Butter Soft Bamboo Crochet Thread

A couple of weeks ago, I was in Joann's craft store and picked up this ball of Aunt Lydia's Bamboo Crochet Thread (Size 10).  I could not believe how soft it was and just had to have it.  I thought it might be nice for tatting but it turned out that the thread is not wound tightly enough and separates too easily for tatting. Last night while looking through the book 'Crochet Adorned' by Linda Permann, I saw a little motif I thought I would try with the bamboo thread.  It was just wonderful to crochet with and I'm happy with the way it turned out, except that I probably should have been using a smaller crochet hook. There is a picture of it below.  I used a Size E hook but I'll try the next one with a couple of sizes smaller.  By the way, Linda Permann's book has some wonderful edgings for clothing and lots of good ideas.

Another Great Fabric Storage Unit

I saw this shoe storage unit in a catalog I get and thought it would make a great place to store fabric.  It's only 12" wide so it fits into a small space.  It's 53" high and 13" deep and has a drop down cover so your fabric is covered.  I just put it together and I love it.  I have a whole bunch of fabric ready to wash and this is where it will be stored.  Here are a couple of pictures so you can get an idea of what it's like. Go to http://www.collectionsetc.com/ if you're interested in getting one. It's listed under 'shoe organizer'.

An Accidental Meeting of Wirework, Tatting and Sheer Fabric

I love when things come together to make something new.  I received the latest issue of Fiberarts magazine last week and was very inspired when I saw the work of Linda Hutchins who works with sheer fabric sculpture.  Here is a link if you would like to see some of her beautiful work:
http://www.lindahutchins.com/Linda_Hutchins/Images_Seq.php/Sculpture/1/1 During that time I was practicing the slip and slide method of tatting that Jane Eborall posted on her blog:

http://www.janeeborall.freeservers.com/holdshuttle.pdf  I was also sorting through my wirework pieces and jewelry tools and found this little wire basket I had made a couple of years ago.  All three things came together in my mind.  I stitched sheer organza pieces to the outside and inside of the basket, added the practice tatting pieces to either sides of the basket and put beads on the hanging threads. So it really was an accidental meeting of the wire basket, the tatting and the sheer fabric. The basket is 1¼" in diameter and 1½" high. The whole piece is about 12" from top to bottom.  Hope you like it. Click on the picture for a close-up view.

Local Austin Fiber Arts Display

A local business, Tokyo Electron, donated their lobby space for a fiber arts display to support the arts in the local community of Austin, TX.  There were some beautiful pieces displayed showing a wide variety of mixed media arts.  Here is an overview of the display.  You can click on each picture for a closer look.

   

                 

                             Sleeving by Mary Macaulay
This piece really made me smile. I love it. It's made of felted sleeves hung on willow branches.

Playing with Photoshop Elements

I am taking a Digital Photography class so I can learn how to use my new camera.  I really want to learn how to use the camera in Manual Mode, but this class does not cover that feature.  I'll have to search around for another class after this one, which is one, two hour session, for 8 weeks.  I've been having fun taking pictures and playing with them in Photoshop Elements.

This first picture was posted in my last entry and was taken in a theatre in Round Top, TX.  I love the effect of the shadows on the wooden floor created by the light coming from the windows. Here are some after using various effects in Photoshop. 

This next picture was taken at the Arboretum in Austin, TX.  The first one is the original and the second one was transformed in Photoshop. It looks like neon lighting to me.                                   

I'm thinking about how I can transform some of these to a fabric quilt.