Felted Rocks?

 Exploring new worlds of felting have led to this fun result ...

What are these fuzzy objects?  No, they are not felted rocks as my son guessed ... rather they are felted soaps!

I had seen directions for felting soap in a library book recently, then happened across Judy Coates Perez's blog with a fabulous post titled "Felted Soap" (dated Dec. 20, 2009).   Click here to see her tutorial (has great visuals), then be daring.... make your own felted soap!

I wish I had seen her blog post two months ago, sigh.  Now I have an entire year to perfect this process before I gift family and friends with hand-felted soaps.  Perhaps I will get Louise T. to teach me how to make soap, then the entire gift will be hand made!  Or perhaps I will raise sheep (or goats) to shear for my own source of homegrown wool.  Hmmm, I wonder if sheep are allowed as pets in my small neighborhood?  Chickens are, but what about sheep?


But I digress ... back to the topic:  one or more of these felted soaps will be donated to the newest Fiberart For A Cause fundraiser, ToteTuesday.  Over 20 fun-filled totes will be auctioned off on Virginia Spiegel's blog starting Tuesday, Feb 2, 2010.  Be sure to check her blog for more details, and check back every Tuesday in February and March to bid on your favorite ToteTuesday!  Her blog is http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/blog/

logo by Jeanelle McCall

USA Space Shuttle

Last October, Robin Koehler queried the QuiltArt list to see if there was any interest in submitting quilts to the Dream Rocket project.  She was dreaming of honoring her grandfather, as he designed and built the LEM.  I learned that the LEM is the Lunar Exploration Module, the vehicle that first landed on the moon. Then I was fortunate to meet Robin during Quilt Market this past fall (click here for that post).


By Market, we were a team of 4: Robin, Chris Gilman, Katherine McNeese and myself.  We named ourselves the LEM-4 in honor of Robin's grandfather's work.  (Click here to read my blog on our group.)  We decided to split our 2-foot square quilt into 4 one-foot quilts (one for each of us) and came up with our theme -- a look at man's efforts to reach the stars. 

My quilt features the US Space Shuttle, honoring this amazing vehicle that travels to and from space regularly, taking astronauts, scientists and many experiments to the International Space Station.  I have been fortunate to meet not one, but two astronauts, both of whom have spent time on the shuttle and at the Space Station.

Chris' block features a hot-air balloon.
Katherin's block is of the early bi-wing airplanes (click here to see it).
Robin is designing a block featuring the LEM.
As our leader, Robin will be putting our four blocks together into one completed quilt.  Stay tuned for more photos & news of our LEM-4 quilt.

Be sure to check out the dream rocket website at

http://www.thedreamrocket.com/ 

Join this fun art adventure...

Sign up to make your own quilt for it!

Announcing: Tote Tuesday

(lovely logo by Jeanelle McCall)

Unique, Beautiful, Inspiring  
Announcing a new online fundraiser benefitting
the American Cancer Society 

   
What: Tote Tuesday (it's a Tote Auction!)

When: Each Tuesday from February 2 into March 2010

Time: 11am - 2pm

Where: Virginia Spiegel's blog

Sponsored By: Fiberart For a Cause, founded by Virginia Spiegel.

  

ToteTuesday, the newest Fiberart For A Cause fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, will open Tuesday, February 2 and continue through March. It’s a fundraiser AND a showcase for everything that is fun and creative about the fiber arts.

This weekly auction will feature themed totes filled with unique, beautiful, and inspiring items from the worlds of art quilting, fiber arts, knitting, beading, mixed media and surface design such as: original artwork, autographed books, hand-dyed fabrics, gorgeous yarns, beads, handmade journals, fun and useful materials/tools for mixed-media and surface design, online classes, DVDs, and much, much more.

More than 20 themed totes are being collected.  Click here to see the growing list and the names of their sponsors.

100% of the proceeds will be donated directly to the American Cancer Society through Fiberart For A Cause. Did you know that Fiberart For A Cause has already donated over $190,000 to the ACS (click here for details).  Let's set a new record ....

There will be an auction from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. every Tuesday with a required opening bid, additional bids requested in $10 increments.  There will also be a Go for the Gold! price if you must own the tote AND want to be a champion supporter of the ACS.

Please mark your calendar for Tuesdays, starting on February 2 when the fun begins and continues every Tuesday through the month of March, 2010.

Be prepared to be amazed!

Be ready to shop,
to spend and
to support Cancer Research!

Catching up

The third year of the Bead Journal Project (BJP) begins this month and I have signed on again.  There is only one small difficulty..... that I have yet to finish my twelve BJPs for the second year (Sept 2008 - Aug 2009).   Yes, I realize that I frequently run behind .... but this is the year that I am catching up!

After many ideas/sizes/themes thought of and then discarded, my second series of BJPs will feature faces, specifically profiles.  The beading will be enhancements to the image.  Here is the first ...

