Daily Fiber

Patio Decor – Stage Two

Posted on June 29, 2022 by Laura Kate

Back in May, I started a painting on fabric for the purpose of decorating my patio.

https://wordpress.com/post/dailyfiberfun.wordpress.com/5098

It was May, and the weather for patio-sitting was perfect. But I didn’t finish my painting – I had become obsessed with the Shell Lake Story quilt, and could think of nothing else.

Now that the quilt is finished, AND lovely patio-sitting weather has returned, I got out the fabric paints to work on stage two of the painting.

At the end of stage one, I had a 15 by 30 inch canvass with a nice background on it.

The lovely green-colored folds already looked like geranium leaves. The blank-looking orange blobs will become geranium blossoms.

Using Jacquard Textile paint in colors green, ruby red and goldenrod, I started working from the right side of the canvas to the left. Here is the painting after my first two sessions:

Only one more blossom to go. Today I finished it up,

Hm, it’s pretty obvious that I got better at painting as I went along! While the far left blossom is more carefully painted, it lacks the bright highlights of the first two. This was caused by the tone of the underpainting, which was predominately violet instead of yellow, like the other ones. The only way to fix this is to apply opaque paint. The risk in doing that is overworking the painting.

So I guess I will leave well enough alone.

My next steps are to square up the fabric and staple it to the back of the frame.

quilting

Finally Finished Friday

Posted on June 24, 2022 by Laura Kate

Starting back in January with some musings over passed-along weaving samples, today I celebrate the finish of a fiber object unlike anything I have done before.

Margaret Howard wove her samples on a small loom that she kept at the family’s summer house in northwestern Wisconsin. When I first saw them, I felt that these pieces could be compiled into a cohesive fiber object. As I began working with them, my mind traveled to the little cottage on the edge of the lake with the big stone fireplace. What might it have been like for Margaret, to do this work, at that place?

Before long, my own experience while visiting that same cottage began to overlay the story of Margaret in my imagination.

The resulting quilt is a consolidation of her history, my experience and skills, fabric from assorted cast-off shirts, fabric from my mother’s stash, and prompts from the 2022 Stay-at-home round robin quilt challenge.

The little cottage is represented by the center block.

It holds the heart of the Shell Lake story.

Each corner block on the quilt represents some aspect of the experience a trip to the lake house may bring. Let’s go there now.

To reach the cottage, one travels through a piney wood along paths lined with ferns.

Crossing an ancient and overgrown tennis court, the visitor encounters the path to the lake. Turn right and follow the dazzling rays of sunshine to get there.

As the day turns to dusk, all camp visitors are again drawn to the lakeshore, where the sun is saluted before it disappears over the horizon. Sunsets at the lake are relaxed, and sometimes, if you are lucky, meditative.

When the air becomes chilly, a fire will warm the body. While fires on the beach are jolly, often the stone fireplace is brought to life, usually in the cool morning hours.

Here is a final look, showing the fabric chosen as the backing.

This little flower print has no special association with the Shell Lake story. I simply thought that the colors just looked nice.

I truly enjoyed making this quilt, and am a little sorry that the work is done.

And so ends the tale of a weaver, a fiber artist, and the quilt that grew from their intersection. Where will this object end up? I am not sure, but at some point soon, it will be released into the world. Fifty years from now, perhaps another artist will have something to add to its story,

Uncategorized

Floriferous Solstice

Posted on June 21, 2022 by Laura Kate

What better way is there to welcome summer than with an abundance of flowers? (and one vegetable?)

**Purple echinacea with columbine seedheads**

**A group shot including pink Rose of Sharon in the background**

I hope you are enjoying your summer!

drawing, painting

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY

Posted on June 19, 2022 by Laura Kate

Celebrating those who stand up and stay engaged.

Thank you Bob, Bill and Cobie.

Pigma Micron pen on Arches cold press paper, with Prussian blue, burnt sienna, transparent orange, new gamboge and Dr Ph Martin bleed proof white.

knitting

Finished Object Friday – Fair Warning

Posted on June 17, 2022 by Laura Kate

” When I am an Old Woman, I shall wear purple with a red hat – which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me “ – Jenny Joseph

I don’t know if this is the sort of hat that the poet had in mind. But perhaps if she had lived in the 21st century, in a cold climate, and was 3 and 1/2 years old, she might have chosen it.

The Surprising Story Behind the Poem “When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple”

Despite my playful suggestion about an old woman, this hat is indeed meant for Laura Lu. In my determination to use stash yarn, I came to the conclusion that red would work perfectly fine with purple yarn and a purple sweater.