Surprise, Surprise!

Woohoo it's SPRING!  If not by the calendar then certainly by my first surprise this day.  I discovered this fully bloomed snowdrop crocus in my garden this morning.  Temps in the mid-sixties yesterday melted the last of what little snow we got this year and uncovered a surprising amount of green buds popping up everywhere.  Good day for it - I had a meeting today with my landscaper to discuss new hardscaping for the side garden this year.  I love-love-love! Spring!!

Talking about things I love, I received this wonderful goodie box from Heather Mentzer, fellow member of the chat group FabricATCs One to One.  So much fun to get new stash and I really love the variety of colors and themes Heather put in here, not to mention the plentitude of stash in the box.  Thank you Heather!  I am hosting this month's goodie box, so I'll be playing with my stash to see what I'm ready to pass along...

ATCs, I've been remiss

I've been remiss in not posting about the ATCs I received in the December ATC swap.  So here you go:

Here is "Sweet Temptation" by Lynn Parker and "Mountain Glistening" by Heather Mentzer.  Both include seed bead details and terrific layered backgrounds.

the Pink Lady is by Jeane Walker-Sliney, a great example of using tiny scraps, and "Cutting Out a Love Nest" by Sanna, which tells a whole story in its layers.

The unamed piece on the left, by Donna Jones, is made up of different textures and has a very rich luxuriant feel.  "Seascape 7" by Deborah Bonner has fiber trapped behind irridescent tulle and real seashells.  I wish I could get a better pic of this, it shimmers and glows so pretty!

I've also received cards from Maggie Diamante, Rachel Mcollough, and Satu Leinonen, but I need to retake the pics, so I'll post those later.

I've been swapping ATCs for a few years now and I find it a wonderful way to meet and remember other artists.  Its also a good use of scraps and practice pieces and a way to motivate when the muse just isn't speaking.  They'er simple, fast and fun!

Its a Secret... but just a peek...

Love knots- felted merino wookl and lace with beaded embellishments

I've been crazy busy, but most of what I've been doing I can't show off just yet!  One of my projects has been to particpate in an ATC swap.

Night Garden 1-  wool and fabric applique on commercial felt background

 I love making these little works of art, in part because it lets me make use of practice and test pieces such as trying out an idea on the embellisher or testing colors for applique.  As the swap pieces are going to be submitted to "Cloth, Paper, Scissors," for publication, they can't be posted.  But here are a couple that won't be submitted, cuz you know I can't keep a secret!

Felted ATCs

I've been dying to try out my new Pfaff Embellisher. So this weekend I created these little cuties!

The one on the left is felted merino wool. It felts quickly and smoothly. I felted in a bit of crochet lace and I was amazed at how easily it felted into place. A bit of beading with metalic seed beads finishes it off.

The one on the right is similar, but done with three colors of cotswall wool (did I spell that right?) This roving felted super fast, but it is difficult to get the shorter fibers to look smooth. However it is thicker and springier that the merino.

Top pic is a bit of hand dyed silk. I absolutely love the way this felted! Texture like crazy! The "flower" happened when I had a bit of fabric left and no place to felt it to. I twisted it into a circle and just felted a couple of times in the center to hold it down. The brown and gold "pebbles" are a strip of silk ribbon with a bit of metalic thread. This was a bit tougher to "felt" , it didn't want to stay where I placed it but it worked with a bit of patience and practice and a tiny bit of merino fiber on top of it.

It took less than 15 minutes to "felt" these. I think I'm going to love this new machine!!