Art on the Green in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho

I am sooo happy to have been accepted to this premier (and local) fair!  I was accepted in two categories: wearable fiber art and non-wearable fiber art...therefore I had a double booth to properly display all my work in both these categories.  Whew! Thanks for family willing to help with set-up and tear down.

Beyond getting in to the art fair, I also submitted two pieces to the juried art show (contest) that is displayed and judged during the art fair.  Prize money is involved!  While only one of my pieces made it into this show...the one that did was deemed a winner!!!  Vessels are time consuming to create and "Leaves" was my first.  I am so proud that it gained an award the first time I entered it in a juried contest.

I also sold my first very seriously large wall piece (for over a thousand...yippe!), Symphony in Felt Major, during the fair to a lovely couple from Post Falls.  It is so large they couldn't fit it into their car so we delivered it the day after the fair closed.  It is nearly five feet long and over three feet high!  You can't tell in this photo, but the background fabric is a beautiful cream silk with a subtle diagonal pattern. Very excited about this sale!  The whole art fair was a huge success for me and I want to thank all of the people who have purchased before and returned for more as well as my new supporters!

Many of you have been asking for details about my upcoming classes so click on the CLASS Description tab and my new Events/Teaching Tab and you will see I have filled in details about each.

Next up is the second annual Cd'A Studio Tour and Sale on September 7th...see you there!
Janet

My Gown and A Vessel

Hello!

Here is a better shot of my first full length dress.  Eggplant colored Merino silk and velvet...some recycling in there I am happy to say.

And I now have a series of 6 vessels completed...however one is already sold...this one is still available and represents the Grand Ole Oak.

Coming up this weekend is a fun little sale at St. Luke's in Coeur d' Alene. (Dec 1 from 9 am to 3 pm).  Then next weekend, Dec. 8 at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds, the Farmers Market group will be holding their annual Winter Market.  Lots of great stuff!!!  Come fill your stockings!

I will have a double booth at the Winter Market!  Many of you have never seen all my home furnishings so this double booth will feature both wearable art and home decor.  New finished designs in Felptures, handbags, jewelry and HATS!  See you there.

Happy Holidays,
Janet

Pacific Northwest Art School

Hello Everyone!

Yes, I am still alive and felting!  It's been an interesting winter/spring.  Very busy.  And now I am over on Whidbey Island (in Puget Sound of Washinton state) to attend a class on vessels taught by Sharon Costello. Www.blacksheepdesigns.com at Pacific Northwest Art School (PNW).  This is a sample of the views from the cottage I have rented. 

When I return on May 29th I will be setting up for the first time at the Sherman Avenue Farmers Market on Wednesday and then holding an open house at my studio on Saturday, June 3rd from 1 to 5pm.  If you are a local following my blog, be sure to stop by and say hello!

Janet

A Problem, A Solution and A Gift

Good Evening!

Well it is on toward 1:30 am and the dog has given up and gone to bed...off to my side the dishwasher is quietly swishing away and in the other room my husband is practicing on his piano...

We had a sweet surprise gift arrive in the mail today from one of our granddaughters that we have not seen for many years.  She and her mother made this cute mouse ornament for us!



As far as projects go I did not wet felt or needle felt an entire piece today so I have to fudge a bit on my goal to felt something every day...  I did work on two felt projects though.  I finished the scarf to go with my felted fingerless gloves, but have discovered that my gloves seem to be stretching out at the thumb area with wear.  This is a problem!  I sought to find a solution for this tonight...I tried some crochet edging that I thought may keep the original shape in place.  However, I had problems with the crochet hook punching too large of a hole in the edge which then tore through.  I made needle felt repairs and quit.


However I may try some free embroidery stitching using the sewing machine like Lisa Klakulak taught us in one class I took.  Stay tuned...this picture is before any messing with the thumb hole and top edge.

So after that little foray into solutions, I decided to tackle a different, yet similar problem.  I'd made a prototype pair of felt fingerless gloves that did not turn out to be long enough.  So I cut them off above the thumb hole.  I had been staring at them for awhile tonight when I decided that they each could be a bracelet of sorts...so I got out my crochet hook and thread again.  This time though I used my leather punch to make holes in the felt instead of trying to punch through with my hook.  Boy did this help!  So tonight you will see my newest product...a felt bracelet with an embroidered flower, beads, pearl, and crochet edge.  I have more of these in my mind I want to make...

I must say that I am getting tired too and need to go to sleep like our very intelligent dog, but the urge is there to stay up...get my hook, thread and beads out again and keep going!

Goodnight all,
Janet

Rime Ice - Great Inspiration!

