ON A ROLL

A CORINNE LAPIERRE KIT

from French Needle or Loop London

I just couldn't resist this delightful felt embroidery kit from Corinne's collection.

I liked it so much that I also purchased another smaller one,

 possibly even cuter,

 for one of my Tuesday Nite gals,

Aileen,

who has been with me now for 4 years.

She is still working on hers.

Back seam side

It came with wonderful color instructions,

and also encourages you to add your own touches which I did.

In fact,

 I pretty much changed up the entire top here and a couple goodies on the sides.

And recently I gifted it to Alyssa,

yes Molly's mommy,

when Alyssa brought Molly over to meet me.

And because Alyssa is very crafty,

 I wanted her to have a pair of bird scissors from the Gingher collection.

I also added the special heart & circular pins from Dritz on Amazon,

plus,

 of course,

 a variety of pre-threaded needles.

SHIBORI GIRL MOONS

This past year I participated in

Glennis Dolce's Moon of the Month subscription

and received 2 Indigo dipped moons every month 

with a complete list of the fabrics used and any other tidbits she wanted us to know

about the making or significance of them.

She just started it up again and it's not to late to subscribe for 2023.

It was so much fun never knowing what size and shaped moons she'd create

 and what special fabrics she'd use,

oftentimes cutting into old kimonos she's brought back with her from Japan.

Glennis also has a tour guided trip to Japan this year that looks amazing.

I believe there are a few spots left too.

Glennis is a wealth of information on Japan and Shibori.

She also offers many other courses, cards and pieces she has made,

 several of them she has slow stitched into banners and bags.

Above are only a few of the 24 moons she sent out this past year.

With the December moons she also sent out six different rabbit silhouettes 

that she suggested we stitch onto a few of the moons 

since this is the year of the Rabbit.

I did a few and wasn't sure if I liked them,

 but when I saw this pix of them I think I might do a couple more 

before I sew them together in some type of banner.

My dear blogger friend Liz from I'm going to Texas

also participated in the monthly moons

 and has already started to sew hers onto a Quilt top.

Can't wait to see how it turns out!

ANOTHER LITTLE BISCUIT

Australian Eco/Fiber Artist India Flint calls these Biscornu 

which I believe is French

 and translates to biscuit.

I learned to make them in one of her delightful on-line classes.

BTW,

her newest online course starts Feb.1 and I believe you can still enroll

here. 

I love making them and teaching others to do the same.

They are a great way to use up scraps of fabric and special threads.

This one was made from a few eco-dyed pieces I had in my stash.

The fabrics were a bit too plain for me so I added a little embroidery.

And then my favorite last step is to pick out a button for each side.

I believe the one in the top photo is wood 

and the one here is the back side of an abalone button.

Every time I stick a needle or pin in it,

I smile.

They are just so cute.

SPIRIT CLOTH INSPIRED

If you haven't had a chance to enroll in any Jude Hill stitch classes,

I really recommend Patchwork Beasts.

Jude of whirled wide Spirit Cloth fame is listed to the right under Artist's I Follow.

Love all her classes,

most of which I've taken over the years,

but it's her beasts faces that are so fun to play with.

Her drawings and watercolors of their faces in her on-line class are whimsical

and offer a lot of ideas to choose from.

I believe this is my 2nd attempt.

My first one can be seen here.

Jude is a wonderful teacher and I've learned so very much from her,

and her blog still continues to inspire and delight everyday.

So thank you Jude!

In our Tues. Nite Fiber Arts class,

we did a bunch of eco-dyeing about  year and a half ago.

Above are the pieces drying out.

We experimented with lots flowers, leaves, fruits & vegies for their dye properties.

After the pieces were opened, washed and ironed it was time to learn a few embroidery stitches along with needle turn applique.

Dang, 

this close up really shows my very messy embroidery.

Whoops!

Anyways...

We only used thin white and off white perle cotton threads to embroider with

which we had placed inside our bundled fabrics so they too absorbed the dyes.

Kinds of fabrics were thrifted linens, cottons and silk.

Each of us choose something different to fill our applique opening with.

I wanted to try another beast face.

