Day Dreamer is done!

The coal stove kicks out some dry heat so even this thick piece of felt was ready very quickly. I hand stitched a backing on the piece and mounted it in a wood frame. I’ve chosen not to use glass on my felted wall art so the tactile textural quality has a room softening effect. This is helpful when the collector places it in a bank, an office or other “sterile” environment.

Every aspect of this piece relates to my environment in some way. Anyone who drives past my little farm in the summer knows about my towering sunflowers. The old picket fence offers a rustic backdrop for a constantly changing display of lilies, hollyhocks, zinnias and more as the season progresses. Many of the wool colors are derived from flowers growing in my gardens or fields. The finished framed size is 36″x 24″ and is available for $1429.

This weekend I am heading to the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, VA to do my first show in 2016. The festival is Jan 29th-31, Friday and Saturday 10-6, Sunday 10-5. My booth is #312 so if you are in the area come check it out along with 250 other crafters and artists.

Day Dreamer

 

 

Natural Dyeing Day

The wonderful break in temperature (finally!) means I could work in the basement without my feet getting numb. Taking this picture was tricky because it is windy today, 45 mile an hour windy, so the yarn should dry fast. All these colours are natural dyes. From the left is tansy green, dahlia soft orange and yellow, cochineal pink, madder red, logwood purple and walnut brown. A few of the hands spun wool skeins I dyed for friends. Most of it is wool rug yarn that will go into my weaving projects.

These natural wool yarns have been waiting for colour for months. It felt so good to make it happen today. The walnut husks, tansy leaves, dahlia flowers and madder roots were all harvested from my garden and property last year.