PS

For anyone who enjoyed this blog and/or anyone who has just discovered it and is interested, I would love it if you visited and followed my current blog. I still publish often with different projects. I'm always learning and trying new things! My current projects are art journaling, stitch meditations, fabric books, and I'm working on a Santos Cage doll! Fun stuff! https://themoxierabbit.blogspot.com/ Hope to see you there! 😊

Final Post

This will be my final post on this blog, as I am, once again, combining the two blogs I have now into one new blog containing all my art and writing endeavors.

The new blog is still under construction, but any new posts will be posted to it. The new address is http://www.themoxierabbit.blogspot.com .

Thank you all so much for your support and for your visits to Moxie Blue for the last six years, and I really hope that you will continue to visit and follow my creative adventures at my new home. I look forward to seeing you there! :)

Woven Kindle Pouch + A Hot Mess

Hubby and I have both had nasty colds, so I haven't been very creative the last several days, but I thought I'd share the woven pouch I made for my Kindle Fire before I got sick, plus the hot mess I made before the pouch. I didn't have a pattern for either, so I made them up as I went along.

 



I configured a long rectangle with my Martha Stewart loom kit and use hombre yarn to weave the pouch, including a place for my stylus on the front. I haven't sewn the sides together yet, because I haven't decided whether to use it as just a sleeve or to have it with a flap and closure, as in the top picture. I have also decided that it might not be thick enough protection for my Kindle Fire. My old Kindle is not as heavy or vulnerable as the Fire. This would be plenty of protection for it. I could pad the pouch and make it thicker, I guess. Now that I'm feeling better, we'll see. :)

Okay, this is a hot mess, but I thought I'd share it anyway. I configured a large square with the MS kit and since I couldn't find anything on weaving a pattern like this, I just improvised on my own, which wasn't a good idea, and I saw that as soon as I started weaving the heart with the different sized and textured yarn, but I was determined to make it work. The background is a heavy bulky yarn, which I love. I weaved all of it, leaving a heart shaped hole, then filled in the hole with the other yarn. Unfortunately, I didn't allow enough in my count or something and the top of the heart turned out a mess and the whole thing puckered on me. I still think I can figure out a way to fix it and use it for a pillow top or something. I could unravel it and reuse the yarn, but unraveling isn't that easy, so I'm going to think on it a while before I do anything with it. It'll work out somehow! I didn't really fail, because I tried. :)

I am enjoying weaving so much that I'm considering a table loom if I can find one in an affordable price range. Something for my wish list! Maybe by the time I get one I'll be experienced enough to know what I'm doing and can make something good on it. :) I'm doing a lot of research online and learning and experimenting, so I'm having fun, and the process is what it's about for me, so I'll keep on keeping on until I decide to learn something else new.

I haven't ditched my mixed media projects, art journaling, quirky doodles, dolls, etc. They are merely resting while I explore other things for the time being. I have also been playing with digital drawing on my Kindle, so I will be sharing other stuff along as I do it, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. I hope you enjoy my creative adventures, at least some of them. :)

Happy creating, learning, and experimenting!

Learning Saori Weaving...

I have not abandoned my painting, journaling, etc, but learning to weave is taking most of my attention lately. In researching on the web I came across Saori weaving,  http://gingerbreadsnowflakes.com/node/352 , which is a kind of freeform weaving using scraps of yarns and fibers to make different projects.

 

This is the beginning on an oval shape that I configured out of my Martha Stewart Knit/Weaving loom kit, which hubby got me for Christmas. I used some fun yarn from an old stash of yarns, plus some new yarn yarn that I picked up at Wal-Mart to practice with.

 



This is the finished piece as a wall hanging. It is approximately 24 inches long, including the top and bottom fringe. I am thinking that I may add some beads to the bottom fringe. My mama just loves the colors in the piece. I don't know how well they show up in the photo, but there are several different textures of yarn included.

 

This is actually the first one I tried, and it is on a handmade cardboard loom. I tried different textures and stutches on it. The yarns wrap all the way around the loom, then are cut and tied off to make the fringe. Here it is still on the loom. 

 

 

This one is about 10" x 12", including the fringe. I'm not liking the fringe much and am thinking I might trim it off some. These can be used for coasters (smaller weavings), mats, journal covers, embellishments on tote bags, etc. Whatever I want!

