Grandma Pat's Warm and Comfy Quilt

Well at last I have finished this small quilt. It really should not have taken me as much time as it did - but it is done and I really do like it. So hope you enjoy looking at it. It is machine constructed and hand quilted. It is 100% cotton and hasn't a middle layer as the flannel is hefty enough where this layer was not necessary. It is backed with a pretty paisley blue flannel with a large diamond shape in the middle of green splash flannel. It feels warm and comfy. I had enough material to make a small pillow to go along with it as well. The binding is the same paisley blue as the backing and the pillow. It is a Christmas present for someone special. . . shh don't tell yet.

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Have you noticed that the "Next Blog" button above sends you to things that are really not related to the topic you write about? I only mention pictures in relation to posting them . . . my main topics are usually to do with fabric and fiber art, quilting, sewing and dyeing fabrics. However next blog does not lead in that direction!

No NYC trip . . .

Sadly, we did not get to NYC this year. At the last minute some family members took ill so the trip was cancelled. So a change of plans was made and I did get some other stuff done that I needed to finish up. I finished one quilt and sewed another top together. Now I only have to back it and I think it will be completed. Some shopping was done and a couple of other small projects that I can't mention what they are here, at least yet. (Santa is bringing them.) I will have images of all of this before I give them away.

Today it's off to New York City with all the girls! I will try to take some photos to post later on when I get back if I'm not to tired or if it's not too late! Anyhow I went with the girls last year and we had a blast, so much so that I wrote a little story about it and presented it last Christmas to my sister-in-laws. So maybe this year Chapter 2 ? The adventure begins . . .

Trash Treasures

Well I had some things laying around that I didn't think should be thrown out to the trash, so I decided to make something of them. Here is the result. All I used was an iron as my tool. I added some bits and pieces, stitched the edges together and now have a small clutch made out something one would normally throw away. I may make some more of them just for fun, but don't know what I will do with them when they are done - maybe give them away as gifts. . if they turn out okay. Any how they photographed pretty well and I am pleased with that. I hope to be putting up more photos this weekend if time permits.

Today is Pearl Harbor Day. I took this picture in May of 2005. It is the WWII Memorial in Washington D.C. This is the Pacific side, on the opposite side is the Atlantic. Inside of each structure is large sculptures of eagles. The surrounding smaller structures each have a wreath or garland on them and represent each of the states and territories. It is an awesome memorial. As you can see the day was bright and sunny, there were many retired service men there.

Salvaged Selvages

These small post card size pieces were made with the selvage edge of some batik fabrics that I had used to make a jacket for my mother in law. The selvage edge is usually not used in sewing, most fabrics have this type of edging as a finish so that fraying does not occur. The batiks were so beautiful that I didn't want to toss anything away not even the Lilliputian sized pieces. This is the result of my efforts. I call these pieces Salvaged Selvages #1 (above) and #2 (below). I collected all of the pieces, ironed them and then interwove them to create a small fabric square which was then sewn together with small stitching. They are edged with satin stitching and placed on the 4x6 background which also has satin stitching. They have fabric backing.

So much to do and so little time

Hello! So here I am all by myself with no one to talk to. . . oh whoa is me I'll just wait here until someone takes pity on me and decides to come in. Although that could be quite some time. So I will just ramble on and on about nothing in particular. What will I do this weekend - hmmm? So much to do and so little time. So much ambition and so little energy. I'm late with just about everything - haven't even started any Christmas shopping, I need to sew some curtains for the living room and finish the ones for the bedroom. I need to finish sewing the fish quilt. I need to start the tuna one. I have to start the other yellow sock. The house needs to be cleaned for the holidays. I want to hang some lights outside so we are not so bah hum buggy! The tree has to go up as soon as we get it! Oh yea, and then it needs to be decorated. But that means getting the decorations out of the basement then the basement needs to be cleaned out, the bills need to be paid, I need to plan the Christmas meal, then go shopping for the foodstuffs, I don't know what to get anyone for Christmas - if only Santa would just bring some stuff. I 'd even like it if he would do all the shopping for me, as it is not one of my favorite things to do! Maybe I can e-mail him. I'm exhausted just thinking about all of this, lots to do, lots to do. I'm late, I'm late for a very important date . . . Anyhow Christmas is just 21 days away, YIKES

Fern and Feathers

I thought I might share this image with you, titled "Fern and Feathers". It is a small scale fiberart monoprint with machine stitching to enhance some of the lines and give some interest. It is edged in satin stitch. There is some beadwork on it just to give a little spark to it. Click on the picture to see a larger view and the beadwork shows right up. I really enjoyed making this piece and had a lot of fun with it.
Monoprinting is not difficult but can be time consuming as the dyes need to sit on the fabric for a few hours to obtain the correct saturation and the dyes need to maintain their moisture in order to be effective.

