a gathering...

Day has become Night and it is time for a gathering on the Universe of Feathers...
These feathers are on their way to Jude for the Magic Feather Project. The piece is 7" square.

bits and pieces of this fabric was gifted to me

Several people asked me what I would be doing with the 'funky puffs' I'm making in Karen's class. They will be added to the edge of my cloth as embellishment. Here is the edge of the sampler pillow I made with some funky puffs.

sampler pillow with funky puffs, prairie point and rouleau loops

I've also been working on a neck piece in bobbin lace. The pattern is so large that I had to make a pillow extension so the bobbins would be supported on the edge.

pillow extension helps hold the bobbins in place.

close-up of collar with beaded edge

And just an idea...
Walgreens was offering free pill cases. I decorated it with duct tape and it's a great little case to hold buttons and things to carry around for my stitching project.

pill case decorated with duct tape

stitching on this and that...

Was stitching a patchwork feather to send to Jude for the Magic Feather Project and, while I was stitching, the ghost of the bird appeared. It will be in the mail tomorrow.

September's feather for Jude

The embroidered pillow is stitched and just needs to be stuffed.

The last lesson in Karen's class was ruching. I just did a small section to learn the technique. Not sure yet where this piece will be used.

ruching with web stitches and french knots

"Look", said the feather...

"it's a rainbow. I wonder if this rainbow will be my friend". Feathers don't see rainbows the way we humans do. They appear to feathers as concentric circles of color.
Click on the image for a closer view.

hand dyed silk on wool; circles are thread beads colored in with Pitt pens, it measures 4"x6"

Another feather on its way to Jude for the Magic Feather Project. There's a free workshop there and you don't even have to sign up. Check it out. Everyone needs a little magic in their lives and it's for charity.

who woulda thunk it...

Acorns make a nice brown color on cloth. So happy that there are others around with all this information--namely Jude and India. And I also learned that the inner part of the acorn is edible and that there is such a thing as acorn flour.

acorns and some cloth in a stainless steel pot

I let the acorns sit in the water (preferably rain water if it rains where you live) for one week. Then I heated up the brew to a simmer and dropped in the cloth. I simmered for about 2 hours and just let the pot sit for about 24 hours. Some of the cloth is still in the pot but here are a few pieces already washed and ironed.

silk with some shibori stitching

silk that was previously bundled with eucalyptus leaves and then dropped in the acorn brew

I made a basket a few weeks ago.  I made it very plain because I want to decorate it somehow with cloth or lace or....haven't really decided yet. But before I do that I wanted to darken it some so I prepared a tea brew and left it in the bucket for about 30 minutes on each side. I like the color.
Now to decide how to decorate it. Any suggestions?

before and after the tea dye

didn't want to waste the tea dye so I dropped in some cloth and twill tape

In my last post I told you about Jude's Magic Feather Project. Well, she has posted about it on her blog and is even offering a FREE Whispering Feathers Workshop. You can read about the project and the free workshop on her blog. Check it out. It's a worthwhile charitable event and you will love the workshop. You might also want to read this. It is about the effect cloth has on children.

a collision course between a feather and a rainbow...

Jude is collecting feathers for her Magic Feather Project.

i've started journaling again here and there and that should say 'a feather for Jude', not a leaf

 A feather was on an unavoidable collision course with a rainbow. The feather was left a skeleton filled up with bits of the rainbow. The rainbow didn't mind and the feather was grateful. All stitched on an old piece of silk from Japan.

this feather is on its way to Jude for the Magic Feather Project

 and....
some silk dyed with eucalyptus leaves.

i will bundle this again for more markings

Click on the photos for close-ups.