Hello!

You know those days when you find yourself dragging your heals because you can?...Many would say...lazy....Well I was having one of those days today...really moving slow because I didn't have anything on my platter until noon...so it wasn't until quite late in the morning that I finally stuck my head out the door and decided to walk the dog.  Wow!  The view was literally breath taking! 

Our neighbors across the street have a beautiful willow and it was silhouetted in the sunshine with snow drifting out of its branches.  Luckily I was able to catch this while fumbling with gloves, dog leash and my phone!  As I walked closer I noticed that the poles people stick in the edges of their lawns to show the snow plows where to stop - were covered in precision cut crystals.  In fact, it was a very particular kind of crystal formation...rime ice.  I had taught a unit about this when teaching school children.  Great to see in person. Rime ice forms under just the right conditions and apparently we had just that the night before.

Later today we drove into Spokane, Washington and went through dense fog along the way.  Fog is one of the conditions that must exist in order for rime ice to form so I am pretty sure that is what it is...as much of it is still around tonight since it stayed cool and many places even cooler because they are shaded from what sun we did get.

For more information on rime ice do a google search or follow this link:
http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/showthread.php?14714-Ice-crystals!

I have a felting project that is now inspired by this formation...I am not sure I can get anything close to the precision cut look of the crystals today...but I am going to try and get as close to the idea as I can...more to come on this project later...  In the meantime, I am finishing felting Christmas gifts which I am not posting since my relatives monitor my blog :) and would see them.  Also I got hired today to teach some classes in January.  WhooHoo!

Hope you are enjoying the Season and the weather wherever you may be,
Janet

Holiday Cheer!

Good Evening Everyone,

I have had the most enjoyable couple of days - and this despite attending the funeral of a dear friend of my Mom's.  It must be that I am finally catching the holiday cheer and relaxing a bit.  Whew! 

Last night I wasn't blogging because at 5 PM I was at the store. At 6:30 pm we had just finished dinner and by midnight we (hubby and I...the dog bailed out and went to sleep) had made Dark Chocolate Orange Scones, Caramels and my Yummy in the Tummy Bars.  To this I added loaves of Cranberry Orange Pecan Bread that I made earlier and tucked into the freezer.  Why all the goodies?  It was not for the funeral reception, though I would have gladly shared, but rather to treat my fiber friends to a bit of sweet for their Christmas celebrations.  Tuesday afternoon is Fiber Fun at my friend Silda's house.

So today after enjoying a wonderful celebration of Walt's life I headed home with my Mom in tow.  We ate a quick bite and then piled all the yummy treats into her car and off we went.  It was a joyful afternoon - just the kind of tonic my mother needed.  We chatted, knitted, laughed and ate.

I hope everyone else is getting some time to stop and enjoy their friends and family like I did today.  I am including a recipe for my scones in case you decide you need yet another delectable treat in your pantry. Cheers!

Janet

Dark Chocolate Orange Scones                              Heat oven to 425 degrees
2 cups flour sifted before measuring (very important to sift)
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar

Measure all dry ingredients and mix together well. Zest one orange and add to dry mixture.  Stir well to separate and coat the orange zest.  If you wish you can also add a tablespoon of candied orange peel at this point.  Stir this in well.

Next coarsely chop 1 cup of chocolate.  Make it a mixture of super dark (75+%) chocolate, dark (70%) and (65%) and a little bit of semi-sweet.  Add to the dry ingredients.  Stir.

1 and 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

2 Tab butter melted
2 Tab sugar

Add the cream and use a fork to stir just until the mixture holds together.  It may be sticky.  Turn out onto a floured board.  Knead 10 times turning 1/4 turn each time.  Pat into a 9-inch circle.  Use a pastry brush to brush on the melted butter.  Sprinkle with sugar.  Cut into 8 wedges...or like I did last night, I made a whole bunch of small bite sized wedges!

Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake for 12-17 minutes or until just turning light brown at the edges.  Remove to a rack to cool.  May add an orange glaze by squeezing the orange you zested and mixing it with some powered sugar.  Cool scones before adding glaze.  Store in air tight container.  Can be frozen.

Death and Creation

Hello Again,

We have another funeral to attend...this time it's a Tuesday. Three people I knew have died in the last five weeks.  Something like this can leave a person wondering what it's all about.  Wondering how it is that a person's life is over just like that... "poof" and they are no more.  But are they really gone?  My mind has begun to spin...thinking...thinking...thinking.

