More Fiber Art Cards and Hoover Dam

Posted on May 4, 2013 by ruthlane under fabrics

Last week, went to Las Vegas to go to a wholesale buyers show for the store. It was a pretty small show so we had time for a little site seeing.

Here’s a bad photo out of our hotel room. I know it’s desert in Las Vegas, but the dryness of the landscape is such a change from north west Montana.

We decided to go to Hoover Dam and it has really changed since the last time we were there. They have built a very tall bridge over the Colorado River which is the dividing line between Nevada and Arizona. The bridge is built to accommodate pedestrians so we walked across it. I don’t like heights much but survived.

This is a photo of Hoover Dam looking down from the bridge. It is a massive structure. It was built in the 1930’s.

This is the bridge that we walked over. It is a good thing I didn’t see it from this perspective before I walked across it. It’s another impressive feat of engineering.

Here I am in the bowels of the dam in front of the generators.

This photo is taken looking down towards the river. I liked the juxtaposition of the different textures, natural and man made.

After I got home, we had our monthly surface design meeting. We did some ice dyeing and made fiber art cards. The photo above shows two different cards. They need some stitching. I am trying to decide between machine and hand stitching.

Two more designs.

And the last two. I will show these again once they are stitched. Please go over to the Felting and Fiber Studio to see my post about ice dyeing.

Missing in Action

Posted on April 27, 2013 by ruthlane under fibers

Sorry I wasn’t able to post for the last couple of weeks. I had a family emergency and had to go to Florida. I did get to finish up my book cover that I was working on but didn’t get much other fiber art done.

Here is the front of the book cover. I haven’t found a book to fit it yet but I will add some sort of button or other attachment once I know what exact size it needs to be.

Here’s the back side. I just used chain stitch with #5 perle cotton. It was simple and went quickly. I finished most of this on the plane ride from Montana to Florida.

This little bit is on the back portion of the front cover. You will be able to see it when you open the book cover. Next week I will be traveling to Las Vegas to go to another buying show for the store. Luckily it is only a three-day trip and I won’t be gone as long as I was before. Hopefully, I will get back on my regular schedule and start working on some projects I have planned.

Green Fiber Transformed

Posted on April 16, 2013 by ruthlane under Carding, fibers

Or perhaps I should say permutated? My friend Deb told me that she was impressed with my “50 cent” word “Permutations” but that it sounded just like me. Thanks Deb! Anywho, I have been turning the dyed fibers into batts. This is one of my favorite parts. I love those nice fluffy batts when they come right off the carder. These have merino wool, silk noil, banana fiber, Tencel, flax, cashmere and angora fibers.

I added in some reds and pinks to liven up the greens a bit. I can’t wait to see how these look when they are felted.

The close up photos just didn’t turn out well. I need to work out this macro business on my camera.

Dyed Fibers

Posted on April 14, 2013 by ruthlane under Dyeing, fibers

I spent most of the day today dyeing a variety of fibers green plus a piece of silk. I’m planning a new project which includes nuno felting.

Here’s some locks in the dye pot.

And here they are drying out.

I was trying for a variety of greens.

This is a portion of the silk I dyed. It is 3 yards of 5mm silk.

It is also mottled green. As usual my fingers are a bit green as well 🙂

Go Fly a Kite

Posted on April 12, 2013 by ruthlane under plastic fiber

Today was our local fiber group meeting. We made kites and then went out and flew them. I have never made a kite before and I can’t remember the last time I flew one. It was really simple to make the kite and we had a lot of fun flying them.

Wally, Bunny’s husband, helped us with the kites. He already had a pattern made and we used plastic garbage bags to make the kite. We just traced around the pattern and then cut out the kite.