Felted Fibre Art Cuffs

This is a busy time of year for those who sell handmade items for the Christmas market. Right now, I am in between two artisans show/sales in which I am participating this year . . . and I'd like to tell you about one of the items that I have created for these sales.  Cuff bracelets have been appearing in a variety of fibres and techniques over the past couple of years and I started selling some of them in my Etsy shop this year. They have been fun to create because of the incredible scope of embellishment.

I make cuffs in many techniques, but the cuffs pictured in this post are needle felted . . . dyed wool roving, threads, spun yarn and even bits of silk have been needle felted onto a base of either felted wool or synthetic wool and then they have been accented with hand embroidery stitches and a bit of beading before adding the handmade button closures. These buttons are from another Etsy seller, 2goodclaymates who also happens to live in the Shuswap area.  Carolyn custom matched the colours in some of the cuffs to come up with the buttons ... and others I found in her "ready made" collection.

The cuff on the left in the photo above has the added flourish of a burned organza ruffle around the edges which makes it so spectacular on your arm.

These cuffs are some that I created this week after selling so many of my cuffs at the sale last weekend, that I had to replenish my stock. If they don't sell this weekend, they will later be listed in my Etsy shop.

If you live in the Okanagan . . . do drop in at the Okanagan Artisans Show and Sale at the Best Western Vernon Lodge (in Vernon) this Friday, November 23 (noon to 9pm) and Saturday (9:30-3:30).  I will be there along with my felting friend, Gwen Martinuk who will be selling her gorgeous felted scarves and accessories as well as delightful felted birdhouses ... you'll fall in love with them as soon as you see them! 

Rhapsody in Blue

 The silk fibres in this silk fusion were hand dyed using kool-aid . . . the blue and purple took beautifully and have resulted in a smooth harmony.  The silk fusion was stitched to a background of black dupioni silk and backed with black quilt batting.  I used free motion machine stitching, hand embroidery, and beading to accentuate portions of the silk fusion and then hand-couched some rich turquoise hand spun yarn to the surface.  The piece was then mounted on a stretched artist's canvas.

On the long dangling ends of the yarn I have added some fibre art beads that I created by hand painting tyvek from some old envelopes and then heat distressing it along with some synthetic organza and tulle in the same turquoise and purple colours.  Additional seed beads and larger beads have been added for more interest. The bead dangles are asymmetrical ... and hang several inches below the bottom of the canvas.

This piece has a picture hanging wire on the back so it hangs from a nail on your wall just like any painting. This piece measures 20" x 16".  It is currently entered in the Shuswap Lake Festival of the Arts and will later be available for sale in my Etsy shop.

PS - On opening night at the Shuswap Lake Festival of the Arts, I found that this piece had received a Juror's Choice Award.

Sorrento is 100 Years Old

I live near the village of Sorrento which is located about half way between Vancouver and Calgary on the Trans Canada Highway.  This year Sorrento is celebrating it's 100th Anniversary and there are lots of celebrations taking place throughout the year.

The Shuswap Lake Festival of the Arts is an art show and sale that takes place in the village every July.  This year I wanted to create something that would speak to the 100th anniversary, and I decided on an art quilt that would represent a bit of the landscape of the area and have some words that would celebrate 100 years.

I was originally going to do a topographical map of the area but started sketching a slightly aerial view looking down the lake and my hubby was so taken with the sketch that he convinced me I should try this image in fabric.  In this image, Sorrento is located in the foreground of the piece (I chose not to include any buildings or highways ... only the land and the lake which have remained the same for 100 years) and looking further east down the lake you can see Copper Island in the middle and the mouth of Blind Bay on the right side (since it really is a blind bay, you can't see that opening when you are just looking east at lake level ... but I wanted to have it more noticeable since that's where I live!).

The dates, 1912 - 2012 and the name, Sorrento BC, have been stencilled onto the asymmetrical borders using Shiva Paintstiks in two colours to give the letters a bit of character. The texture that has been quilted over the landscape portion has been achieved by writing a little story about Sorrento in free motion quilting.  It is my first attempt at writing free motion so I am sure that future art quilts will show some improvement but I am very pleased with the effect that it creates.  Both the stencilling and the quilted writing were something that was covered in a course I took this spring with Catherine Nicholls ... it was a great workshop and I came away with numerous things that I would like to experiment with.