I am finding that my art is what keeps me going...helps me to feel grounded again...to remember without pain...  The joy of taking my silk and fiber...carefully placing one on the other and working them together in one with my own hands...working until I have created something beautiful is somehow soothing and uplifting.  Knowing that someone is going to find pleasure in what I have created...knowing that I am capable of creating this!  Knowing I am alive.  It is all part of the cycle of life, right?

I hope you enjoy seeing my creations...I sure like making them.

Take care,
Janet

Great Shot!

Hello,

The other day while out walking the dog (sometimes it seems like I always am...) I captured this awesome picture of the full moon.  Unusual because it was so bright and during daylight hours.  Also there was to be a full lunar eclipse only I didn't know about that until Sunday...two days after I took this.  I had been having a bad week as you may have noticed by my intermittent posts here...and I was blaming all sorts of things...the full moon being one of them...others I talked to noticed it too.  Is it possible that it was especially bad because there was to be an eclipse?  I don't know...but I sure am glad that the doom and gloom has fled with the waining moon and things are getting back to normal!  Still it was a beautiful view of the moon.



Since things are on the upswing around here I was busy felting yesterday.  I have finished two sets of fingerless gloves.  The black pair is already sold and is heading to California for Christmas.  The other is a gift I am giving. 

I also received some very soft and unusual Alpaca yarn at my fiber group get together.  This Alpaca comes from some animals that are living just south of Spokane in Washington state.  The yarn was my payment for some knitting I had done several months ago.  I love the twining brown and black - the natural color of the two Alpacas!  I am combining that with a golden ribbon yarn in a scarf.  Hopefully it will be masculine enough when I am done!

Have a great day everyone!
Janet

Some Days!

Howdy,

Well some days it just doesn't pay to get up and try...it is nearly 3 am and the rolled leather straps I am making for a custom ordered handbag are giving me fits!  Maybe the third time will be the charm?!  So tomorrow I try again.

Goodnight all,
Janet

Going for a Roller Coaster Ride

Hello,

Well if I felt like I'd run a marathon on Friday and Saturday...(thankfully Sunday was truly a day of rest) then Monday was an absolute roller-coaster!  Over a month and a half ago we had taken samples of my work to be juried at a couple of local shops - right on the main street in Coeur d' Alene.  Both said they liked what they saw...however...we were still tied up with the end of summer Farmers Markets, Blue Flag, getting our website built and everything photographed for it and then the Christmas Market...so it wasn't until Monday that all of this came back around...I had been planning to clean house and decorate for Christmas...but...

A call from Mark led to a quick trip down to the gallery to look over the proposed display space...then back home for a discussion and a quick decision to take all our merchandise, which was still packed from Saturday's Christmas sale, down to Northwest Artists Cooperative Gallery on Sherman Avenue that afternoon.  Friday is Art Walk all through downtown and we wanted to be part of it!  But we needed lunch so we detoured to Subway for that and then proceeded to unload and set up all of our 'stuff' yet again! We are getting pretty good - and much faster - at doing this now :)  Here is a quick look...

For a video tour of the gallery and some of the work done by other artists check out this link.
Northwest Artists Cooperative http://www.northwestartists.net/nw_artist_coop_gallery_001.htm

The sun was shining very brightly today...it was so beautiful...then today's mail brought our first check from Blue Flag Studio!  Whoopee!  Thank you Kristie and Terri - Love you both!  Couldn't have been a better compliment to the sun outside.  But I am still on the roller coaster today...what I thought was going to be a slow down this week has just continued to build up steam.  Friday is Art Walk from 5-8 pm http://www.artsincda.org/ArtWalk.html and Saturday I will be with a fellow artist down at the Jacklin Center for the Arts in Post Falls from 10-2.  Check it out at: http://thejacklincenter.org/

Until then I need to finish a handbag for Sharon in California, felted fingerless gloves for Antigone, earrings for Bonnie, and a scarf for Gail...and maybe more things for myself for Saturday at Jacklin...noooooo problem....guess the cleaning and tree decorating can wait!  I hope!!!

Take care all,
Janet

Triple Wrap Nuno Scarf

Time is up!  Gone...I have none left...well maybe I can squeeze a few more hours out of tomorrow before set-up...I have been fairly productive though these past few days which is making me excited to get set up and see what people think of my newest creations.  Saturday will tell as they say.

And so it is now very late on Thursday (actually it is almost two hours into Friday) and in the past two days I have finished four new scarves!  Yippee!!!  Long hours though so my blog is suffering for it.  Anyway these scarves are all in a fashion I call a Triple Wrap Around.  They were very big sellers this summer at the Market.  I start with an double dyed, iridescent silk scarf and add merino.  When it is finished I cut it up so that it is very long and wraps around and around...  Very fun, light and flirty.  Sorry to say that none of the double dyed, iridescence shows in my quick pics...a little of the sparkle I add in with the merino shows...for the rest it's left to your imagination.