Using Jude's famous invisible tacking stitch,

the face was attached to a contrasting piece of dyed cotton. 

I like to thrift really soft, 

old white bed sheets that have been washed many times.

Makes it much more easy to slide the needle thru.

Knowing I wanted to log cabin around the beast,

 here experimenting with several pieces of dyed, torn strips.

Then more stitching to secure/quilt over top,

a few vintage buttons and a twig complete the beast.

Oh,

in one of Jude's first classes I took,

she demoed how to easily fray the edges of the fabrics for a very cool edge.

I love the texture it adds.

A super fun project.

AN ARTFUL NEW FIND FROM FRANCE

After browsing Pinterest a couple of weeks ago I came across the Fiber Art of 

Berenice Mollet of Roujan France.

She had covered a lovely stone with a piece of eco-dyed and embroidered fabric.

It was love at first site!

So of course I searched the whirled until I found her and her shop,

and of course bought a few of her pieces to show the gals I'm currently teaching.

From left to right are an elongated notebook,

a rust printed trivet (she included as a bonus),

a medium sized notebook,

then underneath those a zippered pouch.

As you can see above her slow stitching is impeccable,

her designs delightful,

 and her sewing construction of her pieces so perfectly crafted.

What was really difficult was to choose an embroidered covered rock.

It was between an eco-dyed one that had a smaller baby stone attached,

but then I saw this indigo covered one above/below and felt very pulled to it as well.

So I thought about where I'd be displaying it and realized I wanted it in my indigo styled room

at my son's home that he and his wife are allowing me to decorate.

What I also loved about Berenice's blog site

 is she posts a lot of tutorials. 

She takes pix of how she builds her pieces during the classes she teaches throughout France.  

She is very generous with her creative processes.

I hope you get a chance to take a peek thru her site and shop.

A SNEAK PEEK

About 2 weeks ago I posted about my online class I'm taking with India Flint.

I'm so excited to show you that I've started my embroidery around the Eco-Dyed pieces.

And it's so much FUN!

I'm enjoying the process so much.

I've been stitching about 3 hours a nite as I've been binge watching Designated Survivor

and it's so hard to stop so I can go to sleep.  

What's really been rewarding is using only Eco-Dyed embroidery threads.

And what's been good for me is that I've been working very spontaneously

(which I rarely do)

not knowing what each piece will look like finished.

I like it!

Didn't know I would since I'm usually so controlling,

but I'm too impatient to get to the stitching.

As a result,

 I'd had to some undoing and ripping out,

but I don't mind since it's so gratifying when something looks "right".

And Quite Liberating!!

TOO BEAUTIFUL TO USE

Recently I received this gorgeous handcrafted pillow in the mail 

from a remarkable Mixed Media Artist,

Jen Mullen of Bayou Quilts and Dolls.

I have showcased a couple of her pieces over the years under Professional Fiber Artist Jenclair,

but she is so much more than a fiber artist!

I hope you are able to take the time and pull her up in my search engine

 to see the pieces she has made for me over the years,

and to visit her blogsite to  see all that she does.

Her work is exquisite as you can see here in the close-ups.

When she read on my blog that I had retired she created this amazing piece for me.

It's too special to put on a couch or chair 

so my husband suggested I put it in a shadowbox type frame

and display it on a wall in our home.  

Brilliant idea!

The only thing about that type of display is you won't be able to turn it over

and see this very cool hand holding a pen writing with Kantha stitch around it.

Love that detail Jen!!

Thank you,

I adore your work and so appreciate all your time and energy you put into this.

DISPLAYING ARTWORK

This tiny & stunning piece of hand stitching (4" by 4")

was done by one of my favorite Fiber Artists,

Hazel Montes of Handstories.

I purchased it from her shop about a year ago

 and finally figured out how I wanted to frame it out.

I have used this technique now a couple of times with Hazel's tiny Sailing Ships,

and love that you can hang them in a window to enjoy.

I also love the fact that I'm re-purposing 

these vintage crochet doilies.

Now I'm going to send this off to one of my all time favorite students 

whose coming to visit in August from her second semester abroad studying Architecture,

Karisma Dev. 

