Embellished 'Silk Scraps' Journal Cover- Part 3 of 3

Adding more beads to the journal cover.

 

Additional iridescent beads and new clear ones in close-up.

 

A line of gold glass beads marches along the silk edge.

 

The finished cover with a standard 'Composition Book' inside.



 Now, a line of small metal rings 'joins the fray'! :)

 

The fully embellished cover.

 

To complete the project, I stitched on a braided yarn bookmark...

 

...with a pink leather tab.

 

Those of you who know me well...

...are probably out there scratching your heads...

...over the abundance of embellishment on this journal.

No...it's not my favorite thing...

...but somehow, this time, I got carried away! :)

I took three doubled strands of festive yarn...

...and braided them into a soft bookmark.

A small rectangle of dyed pink leather finishes it off.

Embellished 'Silk Scraps' Journal Cover- Part 2 of 3

A close up of the nubby texture of the nuno felted cover.

 

You'll notice that where the fabric edges were thicker...

 

...or folded-in on themselves a little bit...

...I got a more opaque line of demarcation.



Now, on to the embellishments!

 

I sewed on diamond-shaped metallic beads...

...and a few dark, iridescent glass ones.




I even hand embroidered the cover in spots!

Here's a clutch of teeny-tiny glass seed beads...



...and a jumbo-sized bead in pale blue glass. 

 

To make different sections of this journal cover really 'pop'...

...I hand-embroidered along the margins of some of my silk pieces.

I also sewed on lots of beads in various sizes, colors and materials...

...and there are more beads yet to come! :)

Next time: the finished cover...

...with a braided yarn bookmark.

Embellished 'Silk Scraps' Journal Cover- Part 1 of 3

Sorting scraps of silk fabric...

 

...and placing them on the resist.

 

A blob of red reminds me 'which' side is 'which'! :)



Midway through felting (back side)... 

...and front. 

 

The finished and dried cover.

 

Trimming a nice oval in the felt for easy book insertion.

 

The back side of the finished journal cover.

 

This is (finally) the last of my 'summer journal covers'!

For this one, I used small scraps of dyed silk fabric...

...and worked inside-out.

After covering the scraps with layers of blue roving...

...I felted the cover in the usual fashion...

...turning it right-side out and trimming it, to finish the process.

Next time: the embellishment begins!! :)

"My Life" Sculpture/Cowl- Part 3 of 3

Twisted upon itself as a sculpture...



...or opened up into a cowl... 

...there is very nearly every color of the rainbow here... 

 

...depending on where you look!

 

Because I have one daughter who is particularly fond of handmade felt..

...this piece has now been appropriated for use as a cowl.

 

It can be twisted around to suit the color of her jacket...

 

...or to highlight a new section of the piece when she gets bored.

 

Good-bye sculpture!! :)

 

Now that you have a better idea of the scale of this project...

...you can imagine how large it was in the pre-felt stage.

I'm delighted that "My Life" has now found new purpose(!) as a cowl...

...instead of sitting around on a shelf, collecting dust. :)

"My Life" Sculpture/Cowl- Part 2 of 3

Making more cuts into the partially felted piece.



The stitched and snipped project...

...prior to... 

...and during the final felting. 

The finished and dried piece after more 'scissors surgery'...

 

...can be twisted one way into a sculpture...

 

...or another...

 

...revealing shocking sections of color...

 

...like a geode or a millefiori bead!

 

As you can see...

...'my life' is not exactly as it may have first appeared! :)

By taking a pair of sharp scissors to the finished felt...

...we get a peek inside the dense, multi-layered layout...

...and into my colorful life, as well! ;)

Next time: more photos of the finished project as sculpture...

...and also, worn as a cowl!!

An Unusual House-Guest!

What looked at first like an oddly shaped shadow on my living room curtain...



...now back in the front yard where she/he belongs! 

 

"We interrupt our regularly scheduled blog post...

...for an Insect Update!" Giggle.

Looking out my front window mid-day yesterday...

...I noticed a strange shadow on the lace curtain.

Could it be?

Why, yes! A praying mantis was actually inside my house!

I guess the light brown color was as close as she could get to white. :)

After gently trapping her in a large, lidded container...

...my daughter and I placed her back into the front yard, from whence she came.

Although she wandered off before I could get a photo of her in her new, green camouflage...

...having her 'visit' was an exciting treat on an otherwise dull day!

"My Life" Sculpture/Cowl- Part 1 of 3

Laying out seven layers of wool that feel pertinent to my life, in this moment...

 

...then incremental layers of wool, fiber and fabric that reflect both my youth and old age.

 

Wetting out the project...

 

...and turning it into a pre-felt.

 

After drying, hand-stitching it with strong, nylon thread...



...and making cuts into the partially felted wool. 

Synthetic threads, shown here, only partially felted in...

 

...and some areas were snipped to showcase inner color layers and inclusions.

 

The most ambitious project that I made in Marjolein Dallinga's class in August...

...was this large felt piece reflecting a timeline of my life.

We were encouraged to think about both now and about our past...and to imagine our future...

...and to lay out fabric and fiber that honored our memories and gave voice to our dreams.

This kind of introspection requires a lot of thought...

...and it was as fascinating to see some of my classmates' choices...

...(the sparkly black fabric of a hard-partying college phase!)...

...as it was to try to signify the fresh air of my bike-riding childhood...

...or the blush of my burgeoning womanhood.

Next time: the piece begins to take shape.