show time!

This installment represents the last of my craft show creations. Even now, having spent most of my holiday weekend in crafty exploits, my mind is still racing with things yet to make. So sad to actually have to cut yourself off from something, but it's for the best. My hubby and my doggy miss me! As does my very hairy house! Regardless of these and other pressing "adult tasks," I'm pretty happy with the way these turned out, just in time for digs & bean's Big Crafty debut. More pics on my flickr page.

I'm really excited to move onto some different kind of projects. It's just a different way of thinking: making stuff to make stuff and making stuff to sell. I like the process though - working on lots of little quick projects - but I'm ready for something slow and involved. Maybe some experiments with image transfer? Maybe some abstract pieces shellaced onto wood? Who knows... but house cleaning first!

print-a-thon 09

So I've been super busy printing for the craft show in July. I've been doing some new things with adding embroidery stitches to my poppies (the lino print is based on my poppy quilt) and my skully print (I've done some embroideries based on this design). On the poppies, I tried to stitches to correct a printing error on one of the designs, but I ended up liking the effect and ran with it. The fabric frames are really easy to make... and I'm so in love with stitching on paper. Even more pics on my flickr page.

And, of course, I couldn't help doing a little digs & bean merchandising. I carved a stamp to create homemade price tags for my wares.

poppy pods print

Aaahhh, happy Memorial Day! Took a break from fabric today and carved a poppy print based on my poppy mini quilt. I've gone the other direction - from lino print design to embroidery design (see my skulls and ships) - but never from quilt design to lino print... fun, fun! I'm not sure if I'll have time to do it before the Big Crafty show in July, but I've been having a strong desire to carve some roller skates...

voila!

As promised, here is said sailboat on said fabric in (finally!) proper fabric ink. I love the final look, but that oil-based paint is a bit messy to work with.


So the sailboat (i heart the sea) and the microscope (i heart the scientist) will be the centerpieces for my two valentine mini quilts, but I thought I might need something else to carry the theme. Cheesy hearts aren't really my style, so I decided to try an anatomical heart instead (see below). I'm excited to see how the images will come together on the piece, seeing as this is the first time I've tried making quilts with my own printed images. But, alas, I have to wait until the ink cures for any sewing. I'll post my progress... which better happen fast since the valentines are due in 2 weeks.

later that day

Hooray. The microscope didn't take quite as long as I thought it would. Here it is printed on fabric, although I need to buy some real fabric printing ink next time. I'm pretty darn happy with the result, so much so that I sat right back down to do another carving, a panther a la Sailor Jerry.

And for a little back logging, here's another piece I made for the Lark craft sale. I traded with Terry Taylor (a senior editor at Lark and a darn fine jewelry and everything else maker) for some killer earings. I couldn't ever decide if this one looked more like pills or corndogs on parade, but I had a lot of fun with it. I'm not sure what my next project is, but I'm taking suggestions.

ahhh... vacation

I had a whole list of things I wanted to get accomplished over the holiday break, but the weather has been so nice... hiking and disc golf make good distractions for the crafty life. Today is the first day I'll get to have some time to myself and my hobby... My first order of business involves a bit of lino carving. I heard about a valentine show being thrown to help raise mula for a really cool fiber store and workshop space in Asheville called Cloth Fiber Workshop. The shop is holding a handmade valentine auction, and I'm going to make one inspired by a poem about a scientist. Hence the microscope. I'm wondering how much detail I'll actually be able to get, and how my first adventure with fabric stamping will turn out... I'll be sure to post a shot or two. After the microscope, I've got my sights set on a Sailor-Jerry-inspired panther (just in time for the Panthers to make the super bowl, or so sayeth my hubby) for an equally mind-bending amount of detail.

Here's a shot of a beetle carving (with a stitched on fabric border) I did for the Lark craft show earlier in December. I had never really experimented with sewing paper on the machine, but it worked splendidly.

Also, for a final bit of experimentation, I decided to try my hand at some fabric earrings. These were easy and quick to make: I fused three layers of fabric together and zigzag stitched along the edges. I have a lot more ideas for this theme in my notebook, but right now, the carver is calling....