Foil on Fabric, Pins & Purses

In my classes a couple of weeks ago, I demonstrated how I do foil on fabric. It was late in the day & everyone was already overloaded. Most of the students just didn't get it, & it bothers me when they can't be successful. These are the products that I like. I also like Aleen's 'It's OK To Wash It' glue, but I've used both successfully. 

My first step is to place a good glob of the glue on to a piece of glass. I use glass from an old picture frame, & put blue painter's tape around the edges to to cover the sharp edge.

I use a roller, & roll out the glue, the roll it on to my stamp,

& stamp it on my fabric. (Just a thin layer)

I lay a bit of the gold leaf on the stamped image,

then run it with a soft paint brush, or old tooth brush, or just my finger-tip, & this is what it looks like.

The students who weren't successful were just applying too much glue.

I also used the same stamp to make a couple of pins. I brushed Pearl-ex Powder directly on the stamp, the pushed it into some foam that I had heated with a heat gun. After making the impression, I used a rub-on gold wax to high-light the raised image.

I sewed each foam medallion on with a bead in the center.

Finally here are the purses I finished last week.

This one is a microfiber body & silk front flap, (I painted the strap to match).

It reverses to this odd hairy fabric flap with a velvety body.

I used one of Mindy's glass pices for the front.

The other purse I made is for myself. I started it in my purse class.

Another of Mindy's glass bits, held on by my threadplay.

Here is the reverse side.

I used a rock for this side. I love rocks.

I've been thinking about the comments from the previous post. I really don't know when this snow will all be gone, but I think it might be fun to have a little contest to see who comes the closest to guessing the correct date. So here it is, the "Rabbit Creek Snow Classic", (a take-off from the Nenana Ice Classic). I will photo the ground in the northwest corner of my yard starting in May. & you all can pick a day for the snow to be gone from that corner. The person, who chooses the correct day will get on of my pins. ONLY ONE PERSON PER DATE, SO THE 1ST PERSON TO PICK A DATE WILL BE WRITTEN ON MY DESK CALENDAR.

Springtime in Alaska

HI yall! Yep that's me, standing all 5 feet 4 inches waving hello. Standing flat footed on the ground (well as close to the ground as the several inches of packed snow under my feet allows. I suspect we'll have snow until June.

I'm tired & heading for bed. I did finish a couple of purses last weekend, & hope to get a quilt on the frame this weekend, so I will be posting some fiber content next. Happy first day of spring!

Class Weekend

I'm at home today. I awoke at 415 with a splitting headache, to the point of nausea. It didn't get better when I got up, & I was unable to drink coffee (which I thought might cure the headache), so I ended up calling in sick.  I went back to bed & woke up a few hours later with just a dull ache on the left side & the nausea subsided, so I'm feeling better already.

Here are a few photos from my classes on the 3rd & 4th.

In the Surface Design & Embellishing class we started out with the "Straw Dying" that I learned last spring.

I gave each student fabric & a pair of bamboo socks for dying. Barb Russell really got into it. She used her socks to clean up her bucket when she was done dying her fabric.

The students did rubbings with oil pain sticks,

& I tried to show them how they can use foil & stamps, but at some point I felt like I had lost control of the class. By about 2 o'clock everyone was fried on overload. 

Sunday we did purses.

My students were great, & everyone did their own design. Ruthe had made her flap ahead of time, using a beautiful crinkled fabric that she then sewed on to Texture Magic, & got more texture. She put together a great bunch of buttons & beads, & took one of the fused glass bits that I brought to share (made by Mindy).

It was a great weekend. I took this shot of the Ravens & the moon outside of the Beartooth Restaurant after class on Sunday. I wish I'd had my telephoto lens with me.

Verification Words

A quick note about Blogger's new double word verification for commenting. I have removed it from my blog due to the difficulties it's causing in trying to comment. Thanks Kathy for emailing me about it. I've had the same problem trying to leave comments on other people's blogs. The words are so illegible, they are impossible to read. I complained to Blogger 2 weeks ago. Maybe more of us need to complain! 

Lecture Design Inspiration

My lecture last night was well received. I feel very lucky to belong to such a nice group. I showed 231 slides, while talking about "Design Inspiration" & trying to explain where I find it, & ' how my mind works'. 

I also Demonstrated how I try out different designs on the computer before stitching quilting on the quilt. I used my friend Jackie Carley's quilt top to show how I do it, then I offered to let others try it out. Ruthe was a great sport & gave it a try. After that I asked if they had had enough, or wanted to  see my suitcase load of quilts.

 They all wanted the quilts, so we pulled out about 30 quilts & passed them around, chatting & laughing & having a good time.

 I ended up having a banana & glass of milk for supper, & crashed at about 10:30! Too tired to bother eating. Today we're dying, doing Surface Design & Embellishments. Tomorrow it's Reverse-a-Purse, & Monday it's back to my regular job.

 I had nursing nightmares just before I awoke at 4:30  this morning. I dreamed I gave a patient a glass of water because she was thirsty, & got fired for it, because she was supposed to be going to surgery & wasn't supposed to eat or drink anything.

Tonight.

Tonight is my lecture at the Lutheran Church on the corner of 15th & Cordova. If you can, come join us!

I just posted a nice Show & Tell from yesterday's meeting, Please follow the LINK! & enjoy!