Good Evening,

I have a pictorial update to the fabric I am making for the little jacket...

Crosspatch Creations is made by Joan W. Contraman in Corvallis, Montana.  You can reach her at 406-961-4473 or joan@spinningfiber.net.  To view her products go to http://www.spinningfiber.net/.

Lovely fiber feels great!
Janet

Back in the Zone!

Good Evening!

More Snow!  We got several more inches overnight.  I am so happy!  This is what I have been missing.  It is just soooo pristine and beautiful.  I took my little dog out for a walk around noon.  He had to rabbit hop since they had not yet plowed and the snow was pretty deep...and his legs are pretty short.  'Tis always fun to watch him doing this.  Anyway we got all bundled up (it was about 22 F degrees out) and once we stepped out the door I could hear it...that wonderful hushed sound that snow puts on everything.  That combined with the large, fluffy flakes falling and I was in heaven...well...sort of...

It put me in a very festive mood so upon returning I was ready to get to work on my newest piece.  I told you I had made a new sheet of bubble wrap last night.  Today I laid out some prefelts I found stashed in a corner that I had forgotten about...and then I started laying my first layers of loose wool.  I am using merino and merino/silk blends.  Then I found some funky yellow and hot pink silk hankies that I bought in Oregon several years ago...before I knew what to do with them...but I loved them and had to have them.  Today they found the perfect place amongst the prefelts and wool.  The layers I am putting down now should form the interior part of my jacket.

I shot a couple photos along the way...to show my progress.  What I noticed most when I looked at them though was the look of my felting space...YIKES!!!  Well I guess you can tell I use the space...  So more to come on this project as I go along...hope everyone is having a great week like I am!  It feels so good to be back working on my felting!!!

Janet

Ahhhhh.....the silence of...

Hello,

We awoke this morning to a couple of inches of SNOW!  Finally!  I am so happy to see it again.  We haven't had any of significance since around Thanksgiving.  I could tell it snowed because everything was so quiet...you cannot hear the cars and trucks going by...can't even hear people outside shoveling very easily.  Snow just brings everything to a soft, peaceful pace... ahhhhh...

On other topics, I haven't been doing well on my goal to felt something every day!  It has been 12 days since I last got my hands wet...It feels like going to confession to say that...(grins).  However, tonight I have taped and taped until I have a 12 foot by 5 foot section of new bubble wrap to use.  I have also planned out a new project and cut the fabric I need.  Tomorrow I begin laying out the wool and fabric...hopefully I will even get a chance to get things wet...though we have a potluck dinner to attend so that may be a bit iffy.  All and all though I am really enjoying all the quiet peace the snow has brought me.  We are due to get another 3 to 7 inches tomorrow and another couple tomorrow night...soooooo...I should be able to get some work done.  No running hither and yon....just staying home to work with my beloved felt.  No appointments until Friday!

Take care all,
Janet

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

Christmas Sale

Hi!

I'm not a runner and I can only imagine what it must be like to run a marathon...but I feel like that is what we just got done doing!  There is so much involved in getting through a show!!!

We started months ago by purchasing more grid wall for a larger booth; ordered more mannequins and sign holders from Phoenix, Arizona; and I got busy creating new treasures...  Then there was set-up day...lifting all those grid wall panels into our van and back out again...ugh!...next they all need to be held in place and fastened together...and now we have so much 'stuff' we can't make it all fit in one load...Yikes!!!...so all of that was followed by and extra early morning to bring the second load which was all of the fun stuff we had for sale...so after a very late night finishing last minute pricing and inventory duties, 6 am found us crawling through the dark for food and clothes and heading to the fairgrounds with our van of goodies which we hung or placed somewhere in our booth for viewing...and a day of meeting and greeting all of our followers and potential clients...and finally the end of day two is take-down load and unload (again!) Whew!!!  So that is why I say that it felt like we had just run a marathon!  We crashed and slept for over 12 hours which is what I hear marathoner's say they do too.

For those of you that were not able to make it personally to say hello, here are a couple of quick snaps of our booth.  New items not yet on our website for sale are table runners, drapes (the ones pictured are samples...I make these all custom to specifications), pillows, felpture (table lamp) and several scarves.  Unfortunately, I failed to get a picture of the other wall which had lots of new scarves on it... look for all of the new goodies to show up on the website in the coming week. http://www.sapphire-art.com/

This is a holiday scarf that I made for this past Saturday's Market. It wraps around several times and ties at the shoulder. There are two points in front and two points in back. Black silk with red merino wool and sparkle yarn. $78 Can also be draped over each shoulder and allowed to twirl down the front...great look both ways!



