Creaworx

Juicy Fruits feltcollage

2011-02-25T15:25:00.003+01:00

Inspired by Jane LaFazio's beautiful felted collages I started this piece a few weeks ago and just decided it was finished now. I am not completely happy with it cause I think the background is too busy, but it is a starting point and the next one is already in the works.
I enjoyed the handstitching part as it is so easy to stitch on felt, even with real thick yarn.

Phantasia redone

2011-02-06T11:14:00.005+01:00

I redid "Phantasia" from last year cause the it started to change it's form due to the method I tried to hang it on the wall. Also the longer I looked at it the more I wanted to do more stitching on it. So, off the wall and redone and finished like a quilt. I like it a lot more now. Sorry for the bad photo. The weather here is awful and I am not able to get a better quality right now. Will give it another try when the sky clears.

Embellisher Armband swap

2010-09-13T13:07:00.002+02:00

I am a member of a yahoo group solely for swapping things made with the embellisher. I don't join in the swaps too often, but this time I had to cause I love making those armbands. The one above (three different views of the same armband) is made by me and will go on it's way to Jenny today.

The black/pink/purple one below was made by Jenny for me. Absolutely love the colours she used and the woven design is lovely. The second photo below shows the inside which is made with a beautiful black and white fabric and the closure is velcro.

We could tell our swap partner which colour we would like and as Jenny chose earthen tones I had to step out of my comfort zone. Not my colour sheme at all, but I enjoyed doing this and while stitching I was thinking of moss and autumn and mushrooms and all I can see right now on my walks in the woods with my dog.

Visitors

2010-09-11T16:16:00.003+02:00

This little bird has been visiting for a few weeks now. He comes, than stays away for days and returns on his own schedule. Not sure if he will be able to make the winter outside, so will try to get in contact with a rescue group nearby. He is afraid of me and won't let me come close, so I think it would be very difficult to catch him. But I am no expert when it comes to birds.
And look who is hiding here? This little guy isn't shy at all. I think if I really try I could make him come to take food from my hand. But I think it is better to keep distance. Sometimes it can be dangerous for wild animals to loose the fear of humas. So I just watch him when he comes and looks for nuts in our garden.

Colourful time

2010-08-29T12:34:00.003+02:00

I´ve been having fun using up lots and lots of colourful fabric scraps from my stash creating fabric beads and some pouches. It's been the first time for me sewing a zipper into a pouch and it worked quite well.
The two boxy pouches on the left and right are made with the help of a great tutorial on the three bears blog. Thanks so much for this wonderful tutorial!

Some more fabric beads

2010-08-19T22:10:00.004+02:00

I've been busy creating these fun fabric beads. I'm not sure how to use them but a sort of curtain takes form in my mind. I need something for our living room window cause too often birds fly into it. I think those colourful beads might help to keep the birds from flying into the window and getting hurt.

Fabric beads class

2010-08-13T18:25:00.002+02:00

I joined an online class with Alma Stoller about fabric beads and other little fun embellishments and this is the first set of beads I did. They are so much fun and it is a great way to use up scraps.

Colour combinations

2010-08-03T15:44:00.006+02:00

After stitching the first 3 squares for my 15 sided biscornu pincushion I felt that the colours don´t work too well with each other. So I did 2 more and am now trying to find the combination I like most. I definitely want to use the threads used in #5. They are so juicy and vibrant and I have 7 or 8 different kinds of threads in the same colour range. Now what to use as the contrasting colour? I like the greenish one in #2 and the pink-orange one in #3. Both are from the Caron Collection which is one of my favourite brands for embroidery threads. What do you think?

Funny thing is when you look at all of them, do you feel that the left one in the first row looks bigger than the other ones? It´s exactly the same size but no matter how often I look at it I have the same funny feeling something is wrong.

I signed up for Alma Stoller's class for her gorgeous fabric beads and I can´t wait for it to start on August 9. I love those colourful beads and already have dozens of ideas how to use these. Thinking mostly of jewelry right now but hope to incorporate them in some future quilts, too.

This, that and another one

2010-07-29T16:22:00.007+02:00

This is a first of a series of quilts I am planning called "... and circles". I would like to explore the circle in combination with lots of other shapes. This one is approximately 25cm by 25cm.

This is one of the larger quilts I started while my Janome was gone for repair (she is back and is working better than ever). It´s made of lots of fat quarters I bought years ago and never found a project to use them for. I know the colours are a bit too wildly mixed, but I had to use them up and this is going to be a nice quilt for the winter when sitting in front of the tv. Back will be all black fabrics, so no way to take a decent photo.

And this is the starting point for another pincushion. This time it will be constructed of 15 of these small squares, all different in design. Wish me luck this won´t end as an UFO!

Trying Pojagi style stitching

2010-07-19T16:00:00.004+02:00

A while ago Victoria posted a great tutorial on her blog about sewing Pojagi style with the machine and here is my first try on this technique. It´s a bit wiggly woggly, but I like the overall look and although the fabric is yellow in reality and it is difficult to take a good photo against a window I think you can get the idea.
Thanks Victoria for this tutorial!

2 new pieces

2010-07-13T14:42:00.005+02:00

"Singled out"

This is a small quilt hand- and machine stitched, all cotton fabrics. It measures 23cm x 23cm.

My Janome sewingmachine is broken and is being repaired right now (at least I hope so) and I dug out my old Pfaff. Boy, do I love my Janome. Although I have to admit that the Pfaff is a bit better in straight piecing. The lines are better and the 2 pieces of fabric aren´t moving at all while sewing. But quilting really was a nightmare and I hope my Janome will be back soon.
I did some piecing over the last few days, so I can start quilting right away.

And here is a new small Canvaswork pincushion. The colours are brighter in reality, but I couldn't get the photo to show it correct. It' about 7cm x 7cm.

Small woven piece

2010-06-06T11:08:00.003+02:00

A small woven piece with handstitching. It´s a bit too large for a pincushion, so I`m not sure yet what to do next. I saw small cushions called friendship cushions somewhere on the net a while ago and I think that is a good idea for this size. I´m slowly getting used to this sort of handstitching and the lines are becoming clearer and straighter. I like lines and although I also like the wavy look of kantha stitching this straight line is more "me".

Weaving and Baby Quilt

2010-05-18T16:07:00.004+02:00

I joined an online class with Jude from Spirit Cloth and it is about various ways of weaving fabric strips into a piece of cloth. This is my first attempt put together from leftover strips from another project. Not sure how to go on from here, but it was fun using up the strips and creating such a vibrant piece of cloth.

Yesterday I have been to a local quilt shop and found a leaflet about a project from Save the children. It is all about creating blankets for babys to make sure they are safe and warm in their first months on this planet. The blankets can be knitted, crocheted or sewn and will then be sent to poor families all over the planet. Germany and Australia are taking part in this project and I just cut up 2 pieces of fabric for one quilt.

Canvaswork pincushion

2010-05-14T16:21:00.003+02:00

I´ve been going through a non-creative time, starting various projects, not finishing a single one cause they all felt wrong one or another way. So I decided to start learning new stitches and following a pattern. And it was fun and it took me only 3 days to finish this little pincushion.
The threads are from my stash, so it has two different sides. I really didn´t expect it to turn out that nice, so I think I will start another one today. I have so many beautiful threads in my stash and it is a shame they aren´t used.
Finished size is approximately 7x7cm and I almost broke my fingers stitching both sides together...

I won !!!

2010-03-22T18:23:00.003+01:00

Can´t believe that I am the lucky winner of those lovely handpainted pieces of fabric created by Fannie.
Thanks Fannie for offering this wonderful Giveaway!

Phantasia - finally a sunny day

2010-03-06T14:16:00.003+01:00

Phantasia 34cm x 39cm / 13" by 15 1/2"

I finished "Phantasia" a few days ago but had to wait for a little bit of sunshine to take photos of it. I really like this piece and it is the first one I did with handstitching only. I started out with no plan and it evolved slowly but without hesitation. I love the colours as they symbolize spring and life to me right now. The title "Phantasia" just popped up one night while working on it. Don´t know why, maybe I´ll find out one day. I often understand the reason why a certain piece has it´s name much later when I look at it again.
I had a dreadful time finding a way to mount it cause there is no batting or anything else to hold the cloth in shape. All you see is all there is. I finally decided to sew it to a piece of gessoed canvas. The canvas is slightly smaller than the cloth, so you don´t see it but it holds the cloth nicely in shape. 2 Eyelets in the canvas make it easy to hang on a wall.

