A few new things...

Can't believe how long it's been since I posted... yikes!  Just a few things to share, even though I've been keeping busy.  First off, a fellow artist at the Artist' Coalition Gallery gifted me with a number of silk veils/shawls and some dyes in colors I have not tried before.  I dyed one to see the colors and love how it turned out:

I used Plum, Amethyst and Ultra-Violet Procion MX dyes... love the rich colors!

Next on my show and tell is a bowl I just finished.  It's the first one I have tried with an outward curling edge... a bit of a challenge to keep the wrapped cords together while stitching, but I think I did okay:

I used hand-dyed fabric, then brushed a little metallic paint on the squiggle to add some visual interest.

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Joyce and I took a trip to Sedona to pick up my friend Sherrie, who is vacationing for the month with her husband Dave.  Joyce, Sherrie and I traveled to Prescott Valley and Prescott to visit fabric shops and have lunch.  The day went way too fast!  Here we are in front of the house back in Sedona:

We all dressed in shades of blue, can you believe it?  I nicknamed us the "Turquoise Sisters"!

Last on the list is a project I found instructions for on-line, my favorite resource for "how to"!

I call this a River Rock Cozy... haven't done any fine crocheting in a long time, but I really love these, so will probably be making more soon as I find some more rocks!

I hope to have more to report soon... I just bought my first Jacquard Green Label dyes, and have begun experimenting with them using the Watercolor method.  Hope to have pix soon!

     

Scarves in ACF Gallery

They're up!  My brand new mini-boutique area is hung in the Artists' Coalition Gallery on Aspen in Flagstaff!

I have been a busy bee, and finished 20 scarves for the display, just in time for First Friday Art Walk this Friday, Dec. 6th.  I have some nice gift items available there as well, for under $25, as will a number of our members, so it's a great place to go for affordable holiday gift shopping!  

Meanwhile, I'm heading back to the scarf works... need to start cranking out the next batch!  See ya...  

Shabby Chic scarves - Group shot

I have been busy snipping and stitching new mixed fiber scarves again... just can't seem to get enough of these! I'm trying to build up my inventory for our annual Open Studios Tour at the end of August. I have posted a couple of pix recently, but thought I would take a group shot of what I have done so far:

As you can see, they come in many sizes and colors.

I'm working on number 7 as we speak, and have loads of fabrics and yarns waiting in the wings... or all over the floor to be more exact!

Below is the scarf I'm currently working on... snippets of fabrics, yarns and ribbons sandwiched between layers of Sulky solvy, a water soluble stabilizer.

Once again, I must give credit for this wonderful technique to my blogging and FB friend, Sherrie at "Sherrie Loves Color!"  If you go to her blog and do a search on scarves, you will find many of her posts about her technique, and fabulous examples to inspire you!  Thanks again, Sherrie...

Crazed about scarves!

My blogger buddy Sherrie of "Sherrie loves color!" recently blogged about a new scarf she made - you can see it here - and it reminded me that I have been wanting to try making one ever since I saw another of her posts last fall... they are so beautiful, whimsical, very chic!  So, I finally broke down and bought the Sulky solvy stabilizer which she uses in her process, and dug out lots of decorative yarns, pretty scraps of silky fabrics, etc.  I followed her directions, and here is my first scarf:

Some of the fabrics in this scarf are at least 20 years old, but they worked very well in combination with the various yarns I put with them.  I love how it looks, but as I mentioned in an e-mail to Sherrie, the scarf is a little stiff.  I'm guessing I didn't remove all the stabilizer after I finished stitching the piece together.  It's been hand washed twice, but I might try a third time, followed by a textile softener I use when laundering my scarves.  

Meanwhile, I have a slightly different version I'm thinking of trying, although it might not work.  But in preparation, I decided to use up some of my dyes and some cheesecloth:

I want to change the subject briefly here... ever since I started dyeing back in 1998, I have heard from a large number of reputable sources that Procion MX dyes could only be stored for about a month before they would lose their capacity to bond to fiber, and any projects using older dyes than that would end up very faded.  So for the longest time, I would throw away unused dyes that had been sitting for over a month.  I know that professional tie-dyers tend to want their shirts to be uber-vibrant, and I get that.  But since I also do a lot of fabric dyeing for various projects, I gradually began to experiment, just to see how well the dyes did after being stored for longer periods.  The examples above are from dyes that have been stored in the garage for various lengths of time, but of all the dyes, 2 have been stored for over 14 months, and one for over 6!  So if you dye, and have been concerned about using the dyes before they lose their strength, try storing in a cool place away from the light... I know that Dharma Trading's Lemon Yellow and Bright Green fade faster than some of the others, but generally, I wouldn't be concerned unless you absolutely must have a very bright color!  

Back to the scarves... I am considering using the cheesecloth instead of the stabilizer to hold the snippets of cloth and yarn together while I stitch the scarf... only concern I have is because the cheesecloth is so loose-woven, it might become tangled in the machine while I'm stitching.  I'm going to give it some thought before I procceed, and maybe do a very small swatch to see how it acts.  I'll post again when I come up with my next one, and let you know how it turns out.  Meanwhile, thanks again, Sherrie, for all your wonderful inspiration!  

   

Busy... busy... busy!!!

I feel like I'm a crafter on steroids these days! Ramping up for the big show of the year, and my studio looks like a tornado struck! I got a bunch more scarves dyed last week, and sold 7 to a friend from CA, so I ordered a bunch more to dye before the 19th. Good thing they dye quickly! Here are a few I did last week:

I also did some custom orders from my last show and dyed a shirt for another friend in CA which is ready to ship. Then yesterday, I made up the second of (hopefully) a bunch of note pad covers out of some hand-dyed and embellished fabric. I would like to get at least 6 more made up for the show later this month, and once I get the various fabrics cut out, they should go fairly quickly. So as I said in my title, 'Busy...busy...busy'!