Leaf Study

I'm truly focused on the fall with 2 upcoming solo shows; Norfolk Artisans Guild for the months of September and October and at the Kent Memorial Library during the months of November and December. I also have an opportunity to be a vendor at the Village Square Quilters November 10th & 11th! I plan to sell my stash of fabric including the ice dyed, confetti dyed and hand painted and embellished fabrics.

I've been getting up at 5:30 am to have 3 or 4 hours in the studio before I get to my desk at 9:00... I'm totally driven to be ready and "get it right"!  

I completed "Leaf Study" yesterday.

The piece is primarily silk with one piece of loosely woven linen. I made a stamp of ginkgo leaves which was used on the green strip.

The leaves were felted using wool roving.

The silk was quilted to add texture with random french knots added for interest.

Ice Cube Dying - Think Fall Colors!

I'm getting in the mood for fall already! I just took some fabric out of the "iced" dye bath and yippee... it's fall!

The colors used in this piece were yellow, orange and green!

Sisters: finding inspiration in a photograph

"Sisters" was inspired by a photograph I took of Hannah and her sister Lindsey while on vacation in Maui. We were on the back side of Mt. Haleakala when we came across a beautiful stone church. The setting was so simple and peaceful we stopped to enjoy the serenity. Once I took the photo I knew I wanted to include the sisters in a design because it was such a caring scene. I live in New England and wanted the sisters to be in a more familiar setting so I decided they would equally enjoy picking apples... that's the beauty of the inspiration; you can take it in any direction you'd like!

Sisters
Hand painted background with varies dying techniques for the other fabrics.
27.5" X 12.5"

The design on the back of the jacket was created by felting wool roving.

The sisters hair was made from confetti dyed fabric.

The original photo of Hannah and Lindsey!

Felted Garden

July is a wonderful time of year with exploding colors everywhere from gardens to beach umbrellas - so much to study - so few free hours in a day!

"Felted Garden" just came back from the framers. It's a fantasy garden made up of color combinations I see in my own gardens. I love being able to take raw wool roving and plunk it down into a scene just waiting to be felted. It's fascinating having the fragile fibers become strong and permanent!

What's your favorite scene to felt?!

Creating Moda Batiks - The Process

Carol Chapman Britt owner of Batiks Etcetera and Sew What Fabrics shared a video produced by Moda showing the process of creating batik fabrics. For anyone interested in surface design it's a fascinating insight into the amount of work that goes into each length of fabric. The working conditions are equally fascinating... it's not pretty but it's very efficient. The video is about 16 minutes long with traditional music playing throughout so I encourage you to watch it when you can sit for a few minutes!

This is not the exact piece they create in the video
but it's similar with the over dying.

Ice Cube Dying - Weekend Results!

I had some time to play around with more ice cube dying this weekend! I've learned that the container you dye your fabric in makes a difference in the end results. I've switched back to my old standby of children's pails. The shape and size is perfect for a 1 yard piece of fabric. When using a rectangle shaped container the dye didn't meander enough for my tastes.

What type of container do you use?!