Momigami

 Caterina Giglio posted a YouTube video tutorial on how to create momigami - working paper until it’s soft like cloth, and then slow stitch pieces together. 

I used gelli print scraps, and stitched pieces together using sashiko threads in three colors. It’s amazing how soft, and fabric like the paper gets. 

The piece measures 4.25” x 5.5”. 

Sappho Journal Published in Winter Art Journaling

Lately I've been trying my hand at creating journals. This summer I submitted this Sappho journal to Art Journaling magazine, and I was pleased that they included three pictures of the journal in the Gallery section of the Winter issue. One page has a picture of the journal front cover, and the other page has images of both the front and back inside covers.

The journal cover is a repurposed gift bag front the Getter Center in Los Angeles. The journal is tied shut with a piece of very soft antique ribbon. Sappho was a Greek poet, and I thought the image on the bag reflected Greek theme. 

Later on, I think I will also include pictures I took in addition to the images that appear in the magazine. That will give you a look inside the journal.

 

 India Chindi Rug Deconstruction

It's been a long time since I've written in my blog.  I know the main reason is because I have to transfer photos from my iPhone to my computer.  I thought it was very handy to be able to use the Blogger app on my phone, but Google did away with it. 

*****************

I belong to a group on Facebook where some of the members were talking about taking apart India Chindi rugs.  The amount of amazing fabric you get from one $4 rug is phenomenal.

I bought my rug from At Home for only $4, and it was pretty easy to take apart.  Mine didn't seem to be as dirty as a few of the women mentioned.  Afterwards, I washed the fabric on the hand wash cycle in my washing machine, with mild detergent and fabric softener.  I hung them on a drying rack to dry.

Here are a few pictures:

 

Mixed Media Cards

I created a few mixed media cards using images cut from a vintage fabric remnant, a foreign stamp, and pieces of pearlized lace.

Valentine Cards

             
    I created a set of Valentine cards from various scraps that I sent to my Peeps.

Triptych Art Exchange

I realize I almost never blog any more, but I realize it is because Blogger no longer has an app they support.  I had gotten used to taking pictures with my iPhone, and then I could write a quick blog post on the run.  Those days are gone!

I've gotten more involved with Facebook, and I've joined a few art groups that are fun and inspiring as well.  I participated in a couple swaps not long ago, and this is one of them:

It is a triptych that needed to hang.  I made mine using rusted fabric, old Russian stamps, and vintage lace, ribbon and of course a button.

My partner made hers from paper that she echo printed, bird stamps and letters, lace and of course buttons.  I love it!  I'm hoping to try echo printing on fabric when the leaves turn colors this fall.

How is that for a better late than never post?  I'm going to try to do so much better, and in fact, I've emailed a few pictures to myself that I'll blog about soon.  Until then I'll take a look at what all of you are up to.

Happy Valentine's Day

I made Valentine's cards using vintage lace & fabric scraps, blank cards, card stock and a heart stamp with gold ink.  I sent them to my three sisters and my niece.

Can I Learn to Draw?

I recently won a giveaway from Marva at Purplepaint's Muse.  Her giveaway included this book by Danny Gregory that is a learning to draw tutorial, and a moleskin notebook.  I have always admired Marva's drawings, and I do wonder if I can learn to draw.  Marva assures me that I can.

I must confess that I have yet to draw the first thing, and the pages of the moleskin are pristine - always an excuse - you know, Christmas shopping and decorating etc.  But I will dive in one of these days real soon.  And when I've drawn something that looks better than my drawings when I was five, I'll share them with you.

Thank you Marva, I love it and promise to do my best!

My Article is Published in the Winter 2016 Sew Somerset Magazine

I received my complimentary copy of the Winter 2016 Sew Somerset magazine where I have an article published.  Then I saw it at the book store yesterday.  This magazine has been a favorite of mine for several years, and I'm happy to be part of it.

I wrote a how-to article about a series of mixed media cards I created using rusted fabric, vintage lace, buttons and original old photographs.

Rusting Fabric on the Back Porch

Have I told you before how much I enjoy rusting fabric?  The rusting process works quite fast here in Kentucky, and I decided to use the back porch for the process this year.  I have a bin of rusty items: Nuts & bolts, railroad spikes etc.  You can find the post I wrote about the rusting steps in this link.

Here are the latest pieces hanging in the breeze.  You'll find some of them for sale in my Etsy Shop under the Rusted Fabric Section.

