New directions with fabric collage

For the longest time, I have wanted to try making Bohemian pendants... colorful, funky, one-of-a-kind necklaces from fabric, beads... whatever funky things I can put together for the look.  I've been perusing Pinterest for awhile, gathering ideas.  I wasn't able to find any tutorials on them, so I just finally started to play... let's see what happens if I do this!  Well, here are a few that I have created so far:

I created a fabric collage awhile back for a textile background, but decided I didn't like how it turned out.  But there are sections of the fabric that are perfect for these little 2" by 2 1/2" pendants!  Plenty of sparkle and visual interest.  I layered netting, threads, ribbon and other fibers over a black background and used free-motion stitching to anchor it to the backing.  Then I used double sided heavy duty fusible interfacing to give it some body.  The back is black fabric, and I finished the edges with satin stitching.  I added beaded fringe and suspended from black rat tail cord.

I took a different direction with this pendant... layers of fabric hand stitched together, then I appliqued the autumn leaf on top... one of several I made last year for another project.  A few beads enhance the top fabric.  It is attached to a felt backing and suspended from waxed linen cord.

This is another using the collage fabric... more fringe, and beads on top to add a little more color.

I'm working to build up an inventory of these before putting them in the Arts Connection Gallery... hopefully by June.

I have also been busy dyeing... I stopped carrying tank tops awhile back, but have some I listed on my artfire shop.  I had a few undyed tanks left, so figured I would get them dyed too:

Just in time for summer, although we're still waiting for Spring weather here in the High Country!

Summer's end

This year's Flagstaff Open Studios Tour was a smashing success!  We had record breaking crowds, good sales, and a fun weekend with 8 artists at our location:

Here are some shots of my booth layout:

By the end of the show, I was pretty worn out, what with breaking down, then bringing my wares back into the gallery the next day to set up.  But all that effort was worth it, and I'm looking forward to brisk sales in the coming months leading up to the holidays.

Meanwhile, I decided it was time to re-open my online shop on Artfire - see the tab above.  I have pulled my Easy Breezy rayon dresses from the gallery, and have them listed in the Artfire shop, and will add more items over time. 

 This way I have two outlets to offer my work, one local and one available to shoppers all over the U.S.  That should keep me busy!  Be sure to check out the shop, and tell your friends!

Catching up

I haven't had a lot of time to post lately, because I am setting up my new shop on ArtFire.com! I decided that I want to move everything from my old website over there to see if I can get more business, then I signed on to create a 'Stuck in the 60's ' guild, and I'm busily stocking my virtual shelves, making new business contacts, and generally having fun! That doesn't mean I am abandoning my art quilt ventures, just giving them a little rest while I take care of the other biz! So bear with me for a little longer... oh, yes. And I am launching yet another blog, hippiewear.blogspot.com, to post articles by myself and other guild members about our businesses, articles about dyeing, etc. So I'm not sitting around, eating bon-bons and scratching my derriere!
Back soon...