Where did April go?

 Good grief!  Where did April go?  All I know is, Spring is definitely here and I'm thoroughly enjoying warmer weather!  But what have I been doing all month?  Well, I've been doing a little dyeing, and I also spruced up my booth at Arts Connection.  Here are some pix of what I've dyed and how it looks in the gallery:

APRONS!  I've seen these done by others, and finally decided to give them a try - love how they take the dyes!  And they're selling, so of course I had to buy more...

One of my Easy Breezy rayon dresses - this is a slightly different double swirl from what I've done in the past - I love the colors!

To enhance my booth display, I bought some mannequin hangers to display some of my dyed items - I really like how they show off the patterns and colors!

I started bringing in some fabric strips to make into fabric twine while I work shifts at Arts Connection - finally had enough twine to make this vessel, which is big enough to place a 4" clay pot in... now I just have to find a good plant for it!

So that's my story for April - probably more of the same in May, but I'll keep you posted!  Stay tuned...

Going in all directions at once!

Good Grief!

Every once in awhile, I find myself going slightly crazy trying to do six or seven... or a dozen things at once!  It's like I get hit with a heavy downpour of creativity and I'm trying to juggle that with regular activities (laundry, meals, shopping, etc) and I start spinning out of control!  Well, that's what's been happening lately, and that's why it's been awhile since my last post.  

As mentioned a few posts back, I got back into making Spirit Dolls... the kind of project that I love because it's totally freeform with very few requirements:  sticks, scraps of fabric, yarn, ribbon, etc. And faces to give them personality.  It helps to have thread, glue, and a place to spread it all out so you can play.

Above, my work table with boho beads in progress

Got myself a new hot glue gun, and it's awesome!

A SMALL portion of my yarn stash... more in the closet!

My collection of wood - twigs, bark, branches

My current doll in progress

So I've been haunting Pinterest for quite awhile, looking for inspiration and ideas... always with questions unanswered and no  clue where to go for them.  Then I posted on a facebook group I belong to called Fiber Arts/ Mixed Media Art, asking if anyone made Spirit Dolls and if they knew of any groups that shared about them.  Nope, so you know what followed... I started my own group and let the Fiber Arts folks know, and now I have 61 members!  If you are on facebook and want to join (for those who haven't already) the group is called Spirit dolls and guides.  

So far, I've posted the names of a couple of books and a tutorial I have used as references.  And yesterday I found a great video tutorial on making Spirit Dolls, and another one on making Boho beads, which I love to use as embellishments.  And now I have a group of friends to schmooze with about making them, woo-hoo!

But that's not all I've been doing - one of my long time tie-dye customers has been buying clothing for me to dye for her and her husband, so that's on the "to do" list with more to come!

Here's a shot of one of the shirts in progress - I still have to overdye with black after tying into a pattern:

And there are 4 more after this, all with the rainbow/black combo... this gal loves color!

Other than that, I have some herb seedlings started in the patio room along with a geranium cutting that I rooted in water... projects galore waiting to be farmed out to handy workers - waiting for checks from the bank, then I can get those started.  Spring cleaning is underway... slowly, but surely!  So now you know why I haven't posted in awhile, but hopefully I will get back to a more regular schedule soon!

Happy Spring, all... and hope you're all well and happy!

Full time bowl maker!

It's been awhile since I posted!  And other than a brief break from bowls to make a batch of Halloween masks for my friend Joyce, I've been pretty much in full-time bowl making since September, cranking out about 1 a day.  Most have gone to my friend Jana, the lovely lady I collaborate with on gift baskets, but also some that have gone to Arts Connection Gallery to have a full selection for holiday shoppers.  Here are some that I have made:

Poinsettia Christmas Bowl

Bowl with Wood Bead handles

Christmas bowl with medallion

Bowl with fused flower

Bowl with knot

We recently had our first snowstorm of the fall season, with very cold temps, but I didn't get any photos... too busy in the studio!  But it's definitely soup weather and layering is the dress mode of the day.  And our Son and Daughter in law were in town for a few days, so we had a nice visit while they were here.  

 

What's next?  Nothing new to report now, although I am hoping to find some time soon to veer off the bowl making tangent and maybe get time to clean house, and also plan on alternate creative activities to "refresh my palate" so to speak.  Every winter, I like to take a break from production and try new  things, and I'm leaning toward doing some surface design work, a little hand stitching, maybe get back into botanical printing and batik if I have the time.  So stay tuned, and maybe I'll have some new things to share soon!  

One last note - as you may know, my mainstay for over 20 years has been tie-dye.  Yesterday, I heard that one of my wall pieces, "Psychedelic" had sold!

Someone has added a bright spot to their lives, and it makes me happy to know it has a new home! 

Tie dye project pictures

Back in April, I posted this about a special order I was working on: 80 dyed drawstring bags, 80 golf towels, and fabric to be made up into 80 golf cart seat covers.  The order went out the door sometime in late May, and I didn't give it much thought until I got a picture from the customer the other day... I had not seen the seat cover installed on a golf cart, and she sent me this:

My friend Joyce made the covers out of fabric I dyed... aren't they great?  About half of them were dyed as a single swirl, the other half were doubles.  I can only imagine how colorful the golf course was on the day they had their Ladies' tournament back in June!

Flagstaff Open Studios Tour this Weekend!

If you are going to be in the Flagstaff area this weekend, please stop by to see me at this year’s Flagstaff Open Studios Tour!  I  have tie-dye and batik items in my inventory, as well as my Fiber Art pieces . I hope to see you there!

Sun Visor

Here is the first Sun Visor from the fabric I posted about yesterday:

I will need to streamline my process a little if I want to make a large quantity of these, but they are soooo cute, I just have to try! Definitely a plus for summer!