Weekend Walk Series Returns!

Although I haven't been posting finished product from my "Weekend Walk" series in a few weeks I have been out walking! There is nothing more refreshing then getting out to walk and have the tensions of the week fall behind you and letting the beauty of nature take over. It's taken me some extra time to produce this series because it has multiple layers.

Let me walk you through it...

I first painted a couple of fat quarters using colors that reminded me of how the sunlight dapples through the tree canopy - kind of light yellow-green near the top and as your eye moves towards the ground the greens become deeper and blend with earth tones. Next I stamped leaves I had collected onto the fabric.

The next step was to paint some tree silhouettes. I used a couple of different browns, black, blue to represent lichen and finally I took the fabric outside to lay across a tree trunk and used Shiva Sticks as a rubbing.

The final step was to stamp more leaves as a final layer. It was fun to attempt to create a piece with depth. I was thinking about treating the fabric a mini whole cloth quilt... maybe add some 3-dimensional leaves for interest. The quilting would provide a lot of depth and make the whole piece pop!

I'll add the fat quarters to the hand dyed and hand painted fabrics tab if you're interested in purchasing a piece to quilt for yourself!

Another Identity Piece

I just completed another piece for the upcoming identity themed show the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective is putting together. This one represents my love and admiration of the mighty oak tree! I know it sounds silly when I say it out loud but to me the oak tree is strong, solid and lives a really long time. It reminds me of my family... my role models have strong personalities, they are dependable and man-o-man they live long and healthy lives!

I'm not sure if I have time to do another piece but I still have some ideas in my head. Identity is a hard theme when you really think about putting your idea of identity on a 10" X 10" square!

25 Ways to Tie a Scarf!

http://youtu.be/5LYAEz777AU

Many people love scarves but aren't quite sure how to wear them. I found this fantastic link on YouTube that has 25 options for wearing a scarf! It's a quick and fun video that will show you how to tie, wrap and knot your lovely scarves with confidence.

Have Fun!

Identity in Fabric

As a challenge from our Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective group I created a piece on identity. I chose to do a small self portrait which was quick and fun! I didn't have to worry about recreating an exact replica but instead focused on the fabrics and positioning to represent my portrait. The group will host a show tilted "Identity" with the artists showing pieces that relate to their individual personalities. The pieces are no larger than 10" X 10" and mounted on core board. The show will be presented by the Levi Coe Library in Middlefield during the month of November. I have some other designs in mind for this challenge.... more fun to come!

Great Show!

The Chatham Historical Society presented a lovely quilt show yesterday... lots of traditional and antique pieces! I had an opportunity to chat with many interesting people about their approach to fabric using both traditional quilting techniques and those who want to incorporate non traditional fibers into their pieces. For all my new friends please have fun looking at the blog entries and as I mentioned take a peek at the fantastic art quilters located on the right side of the page as you scroll down. There are some links at the bottom of the page to sites I buy supplies from as well as YouTube clips of creative ideas. I look forward to hearing from you and let me know how your new projects work out with the hand dyed and hand painted fabrics you purchased!

Happy Creating!

Hand Dyed and Hand Painted Fabrics on Sale Tomorrow!

I hope you can stop  by the Chatham Historical Society's Quilt Show Saturday the 17th! I have three pieces in the show and will be participating as a vendor. I'll have many hand dyed and hand painted fabrics for sale from my own collection as well as felted purses, hand painted silk scarves, and two original quilt patterns; Little Mittens and Norah's Garden. For those who want to try something new I'll be available to demonstrate the needle felting technique with kits on hand so you can create your own unique autumn leaf piece! Please stop by and say hi!

The First Congregational Church

59 Main Street

East Hampton, CT 06424

September 17^th from 10 – 4

Admission: $5

Quilt Show on September 17th!

Chatham Historical Society presents a quilt show at

The First Congregational Church

59 Main Street

East Hampton, CT 06424

September 17^th from 10 – 4

Admission: $5

For one day only come view the 150 quilts on display. There will be an onsite appraiser so don’t forget to bring pieces you’d like reviewed by an expert. I have three quilts in the show and participating as a vendor. I’ll have fat quarters of my hand painted and hand dyed fabrics, original patterns and a variety of other goodies for sale.

Please be sure to stop by my table to say hi!

Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective reception was a success!

The Noah Webster Library in West Hartford is currently hosting our "Fiber Harvest" group show through October 15th. On Thursday the 8th we held a reception and had a wonderful turnout of visitors! So many folks were interested in the techniques used for creating the art work and where the design inspirations came from. As artists we're always happy to share our stories and processes with others so we were delighted with the 50 or so folks who attended.

 Rosalind Spann explains her piece which was inspired by the memory of her

Grandfather's fantastic gardens.



 Meet the artists in attendance: Antonio Torres, Carol Eaton, Carol Vinick,

Rosalind Spann and Mary Lachman

 

Carol Vinick explains the quilting detail in her piece.  She hand dyed many of her fabrics using natural products such as grapes and dandelion flowers.  

 Visitors are taking a close look at the details in my piece, "Harvesting Wheat".



 We were delighted with so many visitors and thank everyone for coming and posting comments in our booklet.

On behalf of the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective we invite you to visit the show at 20 South Main Street in West Hartford. The art work will be in place through October 15th.



More Fun with Felting!

I was without power for 7 days due to Hurricane Irene; I'm now back in the cyber world... I sure missed electricity! The first project I did when hot water came back was to work out some ideas for wet felted designs. I wanted to make a soft, delicate cream colored scarf with just a hint of pink. Once the scarf was felted it seemed like it could use a little more style so I made some dusty rose colored felted flowers. Each flower has an antique bead from my Grandmother's necklace. For more detail please see the "Felted Desings" tab at the top of the page.

My next project was to make another felted purse. My only thought was to create multi colored felt and I didn't really have a sense for what the overall design was going to be. The wool is very soft and light with silk felted in. I ended up combining the finished wool with some really funky greenish fabric and some vintage buttons. The straps are long so you can where it across your body.

My last project for the weekend was to finish up one of my hand painted silk scarfs. I  had embroidered around the stamped ginkgo leaves with gold metallic thread and was ready to sew on a backing of hand dyed silk but without power... no machine! I was happy to have the scarf completed and for more details please go to the "Silk Designs" tab at the top of the page.