While with me for each of her 6 years at Whitney,

she studied all the Fiber and Sculptural Arts,

Beginning thru Special Studies 3-D Art,

as well as Beginning 2-D art. 

I know she will love and appreciate Hazel's handwork & design as much as I do.

If you have the time or interest,

insert Karisma's name into my search engine

 and you can see many of the pieces she created for me over the years.

She is also top in her class at Syracuse University

and I couldn't be more proud of her!

I FELT FOR YOU

3-D FELT CONSTRUCTIONS

BEGINNING 3-D ART

wool batting, colored wool rovings, perle cottons, wool handspun yarns, needles for dry felting,

hot plates & pans, and a washing machine

Teachers Beware!

This is an especially messy, soapy adventure but well worth the prep, effort and cleanup.

Also involved is the use of your home washing machine,

and lots of counter space both in your classroom and at your home.

I use the floor under the classroom cabinets,

 as well as on top of them for the various stages of storage.

This year will be really tough in that I have more students doing this at one time then ever,

45!

There are many YouTube videos showing how to make felt on a 2-D surface,

which is how we begin this project,

 and even more on Needle Felting.

When the felt is shrunk and dried,

 the kids are required to use their critical thinking skills to cut out pieces

 and reassemble them into a 3-D piece.

No glue is allowed,

only Needle Felting or stitching or both to assemble them.

The results are quite remarkable.

We start with 8th grader Annie Nguyen.

The color movement going thru her design is so lovely.

She figured out how to put in her own zipper using You Tube

 (I haven't put in a zipper since the 7th grade).

She also brought in a bit of embroidery as well.

And her mom allowed her to use her sewing machine to put in the diagonal quilting lines

which I feel add so much interest to the overall piece..

Next up is 8th grader Shivani Kedila.

She transformed her flat piece of felt into this intricate box with a woven top.

I was speechless when I saw her finished product.

These kids are really incredible!

You can see how her sides are hand stitched up

plus she added a bit of embroidery as well.

Check out the top below.

I loved that she brought weaving into this piece!

This amazing pillow was the work of senior Inna Sikar.

Occasionally the kids work their flat flt a bit too aggressively when they begin the felting process 

and end up with a few holes or see thru patches.

Inna had both.

So she critically thought out to inlay a bit of fabric under those openings

for a very cool effect.

And we all were so impressed with her embroidered toucan!

She invested a ton of hours in this piece  as you can see.

We all loved the flowers that 8th grader Sophia Oporto needle felted on top of her purse form

along with her embroidered areas.

The colors flow so well together!

We totally didn't expect this clever solution.

Junior Rachel Tibayan knocked this assignment out of the park with her unique idea,

a complete outfit for her bear.

I just adore it all!

So well fitted and embellished.

Bravo young woman!!

And sweet 8th grader Yusuf Karan

 made this adorable kitty face pillow using his own handspun yarn for the whiskers.

Wonderful job Yusuf!

But it was senior Sophie Yang

 who really blew us out of the water with this elegant crafted pillow form.

Her 2-d felt piece was gorgeous from the get go,

then she cut it and inlaid the white wool felt.

The embroidery finished it off so beautifully.

And we loved how she alternated the design on each side.

Another brilliant piece to share with all.

WITH HER HANDS AND HER HEART

Hazel Montes of Handstories blog fame 

stitches the most delicate and lovely stories onto tiny pieces of cloth.

These delicious works are no more than 3 inches by 3 inches

and come wrapped in their own lovely piece of indigo dyed cloth

encased in a handwritten note card that Hazel has printed her stitchery on.

Absolutely delightful to open and enjoy.

When I open one of these

(I have bought several over the past couple of years to teach with)

I gasp with awe at her fine stitching with the tiniest of thread.

She sells select works in her shop,

but you've got to be quick as they sell out extremely fast.

I have been trying to scoop up one of her trees for a couple of months now and I recently scored!

My 3-D student where in awe the other day when I brought in this piece to share with them.

They couldn't believe how small it was and how she manages to do such fine work.

Incredible Hazel,

we love you!