Good morning everyone, I have been cruising around the internet this morning and have one question - where are all the fiber art related blogs? I know they are out there, and there has to be many of them. But where oh where can they be? I will have to look later on when I have more time. I just thought that it was funny that I did not come across a single fiber art blog.

Crop Circles

This is my small version of crop circles. It is a small fiber work, hand dyed by myself, machine sewn and hand embroidered with a complimentary color embroidery floss. I used silk noil. It is approriately titled "Crop Circles", at least until I can come up with a better title.

What is it?

Okay so here is a "what is it". Can you guess what it is? Do you need a clue? I have a feeling that this is not much of a challenge for most people. Give it a try anyhow. There isn't a prize if you guess right, sorry, but isn't just knowing that you are right about something enough? Anyhow it's just for fun. Clue is: It is from the Philippines. Good luck!

Another Super Blogspot - great eye candy

http://dogdaisychains.blogspot.com/

Check out the above blogspot - you are certainly going to like what you see here. Jackie has great skill with her sewing machine and a great eye for colors that combine well together. Please visit and get inspired. I will be adding a picture or two of hers as soon as I can figure out how to land them on my blogspot. Thanks for looking. AND thanks for coming to my blogspot as well, I appreciate all your time spent here.

Holiday Season fast approaching -

So the Thanksgiving meal is long gone and we have stuffed ourselves with enough turkey and fixings that it's hard to tell who is the turkey! Anyhow now the Christmas season is upon us - tomorrow will be the official start at my house - no decorations are put up until December 1st. I like to keep the novelty of the season. But I catch up quick.

Also started is the raw silk project that I previously spoke of and that is coming along well - I think it will need a bit of embellishing so it may be a while before it is done.

The sock I was working on has now been completed - now for the other one, which I will start this week sometime. So my little goals for this past weekend were met. That is how I manage to get things completed - little goal markers!

Be on the lookout for some products that I have come across lately in my cyber travels, they will be posted here as well. There is some terrific stuff out there in cyberland check it out.

Here is a couple to get you started, dogdaisy92 and mbell34 - they both have some wonderful items. I think you will like what you see there - both are etsy shops. You will also find dogdaisy92 on flickr. Enjoy the slide show!

post Thanksgiving Day

Well the family was over for the grand meal of the year. Of course the guest of honor was delicious! It was a nice relaxing day and nice to have the family over. Erran and Sarah were missed though, one having to work and the other working in Antarctica. Our Italian guest from last year was not with us this year but home in Italy, although he did drop us a line to wish a happy holiday. Thanks Fabio.

Today I have spent a little bit of time floating around the web looking at some fiber arts from other folks. Wow where do people get there inspiration? There is some great art work out there. Right now I am sitting with some of my hand dyed raw silk fat quarters with a project in mind that I will be starting shortly. There are some components that I will be incorporating into the final design that I believe will work very well. We'll see. It will be a small scale piece of fiber art. I hope that it turns out to be actually art! I will post it as soon as pictures are done. See you then.

Also, I am excited about the "Horizon Series" of silk scarves that I am in the process of listing. So far the response to them is great. They look fabulous and the extra work was well worth the effort. I almost want to keep them for myself! Watch for more postings of the Horizon Series silk scarves during this week. I hope to have all of them up by the end of the week.

Fat Quarter Quartet Tones or "72 Hour Rescue"

Once again, I have changed my mind and am including a fourth fat quarter to the tones trio - it finishes the set, but of course no longer a trio but a quartet instead! These will be listed on my etsy site: Ten Pines Studio. Like the previous set of fat quarter they are made of raw silk known as silk noil and are hand dyed by me. They are a semi solid mottled set. I am very pleased with the result.

Finally I have the photos of the next set of raw silk fat quarters, the "72 hour rescue set". They are a trio set of mottled tones. I am very pleased with the results. Maybe some of these will have to stay in my secret stash . . . shh, don't tell anyone.

Studio Day, Sewing Day

Silks that have been in the dye bath for 72 hours need to be liberated. It will be interesting to see if the saturation level is greater after such a lengthy stay. Photos may be up tomorrow once the rinse/ iron and fold/package process is completed.