Healing Canvas

2010-02-22T15:29:00.007+01:00

18cm x 24cm acrylic on canvas

The weekend has been filled with lots of anger and bad feelings and I had to get all this out of my system. So I took a canvas, covered it with red paint and then wrote down all the feelings I had. I let got and it felt so good. Then I started painting without a plan. Just adding colours and shapes and this is how it looks now. I really like it. It is the complete opposite to the feelings that are written down beneath it.

And some progress here:
Same colours as the canvas above. Waving "Hello" to the subconcious...

Another exercise in acrylics

2010-02-22T13:27:00.002+01:00

Did this exercise last night. It is about variations in shape and it was very interesting to see it evolve. No matter where you look at the shapes lead your eyes back to the center. No way to focus an outer area longer, cause the eye always wanders back. I love that. The exercises from this book seem to be very simple, but I really learned a lot so far. And I learn how the paint reacts and how the brushes work. I knew I would love painting with acrylics, but I love it even more with every little exercise I make. I hope I can translate some of it into fabric work.

New direction and another WIP

2010-02-20T12:05:00.003+01:00

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions on the stitched piece from last post. I did some stitching yesterday evening and introduced some new colours. It´s a greenish blue and a yellowish orange and I think that might help and get me further. I will add some beads and see how this looks later today. Need daylight to get the colours right.
Thanks again for your help!

And this is a sneak peek on another piece I am working on. All fused and machine stitched so far but still a lot of stitching to do. I bought this fabric by Sherill Kahn years ago and never dared to cut it up. But I so love the colours that I now started and think it might be a nice little quilt for spring.

Undecided

2010-02-17T16:55:00.004+01:00

This is a piece I started years ago. It is a piece of loosely woven cotton painted with Lumiere paint. Then machine and handstitched all in purple and pinks.
I found it last week in a pile of UFO´s and started stitching again, but I really don´t feel like this is worth it. I like the colours, but it lacks contrast and I don´t know how to make it better. Maybe I´ll cut it up for some postcards? Should I add beads? Maybe in complementary colours?
What do you do with a piece that seems wrong? I don´t think I want to put it away for another few years, but am hesitant to throw it away.

Busy busy

2010-02-15T18:00:00.006+01:00

Yesterday I did some more exercises for acrylic painting and as I always tend to put way too much paint on my palette, I thought I could use those leftover paint for painting some small pieces of fabric. So here are my very first pieces of painted cotton canvas.

This is a new piece I am working on. The green background is just a test. The colours are quite awful on this photo. The smaller red piece is red not pink in reality and the greens are different as well. I need a new tripod for my camera to be able to take better pictures. Maybe tomorrow...

And these are a few more exercises in acrylic painting. It is a lot of fun to paint with acrylics and I enjoy learning something new with every piece.

Needlecase handstitched

2010-02-11T12:57:00.006+01:00

I created this needlecase from a leftover piece of the underwater quiltlet a few posts ago.
It was fun stitching, although some of the fabrics were very strenious on my hands cause the scraps were all fused to a batting and in some areas it was almost impossible to get the needle through all the layers. But now it is done and I am glad it is all handstitched.

I´m stuck with my Phantasia piece cause I am not sure if I should stop or add more stitching. So I put it aside for a few days and hope I will find the answer soon.
Will start on a new piece today ...

And this is another try on acrylics. I like the colours but am not sure if I will add a bit more black to get more contrast.

Phantasia - WIP

2010-01-31T12:06:00.003+01:00

These are 2 pics of the piece I am working on right now. It is all hand stitched and as this is new to me it takes time to get to the point of being complete. I love doing this slow work, which was inspired by some wonderful textile artist I found online.
I even was lucky to buy one of Jude Hill´s creations. You can see "A few magic tricks" here and read her blog "Spirit Cloth" here. I love her work and following her thoughts on her blog is something I am looking forward to every morning.

Underwater / abstract challenge

2010-01-28T13:12:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I finished this little quiltlet for the monthly abstract challenge group. Theme is UNDERWATER. It did not come out as abstract as I had in mind, but I like the colours and how the tule gives it some depth.

Key Ring

2010-01-27T13:05:00.003+01:00

This is a little key ring tab for an embellisher swap. I added some beads and hand stitching and hope Jean will like it.

BJP January finished

2010-01-22T19:42:00.003+01:00

Today I finished my January piece for the Bead Journal Project
It is a needlefelted base covered partially with seed beads and measures 15cm x 15cm (inside the green stitched line). As I haven´t decided yet how to finish all pieces by the end of the year it will stay like that for now. I thought about making a book of all 12 pieces but think it would be way too bulky. So I now think about making 6 cushions out of the 12 pieces. But there is still lots of time to think about that.

Flames and start on BJP

2010-01-10T12:37:00.004+01:00

This is an acrylic painting on paper. It is inspired by a workshop in book-form and although I like the colour combinations I am not happy with the area in the back. But I learned a few things here and I will give it another try. Painting a fire with so much snow outside is feeling sooo gooood...

And I started beading on my BJP piece for January. I changed my mind about the size and will be making them all 20cm x 20cm. The background is done on the embellisher with various wool fibers.

Cold

2010-01-07T12:44:00.003+01:00

This is a little "something" I did for a monthly challenge on a german embellisher group. Theme for january is "Cold".
Basic part is a shawl I knitted years ago and got totally out of form over the years. It is cotton, so I couldn´t felt it in the washing machine, but with a polyester felt backing it worked good as focal piece. I added some yarn, beads and white scrim.

Oh, I can´t believe that I just finished the first challenge piece fot this year. Happy Happy Happy...
And now on to the BJP for january and the mini quilt challenge. Background for both pieces is done already.

Doodle Book

2009-12-30T12:01:00.008+01:00

Finally I managed to make this book look a bit more fun. I started doodling in this book a while back and always wanted to create a colourful cover. Now this is inspired by Tracy Bautista´s book "Collage Unleashed". There are so many fun ideas in it how to make your own papers and she even incorporates fabric in her work.
Background is painted with gesso and acrylics, then I drew those doodles on it with a pit pen and the "Doodle"-writing is on a scrap piece of linen. All attached to each other with gel medium.

Fiber Arts/Mixed Media announced a january challenge I can´t resist.

>>>> Pick one of your ugly, or plain, or "why did I ever buy that" commercial fabrics, and enhance it with fabric paint so that you end up liking it! Paint over it completely, outline or color in the shapes, give it an all-over tint, etc. <<<<  

Does that sound like fun or what? Oh my, another monthly challenge for 2010...

What I found...

2009-12-29T16:24:00.003+01:00

...yesterday behind the sofa. A little wirework/beadwork I did a while ago. I think I should try some more wirewrapping cause it is so much fun and might be a nice addition to some of the Bead Journal Project pieces. I think I finally decided on the size for the BJP pieces. I´ll make them 10cm x 10cm on a needlefelted base, so I can bind all 12 (if I will ever finish them all...) into a little book. Already did 2 felted pieces yesterday, so let the beading beginn...

Inside 1

2009-12-28T19:57:00.003+01:00

Inside 1
Lutradur, Silk Hanky, machine embroidery, cotton, stretched onto canvas frame, 30cm x 30cm / 12" x 12"

This piece started out months ago as an experiment. I attached a silk hanky to a lutradur background with gel medium. I thought it might give a nice silk paper. First I didn´t like it too much as it was stiff and very flat, but then I thought the colours were so lovely, I should try to work on it some more. So I started painting the yellow lines with acrylics onto the silk and added the red dots, all inspired by a magazine picture. I don´t recall exactly what this picture was showing, but I guess it was something with bloodlines.
Then I machine embroidered onto the painted lines and dots and it was a pleasure to do this on the lutradur. The gel medium made it all very stiff which was perfect cause I didnt need a frame to prevent it from puckering. It was so easy to machine embroider on it.

