Dental Cupboard and Lady in Hat

This old dental cupboard now replaces a collapsing fiber board cupboard in my remodeled bathroom. (Never again will I spend money on that fiber junk!) This was a Christmas present for the both of us. The print hanging above always hung in my mother-in-law's home. We inherited it when she died this past June. Isn't she lovely?

A Knitted Cap

Years ago, a cousin's wife in Denmark gave me a woolen cap. I always wanted to try to make one myself, but couldn't find a pattern. Until lately. Now there are hundreds of variations. This was an experiment my grandson said he liked.

Altered Tags for Diana

My dear niece in Louisana admired a past altered tag project and said she would hang it on the wall

- so I made one just for her!

My Wonderful Friend

Simon waiting to go for a walk.

Silk Project

Silk project after adding embellishments (stamping and paint) and quilting. I used variegated blue quilting thread and silk batting. Great fun to work with.

More Dyeing Silk with Silk

My second attempt at dyeing silk with chunks of old silk ties.
I like the more vivid colors this time - because I followed the directions more closely. I'm anxious to embellish and quilt.

Wonky

My attempt at using some Heather Thomas techniques taught to me second-hand, by a friend who took her class in Des Moines.

Fun, but I still prefer "traditional" methods for now.This one has given me an opportunity to practice free motion quilting.

Dying Silk with Silk

Tried this technique I recently found. (But why is it so hard to find the magazine now so that I can give proper credit?) It was so fun and easy, I plan to have my Art + Quilt group over to try it too. "Chunks" of silk ties are positioned on a piece of white silk. I placed another silk piece on top, then rolled it up, tied it in frequent intervals and then boiled it in water with a little vinegar for 15 minutes. I'm already envisioning the quilt it will become.

Later: This technique is shown in Quilting Arts Magazine Oct/Nov 2010 - Tie Transfer Dyeing, pg 20.
By Kathy Barinholtz

One thing leads to another

While dying baskets with freshly made walnut dye,

I was suddenly compelled to try some fabric, too.

Can't wait to see what it shall become.

Lastest projects receive their final touch.

Picked up walnuts. Made luscious dye from them in a pot. Decided to give some baskets a nice bath in the dye. I think it makes them so rich. Never mind about my brown fingernails. Hee. AND the scraped up elbow due to a rolling fall from stepping just right on one of those hiding walnuts. Ugh!

Courthouse Squares

The colors for this scrap courthouse squares quilt were wonderful to work with, but the quarter inch seams were murder!!

Rescue Quilt

This Grandmother's Flower Garden variation was found at a garage sale, unfinished, neglected and abused. With some and extra TLC, soap and water, removal of large, orange rug yarn ties and disintegrating batting and backing, and quite a few hours, it is finished. Except for the small green and red print hexagons that surround each flower and the green flower centers, I found very few duplicates of fabrics (mostly feed sack prints) in the rest of the quilt top. I kept thinking that the spirit of the lady who first started the handstitched piece was urging me on. I hand quilted each hexagon with a variety of colors of embroidery floss. The back is pieced with yellow and green.

4 Stages Completed

Completed Surface Design Round Robin.

Stage 1 - Fabric was snow dyed; 2 - stacked journaling was added; 3 - green lizards appeared; 4 - painted circles and dots added to lizards and all over.

Vacation Inspiration

Scenes from the Badlands in South Dakota. The sage was so blue and some of the sedimentary lagyers were vivid pink and yellow.

From the Crazy Horse Museum north of Custer, SD, jars and jars of tiny beads from a collection. Dazzling.

Correction

check out http://FiberArtandMore.blogspot.com for step two of Leaping Rabbits.

Grandson Art

It's getting harder to entertain my grandsons with art projects, but they enjoyed altering some old pop bottles into vases for their moms.

