Philadelphia Invitational Furniture Show 2013- Part 2 of 2

Lori Lupe Pelish is an art quilt maker...

...who also creates these marvelously intricate hooked rugs from wool.

 

The artisans at The Natural Woodworking Company...

...use Appalachian hardwoods in their work...

 

...while at Meb's Kitchenware...

...they employ their own, regional, New England hardwoods in crafting their inventive items.

 

Furniture, cabinetry and lighting are the mainstay of Ouldcott's business...



 ...and the exceptional and singular turned wood vessels of Michael Mode...

...were absolutely luminous up close.

 Ann Roantree (shown here with her husband)...

...crafts elegant, architecturally inspired rugs and interior textiles.

With a focus on two complimentary colourways this season...

...Butterfield Pottery had much to admire...

 

...and these translucent Aspen wood lampshades by Peter Bloch...

...provided an ethereal and otherworldly glow.

  

Thanks to all of you who kindly permitted photographs.

It was lovely meeting each and every one of you!

Philadelphia Invitational Furniture Show 2013- Part 1 of 2

This past weekend, the 23rd St. Armory in Philadelphia...

...was fitted out with many wonderful booths.

Here's just a sampling:

 

Functional and decorative blown glass...

...by the charming Jim Loewer.

 

Beautifully crafted outdoor planters...

...by Gretz Craft.

 

Laminated wood and molded plywood furniture featuring creatively re-purposed metal parts...

...by the delightful Clint Parker.

 

These handsome craftsmen from Philadelphia Woodworks...

...were on hand to offer classes and membership opportunities.

 

Walnut Wood Works strives to honor the natural shape of a chosen piece of wood.

 

Claudia Mills' beautiful and lovingly crafted rugs...

...provided a welcome jolt of color.

 

This father and son team...

...form the brains and brawn behind Harrington Design Studio.

 

As you can see...

...I recently spent an enjoyable morning at the Philadelphia Invitational Furniture Show.

In addition to the oh, so welcome experience of spending a beautiful spring Sunday downtown...

...I was able to engage in interesting conversations with many of the talented vendors at this intimate show.

Next time: we'll meet a few more artists...

...including two more rug makers!

'Painterly' Two-Layer Purse- Part 3 of 3

After tucking the lining into the interior of the bag...

...a view of the purse back...

 

...and front.

 

Fashioning a leather flap for a closure...



...and carefully cutting out the center of the stitched buttonhole. 

 

The handmade leather strap and flap are attached next...

 

...and the button is sewn on.

A view of the purse front...



...and back. 

 

The lining of the purse...

...with pockets.

 

After sewing the open end of the lining closed...

...I tucked it into the body of the bag...

...to create a two-layer purse.

Next, I machine stitched around the top of the purse...

...to hold the lining in place.

From sour apple green leather, I fashioned a strap and flap...

...and stitched them both to the bag.

Finding a ceramic button in 'just the right color'...

...was the icing on the cake!

'Painterly' Two-Layer Purse- Part 2 of 3

Removing the resist midway through felting...

...by cutting open the project at the 'lining end'.

 

Snipping the pockets open...

...to remove the thin plastic resists within.

 

The finished felt on one side...

 

...and on the other.

 

Turning the project inside-out...

...and sewing the 'lining end' mostly closed...

 

...leaving a small opening...

 

...for turning it right side out again...

 

...then hand-stitching the opening closed.

 

Because this project is both outer layer and lining in one...

...it's rather simple to 'assemble' the bag once the felting is complete.

By temporarily turning the bag inside out in order to stitch the lining closed...

...I avoid an ugly seam on the inside of the purse.

Next time: the finished bag...

...with leather accents.

'Painterly' Two-Layer Purse- Part 1 of ?

Laying out 'teased open' sections of roving to cover the resist...

 

...rather than 'perpendicular shingles' (my usual method).

 

Wetting out side one.

(The yellow end will become the purse lining.)



Flipping the resist over to side two...



...and adding another layer of roving.

 

In order to achieve the desired thickness...

...I added one additional layer of wool to each side.

I also added inner pockets...one in each yellow section.

 

I found that I struggled a bit with this unpracticed layout technique...

....but I do love the way that it retains strong 'bursts' of color in the final piece.

 

The spot of orange you see is not a 'which side is which' marker this time...

...but merely the repair of a thin area in one of my pockets. :)

 

As with my earlier two-layer purse, I began with a long, rectangular resist...

...and covered it with several layers of wool roving.

For the 'lining end', I chose fiber in a sunny yellow color...

...and for the bag itself, I used my friend Lorin's intensely dyed "Tiffany Glass" roving.

Observing her 'painterly layout' last year in our Arrowmont class...

...I noted that this method made the most of the intense color shifts in her roving...

...so I tried to emulate her way of laying out wool while creating this purse.

Next time: the bag takes shape.

No Fooling!

It may be "April Fool's Day" today...

 

...but it's no joke how perfectly these slippers fit! :)

 

While watching my friend open his birthday gift this morning...

...I mentioned that I had been keeping my 'fingers crossed' that they'd be the right size.



Happily, I received an e-mail from him later in the day which read...

"A picture is worth a thousand words."...

...and he attached these photos as proof. :)

 

Happy 65th birthday, David...

...wishing you many more happy and healthy years to come!

(Photo credits: David G.)