Monday, August 28, 2006

Natural dyeing

Trawling round the net the other evening for compost dyeing (staining) I found a site for using garden plants for dyeing. One of the recipes used rosemary and I have several large rosemary bushes in my garden that need pruning. This morning I was out there with my shears and a large bucket to fill with clippings, and it is now simmering on the stove in an old saucepan that fortunately had missed my clean ups. I need to wash floors and things before getting into mordanting fabric and marking it so playtime has to end for the moment. I will let you know what happens to the fabric.

Friday, August 25, 2006

Tie-painting fabric

I can remember painting this fabric but was disappointed that it did not quite work out as I had planned. Paint does not work in quite the same way as dye and this is a tie-painted piece. Time does, however, lend a different perspective and I am now delighted to have found it in time to add it to my fabric journal pages. Wonder if I could achieve anything so delightfully different again?!

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Finished

I completely finished the little fme bag yesterday, all the embellishments attached to the dangly bits, beaded, all seams stitched up - its really glittery and funky. I heard from the insurance company yesterday that they are still waiting for quotations for replacement goods - sigh - guess that means more waiting for a camera.

I am going to a crazy patchwork meeting tomorrow, I have the beading of my fabric journal pages to take with me. Am hoping to 'frame' each page today with fabric.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Creating

I'm not sure how I got the photo from my mobile phone to the computer the other day, I tried and tried yesterday to take a picture and get it transferred to the PC, but it would simply not load. I have been working on more embellishments for the bag; this morning I made some wild beads with shrinky dink. I didn't exactly follow instructions to bake the beads in the oven, but decided I would give them a quick blast with the heat gun. Wow! This works better than being conventional. I can see that the recently unburied shrinky dink will be used more often, I thought it a bit boring when you use the oven to shrink the stuff.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Early mornings

I was awake very early this morning, have been busy making wrapped cords and embellishing snippets to make a hanging ornament to adorn the little bag I am making. The embellishments are felt with painted dryer sheets ironed on, metallic stitching to ensure they stay together. I also have some little cones to make, but want to bead them. I will try to take some photos later on when the light has improved. The camera in my phone is not as good as my old one and we are still waiting for replacements.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Purse


Purse
Originally uploaded by Maureen1.
I managed to load my mobile phone software onto my computer today so that I can take photos for my blog. This is a rather gloomy picture of the bag we made in Carol Wilkes' class, this is Model II for me, since I 'lost' the one I made in the workshop to my daughter. This is painted vliesofix applied to felt, stencilled, angelina fibres, fme, beaded. I still have to apply the beaded cord to the edge of the bag, make a fme'd cord for a strap and machine embroidered dangly bits.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

beads and buttons

Another wild day today, I have been busy sewing. Making another bag, need to shop for more supplies before I can finish it. Have put fresh elastic around a fitted sheet - horrid job! Am just about to make a bead trail on the bag, oooh, beads, sequins, buttons, love this sort of play. No news from the insurance company about a new camera, I am finding I really, really miss having that handy.

Sunday, August 13, 2006

ugly fabrics

I think from a comment made by Arlee that she would like to set up an ugly fabric journal page challenge! She is not the only one who has those 'gosh, why ever did I buy THIS' type of fabric. I did make up all my ugly quilt fabrics into a reversible quilt (lots of strips) for my youngest daughter to take camping. It turned out amazingly attractive and she wouldn't take it camping to be spoiled but instead it has pride of place on her bed.

I have been working on a bag, fabric journal pages and painting one of my hibiscus flowers. Pastels are an extremely messy method of painting, but very satisfying - you get such lovely colours with them no effort involved.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Bag Lady

The bag I made in Carol Wilkes' workshop has already been spoken for, my daughter fell in love with it and when I had finished it off properly, including a dangly ornament of wrapped cords, plastic bag beads, cone beads, sequins and various beads and whatever I could lay my hands on that sparkled. To my amazement it turned out PINK - I hardly ever work in pink or wear pink, but there it was, this pink bag! It was a fantastic workshop including a bit on rust dyeing. However, Carol dyes with rusty or rusted objects which menas that the fabric continues to be eaten and will eventually disappear. Kimberley Baxter Packwood has instructions for rust dyeing and for stopping the rust eating the fabric on her website. Its all very simple, but I'm afraid rust dyeing doesn't do much for me, looks too much like the rust spots that sometimes appear on washing and that I have tried to eliminate over the years

Sunday, August 06, 2006

Workshop

I didn't really want to go to the workshop with Carol Wilkes yesterday, but am glad I did. We made a bag, mine is embellished with some gorgeous mesh glitter I bought in Vancouver in the shop Arlee showed me, plus a pretty parrot brooch. I never perform brilliantly in workshops, I like to linger over my work, so think I will make another bag to fully explore this technique.

We had an inventory of things missing after the burglary, think we have not lost too much, and most importantly my sewing stuff was not considered important enough to even riffle through. Since this is the real treasure in my eyes I have much to be thankful for!

Saturday, August 05, 2006

Thieves

While I was at the opening of an art exhibition last night we were burgled. The rats stole my digital camera among other things, so alas no more photos unless I can scan what I have done. Fortunately not a great deal went, more nuisance value and the shock of coming home and finding the house upside down.

Friday, August 04, 2006

Fibre Art Journal






As you can see I have been busily embroidering stitch samplers for inclusion in my fibre art journal. I have been a little, well a lot, uninspired by the detatched chain stitch, but now I have found my silk ribbons I think the addition of some of these may improve things. The addition of a few beads will jazz the samples up quite a bit too, but just love the texture of piling the stitches on top of each other and the way the negative space interacts with the embroidery.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Autumn ATC


Autumn ATC
Originally uploaded by Maureen1.
Made for catalogue photo for machine embroidery exhibition in November. Painted Vliesofix on felt, tyvek leaf, hand stitching, hand dyed thread.