Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Mounted batiks

I posted about this a few days ago on my Facebook page, so if you follow me there, please forgive the duplication.  Last week, one of my fellow bloggers, Lynda of Bloom, Bake & Create, posted  here about mounting and framing her beautiful marbled fabrics, and I loved them!  It inspired me to try the same treatment for some of my batik fabrics:

I love how these came out, and will definitely be doing more!  Lynda did a great job of writing a tutorial, so I'll let you visit her blog for more details.  Meanwhile, I'm working on a tank top order for one of my regular customers, and sent her a picture of the top batik, and now I'm going to use the same technique - soy wax batik - for one of her tanks, only the dark color will probably be a vivid lapis or purple instead of black.  
BTW, for those of you who live in the vicinity of Flagstaff, I will be at the Spring Artists' Marketplace at the Elk's Club on north San Francisco this Saturday, May 4th, from 10am - 4pm.  I'll have lots of tie-dye, my new tie-dye necklaces and scarves, and some of my wall art as well... hope you can stop by!

Monday, April 15, 2013

More fun projects using t-shirts

I'm just having so much fun!  I've been searching on-line for tutorials using t-shirts, and got some new ideas for t-shirt accessories:
 Here's a long necklace made out of strips of t-shirt, doubled around the neck.

Another way to wear the same necklace.

 If the first one seemed a little too much, here's a smaller, braided necklace... nice touch of color without going overboard.
 Shown here with the wrapped end in front instead of behind the neck.
And here, the necklace is doubled to make a shorter version.

 This is a six-strand plaited necklace, knotted with fringe.
A side view of the same necklace.

Now I can't decide which of all the t-shirt projects I like best, but I'm leaning toward these necklaces over the scarves.  They are quick, easy, and I think they would be easier to wear and more versatile.  What do you think?  I would love to hear feedback comparing all the designs!

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Another tie-dye scarf

I wasn't totally satisfied with how the first scarf came out, and got some great feedback from my friend Cinde, who said it was a little "80's", and also suggested I try shortening the fringe a little.  I found a tank top that had been in my inventory for awhile and decided to try another scarf using it.

 It was a men's XL, so I was able to use just half of it to make a nice sized scarf.  I ended up trimming the fringe diagonally, and really like the result:



I definitely like the look of this, and plan to make up some more before my next show in May!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Fun project!

Recently, Lynda over at Bloom, Bake & Create, posted a great tutorial on how to make a T-shirt Scarf, and I just had to give it a try.  Lynda used a thrift store shirt, but I had a tie-dye shirt that I didn't think would sell, so I decided to experiment on it, since it was handy.  I didn't take process shots, since Lynda did such a great job, but here are a few shots during the final stage.
Fringe cut
I added some beads to enhance the look
An alternate way to wear the scarf

I am not totally done tinkering with this yet, but I do think I like it well enough to make more.  What a great way to transform 'iffy' shirts into an interesting accessory!  Thanks for the inspiration, Lynda!


Wednesday, April 10, 2013

So many inspirations, so little time!

Every once in awhile, I get a spurt of inspiration to try different things, so I'm used to these little bursts of creative juices flowing, but lately it seems like I'm really being charged up... much more than normal!  Must be sun spots, or my planets are all in perfect alignment!  Today I got hit with several ideas at once, but managed to stay focused on one long enough to see it through to completion.  I have been doing a lot of coiled fabric bowls lately, and decided to try making one with a piece of tie-dye fabric:

This was a fabric I had dyed in a class awhile back to demonstrate the diagonal fold... I had no immediate plans for it and knew I could always dye another, so I decided to cut it up to make the bowl:
I folded it in half and cut 1 inch strips, then I began with the left most strip and started coiling around my clothesline:
As I finished coiling each strip, I began with the next strip from the left side of the strips, continuing until I had used up all the strips:

 Here's the finished bowl, front and top views.  Finished size is about 7 1/2" x 2 1/4", a great size to try out my inspiration!  I plan to try using some of my swirl pattern on one as well, to see how the colors come out.  I really love making these bowls and have lots of ideas for different color combinations!  I think I'm going to call this one my "Rainbow Bowl"... kind of fits, don't you think?  

Monday, April 1, 2013

In good company!

As I mentioned in my last post, I am offering an on-line class this Spring that combines basic instructions on tie-dye patterns with a basic quilt pattern designed to showcase your hand dyed fabrics.  Class sign up is now available through Fiber Arts/Mixed Media.  Just click on the 'Online Workshops' dropdown menu, and you will see me listed, and can get all the info by clicking on my name.  But I also wanted to put in a plug for the other classes that will be available... lots of fun projects you might want to check out while you are there!

Lisa Kerpoe will be teaching Visual Texture on Fabric: Resists from the Pantry.  Above is "Bamboo Sunrise", a beautiful example of what Lisa does with an incredible array of resists made of edibles!

Heather Stolz is offering TURNING THE PRAYER OF YOUR HEART INTO ART, which uses a prayer or transformative experience to inspire a piece of fiber art.



Liz Kettle is teaching Layer it Up! using collage and mixed media to make an accordion book.



Susan Sorrell has 3 classes this Spring Session:
Fear no Color, Fertile Earth and Doodle Designs.
The piece above is titled Southern Shade, part of her Fertile Art Workshop.
We do hope you will join us in one or more of these fun classes... great way to celebrate Spring!