Tuesday, June 24, 2008

I Felt the Challenge!

Today I had a meeting with a wonderful little art quilt group I get together with once a month; we had each received a "fortune cookie challenge" back in December, and this was the big day the challenges were due. Well, being such a "wool-aholic" (have you had your daily dose of fiber? ^_^), I decided to do some nuno-felting, and so I made another silk 'n wool scarf, this one in a brilliant fuchsia silk chiffon with indigo, wine and celery merino fiber accents with just a touch of Angelina thrown in for a little pizazz. I loved the way it draped, but it needed a pin, so I made a wool "geode" pin to hold the scarf in place. I guess I got a little carried away when I ran across the matching fuchsia fibers, and so I found myself wet-felting wool beads last night to make matching earrings and a bracelet to wear with the scarf. I was definitely feeling the challenge as I burned the midnight oil to complete this whole wet-felted set of accessories! By the way...I got lucky with my fortune; it said "You are original and creative", which applies to most every quilter and stitcher I know! Anyway, see below left for a photo of the nuno-felted scarf, pin and matching wool beads jewelry, maybe you'll be inspired to challenge yourself, too!

Monday, June 9, 2008

Bead Show

Have you ever been to a bead show? When I was a little girl, one of my favorite things to do was to go through my mom's or grandma's jewelry box...what a privilege! With pearls, rhinestones, onyx, all sorts of great 50's costume jewelry (which BTW is hot stuff now!), it was like digging through a treasure chest, and I dreamed of being a princess and being able to wear such beautiful finery.

Well multiply that times a million, and that is like a bead show: rows of tables covered in strings and bags of gorgeous beads in every color, size and shape imaginable, what a feast for the eyes! The Bead, Gem and Craft Show I attended yesterday at the Cabarrus Arena was just incredible, I've never seen so much glittering eye-candy in one place! My eyes feasted there for about 3 hours as I found the perfect beads to go with my fibers for my wool beads kits, check out a sample in the picture at left. Some of you know that I've been invited to teach at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in Chantilly, VA and also the Georgia Quilt Show this October, and they've requested I include beads in my wool bead kits, so I have the perfect excuse to engage in one of my favorite activities...shopping! I'll be gradually adding beads to some of my wool bead kits, and will even have a few at the Clemmons quilt show this weekend (see my Schedule page on my web-site for more info on the show.) Anyway, the vendors and folks at the bead show were so nice, they have invited me to teach the wool beads when they bring the show back at the end of September, so I'm going to try and squeeze that in...I'll definitely be going back either way! You should check it out...even if you don't make jewelry, beads are a great embellishment for your quilts, wall hangings, bags, and wearable art...and what better place to find exactly what you're looking for than at a bead show! For more info, you can visit their web-site at www.americangemexpo.com

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

June News

What a busy couple of weeks it's been! Last week I visited the super-nice and oh-so-talented Lake Norman Quilter's Guild, and it was like a family reunion, I just love those gals. We talked about needle-felting and wet-felting and then broke out the wool 'n fibers and played, I'm telling you, those girls are fast learners! They made a beautiful array of needle-felted heart pins and everyone's was different and so pretty, you can see my sample in the photo next to my nuno felted scarf. And yes, I made the scarf, too, it's wet-felted from some very yummy hand-dyed crinkle silk that I hope to be carrying soon and also gorgeous colors of merino wool fibers. I love how it feels, it's kind of sculptural, yet light as a feather and drapes beautifully.

And this week we all piled in my mini-van and went to see Billie Lauder in Kernersville, what a fun program that was, we laughed till we cried, she is so funny. Who knew you could do so many things with simple squares and triangles? And the Kernersville group were the perfect hostesses, they had snacks and drinks arranged for us "weary travelers" like a 4-star restaurant, I've never seen so many home-made cookies in my life, yum! They were extremely gracious to all their visitors, of which there were many who turned out for Billie's special presentation. A truly enjoyable night; I especially enjoyed seeing all my quilting friends there, some of whom I only get to see at shows and such, it was great catching up with everyone. Can't wait to see who turns out for the Clemmons show June 13-14, I know those girls have been working hard to put on a great show...maybe I'll see you there!