Adventures in Fiber

Patti Culea new pattern

2012-02-06T17:23:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago I received Patti Culea's DVD in the mail. I must say "I love it!" i have listened to it twice already! I have been a fan of her work for a long time and this is probably as close as I will ever get to taking one of her classes. There is so much information on this 5 hour DVD. It was worth every penny! The pattern for this doll was also included.

Mixed Media Fashion

2012-01-15T19:05:00.002-05:00

Jill Maas doll

2011-12-31T19:33:00.003-05:00

I recently purchased a new pattern by Jill Maas. Her name is Snowdrop and she is holding her friend Frosty. Her face is sculpted and colored with paint and pens and she is wired so she stands on her own.

Mixed Media Art Quilt

2011-12-25T16:41:00.003-05:00

I have admired Alma Stoller's work for a long time. She shared her technique for this piece in the Cloth Paper Scissors magazine some time ago. I was looking through some back issues and came across it....had to give it a try!

T-shirt Dress

2011-10-16T21:08:00.002-04:00

I recycled some old school t-hirts to make this dress for my niece.

New Doll

2011-09-05T14:32:00.003-04:00

I have not made a doll in almost a year. With Halloween just around the corner, I thought I would make a witch. But, all through the process, she kept telling me "No, I am not witch". I guess she was right. But, it's about that purple hair!

Art Quilt

2011-06-24T19:34:00.001-04:00

Art Quilt

2011-06-21T16:28:00.003-04:00

I taught a class of wonderful ladies how to draw and color a face on fabric with watercolor pencils. I scanned and changed the size of a face I drew so it was the same size as he faces that were done in class. Now, I can show them what they can do with the beautiful faces they created!

Mixed Media Art Quilt

2011-06-09T12:58:00.004-04:00

I saw Judy Coats Perez demonstrate this quilt on Quilting Ats TV a few weeks ago. I just had to make one. It was a blast!

Recycled denim

2011-06-08T22:27:00.003-04:00

Mothers

2011-05-14T19:24:00.003-04:00

I was drawing some organic body shapes one morning and no matter how I tried I kept ending up with pregnant women. So this is how it ended up.

Sketch

2011-04-25T07:58:00.003-04:00

This is a sketch of for my next art quilt. Just need to come up with a background. Any ideas?

Art Quilt

2011-03-01T18:37:00.002-05:00

Zentangles! I thnk I'm addicted. This quilt was inspired by a small picture on the back of a Zentangle book and a collage painting by Judy Skeel.

Bird Mobile

2011-03-01T18:35:00.002-05:00

I made some fabric paper last week and this is what I did with it! It will hang in my living room.

Mixed Media Doll

2011-02-17T06:16:00.002-05:00

I first saw these little dolls in an article in Cloth Paper Scissors. I think it was in the fall 2009. Sorry, but I can not remember the name of the artist. I've adapted the pattern some and I am now adding driftwood arms and legs. They are a little wierd. But, I love them!

Faux Zentangle Ladies

2011-02-01T19:00:00.004-05:00

I have been playing with zentangles lately. I saw a very small image on the back of a book I liked. I drew it up and made this small quilt. I appliqued the ladies and did some quilting on the background fabric. I embellished it with beads, pearls, crystals, old jewelry and some fibers and letter tiles I bought in the scrapbooking depatment at Michaels. This was a very fun project!

Selvage Edge Tablerunner

2011-02-01T18:55:00.004-05:00

I made this tablerunner with the selvage edges I cut from my fabric when I purchase it. The applique is an image from a rubber stam the I enlarged. I will make placemats to match.

Maggie, a little angel

2011-02-01T18:43:00.004-05:00

This little angel is from a pattern by Jill Mass

Hand Dyed Scarves

2010-12-16T17:43:00.003-05:00

I bought some bamboo and cotton knit and dyed it in plastic bags with procion dyes. I then stenciled them with Shiva paintsticks. Hope they sell!

Newest Doll

2010-09-30T19:46:00.003-04:00

My dolls were accepted into a local art gallery. I only have a few left, but, I'm sure having them there will inspire me to do more!

