TOURING BILTMORE INDUSTRIES

The main purpose of our L.I.N.T. outing was to tour the historic Biltmore Industries.

It was established in 1901 by Misses Vance and Yale who wanted to develop activities to keep young boys out of trouble. Under the patronage of the Vanderbilt's it grew to be a successful business, creating fine hand made crafts.

Vicki arranged a private tour for us....in areas not open to the public....we felt very privileged to be able to step back in time.

Huge stone buildings still contain some of the massive machines used to produce Biltmore Industries famous 'homespun' woven wool fabric. This one of the dye vats which is a tall as I am.

The looms were HUGE......our guide explained that they were set up with over 1,000 threads each.

Most of the equipment were not in well lighted rooms but these machines were.....rows and rows of machines to spin wool into thread.

Their cloth was highly prized.....several U.S. Presidents visited to obtain material to be made into clothing.

It was an amazing day, filled with so much stimulation and friendship. Surely no matter where you live....there are places to explore? Grab some girlfriends....go visit some galleries, museums, or hey....what about this idea...... visit a quilt shop!

DANIEL ESSIG

During our L.I.N.T. outing at Grovewood, a number of the artists were holding an open studio day.....so luckily, we got to see some of the finest crafts persons in our area at work.

Daniel Essig is L.I.N.T. member Vicki's husband.

I had heard about his awesome pieces but had not seen them in person until this visit. I want one!! Heck, I coveted more then just one..... I'm fond of repurposing materials.....nah, I'm not just talking about the new trend of going GREEN.....rather, the ability of the maker to see how sometimes even the most obscure materials can be incorporated into a piece to make it more interesting and successful. Daniel wins that prize!

Enjoy some of his spectacular pieces below.....

L.I.N.T OUTING

I've recently been invited to join a long standing, group of professional fiber artists. L.I.N.T. (Ladies In New Textiles.) Each month a member takes her turn organizing the generally short 2+ hour meeting. From time to time we do a field trip....this was such a month.

Vicki Essig arranged a lovely and educational day for our group which started off by meeting at the Grovewood. It's located adjacent to the historical Grove Park Inn, Asheville, NC. Working artist's studios are contained in this building.....one of which is Vicki's husband....I'll be showing (and still coveting) his fabulous work in an upcoming post.

The gardens surrounding the property are dotted with sculptures. many are available for purchase. This steel work of art was made by Grace Cathey and could be yours for $1,600.

Get an eye full of the wonders of this magical place below......

We were visited by two aggressive hawks when we first gathered....I suspect they had a nest nearby.

This section has been named Wind Forest; the work of artist Lyman Whitaker.

More to follow tomorrow.......this may be such a tease to some of you......really.....I encourage you to come and visit our mountains where beauty can be found around every corner.

ENGLISH MUFFINS

Keeping a sour dough starter active requires responsibility on my part. It has to be 'fed' about once a week or so. Sighing here..... I must admit it goes against my Midwest upbringing to throw perfectly good starter out just because I'm too lazy to bake.....so.....I now find myself baking about once a week as I remove a portion of the starter and replenish it with new flour/water.

Over the weekend, I decided to attempt English Muffins again......though my last batch was fairly good, I never felt they rose like they should.

I almost forgot to take a photo of the tray of risen beauties before I 'baked' them......

English Muffins aren't baked in the oven....rather they are cooked on a griddle or in this case an electric frying pan. The first side got a little too toasty because I was multi-tasking and lost track of the time.....

But thankfully that didn't affect the end results........

Yummy......

FIBER JUNKIES JULY PROJECT

I've noticed we have some new followers.....welcome and thank you for joining me. You all give me a reason to stop each day to reflect and be grateful for how full my life is. (Ya...that statement is a little deep for me....but the feelings are genuine.) Here's an overview of a group I blog about a lot.

Two plus years ago, I organized a small and powerful mini group called the Fiber Junkies. There are 6 of us....mainly living about an hour or more, in every direction, apart. We've purposely kept our group small to allow us to meet in each others homes, though we know so many more fabulous creative folks we would love to include. Each month we gather to learn a specific technique...the activity is led by one or more of our members.

This month Carol Sloan was our guide. She makes the most interesting books....filled with Carol's can do attitude and style.....'make it work with what you've got'. She teaches workshops in the area, so check out her website to find one near you.

The spines are finished and covered with a variety of materials and methods.

Between the "signatures"....which is a grouping of papers, Carol adds interest and personality by including vintage hankies, hand painted papers, laces.....you must see these books in person!!

She suggested we have a theme for our book.....a method I use constantly to not only spark my creativity but to rein it in and better focus. So, I've selected some batik prints of (what else??) cows and some colorful polka dot fabrics for what will be a children's book......like possibly a grandma's brag book.

