Shibori Silk Top with Silk Hand Dyed Yoyo's & a give away drawing!

I was very pleased with the way this top turned out but I wasn't pleased with the photos. Most of the mannequins I have to put garments on are a ridiculous size, being so small and narrowed shouldered they aren't real human proportions. I was in a hurry to take some photos before I packed the top up with my other garments to ship to Missouri for the museum show so these were the best I got. I hope you can visualize the uniqueness of this shibori dyed top and the hand sewn yoyo's. Fabric yoyo’s are circles of fabric that when hand stitched turn into fun little rosettes. Traditionally these were made out of cotton prints and made into quilts but I am making them using my hand dyed habotai silk.




I am always challenged when photographing garments. They look best on a person but I rarely have a person handy to model for me when I need to take pictures. Neither my husband nor my two sons are candidates for this, silk scarves and garments are not their forte' and really I'm glad for that.

When my friend Jennifer last visited me we were going to make one of these duct tape forms but wound up being so consumed with giving vintage slip dresses new lives we never found time. I think if I could make one of these it would give me a human shaped mannequin that I could use to photograph garments on but you need someone to help you make it. Is anyone else interested in making one? I could invite you over and we'd have a "duct tape" party?

If anyone knows of a site that shows garments photographed in a special, unique way that appears to be simple enough for me to do I'd like to know that. If you post a link for that, sign up to come to my house to make duct tape mannequins or just comment on my blot I will put your name in a drawing to be held on January 1st with random name drawer and you can win this reticule made from my hand woven fabric and lined with dyed painted silk charmeuse. And I will stuff it full of my dyed silk fabric scraps and ribbons! BE SURE TO LEAVE YOUR EMAIL IN THE COMMENT SO I CAN CONTACT YOU!

Hindu Monastery on Kauai- Rudraksha Trees/Beads

My friend Connie and I visited the Hindu Monastery when I was in Kauai. Connie lives on Island and every time I visit there we get together. We always meet in Kapa'a to eat at our favorite little hole-in-the wall place, Mermaids. Yummy fish tacos or Ahi Nori Wraps with iced Chai tea or Hibiscus Lemonade.

Connie has written about our adventure at the Monastery and gathering the Rudraksha beads so click on her name above to go to her blog.

Life's A Beach in Kauai!

I've been on Island since the 3rd and the weather has been perfect. Sometimes this time of year it's very rainy but we've seen none. Yesterday Michael and I went to Mahaulepu which is a beautiful open space land at the end of a very rugged, mostly unmaintained road that goes through now defunct sugar cane fields. We did se some of this land has been cultivated and corn and other vegetables are being grown.


When we got to the beach we saw a monk seal. The island protects these seals when they beach themselves to rest by erecting fencing around them so no one disturbs them. We walked farther down and there was another fenced area and this one was a mother and her new born pup. It was only five days old and very black. We were told the pups gain five pounds a day and the mother does not leave the pup's side but rests the entire time she nurses the young, not even eating. Five to seven weeks later the pup gets weaned and the mother leaves to end her fast. These monks seals are becoming endangered. The Island of Kauai protects them so the number in the Island is increasing. They have about 68 now but the other islands where the seals live the numbers are declining. This article says there are only 1200 monk seals left but the volunteer with the organization in Kauai said there are only about 900.

It was fascinating to see the mother with the newborn.





Well it's another crappy day in paradise so I better get out there and take my walk to the beach.

I'll leave with with some pictures of Mahaulepu.

Holidays approaching and the New Year

My big announcement is the upcoming museum show I will be exhibiting at along with my friend Sharon Kilfoyle in January 2010. This is to be at the Margaret Harwell Art Museum in my hometown of Poplar Bluff, Mo. The show opens on Jan. 1 but Sharon and I are planning to be at the museum on Sat. Jan. 9th for a trunk show and sale of our wearables from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Toward the end of Dec. invites will be mailed but it's open to the public and anyone is welcome. If you live in the area please stop by to see us!!

The museum is a lovely old historical house on the still brick paved Main street of town. When Mrs. Harwell died in 1977, she left a part of her estate to the City of Poplar Bluff to establish a center for art classes and exhibits. In 1978, an Arts and Museum Advisory Board was formed to take on the task. In 1980, the city purchased the J.L. Dalton home, itself rich in local history and architecture, to house the museum. The Margaret Harwell Art Museum opened to the public in November 1981.