When the stitching was all done I wasn´t sure how to finish the piece. I added the red borders (cotton) and thought I would make a quilt sandwich, but it somehow didn´t feel right. So I tried to put it on a stretched canvas and I liked it much better.

Inside 1 / Detail

Zen 2

2009-12-25T18:31:00.004+01:00

Zen 2
25cm x 25cm / 10"x10", Acrylics on paper

Next acrylic painting in the Zen-series. It is a bit too dark, but the more I look at it, the more I like it.

Acrylics Zen1

2009-12-24T15:31:00.003+01:00

Zen 1
Acrylics on paper 30cm x 42cm / 12"x16"

Something I am hoping to get to do more often is painting with acrylics. I like the japanese style of being very minimalistic and hope to find my own style by creating simple pieces without too much planning and thinking.
What looks like a mirror in the upper right corner is silver acrylics paint. It was a first try and it is funny to work with cause it has a strange consistency.

Felted Biscornu Pincushion

2009-12-22T18:11:00.003+01:00

In Stitch magazine I saw a lovely pincushion called Biscornu. It is done with cross stitch and if you google it, you can find dozens of interesting variations. As I am not into cross stitching but needed a new pincushion, I thought why not do one with felt. I had a prefelted piece on the shelf, so cut it out and started stitching. It is quite easy, but looks very interesting when finished.
I added a few stitches on top and stuffed it with some old nylons. The nylons work much better as stuffing cause the needles won´t disappear inside the cushion like they tend to do with stuffing for softies.

Heart Brooch

2009-12-21T16:29:00.004+01:00

A little brooch I did by machine stitching on canvas. There is a great video featuring this kind of machine embroidery on Talking Threads/The Country Channel with Linda Miller. I love her work and it was fun doing this small brooch.
There are various videos for free all dealing with textile art.

Kantha 1

2009-12-20T19:38:00.004+01:00

I joined a class on HEN called "Painted Kantha" and this is what I did.
The background is painted and then stitched. It is a very small piece and I stretched it onto a 10x10cm (4"by4") canvas frame. I am not too happy with the writing as it looks faded, but I didn´t want to go over it again, scared I might ruin it completely.
I think this is a good starting point and I already got out all my linen and lose weave cottons. Another technique to explore...

Orange Squares

2009-12-20T12:14:00.004+01:00

A small quilt I made over the last 2 weeks. It all started out with a fused background of leftover scraps but they all got covered in the process. The background is machine stitched and I learned an interesting thing. I used 2 different threads in the same needle. One a thick cotton and the other a trilobal polyester. While stitching the polyester thread created intersting loops on top of the stitching while the cotton thread stitches as usual. I´m afraid it can´t be seen even in the detail picture, but I will experiment with this type of stitching in the future. If you never tried using 2 threads in the same needle, you are missing out on something very interesting. It can be tricky to find the right tension, so it is best to start with some threads the same material like 2 polyester or 2 cotton. And make sure the eye of the needle is large enough, or you will have broken threads.
The same yarn that is used for the hanging stick is couched down on the background. The squares are made of polyester felt, painted batting and some sequins.

First of the 30x30 series "ABC"

2009-12-12T21:08:00.005+01:00

"ABC"
Fused cotton, stamped, painted with acrylics, machine quilted and stitched

So here is the first piece of a series of 30x30cm or 12"x12" quilts.
I like the colour combination and some of the stamping. I have hundreds and hundreds of stamps in my drawers (did sell them years ago), so there is a lot of things to try for me. Luckily the old stamppads still work very well, so I don´t have to buy a lot of things to get back into stamping.
I´m quite happy how the quilted grid turned out, but don´t like the thread I used. Way too thick (Valdani Cotton), but now I know better for the next time. That´s one of the reasons for this series, cause I want to do a lot of testing without being afraid to ruin a larger piece.

Today I got a package from Rainbow Silks with the first two issues of Art Quilting Studio by Stampington. I haven´t yet decided if I should subscribe to it, cause it is a bit too much "Stampington-Style" for my taste. I know it is all about photos now and how to print and transfer onto fabric and I´m into it, too. But I am not into all these old photos of relatives. Lot´s of beige and brown and I don´t know - not my style.
But there are a few very interesting articles, so I might try it for one year and see if I change my mind...

Challenges/Projects for 2010

2009-12-11T16:16:00.003+01:00

Well, it seems my health is a bit more stable now, so I decided to join some projects/challenges for the next year. I always missed the deadline for signing up for the bead journal project, but not this time. So, starting in January 2010 I will try to create a beaded piece every month. Not sure yet what size or theme to chose, but I think I will go for colour combinations/abstracts as I am trying to get colour theory into my lazy head.
And today the Three Creative Studios offered a quilt challenge for the next year and I signed up instantly. It´s for only 6 quilts and I am sure I will love that.
And I am right now preparing lots of background sandwiches cause I want to work on a series of small quilts all measuring 30cm x 30cm (12"x12"). The first 2 are almost finished and it is so much fun to be able to create daily again.
And last but maybe not least I hope I can join again the Abstract Challenge Yahoo Group I belonged to a few years ago. As I recall they have a monthly theme for a small quilt 8"by8".

Wow, seems I am a bit crazy, but it just feels right :-)

Sticky Fingers Canvases

2009-12-09T22:44:00.005+01:00

I joined an online class with Ellen Lindner called Sticky Fingers. It´s a very fun way to create a fabric collage with gel medium. The class is very interesting and although it took me way longer than expected the 3 pieces I had planned are almost finished.
I am not sure if I should add some yarns to the collages, so might hang them on a wall first and see how it feels.

Felted Cuff 1

2009-11-06T23:02:00.002+01:00

I´m in love with Silk Hankies! They are wonderful to use with an embellisher and this is the first needlefelted and handstitched Cuff in a series. (photos show both sides of the same cuff) I only added some simple stitches to let most of the felted area show.
The next one will have lots of buttons from mother of pearl. I bought these buttons years ago at a flea market and now they are just perfect. Hope to have it finished and some photos to show on sunday.

iPod bag

2009-11-05T15:47:00.003+01:00

A few weeks ago I needlefelted a cellphone bag for myself and a few days after that my husband asked if I had a little bag for his new iPod. I gave him my purple cellphone bag but thought other colours and design would be better for a man. So I felted and stitched this one and gave it to him yesterday. He didn´t say anything about the purple one, but I am quite sure he likes this one better ;-)

Testing Photoshop Elements

2009-09-27T19:53:00.002+02:00

I´ve been thinking about getting me a new Photo software for a while and now found out that there is a 1 month test version for Photoshop Elements. So here are some first examples. This software is amazing and after playing with it for a few hours I am almost sure I will have to buy it.
The original photo taken last year in our backyard
Test 1

Test 2
I think the first one is promissing...

My first Glued Collage

2009-09-25T21:24:00.004+02:00

A few days ago I found Ellen Lindner´s Blog and was hooked. I was experimenting with fabric paper, silk paper and some other ideas but wasn´t happy with all the experiments. I knew I wanted to do some sort of fabric collage, but had no idea how to approach it.
Then there was Ellen´s work and I knew that was exactly what I was looking for. Her glued collages are gorgeous! Although Ellen is preparing an online workshop for her technique, I had to try it right away. I definitely will be the first to enroll to her class as soon as she announces it, but I am not the patient kind ;-)

So, with the help of a vidcast on Bonnie McCaffery`s site I started my first glued collage, inspired by Ellen´s wonderful work.

I thought I would chose an easy stillife, but had to learn the hard way that it wasn´t easy at all.
This is my first try on Pear and Grapes
I wanted to make sure one sees the light coming from top left. But I think it rather looks like somebody had gotten a bite of the pear while I wasn´t looking, right?

So, I cut some more pieces of fabric and added, added, added and although the upper left corner lacks something to balance the piece, I am almost happy with it:

The fabric is glued to a stretched canvas and what I really love is that you are able to rearrange things while the glue is still wet. You can also add more layers if somebody comes in and eats part of your fruits ;-)

Acrylics and painting - a new obsession?