Enjoy! 

The Power Of Suggestion

Ever have something happen to you just by the power of suggestion?  You know...you get a fortune cookie and it says something and then a day or so later sure enough that's what happens?!  What I always wonder is did it happen because it was going to happen anyway or did it happen because I was thinking about it a few days earlier???  People out there that believe in the power of suggestion would say it only happened because my conscious and then unconscious brain activity was attracting "it"...and a big part of me believes that...especially after what happened to me today!

At Thanksgiving dinner someone mentioned self-cleaning ovens.  That led to a discussion about their merits and whatnot.  Two people in on the discussion LOVED the feature...but the third person had incurred a $250 bill and still didn't have a clean oven after she had tried to use the feature on her oven and it malfunctioned.  So despite the fact that I needed to clean the oven, I hadn't quite decided to flip the switch on it, so to speak.

Sure enough today my husband leaned against the stove long enough to turn on the self-cleaning feature (which neither of us noticed).  About 20 minutes later I noticed the smell!  But by now the oven was LOCKED!  We are renting and I have not used this feature on this oven or any oven - ever!...I neede to find the manual and see what it said.  I was still thinking about it but the discussionfrom Thanksgiving had me wary ...well too late!...it was out of my hands!...nothing to do but wait and see...

That's how my felting project went too...I had created some beautiful 'nature' felt and was set to assemble my next felpture (a felted sculpture).  It seems that my subliminal thoughts were guiding my project for today...things seemed out of my control.  I could picture it in my mind, but I wasn't getting there.  It took many trials and lots of error, but by mid-afternoon (while the oven, I hoped, was baking away all my lovely spills) I had lighting that would hopefully work...a sculpted framework...and my felt cut into the correct sized pieces.  If I just pictured it harder in my head would it "just happen"? 

Somewhere my brain must have skipped some steps...I could see in my mind what it would look like finished but failed to quickly attract the solutions for getting there...though now...at 1 AM it is finally!!!...and so is the oven!  No blow-ups and no need for a repair man.  Had to open some windows for a bit to air the place out...and dinner was take out!

Here are some quick snaps of my felpture...

This little beauty is headed to the Christmas Farmers' Market this Saturday.  Hope to see many of you there cuase everything is way more spectacular in person!
Janet

Runners

Well it is after 1 AM which makes it Monday.  This is it...4 days left to finish things before set-up day on Friday and the Christmas Farmers' Market on Saturday.  I am NOT ready.  I have completed some things since I last posted about this upcoming show.  Not as much as I wanted, but more than I had before!

4 silk pillows
2 party wraps
3 table runners
3 sets of wrist cuffs

Next up I want to work on Felptures.  If I have time after that (not sure how that could possibly occur except if I were to work through the night and all day!) I sort of promised to get some wrap around scarves done for a couple of interested people.  Whew!  Glad I am not having to do any Christmas shopping this week!

For tonight I have the wet, but finished table runners for you to see.  I am including before and after pictures.  I found that the holes I had cut in my white prefelt to make my snowflakes closed up more that I liked...guess I should make gigantic holes...but then they tended to fall apart.  The holly leaves and berries turned out well except for a few that didn't want to attach for some reason.  Finally got them on there well enough that I could stop rolling.  The leaves and acorns turned out really, really well!  My favorite by far.  I did have trouble on this one too...the acorn tops didn't want to attach as well as other parts so it took some tender loving care with just them to get them on there.  They will look different after they dry...

Enjoy! I am off to bed for some much needed sleep :)
Janet

New Wrist Cuffs

A Trio of Runners

Hi Everyone,

Today's project, besides a bit of shoe shopping, was to finish the first of three table runners I hope to have finished for the show December 3.  This first one is a fall/Thanksgiving theme.  I have laid two layers of merino and then a piece of silk.  I had already made a couple of prefelts the other day.  Today I cut them into leaves and acorns for my surface design.  So my next layers were a papier ribbon (a ribbon yarn made with 75% paper) and my leaves and acorns.  Its looking pretty good!  Tomorrow I will begin my second runner...

So stay tuned...And for those of you that are headed out to shop tomorrow don't forget your small home grown merchants like Blue Flag Handweaving Studio in Sandpoint, Idaho.

Janet

Wrist Cuffs - Fashion or Function?

Good Morning! 

