It's Monday night and I am in that exhausted-excited state that happens when class begins. Diane is - as always - incredibly inspiring and Christine, the guest instructor, equally so. Sunday night started with an opening circle and dinner out as a group and Monday was first a power point presentation about her work by Christine and then each participant shared the "stash" they had brought to work from and picked a starting point. In the afternoon, we had a draping presentation from Christine and then began working on our individual projects. I believe mine is a skirt but it may become a dress - or something else - you never know. I don't have any pictures right now but I do have some of the drive down and of the beads I made at my friend's.
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Above left is a picture I took beside the road. The river leading to the mountains with the snow dusted peaks was so beautiful. The Canada Geese were just outside my room at the hotel in Yakima. LOL - I guess they didn't want me to be lonely.
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In Eugene, spring had already sprung. I took these pictures for my husband while walking around the neighbourhood. He's in Guatemala where it's already hot but we're both looking forward to spring in our own back yard when we get home.
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How pretty is this? Spring is always so encouraging. My plan for April is to finish up work inside the house and then I'm looking forward to working on my front yard. I don't have any bulbs planted and even so, it will be lovely to see green shoots coming through the ground.
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At Sheri's we worked on fabric beads. I do not like working with glue however, this is such a small amount and applied with a paint brush that it was okay. I began with long strips of selvage that I'd cut off of a less-than-best fabric. Rolled...
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... up they were not so bad and made interesting little cones. You can see the straws inside. Supposedly - according to the instructions I was following - they'd be easy to remove. They were not. I trimmed them shorter and left them in.
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The beads on the left were made from rolling strips of fabric into balls. I've done a similar method before with upholstering cording inside a bias tube only rolling is easier, faster, and wastes less fabric and if I twist the strip as I go, it creates similar ridges. I played with different widths and lengths of fabric to see how the finished product varied. It's good to make samples especially as there is a fabric factor to consider as well. Gauze-like fabric results in vastly different beads than cotton or denim. I made some gauze ones only it seems I forgot to take a picture of them. Later.
The beads on the right where rolled over lengths of plastic tubing from the hardware store. I made some with 1" wide, 1/2" wide, and 3/8" wide fabric strips and each has a completely different look. I preferred this tubing to the straws and will leave it in the beads to form a solid core.
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Millicent - my dress form - enjoyed a few moments in the driver's seat before we headed from Eugene to Ashland. There are fourteen students in the class and more than fourteen dress-forms which is rather amusing although they - the dress forms - are easily managed. The window on the right is the view from my bed in my lovely room at the hotel. I can see silhouettes as the light appears or disappears and remnants of last snow falls.
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Tomorrow, I'll have my friend take the picture of my outfit from a different perspective because these are not at all flattering although they are a reminder to get with my walking program when I get home. I have never had tummy rolls like this before and I'm determined that they are leaving. The pants are already too big so I guess something is happening. It's been nice to get up in the morning and walk without fear of ice and falling. The first morning, I looked at all the old houses on the side streets around the hotel and the second morning, I walked up one side of main street and down the other since I had on new boots and wanted to preserve my feet. I'm looking forward to a longer walk in the park and to my walk to Starbucks routine when I get home.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - new learning
Above left is a picture I took beside the road. The river leading to the mountains with the snow dusted peaks was so beautiful. The Canada Geese were just outside my room at the hotel in Yakima. LOL - I guess they didn't want me to be lonely.
In Eugene, spring had already sprung. I took these pictures for my husband while walking around the neighbourhood. He's in Guatemala where it's already hot but we're both looking forward to spring in our own back yard when we get home.
How pretty is this? Spring is always so encouraging. My plan for April is to finish up work inside the house and then I'm looking forward to working on my front yard. I don't have any bulbs planted and even so, it will be lovely to see green shoots coming through the ground.
At Sheri's we worked on fabric beads. I do not like working with glue however, this is such a small amount and applied with a paint brush that it was okay. I began with long strips of selvage that I'd cut off of a less-than-best fabric. Rolled...
... up they were not so bad and made interesting little cones. You can see the straws inside. Supposedly - according to the instructions I was following - they'd be easy to remove. They were not. I trimmed them shorter and left them in.
The beads on the left were made from rolling strips of fabric into balls. I've done a similar method before with upholstering cording inside a bias tube only rolling is easier, faster, and wastes less fabric and if I twist the strip as I go, it creates similar ridges. I played with different widths and lengths of fabric to see how the finished product varied. It's good to make samples especially as there is a fabric factor to consider as well. Gauze-like fabric results in vastly different beads than cotton or denim. I made some gauze ones only it seems I forgot to take a picture of them. Later.
The beads on the right where rolled over lengths of plastic tubing from the hardware store. I made some with 1" wide, 1/2" wide, and 3/8" wide fabric strips and each has a completely different look. I preferred this tubing to the straws and will leave it in the beads to form a solid core.
Millicent - my dress form - enjoyed a few moments in the driver's seat before we headed from Eugene to Ashland. There are fourteen students in the class and more than fourteen dress-forms which is rather amusing although they - the dress forms - are easily managed. The window on the right is the view from my bed in my lovely room at the hotel. I can see silhouettes as the light appears or disappears and remnants of last snow falls.
Tomorrow, I'll have my friend take the picture of my outfit from a different perspective because these are not at all flattering although they are a reminder to get with my walking program when I get home. I have never had tummy rolls like this before and I'm determined that they are leaving. The pants are already too big so I guess something is happening. It's been nice to get up in the morning and walk without fear of ice and falling. The first morning, I looked at all the old houses on the side streets around the hotel and the second morning, I walked up one side of main street and down the other since I had on new boots and wanted to preserve my feet. I'm looking forward to a longer walk in the park and to my walk to Starbucks routine when I get home.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - new learning