Winter Means Make Something!

Brrrrrrr..... cold wet snowy icy.  We've had it all, but not nearly as bad as many other parts of the country.  Actually pretty typical January, one extreme to the other!  Perfect days to get in the studio and create.  

One project I've been working on is some triloom weaving.  I've been weaving a pretty melon cotton shawl for spring.

I think it will be just the right touch with a white tee shirt. Triloom weaving is so relaxing..... I love listening to podcasts or books while weaving.  Sometimes even a movie on Netflix!  

I've also been having fun with flowers.  I purchased the Raggedy Flower pattern from Primitive Spirit and spent an afternoon hooking pretty posies.  

It's fun to make them into little pins.  Directions for all of this comes with the pattern.
Here I have it pinned to my navy pea coat.  You can see a peek of a bag I needlepointed at least 20 years ago.  The pattern is from an old folk art needle point book by Mary Norden.  I've needlepointed several of her patterns..... not doing needlepoint these days, but who knows, may decide to give it a go again.

 I will soon be teaching a rug hooking class at Pheonas's.  Pheonas's is a CHARMING historical home turned into a shop and studio in Billings, Missouri.

Over the course of two classes we will hook and assemble this pretty pansy pillow.

We will meet Saturday February the 9th from 1:00-4:00 for hooking, and Saturday March 2nd at the same time for assembling.  All materials are provided, and no experience is necessary.  Great time of year to learn a new skill, or add some additional techniques to your rug hooking repertoire.

Hope you're warm and cozy.
xo
dulcy

Blooming Posy Bags

I've started making my little over the shoulder hooked bags again.  I really enjoy the process of design, color, and texture.  I would sort of like to start hooking something large, but haven't felt pulled that way, and frankly, don't have room in my home for another large piece.  Of course, I shouldn't say that because new becomes old, and old usually finds it's place over chairs on the porch, or home on my studio floor covering spots on the carpet I can't seem to remove.  And anyway, it's about the process....right?

So here's a quick look at a couple of bags I created last month that were exciting and fun to make.

First, I have what I like to call my "Dazzling Dahlias" bag.  I used some of my "sexy jersey" wool that I purchased from Deanne Fitzpatrick.  Great fun to hook with!  Nice and soft, and lends itself to clipping and twisting.  The background doesn't show up very well here, but it's a gorgeous slate/eggplant blue with a tiny gold thread runny through.  Really works well with the jersey pastels.

This little bag is currently for sale at our library gift shop, "Between Friends".

I was so in love with the background color (because, for me, it's always about the color) that I did another.  I like to call it "Gorgeous Gerbers".

Lots of pretty proddy on this one.  It's also at the same shop.

A happy pair!

 Weaving happening too.  Shawls in shop that I failed to photograph, and a gorgeous pink on the loom.

All is well and in color!

xo
dulcy

Home For The Holidays

Hello Friends!

Lovely crazy time of year, and enjoying every minute of it!  I haven't blogged in a bit, lately spending my days getting ready for a show followed by a holiday sale.  Just wanted to share a sampling of my fiber frenzy love.

Staying in the moment, trying to be quiet, spending time with family and friends, love being home.

Hope you're happy and well

xo

dulcy

Snowdrops and Rugs

One of my very most favorite flowers is the snowdrop.  I LOVE how it sits so patiently under the snow and freezing cold temps, yet still blooms it's pretty delicate white flowers.  I've been dividing a few plants around one side of my home under the kitchen window.  I didn't get pictures of them this year, but hooked this pillow instead.

I had lots of fun playing with wool and color.  I would love to have a whole field of snowdrops greet me each spring!

Rug hooking has had me in it's grips since Christmas!  I've finished four or five pieces.  I've been leaning towards more geometric patterns and some abstract.  Thought it would be easy.  Not in the least!  I guess I've hooked so many pieces with a motif of some kind over the years, that going abstract is kind of difficult.  But, I love the challenge, and love playing with color.

I made this piece and just couldn't live with it.

The photo is a bit enhanced, but what bothers me is several things.  First, I decided it would be a nice place to attach this little fiber collage I did years ago.  I've always like the little piece, but couldn't decide what to do with it.  So I thought the colors might look nice with this rug.  There is a lot of gold in the collage, which was not in the original rug.  It's color palette is mostly rusts, blues, creams, peach, and a bit of soft green.  Well..... #1 The collage just looks to stuck on and out of place, even though I tried to avoid that, and make it look like it belongs.  It doesn't.  #2  I added some gold into the background of the rug to tie in with the collage.  Just didn't work.  #3 I have that hideous, out of place horizontal line.  I had to hang this and live with it to see all that didn't work and bothered me.  So I made the necessary adjustments......