2009-09-21T14:34:00.005+02:00

I joined a class for free painting and on our first evening we did some interesting things with lots of water and paint and even more water. The pieces I did that evening are still in the class room cause they were still wet when we went home and I forgot to take my camera. But for a few days now I am working on this piece at home. It is acrylic paint on paper and lots of water here and there and everywhere. It takes very long to dry cause the paint is really thick in some areas. So I can only add a few more "running lines" every day. I like the way it changes slowly and I like adding and adding. Will stick to yellow, red and blue and see how it looks in a few more days. Maybe in the end I might add some black.

Needlefelted Bag für my Cellphone

2009-09-16T12:51:00.004+02:00

Finally a new project with my embellisher. It is a little bag for my cellphone and it is done in my favourite colour - violet. The little Flowers are felted too and then I added some seed beads.

Doodles to stitch

2009-09-14T15:21:00.002+02:00

I joined one of the stitching online-classes with Susan Sorell aka Creativechick and this is my first little piece in progress. It´s more or less postcard size. Batik with some batting, so it is easy to stitch.

There will be much more stitching and some beading. It is fun to turn some of the doodles I made lately into stitched pieces. Very relaxing.

First try on fabric paper

2009-09-04T20:03:00.004+02:00

This is my first try on fabric paper. It is a huge piece and is now hanging in the bathroom to dry.
The lower part is a mix of handprinted Washi papers that I brought with me from Japan 15 years ago. I brought tons of this lovely paper and never really used it because it was just too beautiful to cut. Now I think it is time to use it and let go of some.

Upper part is some fiber paper. I think that will get a colourwash as soon as it is dry.
The two pieces in the middle were just fillers, because it took me almost 2 hours to get all this done. I chose a way too large piece of fabric to start with. Now I know better and next time it will be the size of a fat quarter max.
I like this technique and it is a great way of using up fabric that I don´t like anymore. If it is a print you can use the backside and if it is a batik you can always try and work with the given design.
There is more to come, cause I have lots of ideas in my head for this kind of paper.

Flower coaster

2009-08-30T13:49:00.004+02:00

I just finished this flower coaster I did following intstructions from the current STITCH magazine. I like the way the background is created. It´s made of hundreds of snippets of cotton thread. Makes a great structured background.
It measures 19cm / 7 1/2 inches.

Pipe cleaner fun

2009-08-29T13:04:00.003+02:00

I´ve been having some fun yesterday wrapping pipe cleaners. I used lots of different yarn and can´t wait to use these colourful pieces in a project.

Playing with black, white and greys

2009-08-27T19:10:00.004+02:00

Over the last few days I have been playing with various pens and markers, trying to find my favourite ones. It isn´t easy, but I think I will stick to my PITT pens for fine lines and use Copic Markers for grey tones. On the left side I used mostly PITT brush pens and although I like the colours better, I don´t like the streaky look. On the right side of the first scan I used mostly cold greys from Copic. As they are used for Comics they almost look like a print. The scanner messed it up a bit. Not sure why.

Yesterday I found a very cool posting about Zentangles on Scrappy Cats blog. She gave a link to the official site of Zentangles and I had to go there immediately. I love black and white doodling and the site is interesting. In their free newsletter you can find cool doodles and images that could also be used for freemotion quilting or embroidery.
So after looking at all the cool stuff I did this one. It is the size of a DVD and I love the part that looks like a ball wrapped in ribbon and the "amoebas" on the left.
These are done the size of Zentangles. Each one meassures 3 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches or 9x9cm (well, if you want to be correct it is 8.9cm x 8.9cm)

And here is my second Mandala. This is more free and chaotic than the first one and to tell the truth I don´t know if there is a meaning in it. Will have to think about it...

Healing Canvas / Words like knives

2009-08-25T12:15:00.004+02:00

A few days ago my husband said something to me in an argument that really hurt me. I am not sure why this kept bugging me for days, but I felt I had to do something about it. Sometimes bad feelings stay with me for way too long and I know this makes things worse that - seen from a distant point - aren´t that important at all.
So instead of writing about my feelings in a journal I thougth I could do a little collage.
I created a background by writing all that came to mind with a graphite pen. I wrote and wrote til most of the writing was covered with words and those were covered with more words and so on. I then added collage elements and did a colourwash with acrylics. Finally I added more words to the collage. The words in the middle of the canvas are: "Worte wie Messer" which means in english "Words like knives".
The words around the woman in the left corner are Pain, Anger, Fear and some more.

While writing the background I started to feel better and better. Like a dark cloud over me was getting lighter and lighter and finally vanished.

This seems to be another good way to get in touch with my inner feelings. What do you do to get in touch with your inner feelings?

The coolest video of a charcoal painting by Maria Wiley

2009-08-24T20:07:00.008+02:00

Take a look at the video "Charcoal abstract" on Maria Wiley´s blog. She does a charcoal painting that will blow your socks off! This is sooooo cooooool!

The Eye - my first mandala

2009-08-24T19:43:00.004+02:00

I´m reading a book about "The Zen in creative painting" and the author suggests to paint a mandala to get a better connection to your deepest feelings. She suggests to draw whatever form comes to mind, circle, square, oval, triangle or whatever and fill it with colours that feel right, using only abstract images.
When it was finished I realized there was an "angry" eye staring at me. I had no intention to draw this. I was puzzled, but have to admit I was angry at somebody while drawing. Not sure about the eye, though. Will have to think about it a little more...

This was a very interesting project and besides being fun I think it really worked to bring me a bit closer to my inner feelings. Will try to do at least one mandala every other day and see where it takes me.

Finally - a finished piece in faux encaustic

2009-08-23T12:25:00.004+02:00

Oh my, this was a nightmare. Really! I was not able to find the workable fixative necessary for the faux encaustic workshop anywhere in this big city of Berlin! Sometimes I really wish I would live in the USA! I´ve been to so many craft and art supply stores and none of them carried this fixative. Finally, after weeks I found one by Lascaux, a swiss brand, in a shop that just had opened up.
Now on my way I ruined one canvas cause I tried a fixative that would "definitely work", as the lady in the shop told me. Well, it didn´t and all got smeared!
The next canvas was ruined as I tried a mixture of Golden GAC 500 and Golden Airbrush Extender Medium. This mixture works pretty well as a fixative, but the spray bottle I had produced big blobs instead of a nice even coating. So part of the canvas was sealed, part wasn´t. So I got parts that were smeared, too.
Third canvas got ugly somehow and so I only finished one canvas. As you can see it is a different one from the first set. Don´t ask! This whole project almost drove me crazy, because of thousands of problems arising on the way.
BUT, the workshop itself is very very good and I highly recommend it if you would like to learn this technique. Jodi created wonderful videos and it was easy to follow them. But if you don´t live in the US, make sure you find all the stuff you need before starting the workshop...

Faux Encaustic - here comes the colour

2009-07-31T14:47:00.002+02:00

And here we go with the 4 chosen colours added to the canvases.

Faux Encaustic Workshop start

2009-07-29T18:59:00.004+02:00

I joined a Faux Encaustic Workshop by Jodi Ohl at Creative Workshops and just finished my work for today. It is a gorgeous workshop and worth every cent. Jodi did wonderful videos and also a pdf file to read it all while working on the pieces. I enjoyed doing the first stages of my collages, but am really not sure where this will take me. But the finished pieces from other classmates look so wonderful, I think I have a chance mine will be OK in the end. Right now they look a bit like a pile of paper scraps with no direction...

Stage 1

Stage 2

I now have to wait til tomorrow cause all needs to dry. Then it will get exciting cause the canvases will be covered partly with Gesso and then there will be acrylic paints and more and more... Sounds like fun, right?

Wire work Set - a beginning

2009-07-09T14:04:00.006+02:00

This is my first set of wirework jewelry. It is very simple, but it was the first time I used my hammer on silver wire and it worked quite well. The instructions can be found in the Step by Step Wire Jewelry magazine. Linda Jones created a beautiful necklace, but I am not into necklaces with beads and such, so I minimized the design.
Sorry for the poor quality of the photo. I think I´ll have to learn a few tricks for photographing jewelry.

