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I have been busy working on a new project that is made with silk fabric from vintage kimonos.
This image shows is the current status and I am happy to report that it is almost finished. I only have a bit more stitching to do. In the beginning this piece looked totally different. Read the details of the evolution on my other blog ZEN CLOTH In three posts: Hand Piecing Kimono Silks Silk Transformation Successful Transformation
I prefer to bury the ends of threads when machine quilting. Sometimes they are too short to handle with a needle alone.
I cam across this video today from Red Barn Studio that clearly demonstrates a clever method to accomplish this. I have quite a few mini art pieces just waiting to be shared. I am not sure they are complete. A few hand stitches are likely to be added. Sizes are under 4×5″.
I am pleasantly immersed in hand stitching. I have discovered that my usual maneuvers in my studio keep me on the move. Rarely do I ever sit down. Sitting during the day is not allowed in my rule book. This has to be saved for the evening when I rest. Where did I come up with that crazy thinking? My cats are so happy that I have decided to take a seat they might actually get petted or allowed to commune with me. My studio is where all my stuff is which is great; but, this also interferes many times. I can get so easily distracted. I am exhausted by dinner time, so I how did I think doing hand work would make sense after a full day?
Lately I have been focusing on hand work. This is a totally different channel. I am out of my comfort zone but for good reasons. I want to explore Slow Stitch/Slow Cloth. I am not crazy about this term but it is the most common that describes a long running stitch that is used many ways. I like the peacefulness that hand work produces. I can slow down in a number of ways. I want to “be in the moment”. It is working. I am calmer than I have been in a long time. This is good. I have set up a new blog called Zen Cloth which will focus on hand stitching and associated topics. This is an extension of my dedication of 2010 as “the year of the stitch”. I am discovering more and more artists that create beautiful and very interesting handwork along with expressive writing. It is joyful to read their comments. Many of them share insight and poetry. Here is one I discovered today Albedo Arlee Barr is a Canadian artist and her work is exquisite. Title: beautiful_bones_arlee_barr
I have been working for days setting up new pages to offer my courses on line. What a challenge! All three courses are available with two options.
Option 1-Group SessionSign up for a particular scheduled session to participate with a private Yahoo! group. The lessons are distributed weekly. Option 2-Private TutorPurchase the complete course, download the file and utilize the materials at your leisure. Private communications with me are conducted via email. I have been pondering about offering private tutoring for a while. Time will tell if this appeals to people or not. Either way, I am pleased to get the courses set up and change channels to create artwork; working on the computer gets old quick. I have just returned from a fabulous Caribbean Cruise aboard the Serenade of the Seas/Royal Caribbean International. This was the fourth cruise we have sailed on and this ship was not as large as the others. I was concerned that a smaller ship would hamper getting around and being served; quite the contrary! The number of people aboard was perfect for the size. We never had to search for a lounge chair and had prompt service. The ship had a beautiful interior. With fourteen levels and a completely open view from the 12th down to the 5th (main) level and sitting area the volume made the ship feel much larger than it was. This cruise was mainly to celebrate my husband Dale’s birthday as well as a belated 35th wedding anniv His smile sums up his mood.
This aerial view is taken from the 7th level. My husband and new friends Bonnie and Abel are sitting down waiting for me.
The ship was decorated with lots of artwork and this amazing huge circular shape that was suspended from the ceiling. It has rainbow colors of mesh that are attached like pieces of fabric to a metal rim. We had a great time paling around! We attended the mystery dinner which was fun and well done, including a fabulous gourmet meal. We bummed together on the beaches.
On our last evening we made reservations at the specialty restaurant Portofino’s for a fabulous Italian dinner. Our return flight was cancelled and caused us to stay in Puerto Rico two extra days. Luckily we found a nice boutique hotel and enjoyed yet another great beach! We were not familiar with Puerto Rico at all. By chance we were just around the corner from the El San Juan a beautiful ornate old hotel. We had the best Mojito’s EVER at the hotel bar. The decor was rich and historical. This ceiling led to the Casino and appeared to be covered in suede like fabric. The chandelier
Now it is back to winter weather. But I have these wonderful WARM memories to cling to. I found the most fabulous hand dyed embroidery floss on EBAY. Nancy has a huge selection of colors and gives excellent fast service. This is my first order and I will definitely order more in the future.
This is one collection of five shades of red. Each one is labeled; $8. The quality of the thread is superb. You can find this EBAY store Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe here: EBAY Seller Store
I have a new composition in mind that will focus on everything RED. Various shades of red are my favorite colors. My online course Textile Art with Pizzazz! is currently running and is totally delightful! I have six highly motivated people attending and they are working like little beaver (artists). Usually the biggest challenge with teaching online has nothing to do with teaching at all. Instead the challenge is to encourage people to interact by posting their progress and showing images of their work. This time around everyone is participating with enthusiasm and joy. I consider this a true success.
The course will be offered again April 1st. You may sign up now. All of the details can be found on the ON LINE COURSES page. The pictures below are good examples of the kind of work that is produced in assigned exercises. The exercises are fun and prepare for the main design which is called Flora Rosa. The circles are from the color temperature exercise in Lesson 1. The other three show results from a second exercise which incorporates several techniques of applique. Even though some formal techniques are included, people are encouraged to adapt the designs and draw upon their own personal style.
I have continued with Slow Stitch and finished another piece today. This one took a different direction than the previous one and wound up in the More is More category. I can’t decide if I over worked it (which is easy to do when I am doing something new) or pushed it to another dimension successfully; I choose the latter.
First I machine pieced random pieces of fabric in colors that I like. Strips of commercial printed organza are layered over the center lengthwise. There are three layers of cotton fabric and no batting. All of the stitches (and knots) show on the back. This is totally new for me and I cringe at the sight of the back. I read somewhere how to avoid knots by taking a back stitch. I can’t figure out if this is done on the back or the front. I am learning new things while out of my comfort zone. I finish the edges of all my work and I work “tidy”; this is contrary to Slow Cloth. I now realize that I need to let go and let the needle travel and enjoy the fabric instead of being determined to concur it. I am trying too hard. Let it be. So, as I worked on this one I kept thinking about the edges debating whether to leave them raw or not? I decided to go for it; reveal it all; the raw edges as well as the back. I am still wincing just a bit.  Pathways Bugle beads emphasize some of the pathways the stitches created; thus the title. They show up better on the detail image.
 Pathways (detail) Now I am moving on to another one while my mind is focused on handwork. The next one will have neutral colors with the goal to release control. |
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Wave Runner-Piecing Free Style