Eco Dyeing Silk Scarves!

If I were to go back to school this fall, and the teachers had us write what we did on our summer vacation...this is what I would be writing about!

First you lay out all your plants and extra ingredients...spritz with vinegar and vodka!

Then you roll it up, burrito style, and tie tightly with twine, ready for the steamer...

Lindy and good friend rolling up the silk scarf.

After an hour's steam, time to unroll and unveil!

Petunias are very gratifying!

Copper pennies, rusty screws, coffee beans and grounds! On gauze.

We love playing with rusty junk! See the nut rust shape?

Do you like the rich rusty blotches? Red onion skins!

Do you want yellow? Turmeric!

Rugs...rugs...rugs... My quilting stash is being greatly reduced by the creating of rag rugs. But, as any quality quilter knows, quilt stash is anything but rags! Even my non-quilting friend recognized the high end look of several fabrics in a particular rug. "Yep!" I responded. "There are name brands in that rug that would give quilters the willies to discover!" Such as Hoffman and Kaffe Fasset, but most painful ($$$) would probably be the Liberty of London lawn. When I invested in that particular piece it had been touted in quilt magazines as THE fabric to delight the quilter. What I found was that I am not particularly fond of the busy little print. I will admit the fabric did feel good going through my fingers onto the crochet hook...
But, here is the latest batch. The majority of them are already up at the Visitor Center gallery in Tonasket, and the rest will go down to Omak and into Wooly Mama's shop.

I love blue...

Yellow is so sunny.

But this assortment of neutrals is my favorite so far!

The fabrics for this rug all came from the 'black box'. I swear all of them had a black background...but when crocheted up? Wow! There is turquoise!

This is my latest rug, and I added picots to the outside border. Chunky picots...

This little rug was made with 1" strips. All the others were 2" strips.

Show Time!

I am back to doing shows! This coming Friday and Saturday I will have a booth at the OKFiberfest at the Okanogan County Fairgrounds Agriplex. Supposed to be around 50 plus vendors! Hope I get a chance to check them ALL out!
I will be doing a demo Sat., 10 a.m., on making thread flowers. It is a fun thing to do. If you are anywhere near Okanogan County come see us! New business name is Fantabulous! Fiber Arts.

Today's feature is a few of the most recent yarns I have spun...and a couple of projects being worked on.

American Bison, from a friend's local Bison ranch!

Yummy! Orange/yellow Hand dyed/spun, plied with Fun Fur.

Hand spun wool plied with plarn.

Hand spun Polwarth wool plied with commercial fun yarn. 

Hand dyed/spun wool yarn plied with Fun Fur!

 So, as you can probably see, I LOVE to spin and am having a very fine time doing so!

My latest knitting and crocheting...

Life

I will be posting works from the 'past', just to share my progression, and hopefully my improvements. This was the second project I wove. I was introduced to the Saori method of weaving, which was right in sync with who I am. So, as I wove I tried different fibers, different amounts of striping, different colors, different textures, all in a playful 'let's see what this does' weaving. I left all flaws, joined all pieces into a lap blanket and named it 'Life'.
Life has its smoothly flowing times, and bumpy bits, holes and inconsistencies...playful moments, delightful passages, and when completed, it's beautiful !

Hello, again, after a long winter! We closed our yarn shop and became 'retired'. I still can't stop spinning yarns, knitting, crocheting-retirement is exhausting!
I am also revamping this blog beginning with the Title. My quilting has waned and my artistic outlets include so much more than that!

I dye and spin.

Polwarth organic wool roving.

Hand dyed silk hankies.

And weave.

Julie, my weaving mentor, wove the background and I am making a dimensional art piece upon it.

My first woven shawl. Very, very happy with it!

A woven scarf commission. 'Metrosexual' was the desired flavor he asked for.

Knit 

 
My latest phase craze is BIG needle knitting.

And crochet.

I do cutesy sometimes...

 

And learn new stitches like waffle weave and wave...

I still needle felt now and then, and long to return to making the thread flower pictures. I want to get back to thread painting as well. I have crazy quilt blocks all prepared, sitting there staring at me until I get started again. There are quilt tops to be completed or repaired. There is purging to accomplish. Balancing what I SHOULD do with what I WANT to do is the whole trick! So, off this computer and back to dishes? 

I don't think so...

Trick or Treat? Whichever it turns out to be, Bell, Hook & Spindle is now a business of the past. This was our last day. The building is empty and the landlord has already found another renter.
We were a 'success' from day one. We were supported by the local community and the Canadian tourists. We taught, we met, we sold, we laughed and cried. What a wonderful 2 years we had. How many gallons of tea were consumed?
Now it is time for a new hip, healing, moving and a new life in a new community. My husband has retired twice before. He hopes that this time it will 'stick'! I will try this retirement thing for a while, but know I will keep spinning, weaving, knitting, quilting, crocheting, creating and teaching. It is in my very core to do so.
I will try and keep a decent update and show and tell on this art blog in my new retirement, even though every retiree I meet says they have 'no time'! We will see, as it is all part of the journey. Have a delightfully creative day!

Heirloom Quilts

Mattress protection quilt.

Generational finished quilt.

The Stars Quilt

Tonaskets Founders Day parade and celebration occurs annually on Memorial Day weekend. This year I have decked our shop windows with family heirloom quilts. 

The first pic shows the red and white quilt, which has a gazillion little holes in it. Apparently my great, great grandmother got a brand new mattress to put on the old springs of her bed. That new mattress cost hard cash and she wanted to protect it from the springs (this is way before box springs!), so she placed this 'old quilt between the springs and mattress to protect the mattress! Holey or not, I love this quilt and its story...

The second quilt is a wonderful 30's quilt top find by my Grandmother. She had it quilted by the 'church ladies', then gifted it to me. I put the binding on it and embroidered its little history on a corner. Pristine condition and colors. Love it!

The third inheritance is made up of scrappy Lone Stars. The loveliest thing about this quilt is the quantity and quality of the quilting. Tons of it! In a torn space I could pick at the batting a bit and I am guessing from the fiber I plucked out and the consistency of the batt, that it is wool that has been washed and literally put through the wringer. Aren't old quilts fun? :?}

Pumpkins Tomorrow

We will be needle felting pumpkins tomorrow. We currently have 3 signed up, so there is room for 3  more! come on down at 1.

Window displays now showing...

 I am so impressed with the work of this knitter, Janet Duerst, 1920-2013. She knit these in the 1940's and I would wear any one of them this moment, 70 years later! What an artist!

 A closer look at the top to the suit below...

and a little pastel reminder about joining us for Tea at 3 sometime soon.
Slippers will greet you on the way in!