Mounted piece

I entered this piece in a show last year.  It didn't get chosen and sat around for more than a year.  I finally got it out and took it off the board it was mounted on, worked on getting it blocked.  I bought a canvas for it last week and painted the canvas and sewed it to the canvas last night.  In the photo, the dark grey above the green looks black.  It is not black, but very dark grey.  I do like the silver highlights in the canvas, they reflect the light differently as you move around the room.  Now we have to find a place for it in our house.

Cool knitting commercial

I don't usually share this kind of stuff.  But I saw this "knitted" commercial.  It is so cool, okay, WAY COOL!  Have fun!  I keep watching over and over!
Natural Gas: knitting commercial

Back to old weaving

I have been working on this sand pail weaving for more than 2 years now.  I seem to find ways to avoid weaving it.  I have finished a few weavings in between, but now I really want to get this one done.  The sand pail has been a real challenge for me.  I have woven and rewoven the thing about 8 times.  I think I am finally done.  In the last reweaving process, I wove it, looked at it a day later and found that it had regressed rather than gotten better.  I then unwove it yet again, and wove it once more.  I am still not 100% happy with it, but I think now if I try to fix it again, it will again get worse rather than better.  This tapestry has been a big learning experience for me.  I feel that I have learned a lot about weaving tapestries with it.  I am going to get back to it this morning as soon as I finish the bills.  One of life's pesky little things we can't avoid.

Sewing Bag Full of Memories

After my mother died, my sister and I sorted through a lifetime of my parents' "things about them" (If you love the John Wayne-Maureen O'Hara movie of the "The Quiet Man" you might remember this quote, if you haven't seen the movie you should check it out!).  My father was a basket maker in his later years and made beautiful, traditional baskets in the Shaker style. 

My mother needlepointed, sewed clothes for me and my sister, knitted, and in her later years she learned to quilt.  Among her things, I found a piece of needle point that looked quite modern. 

 I put it among my things and let it sit for a few years knowing that somehow something would come along sometime.  After carting around my knitting and embroidery in handbags to piano lessons and ballet and soccer for the last couple of years, I finally decided what I really needed was a sewing bag that had the pockets and accoutrements that would make my travels and sewing/knitting on the road easier .  I thought of the needlepoint, took it out and went to the fabric store in search of the right combination of fabrics.  Amy Butler had just the thing, that piece along with some beautiful cream jean fabric looked just right.  I had seen a lovely bag in a knitting store that I admired and had that in mind as I started my bag. I spent three days cutting out fabric and sewing this bag together. 

I made sure I had lots of storage space for my yarn, and lots of pockets for scissors, knitting needles, thread, and whatever else I might need.  I even included a pin cushion.

I have enjoyed using it, and think of my mother when I carry it with me.

Enchanted Pathways

I finally finished my entry for the Enchanted Pathways exhibit at the American Tapestry Alliance meeting in Albuquerque, called Wind Blown.  I was in such a rush to mail it that I did not take such a good photo.  I took the photo from an angle and it looks really skewed.  It is pretty square, thanks to K. Spoeirng's directions on blocking a tapestry.    I have to admit, it is not totally square, I was experimenting with skipping warps on some sections, and weaving over and under on all warps on others.  As a result, the tapestry really pulled in toward the top.  Oh well, it was a learning experience, and it is a very different subject matter than I have used before.  On to other subjects now....I am thinking about weaving a series of small tapestries called Lines.  More about that later.

Spring fashion projects for the younger set

I have been wanting to make something for the baby of some friends of ours.  The baby is now over a year old and I finally got around to making and finishing the project.  The turquoise is from a recycled t-shirt and the lining t-shirt fabric was in my stash leftover from other projects.  The rabbit is from Alabama Stitches, and the dress is an easy jumper pattern that I have used for my daughter for years.  This time I experimented with a bleach pen to write the word starfish all over the fabric and then used reverse applique to have the starfish swimming on the jumper.  I thought it was a fun little play dress.

I also worked on a couple of things for my daughter for spring and summer.  Here is a jacket that I made.  I bought the book Sewing Clothes Kids Love.  I love this book, and I had such fun sewing this jacket, now I think I am going to have to make myself one.  I am trying to use up the stash of fabric that I have for the sewing projects that I have bought for and not gotten around to starting/finishing.  This jacket was just so much fun to make! 

Detail of the back of the jacket.

Signs of Spring?

After all of this snow, I think most of us are a little cabin fevered.  I am ever hopeful for warm weather and no more snow.  I thought I would post some of the hopeful little signs we have been seeing here.   I found our first egg this morning.  We have one aged hen left, whom I thought was beyond laying eggs, but there it lay this morning in the nesting box.  I profusely thanked Aphrodite for her gift and then my daughter and I proceeded to cook it and eat it.  What a great spring gift!

While out feeding the horses, I saw the beginnings of the daffodils, a bit worse for wear from the cold, but up and a sign of spring no less.  I will post some of my projects later this week, mostly sewing clothes for my daughter for spring.