Hand Dyed Fabric and Threads

This week my friends Heather, Doeteke and Ann came up to the cottage and we had some messy fun dying a bunch of cloth and threads.  We ran into rain, so we ended up working inside the cover of the woodshed but all in all we had a great time and managed to have enough good weather to be able to hand our treasures out on the line to dry.  We all ended up with really beautiful things to add to our stash.  I can't wait to get busy playing and creating with my new fabrics!

(L-R: Doeteke, Heather, Me (Linda) and Ann mixing the powdered

dye and getting ready to play!  Either that or preform surgery!

Smiling for the camera.  Honest, there are smiles under those masks!

Drying on the line.

Some of our treasures drying on the line.

My new hand-dyed stash!                    

Rock, Paper, Scissors

My fibre arts group's latest challenge was to incorporate some small rock pieces that Ann brought back with her from Arizona.   In addition to using the rocks in the piece, we had to include the word 'rock' in the title.  What immediately came to mind for me was the old game of Rock, Paper, Scissors.  Here's the resulting piece.

I first created the background by using my embellisher and adding various scraps of rovings, hand dyed cheese cloth, organza, silk scarves, etc. to a piece of felt.  I then wrapped the rocks with copper wire embellished with beads.  The large beads are made of various decorative papers and strips of newspaper and some were also wrapped with copper wire.  The scissors are were thread sketched onto the background.  The piece was finished off with hand wrapped cords, hand embroidery and beading.  The final touch was to get out in my kayak and find a piece of driftwood to attach for hanging.  I had a lot of fun creating this piece!

Birth Announcement on the Lake

I've been keeping busy doing a lot of cycling (30 km per day), kayaking, and photography (but sadly almost no fibre art).

We had 2 new baby loons hatch on the lake the other day and I was lucky enough to get a wonderful photo of papa feeding one of the babies.  The other baby is between the parents and therefore can't be seen but I think it's a wonderful photo (I can just hear my husband's voice in my head as he says, "Self praise is no praise.", but oh well!)

Meet Nikki

I'm up at the cottage and I've met a new friend.  His name is Nikki and he's the friendliest little chipmunk!  As you can see, he comes up on my lap to get peanuts when I'm sitting out on the deck.  My dog Casey has learned to leave him alone because he's "Mom's friend".  She just watches but doesn't bother Nikki at all!

Zen Day at Sandra's

I enjoyed a much needed 'Zen Day' at Sandra's Open Studio on Thursday.  We made these wonderful little journals and I had a chance to just relax and regroup after a tough few days.

front

One of the inside spreads.

GOE (Group of Eight Fibre Artists)

Back in 2006 my friend Heather and I started up a fibre arts group and this afternoon I set up a blog site for us.  Come on over to the GOE blog and see what my fibre arts group is up to.

Playing with Dyes

It's been a while since I've blogged, mostly because it's been a while since I managed to get any art done.  I've been busy gardening, walking the dog and riding my bike in the beautiful summer like weather we've been enjoying.  However, the other day I got inspired to play around with some dye and some scraps of batting and cheese cloth.  I seem to be doing a lot these days with blues and greens.  In this case, the green was provided by the back lawn where I layed the pieces out to dry in the sun.  Happily Casey left them alone so my cream coloured dog does not have blue feet!  

My next goal is to get up the nerve to play with Procion MX dyes.  What is it about Procion MX and soda ash that is so intimidating???

Sketchbook Challenge- June Theme: Pathways

This month's theme took me back to the road trips of my childhood.  We used to all pile in the Ford Galaxy station wagon and go on camping trips around Ontario.  Some of my best family memories are from those trips!  I was also brought back to the wonderful VW bug that my oldest brother used to have when he was in university.

This page started out as a paper collage that I then photographed and digitally altered before printing it on fabric and stitching it together.

Dogs Welcome!

There's a wonderful little coffee shop here in Georgetown called the Silvercreek Espresso Bar.  In addition to having great coffee (free trade too!) and other beverages and foods, they welcome their customers with dogs.  Just as you enter, before actually entering the coffee shop itself, there is a little lobby area in which they have put a table and chairs for their dog walking customers.  It's a wonderful place to stop for a rest with my 11 yr. old golden retriever, Casey, before the walk back home.  There's a post to tie the dog up while I go in and get my coffee, and they provide a water dish and doggie treat for Casey.

 I was inspired to create these two signs to replace the simple paper notes they had as a thank you for their consideration of people like me who are out with our dogs.  It's a great place to enjoy the air conditioning this time of year or to warm up in the cooler weather.  They also have a couple of tables outside for those days when the weather encourages the sidewalk cafe feeling.

Amazing Free Motion Stitching

I just had to share this wonderful video of free motion stitching.  Watch and enjoy!  If the video link doesn't work, click on the youtube link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkZfXWSFWFk