MainStreetMagpie

My Dear

2011-01-27T12:27:00.000-08:00

Robert Burns

O, my luve's like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June.
O, my luve's like the melodie,
That's sweetly play'd in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonie lass,
So deep in luve am I,
And I will luve thee still, my Dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my Dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun!
O I will luve thee still, my Dear,
While the sands o' life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only Luve,
And fare thee weel a while!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho' it were ten thousand mile!

The Sketchbook Challenge

2010-12-31T09:55:00.000-08:00

Looking back a the old year, looking ahead to the new one, even though according to MY calendar, it shouldn't even be October yet. humph.

Starting tomorrow, I will be participating in the Sketchbook Challenge. I've taken an online class with Sue Bleiweiss before, so I know this will be a wonderful learning experience. Loved that class!

When you make your resolutions, keep this in mind... “The question for each man to settle is not what he would do if he had means, time, influence, and educational advantages, but what he will do with the things he has.” Hamilton Wright Mabie. Plan to make the best of what you have, not what you don't have!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Holographic fiber art

2010-12-05T14:08:00.000-08:00

Took a class yesterday from Wen Redmond on her Holographic Memories technique. Had a great time, such a great group of ladies and Wen is a wonderful teacher. She has the best laugh (which is an important skill with our group). We all went home with a finished, ready to hang work of art. I wrapped up mine and gave it to hubby who LOVED it. Wen put it on her blog which you can see here, it's the one at the top. It's a picture from a hike up Kearsarge in 2006. We had never hiked this one before, so we weren't familiar with the terrain. On the way down the kids went ahead to this point. I looked up, saw what seemed to be my precious children on the edge of a precipice. After panicking for just a split second, I thought, "What a fantastic picture!", and whipped out the camera. Priorities. When we caught up to them it wasn't nearly as dangerous as it had looked from the previous vantage point, so I was very glad not to have trusted my first primal instinct to protect my babies and instead had taken some snapshots! I love this picture and it carries with it some great summer memories.

2010-11-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

It's done!!
I need to get better pictures, but this is the gist of it... I know the letters are hard to see, that was intentional. I want people to have to look closely to figure out what it says and what it's made of. This is actually pretty close to what I had originally envisioned. I love the look of rusty metal and peeling paint, and I wanted an aged, neglected look to the paint. There are some changes in the process that I would make if I did it again, so I may make a series of ones like this or smaller, experimental ones. Would love to play with the colors and the streaky/smudgy effects.

latest quilt

2010-10-20T08:33:00.000-07:00

My current project, started in July... the letters were not staying stuck, so I finally decided to stitch them in place. I didn't want the texture of stitching, so I will have to figure out how to cover that up. Just an added challenge and an opportunity to play even more!

Solarfest!!!

2010-07-15T14:31:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to go...
Solarfest

Fun, educational... and I'll be there... what more could you ask for?

thoughts

2010-07-08T08:37:00.000-07:00

No pictures today, I need to find my card reader. I was thinking about the baby quilt that I just finished and is now hanging on the back of a chair waiting to be gifted. It looked really awful as I was pushing and shoving it around the needle to quilt it. Now it looks beautiful. I love the soft shades of browns, the wrinkles and the poofies. What has changed? Not the quilt. Is it because I'm not looking so closely? Because it's finished?

Not Destroyed!

2010-06-24T08:48:00.000-07:00

It's quilted and bound... just have to check for loose threads and it's done! Look out Harriet Hargrave, here I come! Maybe in another 50 years or so...
The fabrics are organically grown and not dyed, the top quilting thread is organic. I used a conventional backing and bobbin thread because all I had left of the organic fabric was the plain off white. My machine quilting is not up for that yet.

Immediately after finishing this I started in on another slowly progressing project...this is kinda how it looked before..

I used an upcycled shirt from Listen, stenciled on some gesso, then painted with metallic paints. Now it is cut up because I didn't like how the shirt melted under the heat gun, but i really like the texture of the gesso on the shirt (velvety). Stay tuned!

new quilt ready to destroy, uh, quilt

2010-05-25T14:13:00.000-07:00

The top and batting are organic fabric which had been purchased a few years ago. Organic fabric, or this stuff anyways is much thicker and stretchier than quilting cottons. So don't look too closely. (the back is a conventional cotton)

I really really wish I had been able to line up the little strip of white in the skinny border with the off center points of the center. But it went like this:
Me: Ok, I have this one narrow strip of the brown check left. If I cut it just right I can get a skinny border to go all the way around. No problem. I got this.
Rotary Cutter: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

The Rotary Cutter always wins.

As does the sewing machine... We will see how the quilting goes.

