29 August 2014

Grace came over to play

My neighbor Grace is not a fiber artist. She is a photographer but likes to play none the less!! She has made a book with me before so I thought some dyed threads would be great for sewing coptic bindings. Today I decided to take a more Ombre approach unlike the "first strike threads" from a few posts ago. 

While I was doing my recycling separation I came across some cookie plastic holders and thought "THREAD". So...



Wet embroidery thread (Aunt Lydia's Crochet yarn) in the cookie trays



Dye on. Nice ombre effect.



With soda ash added.


Wet out of the washer in skeins and...



Opened to dry



Dried and re-twisted



Details - so yummy!!


27 August 2014

The Maine Event

This past weekend was the 5th Maine Event. I started hosting a SAQA "parlor meeting" on steroids four years ago. I haven't been a member of SAQA for two years so I have dropped the affiliation with SAQA but the event will continue as before. I am adding a Five Buck Dyeing Day to the Friday before the wine and cheese reception where anyone can come and learn how to do LWI dyeing, various shibori techniques or just do their own thing - all dye included. This is the flier for this years event so I don't have to go on and on. Sorry about the formating (ugh!)



2014 5th Annual SAQA Maine Event
Welcome to the 5th annual Maine SAQA Event.

Our event is being hosted at the Searsport Congregational Church right in the center of town (we were there before). Friday night you are welcomed to a wine and cheese reception at Beth Berman’s house followed by dinner at your choice of restaurant. Lunch will be a buffet at the church and the Saturday night banquet will be catered at the church from 5:30 to 6:30.
Registration:  Please email  Beth Berman at beth.from.maine@gmail.com . Pay upon arrival at Maine Event.
Registration Fee: $25.00 which will include the Friday night wine and cheese reception and Saturday’s lunch buffet at the church
Friday Dinner: After the reception, feel free to eat at the place of your choosing.
Saturday Banquet: We will have a catered dinner served at the church followed by the Show and Tell. All are invited to both the buffet and Show and Tell. Cost of dinner TBA.SC 
Schedule of Events
Friday August 22
5 pm Wine and Cheese reception at Beth Berman’s house
7 pm – Dinner on your own

Saturday August 23
Searsport Congregational Church
10 am Fabric Painting and sunprinting – Judy Marble
LUNCH
 1 pm  Fiber scarf - Cheri Rose Bergeron
 3 pm   Pin Weaving- Michele O’Neil Kinkaid
5:30 pm Dinner Banquet
6:30 pm Show and Tell
Sunday August 24
10am   Natural dyeing – Donna Johnson  at  Beth’s house


We had such a great time and next year it will be a bit longer with the dyeing day. I only have 4 pictures but perhaps someone will send me some to add. It was such a great time.

The scarf workshop with soluble interfacing sandwiches!!





And here is a Pepsi commercial that was shot at the church and adjoining Peneobscot Marine Museum behind my house in 1973

25 August 2014

New Sketchbook



When I was stamping the new bug stamps into my sketchbook I realized I was 2 signatures from the end. Of course each signature is 16 single pages. Lots of mixed feelings about my sketchbook. It has become part of me so I am sorry to put it on the shelf with the other sketchbooks but then there is the excitement of making a new sketchbook and starting a new adventure.

I went through my paste paper and really loved this one I did with my neighbor Grace and friend Marcella.


Ten large sheets of watercolor paper

Signatures done. Ten signatures of 16 pages each. They are pretty thick with this paper. 


The paste paper and binder board cut out


Stitched in lavender waxed linen.


Front


Back


The book is 10" X 7" with each sheet 6" X 9" and each spread 12" X 9". This is a wonderful size, every useful.

22 August 2014

BUGS!

I have been wanting to make 6" bug stamps for a long time. One of my friends just loves insects and I know she would love a small book with bugs on the front and back cover. 


These are the insects I have chosen to make stamps. 



I love this one but when I sketched it onto the carving material it looked too flat.



Here is the first one carved and mounted on to a piece of Plexiglas.



Each stamp and it's stamped image for examination.









This is the back of each piece of paper with the graphite added. You can see the lines where my ball point pen traced the outline on the other side depositing the graphite onto the carving material.



In the sketchbook









20 August 2014

Lemonade is made

I had these two pieces I wanted to do "something" with since I dislike leaving any project undone. This first piece was one of the first deconstructed screen prints I ever made. Thank goodness I got better at it!!



This was an interfacing stencil that was fine as far as it went but didn't go far enough.




I over dyed the entire piece which is almost 2 yards long.


Here it is dried.


Beautiful blue "clouds"


I took some of the deconstructed screen print and used it as a back on a small quilt I made.



The rest I used to "clean up" after a thickened dye party. You can see the faint colors from the original piece peeking through.


Then I decided to add more crows to the interfacing stencil piece. I had 5 stamps and made 3 more.


They are mounted on Plexiglas





Heat set. Maybe a whole cloth quilt??


18 August 2014

Through our Hands Magazine issue 2

This is a cut and paste from a newsletter. Click on the top picture and it will take you to an online magazine with the ability to turn pages, click to enlarge and scroll to enlarge even more. This is an amazing gift, a free magazine done with all the fine photography and interesting articles of a top shelf publication. Please read and I'm sure you will treasure it as much as I do.


Through Our Hands
Issue 2
Out Now!

Pull up that chair, grab a cup of coffee and join us for a look at the 2nd issue of our fabulous free magazine, packed with beautiful textiles and inspirational artwork. Just click on the image above to discover fascinating articles by Michala Gyetvai, Annette Morgan, Helen Cobby, Margaret Cooter and lots, lots more. 



We're a small team here at Through Our Hands and we are delighted to be joined at the magazine by Linda Kemshall, who is a very welcome addition to the editorial team. She starts this quarter on the 'Soapbox' with a must-read article on quilt show judging and continues feeding body as well as mind with 'Starving Artist'. Meanwhile Annabel tells us all about her approach to painting the faces in her amazing 'Life' quilts. Also in the spotlight are names that might not be so familiar to you yet such as Louisa Boyd whose works on paper are beautiful. All in all, over 70 pages of inspiration all for free!

We'd love you to share the magazine, so have produced something that can be easily emailed to friends or even embedded on your own website or blog. Please pass it on to anyone you think might enjoy it!  You can share the link on Facebook, Twitter and email. Over the next few days we'll be updating the Through Our Hands website and will be adding a printable version should you want to print it out.

We'd also love your feedback so please let us know what you think - we'll be here, hiding behind the sofa nervously.


Love Annabel, Laura and Linda
x

If you'd like even more eye-candy head over to the Through Our Hands website where you'll find portfolios of amazing work by the Through Our Hands artists such as Sue Benner, Mirjam Pet-Jacobs and Linda Barlow. You'll also find our blog, videos and online store of books and unique small works.


www.throughourhands.co.uk


Sue Benner: 'Dear Sunflower, Tell me More'