Sewing session today - window treatments. Fancy for curtains! Also on the agenda I will be starting a small quilt project with some of my older experiments in fabric painting, (one of those UFOs [UN-finished objects] that is in my repertoire). That will be the sewing session - that is the goal.

It is expected to rain all day here as Hurricane Ida remnants keep us company. A good day to listen to some music and get some indoor things done. So off I go, look for my post at the end of this week to see "the 72 hour liberation fabric" results!

Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran's Day. Remember that the freedoms that we ALL possess have been hard won by those who have fought to preserve our way of life. Many are no longer with us having given their all for the greater good. Others are still among us, a living testament to the battles won. Honor our veterans for serving our country, for serving each and every citizen of this country - they fought and served for ALL Americans.

THANK YOU to my father and all veterans who have given up so much so that we all remain free . . .

Up and running . . .

Well you will notice that I now have pics up, I am very excited about this! Thanks to Michael who helped me get it all together (actually he did it all, I watched). On my etsy site my new banner is up thanks to Katy who created it and Michael who put it on the etsy store! Also you will notice that my fiber arts network is connected to all of this as well and now there is a face there where the once was a freaky anonymous alien type figure. I have an artist in the family and I must thank him for that drawing - Thanks Ralph, I appreciate it greatly. I have items there that are only there, so take a gander, let me know what you think.
My latest addition to etsy is the Raw Silk Gem collection of fat quarters (shown left). The results of the dye process are as I had hoped. So my abstract project is under way! As soon as it is finished it will be posted here.
Raw silk is known also as silk noil. It has a nubby texture and once washed is very flexible, with a nice flowing drape. When using silk noil for garments ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS wash it first as it shrinks. My silks are cut and measured prior to dyeing. Don't let that stop you from using this great fiber in your projects, what ever they may be.

Once again, I would like to thank Katy and Michael for their assistance and opinions to getting this just right! And Ralph for the great drawing for my Fiberarts /MixedMedia network picture. A big round of applause!

Now that my fabrics are dyed - photos need to be produced. The dye results are as expected, a semi solid with deep rich tones. I plan to pair these fat quarters up with a black piece, just not sure whether another fat quarter would be the right size or a full half yard. I will think on that a bit.
A pattern is in the works for this set of dyed fat quarters. So documentation is everything as I go along. It looks as if the pattern is heading in an abstract direction. Okay by me... :D
All this will need to be put into action this weekend . . . as well as a "photo session". The irons are hot in the fire - - - ALL of them, so I really must get moving on all of my projects.
My silk scarves need to be posted, as well as my excess supplies that I no longer have a use for. Someone out there can use them I'm sure.
I think the next time I will be able to post something here will be this weekend coming up . . . so check back then to see what is new and exciting here. In the meantime check out tenpinesstudio seller on etsy as well all the other great sites there. There are great items for those of you who look for unique handmade gifts for Christmas and other holidays, birthdays or just because gifts!

Oh and you must take a look at this great site - lots of great things to see - good works - interesting designs - hand made items - good bios. http://www.poppytalk.blogspot.com/

So of course, I did indeed change my mind once I arrived at the studio regarding the color choices to dye my fabric. Right now the dye vat is pure red. The fabric was left it in overnight for the deepest saturation and will be taken it out later on today. The colors are what I call a semi solid as there are some variations in the saturation through out each piece with pleasing results. Once they are all set I will be making a small sample project to show and then sell the rest. Now the planning for the actual project begins as well as some research. A few ideas have been on the back burner, maybe now is the time to revisit them. Later inthe week I will post photos of the fabrics.

Arizona Fiber Art Post Card

So, today I thought I might go to the studio and throw in some fabric to the dye vat. Maybe I will use a winter color scheme of blues and grays. . . or maybe not seeing as I am feeling a bit impulsive today. We'll see when I actually put my hand on the jar of dye powder! Photos are out of the plan today, as the day is quite gloomy and blah. Maybe the sun will come out tomorrow - I will hope so.

Anyway, this week I was informed that the fiber art postcard that I mailed to Tohono Chul Park was picked for another web site. I was quite surprised at this, it is nice to be recognized for your work. Please take a look.

http://www.borderbeat.net/culture/1000-trekking-arizona-by-postcard

Rain, rain, go away

Well looks as if this weekend is going to be a washout, with all the rain predicted. So I'm thinking I may go to the studio and do some dyeing as I won't be able to do any photography. I'm not a skilled photographer but a little research will eventually help with that. So anyhow, fat quarters are in the making, just what colors should be done? That is the question.