Busy Hands, Happy Heart

I am like a lot of you, dear readers, that can't seem to sit quietly without working on something.
My friends and family would say that I can't sit still and be quiet. Period.
Hmm...maybe they are correct.

I've been using up my eco dyed/natural dyed scraps (and I do mean scraps) on a small piece of handwork.
I used pieces that are about 2-3 inches long (and wide) and put them on a canvas base.
Then began stitching.
I also used my natural dyed threads (except one piece of rust DMC thread) and they look wonderful on the fabrics!
The natural dyes seem to glow from within.

I am using a hoop this time since the fabric weights are so different.
Here's a few in-progress peeks.

See the pieces of thread on the left?
All of those were dyed with plants and metals.

Rust stained thread

I couldn't help but slip this bold color of thread in...

Vintage homespun fabric!

Lovely rust

Colors of Iron

Cottons, linens, jersey

Looks like a bee hive

Silk

A monoprint from something in my bin of goodies

Rusted fabric, rusted thread

I took this thread out of my "rust bin" too early
but I couldn't help myself.
I have more cooking.

It's a work in progress for sure.

The winner is...

Natalie Crabb!

Natalie - I will email you with the details.

Thank you all so much for the lovely comments.
My blog is so very happy with all of the words from like minded people!

I would love to get that many comments on every post...I guess that I would have to have a give-away every post, huh?

Maybe not!
Thank you all. The blog hop over at the Sketchbook Challenge is still going on, so hop over and check it out!

Quilting Arts Gifts magazine

I have an article published in the 2013/2014 Gifts magazine!

I wrote an article about creating (really nice) scarves out of cotton jersey, thermofax screens and deColourant (a color discharging product).

On one of the scarves, I wrote (copied) a poem in longhand with the deColourant in a small-tip container.
Here's a shot of editor Jane Davila wearing it in her "Editor's Note" in the front of the magazine.
It looks good on you Jane!

The staff did a great job setting up the shot.

So - run out and get a copy.
Then go home (or to a friends home) and make something!


Okay one more thing.
Go to my Etsy shop and look at the thermofax screens there.
They are exactly what you need to make one (or several) of these scarves.
If you want one of the fern screens, comment here and I'll set up a private sale for you.
I don't think that those screens are listed there. The fern on the black scarf is there not the one on the red scarf though.
But the bee in the red scarf is! I drew that honey bee so you will find it listed under the "Artist Drawn" screens.

Now, my friends, you need to keep flexing your creative muscles.
I know that I haven't been flexing my writing muscle (i.e.blog writing) but I've been flexing my drawing, painting, stitching and dyeing muscles while I've been quiet here.
Oh and my fishing muscles too!

Seriously, I do know how very important it is to keep being creative.
It is the oxygen that I breathe in.
It helps me to blow off anger, illness, guilt and sadness.

Without creativity, I am nothing.
It sounds dramatic and it is...I would be boring, depressed and very, very ill if I allowed my creativity to whither.
You will be as well if you don't keep exercising that particular muscle!

Just.
Do.
It.

Houses and Hideaways

Thanks for following me here from the Sketchbook Challenge blog.
If you haven't read my post over there, hop over there and read it so you are up to date about what I'm talking about.

I wanted to use the whimsical house imagery on a couple of projects but didn't have the time (or the inclination) to redraw it every time.
Enter my beloved Thermofax machine.

I drew three houses that I liked and created screens from them.
A large, a medium and a small one (even though they all look to be the same size here, they really aren't).

I decided (after several false starts) to make a small bag from Multipurpose cloth.
I have been wanting to make a pouch to throw my loose strings in (to sit beside my sewing machine) and this seemed to be a good time to try it.

I always say this after I make something that it sure would be easier to think things out before I make them...but, alas, I did it again.
I jumped in with only half an idea and made up the remainder as I went.

Using my handy dandy thermofax screen, I printed one of the houses onto the front surface of the
MPC (Multipurpose Cloth).
Then decided that I wanted to do some stitching on it.
Then realized that the screen printed image would be Wonderful to use as a stitching guide!
Great news for someone (like me) that isn't too adept at free motion stitching (especially if it's a recognized shape).
But free motion stitching with an outline is a piece of cake.
Easy.
Peasy.


Instructions:
1. Screen print onto fabric.

I was so excited about the easy stitching that I added a tree
and a small yard for the house before I realized it!

 2. Stitch loosely around lines of house (or whatever imagery you have printed).

No need to worry about stitching outside of the line
with my painting plans.

3. Paint inside (or outside) of stitching lines.

I loved one of the houses in my art journal so much
that I decided to use it as inspiration in my paint colors.

