Here is another sample that I hand stitched using an adhesive soluble (spelling???). Now that this class is behind me, I can concentrate on my City and Guild course.

You can see where I am now beginning to go back and add some "detail" work to it. I still need more.

I ended up staying an extra week at Jan & Jean's class. It was quite an experience. What was truly amazing was my wonderful husband's response when I called him up and said that I wanted to stay an extra week (which meant double the already substantial cost!), all he said was "I knew you weren't going to be able to leave." What did I get out of the class:

1. Remembering that this is art; always remember the basics.

2. Don't let your work be defined by "cool" technique instead of good design.

3. Work our your ideas before trying to come up with a finished project. In art school, we started by doing tons of drawings, then creating a mock up, BEFORE making the decision of whether to create a more "finished" or "resolved" work. I don't think I have spent more than short time trying to work out my ideas before beginning a piece in a very long time!

4. Don't add glitz just to add glitz.

5. I really do like stitching by hand.

Well, there were many more things that I learned, but I think that these were the most important. This is one of samples we did in class. It is a pattern based on butterfly wings.

I am leaving for 5 days of art with two of my idols, Jan Beaney and Jean Littlejohn! I will be back next week, hopefully, with lots of cool stuff!

More details of one of the smaller pieces. You can see that this is just a lot of a varigated ribbon yarn; I think it is a collenette. To my Fiber ArtBee friends. See you next Friday and email me if you have any questions. Sharon

Very bad picture but maybe you can see the details a little better. I really need to see about fixing this camera!

Here are four examples of the scarf. I am leading a work group with my wonderful Fiber ArtBees next Friday on how to make these. It is very, very easy. Sandwich "stuff" between two layers of ultra solvy and free motion embroider all over it; the only caveat is that you need to criss-cross your sewing lines to keep everything together. The peach example has about 6 different specialty yarns (approx. 25 yards I think). this is only enough yarn for a smaller scarf. Next to it is an example that I am working on now (probably will work on it next Friday). The two ends are not meant to be scarves but fiber pieces for another piece, but it is the same technique. Please excuse the UGLY carpet. I have two very good reasons for not replacing it: 1) I can spend the extra money on more fibers without feeling guilty. 2) My dear sweet husband doesn't complain when I spill dyes or paint on it. Actually, the worst was when I dropped an enamel piece as I was taking it out of the kiln and caught the carpet on fire. Thank goodness that I was wearing fireproof shoes and stomped it out! Now you see why I really think my husband deserves to be sainted!

Another soy wax piece. The flower is actually made with a potato masher!

Although I actually have been dying today, this isn't one of them. I did this one a few weeks ago. It was done with soy wax. How much fun and how much easier than real wax! It truly does just wash down the drain with VERY hot water. Pro-chem has the details and safety info such as flash point, so I won't go into details here. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will respond.

In a never ending need to not do what I should be doing (which is working on my C&G certification), I decided to try my hand at felting a head. Here is my first attempt. It was so much easier than I thought, which, of course, now means that I want to do another. One isn't in focus (I took it on one of those credit card size cameras), but the other picture is in focus but the colors are not right.

Actually as a family project we are stripping the wallpaper from one of my son's room to so that we can paint it. I think that is what I am really trying to get out of doing!

I made this one last night! Isn't he fun! He doesn't have a name either - just a label - the fairy bear! He started out as a sheep from Ayala Talpai's book, but didn't want to be "sheepish". He is holding a wand made of tyvek, yarn and painted hot glue. I will try to take a better picture of him later.

I took a class from Sheir Serafini during the Fall. What a wonderful teacher, artist, and person! Unfortunately, my camera with a macro function is on the blink so the picture isn't very clear. Iwill try to retake it! (Robin, here is another one that I have recently finished!

My dear friend, Robin, checked out my blog and told me that I have "abandoned" my beading friends and the beading world! I am posting some of my beadwork to show her that is just isn't true. Admittedly, I don't spend all my time beading as I have been known to do. I am still doing pieces. Here is a piece that I don't particularly like. I think that I should have stopped with the embellishment about three hours earlier. Now, I think that it will never make a necklace amulet bag as it was intended, but maybe a Christmas ornament!