Have a great Monday everyone!  I am off to work on the custom orders I took and need to fill.  Thanks everyone!!!
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! 

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

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

The Science of Felting

As an educator in training years ago, I learned all about the scientific method.  Hypothesis, controlled variables, experiment, results....   And years before that I worked for several scientists at Montana State University.  I love science!  It was always my favorite subject to teach.

So as I sat at my felting table the other day it struck me how much of what I am doing today as a felter is all about science.  Yes there is very much an art form to it, but there is also a great deal of science too.  Each time I set about to do a piece it is an experiment....I combine wool and other natural fibers with a variety of natural (silk) and synthetic materials and see what happens...problem is I often have blown the controlled experiment process by introducing more than one new variable in each new experiment....but I like the surprises!  They are what keeps me going...the anticipation of seeing what the result of all my combinations will yield.  I know if I approached this more scientifically - having only one new variable - I would be able to replicate my work.  But...well...that is just too stifling and so I guess that is why it is called art instead.

Well Good Evening Everyone!

I have been busy nuno felting scarves yesterday and today.  They aren't ready for their pictures to be taken though so instead I have a couple of other items that I have finished to show you.

I love the Photo Bucket slide shows - when they work!  Hope you get to see all six photos.  I stitched on the felted fabric using the free stitching method (darning foot) on a machine.  I used different colored threads depending on the accent I needed - in some cases I used gold metallic thread.  Difficult stuff to work with!

Both these pillows will be sold through Blue Flag Handweaving Studio in Sandpoint, Idaho.  You can click the like below to contact Kristie about them.
http://www.blueflagweaving.com/

As a teaser here is a preview of a new scarf - before felting.



Well I am off to get my scarves out of their acid water bath.  Night All!

Janet

New Blue Bliss Handbag

These two items will be on their way to Blue flag Handweaving Studio in Sandpoint, Idaho on Friday.  See them in person!
http://www.blueflagweaving.com/

Darn!  This new method only worked once! Ugh!  Well maybe the slideshow will fix itself and be there for you to see.

Pretty Pink Scarf

Well Happy Halloween Everyone!

Hope everyone saw the link in my last post to make these cuties for your families!  If not, go check it out!!!

I was still seeing those amazing * because of the sheer mass of them * spider threads all over lawns in our neighborhood this morning.  Those tiny threads don't come out in photos or I would post it...you'll have to take my word on this.

Since they inspired me with their beauty I got to work on a scarf to represent them.  My 'spider threads' are made of metallic yarns but are still shiny and shimmery.  I added freshwater pearls and seed beads as an accent at the top.  I also plan to make a brooch as a closure for this.




Can't figure it out!  I've uploaded this over and over and it keeps turning my photo upside down.  Technology gets me again!!!



The fibers are embedded inside the silk chiffon with the puffs of merino.

Detail for pearl and seed beads...looks grainy here...much more beautiful in person.  This wrap is going to Blue Flag Handweaving Studio in Sandpoint, Idaho later this week.

Well got a phone call and my dress form is in...so ta ta for now - I'm off to pick it up,

Janet

To Weave a Spider's Web

Hi There!

Well if you remember I was telling you about walking my dog and seeing all the lawns covered in glistening, gossamer spider threads...SO ...I have figured out a couple scarf designs that represent that shinny thread-like look.

and

Spider's Web Wrap in Progress

And now since the bewitching hour has come I am off to bed so tomorrow I can start felting these beauties!

Janet

Welcome to my Fantastic Fiber Blog! I am a felter, but I dabble in all sorts of arts.

I just love those moments in some days when things come together and everything in the universe feels right. You know what I mean, right?  You're feeling so right with the world that you find yourself walking around with a smile plastered on your face. Well for me, today was one of those days.

It was a beautiful fall day with the sun out, yet a crispness in the air. People were busily putting summer things away and putting up fall decorations. Mother nature already started for us at our house...the big maple in back is already turning beautiful shades of reds. But onward - today was a super day for a road trip and that is exactly what hubby and I did.

We gased up and pointed the car north to Sandpoint to check out Blue Flag Handweaving Studio. A lovely shop full of wonderful hand made items. And soon mine will be found among them. Kristie will be receiving some of my felted handbags and felt scarves in a variety of styles by the end of this month.

Then I will begin on some new projects for her beautiful shop: nuno felt handbags, nuno felt pillows, wet felted drapes, and my very special Felptures: A metal sculpture covered with fine, sheer felts illuminated from within!  Look for them in November!

You can check it out yourself at http://www.blueflagweaving.com/