Sunday Song With Willow Creek Dress

I want artist Robin Barcus Slonina to have six wives so she can create 24-7. I can't cook, but I'll stitch for her!!

October 16th- Just realized I hadn't put her link so you can see the other amazing things she does. I was just captured by this Ophelia happening, but you can go see the rest by clicking on her name.

Hooray Beret!!

Just finished a crocheted beret in purely grape cotton. The lace was actually finished months ago after a month of hooking, but I decided to use up some beads since I have one or two, and the beret was just sitting there. Still. Not moving or trying to get away. So I attacked. I started with a tight spiral and loosened up a bit as I worked towards the brim.

Used at least a hank of Czech beads in every shade of purple and shape and style of bead and finish you can imagine and every cut a small bead comes in. Used one whole strand of copper lined sapphire charlottes to bind the edge in a scallop.

And what do you do with the little umbilical cord that hangs out after you've netted your last stitch? Why, you bead that too! I used a Swarovski pear drop and a cobalt and silver barrel bead along with other bicones and vintage beads in a bullion button so this hat has its own jewelry. Will be very cheeky hanging in front of a shell shaped ear! And I bet that whoever this belongs to will HAVE to try it with the drop hanging on the center of their forehead at least once!

All my head mannequins have gone out the door with various elaborate head dresses or hats. The beret is being modeled with an iron sculpture that my friend Carol bought for me when she was at an art show. She said attitude and pose, it just yelled my name!

It's for sale in my Etsy shop.

New Amazon Store

Finally took the leap and added an Amazon Store to my blog. All of my recommends are geared towards fiber, mixed media, quilts and fabric manipulation. All but two of the first 35 selections are under twenty bucks in deference to artist's budgets.

I'll be reviewing these books along with photos of them. If you're a mixed media artist of any stripe or an artist that does ACEOs and ATCs, you just have to have "The Art of Manipulating Fabric" by Colette Wolff (Paperback - Oct 1, 1996). She teaches every possible combination of folding, pleating and manipulating fabric in the Universe and many techniques are transferable to paper for artists that use texture in their work.

My Copy is absolutely loved over, bent, written in stapled with cloth and shreds of paper. This is my fabric 'bible'.

I've almost finished the Geode piece. Some ends to tie up and then I'll do the finish work and frame it. Will share jpegs then.

And The Geode Part of 'Hat and Geode'

This is an update on the Good Earth Works piece I'm working on. As you can see from the photos, there's lots more work done on the canvas. I'm still not sure what to do with the blank white corner. It may be something that has to ferment for awhile.

So. Here are the views I have. As with Sheree Rensel's summer beret jpegs, I haven't the benefit of a photo editing program so they're rough. But I think you can see the real gemstones: Cape amethyst (lighter shades of pink and lavender), diamonds - including a broken diamond tennis bracelet, real pearls, druzy quartz with a tormaline on top, silverwire, the large dark purple amethyst cabochon seated on a chunk of sugalite, and large faceted amethyst beads, faceted white topaz, fire opal, flourite, Swarovski crystals and onegorgeous lead glass cube.

On the small round mirror, I anchored a princess cut pink tanzanite and a diamond. My friend Carol, a jeweler told me the glue to use. Look for the pointed quartz wand, the iolite, and carnival glass beads with copper wrapping.

I was telling Martha that the most sparkle amongst all the high dollar glitz comes from the sequins - inexpensive glitz! I love the 'river' of magnesium green sequins that unites everything and pay homage to the fact that amethyst gets its purple color from the interaction with the magnesium atoms present with the silicates.

One of my fave repeats are the hologram glitter sequin and beadv 'fans'. And my secret in this piece is that most of the ground under and atop the canvas comes from the brocade I dyed for Cindy Miller's Tesse Tura stripper costume. A fitting tribute to one of my angels! I'll think of her every time I see this piece!

Next issue: Framing and presentation. I need me some Martha Marshall advice for this.

Finished!

Finally got all the handwork done on the purple kimono. As I may want to show this garment in a show someday with Cindy's permission, I made the frog artsy as I do on many jackets such as the kimono.

You can see from the closeups all the beads and gemstones I used. The 'button' is a mother-of-pearl tooth used as a toggle through a nephrite jade ring. I left the end of the bias tube unfinished because it reminds me of a peace lily. Bead and crystal calyxes of course! You can't see all the sparkle but I guarantee you it's there!

I dyed the fabric for Cindy's practice wings just because there was a vat of dark cedar green pigment dye on the back porch left from Jeannie's gown. The fabric is quite a bit heavier than the silk gauze I'll be using for the real things, but I figure that they'll simulate the weight of the real thing after I finish piling on beads and bling. Also bought an extra set of dowels for the practice wings. I suppose I should put a picture of them up as well as I go.

The kimono just needs a final press before it goes on a hangar and in the bag.

Part Two Small Quilted Wallhanging Tutorial

I have a small fold at the top of my piece with a fabric header above it for visual interest. You don't have to use bias as I have. A different texture fabric than your main embellished layer would add a tactile element to your finished work. If you don't want to add a header, skip steps through and baste around the edges of the four layers.

5. Below, you can see I've folded down the beaded top and pinned a piece of 1 1/4" wide bias tape right side down towards the interfacing and batting.

6. The bias is dropped from the top edge about 5/8" to 1". Use a running stitch through all layers backstitching every few stitches to anchor your work.

The red dashes below shows stitch placement.

7. The bias is dropped so that when you fold it back and pin it, the top edge of the bias or fabric is even with the top of your batting, interfacing and backing. Baste the bias at the top together through the batting and backing.




8. When you turn the edge of your cuff back, you'll stitch through the bias just above the bottom fold for a clean edge and no inner layers showing.


9. The picture below shows the stitches hidden under the fold.