Every year for the last ten (?) I have participated in the Bargetto Winery Christmas in the Cellars art show. But this year I opted out to rest. I know several artists who will be there and I highly recommend you go to buy the special handmade items for presents and for yourself.

ART IN THE CELLARS
BARGETTO WINERY Cellars
Saturday & Sunday, December 5 & 6, 2009
11:00am - 5:00pm
BARGETTO WINERY's annual Art in the Cellars art show and wine tasting in our cellars in Soquel, CA. Purchase a commemorative glass and receive complimentary wine tastings while browsing art.

I have placed some of my wares at the Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center's "Gift of Art" show. Follow the link for all the details including hours that the gallery is open.

Or check out my etsy shop. BUT remember I won't be back until Dec. 13th so I wouldn't mail anything until the 14th but that's still time to get before Christmas.

I hope you keep artists in mind when buying presents, for many it's our livelihood, or you could go to the mall?

I'm heading to Kauai on Thursday for ten days with my husband. I hope to relax, walk, swim, drink a mai tai or two, see dear friends, and what ever calls me.

Etsy for shopping

I've just listed some of my new doily scarves in my Etsy shop. I want to remind everyone about Etsy when considering purchasing gifts. Etsy is a site that sells only hand made artists items or vintage only items. You can visit my shop and then view my favorites to see other artists whose work I'm intrigued with and/or have purchased from.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/lasfibers

Nuno Felting @ Sharon's

When I was in Ashland, Mo. working with Sharon Kilfoyle in her newly remodeled barn studio we vowed to take pictures of the sequence of pieces we were making. Well .......... we got so caught up in creating that we weren't good at taking the photos. I have some of me laying out the first piece and one of the wool being place on top of the silk pieces but none of the finished pieces. Then I have some of the final piece I made but none of the developing stages. This was by far my favorite piece along with the one just before this which I have no photos of at all and I sold it at the Weavers' Guild show. HiHo.

I am not being productive at all these days because of my back injury. I am seeing lots of doctors and medical care givers to try and determine what my options are. It is becoming more and more painful. Most of these health care professionals have urged me to have surgery. A procedure called kyphoplasty. However, an osteopath I saw was concerned that it didn't appear to him that I would be a good candidate for this procedure. I'm getting an MRI on Friday and the results of that will help see what the real issues are. I'm bummed to say the least that this is happening to me and my mind is so full of ideas of garments I want to create in my studio but sitting at a sewing machine, bending over a cutting table, leaning over a dyepot, or anything of this nature is not good for me right now and it hurts. Wah! Sigh.

Home

Home is a place not only of strong affections, but of entire unreserve; it is life's undress rehearsal, its backroom, its dressing room.
~Harriet Beecher Stowe~



"There's no place like home" Dorothy says three times as she taps her ruby red slippers. Although I have no ruby red slippers and I was not on such an adventure as Dorothy I am just as glad to be home.

Blogs are curious things, especially when I am not good as promptly writing down my stories. I get far behind and see no way to catch up. This journey to Missouri was full but I didn't take my camera, or my computer, so I have no pictures and I had little way to communicate while I was gone.

I arrived in St. Louis on Oct. 29th to spend the night at my friend Janet's. Susan came over and we had a lovely dinner. On Friday morning I drove to Ashland which is near Columbia to stay with Sharon and work in her studio for five days. Friday evening we ventured to the Hartsburg Winery to hear a dear old friend, Bob Runyon, sing and play his guitar for us.

Sharon lives on a piece of property with lot of trees, birds, and peace. Her newly remodeled barn has been transformed into a wonderful studio. I got to work with her to better my nuno felting skills. This is a method where you take a sheer fabric, apply wool roving on top, wet and felt it then the fulling process creates a wonderful felted fabric. Of course it's a little more involved than I just described but hopefully you can get the picture since I have none to post. I know Sharon took some photos while I was working and when I get around to having her send them to me I hope to get back here and post them.

After Sharon's I drove back to St. Louis to participate in the Weaver's Guild of St. Louis annual show which seemed to be a success. On Saturday a group of seven women approached me and to my surprise it was people I had known in high school. They were having an old friend reunion in the city and I know they were off to have a good time after purchasing several of my wayward threads scarves. I hope to see some of them again when I exhibit at the Margaret Harwell museum in January!

Cowboy Jack also made it to St. Louis from Indiana to see me. Our friendship goes back twenty some odd years and I so appreciate that he travels to spend time with me each year.

I'm glad to be home though, it seems like I was gone forever and now I get to play catch up with mail, and appointments, and scheduling.