"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.

You never know...

what will happen when feathers collide with rainbows. This one is for a friend who is healing.
The background is wool from an old tie. The blue is silk dyed with the colorhue dyes.  It measures 3"x5".

and...
If you ever thought about travelling to Japan, you might want to check out this brochure. It promises to be an experience of a lifetime.

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.

imagine...

"A dream you dream alone is only a dream,
  A dream you dream together is a reality."
                                     John Lennon

I love this.

thinking about rain...

I'm no longer remembering what rain sounds like, feels like... The tropical storm that was going to somewhat save us this weekend fizzled out and we got nothing. I put out more pans of water this morning for all the little creatures after I saw a bird feasting on the water from the a/c drain in the backyard.

I've been searching for an inexpensive hassock, ever since I saw this and I found one at Hobby Lobby yesterday that was on sale.  Another project to work on but usable as is until then.

I started a bobbin lace project, with beads, a couple of months ago and it's finally finished. I was not happy with the color and size of the beads I chose, after starting, but decided to finish it anyway just for the experience of working with beads. I made a purple velvet purse and decided to use the lace piece as a decoration for the flap. The flap is trimmed with a green rope and I will make a twisted strap with the same rope. It's kind of dramatic looking but not at all something I would use. I was encouraged to enter it in an exhibit that will be at the Austin airport from August 17th through September 7th. The Austin Lace Guild will be exhibiting their bobbin lace pieces. I've also submitted three lace trimmed pouches that I made and some fancy bobbins I purchased last year. I hope to have some pictures of the exhibit when it is on display.

a much deeper purple in person. it measures 8½ x 7½. not yet completed.


July 31, 2011 --- UPDATE ON THE PURSE: it is lined with brocade fabric, the strap has been added and it is now complete.

we need a miracle or some magic...

Went out early this morning to do some yard work and was very sad to find this skeleton of a frog. There just isn't any water around for all the little creatures. Heard a news report that shelters are taking in baby squirrels and hand feeding them because they are being abandoned by their moms for lack of food and water. I try to keep some water out in the yard but it evaporates very quickly in temperatures over 100 degrees. It's day 42 of over 100 degree weather and not a drop of rain here at my house in over a month. There is a glimmer of hope of some rain this weekend. I need to conjure up some magic.

i can see the suffering in the expression

just a skeleton

the fun has begun...

I think this is my favorite part. Having all the elements and deciding how to put them together. Well, I really don't have them all. There are more beasts to be made but they will mostly be embellishment. I put a thin 48" square cloth on the design wall and I have started playing. After most of the decisions have been made, I will take a picture and remove most of the pieces and start invisible stitching from the center out. This thin background is not THE back, just a way to assemble all the elements. There will be a backing added at the end and maybe a thin, flannel middle layer.

48" thin cloth and begin placement of elements

this will be the center--there will be beasties added here

 I'm still experimenting with making black and white sewing thread.

3 strands of floss marked with a permanent marker

And I was thinking that all this magic (Jude's workshop) called for a new pincushion. So I made one last night.

a special pincushion for the Magic Diaries Workshop

Moving along slowly but now it's getting exciting. Any ideas, suggestions, comments are always welcome.

still making decisions...

I dyed some silk gauze with onion skins and love the way it turned out but was not happy with the way it looked over the orange cloth I was trying to tone down. So I decided to break up the orange cloth into smaller blocks and took one of the blocks and dropped it into the onion skin bath. Well, I like the way it turned out so I think I will continue doing that with the rest of that cloth.

the onion skin dye has toned down the color

I also found a couple of other things I might be adding to this 'magic diaries' cloth that I'm working on through Jude's workshop. Just couldn't pass up the thrift shop this week. I think the two pieces I found will fit into this cloth somewhere.

silk gauze dyed in onion skin and 2 thrift shop finds

Also did some weaving on the goat piece and made the whole piece a bit smaller.

did some weaving on the left side

On a completely different topic, I decided to try and do some writing of words using the sewing machine. I've been practicing in my head for a couple of weeks. I tend to do that when I want to try something new. It seems to help me to get a better start. I think I did pretty well for the first try. All was done free form except for the bottom right where I wrote out the quote in pencil and stitched over the lines. This was done on a sandwich of 2 pieces of cotton with flannel in between. Next I will try it with just the 2 layers of cotton---and maybe in a hoop for easier maneuverability.

practicing free motion writing on the sewing machine

So things are moving along now and the magic cloth is in its early stages. At least I now feel like I know in which direction I am going.

wandering...

My mind is wandering today. Can't seem to focus on any one thing. Trying to start on something for the Magic Diaries workshop but cannot settle on one thing. I unearthed some more moon pieces that I forgot about and really want to work on those but can't get started. I said that already, didn't I.  I guess I'll wait until some one thing settles in. It's just one of those days. I don't have these type days very often. Wish I knew why this happens so I could avoid it.

Hope your day was more productive than mine. Even the picture is out of focus.

and we're off...

