George Washington makes a political fashion statement

George Washington makes a political fashion statement in this image from his inauguration at New York City's Federal Hall. Having won freedom for our new nation, he chose not the fabric of kings (Silk) for his inauguration suit, but he fabric of the common man: cotton broadcloth. What better way to say of, for, and by the people.

A colorful version on wikipedia shows it to be a bright cranberry red. 

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Color Block Shawl -- Totally Tonal

Pattern from Crochet magazine

The original pattern for this color block shawl featured a spring-ey pallette of pinks, blacks and whites.

Color: My stash of Lion Brand purples made for an interesting tonal arrangement.

• An interesting fiber named "Color Waves" served as the diva;
• purple served as the primary;
  
• a taupe served as a neutral; and 
• a blended white served as the highlight. 

The finished piece comes together with an opalescence beyond my wildest expectations.

Stitch: Double crochet in what I think is called a windowpane (skipping a stitch between dc's).

Needle: Used a large M or N needle to create an openwork look.

Fiber: Lion Brand Color Waves (discontinued)
Nice chunky fiber used frequently for outdoor garments and also for projects that will be felted. Liked the open work effect.

Surprise! What looks like a nice lap robe or shawl looks like a sophisticated jacket when you set up the color blocks just so. Almost like a kimono.

Gifted to a very special mentor on the 50th Anniversary of her entrance into religious life. Now in residence at a college (along with my mentor!) along the banks of the Hudson River in New York. Sweet.

Palette - Chinese Lacquer

Created with colourlovers.com, this palette gives you robust hues wth full values. Think of it as highly Eastern European to Far East and you see the possibilities. For me, Stain Glass Majesty R allows me to play light against dark, foreground to background without giving up all the color glory that I know and love so well.

Not so much a nature space as an interior space with just as much glory. Imagine yourself in a muted space -- a cathedral or great castle as light pours through. You see the possibilities.

Possibilities - flat patterns and plaids; intricate paisleys, and elegant applique and quilts.
Note: copyrights for my palettes are posted to colourlovers.com.  Find and follow me there.

How do you manage the challenge of applying deep colors without your design going flat? 

Digital Quilt - Morning Glories in Winter

With colourlovers.com, I created a five-shade pattern of morning glories in their earliest climb to their full summer glory. Using Picasa, here's how the form evolved into a rich, full-bodied virtual quilt. Can you see the essence of the plant's story -- vining and seeding as one movement? Can you also see the movement of the leafing and budding , describing the seeding, glory, and renewal. Enjoy

What do you think.
Available for purchase, it's C 2012 eamcc. All rights reserved.

Discover your inner cobalt

Colourlovers.com offers a great way to play with color. The challenge with building a tonal palette around cobalt is keeping the vibrancy.

Here's a shot. Don't you see the French impressionists with fresh daytime looks? Try it this spring.

This palette is available for commercial use. You can also try the colors in a pattern.Visit me PROFEAM | colourlovers

Idea Page: Basket Design

 

Celtic Design Basket (© 2009 Dover Publications)

Dover Publications sends a weekly sampler of great downloadable art samples — it's easy to sign up. You can quickly build a nice scrapbook of images for inspiration and sharing with friends. 

This design is close to my heart. 

Celtic in origin, you can see the traditional Celtic swirls interlocking. There's also the symbol of grapes or berries. As "grapes" the religious signficance to Christianity is clear. If you track the fruits as berries, you're connecting to the traditions of Celtic culture. Berries helped sustain people on the journey. Take a look the next time you come across an Irish sweater. You'll see the same cables. Look nearby for some pop-up circles. Traditionally, these are meant to symbolize berries. The knitter prayed for nourishment for the person who would be out wearing the sweater.

Ideas for using the the design. 

Could see using this item to embroider and applique. If you were ambitious enough, you could also cut a template and paint the design using fabric paint on a garment. Would be nice to use in a farmer's market bag for city dwellers. 

Tea cosies brew up a tasty business - Telegraph

Tea cosies brew up a tasty business - Telegraph

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The gift of resilience and re-using fabrics

From Old Sweaters to New Mittens



Scroll down just a bit and and you'll find Angela Schupe's article on your left. But then, curiosity and persistence come easy for fiber artists. Nice article about about a mother-daughter team who make one-of-a-kind mittens from old sweaters.

My grandmother showed the same intuitive reusability and resilience in her fiber arts. Heck, it was just sewing to her. Working for New York Life, my grandfather had nice wool suits. My dad, a young employee of a major textile firm, had samples of test fabrics like new cordorouys and printed velvets and velveteens. My grandmother had two daughters with several grandsons. So what did she do?

Cut up the suits and samples to make quilts or bed covers for each of her boys. Nice handmade pieces that would keep them warm and instill the paternal love from both sides of the family. I found them in the cedar chest. Going there was like visiting your favorite museum and finding a new gallery. Packed away for years, the colors are rich and fresh, and the texture of the fabric a comforting delight.

There's one square left undone, with a threaded needle tucked in at the top. Obviously, she put it down to do something, what? I don't want to finish it. Instead, I sat down with a cup of tea and sketched out her pattern with the square beside me.  

Knitting and Crochet Tips from Lion Brand Yarn Company

Knitting and Crochet Tips from Lion Brand Yarn Company

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Heart these tips from fellow Lion Brand users. A knitter recently posted her solution to making sure sleeve lengths match. Use an extra long needle to hold both sleeves! How smart.

Of course, as a crochet girl, that doesn't work for me. Instead, I always do patterns on grid paper to be sure that my row count is correct and my tension is consistent. That's very important since I take my crochet with me. The speed of a subway, for example, shows up in tension. Definitely tighter than sitting in a rocker watching Dancing With The Stars!

Creating a pallette online

Called Color Schemer, love this method for playing with colors.

Contemporary Stencils & Templates - Firefox 5th Anniversary

Video: How to create an art quilt

Nice piece to show how nature inspires the selection of fabrics, design and process.

Cool Jewel Pallette

 

Created with Wordle. Cool pallette work well with florals.

A rose is a template of a rose

 

Free sample, appearing in Dover Publications 1500 Decorative Ornaments CD-ROM and Book C Dover Publications.

Like the look for applique, or doing an embroidery piece. This could easily be the center diva piece, elegantly framed