Saturday, August 02, 2008

More Journals

Many members brought back their completed journals, the project started last month :


Faux Leather Journal by Lois.


By Karen


By Marylin (I love this one becasue she got it to look like a granite countertop!-MM)


Also by Marylin


Also by Marylin


By Sandy


Sandy chose this McKenna Ryan fabric as a perfect compliment for her Faux Leather Journal (above).


Also by Sandy.


Sandy took the online class offered by Sue Bleiwiess on journal-making, so she brought a few other hand-made journals.


By Sandy


Pat added lots of other treasures to her Journal.

Thanks everyone. I'm glad you all enjoyed this project so much!
Thanks again to Sue B. for allowing us to use the lesson for our topic last month.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Textile Arts Tutorials

Hi All--
Just wanted to let you know about a wonderful list of textile tutorials that were recently collected and posted to

Textile Arts Resource Guide - Tutorials 2

There are tutorials for hand-dying, book-binding, beading, surface design ... almost any direction we'd want to go. Lots of ideas and guidance for new experiments. Enjoy!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

June/July 2008 Newsletter

Conversations in Cloth June/July 2008

Fear not ladies, Ironman is a mere seven weeks away as I write this, and then I will have time for hobbies other than training! I can’t wait to take creative time again…and YOU won’t have to wait so long for newsletters!
--Katy


Recap of May Meeting (May 29, 2008)
Play night was lightly attended, but show and tell was rich as always. Michele brought a bouquet of books and we chose which one to make in June. She’s also been working on postcards featuring food…she made some astounding effects using UTEE (ultra thick embossing powder) over crumpled paper. Michele gets her heavy stabilizer, called Stiffy, from www.longcreekmills.com/stiffy.html (a mill in North Carolina) and it is MUCH cheaper than Timtex.

Theresa brought her samples from Laura Murray’s class with Darting Needles. The painted Wonder-Under was a hit with the group. Laura’s website is www.lauramurraydesigns.com and she sells all kinds of fiber-art stuff. Theresa purchased Laura’s DVD during her class, so look for it at a movie night in October!

Recap of June Meeting (June 26, 2008)
Karen brought a new member for show and tell: Lois! Lois brought some of her piece from a recent Art Garage show. One piece featured bleach resist (like the book Casting Shadows by Colleen Wise), including a border made using disposable snow fencing! Lois also learned a fun, low-stress way to play with color at a recent show: pigment dyed paper towels! Just like the ads say, VIVA® feels just like cloth! Lois agreed to show us the technique in September. (Betty’s daughter is getting married, so her “beading bonanza” will move to November.)
Theresa and Sandy recently learned “fabric dyeing in baggies” at the home of local quilter Jo. Both had a fantastic time, even though Sandy followed the directions and Theresa…didn’t!

In between all the show and tell, Michele led us through making faux leather journal covers. Be SURE to bring your journal back in July for show and tell! Michele took an online class with Sue Bleiweiss, who graciously granted permission for us to use her instructions. Check out Sue’s website: www.suebleiweiss.com.

July Meeting (Thursday July 31, 2008)
Karen is leading us in making paper clay embellishments. Bring a dollar for your supplies, a variety of textured items to make impressions, and a shoebox top to carry home your new treasures. Ideas for impressions include netting, buttons, rubber stamps, kitchen tools, even rubbing plates meant for Paintstiks.

We need to discuss the November meeting…traditionally we meet on the last Thursday of each month, but in November this is Thanksgiving. Will we meet on the third Thursday? And what about our traditional year-end party?

Upcoming Events
July 31, 2008: July meeting, 6:30. Paper Clay with Karen
August 28, 2008: August meeting, potluck picnic at Karen’s
September 25, 2008: September meeting, 6:30. Dyed paper towels with Lois
October 30, 2008: October meeting, 6:30, Laura Murray movie night
November meeting date TBD: Betty’s Beading Bonanza

Conversations in Cloth meets the last Thursday of each month at 6:30 at the Menasha Public Library.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Free Projects from Fibre & Stitch

Hi All-

This is the list of Free Projects from Fibre & Stitch published by Sue Bleiweiss, the originator of the Faux Leather Journal project we did in June.

Free Projects from Fibre & Stitch
http://www.fibreandstitch.com/freebies.htm

Enjoy!