Breast Cancer Awarness Doll

2010-09-13T20:09:00.002-04:00

It has been almost a year since I made a doll. Cancer consumed my life this past year. Last September, I lost a good friend and fellow doll maker to Pancreatic cancer. My niece was diagnosed with Leukemia that same day. She had a stem cell transplant in March. And in April, my own daughter, Lisa, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. They both continue to do well. Lisa had a recent Pet Scan that showed no signs of cancer!!! and my niece shows no signs of rejection. Lisa has two more chemo treatments to go, but, for the moment, life is good!

I was asked to make a doll for the Breast Cancer Awareness display at the hospital next month. What an honor! She was a joy to make. I thought about my good friend and how much I miss her and I thought of how lucky I am, that my daughter and niece are winning their fights against cancer. I pray everyday for their continued courage and strength.
Hope you enjoy the doll.

Altered denim

2010-03-04T22:33:00.003-05:00

New Doll

2010-01-08T22:03:00.005-05:00

Between the holidays, eye surgery and life in general, this doll has taken me almost three months to complete. I have a few more of these wrapped dolls in the works. I just can't seem to do anything else these days. I want to do some ballerinas for my granddaughters. But, I was inspired by Patti Culea's new pattern, Aerin. So, of course I had to order it! Now I need to search for all the materials necessary to make her!. She looks like so much fun!

Art Quilt Class

2009-12-28T14:58:00.005-05:00

A few months ago I did a small art quilt with some hand dyed fabrics. It was on diplay at a quilt shop where I teach classes and work some times. I was asked to work it up for a class, so, I made it using some Kaffe Fasset prints. I drew her face and colored it with watercolor pencils. I then machine appliqued her hair, did some free motion embroidery and did some light beading. What do you think?

Wacky Women

2009-12-28T14:42:00.003-05:00

This little doll was in the most recent issue of CLOth Paper Scissor. She was lots of fun and the technique was simple. You can really use your imagination with her.

A Little Critter Stuffie

2009-12-28T14:25:00.002-05:00

These cute little critters were in a recent issue of CLoth Paper Scissors. A piece of canvas and some paint and you have a very cute gift for a litle one!

New Dolls

2009-10-28T20:16:00.002-04:00

I will be in an art show next month, so, I am busy making dolls. They are made on a wire armature, wrapped with quilt batting, fabric and fibers. I then do some beading and maybe add a piece of vintage jewelry. I have never sold my dolls before, so this is a brand new experience for me. Hope it goes well!

2009-10-28T20:13:00.000-04:00

Selvage edge purse

2009-10-28T06:47:00.003-04:00

I've been playing with the selvage edges of my fabric lately. After I finished the selvage edge skirt, which my granddaughter loved, I wanted to try something else. I used the pattern I designed a few months ago, which is selling pretty well at the local quilt shop. Hope you like it.

Halloween Doll

2009-08-27T14:24:00.004-04:00

Yet another wrapped doll! I have taught this method a number of times and never seem to tire of it. I came across this chiffon skirt I had made for my daughter for a dance back in high school (quite a few years ago) and thought it would be perfect for a witch. I had wrapped an armature in black already so all that was left was the fun part! She was going to be a Halloween witch, but she turned out way to cute for that....so she is just a Halloween doll. I will call her Kat, after a very dear and sick friend.

New Art Quilt

2009-08-18T21:23:00.003-04:00

I used hand dyed fabrics in this quilt. I took a class in dyeing a few months ago and dyed twenty yards of fabric. Guess it's time to start using some of it.

Pin Cushion

2009-08-18T21:11:00.004-04:00

This pin cushion was made from a free online pattern called Zadora by Sandra Corson-Walker. I did change it up some. This is the link, pinkeeps.blogspot.com/.../free-zadora-pincushion-bysandra-corson.html

Selvage Edge Skirt

2009-08-01T08:42:00.005-04:00

Last week I saw a pillow made from the selvage edges of fabric. It was so cool! I went home and was going to make one. I was in the process of making a child's skirt from a pair of recycled blue jeans. So, instead of a pillow I made a skirt. Only one problem.... which granddaughter gets it!

Collage

2009-08-01T08:38:00.003-04:00

This is my latest collage piece. I was showing some of my works in progress to a friend and her sister wanted to buy it when it was finished! What a surprise that was!

