A Walk in the Enchanted Forest

And that was the Enchanted Forest yesterday. I didn't take pictures of the people but there were over 100 here so we feel it was quite successful.

A Little Preview

Here is a little preview of some of the pots you might see if you come to our art show tomorrow.
The trails are groomed, we'll be putting up lines and ropes for hanging later today and hanging the art tomorrow morning. We are open to the public from 1 PM until around 6 PM. Everyone is welcome.

Tie Dye

Today I dyed a few t shirts. This one is by far the most successful. The others are much more diffused, probably because the knit is not so tight. Also, I got them at the thrift store and the labels were cut off so I'm not sure they were 100% cotton. This one makes up for all the rest though. I just love how it turned out.

Background Options

I finally moved these boxes to the center of my design wall and started playing around with backgrounds. With the orange background I was sort of thinking of an explosion.


I'm afraid the boxes get lost in this dark background so those triangles will have to go into the parts drawer.
I want to try some purple but don't have any suitable fabric. Does that mean I have to go fabric shopping? It sounds like it to me.

Paint Job

Our freezer broke down and the drier was taking three hours to dry a load of towels so we bit the bullet and bought a new front loading washer, drier and chest freezer. While the old ones were out (I did keep the old washer connected until the new one arrives but in the summer I hang my laundry outside) and the new ones not delivered yet, we decided to paint the laundry room. I always hated the previous color. We had a nice antique brown for the kitchen but not enough for the laundry room. We thought we'd just add some white but it turned a really ugly pink. We used it anyway, not wanting another trip to town. I am so glad it's finally covered with a nice pale yellow. Now I hope our new appliances will be delivered soon.

Enchanted Forest Show Redone

The general consensus is that this is a better picture of how the forest show will look. I didn't like it as well because my chicken quilt doesn't show up as nicely but it is more the idea of how they will be hung. As you walk along the trails you will come upon art just hung wherever the artist decides. There will be a LOT of space so it should be interesting.

Enchanted Forest Show

Here is a little preview of what will be happening here next Sunday (if it doesn't rain). We are planning an outdoor show of paintings, quilts, pottery and any other art that people bring. We'll hanging the art in the morning, open to visitors at noon and end with a wiener roast at 6. Everyone is welcome and if any nearby bloggers are interested, you can contact me for driving directions. I can't believe how beautiful quilts look in the dappled light of the woods. I can't wait to hang them all up!

Cleaning Up

Yesterday I spent a lot of time cleaning the studio. I still haven't re-organized my fabric and notions but decided that would have to wait for another day. The cuffs above are a bit plainer. Some boys have shown some interest so I thought I'd do some that are a bit more masculine. Not sure that I succeeded though. I love embellishments too much.


These are winter/Christmas themed ones. If I have a sale in November people might be interested in these. It's hard to think of winter right now. We had a huge thunder storm last night and lots of rain.

Lazy Susan

I found this sewing lazy susan at the thrift shop. It sits on a table beside my sewing machine. I put the spools that are almost empty on it. I use them for hand sewing and don't like to mix them with full spools. The full ones on here are too tall to fit into my spool box. It also holds some extra feet that won't fit in the tool box and a couple of lint brushes. It was still in the original box that looked like something from the 70's.

Group Cuff Therapy

Yesterday Lori and Angelica and I made some more cuffs. Angelica made the two on the left. They are a different shape that I normally make. The one on the right has lines made with textured fabric paint.



The one on the left is a Christmas themed one . I thought that if I have a craft table in November it might be nice to have some like that.

Cuff Mania

Here is one of the chokers from yesterday with a matching cuff now. It sits at an angle on the neck so it won't sit properly on the shelf without being held up.


This is the newest choker with the matching cuff half done.

Sewing With Friends

Brenda and Lori came over today and we made cuffs together.


This is a choker and matching cuff that I made.


Another wider choker. It pretty much chokes me!


Brenda's Wizard of Oz cuff.


Lori's autumn cuff.
We had so much fun that we are planning another cuff making day very soon.

Morning Walk

We live on the Prairies.

Pillow Cases

Lori, your pillowcases are finished!

Ugly Can be Beautiful

Or silk purse from sow's ear. Or would it be the opposite in this case? I found this very ugly purse in the thrift shop. The little hearts are perfect for my cuffs.


You can see the little hearts on the two bottom ones here. They look blue but they are silver and reflect the light. The glittery gold mesh doesn't show up very well on the first one but when you see it in the right light it looks very nice.

Are You Bored Yet?

I'm not as you can see. On the middle one I tried a different shape. The one one the right is more masculine. A ten year old boy told me they were cool so I guess boys could wear them too. Who knew? The one on the right has a pink feather on the top and is all covered with an iridescent mesh. The gold leaves were stamped on black fabric for a mandala that didn't work out. Now they have a new life on a cuff.

Creative Day

Yesterday my friend, Lori, and I spent the afternoon dyeing shirts (unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the results) and making cuffs. Here are the ones I started and finished this morning. My favorite is the purple and blue one. These four all have velcro fastenings.
I also sold 4 of them, which was totally unexpected.

Cuff of the Day

And my toes. Too bad the sun disappeared just before I took this photo. All the gold really sparkles and that doesn't show up in the picture at all. The blue things are fabric beads made by wrapping triangles of Chinese silk brocade around wooden skewers and putting a dab of glue on the tip to keep them rolled.
Because of the strange perspective it looks enormous. It's actually 2.5 inches by about 8.5 inches.

More on the Boxes

I made a few more boxes and re-arranged them. This could go on for quite some time. They look too static right now. I might try them more spaced out so they don't look so piled up.

I dyed some fabric for the background but wasn't satisfied with the color. I did two shades of blue but both turned out too muted and with not enough mottling for what I wanted. I may try later today with some muslin that has a pattern and see how that looks.

A New Technique

I wanted to try a technique from Quilting Arts magazine so I made another cuff. This technique was to quilt and then color with Shiva Paintsticks. On the right side I stippled, not very expertly. I can do it a lot better on my frame but it's difficult to attach something 3x6 inches to a frame that will hold a king sized quilt. After I stippled I went over it with a pink paintstick. On the left side I echoed the curve of the stamped shape and then used a luminous grey paintstick. I added dark beads to the light triangles in the centre piece of fabric. These little cuffs are perfect for trying out new ideas and techniques.