"Wired"

The beads are tiny coils of wire that I found at Z Bead in Houston.  I have wanted to use them for ages, and at last they debut here.  The piece measures 6" x 8" approximately.  As I plan to stitch all the BJP pieces together, I have left the edges unfinished.

The second one began with this drawing stitched onto an osnaburg remnant.

Do you see the blue thread?  This was in the bobbin and actually shows up better than the needle thread, so this profile has just been flipped (yes, flexibility is a good thing while creating ... guess my profiles will face either left or right ...)

While dreaming of what to do next, I spied the arrow heads given me by a dear friend Louise T .... voila

Do arrows make for a good headpiece or hair?

hmmmm.... needs editing and tweeking and what ? .....

This October profile needs a more striking face.  This brown is the right shade to accent the chosen arrowheads.  Auditioning other beads to possibly use ...

 

"Stone Age"

Enhancements stitched on include: beads for additional hair, a necklace to adorn the long neck, a button for an eye, a little embroidery... She measures approximately 7" x 9"  which is larger than the first piece.

Now to prep the third one .... I may be running more than a year late with these pieces, but I have decided to start one at a time and finish it (or 75% finished) before proceeding to the next one.  I am also challenging myself to get 8 finished this month, and the last 4 soon after that ..... so I can begin my third BJP series before I fall too far behind!

new scarves

I've been practicing my knitting skills -- still very much a beginner knitter though.  Here's the 2nd scarf that I've ever made from start to finish.

I think I'm keeping this one (just like I kept the first one I made.  click here to see it).

Then I asked my sons to select two yarns to make scarves for each of them.  It's fun to see what their color preferences are ....

Here's one for my oldest.

The colors are a deep burgundy/purple (he was hoping for brown, which I didnot have) in a velour-type yarn and a pale orange in pompom yarn.  I got rather creative in getting the pompom yarn to stretch through the length of the scarf.  He likes it, does not want me to redo it, but has also said he might not wear it in public!

Then this one is for my taller son.

I love the look of this finished scarf, knit entirely -- no pearling at all.  Is that the garter stitch?

These two yarns work up nicely and feel so soft and warm.  I may have to make a few more of these ... maybe I will start early on gifts for next year's holiday season.

Hmmmm, in you'd like one of these, be sure to hint nicely what colors you'd like best!  I will have to learn what to do with the tail ends of the yarn before I gift any of my handcrafted scarves, though.

"Home" exhibit

I  have just learned that the 2009 Breaking Traditions Art Quilt Exhibit "Home" is currently hanging in the Plymouth Community Arts Council in Michigan for the month of January.  (Click here for more photos of the installation or click here for more information on 2009 Breaking Traditions Art Quilt exhibit.)

A view of two of the walls of the exhibit ...

Another view of same two walls ...

Zoom in for a closer (although fuzzy) view.

Do you recognize my piece, Our Home?

Hint: It is the yellow brick house in the center group, specifically the middle  in the right column (click here for my earlier post).

"Home" is the theme for the 2009 Breaking Traditions Art Quilt Exhibit and proceeds from this year's exhibit benefit Bernie Berlin's pet rescue, A Place to Bark.  The exhibit will travel to other locations (most are in Michigan).   Click here to learn where else it may be travelling, or contact Lynn Krawczyk to request bringing this exhibit to a venue in your own home town. 

"Focus"

Happy New Year to one and all, near & far, friends & friends-yet-to-be!

Each year for the past 3 years I have selected a word to use as my focal point for the new year.  Friends in my Beyond the Borders art quilt group began this practice which originated with Christine Kane.  She calls it a Resolution Revolution (click here to read her 2007 blog about it, simply the best explanation).

In 2008, I chose Complete for my resolution word while last year I chose two words: Discipline and Release (click here or here to read my earlier posts).

It is the first day of the new year, and of the new decade ... time to finalize my word choice...and share it here.... drumroll, please .... my 2010 word will be:

Focus

I've selected Focus as my word to guide and redirect myself in this new year.  While I still need to 'release' more of my clutter and to practice more 'discipline' at keeping on task; I believe that I truly need to 'focus' while working on any project, whether it be in my studio or around the house (even folding laundry!).  Focusing on completing the variety of chores/duties/etc that calls for my attention every day.

The below is taken from the definition for focus as seen in Dictionary.com:

–as a noun

1.	a central point, as of attraction, attention, or activity.

2.	Physics. a point at which rays of light, heat, or other radiation, meet after being refracted or reflected.

3.	Optics. a. the focal point of a lens. b. the focal length of a lens. c. the clear and sharply defined condition of an image. d. the position of a viewed object or the adjustment of an optical device necessary to produce a clear image: in focus; out of focus.

Curious to learn that the Origin of focus is from Latin, 1635-45: fireplace, hearth -- as this is my ultimate goal, to focus positive energy and change in our home!

Yes, I do think that focus is a great word for me this year.  It is already inspiring new ideas for new quilt art pieces, or BJP pieces ...

Now it's your turn.  What's your word?