Cobweb Felting

Despite what you may be thinking , I am not trying to felt cobwebs from my stairwells, although the supplies are available!! HA HA!!  I am taking on a  new felting technique that results in sheer wool felted fabric that resembles the airy-ness and looseness of a cobweb.  I found a wonderful technique video on Youtube- don't you just love Youtube for techniques???  THE BEST!!!!  Anyway the video was about Cobweb felting and it was done by Carolyn Greenwood of Greenwood Fiber Works.  This video led me to her ETSY site and her fabulous roving for felting and spinning!!!  So I HAD to shop, right?  Of course I did!!!!

 This is what arrived in the mail 3 days later- all the way from Utah!!  This pile is actually three hanks of merino roving at 4 ozs per hank in three different color ways!

Now for the process- the layout:

 This part took quite awhile but it is the most important step!!

 The finished layout of the wool, only about half of the length- I wanted a long scarf. There is nothing so frustrating as a scarf that is just a bit too short!!!

This is the width of the scarf next to the roving as it arrived int he braid.  It is really amazing that there is so much fiber packed into that roll, and I could have stretched the fiber out much more loosely, but since this was my first go with this technique, I erred on the side of a bit thicker cobweb!

Next was the usual wetting out with soapy water, patting and rubbing of the fibers and then the inevitable rolling between sheets of shelf liner and plastic all wound round a pool noodle.  Then after throwing and cutting fringe and felting the dreadlocks ( the fringe), this was the result!!!  I am just a bit thrilled and excited!!

Now all it needs is a good steam press and a special someone to wear it!!This scarf is so soft and lightweight!  I used approximately 1.5 oz of the roving so it weighs literally almost nothing and the warmth is incredible.  I see several more of these scarves in my very near future.  I will definitely become a regular customer of Greenwood Fiber Works!!

Gone way too long.........

It has been a very hectic and crazy fall and the blogging has definitely suffered!!  To keep this short and very visual I am going to give you a picture review of some of the things that have been keeping me busy since my last post!!!

Stitching journals with my own sun prints and creating Art Quilts.

Creating some fun textile necklaces with my fabric/paper/resin beads for sale at Artful Dimensions Gallery.

Managed to squeeze in a trip to Cape Cod to visit my Mom over a long weekend in October.  I even managed to catch a glorious sunset at Rock Harbor in Orleans, MA.

Got some shots of some sea gulls hunkering down for some blustery weather!!

We took a wonderful little drive to a friends organic sheep and veg farm!!

Once back in VA, I have taught several classes, Collage Jewelry classes have been very popular.

I took part in Fredericksburg VA, first experiment with Yarn Bombing!  Hopefully more events will be coming this summer!!

I was very involved in the Presidential Campaign for Barack Obama !! Becca and I were able to get VIP tickets to go to a Rally featuring our wonderful First Lady, Michelle Obama!!  What a thrill that was!!! She is such an amazing woman, incredible Ambassador for our Country, a wonderful Mother and an amazing speaker!!

Unfortunately we could not get close enough to shake her hand or to give her a hug.

Becca and I had a wonderfully inspiring time with all sorts of like minded Democrats and Obama supporters!!

Election night was so very exciting as our candidates,  President Obama and Senator Tim Kaine, easily won their respective political races!!!! I spent many hours working the phones and knocking on doors to make sure that Virginia came out in the Democrats column. Such a relief!!

Buddy and I spent several hours sewing and getting things organized in the sewing room .  I have been making finger-less gloves using cashmere and wool sweaters that I have recovered and re purposed after felting the sweaters in the washing machine.

This group of my gloves have already been sold but I have just listed several new pairs in my Etsy shop.  You can take a peek here.

I created some collaged fabric with silk fibers, silk fabrics, wool fibers and recycled cashmere sweaters to create this swing vest.  After needle felting , lots of free motion embroidery and then wet felting, this garment is now available for purchase at Artful Dimensions Gallery in Fredericksburg, VA.