Dies ist mein erstes Set Wirework Schmuck. Es ist recht einfach, aber da es mein erster Versuch mit dem Hammer war, bin ich ganz zufrieden. Die Anleitung zu diesen Teilen habe ich aus der Zeitschrift Step by Step Wire Jewelry. Linda Jones hat dort eine Halskette gearbeitet mit Glasperlen, aber da ich nicht so sehr auf solche Ketten stehe, habe ich das Design zu Ohrringen und einem Anhänger vereinfacht.
Sorry für das schlechte Foto. Silberschmuck zu fotografieren muss ich erst noch etwas üben.

This is a mixed beads bracelet. I did some testing on extruder beads but now am asking myself why I did this with orange clay? I never wear orange! But it was fun to make :-)

Dies ist ein Mix-Armband mit Extruder Perlen. Ich frage mich nur, wieso ich das in Orange gemacht habe, denn ich trage doch garkein Orange? Naja, es hat Spaß gemacht :-)

Violet Pin

2009-03-05T16:35:00.002+01:00

Last night I spent a few hours trying new ideas with Fimo. I already cured dozens of beads but only finished this pin so far. The dots are done with the extruder and the background is the leftover from the extruder clay. That is one reason why I love working with clay. You have absolutely no waste. All scrap clay can be used up sooner or later.

Letzte Nacht habe ich einige Stunden mit Fimo neue Ideen ausprobiert. Ich habe schon dutzende von Perlen gebacken, aber fertig ist bis jetzt nur dieser Anstecker. Die Punkte sind mit dem Extruder hergestellt und der Hintergrund ist aus den Resten des Fimos vom Extruder. Das ist einer der Gründe, warum ich es so liebe mit Fimo zu arbeiten. Es gibt absolut keinen Abfall. Alle Reste können früher oder später für etwas verwendet werden.

First Mokume Gane

2009-02-26T23:42:00.007+01:00

Today I finally finished the first ever Mokume Gane set. I created the clay pieces weeks ago but never got to sanding it. It is only sanded because I like that matte finish.
Heute habe ich nun endlich das erste Mokume Gane Set fertiggestellt. I habe die Fimoteile schon vor Wochen gemacht, aber irgendwie kam ich nicht dazu sie zu schmirgeln. Sie sind nur leicht geschmirgelt, da mir das matte Aussehen gut gefällt.

And this is a pendant made from my first mosaic cane. The colours aren´t showing well. It is violet and pink.

Und dies ist ein Anhänger von meinem ersten Mosaik Cane. Die Farben stimmen nicht ganz. Er ist knallig pink und violett.

First Poly Clay Pendant and Mail from Australia

2009-02-19T19:28:00.008+01:00

I´ve been having some fun with my new addiction Polymer Clay (Fimo) and this is the first finished pendant.
Ich hatte viel Spaß mit meiner neuesten Sucht, dem Polymer Clay (Fimo) und dies ist der erste fertiggestellte Anhänger.

It wasn´t a planned design and happened by trying out various ideas. I love the colours and think the shape is interesting. It´s on a leathercord that I bought years ago.
Er war so nicht geplant, sondern entstand während ich verschiedene Sachen ausprobierte. Ich liebe die Farben und auch die Form finde ich sehr ansprechend. Er ist an einem Lederband, das ich vor Jahren mal gekauft hatte.

And today I finally found a small padded envelope in the mail, containing a set of pendants I bought from Wendy Lee Hearn of Guru Creations, Australia.
Believe it or not, the envelope took 4 weeks to arrive, by airmail. Now I really wonder what kind of airplane they used for transport....
But it was more than worth the wait cause the pendants are absolutely fabulous! The photos don´t show all the detail.
Und heute habe ich auch endlich einen kleinen gepolsterten Umschlag in meinem Briefkasten gefunden. Darin waren 3 traumhafte Anhänger, die ich von Wendy Lee Hearn von Guru Creations gekauft hatte.
Ob ihr es glaubt oder nicht, der Umschlag war ganze 4 Wochen unterwegs, per Luftpost. Was für eine Art Flugzeug das wohl war....
Aber das Warten hat sich mehr als gelohnt, denn die Anhänger sind absolut traumhaft. Die Fotos zeigen leider nicht alle Details.
My favourite colour again :-)
They´re dichroic glass and I will have to think of a good way to turn them into earrings and a pendant.
Wieder meine Lieblingsfarbe :-)
Sie sind aus Dichroic Glas (sorry, aber hier fehlt mir der richtige Ausdruck in Deutsch. Glaube aber, das nennt man hier auch so) und ich muss mir jetzt noch etwas ausdenken, wie ich die Teile in Ohrringe und Anhänger verwandle.

OWOH - Winner !!!

2009-02-12T15:21:00.003+01:00

Here we are - it´s February 12 and I just did the random drawing for my little giveaway (see post of January 22).

Drummmmmmrrrrrolllllll pleeeassssse......

THE WINNER IS YVONNE from the Netherlands

http://yitte.blogspot.com/

Congratulations Yvonne. Hope you will enjoy the bracelet.

This OWOH project was soooo much fun. I hope it will happen again next year. Thanks so much Lisa for organizing all this. I can´t even imagin how much time it took to make all this happen.

Poly Clay - a start into a new world of fun

2009-01-24T12:50:00.009+01:00

Now that I´ve been away from blogging for such a long time I have to get used to it again. I spent most of last week looking at other people´s blogs and finding out new tricks on blogger. Looks like they have been busy and so far I like what I see.

I´ve been playing around with poly clay for a while now, but mostly spent time on preparing the clay. It is hard work if you start from zero cause all the blocks have to be softened before you can start working. Here are a few pieces I did.
They haven´t been cured yet, cause I wanted to wait til I have a few more to cure for the first batch. I especially like those pillow beads. Many clay artists create those beads and I am always in awe when seeing the pictures.

I also love lentil shaped beads but haven´t had a try on them yet. But I bought 2 sets of those lentil beads on etsy from The fanciful feline. Her work is so beautiful and I hope the beads will arrive soon.
Aren´t they just beautiful?

Back with new ideas and a giveaway for OWOH

2009-01-22T16:58:00.005+01:00

Hi there, I know it´s been a very long time since my last post, but health issues kept me from being creative. Now it is time to get back into artworld and blogworld and as I found out about this wonderful project 2 days ago I thought it would be perfect for reactivating my blog.

I would like to offer a little giveaway from my beading stash. It is a bracelet in 2 bluetones, with a rainbow reflection which I am not able to get in the photo. So please try to picture it a bit more colorful than it looks on the photo.
To be added to the drawing you just have to comment on THIS post and on February 12 I will pick the winner by random. Everybody is free to join, no matter if you are a blogger or not. Make sure to leave an email address or URL for your blog or website so I can contact you in case you win the bracelet.

And in case you would like to join the fun and offer a giveaway on your blog please go to the One World - One Heart blog

Good luck and have fun visiting all the wonderful and interesting blogs of participants.

******************************************************

It´s February 12 already, so I will close comments now and announce the winner later today.
Thanks to all who commented and also thanks to all who offered give aways. It´s been so much fun to find so many interesting blogs.

Blackberry hearts and postcard

2008-02-12T18:06:00.000+01:00

Just finished this little bracelet inspired by a tutorial in a magazine (can´t remember if it was Beadwork or Beadworker´s guild, sorry). Those should be hearts, but when I showed it to dh he spontaniously said "Oh, blackberries!". And I think he is right. They look a lot more like blackberries than hearts.
And this is a postcard I made for a member of my online group for her birthday. The photo is real bad. The card looks better in real (I promise) cause the round shaped flowers are a lot more 3D than it is visible here. I found this "technique" in an old magazine "Stitch".

Embellisher bracelet

2008-02-05T20:31:00.000+01:00

Been playing with the embellisher today and this is the result. A two-sided bracelet. You can turn it inside out. The felt is a bit too weak, so I will use this one as a prototype and try with a stronger base tomorrow.

