photos, right from my iphone in our subdivision at about 3,200 feet elevation.

MAPLE LEAF - NEW WOOL WORK

I always enjoy (require) handwork projects to pass away evenings while the TV blares 'guy' shows that have anything and everything to do with wheels and engines.

Here's what I've accomplished lately.....

MAPLE LEAF  9" x 12"

Available here

Artist hand-dyed, shibori printed, ice-microwave dyed, & mono printed wool that features bead embroidery.  It's mounted on a canvas covered frame, fabric backed with a hanging device. 

Here's another view.....I've been told for 25 years how difficult my work is to photograph.....the camera has such a difficult time translating shiny beads and fabric backgrounds.  So, after literally 2 hours of photographing this quilt....this is the best I can do.....it totally depends upon the lighting!  The detail photo below provides the best depiction.

Detail

Follow these links to see other creative artists:  Nina-Marie's Off The Wall Friday, Sarah's Whoop, Whoop Friday, Crazy Mom Quilts, Richard and Tanya Quilts.

OCTOBER - FIBER JUNKIES - PART 2

Here's some of the things my pals were working on...

Kate brought this previously stenciled piece (using thinned acrylic paints).  She thought the contrast of the muslin was too stark and has begun tempering the background using an oil based paint stick....you can see one section near the top left that hasn't been done yet.

Val cleverly made stencils using freezer paper.  She's using a gold metallic paint stick....applied to a piece of freezer paper....then transfers the paint onto a toothbrush and finally onto the fabric. 

 Val feels there is much more control using that kind of brush rather than the more traditional stencil brush.  AND....she's right....but we always admire whatever Val does.

Gen also used Judy's 'crackle' stencil.....layering over a previously painted background.

Kate brought a piece from last month's dye painting day featuring circles, but she felt it needed more.  So after folding and with extra hands.....I painted the edges of the folds, following Kate's directions. All of us laughing so hard as she squealed.....more here....less here.....oh....dab some over there......

Here are some faces to go with the names I'm bantering about.....L to R - Gen, Judy, & Kate.

After opening....Kate did a happy dance!

 Our show and tells are always so inspiring.  For ages, Gen has been wanting to experiment with Citra Solv.  Here are a few of the art pages she created using Citra Solv (a degreaser) and National Geographic magazine pages.  There's lots of info online about this almost miraculous method so there's no need for me the explain it.  Here are two examples to get you started:  youtube and here. 

Gen also brought some of the painted fabrics we did last month.....several of us were into making strips and others into circles....or both!!

This final photo is what's left of my lovely dyed felted wool pieces shown yesterday......disappointing!  I'm not sure what happened....I've dyed National Nonwoven felted wool many times before. It's just another one of life's mysteries.  Next month we are going to work on collages......I suspect I can give these failures a 2nd chance somehow.

Oh....and those pine needles.???.....yup....all the dye washed out of them too. 

OCTOBER - FIBER JUNKIES

 The Fiber Junkies tried to squeeze in one more outdoor day of art therapy as  the end of October nears.  As always, we had a great time after, even if we got off to a sluggish start. Member Denny is in the midst of a family emergency that may not allow her to join us for some time to come.  Being the most experimentally minded among us.....she was definitely missed.

 Though it rained all day with temperatures in the mid 50's......we soldiered on in Val's garage.  We had decided to work with resists (but as usual not all of us stuck with the theme...grinning), instead some played with whatever else we all brought.

I wanted to see if these dried pine needles would accept dye....I used thickened mx procion dye.....as of this writing, it's still batching and I'll report results asap.

 Not really having a specific agenda myself....I brought some previously dyed/painted pieces to perk up. This is National Nonwoven's Bamboo/Rayon blend that was dyed several years ago.

 Judy had been on a stencil shopping spree and generously shared them, along with leftover thinned acrylic paints.  She uses empty spray butter bottles...genius!

I used two different stencils.  While moving the stencil after my very first spray attempt....the pooled dye dripped onto the fabric. That was a tad disappointing, until I realized the sploshes actually provided interest....allowing me to be fairly sloppy as I continued altering the piece.

 This piece of Woolfelt (National Nonwoven's 80/20) was painted with acrylic several years ago.  I remember using a sheet of stick on holes (from the office supply store) as the mask.....but that's all I can recall.

 Gen had a really neat small stencil featuring scribbling.......this time I tried to carefully turn the stencil over to print using the leftover thinned acrylic dye, but basically it printed only blobs of color.  Over all thought, when this is cut up it's going to be useful somewhere.

 Val (our gracious and well prepared hostess) had mixed some soda ash to accompany the leftover thickened dyes she offered for our use.  These little squares of felted wool were soaked in soda ash and printed using the 'crackle' stencil Judy had.  LOVE the look.....As I packed up for the day, I noticed the designs were no longer very crisp....the dyes started migrating.....that may be good or bad......after batching and washing....I'll show those results.

 This is another piece of National Nonwovens Woolfelt....soaked in soda ash.  It  was printed with thickened mx Procion dye and another one of Judy's great stencils.

I may over-dye it as I'm not crazy about the felt's 'creamsicle' color.

Come back again to see the 2nd part of our Fiber Junkies 'refusal to let summer go' day......

PACKERS BYE WEEK

Well.....it will be a quiet Sunday for us today.....as the Packers have a Bye week. My Packer gear awaits next weeks' Sunday night game when the Pack play the Broncos.....should be a nail biting game!!

GO PACK GO!!!!!!