Today’s Work…

Well, I claimed on Facebook that I was going to paint sunset fabric today…but this morning I got caught up in the whole idea of making some beaded zipper decorations to jazz up my little bags, so….

I have enough variety of colors of beads that I can create each fob to match the bag.  How fun is that?

I like the little polka dot bead…goes perfect on that bag!

These bags are for sale.  Some of them are made with deconstructed screen prints and some are hand dyed, stamped and painted cloth.  They are then layered with batting and stitched before being made into zippered bags.  The larger ones from the deconstructed prints are 7″ x 5″ (cosmetic bag size) and are $27.  The smaller ones are 5″ x 4″ and are $23. I know I haven’t put pictures up of all of them and I don’t have them listed on etsy yet.  If anyone is interested, email me and I will send you a picture.

More This ‘N That

Does anyone else wake up in the morning with so many choices before you that you find it hard to choose your direction for the day?!  Some days that’s how I feel as I prepare for shows, classes, etc. And then there’s the things I would like to work on “just for fun”. I find it hard finding time for those…

I made another Runaround bag…it makes up so fast and easy.  This one is made with discharge dyed black cotton with another piece of my cloth and then adorned with  leftover chocolate button trim from Moda.

A piece of black cotton sateen discharge dyed in circles. I left the dishwashing gel on it for a long time, so it bleached out quite a bit.

And lastly, some small bags I have been making using deconstructed screen prints.  The prints are just the right size, and after layering and stitching them,  they make a cute makeup bag.

This And That…

From one of my morning walks…the long wispy needles of pine trees always fascinate me.  They look soft.

Peanut Butter Chews…my husband’s favorite drop cookie/candy.  His birthday was yesterday and he requested these.  Recipe follows.

Peanut Butter Chews

1 c. sugar

1 c. Karo light syrup

1/4 cu. oleo or butter

Heat all together to boiling.  Then add:

1 cup peanut butter and stir.

Pour over 6 cups of corn flakes, mix and drop by spoonfuls onto a sheet of wax paper to set up.  I think peanuts would be good in these too.

Interesting photo…to me.  This caught my eye at the opening exhibit last Saturday.  The contrast and the sharp lines are what I caught first and I snapped a picture.  It will be inspiration for…something…step back from it…you’ll see what I mean.

And….here is the quilt I sold a few weeks ago.  I am missing it a bit, but might make another one!

What I’ve Been Doing…Part 2

What have I been doing since last week?  Besides planning a short vacation trip in August with my hubby, my mind is trying to make decisions on what shows I will be doing this fall and what needs to be done for each of them.  I am vending at some art fairs and a couple of quilt shows. But first, a retreat coming up in August: I will be teaching free form machine quilting and vending.  I finished a new jacket sample this week, pattern by SuznQuilts. It turned out so cute!

My piece,…But Words Will Never Hurt Me (Sticks and Stones), hanging in the museum exhbit.  The opening was last Saturday and I received an Honorable Mention in the 3D category.  Can anyone tell me why that is?  I entered in the 2D category.  I sure would like to know how they arrived at an award in 3D.  A friend had a lovely huge sculpture in the show…I wondered how that made her feel? I would appreciate hearing any thoughts on this.

A call came from the Indiana Heritage quilt show from Bloomington, IN.  This is a fairly well attended 3 day show next March.  They wanted to know if I was still interested in vending.  I’ll give it a shot, although I’ve never done a 3 day show.  Should be fun, as long as the country isn’t in a spending depression by then!

What I’ve Been Doing…

It’s been awhile again since I’ve blogged…I’m getting so lazy!

Update on the Arts Council show…I got a call last Wednesday that I have been awarded an Honorable Mention award…yeah for fiber! Rayna wrote me a nice note and said that this is extra special because this is recognition in an art show.  Thanks, Rayna.

Update on the Runaround Bag…I decided not to go with those antique buttons.  Instead…I think some fun, funky buttons are called for…

I have been dyeing some fabric to replenish my supply.  The multicolored ones sell pretty well for me.  The striped ones were hung on the clothesline and I poured the dye on them.  That was sorta fun if you can keep the dye off your toes…I may do more, mostly because I would like to use them myself.  I also soda soaked some white cotton and hung on the line…and guess what showed up?  The Japanese beatles swarmed the white cotton…go figure…they must like the soda ash.

Last week I prepared some discharged black sateen pieces to sell and to stitch on.

I will be making more of these…”painting” on black cloth with dishwashing gel is too much fun.