The heart that is quilted into the top left corner of the quilt is there because Sorrento is known as
"The Heart of the Shuswap".

Tree of Life - the finale

It's been a long time since my last blog post so . . . . as I said at that time, this tree of life landscape was commissioned to be used as a book cover so there were some design factors that had to be considered for it to be functional as well as an inspiring piece of art.  After a consultation, we decided to eliminate the roots of the tree and bring in more of the spring garden aspect of the landscape.

I re-worked the lower section of the landscape with a cheery hand dyed green fabric and then added flowers in the garden with hand embroidery.  It is a representation of the memorial garden at Sorrento Centre.

The book cover was then cut down the spine and I inserted another piece of hand dyed fabric that I printed with the name of the centre.  There is a pocket in the front flap to hold pamphlets or papers and it has been tightly fit to the scrapbook sized binder.

Work in Progress - Tree of Life Landscape

It's been ages since I have last posted new work ... but it's certainly not because I have been idle.  The winter has been full of fibre art experiments, workshops and dabblings . . . and now that spring is underway, I feel that I would like to post some photos of a piece that I am working on right now.

This is a small art quilt that will not see life as a wall hanging, but as a book cover ... I will post more on that, and final photos, once it has been presented to the organization that commissioned it.  In order to make this as durable as possible, I had to reject some of the techniques and fibres that I might have liked to use in this piece.  Because it will be handled (although not heavily) I felt that I should use woven fabric and stitching to achieve the look I wanted.  The fabric is all hand-dyed or hand-painted ... some of it by me, some by others.

The background design is a slightly abstract landscape of our beautiful Shuswap Lake and the tree has been created as a tree-of-life, with the roots going down into the ground and the branches and leaves reaching to heaven.  The tree has some limbs that have been cut off at some time, but the other branches are still carrying on and bringing life to the myriad leaves, represented by hand stitching in a variety of green threads.

There is still more work to be done on it, but I am pleased with how it is developing.

Swatch Stitch and Stash

This is the sample for a 4-day workshop that I will be teaching at Sorrento Centre in April. My class is entitled "Swatch, Stitch and Stash" because we will be using stitching up swatches of fabric from your stash to create a fibre art journal of the techniques that you learn during the workshop.

Some of the techniques will include creating your own unique fabric, fibre art beads, silk fusion, a variety of edge finishings, needle felting, accent embroidery stitches, free motion machine stitching, thread painting, original cords and covered sticks, thread lace and beading ... and then the samples will be compiled into a journal format that will be either accordion style(like the one pictured here) or an "infinite journal" using grommets and rings. Click on the photos to zoom in for the details.

This is a workshop that will engage intermediate level art quilters but will also be great for those who are just taking their first steps in this area ... you do, however, need to have a good knowledge of your sewing machine.

This workshop is a retreat format ... delicious meals and accommodation are included in the package price ... Call Sorrento Centre at 250-675-2421 to register.

Daisy a Day

This is a little art quilt that I created as a sample for a class I will be teaching at Pleasant Valley Quilt Shop in Armstrong, BC in April. The main focus of the class will be creating a piece of unique fabric from bits and pieces of fabric, thread, glittery bits and organza and then the participants will use that piece of unique fabric to embellish an art quilt, a purse or a greeting card. It is such a fun "play day" and I thought you might like to see how I translated it into an art quilt.

The centres of the flowers are heavily beaded with additional bead dangles and the dragonfly is adorned with a few tiny seed beads and black sequins for his big eyes ... the wings have been made from Angelina that has been stitched with silver thread.

The grasses blowing in the breeze have been created from organza that has been stitched and then the edges have been left to fray in order to create more wisps.

The stem of the plant has been created by layering two decorative ribbons and yarn and then free motion stitching to give even more texture. The leaves on the plant are made from another piece of unique fabric that I created in green tones.

The background has been stitched in midnight blue thread. The outer edge of the art quilt has been couched with shiny black cord.

This art quilt measures approximately 12" x 20"

Felted Wool Purse

I have spent some time playing with felting recently and came up with this purse which incorporates both needle felting and wet felting.

