Close ups!

Felted "Penny Rug" style wall art

Well I finally took some pics of the penny rug style family art pieces. This is the reason for the new embellisher that I just had to have. I started these last year for Christmas but discovered that time was not sufficient to finish them. Each tongue features the names of the family members. As I have 4 brothers, each one is similar but all different too. Dad got the first one.  They are all wool felt, some new most recycled and dyed with kool-aid or acid  dyes.  Will post again when I have more finished.

Felting Going Strong!

My new Pfaff felting/embellishing machine is the best new machine in a long time, and this from a self-proclaimed gadget girl.
It works just great! Will post other pics of the main reason for the purchase, but for now here are the cup cozies that I'm selling on Etsy.



They are selling well so far. My tags are not finished yet but they work really well for hot drinks or cold. I think I've finally found something that indulges my need to collect fiber and yarn when knitting is not my thing.

Penguins are DONE!

Yeah! The last of the penguins "flew" via UPS to Cali last wednesday night! Just in time for a great Thanksgiving holiday! Just one of the many things I can be thankful for this season. Grandma's health is improving, the husband's business is going well and my son is home this weekend from college...picking out engagement rings with his girlfriend of eight years. My darling daughter is coming home for Christmas and all is right with the world.

Finally got to do some work for myself this weekend and got started on the felted cup cozies hat I have been planning the last four weeks making 60 penguin costumes. While I'm just getting started with them, I found them fun and creative and they will make great little tuck-in gifts for friends and family. I have listed some of them in my Etsy store as well.




Many quilts were hatched while waiting in doctor's offices while we see what's causing Grandma to feel so bad. Some surgury and lots of tests later; we think she is on the mend, finally. So now back to work!

OK so it's not tomorrow...

Wow the weeks just seem to fly by. I finally have taken the time to post again. Penguins are coming, slowly. They each take about 3 1/2 hours from cutting to sewing so they are taking a large amount of time.

Pics are done for the balance of my work to date. There are two others but I do not have photos. One is in my dear daughter's home and one was a raffle prize for the local Catholic school fund raiser. I await any and all comments!

Made in 1995, old flannel shirts
Made in 1996 during a stay in the Poconos, quilted with a gymnast on the rings in the center, Owned by my son, Gable,a former gymnast
Made in 1997 from an original oil painting by my great grandmother using the snippets method.

Penguins! Penny Rugs! and Possibly a new Bernina?

The Young Americans' penguin costumes have taken over the sewing room. The first ten are sent and I've cut 5 more...only 55 more to go...then to sew them.

Took a day off from penguins and worked on the family set of "penny rugs". I use this term loosly as they are really not penny rugs at all in the traditional sense. I was inspired by the work of Jane Sassaman and my the style of Mary Engelbreit. I love black grounds with bright colots and had always wanted to work with wool. I thrifted alot of wool clothes, and used up wool from my stash. Koolaid dyed and felted they are "sew" much fun. I really enjoyed getting to use all those embroidery stitches I learned in high school again. Needle felting them is getting tedious and so today I went to the local Bernina dealer to check out the attachment and found that it only works on new machines...so........I just had to check out the new machines.

The new 730 is so nice and I've never had a new machine....several wonderful bernina's over the years ..all of which I still have or have handed down to my daughter....maybe it's my turn to get the whole ball of wax...they will throw in an embellisher in the deal...won't clog up the new bobbin case of the 730. Will post pics tomorrow!

Photos!

Here are the photos of the Sassaman Class quilt I am finishing as well as the one I just finished called "Triple Turn".

Triple Turn is constructed from a stitch and flip on a muslin foundation method for the background and applique for the silk circles. These pieces were made by my late mother. I combined them last week after going through my inherited stash of misfits and left overs. I'm new to machine quilting so any critques are welcomed...I'm going to work hard on my technique....

I am working on 4 projects from her stash. She had such a wonderful color sense and I love how she could put anything together and make it work. I relly owe her alot for teaching me to love fiber and color...

We started Fiber Benders about 20 years ago as a family business that we could work on in our spare time. We didn't know then that my Mom would not live to see anything come of it. I'm happy to be starting to "make" something from our dream!

Finish the Job!

Well, the house painting is almost finished. Rain today made us take the day off...turned out sunny later so now I feel a little guilty but this gave me time to get some things posted on ebay and take a much needed trip to the hobby/craft store for my little "fix". Just being there makes my brain go crazy with all the possibilites for new projects!

I have a new little project almost finished using some of Mom's leftovers. She really left me many many jewels from her extensive stash. Great little project starters. I'm calling it "Triple Turn". Also this week I bought some batik fabric fro the back of the small quilt from my class with Jane Sassaman. "Pattern Play". She was so great to work with. I have loved her work since the early 90's. What fun to take a class with one of your inspirations! The two other quilts from that class will follow...

Daily musings.....

Week two....

We are painting the house..so of course it has rained everyday since we started. The new lighter colors have really changed the appearance of the house and I love it! It is extremely hot and humid here in central Nebraska...so good day to sew.

Got a call yesterday to make additional costumes for the non-profit group; (The Young Americans, based in Southern California:
http://www.youngamericans.org ) I sew for in the summers. I have always volunteered to sew for them as my daughter is in the group, but this year I was paid. 5 weeks of long days (14-16 hours) with only 2 days off, made me realize how much I miss making things with my hands and my mind! I have agreed to make these additional costumes for their Christmas Show in December. Haven't decided how much I should charge for them yet, but am working on that.

Plan to work on some of my late mother's UFOS. I have already put three whole projects toghter from her left overs. She was an amazing woman. Very talented and got me hooked on costuming and quilting at the tender age of 7.

Hope to have photos posted soon!
Rhojo

New to blogging!

Hello world! I'm a fiber artist who is new to blogging. I look forward to sharing my thoughts and struggles as I begin my full fledged artistic career. I've just retired from teaching dance to little ones and now have lots of time for ME! I've been on the QuiltArt list again for about 3 months and find that almost every artist has a blog so now...so do I.

I've been a wife, mother of two great kids, dance teacher, and seamstress for 26 years and look forward to having the time to create any time I want without interuption. I might go mad without the schedule I'm used too, but then I can always get a "real" job if I'm bored. HA HA

I love to dye fabric, collect antiques and make anything out of fiber and fabric. I'm not sure what my style is yet really except I'm not a "quarter inch lady" as my mother used to call them. You know the ones who are so busy measuring the 1/4 inch that they miss the fun of the experience. I'm not a fanatic about perfection but I do try to be a good craftsman. My style is more contemporary and bright with art deco, danish modern influences.

I'm inspired by Erte, Mary Englebreit, and Michael Hogue and many others.