Habe heute mit der Embellisher gespielt und das ist das Ergebnis. Es ist ein 2seitiges Armband, da man einfach innen nach außen drehen kann. Der Filz ist etwas zu dünn, so dass ich dieses hier als einen Prototyp nehme und morgen mit einem festeren Untergrund weiter versuchen werde.

Thing-a-day 2

2008-02-02T14:30:00.001+01:00

A small pattern for a peyote stitch beaded amulet bag as a tribute to Kandinsky.

Eine kleine Vorlage für ein Amulett-Täschchen als kleine Hommage an Kandinsky.

Thing-a-day 1

2008-02-01T21:01:00.000+01:00

Oh my, I joined a great project for this month. It´s called Thing-a-day and everybody who signed up will create a thing a day (surprise!) and upload it or a link at the project blog. It should take about 20 minutes to create the piece or at max. one hour. Have to admit this tassle took a little longer than an hour cause it was new to me, but I think that´s OK. I´m sure the next one will take less than an hour to create.

So, nun bin ich mal wieder bei einem tollen Projekt dabei. Es heißt Thing-a-day, was soviel heißt wie Ein-Ding-pro-Tag. Alle Teilnehmer gestalten irgendetwas an jedem Tag im Februar und laden es im Projektblog hoch. Es sollte so um die 20 Minuten dauern ein Stück zu gestalten oder maximal eine Stunde. Ich muss gestehen, dass diese Tassle etwas länger als eine Stunde gedauert hat, weil ich das zum ersten Mal gemacht habe, aber ich denke, es geht trotzdem. Die nächste geht sicher viel schneller.

Weekend beading / Perlen am Wochenende

2008-01-28T02:17:00.000+01:00

These 2 necklaces were done this weekend. They are very simple, but perfect for me to start with. I want to do a lot more necklaces and bracelets this year but need some exercise with easy techniques first.

Diese beiden Ketten sind dieses Wochenende entstanden. Sie sind sehr einfach, aber perfekt für mich als Anfängerin. Ich möchte dieses Jahr noch sehr viel mehr Ketten und Armbänder herstellen und kann so einfache Techniken gut für den Einstieg gebrauchen.

Mr. Grumpy

2008-01-26T18:43:00.001+01:00

Meet Mr. Grumpy.

When I was browsing various groups and photos on flickr I came across a fun group for softies. I had so much fun looking at those little creatures, I had to try one myself. Mr. Grumpy was very easy to make and I will definitely give him some friends for company soon.

He is entirely made of felt, partly glued, but mostly stitched. This thin acrylic felt gives so much freedom in cutting things to shape. I´m afraid that could become an addiction soon...

Als ich mir verschiedene Gruppen und Fotos auf flickr angeschaut habe, fand ich eine Gruppe mit witzigen Softies. Ich habe mich so köstlich amüsiert, als ich die Fotos durchschaute, dass ich beschlossen habe, so einen Softy auch mal zu probieren. Es ist so einfach mit diesem Filz Formen zu schneiden und er bekommt sicher bald Gesellschaft. Ich fürchte, das könnte eine neue Sucht geben...

Postcards / Postkarten

2008-01-26T14:27:00.001+01:00

These are two postcards that were sent out as birthday cards to 2 members of my online group. It was fun to try some stitches on my machine and create those flowers on the second one with cords and beads.

Das sind 2 Postkarten, die ich als Geburtstagskarten an 2 Mitglieder meiner Onlinegruppe geschickt habe. Es hat Spaß gemacht einige der Stiche meiner Maschine auszuprobieren und die Blumen mit Cords und Perlen zu gestalten.

WIP Sunshine Samba

2008-01-07T16:52:00.000+01:00

This is a piece I started a few months ago. I first created a fabric with the embellisher and then started stitching suns in yellow. Problem as you can see is that the yellow stitching lacks contrast. It is a bit better in real but I don´t like it right now. I then added red and some swirls inside the suns which adds but isn´t enough. Now what am I gonna do next? Any suggestions? I really like the colours so far but there has to be done some more. Would it help to add a darker colour? Or is there already too much contrast in the background, so everything I add will look like the suns? HELP !!!
This is a scan cause my camera is in the repair right now. The piece is a bit larger than A4 or US letter size. I would love to use it for a small bag.

Das ist ein Stück, das ich vor einigen Monaten begonnen habe. Ich habe erst mit dem Embellisher einen Hintergrundstoff hergestellt und dann die Sonnen in gelb aufgestickt. Das Problem ist, dass nun Kontrast fehlt. Die Sonnen sind kaum sichtbar. Es ist in echt zwar etwas besser als auf dem Bild, aber so richtig gefiel mir das noch nicht. Ich habe dann noch rote Kringel in die Sonnen gestickt und die Sonnen auch noch mit rot ergänzt, aber viel besser ist das so auch nicht. Was soll ich nun tun? Ideen? Ich mag die Grundfarben, aber so ist es einfach noch nicht fertig. Ist der Hintergrund vielleicht schon zu bunt, so dass alles gestickte darauf "untergeht"? HILFE !!!
Dies ist ein Scan, da meine Kamera in Reparatur ist. Das ganze Stück ist etwas größer als A4 und ich würde daraus gerne eine kleine Handtasche machen.

More beaded art dolls

2008-01-06T17:46:00.000+01:00

As promised here are some more pics of finished beaded art dolls from our Round Robin.

This is Bindi and she lives in Australia. She was the first doll I had to bead on and I was horrified. I did her right leg (front and back) and think she turned out very colourful.

This is Candy. She was the smallest doll and I only did a smal area around her waist. Oh, forgot to mention that my doll Leila and Bindi are aprrox. 6 inches high. Sounds small, but still lots of space for those tiny beads...

Happy New Year !

2008-01-02T18:58:00.000+01:00

So here it is, the new year with lots of new hopes and dreams.
As some might have noticed I have been quiet for a few months. But now it is time to start again, being creative, getting back on track and create, create, create...

First thing I have to show this year is my Beaded Doll. The doll was created in a Round Robin and I was the lucky one who got her own doll back home first. She is a real beauty and this has been the best RR I participated in ever.
Leila´s front with a beautiful flower on her right shoulder. Unfortunately my digital camera is broken, so I can´t show that flower in detail now. It is attached with a pin, so it can be placed anywhere on Leila´s body.

Leila´s back with the gorgeous hair I would love to be able to do myself.
And this is how Leila looked when she started her journey to the USA, Australia and back again to Germany. My am I envious of all the great places she has been to.
The beading is mostly Peyote free form which is my favourite stitch. It is very easy to learn and gives so much freedom to work.

The other dolls are still travelling, but I will show them all as soon as they arrive home. So there will be lot´s of eye candy soon.

Some beading

2007-09-08T11:59:00.000+02:00

Haven´t been working with textiles lately but did some beading. So here are a few pics:
This is a little fishie I did. On one of the yahoo groups I´m on they did a fish swap and I just gave it a try.
This is the starting point of a beadalong doll I am doing on another beading group. The colours should be mostly orange and one accent colour. I chose purple as an accent.
This is the progress so far. I did a lot more beading but undid it twice. But now I think (and hope) I know how to go on.

Beaded Earrings

2007-07-25T18:43:00.001+02:00

These are my first beaded earrings in freeform peyote stitch. I enjoy this stitch more and more and signed up for a beaded doll round robin. The dolls will be beaded 100% in freeform peyote stitch. This will definitely be fun and I can´t wait to start. The dolls will be mailed out in the beginning of September, so lots of time to think of a doll form and which colours and face to chose. I haven´t participated in an RR for quite a long time, so am very excited to join one again. It is always fun to see how those works of art are growing and changing and the moment when you receive your piece back it is like christmas and birthday at the same day.

First free form peyote stitch bracelet

2007-07-15T17:36:00.000+02:00

Finished my first free form peyote stitch bracelet today. It was easier than I thought. The idea for it came from a pattern in "Bead and Button" magazine. Broke 3 needles while working on it, but think the needles were not the best quality available. I just ordered some beads and needles and nymo thread in the US, so will hopefully be able to start another bracelet in a week or so. I do have some other beading needles, but the are even worth. They are way too thick for peyote stitch. Maybe I´ll try something on a beading loom tomorrow. Am already working on a design for a bracelet or/and earrings.

