Holidays | Crazy for Fiber

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Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category

A Happy Fourth of July

Wednesday, July 4th, 2007

Hope you are all having a happy day, celebrating our Democracy. We must never take it for granted, as we are now finding out. That is my itty bitty rant for today.

I am having such a good day. Time to relax, make some food for a dinner on the deck with Lisa, the anticipation of M & M returning to Portland tonight, with their Mom and Dad, and seeing all my work from the discharge class on the design wall.

I am so inspired by this cloth and can’t wait to work with it.

Here are some close-ups of the work that I had to bring home to finish. The first is the construction fence resist discharge. Next to it is the second skinny tape on the silk screen piece.

The next two photos show the pieces that were done with the linear pieces of tape on the silk screen. I just love how that ugly piece of brown discharged.

These two pieces are silk that has been over-dyed – also the piece on the right in the above photo. The fabric on the right below was gift from Jeannie who comments often on my blog.

This piece had torn masking tape on the fabric so where the tape was, it is darker.

The next piece had squished discharge paste the first time around so I added new elements, using turquoise dye in the paste.

These are samplers using turquoise dye in the paste.

These are silk pieces that had been over dyed. The piece on the right was from Jeannie. The bottom piece is cotton. The silk on the left is raw silk that has been over-dyed. These all used found objects.

This piece was done using a couple of thermofax screens.

And Just For Fun! I saw Deb R’s Simpson’s persona on her blog and had to try it. Go here to create your own. This looks scarily like me!!

Hope you are having a great day, too!

PS: I lost 4.4 pounds. I had to weigh yesterday because they were closed today. Yeah!

Posted in Discharging fabric, Holidays, Inspiration, Just for Fun, My creations, Rant, Surface Design Techniques | 13 Comments »

Remembering, Scooters and Watermelon

Monday, May 28th, 2007

When I was in school, today was known as Decoration Day. I was in the band and we marched to every cemetery in the area and played patriotic songs. A trumpet would play taps and then I would steel myself for the gun salute. Each time I would vow not to jump out of my skin, but it never worked. After the cemetery ceremonies, I would join my family, putting flowers and plants on the graves of loved ones. That was followed by a huge community meal at the community center. This was a ritual and now, it seems that we hardly remember what this day is for.

Today, I have thought a lot about the number of young people who have been buried in the past four years, taking part in an illegal and senseless war. This month is turning in to one of the most deadly so far. More of us than ever want this madness to end. Last night, I watched the 60 Minute show about the Iowa National Guard. When they were deployed two years ago, men and women volunteered, feeling it was a just war. Their loved ones at home were proud of them and felt it was a just cause. Now, in the face of having their tours of duty extended, most are having second thoughts.

I have failed to let you know the source of the bumper stickers that I am sending out. They are from MoveOn.org, Democracy in Action. You could get one bumper sticker free, but I made a sizable donation and received 100 of them. If you want one, I still have some. Just fill out the contact form at the top of this page with your snail mail. Click on the Bumper Sticker here or in my side bar. I have added some more photos. Join the Virtual Iraq War Protest by sending me a photo of your bumper sticker.

Today was a family day for us. I scored big points with M and M with these nifty Razor Scooters. Miles finished his dinner and said, “I’m gonna scoot, scoot, scoot until you cut the watermelon.” We have nice long walkway and a fairly quiet street for them to scoot around. We also took them over to Reed College Campus.

Of course, some booboo’s accompanied the scootering. Between the two of them, I think we used 5 Hello Kitty and Blues Clues band-aids.

We had a Mediterranean dinner, lamb kabobs, lentil salad with feta (from Stephanie), steamed artichokes, sweet potato frites and of course, watermelon.

Isn’t this a site to take your mind off the cares of the world?

Posted in Family, Holidays, M & M, Rant, Virtual Iraq War Protest | 5 Comments »

Sunday Potpourri

Sunday, May 13th, 2007

I owe lots of e-mails to so many of you. I just have not been feeling very well. The crappy virus is the lingering type. Mr C and I have both been suffering from coughing and sniffling and sinus headaches. It has taken all my energy to do what I have to do.

I have been working on Passages for a show that opens next week here in Portland. I am quite happy with it. I did some handstitching with perle cotton. I was struck by the beauty and the necessity of the quilted markings on fabric to give texture, depth and definition. Here is a sneak peak:

And look at this quilty cuteness. Viola finally received her quilt today and her mom sent me these photos.

Isn’t she the cutest? Look at her checking out my quilting!

Yesterday, I found these gorgeous cookies that look as if they are dye-painted.

I took them for our snack today. We went on a hike to one of the many waterfalls in the Columbia Gorge. We went with M & M and their mom and dad. Here are M & M sliding down a lovely boulder.

Here is the watery display:

Mr C and Miles entertained themselves a la Andy Goldsworthy, building a stone cairn.

I have uploaded a few more photos to the Virtual Iraq War Protest. Just click on the bumper sticker in my side bar. I am still sending out bumper stickers so if you want one, let me know by sending me your snail mail in the contact form at the top of this page.

Posted in Family, Holidays, Inspiration, M & M, My creations | 8 Comments »

Knock, Knock…

Sunday, April 8th, 2007

Who’s there?

Wooden shoe.

Wooden shoe who?

Wooden shoe like to go to a tulip festival?

Since we partake in the Easter Vigil service on Saturday night, we leave our seats in the pews for those who only come to church for the special occasions. We had planned to take M & M to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival yesterday, but this is Portland, and it rained!

This morning the sun was shining so off we went, leaving their mom and dad home to get some work done.

There was a definite wooden shoe theme:

They participated in many fun activities. Here are Miles and Mr C taking a ride on a school bus.

We saw fields and row upon row of beautiful tulips.

And there was a spectacular view of the often elusive Mt. Hood.

You can see more of the Tulip Festival here on my Flckr page.

Later, we dined on Greek marinated butterflied leg of lamb, rosemary roasted potatoes, Spanikopita, salad with toasted pine nuts, feta and olives and strawberry rhubarb crisp and vanilla ice cream. Yum! And thanks to Steph for making the salad and Spanikopita.

I’m worn out. Time to call it a day.

Posted in Family, Holidays, M & M, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

Doing My Martha Thang

Wednesday, April 4th, 2007

I saw this method for decorating Easter eggs on Martha’s show this week. I had to try it. So I tootled off to the Goodwill to find some cheap silk ties. I brought them home and threw them in the wash. I then cut squares large enough to wrap around an egg. I also used some silks from my stash.

After wrapping the egg in silk, you must wrap it again in a cotton cloth, such as an old sheet. I used muslin. Use a twist tie to hold the fabric around the egg. Put them in an enamel or glass pan, cover with water, add white vinegar, bring to a boil and simmer for at least 20 minutes.

Here is the luscious result:

And a close up.

You can apparently reuse the fabric to do another batch. Here is a link to the directions.

Tomorrow, my STASH group is coming for our monthly meeting, followed by lunch out to celebrate Terry’s and Linda’s birthdays. So Mr C and I did some much needed spring cleaning. I even tried to straighten up the studio. We are also expecting spectacular weather.

Posted in Holidays, My creations | 14 Comments »

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