December Warm for New England

December is here!

What wonderful weather we are having right now in New England.  I went to the store today without wearing a jacket!  It's been in the 50's!  No snow, a bit of wind on some days and I'm enjoying every minute of it while I can. 

Silk Scarves I've made and sold at fairs. :)

The craft fairs are over for us so now it's on to making some Christmas gifts for friends and family.  I've been making and selling silk scarves but I'm not sure that's what I'll be giving as gifts.  I like an idea I saw on another blog, "Bloom, Bake and Create."  Lynda made coasters from fabric she had dyed and screen printed.  I think I'll get busy making some of those.  Lynda has wonderful tutorials and ideas on her blog and I've tried many of them with excellent results. Besides, everyone can use a coaster or two and they're good for both male and female individuals.  I have a new overlock machine that I'm wanting to practice on.  I think the coasters will be a good place to start.

I came across this quote today while surfing the net.  Good advice I think everyone could use.

"If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place."

—Nora Roberts

Enjoy the Holidays!

and remember to play a little each day!

Peace,

Diane

Fun with Friends

November 2015

A good friend from my high school days invited three of us to stay at her home in Gloucester, MA for a day of sightseeing and having fun.  We had a wonderful time!!  Nancy was an excellent guide and I found many opportunities to practice with my new camera and lens.  The four of us have known each other for over 55 years, just think of that.  Enduring friendships with so many good memories precious to us all.  That weekend together we made new memories.  Thankful for a much needed weekend away where we were pampered with delicious home cooking and delightful conversation.  Here are a few photos from our fun weekend together.

I have many more photos but this is enough for now. :)

Remember to play a little everyday!
Peace,
Diane

Fiber Art Wall Hangings

I'm working on a couple of wall hangings that just need a bit more before they are finished!  I have an idea for another one so I have to get these done!!!

A friend of mine, Bill Moore gave me permission to use one of his wonderful photos in a wall hanging.  I loved the colors in the photo and knew it would work well with some black fabric I had discharged about a year ago.  Here it is, almost done.  I plan to add some hand stitching to the rust dyed area of the quilt.  I might even sew on a few stones to give it more texture.  We'll see.

Bill's Photograph/Rocks at the Shore

Eco Printing/Dyeing Silk Scarves and Beautiful Fall Colors in New England

I have been reading information on dyeing with natural dyes.  I bought two new books from Amazon and they will be good reference books for me as I experiment to see what colors I can get with food, flowers and leaves.  So far I really like what I get with red cabbage, tansy flowers and jewel weed.  I have rust dyed some silk scarves and after they are dried, I proceeded to bundle them with plants and flowers and put them in a dye pot to simmer.  I'm learning about mordants, when to use them, when they aren't necessary etc.  I tried dyeing some lightweight wool last week after soaking the wool in a mordant of alum and cream of tartar.  I didn't get the result I was hoping for so I will work on that.

Here's a collection of some of the scarves I have made in recent weeks.  The one on the left was transferred dyed using men's silk neckties.  The third one was dyed using autumn leaves as the print material rolled up, tied and placed in the dye pot of red cabbage dye.  These are all 100% silk and I'll be selling them at holiday craft fairs coming up soon.

It's been a beautiful couple of weeks with bright sunshine and the fall leaves.  I have a new camera and I'm learning something new each time I go out to shoot with it.  My other camera, also a Nikon served me well but I was ready for a challenge and with this Nikon D300S, I certainly have that.  Here are a few photos I took with my new camera this week.

Remember to Play a Little Every Day!
Peace,
Diane

July & August 2015....Gone in a flash!

I've been dyeing more silk scarves for the summer fairs we'll be at this year.  We were vendors at a local church fair, The Hebron Fair near the shores of Newfound Lake, New Hampshire.  We've done this fair for approximately five years and each year we have had a successful day.  Ronnie sold many of his wooden utensils and vases.  I sold silk scarves and photographs/note cards.  August 1 was another popular fair in nearby New London, NH (home of my ancestors).  I almost sold out of my transfer dyed silk scarves made with men's neckties!!!  I'll be working on more of them for upcoming fairs.

I went shopping for more neckties with friend Kathleen last week.  I came home with a large arm full and got to work dyeing a silk scarf.  The designs on some of the ties are great fun to re-purpose!

Today I found one in a thrift store in Meredith.  A bit more than I usually pay, but it does have Big Bird and Elmo on it so I have to give it a try and see what happens.  Here is a picture of the scarves I have all set to go and a few close-ups.  They are much nicer in person so stop by one of the Farmer's Markets or Fairs and take a look!

Remember to Play a Little Each Day!
Peace,
Diane

Summer Is Here!

It's the 4th of July 2015 and people are celebrating all around me.  I will be at the Bristol Farmer's and Crafts Market tomorrow until 2 o'clock. I may go to a friend's house in town to watch some fireworks.  The weather hasn't been seasonably warm and I haven't been to the beach aka ocean yet.  Maybe in a few weeks I'll go to North Hampton and see if my niece Lyn would like a beach day. 

June was a very sad month for me and my family.  My best friend Muffie passed away on the 15th.  She had kidney and liver disease and hadn't been well and up to par for some time now.  She loved many of the same things I do, gardening, birds, music and magazines. :)  I could talk to her about anything and everything. 

My daughters and I went to Newport, RI the day after her service.  the trip had been a Christmas gift to me from my children.  If Muffie had felt better she surely would have been included in the invite back in December.  It was nice to get away and we saw many beautiful gardens and mansions.  What a place!  Our hotel room had a view of one of the ports with sailboats and yachts all lined up.  Here are a few photos from Newport.

June was also the time of celebration with my two granddaughters graduating from high school!  I'm so very proud of both of them.  They will be going on to college in August, where did the time go?

Here they are a few years back, cousins having so much fun together!

And here they are now all grown up, beautiful young women with many hopes and dreams for the future.

Maegan and Kimberly

Kimberly and Maegan with good friend Maddie.

Also very proud of my granson, Shawn who graduated from 8th grade.  He will enter high school in the fall. :)

Play a Little Every Day!

Peace,

Diane

MQX Quilt Festival-New England

My friend Kathleen and I went to the MQX quilt show in Manchester, NH last week.  We were both impressed by the beautiful machine quilting we saw.  Here are a few of my favorites. I haven't downloaded all the pictures I took yet.  So maybe there will be more posted in the future!  Enjoy!

This purple clematis flower is my favorite quilt!

I think the predominate color for quilts in this show was green. Or maybe I'm just drawn to quilts with green in them! 

Remember to play a little each day!
Peace,
Diane