Color. Color. Color

Just loved this picture. Look for more to come, once I figure out what to do with the little yo-yo's.

Squares.Circles.Squares

This quilt is still a work in progress. I reverted back to a traditional quilting pattern and just wanted to really work with the colors of my sweaters. I also needed to get a feel of how the squares would go together. Felted sweaters are not the easiest fabric to sew on. There is a lot of give to the squares and I love to have things stay square and my points match. Thanks Mom and Dawn!

I am not one to follow directions or a pattern and without my Mom and friend Dawn I am not sure I would have progressed as a artist. I know now that I have to have the base of knowledge to become really good. I want my pieces to be constructed so that they will hold up for years to come. I am using almost all recycled material and I want the pieces I make to be used and reused.

Ocean and Oranges

I know I am on a roll posting all these blogs in one day, but I have been thinking, working, creating and fretting on how to do a blog. I finally decided just jump in with both feet and maybe I will get better at it. It is just like anything else it life...

This Ocean and Orange quilt is for Baby Boy Braga. I made this quilt before we started working on the studio. It is what made me convinced that I had to have the studio, no matter what. Thankfully, I had... yes...HANDIE HUBBIE! Oh you want a picture of him. Dream on he is all mine! He is available for hire and pretty handy with a hammer.

Back to Baby Boy Braga and his quilt. It was easier for me to think about where the quilt was going when I was designing it. I decided I need to just always picture that my work is going to go to a good home that will love the little stitches I have put into it. I just can't wait until Baby Braga is here and he can cuddle up in his quilt.

Yo-Yo. Yum-Yums

Are these not the cutest little pieces of fabric that you have ever seen? I just see so many possibilities of things I can make with them. I wonder if it was like this for our Grandma's when they first started making yo-yos. I am not sure of the history of them, but I know that they must have created a stir when they first came out!

What can I make with these little nuggets???

I started by getting out my red Pendleton wool remnant that my Mom had given me. I washed it in hot water and dried it to felt it down. I then glued (yes, glued my little yo-yos) into place. It was so much easier to work with them. It was so easy to glue them down, but now I have to sew them into place. That takes more time than I thought, when I was gluing down a bunch of yos.

I started gluing them to felted wool sweater pieces and now I have to decide to make a quilt or a pillow. So many possiblities.

Moscow. Moscow. Moscow

Moscow Farmers Market is one of my favorite things to do on Saturday mornings. Usually, handie hubbie and the boys are with me and we all love to go to the market. I had a wonderful time going with Mom and getting in line for the freshest veggies for our salad.

Right in the middle of squeezing tomatoes and discussing lentils a flash of fabric caught my eye and I had to go see what was going on at this wonderful little booth. The artist had oodles of quilts, pillows, place mats and more made out of the little yo-yos of fabric and recycled denims. Her use of color and the quality of her work was so fabulous and inspiring. I had to have a pillow, and then I found out she would sell me some of the yo-yos. She loves to just sew them up. She sold me a ziplock full of the most colorful pieces of fabric I had seen. It was heaven to go through all those little pieces of paradise captured in a small piece of fabric. What a treasure I had found at the little booth at the Moscow Farmers Market. I haven't posted a picture of her work, since I don't really have her permission. Hopefully, I will get it from her. I have to contact her and say how much I have loved the yo-yos.

Palouse. Palouse. Palouse

Driving through the palouse hills is like no other experience I have ever had. The trip was so beautiful. I was snapping these pictures out the window as I was doing 70mph. I finally had to stop, becuz I was more into the scenery than the driving!

When I went over it was harvest time. The fields were all a golden, honey color. The wheat was ready to be harvested. I spent a summer in these fields getting up at 4 am and watching the sun come up over the wheat. It starts out a deep blue green color and rolls like ocean waves when the wind blows. My grandfather use to farm these fields and had a love for this area that he passed to my Mom and on down to me. Not that I want to give up Rain City, but it does stir something deep inside of me. Just like the pine trees that I love.

Move in. Move in. Move in.

My newly created studio space is calling out to me to leave the dishes, ignore the kids and come out to play. I decided that I only had a few days to create and get moved in before I left for my trip over to my Mom's house in Idaho. I wanted to start with the bulky sweaters, so I could free up some room in the studio.

I just loved the feel of those heavy sweaters. They just make me want to curl up under them with a good book. I decided to sew this lap quilt all by hand. (Becuz I couldn't find my power cord to my sewing machine)

There is a wonderful feeling when you have your own space to create. It is something that I so desperately needed. I don't know what it is in me, that pushes me to put things together and appreciate the beauty of the threads. I love the feel of fabric, the wide variety of fibers. I just love everything about it. The colors, the textures....I could go on...Okay I will stop here!

Studio.Studio.Studio

My garden shed, play house, cabana has become my studio. It was not an easy process, but with the expert skills of Handie Hubbie we have almost completed my studio. One of the biggest challenges is that it is only 8x8 and I have a lot of sweaters. I also needed a place for the sewing machine, cutting area, ironing board and lots of storage for all those beautiful sweaters.

A friend stopped by and said, "oh no, that will not all fit in there!" Friends are suppose to go along with your fantasy that it will all some how magically fit into a small space.

Sweaters.Sweaters.Sweaters

Oh My....What have I started. I have been collecting wool sweaters from thrift stores for a couple of months. This idea keeps brewing in my brain that I can reuse them and create things that are funtional and beautiful.

Well... now I have the sweaters and the ideas, so I need a place to create. The boys have recaptured the family room for their space, so I have to move out to the cabana in the backyard.

Check out all the boxes in the cabana. I have a lot of wool sweaters. More than any one person should ever have. What if it rains? I do live in Rain City USA, so I am going to have to have a dry space. So the idea for the studio has to become a reality. Handy Hubbie I have a project for you.