Anne Gallo and Susan Raban classes

2010-02-12T06:03:00.000-08:00

www.YankeeQuilts.com

for more info about taking the classes email michelle@mainstreetmagpie.com

Batik Wedding Quilt, Saturday, March 13

Trip x 2, Friday March 12

new journal

2009-12-10T13:11:00.001-08:00

Made from fabric printed from earlier Photoshop experiments. Photos aren't great, but you get the idea! There is much more depth in the printed fabric than shows here.

Not sure what i think of the blue stripe, but it looks ok in real life.

The inside is also blue. I was able to make the pockets to hold the journal and wrap it around the front using one strip of fabric.

playing with photoshop!

2009-12-10T08:40:00.000-08:00

I'll make a journal for the first person to figure out what the these started out as (of what was the original picture?).

Journal Twin Powers.. UNITE!

2009-12-08T07:38:00.000-08:00

Will anyone else get the reference in the title??

Anyhoo... the fraternal twin to the previous journal. I started out thinking that I would keep alternating the pieces until I had one large piece, but this one yelled "STOP!". So I did. I never understood what my Rice Crispies were trying to tell me, but sometimes I understand my fabric!

Quilted Journal Cover

2009-12-04T07:19:00.000-08:00

a completed journal cover... Inside is a purchased blank lined journal and a place to put a pen and pencil.

The back is playing with pieced curves using a technique recently learned in Wen Redmond's class. (and, of course, enhanced with sparkly thread. gotta have the sparkle!)

This will be donated to the prize table at the December NLQG meeting... Hope to see you there!!

Bow Tie Day!

2009-11-05T07:41:00.000-08:00

but, alack, alas, he didn't have one. So mommy whipped one up last night. in two hours! Was able to find a downloadable pattern from Burda, and even found the "hardware" (sliders) for the back in my mom's button stash (my inheritance). woo hoo!

lookie what you can do in Photoshop

2009-10-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

from a "boring" picture of a river

and a sunset.
now I have to figure out how to make "quilt blocks" out of them and have them printed up!

Grumpy Potato

2009-03-01T10:22:00.000-08:00

What is he so upset about? being mashed and eaten? hmmm....

Cyber Fyber

2009-02-19T10:27:00.000-08:00

This is a very belated post about a swap with Susan Lenz of Cyber Fyber fame. The orginal swaps she sent seem to have gotten lost in the mail. (It was well after our mail box got blown up, so it wasn't that!) She very graciously sent two freshly made ones from her retreat in Maine in the fall.

The first one is post card size, and you can't see all of the beautiful shiny threads in the scan, but it is a wonderful snapshot of fall in New England.

This one is an ATC, has a very fuzzy texture that reflects the look of the actual piece of bark that is attached. Sue, thank you for taking the time to make these, they're fantastic!

The next two were part of an international swap. This one is from Cheryl in OK. It looks like she felted the background and then added machine embroidery to it. My favorite colors! Thank you Cheryl!

Is it fireworks or a beautiful summer bloom? Either way I am delighted with Sue Singer of CA's ATC. Thank you, Thank you!

So, now I have a collection... How to display them??

Come, Spring

2009-02-19T10:11:00.000-08:00

Done for a swap in the Thread Society Yahoo group.

2008-09-24T10:28:00.000-07:00

two projects finished... a tea cozy (it's a gift, I don't have a teapot to fit it, i am hoping it fits one she has!). the pattern is from the AntiCraft. Will anyone dare to share her tea now?

And a quilt!!! It was started at a retreat in February, from book called Shadow Quilts. The piece sizes were rather futzy sizes (like 5 7/8")(ha!) so not many points or matching corners, etc, but the quilting disguised a lot of that and I am actually going to hang it in our living room. I was so frustrated with things not matching that i paper pieced a smaller version of it, with greater success, but now i am quite happy with the original.

time canvas

2008-07-06T20:13:00.001-07:00

timecanvas
Originally uploaded by FabriCadabra

this is my way of giving life to people whose photos have become separated from their family. I have always loved looking at old photos and tried to imagine what their life was like. this woman looks so confident... I'm sure she went on to do wonderful things!

backgroundlesson2

2008-06-06T15:07:00.001-07:00

backgroundlesson2
Originally uploaded by FabriCadabra

getting there! I am pleased with the progress. mostly because i know that more layers are coming... a lot less stress when you know each layer contributes just a bit to the whole.

after

2008-05-22T10:03:00.001-07:00

after
Originally uploaded by FabriCadabra

and these are the same canvases after a glaze has been put on. i used the "wrong" type of paint for some of them, so it came out a little thick, i'm hoping they are salvageable... if not, i can paint 'em white and start over!

before

2008-05-22T10:01:00.001-07:00

before
Originally uploaded by FabriCadabra

A new class... painting this time with Paulette Insall http://pauletteinsall.typepad.com/my_weblog/ I've admired Paulette's work for a while so when the opportunity to take a class with her came up, i just had to take it! I have little to no painting experience, so i'm trying to keep my expectations realistic!

nuno felted scarf

2008-05-20T07:27:00.000-07:00

ok, probably too many pictures for one scarf! I took a nuno felting class at New England Felting Supply in Easthampton, MA with Jean Gauger. We had a great time, learned a lot, and everyone's scarf was so different. I love my scarf, it's light and airy and there were surprise colors at the end with the bright green felting through to the back.