Holly Hobbie Fix-up

2009-08-01T07:12:00.002-04:00

A friend asked me to restore her daughter's Holly Hobbie doll for her granddaughter. She was very dirty, seams were ripping, she was missing an arm, her clothes were tattered and torn and she was badly in need of a new hairdo. I took her apart and reinforced the seams, washed her by hand and gave her some little yellow daisy (applique) tatooes to cover little holes in her legs. Then I restuffed her. I used my black paint marker to give her shoes a polish. I brightened up her face with gel pens and some blush! I found some yarn that matched the color of her hair pretty well and gave her some new hair. I'm sure she will be loved just as much as she was 30 years ago!

Li Hertzi's ABC online class

2009-07-16T16:29:00.004-04:00

This is the business card I am working on in Li Hertzi's online Photoshop/Elements class. The class has been great fun, I've learned a lot and Li does a awesome job teaching. The class is still open if you're interested. Here is the link
http://www.dollstreetdreamers.com/index.htm

Get Well Wishes for a Sick Dreamer

2009-07-12T12:50:00.004-04:00

This is the "Prayer/Bra Doll" that Barb and Keeling, and myself made for another sick Dreamer. Hopefully this will put a big smile on her face. This was so much fun! Barb and Doug are so talented!

Doll for Kat

2009-07-09T13:09:00.004-04:00

This is the "Bra Doll" that Barb and Doug Keeling, and myself, made for my good friend, and fellow Dreamer, Kat. She was diagnosed with cancer about six weeks ago. Although it was not breast cancer, we felt the "Bra doll" was still a good choice to make. Cancer is cancer. Barb designed a series these patterns to promote cancer awarness. I chose to make the "Mom Mouse". An appropriate choice for a beautiful person named Kat. I hope it makes her smile.
The doll started out as a round robin, but only the Keelings and I worked on this particular doll. There are a few more that are traveling around being touched with artistic love by many talented doll makers. These dolls will go to other people who are struggling with an illness.
This "Bra Mouse is very small, because I did not enlarge the pattern like I should have. Oh,well! I made the body and head and sent it off to Barb and Doug Keeling. Doug painted a beautiful little face and Barb made ears (from part of the bra) and put hair on her. Then they sent her back to me. I made the arm, legs and clothing.
My hubby made the piece of cheese she sits on!
So, from all of us, with many "get well" wishes, this is for you Kat. I hope it makes you smile!

Another Wrap Doll

2009-06-29T20:19:00.002-04:00

Mommy's Angel

2009-06-22T08:18:00.003-04:00

This is a collage of my granddaughter Emily. She liked my self portrait and wanted to keep it. I think she'll like one of herself more.

Dotties Arrived

2009-06-05T18:40:00.004-04:00

Here is a picture of the Dotties I received today. They are each so sweet and so different. The little one with the gold sequins around her face is "Honey Bear". She traveled all the way from Australia. Thank you Ivy Yates! The little green owl came from Julianna "Belle" Doerres in Arizona. Don't you just love the glasses? Thanks Julianna. The "Snow Spirit" was made by Sarah Jones in Sweden. I laughed when I saw her because we had a few snowflakes flying around last week. So, she was very appropriate!
Thanks you ladies, I love them all!......and a HUGE "Thank You" to Judi Wellnitz for all the work she did hosting this exchange!

New Purse

2009-06-05T18:24:00.004-04:00

I am taking a fabric dyeing class on Saturday. We will dye 20 yards of cotton. I am so excited. This is something I have been wanting to do for a long time. The class is through my local quilt shop. I am not a big quilter and neither are a lot of ladies who shop there. So, I designed this purse to use many different colors. Hopefully, it will give the "none quilters" some ideas ! Hope they like it! I used dupioni silk and batiks. I also put an adjustable strap on it....my straps are always to long!

Another Wrapped Doll

2009-05-18T10:42:00.003-04:00

This is my latest doll from Ray Slater's book, "clothdolls for the textile artist"
I know I've said it before, but, this is a great book!

2009-05-18T10:37:00.004-04:00

Reach fot the stars

2009-05-16T08:56:00.004-04:00

This is my latest fabric collage. I think I'm becoming addicted to these. They are so much fun.

Self Portrait Collage Challenge

2009-05-11T18:28:00.003-04:00

Today I got a call from the owner of my local quilt shop, Alley Kats. To my surprise, I won first place in the self portrait challenge. The small quilts have been on display since the first of February. I am thrilled! I will recieve a $50 gift certificate to the shop! Gotta like that! I learned this technique in an online class on Doll Street from Linda Misa......Thanks again Linda!