I thought that the scene needed a cloud or two.

I used the same color but added a glazing medium to it to thin the color out some.
I also added a bit more color to the tree trunk.
And now it looks a little suspicious to me...

Just as I suspected!
There is a giraffe in that tree!

A quick sketch to confirm it.

And there he is, peeking from behind the tree!

I felt that I needed to add the "real" tree trunk
since the first one turned out to be the giraffe neck.
Now to stitch the real trunk in.

Now it's all done.
Well, I do need to add more grass to the front yard...

Almost finished.
I just need to add the strap to hang it from my cabinet door.

I did add more stitching and paint in the front yard.

4. Stitch up sides of pouch.
5. Enjoy!


The best part of all of it is the playing part.
The learning, screwing up and figuring out a better way to do it.
That's the place where you hear your own creative voice whispering to you.
And it usually starts with "Hey, I wonder what would happen if I did it this way?"

I think that I promised a give away in my Sketchbook Challenge post, didn't I?

I'd like to send someone a thermofax screen. I was going to give away one of the house screens but I think that I will let whoever wins pick out what they want from my Etsy shop or one of the whimsical houses.

Here's the deal - leave me a comment and make sure that you include your email address (or some way to get in touch with you) so I can notify you.
I'll give the winner that I choose (from a random number generator) about a week to let me know what they want.
It's open to everyone so please comment!
I'll post the winner on this blog on Sept. 26 so tune in to see who wins.
I'm thinking that I might add a few more surprises in the mailing but you will never know unless you are the winner.
Good luck everyone!

Blog Hop

Whoops...I meant to post  this on Sept. 8 but didn't do it.
Better late than never, right?

This is a re-post from the Sketchbook Challenge blog.



The sketchbook challenge hosts have a surprise for you.  For the next 21 days we are celebrating this months Houses and Hideaways theme with a blog hop!  Each day, beginning tomorrow, you’ll find a new post on this blog related to this month's theme that will also include a link to the artist's own blog, where you’ll find tutorials, video’s, studio tours, exciting giveaways and more!  

Take a look at the line up of posts below and come back each day to be inspired!

Sept 9 - Gina Lee Kim http://ginaleekim.blogspot.com/

Sept 10- Jacqueline Newbold http://djnewbold.blogspot.com/ 

Sept 11 - Sue Bleiweiss http://www.suebleiweiss.com/blog  

Sept 12 – Jackie Bowcutt http://stitchworks-jackie.blogspot.com/

Sept 13th - Kristin La Flamme http://kristinlaflamme.com/musings  

Sept 14- Jane Davies http://janedavies-collagejourneys.blogspot.com/

Sept 15- Lyric Kinard http://lyrickinard.com/blog/

Sept 16 - Terry Grant http://www.andsewitgoes.blogspot.com/

Sept 17- Carol Sloan http://www.carolbsloan.blogspot.com/ 

Sept 18- Leslie Tucker Jenison http://leslietuckerjenison.blogspot.com/  

Sept 19 - Lesley Riley  http://www.lesleyriley.com/weblog/  

Sept 20 - Traci Bunkers  https://www.tracibunkers.com/blog/  

Sept 21 - Lynn Krawczyk http://smudgedtextilesstudio.com/blog/

Sept 22 Desiree Habicht  http://myclothesline.blogspot.com

Sept 23 – Jamie Fingal http://jamiefingaldesigns.blogspot.com/  

Sept 24 - Mary Beth Shaw http://mbshaw.blogspot.com/ 

Sept 25 –Kari McKnight-Holbrook http://backporchartessa.blogspot.com/  

Sept 26 – Deborah Boschert http://deborahsjournal.blogspot.com/  

Sept 27- Susan Brubaker Knapp http://wwwbluemoonriver.blogspot.com/  

Sept 28- Laura Cater Woods http://www.cater-woods.com/weblog/  

Sept 29- Jane LaFazio http://janeville.blogspot.com/  

Catch Up

I can't believe that it is August 20, 2013.
Sometimes I feel as if I am Rip Van Winkle, waking up to find myself in a new world.
Or at least a new month!

Is it just me or does time really begin to move faster the older that we get?

So - here we are, almost a month since the last post.
Well almost 3 weeks but who is counting (obviously I am).

What have I been doing?
I traveled out to see my friend Liz Kettle in Colorado.
Taught a book making class at my friend Deb Prewitt's shop (Blue Twig Studio) (which was great btw).
I stayed with Liz for a week so we could visit.
She worked my butt off while I was there!
We were getting her (and studio mate Cass Mullane) studio ready for a photo shoot.
I took more realistic photos of the space AFTER the photographer left while we were all working and playing on various projects.