I´m still working on those crochet circles. It´s way too hot to think about doing a shawl now. But each day a few more go into the box and maybe in a few weeks I will start sewing them all together.

Beaded Necklace

2007-07-09T22:32:00.000+02:00

Here is my first beaded necklace. The blue and pink tubes are done in peyote stitch.

Woven Bag in a day

2007-07-03T01:04:00.000+02:00

I´ve been talking to a friend about weaving yesterday and remembered that I had a small loom somewhere in my room. I found it and started right away with a small bag. The yarn was already on the table for the crochet circles, so I used it with some additional strips of fabric. It was fun and so easy to do. Will try a bigger one soon as I like the way the woven piece holds it`s shape better than a knitted or crochet bag.

16cm x 19cm

Making progress...FFC

2007-06-25T01:36:00.001+02:00

Wow, don´t they look like fun? Now I´m doing lots of tiny "domes" and am getting better and better with those "bullions". I never thought crochet would be so much fun.
This isn´t the final way I am going to arrange them all, cause I am planning to do many many more. First I was going for a small bag, but now I am thinking about doing a shawl or poncho or something like that. Not sure yet.
If you would like to take a look what can be done with those little pieces please take a look at the Gallery at Prudence Mapstone´s website. What she does is breathtaking!

FFC Sloooow Progress

2007-06-11T16:18:00.000+02:00

Oh my, this is going to take a lot longer than I thought. Almost all the yarn in my stash is not working for FFC (FreeFormCrochet), well at least not for me as a beginner. It is too bulky or too hairy or too thin or too thick or too whatever. I´ll have to go find some other yarn for this project soon cause I think if I only use those 4 balls of yarn I have right now it will look a bit boring.
So here is where I am now:
Sloooow progress, I know! But I did quite a number of circles that went right into the trash. You live and learn...

Blue Book Cover

2007-06-09T14:37:00.001+02:00

Today I finished this book cover. I was looking for something to add and found those poetry dog tags I bought ages ago and never used. The book cover is for one of my sketch books, so I think the words "twisted", "fragile" and "beautiful" fit it. My thoughts are often twisted, my confidence for my ideas is often fragile and sometimes I create something beautiful despite the first 2.This is a mixture of techniques. First I added some wool with stitching, then I added some more wool and blue yarn with the embelilisher, then added some blue and turquois Lumiere paint, then again more stitching and finally the tags. The base fabric is some black comercial felt which I love using for this sort of projects. You don´t need any sort stabilizer and it is perfect to use with the embellisher.

Free form crochet - first steps

2007-06-06T21:16:00.000+02:00

Today I´ll show you the first few pieces for my free form crochet project. It will become - yes, a bag. These are some round forms and I hope to finish at least 20 more soon. They will then be sewn together and hopefully look like a bag ;-)
I´m still a total beginner, so the forms almost all look the same. I especially like the 3 bullions in the middle. I still have to find out what yarn is best for this sort of crochet project. Luckily I found Camanomade´s blog a few weeks ago. She has some great tips and tricks there for the crochet beginner.
Oh, and today I found Mitsuko´s wonderful blog. You have to take a look at her free form crochet. Absolutely gorgeous! I´ve never seen anything like this before.

Back with new bags

2007-06-03T12:43:00.000+02:00

Oh my, has it really been this long since my last post? Well, here I am, back to the world of fiber and fun and hope to be able to post on a regular basis again soon.
The reason I had been quiet for such a long time is mostly health-related. Long story, boring story, so let´s start again from here and see what news there are to show and tell.

To get back into working I started 2 small bags a few weeks ago. One is knitted and then embellished onto felt:
Nothing fancy, but it was fun to do. It´s 30cm x 28cm (11,5 x 10,5)

Next one is even smaller and my first crochet project since school.
It´s 21cm x 19cm (8,5 x 7,5) and done in one piece. I added some metallic beads I found in a drawer.

More dyeing and TAST

2007-02-23T13:34:00.000+01:00

And here is the next experiment on dyeing with silk paint. The left one is silk yarn like in the first experiment. The one in the middle is various wool yarns dyed with silver and purple. And the one on the right is wool, too, which is much better in reality than on the photo.
The silk dyeing with blue/black/green was a bit more time consuming because the rinsing took forever. Not sure why, but the blue didn´t wash out like the reds and yellows from the first skein.
The wool was interesting to work with. When I put it in the microwave little explosions occured and if I hadn´t put the lid on the box the microwave would now have a great colourful design on the inside.
Some of you had questions about the dyeing process. So here are a few answers, hope they will help.
Vicki asked how it worked and if I used cotton yarn.
I used silk yarn, as I think silk paint will only work on silk and wool, or any fiber from an animal. The dyeing in the microwave works like this:
Put the yarn in a container that is made for using in a microwave. Colour the yarn and make sure it is wet all over. Than put on a lit on the container, but make sure it isn´t closing completely, so the steam can get out of the container.
Turn the microwave to 600W and start with 30 seconds. Take a look if the yarn is still wet all over, maybe spritz with water and then give it another 30 seconds at 600W. Depending on the thickness of the yarn repeat this 3 or 4 times, so the minimum time is 2 minutes. I am not sure if a very thick yarn will take longer. Need to experiment on this.
Then rinse it til no colour comes out of the yarn and let dry or iron dry.
Amy asked where I found the yarn ready for dyeing. I ordered them from Texere in the UK. They have a great variety on threads and yarns to dye. Great service, too.

And here is my piece for TAST - Fly stitch. It is done with the burned pieces from the very first dyeing experiment.

Happy "dyeing" dance and TAST

2007-02-20T17:17:00.000+01:00

Oh, I´m so happy cause now I am "dyeing" my own yarn! It worked! Still can´t believe it.
The reason why it is sort of a fake dyeing is because I used silk paint. I had some bottles in the cellar from years ago when I did silkpainting. I wasn´t sure they would work at all after all these years, but they are like new. I found a tutorial for heat setting silk in the microwave and gave it a try. The first skein was a bit of a desaster, as the silk got too hot and burned in a few spots. I can still use some of it, but almost half is lost as it is tiny pieces with burned ends.
But the second one is absolutely perfect! I reduced the time in the microwave and spritzed with water every 30 seconds. I absolutely love these colours and thank god there are a few more bottles to use.
Doesn´t it look yummy?
It is so easy. The second skein was done in 5 minutes and it is almost dry already cause I ironed it a bit.
Now, as a novice to dyeing, is there a reason this is not a good idea to use up the silk paint? I guess that it is a quite expensive way of "dyeing", but as I already have those bottles, I can use them up as well, right?
Oh, I´m gonna try 2 more skeins tomorrow and then have to order some more yarn.
I´m so happy happy happy...

And here is the spice piece from yesterday turned into the TAST piece for Feather stitch.

TAST and NFC

2007-02-19T21:57:00.000+01:00

Not much to show, but at least 2 pieces for the challenges are done.

This one is for TAST week 6. The Eyelet stitch. It is done with various yarns and threads on a piece of an old blouse. Really like the colours and this stitch was a lot of fun to do.

And this is a piece for the NFC. Theme is "Spice" and I used some new materials I never used with the embellisher before. The base is an old piece of curtain in "spicy" colours. Then I layered 2 different sorts of thread on it. The were partly metallic, which gives a nice effect. On top are 2 layers of orange organza and then I very heavily punched all layers together. It´s almost postcard size and I think I will use it for the next TAST piece with Feather Stitch.

Wristband take 2

2007-02-08T15:05:00.000+01:00

Terri asked me how I did the closure on the wristband. Well to be honest, when I took the photo yesterday, it was a safety pin that held it together. But now I added a tiny opalescent button.
And as the photo really wasn´t a good one and didn´t show what I like best I did a scan and that is much better.
In the detail you can see quite well how the handstitching is still visible and how the thick thread almost pops out of the machine stitching. Almost 3D like.
I think I first saw this combination of hand- and machinestitching in a book by Beaney and Littlejohn. And I really like the effect you can achieve very easy and quick.

