small progress

Machine stitching on vellum. All of the vessels are connected with jump stitches (loose threads that connect the stitching). I like the sketched quality of these and that you can see the jump stitches from the back as well.

Machine stitching on vellum.

Machine stitching on vellum.

Watercolor, tea and machine stitching. These vessels are also connected with jump stitches.

In progress. Tea and machine stitching with jump stitches connecting each vessel. I am going to go back into this one with watercolor and see how the loose threads affect it.

4 small postcards. Earth pigment, tea and machine stitching.

You might remember this one from the last post. I took out the read threads and appliquéd a tea bag over the tea stain.

vessels

I have been thinking a lot about the mind/body connection lately, how the mind has incredible control over the body, and how we are connected to everything around us. Here are a few things Ive been working on since Ive been here:

I was using the tea bag impression a lot this summer but didnt exactly know how to use it. Now I finally see how it fits.

For me, the tea bag impression represents the entire process of making the tea. Filling the tea kettle, listening for the gentle roll of the boil, steeping the tea bag and relaxing to enjoy a cup. It is very meditative and helps me slow down and re-balance myself. This is the psychological aspect.

The vessels are physical. Ive been seeing them as boats, but Im trying not to get locked into that just yet. They represent the body, the journey, and what physically connects us to the world and each other.

I am stitching over the tea impression, reinforcing the mark, creating physical connections. Sometimes I also collage with the tea bag.

In this piece there was another red line under the small boat but it looked unbalanced so I took it out. I like that the holes are still there, maybe a broken connection or a psychological connection.

I tried creating the “environment” or “atmosphere” by directly painting with watercolor. Meaning I was putting brush to paper using intentional strokes. This turned out horrible and I wanted a more indirect approach so that I wasnt in control and I could let things just happen. Now I am essentially doing a mono-print with the watercolors and I love the result. It reminds me of the irregularity of color in the stone here.

I would love to know what you think, please feel free to make comments and suggestions. What do you see? How do you feel we are connected to ourselves, our environment, and others? Feedback is more than welcome!

the lace lady

By the time I got to the studio today to take photos of my work it was too dark to get any good shots so it will have to wait till I get back from Paris. In the meantime, I wanted to show pics of the lace lady’s booth at the market in L’Isle sur la Sorgue. This is one of my favorite markets and she is an expert on antique handmade lace and embroidery and had so many things to show us. Enjoy!

Handmade lace is made using a template, pins and bobbins of string. They would pin the template into this pillow, then wrap the pins with the bobbins to create the pattern.

 

 

This is the template she gave me as a gift when I bought 3 of the small bobbins. Its paper but almost looks like leather.

 

 

 

 

Notice there is no “W” on the embroidery sampler. From what I understand, the English brought “W” to the language and it is not used in French.

I will be back in 4 days hopefully with new inspiration and lots of photos to share!

finished travel quilt and knitting

The travel quilt is complete and I did very well in my quilting class! I think it payed off to do the quilting by hand. I love all the irregularity about it.

 

The back is assymetrical and the inside is the pink/magenta wool like this pillow. Ive worn it a few times and it is very comfortable and cozy! I’ll try to get some pics of me actually wearing it.

Ive been working on these mittens for a few weeks and its coming along slowly. They are alpaca and silk and feel so soft and warm.

Its knitted with a flap so you can pull it back and expose your fingers. I dont really like how the stitches connecting the flap and the mitten look. If I were to do these again I might knit it separately and sew it on. The pattern was way off too which was really frustrating. When I knitted the flap it came out long and pointy and it took me 2 more tries to adjust it.

This beautiful alpaca yarn will soon be legwarmers… hopefully. I dont have a lot of patience and I like quick projects so the thought of making two long tubes of stockinette makes me very unsure this will happen. But I really really want cute legwarmers to bring to France so this is my motivation!

My knitting needles were getting a little out of control and when I accidentally ordered the same size dpn’s that I already had I knew I needed to do something.