Dotee Doll Swap

2009-03-19T18:22:00.004-04:00

Here are my very first Dotee Dolls. I made them for the Doll Street Swap. I had so much fun I made four of them. I used the flash on my camera, so the pictures on the charms didn't show up so well. I hope whoever receives them enjoys them!

Wrapped Doll

2009-03-05T19:11:00.004-05:00

This is the second doll I've done from Ray Slater's book. It was the first time I made a wrapped doll. The instructions suggested a knit fabric, but I did'nt have anything suitable so I cut batik strips on the bias and used them. It worked pretty well. A few frayed edges but not to bad. By the time it was wrapped with other fibers you could not see any loose threads. It was a relatively quick and easy process. My hubby made the armatures for me and he got a little carried away. I now have five of them. Beter get wrapping!

2009-02-26T18:48:00.002-05:00

I had so much fun with the collage technique I used in the self-portrait quilt that I decided to try it again. I turned the collage into a flap for a messenger bag. It is a pretty simple design, nothing fancy. I just cut and sewed as I went along. I made if from black wool, a mistake, it picks up every thing, but it was an experiment and it turned out ok. I thought the flap might be to stiff.

So, thank you Linda Misa for the inspiration!

Collaged Snowmen

2009-02-26T18:39:00.002-05:00

I saw these snowmen in fall the issue of Cloth Paper Scissors. I searched around to find some old bottles and stuff! They were so much fun. Once the materials were gathered up I put them together in a day. I tend to collect little tidbits of junk, or maybe I should say treasures, regardless, they were tons of fun to make and a everyone loved them.

Christmas 2008

2009-02-26T18:21:00.003-05:00

I don't know how many of you have seen the book Sew Pretty Christmas Homestyle by Tone Finnanger. The book has some great projects and she has some fabulous fabrics that are not available in the US. But I did two displays for the local quilt shop with some of the in store fabric. They turned out ok, but I wish I had some of her fabric. Maybe next year!

Self Portrait

2009-02-02T13:59:00.003-05:00

My local quilt/fiber art shop challeged it's customers to do a self portrait. A while back a took a collage class from Linda Misa. It was paper collage, but Linda said the technique could also be done on fabric. I've been wanting to try this for some time and this challenge gave me the opportunity to give it a whirl. It was a lot of fun.....I wish I would have taken pictures of the process because I didn't think it would turn out. The fabric bubbled from the gel medium, but, I was able to iron it pretty flat. I also covered the entire figure with organza. Hope the picture turns out ok.

2008-12-06T17:53:00.001-05:00

Christmas Tree Ornaments

2008-12-06T12:44:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone! It's been a long time since I've updated my blog. I have not been making many dolls, but I have been busy with other projects. A few of them are on display at my local quilt shop and I did'nt take pictures before I brought them over there. I just got my camera back from the shop. It's been out of commission for a some time. But I wanted to post a few pictures of the Angel ornaments I've been working on. I used the free pin doll pattern from Doll Street and some leftover fabric from my stump doll. I just added some wing charms I found and a little ring on the back to hang her with. Now I just need to finish the rest and get them in the mail.
Happy Holidays to everyone!

Stump Doll

2008-10-14T15:10:00.003-04:00

This doll was so much fun to make!

New Stump Doll

2008-10-14T14:58:00.004-04:00

Before I left to go to Alabama last month I recieved my copy of Ray Slater's book, Clothdolls for Textile Artists. I read it while I was there and made a doll as soon as I got home. The book is wonderful, full of fantastic ideas, techniques and patterns. This doll is made by creating a layered fabric and embellishing it with free motion embroidery and much more. The instructions were easy to follow. There is also a pattern and instuction for a wrapped doll. Great book!

Travel Doll Swap

2008-10-14T14:46:00.003-04:00

I spent the month of September in Alabama. I went down to help my daugher and son-in-law. They opened a Texas Roadhouse restaurant and they needed gramma to help with the kids. My pleasure!! While I was there I recieved my last doll of the Swap. It is a very sweet little girl named Minuette. She was made my Bonnie Lee Fontaine, one of the many talented ladies I had the pleasure of getting to know this summer. My granddaughter Maggie loved her. Here is a picture of the two of them!

