One of six children, I was raised by a busy mom, who instilled in me a love of fabric. Though I learned to sew and knit at a young age, it was the arrival of my first grandchild that pushed me into action. A long-time knitter, I am now ready to explore all things fiber.
If my feet look relaxed in the photo, it’s because these socks were a delight to knit.
The long sections of leg and foot never got boring. How could they, with the ever-changing panorama of colors unfolding. The yarn was excellent – no splitting, no knots. This is one of the yarns I purchased at North Wind shop in Spooner, WI.
It was the ball on the left, Berroco Sox – a nice blend of wool and nylon.
I chose to knit a 3 by 1 rib pattern again. This time I continued with the rib after I finished the heel shaping. It circles the foot, which makes the socks hug it nicely. For the shaping, I used Hermione’s Everyday Sock pattern, available on Ravelry.
I spotted this item at Hobby Lobby, which piqued my curiosity:
It is described as a canvas pad, suitable for watercolor and other wet media. It is primed, 100% cotton. At $9.00 for 10 sheets, it’s not exactly a cheap paper. It is a soft fabric-like sheet, obviously the same sort of stuff that is stretched over wood frames used by oil and acrylic painters. Yet it promises that watercolors work as well.
I had two questions: First, does it really take paint the way standard cotton watercolor paper does? Second: Does it behave like cotton fabric? For me, that means, can I sew on it, press it and use it on an art quilt?
Today was the day to try. My current project features ducks swimming on a pond. So I got out a reference photo and started a watercolor painting.
It was weird. The paint didn’t want to soak into the canvas. Whatever primer was added made it slightly water repellent.
As I continued to paint, the canvas started to accept the paints, at least a little. My wash went down – thinly, but eventually dried just fine. Getting the colors built up on the duck took a lot of patience. Here’s what I got:
As I removed the painter tape from the edges, I noticed that the tape had not kept the paint out. So no crisp line. That’s okay, I can always cut off the margins.
Next I had to see if the paint would stay put. I wet a brush and moved it along the wash area. The paint was lifting quite a lot, and quickly. So I can’t use a painted canvas in an item that will be exposed to water.
What about heat? I took the iron to the image, pressing gently at first. With a cloth over the duck, I then pressed at a higher heat (rayon setting) and held the iron in place for several seconds.
At first, there appeared to be no effect. Eventually I noticed that the canvas had rippled in response to the heat. The paint looked fine, but I also noticed some shiny places on the ducks’ head and neck. Obviously, at least one of the paint pigments had a binder or bit of metal that melted in response to the iron.
At this point I stopped my experiments. Next time I plan to apply my needle, thread and scissors. Maybe even run it through the sewing machine.
Fellow blogger friends, please bear with me for posting something that is meant for a narrower audience.
I’ve decided to gift many of the fiber objects that I have made over the past two years to family members. To that end, I am publishing this virtual trunk show.
Here goes: Dear family, you have been so good to each other and to me this year. I want to offer you my fiber pieces as a thank you. The images below are organized by category. I have several knitted accessories, some watercolor sketches and a few art quilts. Let me know which ones you like. I will be bringing these objects home on Thanksgiving. That week-end, I will have a real trunk show, so that you can see and hold the objects before making your final choices.
To see images close up, click on each.
Art Quilts
Top row: Oklahoma Sunset, 16 x 20; Just Trees, 16 x 20; 2Daisy Squared, 16 x 16 Bottom row: Autumnal Equinox, Mojo Miniquilt, Vigil. All are roughly 12 x 12
Knitted shawls, scarves, hats and other
Cotton Floss Tassle necklace
Shawls, Scarves and Hats – one size fits most. Shrug, mitts and socks – Women’s medium
Water color sketches
Sizes range from 7 x 10 to 8 x 11
You may call with any questions or email me, at my aol address.
I’ve been struggling along with a pathetic homemade mask that I whipped up quickly. This is a very nice one, but I draw the line at being a walking billboard for some company. I decided to make a few modifications.
Applique fused on and embroidered with cotton floss.
That little motif covered the logo nicely. Then I thought, what can I put on the other side of the mask? It came in a flash – why not advertise myself?
Daily Fiber 