First Show of the Year and $5 Coupon

This Sunday is my first show for the 2010 season.  Stop by Architectural Artifacts between 10:00-5:00 for a cool selection of fun artists. This is always a fun show, because you get to see what we all have been working on since the holiday rush: new items new designs, etc.  And the setting of course, is amazing.

For details on the show, check out the listing from Time Out Chicago

I've been working on new capes and shawls and  lightweight nuno felt scarves for warmer weather. Dyeing silk, fiber and playing around with new designs. I've added to my scarves made from vintage sari silk. And make sure to check out the new ribbon felt scarves, which can be worn so many ways.  My schedule is shaping up--check it out on the right.  I'll be busy this year!    As soon as I hear back from a few more shows, I'll make sure to post them.

Mention this blog and get $5 off your Felt Inspired purchase! 

Bucktown Arts Fest this Weekend!!

This is one of my favorite shows of the year and it kicks off my busy Fall/Winter season.

The show runs from 11:00 - 7:00 m both Saturday and Sunday. I'll be at my usual location: Booth #181 on Lyndale Avenue, right by the information tent.

This has been such a wonderful summer for experimenting with felt. I have all sorts of new designs with hand-dyed silk and merino, cool new silks from the NYC garment district and my new addiction, vintage sari silk! The colors and patterns on these sari silks are just amazing and are so much fun to work with.

Thanks to my customers' requests, I also will have more wraps, shawls and capes. But don't worry, I'll also have my classic designs, along with the geode pincushion, bowls and felted flowers.

I may be jinxing myself, but it looks as though the sun may make an appearance this weekend! in case it doesn't, I'm offering a "Rainy Day" coupon: if it rains while you're at the show, take $5 off your purchase!

F*cking Golden...

I try to come up with creative names for my scarves when I post them to Etsy-something fun, memorable and descriptive.

I've been using music references like Purple Haze, Moody Blues, Age of Aquarius (can you tell I was born in the '60s?) I thought of Yellow Submarine for this one, but the scarf is really more golden than yellow.

A more recent reference immediately came to mind, from Illinois' own infamous ex-governor. Yep, that reference. I'm pretty sure that Etsy would not let me post that phrase and even if they did, it probably would not top the best marketing ideas of the decade.....

I've gotta think of something else....

Dyeing to Play

It's a wonderfully rainy weekend here in Chicago, which is exactly what the doctor ordered. I came home Friday to my much-awaited package of a bolt of white silk gauze and fun colors of Jacquard acid dyes.

I'm teaching a Nuno Felting class in two weeks and need to prepare silk for the students to choose. Plus, I rediscovered my love for Nuno felting in the past few weeks and have been dying (no pun intended) to play around with silk gauze again. I had forgotten how easily silk gauze felts in comparison to silk chiffon.

So since Friday night, I've been cooking up batches of glorious color and felting scarves. I skipped yoga this morning and am missing swim team practice right now. It's going to be hard to save silk for the class!

Runway Ready

A few more shawls--I'm really having fun with this! I love the idea that all of them are reversible--I'm so not into getting dressed up, so I think that this appeases my inner voice. This one was made right after the taupe/black one in the last post, with a little more shaping and a shirred silk collar. I also added ruffled edges like the flamenco scarves.

I love the feel of this one--the fiber is 80/20 merino silk and so, so soft. It's hard to tell in the photo, but the shawl has a subtle tone-on-tone swirl design.

I dropped off three wraps for the fashion show at the Fine Art of Fiber next month. This weekend is the Uncommon Threads show and I will be in the boutique, but not the runway (maybe next year I'll try!) I'm trying to get a few more wraps done for the boutique, so that I can get an idea of people's reactions to them.

New Directions

Sometimes I just need to be nudged. I've been shying away from larger pieces like shawls and wraps thinking that they would be too cumbersome to make, that I wouldn't be able to come up with any interesting designs, etc. Needing to make some for a fashion show was just the push that I needed. Yes, they are more cumbersome to make, but I'm getting the hang of it and really having fun. I've made 4 wraps and have many more designs marinating in my mind. Being the practical gal that I am, I have made them all to be reversible.

I was finally brave enough to use some gorgeous silk that I bought several years ago and I'm really happy with the result. This is the first wrap I made:

Now I just need a name for it--any suggestions?

Here is the second wrap:

I'm thinking of calling this the Honeycomb Wrap. Thoughts?

More photos tomorrow!