Cretan stitched piece finished

2007-02-07T22:10:00.000+01:00

Remember this piece? Here it is now, transformed into a wristband.
I added some extensive machinestitching in various purple tones and as a finishing touch orange. Now all I need is spring and temperatures to wear it with a T-Shirt or blouse.

Have you ever tried taking a photo of your right wrist? Try it - you will have a lot of fun, believe me... :-)

TAST Week 5 Chevron Stitch

2007-02-06T16:30:00.000+01:00

As I already mentioned in my last post I don´t like Chevron stitch. So I had to create something that would help me do this stitch. I had purchased a lovely polyester knitting yarn a few weeks ago and started out with it to create sort of a background. I then added the Chevron with a handdyed cotton thread and finally added some stitches to fill the open areas.
It´s still not one of my favourite pieces, but I like the colours a lot and might do something with the knitting yarn soon.

TAST Week 4 Cretan Stitch

2007-02-03T14:51:00.000+01:00

Oh, I´m late again...
Here is what I did so far with Cretan Stitch. I am planning on working on this piece a little more later. I will add some machine stitching and maybe some Organza or Chiffon and some beads. It´s in my head already, but right now there is no time to do it. It will become a wristband. At least I hope so.
This weeks stitch is Chevron. I haven´t even started on it, as I don´t like those linear/straight stitches. I´ll have to think about a way to use it in a free design. Maybe a look at the other participants work on flickr will help.

Gold for Textile Tuesday

2007-01-29T18:13:00.000+01:00

This little "Bookmark-Tassel-Ornament" was fun to make. It was inspired by a little bookmark featured in "Stitch" magazine this month. The tassel is my addition, as I thought the gold thread would be perfect for it. And I really like it this way. Might do some more of these bookmarks, as they are fun and easy to make and make great little gifts.

Emerald for Needlefelt Challenge

2007-01-26T20:54:00.000+01:00

Just finished this little piece for the Needle Felt Challenge. Theme was "Emerald" and it was a bit difficult for me to start as I don´t like green at all. But then it was fun and I am glad I was able to come out of my comfort zone.
I started with various hues of green as a base. Then added a thin layer of yellow wool roving. Then green organza and to finish it a bit of green chiffon.
It´s very threedimensional and that is what I like very much. I am not sure if I will add some beads later on. What do you think?
It´s a little larger than postcard size and I wish it was a lot larger. It would make a great little purse for the evening. So, as I don´t have a single piece of green in my wardrobe, I might try another piece with pink and purple or maybe blue and orange?

Needlefelt Challenge "Blue"

2007-01-22T00:42:00.000+01:00

Finally I did my first piece for the Needlefelt Challenge. The theme is "Blue".

It´s an experiment with various "techniques". It´s been fun to play and learn a few things. First thing is that working like this I have to chose colours with more contrast. In reality the different hues and tones of blue look good, but after being felted they all look a bit pale. On the photo it is almost impossible to see that there have been 4 different sorts of blue used in this piece.
Nothing very fancy, but a good sampler to learn from.

TAST - so much inspiration

2007-01-21T14:19:00.000+01:00

This Take a stitch Tuesday Challenge is so much fun! So many people joined and the inspiration is overwhelming. Here are 3 samples I really love.
Bonnie did 2 absolutely stunning masks. The first one is a few days back, so don´t miss scrolling down to see that one, too.
Marianne is working on a bag and adds to it every week. It is absolutely beautiful and I can´t wait to see what she will be adding next week.
Dy has created a stunning Gerbera. Words fail me to describe it. Take a look for yourself....
And there is so much more to see every week.

And here is another gorgeous piece. It is created by Momo for the Textile Tuesday Challenge. The theme is "Moon". Isn´t it a beauty?

Design idea from TAST

2007-01-20T18:03:00.000+01:00

Just been playing a bit on the computer cause the detached chain stitch piece reminds me of "Zierlauch". Sorry, I have no idea what it is called in englisch, but here are some pictures
I have to buy a lot more of this yummy thread first, but I think this might look real nice. Not sure how to do the stems. Stitching, too? Maybe with the same stitch or something completely different? Felt?
Unfortunately the fabric I used for the background is an off cut piece and I have no idea what it is exactly. I do remember where I bought it, so I will have to go there again and hopefully get some more. It seems to be a linen/polyester mix, but I am not sure.

TAST Week 3 Detached Chain

2007-01-19T20:57:00.000+01:00

And again, a fun piece. It is all detached chain stitch and is 12cm x 13cm. I loved the thread I used mostly. It´s a hand dyed variegated thread from a german company "Tentakulum". The threads they sell are sooo beautiful, but it is difficult to buy them as they don´t have an online shop. This is "Painter´s Thread Silk". I used up a hole skein on this piece. Oh, that felt sooo goooooooood.....

I also got me a little treat and bought 8 of the Double Trouble series books. One is about handstitching on machine stitching and vice versa. So I know what is on my to-do-list for next week.

DH is watching a movie about King Arthur right now, so a little time for the embellisher. I should have started on the Needlefeltchallenge some days ago...

Pain for TT

2007-01-15T23:16:00.000+01:00

The burning flame inside of me. Looks way to realistic to me, but it felt good to do it. It felt as some of my anger about my situation was stitched into it and I feel a bit better now.
It is black velvet, that I first handstitched with variegated thread. Then I cut into the velvet and layered it onto yellow felt, which now is visible through the cuts. Then I stitched onto it with the machine. It is 18cm x 13cm.

Just another challenge on my list

2007-01-13T18:27:00.000+01:00

Oh my, I joined another challenge. It´s about working with the embellisher and the details and some pictures and links can be seen on this blog
I know I must be crazy, doing all those challenges on a more or less weekly basis, but it really helps me to be creative. The last few months of 2006 have been so slow and non-creative, I just need something or somebody to get me going again.

So I hope I will be able to create pieces for all these challenges in 2007:
- Needlefeltchallenge (every friday)
- Take a stitch tuesday (every tuesday)
- Textile Tuesday (every tuesday)

I would love to join the Fast Friday Challenge, too, but I don´t think I will be able to create a quilt in such a short time. Well, I might be able, but I think doing a Journal Quilt each month is enough for this year. But looking at all these gorgeous quilts is a great source of inspiration. If you never heart of the Fast Friday Challenge, make sure to take a look or two.

I also decided to see 2007 as a year of experimentation. I don´t plan to do a large quilt or embroidered piece, but focus on small pieces, quilts, sampler, maybe some postcards and art dolls. I will try to experiment with as many materials and techniques as possible, not looking for a perfect finished piece but trying to learn by doing. Wish me luck, this will work out.

There is another little project I joined with our small german online group Texies. It is about a story by Michael Ende. It is a novel fragment and the title is "Der Niemandsgarten" (should translate to something like "NobodysGarden"). All participants are going to create one (or more) pieces inspired by this text. I just started reading but already have 3 different ideas in my head. If you know Michael Ende (and I´m sure you do - "Neverending story" - remember?) than I´m sure you understand why so many images appear after reading only a few pages. I think I will do a series, maybe one for each chapter or something like that. So those pieces might become a little booklet - not sure yet, but I think this would be perfect for this project.

OK, enough about things to come.
No, wait a second, am planning another project. I read about Nalbinding somewhere on the web, can´t recall the site right now, and was hooked. Have you ever heart about Nalbinding? It is also called One Needle Knitting, cause it is a technique to create wearable pieces like socks or hats. But it can also be used for doing Rugs. They are called Toothbrush-Rugs because you "knit" with a slightly modified wooden or plastic toothbrush. Now I can see you are curious, right?
Here is a tutorial from the Carol Duvall-Show. You can use up some of the quilt fabric stash, especially those pieces you never stop to wonder why on earth you bought them.
And believe me, I have tons of them. So it will be a colourful Rug....

Buttonhole stitch for TAST

2007-01-12T14:31:00.000+01:00

This was fun and easy. I´m not a fan of buttonhole stitch, well not a fan of most straight stitches, as I like to work in curves, free meandering lines and such. This way of using Buttonhole was inspired by the german textile artist Hildegard Braatz. I tried to find some pictures of her works on the net, but without success. So sorry, no links. She does beautiful contemporary art quilts but also small handstitched pieces.