Took off the collage, took out the gold, took out a few lines so it didn't look so boxy.  And, I think it works better horizontal than vertical.  I now have another large abstract that's going to get "the treatment".  It's all in the practice, and as long as I've been hooking rugs, I'm still learning.

xo
dulcy

Foxy Red and Mr. Fox

Is it too early to think about fall?  Probably.... but I couldn't resist making a shawl out of this gorgeous foxy red Noro yarn.

And..... a pretty little hit n' miss bag to go with it!

Speaking of foxy red, we spent some time up in Michigan and Canada this summer.  On the way home, we spent a night in Saugatuck, Michigan.  We found the most wonderful junker's paradise and couldn't resist this little concrete guy that really needed a home.  The problem was finding room for him in the car.  Hubby did some juggling with bags, totes, cooler, etc. and found room for this sweetie.

 

He's originally from an old lodge in Traverse City.  Beautifully painted concrete, and such detail in his pretty green eyes.

He now resides out back among the day lilies.  I love our new Mr. Fox!

xo
dulcy

Projects In The Works....Etsy Again!

I'm not sure I'm done with my "Little Dream Girl".  So..... she remains in the studio mounted to this gold painted canvas.  She may come off, or I may add something to the canvas.  Just not sure yet.

Here's a view from the door into my very messy studio space taken this morning.  My newest shawl is still on the loom waiting for the rest of its fringe.........

I'm excited to get it off the loom so I can start my new one with this gorgeous color transitioning Noro yarn.  It's my absolute favorite right now for weaving!

On To Vintage News!

I've just opened a new little Etsy shop called dulcyann.  I've acquired quite a few vintage finds over the past several years that I'm ready to clean out and pass on... also several small antiques.  I've started with a few items and will continue to add more.  This will most likely be a temporary shop that I'll close when I'm ready to move on.  In other words, these are items I've owned for a long time, and don't plan on adding more to my collection.  Please drop by and check in often as there will be a variety of vintage lovelies for sale!

xo
dulcy

Fiber Loves........

My little dream girl is hooked and waiting to be mounted on painted canvas.  I think I'm going to use a burnt sienna with some gold as my background colors to frame her off with.

Tools of the trade......... I made the little leaf pottery at a First Friday Art Walk a couple of years ago, and the shells are from a beach in Nova Scotia. 

Current pair of knitted socks on their way to being finished.....  I truly think I'm done with socks for now, but am taking a trip to the yarn store tomorrow, so never say never!

 

And am so excited to share a Christmas present from hubby.  A new year's subscription to my favorite mag...... SELVEDGE!!  Just got my first issue this week.......... If you're a fiber gal like me, this magazine (actually it's more like a book) is a must.  The problem is they quit carrying it at any of the book stores here. 

It's perfect for cold winter evenings in front of the fire.  My other gift is a subscription to the British edition of Country Living (as I've stated here many times in the past, HEADS AND TAILS ABOVE IT'S AMERICAN SISTER!)  Unfortunately, my first issue doesn't arrive until March or April.  I have no idea why it takes so long.  Hubby feels sorry for me as he says "trolling Barnes and Noble each month for the latest issues................".  Pitiful.........

xo

dulcy

Dreaming of Snow...........

I wish it would snow............................

I hooked these two little friends in a dreamy winter wonderland.  It doesn't show up in this photo, but I added lots of sparkly yarn to the snow.  I want to go there. 

I haven't finished this piece off yet, but may attach it to some linen with a frayed edge, or some wool.  I'm also considering a small canvas, and I'll paint the border.  I'll have to think about this........

I'm very into weaving on my triloom at the moment.  I picked up this lovely Noro yarn yesterday to start a new shawl.  I want a snowy day in the studio, weaving, drinking hot drinks, listening to great books on my iPod.  Of course I do these activities without the snow, but wouldn't the snow add just the right touch?

I can't wait to start this shawl, but have another practice piece on the loom.  I'm afraid I'm going to run out of this pretty teal that I've had so long, I don't remember where it came from.  I've been using it for all kinds of other projects, and it seemed like a forever ball of yarn.  But, this shawl may end up with a stripe down the center before it's through.

Have you decorated for the holidays yet?  Not that I find that necessary.  There's an awful lot of pressure these days to decorate, spend, eat, and that can cause soooo much stress.  I don't put much out, but wanted to share my festive bottle ornament.  I just love it!

 

I have it next to this sweet little Ukrainian egg done by my mom.  This little grouping of two makes me feel happy and warm.  

Next to them sits another egg done by mom.  It's an ostrich egg.  I also have a needle point egg next to it.  I love red with the pretty soft aqua pottery.

