Fiber Forum with Barbara Lee Smith

During our workshop we worked most of the time on our own individual studies.  

I started making some flowers using very irregular yarns on scraps of orange Congress Cloth.

Some students brought projects they had been working on.

Next I worked on a piece of felt that I made from fabric, thread and yarn scraps.  I began felting it at home.  After working on the first sample I decided that the surface was too complex.  I used the embellisher to felt in more black and royal violet yarn from the back .  In the process the front side was blended more.  I used a notepad from the hotel room to make windows in various shapes to select areas to stitch small studies.  I rarely work small so this was a good exercise for me.

The lighting here at home is much better and the color changes are much more obvious than in the classroom. 

Sample #1 Pineapple thread from the 2016 Fiber Forum was used to outline turquoise yarns in the felt.  Turquoise yarn was added on the surface to give more texture.  

Sample #2 Teardrop beads. Delica beads.  Turquoise yarn was added on the surface to give more texture.  Trite, but pleasant.  

Sample #3 Small beads, short bugle beads, then yellow stitches repeated some fibers in the felt.  As I stitched, I got to a corner and there was just enough space for a little heart.  Then I made another heart around an interesting section of the felt.  The little stitches reminded me of darning.  This sample got a title which is larger than the piece.

"Darn it.  Falling in Love Again."

Sample #4 "Mango Moon" yarn was used to make French knots then beads were added to build on the orange colors in the felt.

Sample#5 Surreptitious stitches were made just below the surface of the felt using pink pearl cotton.   To be continued at home where I can find the size and color of thread I need to continue....

 

P.S.  When I check all of the writing above, the fonts and sizes are all the same.  Unfortunately they don't look the same when it is published.  What you see when you write the blog post is not what you get.  

Fiber Forum Excursions

The first week of May I attended the Fiber Forum workshop at the Textile Center in Minneapolis.  Here's a link to their website.  This is a wonderful community resource where there is a shop, library, galleries, classrooms, and offices.  There was a smocking exhibit in the windows of the library area.  Thursday evening our teacher, Barbara Lee Smith, had the opening for her exhibit at the Textile Center, "That's How the Light Gets In".

On Wednesday afternoon we visited the Walker Museum of Art.  Here's a link to their website.  We went to see "Merce Cunningham: Common Time" which will be displayed through July 30, 2017.  Look for it on the Walker website.

Then we went to the American Swedish Institute and saw the Weather Diaries.  Here's a link to their website.  This exhibit will be there through July 2, 2017.  Check out this exhibit on their website if you can't go in person.  We had our evening meal there.  Here's my salad with fish.  Its the tallest salad I can remember.

We ended the workshop on Friday afternoon with a visit to Tim Harding's Studio.  Here's a link to his website.