The background of the purse is black wool melton to which I needle felted some luscious plum and grey wool and silk roving ... leaving it trailing off into soft wisps. Next I used my sewing machine and black thread to free motion stitch a design over the felted fibres as well as the background. I added a few lines of iridescent thread drifting across the bag as well. In the next step I needle felted some pieces of hand dyed, hand spun yarn that I had been given by a spinning friend ... I love the thick and thin areas of the yarn as well as the little knobs that form where some of the thin areas twist on themselves. I didn't want to flatten the yarn too much so it is lightly felted and then I included a few judicious hand stitches (and a sprinkling of beads)to make sure that it holds in place. The back side of the bag has been created in the same way.

I wanted to make a jazzy flower for the lower corner of the bag so I set to work and made some wet felted balls from plum wool and from the wool/silk fibre ... I also made a few worm-y shaped pieces which I curled up a bit before letting them dry. These pieces were assembled to create the gorgeous flower, adorned with beads that graces the front of the bag.

This purse is lined with hand dyed fabric in plum and blue/grey tones and it has a zipper closure across the top with a wool tassel. The strap is cotton webbing that has been securely stitched to each side of the bag. The bag measures approximately 8.5" x 10" with a 17" drop from shoulder to bag.

This bag will be inspiration for a class that I will teach this spring, but in the meantime, this one might end up in my Etsy shop.

I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year!

Clergy Stole

This is a custom stole that I made recently for someone who will be ordained to the priesthood soon . . . It was created with the theme of the Shuswap (the lake, mountains, trees) but also with predominately green colours as it will be used during "green" liturgical seasons.

After much hunting for the "right" green background fabric, I was delighted to locate the one I used which has an underlying brown thread in the green ... it works really well with the landscape theme that I was using. The landscape itself has been created from pieces of cotton fabric ... both hand painted and commercial ... and, although the two sides of the front of the stole are similar, they are not identical.


At the back of the neck there is an appliqued cross with an arch on each side, reminiscent of St. Francis' Chapel, the outdoor chapel at Sorrento Centre.

A Jazzy Purse for the Holidays

Although it is only early November, it is the time for online shoppers to be selecting their must have items for the Christmas season. I decided to create a couple of holiday themed purses this year and although I only listed the first one in my Etsy shop yesterday, it has had many more views and hearts (people who mark it as a favourite item on Etsy) than I would have expected in twenty-four hours.

So, here is a look at the one that has been listed already and the second one that will be listed tomorrow. . .I made it thinking that I would wear it during the festive season as a bit of a walking business card . . . but maybe I'll list it for a week or so just to see if someone else wants it for their holiday attire:)

The first bag (above) is a pouch style with the foldover top (like the Shuswap Lake bag in my previous post) and it has sections of Laurel Burch fabric appliqued onto it and then it is further enhanced with primitive embroidery stitching and beading . . . it really makes me smile and I know that it will be a terrific purse for someone who likes to make a bit of a statement. This bag is approximately 11.5" square.

The second bag (at left) looks the same size from these photos but it is much smaller (approx. 7.5" square). It has been created from the same Laurel Burch fabric on a background of black linen blend. It has a long strap so that it can be worn across your body or from your shoulder and would hold your cards, money, keys and cell phone. It has some of the primitive embroidery stitches and beading, too, and is a great size for the times when you don't want to carry a large purse.

There are additional photos of more views of the bags in my Etsy shop.

Shuswap Purse for Sorrento Centre

This pouch style messenger bag has been donated to Sorrento Centre for an online auction that they will be holding starting October 24th. It has been created with an abstract scene of Shuswap Lake on the flap that is constructed of hand-painted and hand-dyed fabrics that a pieced in softly curving lines, quilted by machine and then hand stitched to add even more dimension and texture to the piece. A few individual wisps of lake or sky drift across the back of the purse with additional stitching. The black reverse side of the purse is free motion stitched in a Sorrento landscape design to give it added definition.

The base fabric is a black linen blend and the wide shoulder strap holds the bag at a nice length so that it fits securely beneath your arm. The bag is lined with a light blue/grey cotton and has two large pockets. An interlining of quilt batting gives added structure to the purse.

The purse is accessed from the top of the open pouch and then the top half folds over where the strap is attached to the bag to create the flap. There is no hardware closure.





This bag measures approximately 10" when the flap is folded over and
will comfortably hold your necessities and more . . . The drop of the handle is approximately 16".









The middle photo shows the back of the bag.





Click on the photos to zoom in...





