Bookbinding bug. I love to make books by hand. This project puts together several of the different crafts that go on pretty much all the time around my house. The velvet cover starts as a piece of silk velvet that is fiber reactive dyed. Then the bookboards are covered in velvet and a cotton sateen on the inside. The outside is decked out with vintage trim and ribbon, some of it velvet. Then the decorative part near the opening is vintage lace, a watch face, a rusty washer and beads with little watch gears. The clasp comes around from the back and is antiqued brass. The ribbon on the binding is tied to the coptic stitches. It is also hand dyed.








Here is the upclose part of the clasp























Here is the coptic stitch binding.

This is why I love coptic stitch, because all the pages lay flat when you open the book. Yes I did sew lace to the edges of some pages.

Celadon for spring. On the loom now are panels for two spring shawls. The warp is green and blue, very pale and the weft is celadon. This was the first time I tried putting the hand dyed silk ribbon into the weft as I was weaving, using a gordes (sp?) knot. This seems to be a better way of adding fringe instead of leaving holes that you will go back later and add the fringe to. It doesn't distort the warp/weft as much. Check back in a day or so to see the final product.

In the garden right now the potatoes are in bloom, the broccoli and brussels sprouts are about a foot high and the radishes are ready.

This plateful was part of last night's dinner along with some salt and asiago cheese.

Happy Happy Happy Earth Day! It is spring on this beautiful planet we call home and it is hard not to appreciate all the things coming to life after a long winter. In many place on the web you can read about Earth Day and ways to save the planet. My favorite is www.noimpactman.typepad.com who writes every day about ways to make our footprints a little smaller. If you think it is hard to make a difference where you live, try in an apt in NYC where Colin lives! If he and his family can make a difference so can the rest of us. At this point I think it is important to find ways to make our lives less toxic to ourselves and the planet - before it is too late. So do something today to celebrate this beautiful place we live!

Another day another poncho. So far this one may be my favorite. It is periwinkle and bronze. Such a strange color combination came about by accident but really works here in our desert southwest. There is a lot of motteling of the colors here and it adds a great deal of interest.

On other fronts I have been trying out mosaics. The round white one is my work and the blue and white tray is a friend's. We grouted together on the back porch today.

The summer clothes project started because I wanted something fun to wear this summer. Something that would look good with leggings and birks, standard artist wear. I did not intend to sell the dresses, but planned selfishly to keep them and wear them. I planned to sell the ponchos. However I would wear the dress out in public and someone would stop me and ask if they could buy a set and they would tell me the color they wanted and I went home and dyed them up. So this post is for my friends who are trying to figure out what size to tell me they want. The purple dress is a one size and is large on the top and bottom. It is what I wear even though it looks baggy in places, you can put a t-shirt under it or another tank in the summer. The coral one is an X-Large and does come in larger and smaller sizes. It is more like a regular Large size. Does that help? Send me an email and let me know....

Poncho madness has taken over my house. There are ponchos of almost every color hanging all over getting ready to make their debut at the Farmer's Market. They will get a preview at the Pre-Mother's Day trunk show at the Back Porch Antique Mall on May 2nd. My partner in the booth, Jean Peter is showing her beautiful jewelry from 11-4 on that Saturday. Bargains and treasures will abound for those close enough to come to the sale (108 E. Broadway, Hobbs). In addition to jewelry there will be beads for sale and silk scarves, handwoven garments and hand dyed garments.

As I was taking these pictures outside on the back porch I was joined by all my animal friends. George is doing what he was doing in the last post, sleeping. At 11 years old he does that most of the time.

This turquoise and deep red is probably my favorite. It was a last minute thought and I dreaded that the colors would not "go" together and would just look like mud, but it came out very striking.

Frisbee came out to see what all the pictures were about. She is the darling of my heart...

Here is the Red Chenille Shawl from the last post finished. This first picture is of the back, it comes down to a V in the back.

Here is the front with one of the panels draped over the shoulder. The panels are just a little longer than I would normally make them because the lady for whom this shawl was made is quite tall and I wanted her to be able to wear a brooch or pin with it and still have plenty left to drape down.

Murphy.

Wind and dust and sand, oh my - this is no day to be in the garden. Out here on the plains we have many days like this in the spring when the wind begins before dawn, or never quits from the night before. The light is hazy from the stuff in the air and being outside for any length of time is like being sandblasted.


A good day to get back to the looms. All this red chenille is very cheering. It will be a V-back shawl for one of the librarians here in my hometown. Chenille is so soft and has such a nice drape when finished it is no wonder so many people enjoy wearing it.

If you are new to chenille, this is rayon chenille in Ruby from Webs http://www.yarn.com the 1450 yd per pound put up. When you are deciding on the length and width of a piece be sure to add in some extra for the shrinkage. I usually add a couple of inches to the width and at least six to the length. When you take it off the loom and wash it be sure it is in a gentle cycle so it doesn't get too mangled, but then when you put it in the dryer (one of the few things that really improves by going in the dryer) put in a towel (one that does not shed) or two and dry on medium/low heat until completely dry. It should come out with that lovely hand and drape we love in chenille. It needs that abrasion in the dryer and also the warmth to make the rayon fibers fill out. Check your lint trap because it can shed quite a bit.

This is one of my assistants, George who is practicing the art of taking up the entire six foot sofa so that the dog cannot get up there. This necessitates a lot of deep sighs on the part of the English Cocker who has to lay on her big round cushion on the floor. Life is so unfair....