This is the corner that houses most of Cass' supplies.
I love the layout of all of the different work spaces.

This is the beautiful hand dyed fabric/paper shelving on
Liz' side.

I love the way that Liz and Cass set their work spaces up.
They can work independently yet share the space
and be close enough to talk while they work!
The wall behind Liz is a design wall. It currently has a
new series by Cass on it.

This wall has a selection of black and white (with a touch of red).
The very messy (yet happy) table in the fore ground
is loaded with paint and paper. A small group of us got together
and played for several hours. It was wonderful!

All the thread, paper, paint, fabric and base supplies that anyone
could possibly want or need are housed in this corner!

Look at Liz, hard at work on a creative project.
I love that they have their work hanging on the walls all
around them.

Cass is sitting at the machine working but can hop up and do
anything that she needs to at the work space beside her.

Here's a portion of the mess that we made while playing.

It's so inspiring to me to spend time with like minded women.
Sharing ideas & dreams, laughing and talking along with a little whining, um, I mean working through to creative solutions.
It was one way of refilling our well.
We must spend time with our creative sisters in order to nourish ourselves!

During my absence on the blog, I also went trout fishing!
My husband and I drove up to a local fish hatchery (above Walhalla SC) and fished along the east fork of the Chatooga River.
I caught my first (second, third and fourth) trout!
I really enjoyed it, getting out in the forest and river was wonderful.
I'll spare you the photos of that though.
My husband grilled the fish that very evening and it was the best that I've ever had.
But man, I was exhausted by the time we got home! The water level was up from all of the rain that we've had and it really required some muscle walking around in the river.
I think that the bike riding muscles helped on that part.


What else have I done?
Hmmm...
I have been working on a felted Kindle cover that I started in Colorado.
My color palette is a blue-greenish color. Maybe a sea green, sea foam or something close to that, plus a splash of red orange.

I had bought a small piece of ribbon from Deb at Blue Twig Studio that coordinated
perfectly with the colors of the felted cover. I felt that I just had to incorporate it into the cover somehow.

Sometimes I pin things in place while I am deciding if I want to add them.
I am auditioning them before I commit to their placement.

I don't have any photos of the phase that the cover went through while I was doing a lot of the stitching.
I tried several ideas for the spine, finally settling on one that I think I like.

Now I am not too sure but I think it would be too much work to un-do it.
Sigh...
But it looks okay the way it is.
I guess.

Here are a few shots of it.
I am not quite finished with it as I still have a little more stitching to do.
Well, here - you will see what I mean.

I love the meandering red orange stitching on the back of it.
It really leads your eye around the entire piece (even if it is a cover and not quite a "piece of art work").

I added two layers of ribbon on the spine.
The bottom one is one of those ribbons that has open sections on it.
I didn't like the open sections on the edges - they are just open.
I mean, they are not closed in at all. So I stitched the edges, closing the gap.
I felt that it finished it in a better way. 

I think that I need to do something around the stem of the leaf.
I think it needs a darker outline.

I'm still stitching the veins in the leaf. I have them
drawn out with a white marker. I do like the background stitching
on the leaf - lots of little circles in diff colors.

I stitched one section of a base fabric (a silk scarf) in a satin stitch.
I love the sheen of the thread. The way that the light catches it is beautiful.
I also love being able to find small sections of the piece that are so interesting
on their own. It makes the viewer look for more of these!

I still have to finish the stitching (I think I have already said that, right?) but also need to address the edges of the entire cover.
Hmmm...I will have to think about that a bit more.

Here are a few shots of the cover wrapped around the Kindle.
I wanted to be able to see how the spine embellishment would work (and show you too).

Back view. I like the way that the red orange ribbon wraps around the front and back.

Front.
I definitely need to add something
to define the stem outline a little more.

I love French Knots.
Love. Love. Love.

It's a little crooked but you get the idea.
The ribbon was exactly the right size!

So, what do you think?

What would you do for the edging (or binding) of the cover?
I was thinking about twisting a few pieces of thread or yarn/fiber together and stitch them to the edges.
I guess that I could do a satin stitch around the edges...
or a blanket stitch...

I have a couple of scrap pieces from the original base that I will probably use to try a couple of ideas out on.

Leave me a comment or email me with your ideas!
I love getting comments. It makes me feel like I am writing to actual people instead of myself (even though I am an actual person too).
I see the numbers on the analytics so I know that there are people stopping by but I still love to read your comments and get your emails!

I'll leave with a photo of my studio mate.

I need to trim the hair on the bottom of his paws.
It grows so fast.

sleepy boy