Well almost...I neglected to get this post done last night...so sorry.  I have been very busy so I have lots of new things to post for you over the next couple days.  First off many of you may have been noticing women and young ladies wearing an item on their wrist that is unfamiliar to you.  It probably wasn't a glove, even a fingerless version...so what was it?  This newest craze is called wrist cuff or wrist warmer.  And they are just that!  A great way to keep your wrists warm, but for many it is all about making a fashion statement.  I have seen many a young lady sporting a fashionable wrist cuff - most often it was peeking out from under her sweatshirt or sweater.  I have made some myself.  Some are felted with silk as an accent.  Some are sewn with velvet, lace and other embellishments.  And one is a fingerless glove out of wool (many varieties), tussah silk, viscose and silk noil.  Some of these come as a pair though I am only posting one.  However, keep in mind that many use only one cuff - especially when it is done for fashion.

I think that many more women would benefit from a pair of cuffs.  Many of my friends complain about stiff hands and wrists, especially during the winter.  Those that knit and crochet are really bothered by it so I think that a pair of cuffs could help them out so they can continue to enjoy their hobby!  Patterns can be found on the Internet at http://www.ravelry.com/ and http://www.lionbrand.com/ and your can look at the types others are creating at http://www.etsy.com/

Enjoy!

Janet

Oh Boy! Here We Go - Our WEBSITE is online!!!

Good Evening Everyone,

We are very, very proud to announce that we now have our website up and going!  That's right - you can browse through our Internet store at your leisure in your home...so when we are not out selling Sapphire brand products at markets and shows you can still buy!

http://www.sapphire-art.com/

It is still a work in progress so we are making changes daily to get things looking better (for example - some photos need to be retaken) and to make sure all links are functioning.  At present we have just under half our inventory online, but we want your opinion about what we have created so far.  We would love to hear back from you!  Click your way through and let us know what you like and what is not working or not to your liking.

Sincerely,
Janet and Dick King
Kings Treasure Chest presenting Sapphire brand fiber arts products

Nuno Felting - Part 2

Good Evening...we're expecting our first serious winter storm here tonight.  Can't wait!!!  I love the snow...falling...the flakes swirling...ahhh.  Great weather to do some more felting too!  I'll show you what I've been up to the past couple of days.

And if you want to learn more about Nuno felting, which is how I made the pillow above, you can watch part two of this series.



Enjoy!

Janet

A while back we were living in our motor home in Las Vegas.  I met a wonderful bunch of ladies and a couple gents that were all knitters and crocheters while there.  We had some fabulous discussions, workshops and potlucks at a shop called Wooly Wonders on Tropicana Avenue.

One thing led to another and I received an autographed book by Prudence Mapstone of Australia called Coat of Many Scrumbles.  The entire book is about free form knit and crochet.  One small piece of free form work is referred to as a scrumble.  This particular book documents the work of many artists from around the world that worked together to make a coat.  Wonderful work!

It so inspired me that I made a handbag from free form myself.  It is a very time consuming process, yet quite rewarding when you come up with a finished item at the end.  Maybe you would like to give it a try yourself!  For the book: ISBN 978-0-9580443-4-9 
For the guild: http://www.freeformcrochet.com/ 
And for Prudence Mapstone: http://www.knotjustknitting.com/

For a look at my free form handbag on our new biz website:
http://www.sapphire-art.com/shop-wearable-art/handbags-a-purses/item/free-form-knitted-and-crocheted-handbag.html

The shop in Las Vegas does not have a website that I know of but it does have a presence on http://www.ravelry.com/ or you can just visit Joyce at her store the next time you are in town!
Wooly Wonders (702) 570-0268 · 3421 E Tropicana Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89121

Enjoy!
Janet

My Husband the Fashion Advisor

One of the most amusing things to me these days is watching my husband as he tries to be a fashion advisor for me!  He himms, humms and haahhhas at me as he decides how to best answer my latest request for his input.  Amazingly though, he does answer me!  And usually he has very perceptive answers too.  It isn't always what I want to hear, but what the heck, I asked, right?

I have had the beginnings of a felted coat hanging on my dress form in the hall for weeks now.  Slowly I have added a fur collar, inherited from my Auntie in Montana, and sleeves since it was still sleeveless.  I hung two different fabrics off of the sides to see which he may prefer.  He gave me a most definitive answer on those choices!  Now I would like to hear from all of you... What do you think?  Yes to the fur collar or no?  Light green suede sleeves or light brown sleeves...or shall I work on re-purposing this dark brown leather suede poncho a friend gave me?  Or something else all together???  Let's see if hubby got it right, shall we?  Tell me what you think.