Quickie Quilt is coming along

The "Quickie Quilt" is coming along.  But coming along much slower than planned - I began by using a multicolor hand quilting thread by Coats & Clark, with some areas that are hand stitched using a solid red hand quilting thread.  I will be switching to embroidery floss to bring out the stitching design, which will help to speed up the process as the thread is thicker which results in larger stitches.  I am surprised at the appearance of the quilt so far and will be posting pictures sometime this week on the progress.

If you would like to join in this finishing unfinished object project that I am doing please feel free to comment on this blog.  Sometimes it helps if you document your progress and see just how you are coming along - kind of like a star in the sky to guide you.

New Year - New Project List

Hello everyone and happy new year.  Hope everybody had wonderful holidays. 
Today I am compiling a list of projects that I would like to do this year!  Some of the projects are aimed at using fabrics that I have deep affection for.  (Yes - affection and I know there are others out there who feel the same way!  I know you are there!)  You know those fabrics that you don't want to cut into because they are so nice, so you just hang on to them and hoard them.  Well that's me and today will be the start of the project stash buster.  I don't really have a name for what I am about to do but that's okay as long as I get it done.
 So that first project is to finish up the "Quickie Quilt"  which is all pieced.  It just need to be backed and stitched together and embroidered with floss.  It should be quick!  Next on the agenda is a kayak quilt using fusing.  Then the larvae quilt using only 3 colors.  A woven quilt, possibly a series.  A hands all around quilt.  Also there are a number of quilts that are already pieced together that will go on the quilting machine in my sewing room (that I can barely walk in!) that will be completed.  This list isn't long and by no means complete, however I do tend to bite off more that I can chew, so for now it's a start.
Also, so that I can keep on track, post at least every two weeks to update my progress with photos. . . . wish me luck!

New from Craft Cult

Now you can feature treasuries from etsy through Craft Cult.  What a great idea.  Craft Cult gives you full directions on how to get it onto your blog page.  I discovered that you could also have more than one as I have here.  Hope you enjoy seeing these.  Try one for yourself if you are an etsy person. Here is a link to Craft Cult:    http://www.craftcult.com/

Let's have a hand for ...

This reminds me of the southwest -  the symbolism, the color of  the sky, the heat of the sun, the hand reaching upwards to feel the warmth that radiates towards mother earth .  Soy Wax resist and hand dyed on cotton, felt, beaded, stamped, machine stitched.

This piece is beaded with copper and turquoise colored seed beads.  It is approx 8" x 11" and part of the hand series I am working on.  The fabric is cotton with a "recycled" felt middle layer and cotton backing.  Hand dyed and designed by myself using soy wax resist method.

What do you think I should call this one?  Hmm?  I guess this is pretty obvious what the title of this small piece is - Yes you guessed it "little bird".  This was kind of a fun little piece to make with a quirk or two in it.  Originally it looked kind of empty (without the bird), thank goodness for iron on fusing!  All original fabric designs, beaded, hand dyed and embroidered by me on cotton fabric.

This piece is still in progress.  The color represented here around the hand is not quite as dark as it appears in reality.  I am not quite sure that the bow will remain as is - I may change it to a ribbon in a different color.  Some more thought on this piece before it is done is needed.

This is about 99% finished.  I will be tweeking this piece slightly just to highlight the hand a bit and finishing the edges.  The color saturation showing on my monitor is a bit deeper than the actual piece as the colors are somewhat neutral and soft.  I was very pleased with this piece's outcome.  It is on bamboo fabric measuring approximately 18"x22".  Hand dyed using the soy wax resist method, machine stitched and hand embroidered.  The "flowers" are variegated silk commercially dyed.

In this piece I used soy wax as my resist method and decided to use very saturated dyes to color.  The soy wax does not give the same crackle effect that paraffin wax does which may be more desirable in some instances.  Here I like the solid line for the vine along with the leaves being more solid as I wanted to have definite veins in the leaves where I wanted them. There a number of methods used in this piece to help with texture and backround.

