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Archive for the ‘Sketchbook Project’ Category

An Exercise in Futility

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

The fiber sketch for today is Leaf Shadows.

Today, I started work on preparing some fabric for the rusty Twelve X Twelve challenge. I have this piece of rust colored silk/cotton blend.

I notice the back of the fabric has a greenish patina so I thought perhaps it would discharge to a green color.

I used a new discharging product called deColourant. It is non-toxic and non-smelly. You print, paint or stamp with it. Let it dry and then iron it to discharge the dye. The more heat and steam, the more the color is removed.

I stamped with corrugated cardboard, netting and a random dotted stamp. I dried it with a hair dryer and then ironed it. I first used my old Black & Decker and then I used the steam iron. And them, I blew a fuse!!

Anyway, this is the result.

Since I didn’t get any green color, I threw it in a bath with turquoise Colorhue dye. Well, I love this!!

Unfortunately, this is a cotton/silk blend and the Colorhue dye only works on silk and wool. So when I washed it, all of the color was gone — except on my hands!

Tomorrow, I will mix up thiox with turquoise dye and try that.

By the way, the deColourant comes with added color which is deposited when the dye is discharged. I was sent a couple of samples – plain and mustard yellow. I have other colors on order. Here is a link to the supplier, Kandicorp.

Seeing Red

Thursday, October 21st, 2010

Driving home from the STASH gathering today, we saw a stand of trees with gorgeous fall color which inspired tonight’s fiber sketch. I took the photo as Reva was whizzing through the intersection.

We had a great time at Suzy’s home. Suzy is fairly new to our group so we had not met there, yet. It was a visual treat. She has lots of Japanese and Asian items in her home. She is not afraid of color and she loves red as you will soon see. I should have taken a photo of the living room rug which had gorgeous red flowers.

Here is Suzy in her kitchen.

She made us a fabulous lunch, served in red dishes.

She had made the quilted placemats:

She said she bought the Wolf range because of the red knobs:

And there is a red microwave and glass tiles to match.

And even red cabinet doors!

We had a good time. I always love sharing stories with my friends. Beth was just back from 3 weeks in Europe and had fun stories to share.

Tomorrow, I think I have my first stay at home day this week. I hope to get started on my Rusty piece.

I leave you with a very sleepy puppy.

Slow Start

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010

I started the day rather slowly, curled up with the lap top, doing SDA work, reading blogs and Facebook. I did run over to the Post Office to pick up my latest acquisition from the SAQA auction. This piece is by Natalya Aikens. It is really exquisite.

I also took Scooter for a walk. It was such a beautiful, almost balmy, fall day. After lunch, I roasted the latest bunch of cherry and Roma tomatoes that I harvested yesterday. All of a sudden, it was 3 pm.

I decided to get down to the studio to pack up stuff for our High Fiber Diet meeting tonight. I felt the need to do something constructive so I vacuumed up the glitter I spilled over a week ago. Then, I grabbed the quilt that I needed to touch up with paint because it had some fading problems. I was a little nervous, but I matched the color really well and it was actually fun. It has a layer of tulle over the silk, so I can not heat set it. I will let it dry for a couple of weeks and then spray it with an ultra-violet light protectant.

Then, I was off to pick up my organic farm produce for the week. I have tomatillos and jalapeno peppers. There will be salsa!! I also got Brussels sprouts leaves (have never cooked those), turnips, beets, garlic and other goodies.

I met Terry Grant at a Mexican restaurant for a quick supper before out High Fiber Diet meeting. We had a packed house. Our group is growing be leaps and bounds – very exciting. One of our new members, Wendy Mamattah, shared her work tonight. She is originally from Ghana. I particularly like this quilt about the Masai.

Tonight, after the meeting, I was dorking around on the computer and watching Dancing with the Stars when I decided to do a quickie fiber sketch from some scraps I had on the cutting table. It is up a the beginning. I call it Deconstructed Fence.

Lastly, here is another birthday gift. This gorgeous glass ring from my daughter, Lisa.

And so, I ended up having a quite productive day!

Back to Business

Monday, October 18th, 2010

Wow, it has been more than a week since I have done a fiber sketch. I grabbed some scraps and came up with this simple composition that reminds me of autumn.

We arrived home from California on Saturday evening — exhausted and happy that we had spent some great time with family and friends in San Francisco. I think I need one more good night’s sleep to get the energy to get caught up with stuff.

Yesterday, we drove out to the farm to pick up Scooter. It was a beautiful day for a drive to the country. I snapped this photo of Mt Hood. Looks like it is time for snow – Mt. Hood is getting bald.

Today, we stood in line to get our flu shots. It was the first day that Kaiser offered them so there was a pretty long line, but I entertained myself with my iPhone and the time passed rather quickly.

My good friend, Judy from Georgia, sent me a package for my birthday with these two goodies — one of her beautiful scarves and a sand timer with lime green sand.

I just love the colors that Judy put into this scarf – can’t wait to wear it.

Sittin’ and Stitchin’

Thursday, October 7th, 2010

I decided to seed stitch the planets in my alternate universe. I am wondering if I can get this done before we leave next week. So, I am watching mindless TV and stitching and stitching.

I used one of my discharge samples for my fiber sketch today. It is a bit silly, glittery and fun. I call it Star Struck. I used some organza and glitter. I managed to spill half the container of glitter on the floor.

I got to spend an hour with both of my brilliant daughters this morning. Lisa flew in to town and borrowed one of our cars to drive to Grant’s Pass, where she is teaching a drawing and painting class for Ace Camps. Steph came over, and it was so nice to have a sharing time of what we are all up to. Lisa, of course, wins the medal for doing the most.

I added a lovely piece to my fiber art collection today. I purchased this piece by Natalya Aikens from the SAQA auction. Can’t wait to see this in person.