Creating this piece was a wonderful adventure and I plan to work on many more garments in the near future.

So that is a quick wrap up of what I have been doing with some of my time!  I promise not to ignore my blog and my wonderful followers for such a long period again!! I have missed you all!  I hope that everyone has had a wonderful Fall and Thanksgiving , Spring if you are among my Down Under buddies!! 

ART ON EVERYONE!!!! 

Feathers and Fern

Today was a glorious day for sun printing.  Bright sun, little wind and even a bit cooler, not so humid.

This one will become a journal cover.

These others will be cut up for collage quilts.

I am really happy with the feathers!!It always amazes me how much detail one can pick up with this technique!!!

I hope that the sun is shining in your part of the world. We are expecting rain, remnants of TS Issac I think, so I will be working on some of these sun prints with some new projects.  Pictures soon!

Fiber Arts at the Fredericksburg Museum

Remember to click on each picture to see a close up!

Last Friday I accompanied my fiber artist friends Barbara Posey and Stephanie Woolsey to the Fredericksburg Museum , in Fredericksburg VA, to drop off our work to be included in the First Fiber Arts Exhibit ever held at this venue!  The piece that you see above is a brand new piece titled Autumn Daisy.  I created this art quilt using all of my own hand dyed and sun printed fabrics.  The title references the glorious yellow daisy type flowers that bloom all over the place here in Virginia, starting at the end of August.  The wild small bushes bloom like crazy and are butterfly magnets.  We often see many Monarch butterflies swarming these bushes as they store up food to make their long migrations south.

I have been invited to join 6 other local fiber artists in this exhibit.  The exhibit at the museum will coincide with a large invitational exhibit, Contemporary Work in Fiber, that will be taking place at the University of Mary Washington just up the street.  You can check out that exhibit and all the particulars about it here.

Autumn Daisy hanging at Artful Dimensions Gallery in Fredericksburg along with Piece of the Rainbow, a mosaic work by Cathy Ambrose-Smith.

Every stitch on this piece was done by hand.

You can see a faint yellowing in the center of each daisy flower.  That yellow stain is left behind by the pollen from each blossom,  when the flowers are applied to the wet fabric and pressed into place the pollen comes in firm contact with the fabric and leaves it's mark.  I love that about these flowers.  the shape of their leaves is wonderful for sun printing as well, with the serrated edge to give extra interest.  It is almost time for the flowers to start blooming in the ditches and along the road sides again!! I will be doing many more sun prints and offering them for sale in my Etsy Shop!

My second submission is titled New Again.  This piece began as a needle felted piece combining wool roving with silk fibers and fabrics.  Then I added all sorts of vintage laces, trims and beads.  I crafted a puffed heart covered with a silk brocade from a vintage scarf and beaded the heart. I added many vintage mother of pearl buttons , some crystals, fresh water pearls and many tiny seed beads in all sorts of shades of pearl and white.  In other words the old became New Again as part of a New whole.

Here you can see some of the wonderful edging lace and vintage tatting that I stitched on and then embellished further with beads.  I made the frame myself using foam core collaged with brown paper, then painted and varnished the entire piece. 

If you click on this photo you can see a close up of the puffed heart and the surrounding area.

My last submission absolutely had to be my underwater tapestry titled Coral Cacophony.  If you would like to read the specifics of the creation of this piece you can click here.

The exhibit opens in early September, so check back to see pictures of my co-exhibitors work as well as the opening event!  you are in for a real treat!!! You can be sure that I will be sharing it here!!

"Red All Over"

I have gotten word that my dear friend Judy ,of Judy in the Dyes, has received her commissioned Corded Cuff. Now I feel free to post my latest creation. Judy requested a cuff in red. I made the cording using seam allowances from a red cashmere sweater and some special yarns and shining threads and gathered all of the beads with red included, as well as things that spoke of Judy, her interests and passions.