I have other, what I consider holiday pretties, out and about.  Handmade, and things I've acquired over the years that mean so much to me.  Have a lovely day............

xo

dulcy

Hooking Small

I've been working away on my new fiber piece while thinking about hooking.  What else do I want to hook? (I counted seventeen pieces around my house.... counting pillows, rugs, and wall hangings... this does not include my many hooked bags and a few oldies put away).  It's not like my home is a shrine to rug hooking, as I have everything spaced apart and in various rooms.  But, I'm so into cutting down on decorating clutter these days!  I know a lot of you probably hook for holidays, and keep those pieces nicely stored to be brought out each season.  I think that's a refreshing way to display hooking and decorate.  But...... I'm not a big holiday decorator.  I like to keep things as simple as possible.... I like to keep seasonal decorating to a minimum.  I don't really like to have too much stuff stored away that's not being used.  That all being said, I'm thinking of using my hooking creativity to create smaller more painterly types of work.  I've done a few in the past.....

All these were made without much planning from bits and piece of this and that.  They tend to be playful and full of color.  The following is along the same lines.... in that I cut by hand and create my design as I hook.  This piece is loosely based on a photo my husband took of some woodland wildflowers.  You can see the photo in my previous post.

 

I stitched the hooked piece with the lace onto this gorgeous piece of wool dyed by my bestie, Tammy from  Skip To My Ewe.

This piece will be a wall hanging, and I'm waiting for the weather to dry out to find the perfect tree limb to use as part of the hanger.  I'll post it completed later.

I think this sort of thing is the direction I'm heading, at least for now.  I love the aspect of painting with wool.  I also like hooking small, not cutting a bunch of wool at one time, and just creating as I go.  I'm thinking postcard sized pieces that can be mounted creatively..... small gifts that can easily find a home in small spaces......

Oh, I'm sure there's at least another large rug or mat left in me, but I'm really happy with what I have right now.  Too much to create and not enough time or space!!

xo

dulcy

Quiet Time

I've been laying quiet and low.  My mother is very sick, and it's been a sad and exhausting couple of weeks.  Thank goodness for knitting!  Knitting can get me through some intense and scary life issues..... it's portable, somewhat easy, a bit creative, calming, and always there for me.  Over this past week I've been knitting this lovely cowl.  I think it came out quite nice.

My current color love is gray.... can't get enough!  I bought some adorable gray dessert boots that I'll show off with a pair of my knitted socks when it cools down some.  I found this free pattern on Pinterest.  I had been looking for "my perfect cowl" for sometime.  This caught my eye because the cowl pictured on line is also in gray... and I like the little design knitted in.  I think I'll wear it a lot this winter (if it ever cools down again......... sigh).

Of course I've always got a hooking project on the frame.  Below is a shot of the current one in progress.

I had noticed the photograph on my husband's computer as he was going through some things he had recently shot.  Just some little wild flowers in the woods.  I thought it might be a fun challenge to try and hook this.  It's a small piece and I'm hand cutting every strip.  I'm obviously not trying for every little detail.... I have to get somewhat abstract with all the dried leaves, grasses, stems, and dark areas.

Yes, it is tedious... but I've done a few similar projects, and really enjoy this detailed type of hooking when I'm in the mood.  It creates quite a mess as there's wool scraps all around my chair.  I don't like to clean any of this up until I'm done.  I could hook in the studio, but got this started inside, so that's where I'm currently planted.  It's the sort of project that is soothing and tranquil for me.  I'm not at the cutter sawing off chunks of wool strips.  I just look at an area, cut a piece or two with my scissors, and hook.  I pull out what doesn't work and try a lighter or darker piece.  I've only used what's in my wool stash, and this is a scrap piece of linen.  You can use up the tiniest strips and scraps of wool when doing a hooking project like this!

I haven't left many, if any comments lately.  But.... I do peek in and see what's going on.  I've just  been a bit tired due to this current life circumstance.  Things seem to have settled down some, so I"ll drop by soon.

xo
dulcy

Toasty Hands For Fall

I've still been on my fingerless glove kick.... and maybe I'm done.  It's been fun knitting these up quickly, edging with crochet, and then adding a bit of embellishment.  This little project has also been a handy and creative way to use up bits and pieces of yarn, buttons, and wool.

The above is my first pair.  I edged these with some creamy vintage style ribbon.

Below is yarn from the same skein, as I mentioned in my previous post.  I added the wool hearts and sweet little vintage pearl buttons.  I like mixing things up a bit so each glove is somewhat different, but still obviously part of a pair.

Both of the above pairs are a cotton silk blend.

Below are my two wool pairs.  This first pair has a leaf and acorn embellishment for fall walks during crip cool weather in the woods. Ahhh..... obviously dreaming (94 degrees at the moment).

My last pair is a nice brown wool with some confetti flecks dancing about.  I edged it with bright left over sock yarn, and added some pretty bright wool hearts.

So..... Christmas presents maybe..... or just happy's for friends?