Turning a New Page

I have wanted to make a fabric book for a long time... This is silk, linen and silk velvet combined with lace edged cotton for a reversible cover that I will add pages to.

Here is the full front and back before and after tea dyeing:

I knew the fabrics would absorb the colour differently, adding contrast and pattern - the silks are darker than the cotton, linen and lace.

Unicorns Are Real

Shimmering and shining...

And unexpectedly, a unicorn following a path to the stars. I could have made a more 'perfect' unicorn if I planned it - perhaps a white, slim elegant one with a mysterious look - but I just grabbed the closest jean scrap and outlined it quickly and discovered how tricky the applique was on those tiny pointed ears. So - not elegant, but making do - learning as I go along, using what I have and accepting what comes - my version.

That fits what a unicorn symbolizes to me - not what's perfect but what's real.

Scrap Happy

A night sky in progress: And imagine my joy when I found that this old Hungarian cotton tablecloth I bought for a dollar at a garage sale has mended patches and holes! Signs of being loved and valued.

I notice how I'm drawn to the smallest scraps that seem to magnetically pair together, becoming more beautiful - the simple beauty of fabric itself.

This one reminds me of a feather.

And I have been developing a focal point with machine stitch in this piece - but still have further emphasis to add. I am understanding what it's saying to me now.

New Blooms

Here's a developing piece I'm making as part of the Mark Making with Machine class using fabrics I've dyed and stamped, as well as a few solids. I chose to rip strips and have the hems facing up for maximum texture. Former classes I've taken with Nancy Crow and Jude Hill came to mind, as it is strip pieced but looks a little woven. I will be adding stitch and any embellishment I think will enhance it. And my second year of blogging book arrived today, along with some crocuses in the garden.

And I have another fabric weaving on the go...

Altered Weaving

Weaving a weaving of woven fabrics into a weaving - if you can get your head around that! And I am now wearing my heart on my sleeve.

Heart Wear

I finished stitching this today and suddenly had an idea... What if I put it onto the sweatshirt I was wearing?

I am so pleased with this - as it feels really 'me'. I also made a patch for one of the sleeves -

to cover a bit of existing design - so I will be wearing my heart on my sleeve!

Textures Found and Made