JUST FINISHED

I recently discovered Crafts artist Charlotte Lyons 

as I was looking for embroidery ideas on Pinterest.

I went onto her site and found that she sells her hand drawn designs

for you to embroider.

So I chose one of her simpler ones and thoroughly enjoyed stitching it with a limited palette

of #8 Perle Cottons.

Now to mount and frame it.

Feels so good to finish something!

POOPING OUT

APPLIQUILT JOURNALS

BEGINNING 3-D ART

two tye-dye pieces of cotton, batting, sewing threads, embroidery needles, perle cottons, various papers, beads, buttons & other embellishments

I think I've been teaching this particular tye-dye /journal assignment for the past 10 years or so now, 

and it just seemed to go flat this last year.

And that's OK because it had a wonderful run while it lasted.

There was only one student piece that was noteworthy enough to show off 

and it's below

 done by senior Crystal.

It could have been the time of year we did the piece,

4th Quarter where the kids are getting antsy-pantsy for summer, 

and their heads and hearts just aren't in the game anymore.

Not sure. 

Or maybe they were simply burned out from all the sewing we bring into so many of the projects.

So I might change the journal portion up a bit this year,

because the kids really seemed to like the journal making section.

We'll see,

so stay tuned in!

This is Crystals journal opened up

 so you can admire the handwork she did on the front and back covers.

Lot's of seed beads and buttons with those strong diagonals leading our eye around.

But it was this next one below that really stole the show.

Again I have it opened up so you are seeing both back and front covers.

Done by who else?

A.P. English teacher Donna Hall.

She really did knock all my assignments out of the park this last year.

Kinda like English teacher Deliana Park did two years ago.

Hi Deliana!!!

We miss you big time!

Now knowing Donna really well,

 she probably didn't even like her tye-dyed background foundation.

She was funny like that.

I personally loved it.

Her green and orange secondary color scheme is one that I use a lot.

Anyways her attention to detail was truly remarkable

 as well as the time and extra effort she put into this.

I want you to see a few close-ups of the details

so you can really appreciate her work.

The kids so enjoyed having you join us in the class Donna,

and they really got to see another side to you that they aren't privy to in the classroom.

Your unsure vulnerable side.

hee hee.

I hope you realized what a super-star you truly are!

FOR YOU INNA

For the past three years I've purchased a piece of needle art from Handstories Hazel Monte

to give to one of my most hardworking 3-D students.

I adore Hazel's work and follow her blog religiously.

Her stitching and intuitive designs are remarkable and I love sharing her with my students.

This year I chose senior Inna Sikar.

I have adored Inna since the 7th grade Art Wheel class where her 

goodness & positivity shone brightly.

She brings joy to my classroom 

and the younger kids adore her because she is like a second mom to them.

She is one of the most giving, encouraging youngsters I've ever worked with.

She returned to me last year for the Beginning 2-D course where I got to know her even better.

One of the things that most impressed me last year 

and continues in the Beginning 3-D class she takes with me this year,

is her ability to read my mind and anticipate my every need during class.

Oftentimes when I go into Right Brain when I demonstrate I will forget my words,

 and she will remind and fill in for me which is so appreciated,

or when I need someone behind the checkout counter she will go back there and get out supplies without me asking her too.

She just gives and gives,

and is always so happy to help out.

She gives me all her effort on each assignment,

oftentimes turning in one of the best pieces in the class.

She also comes in after school to touch bases with me & check on me,

asking me if I had a rough or a good day.

And if it's been a rough one she sits and listens while I vent.

And then offers very real, uplifting advice,

so that I go home feeling her positivity & good heart.

So Inna,

I hope you know how much you are thought of,

how much you are appreciated,

and how much you are loved.

And as you sail off from here this June and make your way in the world,

know that you are taking a piece of my heart with you.

When you look at Hazel's piece,

 I hope you will remember how special you are,

and how very proud  of you I am

& how blessed I feel that you have passed thru my classroom & my life. 

xoxoxoxoxo

And I bet those three 8th grade boys that sit & surround you feel the same way

with all the sage advice you give them!

ha ha