To bid on this purse visit
Sorrento Centre
after October 24th

Breast Cancer Awareness - October

It is October which is Breast Cancer Awareness month and I am offering these delightful pink card case/wallets in my Etsy shop. All of the profit from these little card cases will be donated for breast cancer research. They are just $12 and there will be a variety of styles offered. . . some of them have snap closure ... others have Velcro closure ... some have a wristlet strap ... others have a key ring ... others have nothing attached ... some have beading or embroidery ... others are plainer. You will be sure to find one to suit yourself or people on your gift list.

If you would like to purchase a larger quantity of them, please send me an email and I will make that happen for you. I will continue to list them throughout the month.

Thanks to my friend Ellen for suggesting this project for October. She didn't know when she suggested it, how important it would be for me to do this in memory of my Mom who had breast cancer, and in support of friends who have battled the disease.

Are you diligent about screening for breast cancer?!

Here's the link to my Etsy shop if you would like to browse a bit Kathy's Etsy shop.

This last little bag is one
of my small bag design,
also in pinks but with a
stylish artsy look.

Delightful Dove Purse

This purse was a custom design which was a delight to make . . . my customer asked for a purse of specific dimensions and design and that it have a dove on it ... and warm colours. Those were great parameters for me and, after more emails we decided that the base fabric for the purse would be navy blue. The purse you see in the photo was created on a base of navy blue linen and the orange and rust hand-dyed cottons are stitched to the linen in softly undulating curves. The dove was created separately, being quilted onto cotton quilt batting, it was then cut out and appliqued to the warm curves. The extra layer of batting behind the dove, gives it just a little additional texture.

The bag is about 10" square as you see it in the photo above, but the flap is also an extension of the purse (it is a large pouch) so there is lots of room for various things that you like to carry with you. The "back" side of the purse has a few drifts of orange fabric as well as the free motion stitching (in both navy and orange threads) which covers the entire bag.

There is hand stitching on the front of the bag and there are additional accessories which go with the bag: a wallet, card case, and eyeglass case.

Here is a photo of the back side of the bag











and the complete set.

Fun Felted Needle Cases

One of the most useful items in my sewing studio is my needle case ... in fact, I have two of them that I use all the time! They are a good place to store needles that are not used very often (think: curved leather needles, big fat embroidery needles, and long thin beading needles) and others that are used frequently but interchangeably.

These little needle cases have been created from pieces of felting that were left over from other projects and they make delightful covers for the little needle books. The interior "pages" are wool Melton which holds the needles very well and helps to keep them polished and smooth from the natural oils that are in the sturdy wool. A little bit of additional hand stitching and beading makes them worthy of gifting to your favourite sewing friend :)

New purses for August

I have been busy making some new purses to replenish the stock in my Etsy shop . . . here are photos of a few of them that I have finished and photo-graphed.

I am particularly pleased with the black linen bags with the raggedy silk flowers and stems . . . they really speak to me:) Once the first one was done I just had to create a second one in different colours . . . and I don't do that very often.

Likewise, the sunflower bag has been made in the same fashion as one I created a few months ago. The first one was a dark sunflower on a putty coloured background . . . this one is the lighter coloured sunflower that is on a faded green and rusty-red background . . . it makes me think of the colours we see as they fade in the fall.

The burgundy bag is made of Dupioni silk and has been free-motion stitched with a variegated thread in the shape of leaves and swirls . . . check out the cute beading on the flap of this one.

Discharged Fabric - Peace Symbol

This was a fun project to work on this week . . . one of my Etsy customers requested a purse that included a peace symbol and the colour purple. I pondered it for a while and searched for fabric printed with peace symbols and didn't come up with any that appealed to me . . . so I decided to create my own fabric!

This is a piece of purple batik that I then discharged with dishwasher gel to obtain a beautiful greyish-blue shade. You can never be sure just what colour a particular fabric will discharge to, so this was a delightful surprise. If you are unfamiliar with the discharge process, it is employing bleach to remove dye from fabric, which reveals the underlying colour ... if you stop the process at just the right time:) Dishwasher gel contains bleach (ask me how I discovered that one!) and the consistency makes it great for rolling onto a stamp for this purpose. The stamp I made for this commission was cut from a piece of craft foam and then glued to the lid of an old medicine bottle, which made a great stamp holder.

After the purse was constructed, I did some free motion stitching around some of the symbols and then created a drift of circles in a band on the purse . . . and then painted that band roughly with irridescent aquamarine textile paint and a brighter turquoise paint. The painted band has been outlined with a row of aquamarine stitches and a row of amethyst stitches. There is a cluster of beads on the lower edge of the flap to help weigh it closed . . . and a matching card case and wristlet key fob complete the set.