We got to see some of Jean's work up close and personal... Amazing stuff!! And Christine White, one of the owners of NEFS, also had some gorgeous pieces out and her book on felting, Uniquely Felt is very thorough, and beautiful to look at, and has lots of fun ideas and projects.

thank you Judi!!!

Lesson 5 Journal

2008-05-01T06:21:00.000-07:00

yay! got another journal done! these are so much fun, why is it so hard to find the time to do them??
anyhoo, the cover is made of a layered fabric made during the mixed media surfaces class , which i like, but the inside got a bit over done... ooops.

bimah cover!

2008-04-18T11:58:00.001-07:00

for the last six weeks or so, i've been working on a new bimah cover for the UVJC. It had to be something that would beautify the sanctuary, be appropriate for a 10th anniversary celebration of the building, coordinate with the wonderful artist-made curtain behind it, please at least some of our very varied congregation, be something within my skill set, and something that I would like. yikes.

I did some research on what bimah covers were available for purchase, just for something to go by, mostly they were squares of velvet with some gold embroidery and gold fringe. nice, but not what this space needs. It is a contemporary, open, mostly unadorned space. I love being in there.

My original version was way too dark for the space, but after a few more starts and stops (and almost complete halt), this is what the finished product looked like. I am quite pleased with it, although it doesn't look much like my original "vision".

The Hebrew letters are silk screened onto a commercial batik, then that piece was covered with a gold tulle. The blue and green wavy fabric are also batiks. The shiny green stripe on the edges has a lot of metallic threads which melt at higher iron temps. who knew?

Many, many thanks to Steve.

new class, new journal!

2008-04-06T07:58:00.001-07:00

I'm taking a new online class with Sue Bleiweiss on just journal making. So much fun plus the other people in the class are wonderfully talented - they inspire me to work harder!

I took a couple days from trying to make a bimah cover to make this journal. I'm so glad i did. the bimah cover has possessed me from the get-go, but i have made no real progress on it. the journal cover is from one of the many failed attempts! the problem is trying to make it fit with competing interests... what it needs to be vs. what i would like to make. apparently those are not the same things.

anyhooo... this was a fun project and i now have one last idea for the bimah cover (it's supposed to be for the 10th anniversary celebration next saturday (ha!)) to go try.

2008-03-04T14:00:00.000-08:00

This is part of my My Mixed Media Class... we painted brown paper to look like leather. Adam helped paint the paper, so this is for him, complete with a pad of graph paper. He was thrilled! I have to say i was quite pleased with the way it turned out.

I have a few assignments to finish up, but the class is officially over. It was a fantastic class, i'm so glad i was able to take it!!

a box!

2008-02-15T07:11:00.000-08:00

this is a box I made for the mixed media class i'm taking through Joggles.com with Sue Bleiweiss (fiberandstitch.com). I decided to finish it as a valentine for my hubby.

i'm not sure that it's quite finished, i may add to it as i learn more techniques. I machine couched some recycled-sari yarn from Nepal into hearts on each side of the box. i think i would like to add some beads. more sparkle!

i collaged a poem (I will luve you till a' the seas gang dry!) on the front flap so's he doesn't forget how much i like him!

more fabricy stuff

2008-01-31T16:39:00.000-08:00

I wanted to use some pretty colors... i've since cut this up a bit and used some for a class sample journal which is very nearly done.

not happy with the colors of this one, not sure what i'm going to do with it yet, maybe a background for something... ooh ooh i just thought of something! (not telling, nyah,nyah!)

ok, haven't figured out how to get pictures where i want them, but these three are the same fabric in different stages. it will be cut up and made into a box soon.

I'm having a great time taking this class as you can see!

art!

2008-01-24T07:14:00.000-08:00

hey, i made art! ok, not really, but it's a start. I'm taking a class through www.joggles.com with Sue Bleiweiss ( www.fiberandstitch.com ). having a great time playing with fabric, paper and liquid things (paint and glue type things)

this one is from a book from 1907 called The Brass Bowl. Coming from a long line of librarians (ok, my mom was and my sister is. and i was the children's librarian at the town library when i was in middle school) it sure was hard to tear the pages. hopefully this is a better life for it than sitting on my shelf rotting.

this is a close up (duh) but the picture and caption from the book was kinda funny.

crossing the river

2007-12-15T09:15:00.001-08:00

He who postpones the hour of living rightly is like the rustic who waits for the river to run out before he crosses.

-Horace

Maybe, but before you cross the water you check the depth, check for sharp rocks, piranhas, that sort of thing.