Meet Marissa, a blue mermaid

2008-07-19T15:58:00.002-04:00

Blue Mermaid

2008-07-19T15:44:00.003-04:00

Meet my Merissa. I finished her today. She is the second mermaid using the pattern from Angela Jarecki's class. I made the body with a blue batik and the finger were very difficult to turn. If you have a secret for turning little batik fingers, please share! I struggle with color and a changed her top a few times. I finally decided on the darker colors. I think she might need wings!?! What do you think? This doll was lots of fun. Coloring a blue face was a challenge, but I was satisfied with the way she turned out.

Grandchildren's visit

2008-07-16T19:57:00.004-04:00

I have had a very busy two weeks. My daughter had foot surgery, so I had her and her three girls stay here until she could get around. The girls were a great help with Bonnie, my travel swap doll. We took her to the park and for ice cream! We took two of the girls for haircuts. I posted a few pics. Her hubby came and picked her up on Sunday evening. I was fun to have them visit because I don't get to see them all the time. My blue mermaid is back in process, she has hair, a tail and a fin! She'll be done this weekend, I hope!

Blue Mermaid

2008-07-04T13:19:00.003-04:00

This is the same pattern I used in Angela's class. But I wanted to try a blue face and body! We'll see how she turns out.

Enkai Nou

2008-06-26T22:05:00.003-04:00

She is complete! This mermaid doll was a class offered on the Doll Street dreamer website. The teacher was Angela Jarecki. It was a fantastic class. Directions were easy to understand and the interaction with Angela was excellent.

Pirate Pics

2008-06-24T19:55:00.001-04:00

Pirates

2008-06-24T19:45:00.002-04:00

Captain Jack and his wench are finally done. They were a lot of work, but so much fun. They are about sixteen inches tall and partially wired. The body patterns are by Mary Tressler. Their clothing and accessories are recycled items, used clothing and junk jewelry. The swords are letter openers I purchased on Ebay. I've taken picture and I will summit them for entry into the exhibit tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed!!

2008-06-06T16:44:00.004-04:00

This is my first doll I've made with a Patti Culea pattern. It was in her newest book, Beading the Cloth Doll. It definitely was a challenge for me. I can't tell you how many heads I made!! But I learned sooooo much in the process. I used many different techniques on the doll and the fabric for her clothing that were new to me. It was Patti's books that inspired me to get back into dollmaking. Thanks, Patti!

2008-06-05T13:35:00.003-04:00

I worked on my collage this morning. This is the first time I worked with pastels to shade the face and I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing! It seems a little flat to me. Guess I look at it for awhile to see if I can determine what it needs. I'm thinking some more green color. Stencil it on maybe!?! But, it's done for today!

2008-06-04T19:45:00.003-04:00

This was originally suppose to be a primitive mermaid from Frowning Francis. I got a little ahead of myself and couldn't undo what I had done so I had to improvise. I used Mod Podge and covered her body with scrapbook paper. I did some rubber stamping and some outlining with a gold leaf pen. I painted her torso and face with a transparent gold acrylic paint. I then added fibers and shells for some added texture. I gave her to a friend and she now sits proudly above her hot tub!

2008-06-04T19:07:00.002-04:00

This is my first attempt at a collage. I am taking Linda Misa online class. It's been fun and I have learned a lot. I was not happy with the face so I painted over it. Try again later. I also need to stencil and stamp on it to give it more depth. My granddaughter likes mermaids so I think it might find a home in her bedroom!

2008-05-27T08:04:00.004-04:00

I took Shery Goshon's Wallart class last month but I was out of town for two weeks. Not done with it yet. I need to find a few more paint colors. I also signed up for Lisa Misa's collage class last month. I am also behid on it because I was gone. Maybe I should check my calender before sign up for these classes! LOL! Here is what I have done so far.

2008-05-26T20:45:00.004-04:00

Some of my recent projects.

The Project Runway Challenge

on Dollstreet.

2008-05-26T19:33:00.004-04:00

This is my Windows project. I did Angela Jarecki's class last month. It was offered on Dollstreet.

Can't say enough about her. The class was fantastic.

Can't wait until her Mermaid class starts!!!