This was a really quick project. I think I made it a little more difficult then it had to be tho. I wanted to keep the wool in all one piece to fold over the needles, and the top in all one piece and just fold it over to make the pocket. Anyways, I pieced a little area with some scrap fabric and linen and wool on the inside. I really want to keep my needles nice and snug because I hate it when my needles fall out so I think the wool will keep them in place.

I used a vintage red button from one of the vintage button jars my mom gave me last Christmas. I love these jars and all the different buttons! That was such a sweet and thoughtful gift because she knew I had been collecting buttons (actually cutting them off of my friends donation clothing pile).

 

Ive been enjoying my first few days of break by knitting and Ive just started my Christmas gifts. I dont think I’ll show any until after I give them to their owners but I’ll keep showing progress of the other stuff Im making (for myself) in the meantime.

 

rest.

Something I will be needing after Thursday, but also what I am thinking about for a new series. For this sample I traced the silhouette of one of my fallen birds and made a resting quilt with the trapunto technique.

I sewed tea bags together, appliquéd it onto muslin and echo quilted. I am in the very early stages of thinking about this series but it completely relates back to my ideas and work I was doing a year ago. I want to use these silhouettes as a starting point for exploring this concept with process. As many as possible. I think I should exploit the shape and do as many things as I can think of. The only thing I am concerned about is the bird shape. Is it too played out? Too overdone? I feel like Im jumping on the bandwagon a little bit, but it really works with my concepts and I’d hate to overlook an interesting idea because of something like that.

 

We had a little photo shoot in my studio yesterday because Chris was looking so handsome in his outfit that inspired the color palette for the Autumn Harvest quilt. Look at the little baby looking up at his proud daddy!

He’s been sleeping with us every night and he always finds a way to wedge us out of the way.

They got restless so the photo shoot wrapped up quickly.

 

Im almost done with the travel quilt so I’ll be back soon with photos! Have a great day!

finals sneak peak

I know I havent been around on my blog much lately but Ive been working hard on my finals. My fingers are pricked from all the hand quilting and burned from working with encaustic wax but Im pushing through! Here are some of the things Ive been doing that I would love some feedback on. These are 4 x 7″ encaustic on wood.

 

 

 

 

The stacked circles in these pieces represent the spine and I am using collage elements with the wax in some of them.

 

This last piece was made with layered fabric and then I poured hot wax over the surface. I dont think this is very successful and the wax is way too thick. I think when I use collage elements and fabric I should use thinner layers of wax.

I made a small trapunto sample to lay this little bird on that my friend Andrea found for me. Im hoping as it decomposes it will leave an imprint on the fabric. Ive tried this before but the neighbors dog got to it. We’ll see what happens, its getting cold outside and there arent any insects interested in it yet, but it is such a beautiful little bird, poor thing.

Ive finally finished the hand quilting on the travel quilt. I may do more but for now its ok. The blue lines on the yellow fabric will disappear when it is washed and you will only see texture. I cant wait to finish the binding and sew on the buttons!

This quarter has been a little different for me because I allowed myself to make functional things without thinking too much about concept. I think I am a conceptual girl at heart because as much as I liked designing the quilts and pillows, I think I need more ideas behind it. I would love to make functional fine art pieces so I am thinking about how that would look and will start experimenting with that soon.

Even though the quarter is ending this week, I dont really think of it as a stopping period. I am still thinking of new ideas to experiment with and will continue to work over the break (most of it may be knitting though!) It’ll be nice to have a long break this time, but then I leave Jan 2nd for Paris to spend a week before going to LaCoste! I had my orientation last Friday and I am so excited! It is a mixture of emotions though because no matter how excited I am, I know I will miss Chris and Sawyer terribly, I just have to remember that 2 months will go by very quickly and I dont want to lose focus.

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying this beautiful Fall weather! We’re a little late in GA but its finally here!