Felting

I've been looking at all the beautiful wet felting on Textile Arts.  Got a  little curious:  did you know???

Felting  was another prehistoric method of making textiles  w/out spinning or weaving.  It  is  a mechanical process in which scaly-surfaced wool (and some other hair fibres)  can be adhered together in shaped or moulded sheets by a combination of moisture, heat and pressure: 

Wool provides:  excellent insulation, cloth, felt or padding”   Felting was found in Turkey as early as  6000 BC.

Herding nomads on the  treeless steppes (Siberia and Kurdish tribes)  were the first to domesticate sheep.  They used the wool  felted animal fibres for clothing and tents:

Sheep were domesticated in Iraq  9000BC but it took another 4,000 years for them to become:  woolly coats:

   I wish I had more time to experiment w/ wool.  thank goodness I;m not allergic.  It's a one step process to dye.  Pro-Chemical my favorite place to shop for dyes.  Customer Service is wonderful:  ask the same question 8 times and they respond:  8 times on the phone w/ a smile.

had toooo.

Had to drive to Dallas yesterday. (2 hrs) to get my car serviced.  Tried to buy a car here locally but they wouldn't play nice.  So I bought a subaru from Dallas.  Had to have the 30,000 mile 8 billlion dollar service to keep the warranty valid:  no wonder new cars last forever now.  they change all fluids and filters etc.  at 60,000 the belts etc get changes  Anyways....a friend of mine took me to this fabric warehouse:  Lord!!!  I was on overload:  aisles and aisles of books, patterns, gadgets, fabric, rulers, zippers:  didn't know their were a million different rulers.  I was on overload: 

they had lots of McKenna Ryan patterns.   If you love applique or animals:  She's the designer.

Sound Off

Why is it that when you take a class :  it's usually the ones that are most expensive:  that when you get home and try to finish:  the teacher left out some important details.  So:  you purchase everything the teacher has to offer and then you try to duplicate it at home:  It never looks the same.  I realize that these teachers have perfected the same technique they are teaching;  but it would sure be nice that when you suck their brains:  they release their secrets.  This is also why I have stopped buying technique books and patterns to learn from.  If I buy a book now its to enjoy the art work.  Sound off to the teachers who do share everything and I come home finish and can duplicate the techniques.  That's wh

History of fabric

The more  I learn the more I know the more fascinated I become. 

Elm & Birch: most common trees in north America have an inner layer of bark that can be pulled off in sheets.  This inner layer is strong, flexible and water resistant.  The native peoples bound  this inner layer around legs as protective chaparreras.    Native American tribes and other countries throughtout the world  still use this layer as footwear.    19^th century:  canoes were made from birch-bark.     North  Americans in the tropics used  birch-bark to carry food and ould  soften when heated.

5,000 BC  :  flax (linum usitatissimum) was domesticated and spread south through Iraq, Syria and Egyptian Nile. To Switzerland and Germany.  

                                             Chaps?  I wonder if they are birch bark or leather...........ummmmm

The Smoke is almost done.

I really enjoy thread painting.  Turn on a talking (audio) book: and stitch, stitch , stitch.  Phone just rang and I almost jumped out of my skin.  The final murder was just about to happen.  Usually I set a timer and move every 45-50 min.  But I was so into this book and zoned into sewing after dinner I didn't set the timer:

                                                            photo-shop Smokey

                                        thread painted Smoke

more photos from my presentation

                                           My next thread painting.  Photo on fabric has arrived

more photos for photo club presentation

Yes!!!!  all taken by me.  Just a middle of the road Canon.   Love my camera

presentation for our local photo club: things I love

I wonder how many photos should I present of our new pup Lily?  I only have about 500.  She's a 55 pound puppy.  Maybe I could do the entire presentation on Lily?

Maybe I should just bring "waterLily" with me.

Polar Bear is Done

Ever sit on a plane for 2 hours and then hear the words:  Passengers will need to return to the holding area until further notice.  That's what it felt like last nite waiting to get to the last and final stitches on my polar bear (personal photograph).  And, then I shot a photo of the front.  Yippee I said and jumped w/ joy.  Then I turned it to the back and screamed:   OH NO!!! That's not right.   (top right hand corner)   This can't be good!!!.  I spent every spare moment I had today finishing the OMG.  I'm glad I did.  It's funny how you attach to some space and just refuse emotionally to cover it up.  Art Quilting Egads!!!!
(I'm doing a presentation to photo club next:  in time for valentines:  check back this week for things I love)    Textile history will begin again next week.
                                                                                              original photo

                                                         OMG corrected.   (see top left corner)

                                              attached to the top rt:  darkness and shadow

                                                                                      The back: OMG

                                                            Top Rt corrected:  the back

                                                                       close-up of his reflection

I also want to give a shout out to SANO  a fabric printing company in New York.  They are patient and have reasonably priced photo printing. The colors are perfect.   Oh My!  the customer service (remember that?) is super wonderful.  Can't go wrong w/ SANO.  I will show you tomorrow : what I am sending them to print
next after I finish Santa Paws.
                            Now on to the final step:  border and binding.