Bubble Snippet

This is how I altered a yard of Tami's beautifully hand-dyed muslin (?) for the second step of the second installment of the surface design round robin I joined in May. A little bit short on time this summer, I had to get it mailed on quickly. The dyed fabric made me think of crystal clear water, so I added some bubbles that had been intended to be a long ago lady's yo-yo quilt (shoebox-full given to me by a good friend). I liked the time and texture contrast. Also added some scarf snippets for wave affect. It will be fun to see what the next person does to it.

Getting Gavin

My third grandson lives in Texas. His dad lives in Iowa. We're building a twice-a-year visit tradition where we meet in the middle of Kansas. Special times.

Remembering Doris

On June 7, we buried my mother-in-law. The two days we were together were filled with love and mutual support. Pictures include two of her grandchildren and two of her great grandchildren. I'm sorry I didn't get pictures of her two sons who were by her side when she died peacefully at the age of 92.

Scottsbluff NE Sister Trip

Feeling compelled to record the blessings surrounding my recent trip with 3 sisters to visit our 5th sister who has moved this past year to assisted living because of numerous health issues. We worried that we might overwhelm or confuse her. Instead she blessed us with her love, sweetness and funny remarks.

My sisters and I have traveled together annually for many years (25?) and this one feels like the best. Each time we share gifts. This time I gave them all hand knitted socks!

RaBbiT ArT

With Tami, Marti and Judi, I've joined a surface design round robin. My piece, Leaping Rabbits, was created with spray water color over rabbit masks and metallic paint with rabbit stencil. I sent it to Marti. To see what she did with it, see www.fabricartandmore.blogspot.com.

This is the Year of the Rabbit.

Rabbit Medicine: Little Sister Rabbit teaches us through her timidity to be gentle with ourselves and others, begs us to study her movements so that we may learn to move in concert and harmony with our environment and the Creator. She has excellent observation skills and sensitive reflexes to help her survive in a world surrounded by danger. She can disappear in an instant and always knows which direction to go. The times that rabbits are most often seen is during early dawn hours or at evening dusk. These are times when the visible becomes invisible and the invisible becomes visible, reminding us that things are not always as they appear and helping us to discern reality from fantasy.

Two Kitty Friends

Today the little gray cat went to be with her yellow brother who died 2 years ago.

Lots of good memories.

A few tears.

My first grandson, Taylor and I each picked out a kitten when he was 4 -

because he "just needed to touch an animal" (pets not allowed at his apt.)

Gray one is Chance. Yellow one is Woody.

They have both lived with me. Taylor is now 19!

We made pretty memorial stepping stones.

Projects

Two Eric Carle pillows for my friend, the kindergarten teacher

who loves childrens' books.
Another woven cloth piece. In progress.

Button bracelets and their little bags - for my sisters.

Arranging Asparagus

One of the very best parts of living

in this little rural town

in the southwest corner of the state of Iowa

is receiving gifts

from the bounty

of Neighbor Joe's garden.

Flowering Quince

I think the flowering shrubs and trees have been extra splendid this year - our reward for survival of the bleak winter months.

This is an old bush and has never looked this good.

Blocks for the Swap

These are for Wanda (green fabric) called Road to Tennessee

and Caryn (dark brown fabric) called Arbor Window.

Button Eggs

The Buttons started it. There's a lady who collects them and gives talks about their history and so on. Her collection of 750,000 buttons inspired me to gather some too and start gluing them to other things. That led to mosaic which led to collage which led to mixed media which led to altered books and so forth and so on. Buttons are still fun to play with. These eggs are a few years old, but a couple of new ones are sitting on my work table now along with a button pear! Stay tuned.

New Wire Handled Creations

A late night spontaneous project finally finished - except for a final walnut stain bath.

Experimenting

Playing with buttons and beads and wire to create bracelets or necklaces. I like using vintage brass wire and findings.

These might become gifts for my four sisters when I see them (hopefully) in May. Working on their color choices. Wire and button idea is from Bent, Bound and Stitched by G. Cirincione.

Inspiration came from last issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors.