Whiling Away Winter

Wisconsin has been mild this year in terms of winter overall, with many storms missing us as they pass through Chicago and on east. It doesn’t mean it’s not cold or wet though, so house bound has been the word of the day for me. I don’t care for cold weather and am perfectly content to remain indoors, fussing with my hobbies and outlets and loving up our three cats. They too, seem to have the right idea.

Our holidays passed with little ado since family was far away so now it’s just the slow slog until April when Marc will get his first big break of the year. We hope it’s not too early then to get the rig out for a few days.

I’ve been happy to have my new addiction, although it’s occurred to me that I likely will have to take a quilting class to really get the hang of that portion of what I’m doing. Meanwhile, I improvise. Rather than stick with one style or motif, I wander around Pinterest and attempt what interests me at the moment.

A girlfriend sent me some wonderful vintage hankies for their lace, but some are just too beautiful to cut up, so I’ve mounted them instead. I also did that with an old baby dress I had.

Working with the Sari silk, which comes in such vibrant colors, I had the idea of using it for a border technique and found it worked especially well for my felted pieces.

I also added it to a small art piece I made for our neighbor featuring her dog Ellie and my hand painted and felted sky and sea.

I thought the idea of doing some confetti work could be fun so I did several of those using tiny pieces of cut fabric for the foliage of the trees. One, I even used real birch bark on, which Marc had brought me back a couple of years ago, so it was nicely aged and peeled easily. The last one he likes enough he wants it in the RV.

I’m adding lots of beadwork in various forms to my work; some so subtle you have to view it from the side for best effect of showing its shiny self. I added to the oak leaf (which I had traced from one of our own trees) in an effect to create a rain storm. The ombre scarf I used as background for bears and woods has beaded trees.

Also working on some landscapes and piece work applique.

Thought there might be some demand for some fabric bookmarks; they are quick and fun using Mod Podge on cutouts from magazines, etc.

Lastly, I am turning more towards hand quilting, embroidering, and hand painting small items, leaning towards a messy, lace driven earthy look that isn’t necessarily even symmetrical. They go quick and allow for great creativity in a small venue.

I've slowed down a bit as I continue to really struggle with my left hand. It has bad days and worse days, as seen in this photo.