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Faux Leather Journal Surfaces - June Project

At the June Meeting, Michele lead everyone in making a faux leather journal with Sue Bleiweiss' instructions (used with permission). The remarkable thing is that we started with ordinary brown paper shopping bags!

If you are interested in learning these techniques (and many more), consider taking some of Sue B.'s online classes. You'll meet people from all over the world, and you won't have to schlep a car-ful of stuff across town. Sue is one of the most encouraging and positive people you'll ever meet, too!

Here are some of the surfaces people made that night (Sorry, I don't remember who did what) :







A few people wanted to take the surface home to add stitching and other embellishments. Can't wait to see what they bring back next month!

Most people got as far as sewing in at least a few signatures. We didn't get to the closures in our 2 hour session (That's why you see so many fingers holding the journals shut.)





Marilyn's Journal


Sandy's Journal


Lois' Journal


Katy's Journal


Inside Katy's Journal


Karen's Journal

What else have Members been Working On?


Theresa recently attended a workshop lead by Sharon Rotz to learn how to do this low-stress log cabin with scraps. No ripping at this workshop. If you make a mistake, you just cut it off with a rotary cutter!

At the June Meeting, we had a guest named Lois share some things she's been working on :

The dark fabrics for this piece were discharged with bleach. For the border, Lois used construction fencing as a resist before spraying a bleach solution onto black Kona Cotton. Great idea! and I love the effect. This is still a work in progress.


This piece (also by Lois) is based on a pattern by Laura Wasilowski and her School of Fusing in Chicago.


This piece is a batik with "stuff" laid on, covered with netting and free-motion stitched to hold it all together. Another one by Lois.

We hope she'll be back to share more of her creations and tips.

Member Showcase : The Dyers

Sandy and Theresa attended a Dyer's Workshop at Jo Holden's house a few weeks ago. Here are some of what they created that night :

Sandy said this one was wrapped around a pole ...


This was was folded and bound to create the interesting resist pattern (by Sandy).


Another one from Sandy.



Theresa was also very happy with what she was able to create that night, too. Her technique was more stuff and dump style.

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Faux Leather Journals for June Meeting - Supply List and Kits

Here's a taste of what we'll be making at our June Meeting lead by Michele :





I will be making up some kits for the Faux Leather Journals we'll be making at CinC this month. I got Sue Bleiweiss's permission to use this lesson for our group, so we're covered for copyright. ;-) She just wants to see pictures of what people make with her instructions--so I'll be taking pictures as usual, too.

If anyone wants to sign up for Sue Bleiweiss' online classes, I highly recommend them!

The $5 kits will contain :
Instructions (Sue B's Lesson)
1 piece Stiffy (stiff interfacing) 9x18 in
Paper lunch bag, piece of paper shopping bag
2 x Stitch Witchery (9x18 in)
Paper for Signatures
String to sew in Signatures
Velcro / snaps for closures

I will also bring for people to use :
Cutting mat with rotary cutter
Spray bottle
Iron
Ironing pad
Parchment Paper
Acrylic Paint (brown)
Bristle paint brushes
Dishes for paint
Awl to punch holes in signatures (paper)
Tapestry Needles
Samples
Some Stamp Pads (Coffee Bean and Copper)
Paper Scissors
Rulers

Things People can bring on their own :
Fabric for the inner lining (at least 9x18 inches)
Other colors of Acrylic Paint with coordinating stamp pads colors
Closures - buttons or junk jewelery
Nice paper (24# Stationary is wonderful, but pricey. I'll have regular printer paper in the kits)
More Tapestry Needles (These are the big-honkin' needles to sew in the signatures)
Scissors for cutting paper
Rulers and cutting tools

See you all soon! --Michele

Friday, May 30, 2008

Teresa's Samples from the Laura Murray Class in May

Teresa brought samples from the Darting Needles Quilt Guild class with Laura Murray offered earlier in May :

These are samples of hand-painted fabrics. They are sprinkled with salt to enhance the designs and coloring.





Oooh! Ahhh! Love the watercolor effects!


This one used pained fusible over stamped fabrics. Neat effect, huh?


Sample of stencils on black fabric.

Sandy's Tropical Leaves


At our May meeting, Sandy was working on this tropical leaf that will soon be appliqued to a table runner. I hope she brings it back so we can see the finished project!