After a day of fooling around, I got back to work in my studio today. I love this little fiber sketch that I made. I titled it pods. I love compositions with skinny black lines. I am trying to see how I can incorporate some in my work.

We had the pleasure of listening to chainsaws most of the day, as they removed a couple of invasive Black Locust trees.

I am working diligently on my Allegro piece. It is very time consuming compared to the work I usually do. I have to stitch and trim the little pockets and then get them in proper order and pinned to the background. This is the background. I like the way it adds another dimension when the organza pieces are placed on top.

I am not using any batting since I have the background and a backing and then the layer of organza pieces. I am getting each row lined up an pinned in place. I will probably play with the white pieces some more.

Look at what Mr Scooter did — knocked a box of bead soup on the floor. I had to get the cleaned up today. Maybe he was just sending me a message — clean up your mess when you are finished with a project.

I received some exciting news today. I have two pieces in the Blurred Boundaries show at the Fabrications Retreat. Apparently, Indigo Construction has sold and will not be coming home to me. That quilt has traveled a lot and I think it is great that it will have a permanent home.

Here is my Twelve X Twelve quilt in the colors of lorikeets, the color theme selected by Brenda. I didn’t have any fabrics in these colors, but the wool roving fit the bill perfectly. I wanted to do machine felting, but I broke the attachment so I decided to try nuno felting.

Here is the process.  I had a large towel, a piece of bubble wrap, a piece of tulle. I started putting down the roving fibers, starting with black.

Then, I added the colored roving, making some circles and linear sections.

Next, I dampened the piece with wate with a bit of detergent mixed in.

Then, you add another layer of tulle and bubble wrap. This is then wrapped around a rolling pin.

You rock and roll this for 100 times, unroll it, turn it once, roll it up, rock and roll, etc, etc. The piece is then squished and and squeezed in a bowl of hot water, until it is felted and the size you want it to be.

When it was dry, I attached it to a piece of 12 x 12 inch felt as a base. Then I had the fun of stitching and beading. Here is a detail shot.

This was fun, especially for this theme, but I don’t think it will become part of my repertoire! Now, be sure to go over to the Twelve by Twelve blog to see what the others have done.

I have a short blog tonight. I have been working most of the day to finish my lorikeet quilt for the 12 by 12 reveal tomorrow. So be sure to check back to see what I have done. It is quite wild and a departure for anything I have been doing lately!!

Above is my fiber sketch for today, done in cool colors. It was cool enough in the house today to warrant having the furnace on, but we put on layers. However, when I was down in my studio, beading, I had to turn on the heat so that my fingers could move. This weather system is supposed to pass and we will have weather in the 80s for a few days. Here is some interesting Portland weather facts. We had high temps in the 70s and the 90s for this past month, but not in the 80s. However, the average temperature was 80!

This is my piece for the annual SAQA auction. I call it Entwined Roots. I used fused skinny bits that were left over from another larger quilt. The SAQA quilts are 12 by 12. The bidding starts on September 20th You can go here to see all of the quilts.

Here are some other quilts that I thought would play nicely with mine. I like the use of lines in these pieces.

Mary E. McBride  Mangrove Jack’s Home  

Catherine Timm Unnamed

BJ Parady Goldenrod Galls 5

I have purchased a piece each year that the auction has been in existence. It is a chance to get a piece of great fiber art and start a collection.

Last night, we took Mia to see the Prairie Home Companion concert at the Oregon Zoo. After collecting Mia and lawn chairs and books to read, we drove down town Portland, parked the car at Trinity and walked to the MAX station for the final leg of our adventure.

Mia is a delightful companion and loves an adventure. She is inquisitive and full of knowledge about our city and the radio show. She kept us entertained. Here she is letting us know that the train was coming.

It was a sold out crowd, so we spent lots of time waiting in lines. We had books to read, but I really enjoy just observing people. It is one of my favorite activities.

We were able to get very good seats and unknowingly, we sat just behind a concrete riser that was kept clear of people so that Garrison could walk down it to mingle with the crowd. So we got up close and personal with the star and got to shake his hand. It was a very beautiful evening – warm and sunny.

I was warned that the sun shines right into your face as it sets in the west. I bought Mia some Foster Grant sunglasses, which she loved.

Mr C and I were introduced to The Prairie Home Companion back in the 70s, when we were introduced to it by friends from Minnesota and Wisconsin. We have listened to the show off and on since then. Mia and her family are avid NPR listeners and so she has grown up with the show and knows all the characters and the people who play them. When the sound effects guy came on, she exclaimed – It’s Fred Newman!!

It was lots of fun, but Mia thought there was too much singing. We were both hoping for more of Garrison’s skits and monologues. We left a bit early because we needed to get her home and to bed. Her Mom and Dad are taking her backpacking for the first time. They are going close to home and just a 2-3 mile hike to spend one night. She has her own pack. Miles is coming to stay with us so we will have to do something special with him – perhaps the Lego store!

We had to wait a bit for the train back to our car, but we enjoyed seeing the wall art on the station walls.

I bought Mia a t-shirt and I got this bag for my grocery shopping.

You can see all of my photos from the evening and more station wall art on my Flickr Set.

As an aside, I think I had a minor flu bug last week. I woke up yesterday feeling like a new person. I am looking forward to a week of renewed creativity and inspiration.