Artsy Little Mug Rug

This past week I was flying back and forth across the country and decided I needed to take along a little stitching project to pass the time on the airplane . . . and these little mug rugs are the result.

If you don't know what a mug rug is, it is an over-sized coaster that is big enough to hold a coffee mug or a glass as well as a spoon to stir with and maybe even a little snack. They vary in size but these three are about six to seven inches square (or almost square) and they have a layer of batting to help protect your table from heat and moisture.

I love to combine machine quilting and hand quilting in my work but, being on a plane meant that I had lots of time to do hand work and no access to a machine, so these are actually hand-quilted as well as having the decorative stitching. It's all done is a primitive style on a fabric that has a real ethnic feel to it and I love the result. I have listed one of them for sale in my Etsy shop to see what the reaction is to them.

"Fiery Incline" - A Three-Dimensional Art Quilt

I have been playing with the idea of creating a 3-D art quilt for some time and this fabric called out to me to try it!

The fiery oranges and rusts are set off by the black silk and fibre that have come to remind me of a forest fire on a steep slope ... can you find the charred fir needles?

This is a three-sided vessel that is 13-1/2" tall and has a 6" base. The foundation fabric was created as a strip-pieced quilt which was then cut up and stitched together again as pieces that would eventually form a vessel.

The bottom is weighted with plastic pellets so that it doesn't tip over and there are numerous embellishment techniques that have been used on the surface. It is a delightful piece that has much potential.

This entry won a Juror's Choice award at the Shuswap Lake Festival of the Arts July 15th.

Silk Fusion "Turmoil"

This is a piece of silk fusion that I made from gorgeous silk fibres in orange and fuschia. The fibres are used to create a "paper" that can be stitched and embellished just like fabric . . . and in this case I have quilted it onto a base of black cotton so that the free motion stitching creates added texture. It has been further embellished by hand embroidery in some of the sections of the stitching and a drift of clear tangerine beads drifting across the surface.

It is mounted on a 16" x 20" canvas with the edges wrapped with the black cotton so that it will hang like a painting on your wall.

This piece will be entered in the Shuswap Lake Festival of the Arts next month.

Be sure to click on the photos to see more of the details.  SOLD

"The Threads of St. Mary's"

This is a banner that I designed and constructed in honour of the 100th Anniversary of St. Mary's Church, Sorrento, BC. It was dedicated on Easter Sunday, 2011.

Prior to the construction of this banner, parishioners and former parishioners were invited to donate a "thread" to be incorporated into the banner . . . some of these threads were as fine as a piece of sewing thread or fishing line, others were heavier pieces of rope and leather, while still other pieces were yarns or ribbons remaining from significant projects. Some threads were utilitarian while others were decorative. Pieces of each thread were incorporated into the cross on the banner, with some of the threads being clipped into pieces to form the foundation under the longer ripples of thread on the surface. In some cases, several threads were twisted together and then stitched with yet another thread to create a heavier cord to use on the surface. The cross itself has an aspect of the tree of life, with roots in many parts of the community. There are a few beads on the banner that accentuate the sky, hills and the cross itself. The banner measures 31" x 44".




The background of the banner has been pieced from a selection of hand-dyed fabrics and has been designed to represent the Sorrento area . . . the beautiful hills, mountains, lake, forests and fields. It has been quilted in free-motion designs to accent each component and many of the sections have been hand-embroidered with textural stitches that enhance the overall design. Light seems to filter down onto the hills and the lake from the cross. (I have included a smaller photo of the banner here that is darker in colour (perhaps closer to the true colours in the banner...all these photos still need work -- what else is new!)

The reverse side of the banner has the lettering for St. Mary's, Sorrento, so that when used as a processional banner, the name of the church will be visible after the banner passes the observer. The lettering is created from fabric that I hand-painted in a strong turquoise blue. A swag of additional threads can be looped onto the reverse side when it is used as a processional banner. . . I forgot to take a photo of the reverse of the banner with the swag of threads, so I'll add one later.

St. Mary's is a beautiful small church located right on the Trans Canada Highway and close to Shuswap Lake. The church started life as a log structure in 1911, built by the Anglican community; it has been a shared ministry between the Anglican and United Church community for the past forty years.