Almost Spring!

 It's the Ides of March!  Today's weather:  wind, rain due to turn to snow.  But we've had a few lovely days with blue skies and warmer temps, so almost all of our snow has melted and the mud had dried up... will have to see how things look after this storm passes, but my Daffodils and Tulips are poking through so Spring is definitely coming, yaay!

So here's what I've been working on in the past few days:

I used a glass vase as my form - wrapped with plastic wrap, then glued 3 layers of fabric scraps over it.  I let it sit overnight, then tried to remove the vase - easier said than done on this one!  It's 7 1/2" high and about 3 1/2" wide.  With other forms, I've been able to wiggle them around a bit to loosen the plastic wrap then remove the outside, but with this... hard to grip glass, and as tall as it is, I had to finally resort to slipping a letter opener between the glass and the plastic all around, a few times before I was finally able to gradually remove the vase.  Lessons learned, lol!

Then I bought some more glass from our local thrift store, and decided this one was perfect for creating a small bud vase:

This one was really a fun one to make!  I had a length of stitched fabric strips where I zigzagged funky yarn over the top, and the fabrics were in my fave - rainbow colors.  I first wrapped and stitched on a piece of cotton batting, then I began wrapping the stitched cording around the base.  When I got about a third of the way to the top, I stopped and pinned the cord to the batting.  Then I brushed on some Fabric Stiffy to glue it all together.  I let it sit and dry, then I finished wrapping and gluing the rest.  The top rows were a little challenging since the bottle narrowed to the neck.  So I pulled out my hot glue gun and that did the trick.  I left it to completely dry overnight.  Then I started playing with ideas for making funky colorful flowers, but wasn't able to achieve what I had in mind.  My next thought was to use the tree twigs I had wrapped with yarn awhile back, just to see how it would look.  I decided that was just the trick, so I'm probably going to add this to my booth at Arts Connection next week.  Meanwhile, I'm busy making more of the fabric/yarn strips - I really love how they look, so they'll no doubt grace some more of my vessels soon!

Now what?  Well, our weather is supposed to improve very soon, and I'm looking forward to doing some dyeing soon - got a huge order from my supplier, so time to get busy!  Stay tuned...

February fun!

 For a short month, February has turned out to be a productive one for me!  And here's my latest - I'm adding cotton jersey relaxed fit pants to my inventory:

They take the dyes beautifully, and they're lightweight and comfy!  

I also started dyeing some more Cotton shells - this batch was done in the same colors as the pants:

I love the blues and greens!

On another note, I decided to convert an old hand dyed & stitched panel to a vessel:

I'm trying to think of a way to add some flowers to the vessel, but the 2 I tried making don't do it justice and I'm not finding any pre-made ones I like.  I addded a mason jar inside so it can be used for cut flowers, but for now, It's waiting patiently in the studio for me to decide how to move forward.

Another recent project was an Easter Basket - I hadn't made a bowl with a handle in a long time, so I figured it was time to revisit that, and here is the result:

I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, so I may need to do more, not just for Easter.  A friend

suggested these would be nice for baby gifts - maybe a little larger, to hold layette items, so I'm

giving thought to that.

Meanwhile, Winter isn't quite done with us yet - lots of snow with more in the forecast off and on over the next week or so.  Our patio room - between the front door and the step up into our living room - has been renamed the "mud room" because it is the place where we remove our snow boots, which are often coated with mud after the snow melts and the runoff turns the yard into mud flats!  No plans to try and reclaim the room until winter is good and gone... then I'll have my work cut out for me!

Meanwhile, stay safe & warm, friends!  Spring is coming, the Tulips and Daffodils will bloom, and hopefully we can look forward to some sunshine and warmer temps!

What's new?

 Since my last post, I've been having lots of fun with a few things - more glued pots

A vessel made from a panel I stitched a few years ago, along with some sticks I wrapped with yarn and ribbon:

I've also been busy dyeing some zip up hoodies I decided to try - so far, I've sold at least 6 and made the decision to keep these in my inventory year round.  They're lightweight and great for layering!

Other than that, there are "fun" things like getting my business reports done for tax time; doing my best to get enthused about doing some housework (sigh), and for the next few days, I'll be busy shoveling snow!  My best guess is we've had at least 5 inches so far, and the storm is forecast to last into Tuesday, so I'll be getting some great exercise, and might even bring some of that snow in to do some snow dyeing!

I hope you all had a lovely holiday season - ours was quiet, but for me that's better than being stress-filled trying to do everything and deal with all the hard work that goes into family celebrations and get togethers.

Wishing you all a Happy 2023!

Is it done? I don't know!

I've enjoyed playing with my bowl over the past several days, each day focusing on one area and coming up with some way to enhance or embellish it.  The last photo shows my latest addition: a swirl, which is one of my longtime favorite symbols.  There is still some of the lower areas that could be enhanced, but I don't want it to look too overdone, so I think I will study it as it is for awhile, then decide.  One last thing I will need to do is attach the base which is a few coils of fabric wrapped cord that I stitched together, leaving the center open.  It's been great for adjusting the position of the vessel while I worked on one thing or another, and I'm tempted to leave it unattached, but that's a decision I will make soon.  This has been a really fun project because I didn't have any preconceived ideas other than to try the process, and I let my imagination play with "what if" thoughts, and just went with whatever came to mind.  I think this is just the first of these I hope to do going forward, just for the fun of it! If you're intrigued or interested in trying one of these, you can see the tutorial I used as a guide here:

 https://www.alteredstatesstudio.com/blog/2022/11/25/fabric-bowls

Fun new project!

 I've been busy doing a number of things since my last post, but I'm having so much fun on my current project that I couldn't wait to start showing you what I'm doing!

I was browsing Instagram the other day and came across a post by Kristin Peterson of alteredstatestudio - it was about a fabric vessel she created with part of a plastic milk carton, fabric scraps and loads of craft glue.  I visited her blog at https://www.alteredstatesstudio.com/ and saw 2 variations - the one with a milk carton, the other using a balloon.  Well, I didn't have the milk carton (do now, just have to drink up the milk!) but I did have balloons and heaven knows I have a ton of fabric scraps, so off I went!  I didn't have a lot of elmer's school glue but did have a bottle of Mod Podge Stiffy - which is pretty much the same thing.  I culled through some fabric scraps, pulled a bunch out and grabbed a container to pour the stiffy in and a cheap brush.  Here are some process shots:

Here is the bowl, resting in a colander to allow the glue to dry.

Still drying - it takes awhile, since there are 3 layers of fabric, each with a layer of Stiffy.

Dry and resting on a potential base, made of rope with fabric wrapped around it, stitched into a circle.

Here's a shot of the inside 

I wanted to try stitching with embroidery floss, and decided to create needle holes first.  Note;  it was very challenging to work the needle through and find the hole on the inside to return the needle to the outside!  

Here's the bowl after doing some stitching.  It's nowhere near being done, but I needed a rest after stitching just that small area!  

I can't explain it, but things like this are always so intriguing to me!  I know it's a very simple idea, but I think they are amazing, and no doubt I will be finishing this and making more.  Stay tuned!