WIPs (Works in Progress) - February 2014

The beginning of a five day weekend and I am feeling pretty good about that!  Here are some photos of WIPs that I am working on during my little break (photos taken and edited with my iPad) .

Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle idea with a positive message coming soon....

Fun project that my boys and I are going to be doing...

Starting a very neon weaving soon - will need my actual camera and better lighting to get a truly accurate portrayal of these colors, once finished.  Nice try, iPad.

Various small embroidery and cross stitch projects that I hope to frame and group on the wall soon.  I heart Parks and Rec!

Using up some of my yarn supply by making a large striped blanket.  This has been a great stress reliever at night lately - especially when paired with watching (and re-watching) episodes of Girls.

Enjoy your weekend and stay warm!

Crochet-Embroidered Wall Hangings

Just a quick post to share something I created recently. I have been wanting to add more color and texture to my walls so thought I would create some crocheted pieces to hang on the wall.

I had some of my favorite yellow yarns left from other projects so I used them to crochet some different sized circles. Then I used some felt and thread that I had to work on some embroidery and add text and more color. I really like how these turned out and now just have to figure out where I want to hang them.

Hope you enjoy a safe and fun holiday week!

Written

A couple of months ago, I read the book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller.  At its core, it is about the story we are each currently living and the story we actually want to live.  I found it to be so inspirational and read it very quickly.  As I read, I would jot down quotes that impacted me.  There was one that stood out to me the most and I found myself reading it over and over. 

I decided I wanted to remember that quote and be inspired by it every day.  I knew I wanted to frame it but didn't want to just print it, paint it, write it, etc.  I loved the idea of some kind of fiber version of it on my wall so I tried my hand at embroidery.  Now, I have been playing with embroidery for just a few months and make up the stitches on my own.  Below is my version of this quote:

"I feel written, my skin feels written, and my desires feel written."



I started out by writing the quote in my own handwriting (no frills) on muslin and stretching onto an embroidery hoop.



Then I stitched the words in black thread and used some white thread to highlight a bit.



I embellished around the words in a circle.  Then I cut out the circle and stitched onto a piece of cream colored felt.



I kept with the circles around and around.  I wanted to add color but wanted the words to stand out on their own so avoided going overboard.



Ta-da!  The finished piece framed on my wall above one of my other photos.  Simple, imperfect but the words stand out. 

What books and quotes inspire you?

Sunday Snippets

Here are some projects and blog posts that I'm working on and hope to post soon.  In the meantime, here are some snippets for this lovely Sunday.

Easy and colorful wall art.  There are so many great ideas online and I have a couple of ideas that I've tried.  It doesn't have to be fine art to be fun and add color and whimsy to your walls.  More on this later...

A fun, geometric table runner that is in the works.



Photo challenge ideas...





Granny Square madness...



Embroidered wall art inspired by this quote from Donald Miller's book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.

My obsession with journals and gratitude...

Enjoy your Sunday!

Folky Fiber Book

My mom is a quilter.  A few months ago, she came to visit and we had lunch and visited a local fabric shop.  I've always been drawn to colorful and patterned paper, beads, markers, felt, yarn, and anything else that is colorful.  Only recently have I caught the colorful fabric bug as well.  The problem is that I don't really sew and I don't quilt.  I don't have a clue how to use a sewing machine.  Regardless, I've gradually started incorporating fabric into different projects. 

This particular fabric shop was like a candy store - colors, patterns, textures - it was intoxicating.  My mom insisted on buying me some fabric (and who am I to refuse).  I brought it home and then it sat here for a bit because I wasn't sure what to do with it.  I tend to do that sometimes.  I am mostly self taught in many different arts and crafts.  I am always wanting to learn something else.  I am often envious of people who have just one passion and excel at that one thing.  Lately though, I started thinking about the different mediums and things I know how to do.  What if I started to find ways to pull it all together?  Photography, writing, crochet, embroidery, chainmaille, jewelry, recycled materials, etc.  That is what set the idea of this blog in motion.  Maybe my passion is to combine art forms into one that suits me.

As that idea came together, I started this project as a gift for my mom.  She was my inspiration.  I wanted it to be colorful, full of texture, use mediums that I know she likes, and full of positive words.



I started by crocheting the front and back cover for the book.

I then worked on each page of the book.  I'm new to embroidery and I kind of make it up as I go along.  I worked a word into each page, embroidered on fabric, and then sewed the pages onto 4x4 pieces of felt or crocheted 4x4 granny squares.

The pages started to stack up as I went.  I worked on this over the course of a couple of months.  I wasn't always consistent with how often I worked but I tend to work that way.  I would prefer to finish a project I love as it comes to me, rather than force myself to finish sooner and then not be crazy about it.

Music always helps the process flow.  I was digging Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros quite a bit during this project. 

More pages...one is a textured felt background and the other is a granny square of the same size in white acrylic yarn.

Putting it all together was the tricky part for me.  I started out by binding the pages to a sturdy piece of felt.  I figured this would be a good way to bind the pages and make sure they are secured and can still be turned easily.

Once they were bound to the brown felt, I crocheted the spine and sewed the felt with the pages to the spine.

The bound pages from the inside of the book.

The spine attached to my cover.  It must be my folk roots but I love a rustic feel to my projects.  I left the edges of the fabric on my pages frayed and I crocheted the edges of the spine to have a frayed look too.

The front cover and the finished product.

My mom loved it and I was really pleased to see my idea come to fruition.  I'm excited to try some other ideas for mixed media fiber books.  I'm thinking about incorporating some different chainmaille techniques for a more industrial look and maybe trying to incorporate fiber and paper collage art.

First blog post complete!  I have more projects, ideas, and snippets of things I'm working on in store.  Please feel free to share my blog with others.  Thanks for reading!