I adore creating special pieces for people who i know well or for whom I have a good idea of their likes and special interests.  I can really personalize each piece with charms and special focal beads and even bits of jewelry that may have seen better days.  I also include vintage bits- buttons especially, and I prefer using a vintage button with a shank for the loop closure. As you can see above, I work among a pile of possibilities that i have culled from my stash as I am never quite sure where the spirit of the project will take me nor what pice will be the perfect fit for a specific spot.

Each piece is completely hand stitched and lined with lovely soft Ultra Suede.

Here you can see the shank button and corded loop closure along with the vintage Czech red glass flower bead and the vintage Lucite lime green flower bead nearby. Judy is an avid gardener and I knew that I had to include lots of floral and leaf elements.

                                     
Judy also requested some turquoise to accompany the red. (Easy Easy- that just happens to be one of my current favorite color combinations as well!!) Nest to the Peace symbol above you can see a tiny millifiore face bead and just to the right of that tiny face, is a vintage red a black glass bead (Victorian I think.) there is also a deep blue and gold Victorian glass button just to the lower left of the Peace symbol.  I love finding tiny treasures to fit in to these very personal pieces!

I am thrilled to report that Judy is thrilled with her commission and it is also a perfect fit.   I hope that she gets many years of pleasure from her piece and that she is always reminded of the special friendship that we share.  ( Did I mention that we have never met?  We found each other through the blogging world and then Face Book and one of these days we are determined to meet in her lovely textile studio in Georgia for some serious textile/dye pots play time!!!)

Linen Jacket Rescue

I have been finding many wonderful items for re-purposing of late , at local thrift shops and the Goodwill.

I found this great 100% linen jacket recently but inn my opinion it had very "unfortunate pockets."  Sometimes I just have to wonder," What were the designers thinking ????"

This jacket has great simple lines and a timeless style. Why, oh why would one consider plopping a country themed print on the pockets???No matter, my treasure now!!!  I paid 3.49 for it and came back home to plan  a re-make, rescue!!

Very unfortunate pockets don't you think????

So I set to work using strips and scraps of my hand dyed fabrics and many of my sun printed bits to create this strip pieced fabric a la Rayna Gillman !  Her wonderful book Create Your Own Free Form Quilts: A Stress Free Journey to Original Design has been such an inspiration to me and I can't recommend the book and her wonderful methods highly enough!!

I did add a few batiks form my scrap bin and a few Black and White prints to make all the colors pop, but the rest are my won hand dyed and sun printed fabrics.  Then I had to cut the piece up!!  Not easy, but I steeled myself  and cut away, to create pockets and two decorative accent panels for the jacket front and back.

The jacket front!

The jacket back! 

 After a good press and a few photos , I packed the rescued piece up and sent it off to my mom in MA.  She is recovering from a heart attack and hopefully this will put a bit of a spring in her step as she returns to her beloved Knitting group and volunteer endeavors.  Everyone loves to sport a new original piece of arty clothing don't you think!  I know that this will look smashing on her and she will be so jazzed about the fact that it is a recycled remake!!

Purple Royalty- A gift.

 I have just completed this bracelet that I call Purple Royalty for my wonderful sister in law,

Elise Jensen.  Elise has just returned home to her family from 2 years spent in Afghanistan working on women's education and health issues for USAID.

 This piece has many fresh water pearls, amethyst stones and vintage Czech glass beads.

 The toggle closure was made using a vintage gold tone metal button with a beaded loop.

 In August the family will be moving to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where Elise will continue to work with the US State Department and USAID on women's health and education issues.  My niece Kate, will attend school in the 10th grade and my brother Peter will continue his work with Peace Corps and teaching intensive gardening techniques. I have written several posts about my brothers wonderful work and you can learn more, if you are interested, here and here.

I am so very blessed to have such an amazing family. I hope that when Elise wears this piece, she will know of my admiration , love and profound respect!!