Tikes & Trikes Published in Sew Somerset Winter 2015

I received my complimentary copy of Sew Somerset that features an article I wrote about a fabric book I created - titled. "Tikes & Trikes".

It is always nice to see my artwork in this great magazine.  The magazine published a few of the fabric book pages, and I am posting all the pages on this post.

I added a few bloggers to my sidebar who are also in this issue.

"Emily" is Published in Sew Somerset

I shared a wall hanging titled "Emily" with you a while back, and now she appears in the latest edition of Sew Somerset.

I received my complimentary copy a couple of weeks ago, and I'm happy to be a contributor.  You should be able to find it in stores today.
























Take a peek inside to my article:

Here is a link within my blog to the post where I describe "Emily".

"Emily"

New Creations Listed in My Etsy Shop

Sewing Lessons

I recently finished a few small quilties that I added to my Etsy shop.

McCall Girls

Simplicity Girls

Swallow on Blue

Blog Anniversary Give Away

Update 07/14/13:
I drew the name for the little quiltie give away this evening, and the winner is PK Sews.  Thank you all for your interest and comments.

My blog anniversary is coming up fast, and I'd like to share a small piece of artwork with you.  Just leave a comment on this post, and I will draw a winner on Sunday, July 14.  Just be sure that I have a way to contact you by email so that I can let you know that I drew your name, and get your snail mail address from you.

This piece is titled "Downtown Dresses", and is approximately 4" x 6".  The 1920s photo is printed on fabric, and the quiltie is made up of bits of various fabrics and laces and includes one button.

William Morris Pillows

My sister, who sent all the wonderful buttons to me, purchased two yards of William Morris Designed fabric from the United Kingdom.  She asked me if I would make pillows for her - of course I said yes.  I made five pillows, and all have piping in the seams.: three 16" x 16", one 12" x 14", and one 14" x 14".    I printed an image on fabric that I had scanned from an early 1920s magazine, and sewed it to the 14" pillow, and there is a vintage celluloid button attached to the lower left of the image.  Here is a photo of all of them.  I'm going to get them packaged for mailing tomorrow.

Fabric Collage Greeting Cards

I like to send handmade cards to family and friends. I made three of them a couple days ago. I used bits of vintage fabric, lace, buttons and images printed on fabric. Each collage is stitched to the front of a card, and vintage sheet music is adhered to the inside of the card to cover the stitches. I left a blank page for the handwritten message.

Blogoversary Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Queenmothermamaw (Peggy).  I drew your name to receive the little quiltie in my giveaway.  Giant Stride Karma perhaps.  Email your address, and I will get this off to you right away.

Thank you to all who commented about the giveaway, and entered for a chance to win.  I wish you all could have won.  Next year I think I will offer more than one artwork for a giveaway.

Blogging is a great part of using the Internet, and I enjoy exploring all of your blogs too.

Happy Blogging to all of you.

Blogoversary Giveaway

I have a blogoversary coming up real soon so I am having a giveaway.  Anyone who leaves a comment on this post will have a chance to win the little quiltie pictured here.  I will draw for a winner on Sunday, July 15 late in the evening.  So if you have not entered before Sunday, you still can enter that day.

I made this quiltie using one of my favorite photos. It is a 1920's photo of a group of women who are probably gathered for a class reunion. They are posing by playground equipment - a Giant Stride - or at least that is what we called it when we were children.  The piece measures 4" x 6" and is ready to hang.  The photo is printed onto white cotton, and the fabrics, trims and button are all vintage.  Good luck, and I hope you will enjoy it.

"Sarah" in Summer 2012 Sew Somerset

I am excited to share with you that I had a piece of my artwork published in the latest issue of Sew Somerset.  The wall hanging is titled "Sarah", and is on the upper left of the page.



Summer 2012

Sarah - Upper Left on Page

Here is a link to my blog entry about Sarah where you can see the wall hanging up close, as well as read the story I created for her.  I used an original tin type photo in this mixed media piece.

Beautiful Lace

Isn't this piece of lace quite beautiful? 

Look at it again more closely. Do you see it?

The lace is really part of the painting below.

The lace is from a close up photo I took of his left knee.

I have always been facinated with the detail of fabrics and lace shown in paintings.  This painting is at The Getty in Los Angeles,  and I use it here as an example to show the detail the artist achieved while painting the lace.  There are so many beautiful paintings, but I wanted to show detail from a painting whose subject would ordinarily just receive a passing glance from me.