This could cause some reaction from 'the perfect child'.......no I'm not pushing!!! Instead it's easily a gift for the many friends I have who are becoming grandparents.

We started out small to make it easier to learn the techniques. This is my cover.....left to right...the back, spine, and front. Naturally.....it needs to be trimmed, edged etc. We all have some homework to do before our Aug. gathering where we will learn to assemble the books.

Here's Nancy's cover.....and look....our clever gal has a book marker already made with a felted acorn (one of her favorite subjects) already made! Sooooo clever. Judy Simmons generously set out a bin of her ink jet leaves/flowers for us to use. Nancy selected these three which look to have been transferred onto a sheer, possible even hand dyed fabric.

Val is our quiet and productive member......and always, always astonishes us with her ideas and skillful combination of materials. The main focus of her cover is a greeting card....soooo Val.

I'll report back in early August so you can see the finished pieces......

STANDING TALL FOR THE RED, WHITE, & BLUE

Going down memory lane yesterday, I realized one of the projects in my book "The Stori of Beaded Embellishment" ( That Patchwork Place - 2001), is a quilt that would be great to share today on the birthday of our country's independence.

The quilt is now in a private collection so I had to depend on the photos from the book...... Photographers cringe when they find themselves having to photograph my work......the camera has a difficult time knowing where to focus...the beads or the fiber.....I hope this translates well enough for your viewing.

It's a simple strip piece wall hanging, featuring blue bugle beads that are sewn upright to create 'bugle bead wall' stars.......

This page can be enlarged by clicking on the image. Perhaps you'll want to bead a star yourself!

It's a BEAUTIFUL day here in the mountains of Western North Carolina......hope yours is too wherever you are...... Happy 4th of July!

INTRODUCING DARRA WILLIAMSON

I'll come back to posting more about the July Fiber Junkies meeting shortly......but first I wanted to tell you about a new blog, See How We Sew, created by Darra Williamson and 3 pals.

Darra is the best editor I've ever worked with....I count myself lucky to have had her guidance numerous times. The biggest project was "The Stori of Beaded Embellishment", written by me and edited by Darra for That Patchwork Place, published in 2001. I just got the following note from her:

"I'm writing to let you know that you are mentioned (and your website hyperlinked) in my blog posting scheduled to go live in the early morning hours, tomorrow, July 1. As part of the post, I‚m giving away a copy of Rodale's Favorite Techniques from the Experts (now there's some ancient history!). In describing the book, I wanted to call out the names of some of the more prominent teachers who contributed, and you were an obvious choice ;-)

Of course I'm very flattered.......but bragging rights are not why I'm sharing this with you...... Go to their site and register to win this book, edited by Darra and of which I'm a contributor.

Her blog post also features instructions for making these easy & fun pieced flowers....just the thing to bring summer inside!!

FIBER JUNKIES JULY MEETING

As the 4th of July holiday weekend begins......the Fiber Junkies gathered for our own kind of celebrating......meaning......creating, eating, show and tell, and girlfriend chit chat.

Before I go on.....let's stop and admire the gorgeous floral arrangements Judy Simmons had displayed all around her beautiful home. Her husband and son......masterful gardeners, tend huge flower beds on their property.

This sun flower stopped us all in our tracks!!

Detail

soooooo lovely!

Show and tell is always as highlight.....and as usual, Nancy dazzled us with more of her dye experiments. This velvet fern has been cut from a Patsy Thompson designed Sizzix die. It's sitting on a piece of rusted fabric.

Nancy will dye anything....seriously.....this is cheese cloth.....the kind of cheese cloth found for use in food service. We all loved the texture it provided.

Nancy recently traded work with this PA artist.....

......Whose speciality is book making. I wish you could see this handmade paper masterpiece in person......it was so handsome.

The 'signatures' (paper sections that make up the book) were hand sewn in...the twine ends were finished off with beads......I was panting!

Speaking of masterpieces.....here is Pasty's newest. The center section is my favorite fiber....Woolfelt. It's surrounded by her own hand-dyed cotton.

Of course Patsy's free motion feather quilting becomes the star of any of her quilts. I've always been a fan of wholecloth quilting.....and have taught it for years. However, what takes me ages....she can do in expertly in hours. Be sure to check out her site where Patsy's DVD's can help make you an expert too!

This might be a good time to mention....especially for any locals reading my ramblings. I'll be teaching a hand quilting workshop - Aug. 24th. 9:00-3:30 PM. in Asheville. It's open to anyone....if you are interested in more info or too register please email me. There is a lot of interest in this class so don't delay.