Felting (2 UFOs)

I have dabbled in felting -- just a little bit -- this year.  The first was in a class with Gika Rector during the bi-annual conference of the Texas Federation of Fiber Artists (TFFA).  Gika taught us how to Nuno Felt, a wet felting technique that felts into a fabric base -- quite fun to do, and sadly I've only one photo to share.  My piece is here:

I used the three primary colors in Merino wool roving, trapping snippets of other fibers in the process.  My initial thought was to spin it into a color wheel .... perhaps I will felt it a bit more first....

Then, at this fall's International Quilt Festival (IQF), I was entranced by the ArtFelt booth.  They had a lovely variety of felted items as seen in these photos:

The samples are showing their many patterns and kits.  There was also luscious wool and silk roving.  I could hardly wait to get my hands on some of my own to play with!

I believe these shawls/neck-warmers are the inspiration behind my first knit scarf which was too short (click here to see that post).

 

Aren't these felted fabrics lovely?

Since Festival, I have played with one of their smaller kits, making a small purse for my cell phone.

This is the roving punched into the artfelt paper base.

Here it is after being felted.

The artfelt process uses a dryer to do the felting -- fast, easy and fun!

I've stitched the sides together ...

and added a little embroidery embellishment.

All it lacks is the final clasp or tie ... (yes, it is unfinished at the moment ...)

The year is winding to a close and I'm sharing two unfinished works in this post in hopes that I can get them finished before ringing in the new year .....

Happy Holidays!

Greetings from Austin!  I wanted to show the fun pine tree mantle runner that I made several years ago.  I travel to Austin every season to see how my stepmom has displayed it in the new year.  Sometimes it has her Christmas village arranged on top, but this year thers is the lovely red poinsetta-lights, and some of her angels dancing across it.

If you travel to Austin, Texas before January 3, 2010 -- be sure to visit the Legacy of Quilts exhibit, featuring antique quilts and more in the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, near the State Capitol.  It is Fabulous!!!! Amazing that it is only a small piece of the Joyce Gross quilt collection that was acquired by the University of Texas (click here for more on the acquisition) which contains over 170 quilts.

Click here for my earlier post about this exhibit.

Better still, take $7.00 and hurry over to this museum before Jan. 3rd!
This is a Must-See Exhibit for all lovers of textiles and antique quilts.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Another Primo

I've so enjoyed making the Primo Star for my family, that I cannot seem to stop.  Each quilt has been made in differing colorways -- perhaps I'll call these quilts my color study series?

I made this one as a wedding gift for good friends, John and Laura, who married this past August.  Yes, true to form, the quilt was not finished until after the wedding - but the happy couple has it in their possession now!  Yippee!!!

more Primo Star

Two years ago, my family all gathered for a reunion in Austin.  My gift to everyone that year was a quilt, making one for every household, all used the Primo Star pattern by Thangles.  However, none of the quilts were actually finished then, just the tops.  So it became the gift that I got to keep and give again.  Can you believe it has taken this long for all the quilts to be completed, with one small exception -- my own!  (not to worry, mine will be finished before 2010 ends).

This is "Ambrosia" made for my Stepmom as the Reunion was held in her home.

Don't you love the quilting?  The blue thread shows up so nicely on the black, and the lighting catches it just right.  Love that tongue of concentration as she admires her new quilt.

Everyone posing with Grandma and her new quilt!

Extreme Knitting

How many strands of yarn can you knit with at once?

Ponder your answer before you watch this YouTube video.

Amazing, right?

Here she is: Rachel John, extreme needlework artist/inventor/innovator from the United Kingdom.

Visit her website http://racheljohn.co.uk/default.aspx to learn more about Rachel and her exploration into extreme needle crafts.

I would love to visit her studio in Gloucestershire to see her work first hand and possibly take a workshop ..... 

I wonder if I am ready (as a beginner knitter) to try some extreme knitting .... or should I practice with a multi-strand scarf first?

Plaid Cats

I've been finishing up UFO's lately.  This is my current favorite as it features blocks I made over 10 years  (possibly closer to 15 years) ago and traded through a quilt group with America Online (back when my AOL email was calicocath, I think?)  Without further ado, here are my Plaid Cats:

This swap was originally hosted by Ida Tyson from Odessa (did anyone else swap these cats?) using a pattern from The Cat's Meow: Purr-fect Quilts for Cat-Lovers by Janet Kime.  Originally published in 1994 by That Patchwork Place, a special 10th anniversary special edition came out in 2004.  We made the 5" x 8" plaid cats using homespun plaids, a current fad back in the mid 1990's though hard to find even in quilt shops.  Do you see the smaller kitten blocks?  We traded these blocks (which measure 2 1/2" x 4") in a swap hosted by Jan Leming, formerly from Slidell.

This quilt top measures 60.5" x  84.5"

Typically, when I trade blocks in a swap, I have not pre-determined a finished size, plus I make extras.  I used 35 leftover cats to make a 2nd Plaid Cat quilt top.  It will be given to my quilt guild, Quilt Guild of Greater Houston (QGGH), to donate to a local charity.

This Plaid Cats quilttop measures 35" x 40" although I may had a simple border before finishing it.

Now to decide how to quilt these two tops .... I must think up something delightfully purr-fect!  Any suggestions?

Glow-a-rama and Cool Globes

During the week-end following Thanksgiving, my family &  I wandered into downtown Houston to view the first annual Night-time Art Car Parade, the Glow-a-Rama!   We arrived early enough for a good spot ... then learned we were on the wrong side of the road!  Quickly, we made a dash across the road with time to resettle before the Glow-a-rama parade begins.  It was such fun!

This wide-open mouth was an early crowd pleaser.

Other favorites included anything that shot up flames or tooted horns, especially when the driver slowed before our curbside spot along the route.

 

This Rooster was another top art car.

When the parade ended, we strolled through Discover Green Park, admiring the Cool Globes, a public art exhibit currently on display.

November 28, 2009