Jude's Magic Diaries workshop started today. And, as usual, I'm off in a different direction than I planned. I did want to work on my moon quilt but I don't have as many pieces for that as I thought. I pulled out all my pieces and decided to go with the beasts and the very bright red/orange/yellow background. I'm hoping I can get all those pieces to work well together and plan to make some more beasts to add on. Also hoping I can tone down that bright background with lots of embellishments. If you want to join in, you can still sign on for this fabulous 6-month workshop here.
I'm back in here to say I just decided I'm going to onion skin dye that bright red/orange/yellow background before I do anything else. That should knock down that color.

the pieces I have so far

I came upon some silk scraps and just started playing with them and some cotton that was leaf bundle dyed. I was disappointed that the cotton was very hard to handstitch through so I wound up using the sewing machine for some of the stitching. I'm thinking the cotton and silk pieces will make a nice pouch and the nine-patches (hand stitched) will probably be used in the lining.

silk and cotton

The July/August issue of Piecework Magazine has a couple of great articles on Oya Lace with some instruction. It's a type of needle lace. I'm trying to learn. I'm using the edge of a vintage napkin.

the second one is a little better than the first.

Meet OTIS

Otis started out here, kind of ghost like. He is a star minder. He tends to go invisible so you will never see him all, just parts of him. Parts of him tended to become visible as I stitched. Looks like he's not willing to reveal more of himself at this time.

OTIS the star minder

 I did finish this piece last night and I think it will become part of my moon quilt.

 

 I think OTIS will be with me from now on so you might see parts of him appear in other pieces once in awhile. He is kind of shy but a very gentle being. Not sure exactly what he does yet. As he reveals himself, I will let you in on his star minder duties. Click on the images for a closer view.

"Only those who can see the invisible, can attempt the impossible." Einstein

finally getting this thing called bobbin lace...

It's taking me a long time to master this craft. I started repeating patterns to help me learn. Repetition usually does it for me. I used a linen thread for this 6" border and did each one in a different color so I wouldn't get bored. I've made 4 little cases that will hold bobbins and lace tools and each one is decorated with a laced edge. They measure about 6" x 4". Click on the images for a closer view.

3 cases made with upholstery scraps and 1 with a moire. all lined with cotton.

the backs of 2 of them

they will hold all kinds of lace tools and bobbins

I'm working on a piece right now with lots of beads. I got carried away with the colors and it looks like something a clown would wear but I'm getting good experience working with the beads and for the first time am able to follow the pattern without too much help. Should be finished with it soon and will post it then.

Playing with the Wyr-Knittr

I played a bit more with the Wyr-Knittr. Completed a little basket that was a bit floppy so I did a button 9-patch on the bottom and added a bead on the inside for weight. It's a perfect size for catching left over threads. The truth is that I wasn't having fun stitching it together or it would have been much larger. It has a crocheted edge to pull it all together.

I've been stitching on the piece that came together last week from leftover scraps. I put some white cord through the Wyr-Knittr and made a couple of small tree trunks that I stitched onto the discharged trees and then embroidered on some leaves. And on the right hand side, a being is developing. Not real sure yet what he will look like. He might be a star maker by trade.

Opened up 3 eco dyed bundles. The bottom cloth is silk with purple oxalis. Not much of the purple remained. It kind of looks like 2 flowers behind a fence. The top 2 cloths are cotton that were wrapped with eucalyptus leaves. I think I will be sticking with silk from now on unless I'm using onion skins. All the leaves and flowers seem to make stronger imprints on silk.

More discharging and the Wyr Knittr

I did some more experimenting with discharging with Soft Scrub. I just used regular stencils this time that I've used in the past for quilting and with Paintstiks. They're not perfect but all are usable. The trick seems to be to start with a small amount of the Soft Scrub and add some as needed. I just used a piece of card stock to spread it around.

this is a blue shot cotton despite how it looks here

Arlee mentioned the gizmo, the Embellish-knit, on her blog yesterday and it looked very familiar. Turns out that about 8 years ago I bought the Wyr Knittr which is the same thing but made to be used with wire instead of yarn. I pulled it out last night (the package was still sealed) and have been playing with it. I couldn't make it work with the wire but it works great with yarn. It makes a great I-Cord and I started coiling and stitching it together for a small basket.

a variegated soft alpaca yarn

The Star has a face...

The star has a face. It's not the face that was planned but stitching the face on velvet was difficult.

 

I've decided that this piece, when finished, will be stitched to a pillow. I'm slowly  adding other elements.

I tried some discharging with Soft Scrub. I used a tree punch to make a stencil. I added the discharged trees to a piece that came to be while clearing scraps up from my table. Lots more stitching to be done, especially on the trees.

Stitching and Waiting...

I've been stitching on the piece I showed in my last post. Still a lot more to do and there will be a reverse piece on the right side that still needs lots of stitching. I'm thinking that velvet star needs a face.

Here are some close-ups. The round moon is pieced with 3 different pieces of silk.

I have 3 dye bundles that I will open in a couple of days and 2 new ones that will have to wait a few weeks. The bundle that is showing a beautiful purple was just wrapped yesterday with some leaves from my Purple Oxalis plant along with some eucalyptus leaves that came from a wonderful friend. I hope that purple holds up in the wash.

Purple Oxalis