This looks so much better here than in reality.  It is very pale and all of the design is made using sgraffito method.  The entire piece was cover in a heavy layer of hot wax which was then completely cooled.  Once cooled and etching tool was used to scrape off the wax down to the fabric to create the design you see here.  Dye was brushed over the lines and left to soak for a few hours.  The excess dye was then removed along with the wax.  The whole piece was then sewn and embroidered.  This is the result so far.

If you like orange here is something really saturated with and orange ground.  The hand appears to be dipping into the water through the vines crawling from the trellis to the left.  This piece is machine quilted with no other embellishment.  It was created using soy wax as the resist and dye paste gel.  It was left for a few hours before the excess was removed.  It is a very bright piece measuring 18 inches by 22 inches (estimated).

 All of the above pieces are at one stage of completion or another.  Some needing only to be bound at the edges.  My theme is obvious here being the human hand.  I just went along and whatever came of the "theme" so be it, I didn't really think about it much except to have a hand in the piece and limit the color palette somewhat.  Feel free to leave a comment as to your opinion or thoughts on this grouping.

A Bag for Cecilia

This hand knit felted bag has a tropical feel to it even though it is made of 100% wool.  It made me think of my friend Cecilia and so she will be receiving it for her birthday.  This is one of my favorites as the colors are bright and the flowers turned out better than I expected (I was just fooling around with different shapes).  I hope that she will like it.

Felted items are very strong and durable.  I made a bag for myself and found that it was very sturdy.  If it becomes soiled it can be thrown in the wash - you do have to be careful though you don't want the item to shrink too too much.  Any how here is a picture of the floral part of the bag I intend to send.

SOWA Open Market 2010 Boston

The SOWA Open Market is a great place to find all kinds of great products and meet the artists who make those products.  There are jewelry vendors to clothing vendors, furniture to pottery.  Lots of people of all ages from all over the globe.  It's a great family place to go and you can bring your pet too!  There are food vendors selling breads, fruits and vegetables and flowers as well as sandwiches, beverages and snacks. Take a look at the pictures above (I did not take these) for an idea of what the SOWA  is all about.  It runs throughout the summer and into the fall.  I am not sure what the last date is but I will post it if I find out.

Rusty Ol' Cotton

Rusted Cotton Fabric left on a clean piece of steel for a short period of time.

This piece was placed on the steel after the one above so the rust is a bit more saturated .

The rust has spread and the fabric has captured the image of this migration.  The contrast of the white mingled in gives interest to the piece as the well as the darker areas, there is a sense of depth.

This particular piece of fabric was left on for over a week and as you can see the rusting continues even though the piece was dry.  Rust would eventually distress the fabric even more creating holes and even turning the fabric into nothing but rust dust with little evidence of what was once there.

This is a closeup of the previous picture.

These small pieces of old cotton have been rusted.  These small pieces of old cotton have been rusted.  They were made as an experiment to see what would happen to fabric left to deteriorate on a piece of steel which was brushed to a clean surface.  Each piece was left in place undisturbed for a day or so.  The steel was not cleaned between each application of fabric.  Here are the results of my casual experiment.

 

Just a couple of dolls

Race Car Doll - showing detail of race car banner

back side Race Car Doll

Race Car Doll face and hair

Race Car Doll front view

Detail of crocheted miniature basket

Detail of painted on face, necklace (turquoise stone) and wool jacket

Front view of Gypsy Doll.  Free form croceht skirt, painted legs with texture.

Here are two more dolls that I made.   They are not your typical play dolls.  Made from cotton mostly and any other materials that I had on hand to use.  The Racing Car Doll has little cast racing cars on her sash that were made by Ralph Scudieri.  Many of the materials used in the "dressing" of these two dolls were things that would have otherwise have been tossed into the trash.  Instead I have re- purposed those items.  The skirt on the Gypsy Doll with the red hat was crocheted by me with embroidery floss as was the little basket she carries in her hand.  The basket has a blue lapis egg in it!  The dolls were painted with ordinary latex interior house paint.  Can you tell what some of the items used are or what they are from?