 

Both pieces hanging against a large mixed media WIP painting that I have redone so many times it's not even funny. She is about to wind up in pieces for art journaling, I think. Anyway, Saori weaving is a lot of fun, and I think I prefer the handmade cardboard looms over the MS looms. They are easier to handle while weaving, at least they are to me. :)

Weaving Away...

I'm still experimenting and learning about weaving and having a ball, which is not to say that I'm not working on other wips as well. :)

I assembled a 2" square loom from the Martha Stewart loom kit and followed directions in her instruction booklet to make these flowers in different yarns. Fun to make and can be used on lots of things.

More fun! The red one is a fuzzy novelty yarn, kind of tricky to weave, but it feels like a really soft powder puff. The two top ones are potholder sized, the long one bookmark sized, and the small one about 1" x 1 1/2" or pendent sized.

I decided to try another heart shaped weaving before I took the loom apart to make the others. I actually wove this one twice. I used a heavy yarn and the first one was so tight that it cupped up all the way around, and it was stiff feeling. So I unraveled the whole thing, warp, weft, edging, and all (very difficult and irritating!) and began at square one again, this time I only wrapped every other peg, so it came out much flatter, softer, and lighter, I did, however, goof up the top and got one side a little wider than the other. I'm for sure not going to unravel it again though. This piece is about the size of a small pillow.

 I kind of like it wonky! Wonkiness has character! :)

I'm using mostly yarns that I had left over from crocheted projects over the years on these, but I can't wait to get some new different textures and colors to play with.

I've also finished two Saori weavings (freestyle) and I have a large square weaving in progress, but I don't have pictures yet. Soon though!

Happy creating!

Weaving Adventures

Happy New Year! I hope you all had as good a Christmas and happy holidays as I had. I picked up another hobby before Christmas. I saw all those gorgeous woven pieces on Pinterest and thought I'd give it a try with a homemade cardboard loom and yarn I had left over from crocheted projects. Enjoyed it so much I invested in one of those kid's plastic potholder looms with the nylon loops (which are for decorative purposes only, not for hot pots it seems), made one loop potholder and proceeded on to yarn. Then I saw the Martha Stewart knitting/weaving loom kit that makes about 30 sizes and configurations of looms for $20.00 at Walmart and was debating on whether to get one or not. Lo and behold, Santa hubby got me one for Christmas! Loving it!

 

I find weaving very relaxing and meditative, until I have to finish it off the loom...not my favorite part, but necessary. I'm sharing my practice experiments with you below. I shared a couple of them before, but I thought I'd include them in the group. 

The striped one, the hairy one, and the knobby one were made on the handmade cardboard loom. They are varigated and novelty yarns. The square ones are a heavy yarn (white one) and a lighter, softer, fuzzy yarn ( purple one) were made on the plastic potholder loom. I could use the skinny ones for bookmarks or in my mixed media pieces.

The purply one was made on the plastic potholder loom and the striped one was made on the cardboard loom. Big enough to fold in half, stitch together, and make ipod, camera, cell phone cases.

 

I configured a larger square with the Martha Stewart loom kit and using two colors of rug yarn, wove this square. This is before it was finished off the loom. This one could be folded in half and stitched together to make a great pencil case, glasses case, or I could make a bunch more squares and stitch them together for blankets, rugs, purses, etc.

 

 

I watched a video tutorial on utube using the MS loom kit, where a heart loom was configured and woven on. It was beautiful, so you know I had to give it a try. So I configured the heart and got busy! My heart didn't turn out quite as well as hers did. I made a couple of mistakes at the top and a couple more when I was trying to finish it off the loom, which made the edge kind of wonky looking. NOT to worry! I crocheted two rows of single stitches around the edge to finish it off and straighten it up. It's rather large, but it would be gorgeous on the back of a denim jacket or on a pillow top, or framed, etc. Will definitely make more!

 

The pieces with the looms they were made on. The cardboard one doesn't show up much, but it's there! This also gives a sense of the sizes of the fnished pieces.

 

So this is my newest obsession, but I'm still very much into my mixed media art journals, dolls, etc. :)

 

Wishing you a safe, prosperous, healthy, happy, creative 2013!

What I'm Working On This Week...

 

 

Hi there! I haven't posted in a few weeks and just thought I'd show you some of what I'm working on.

 I worked on Dollie Doll's facial features some more and added some hair. She's the 36" bed doll I'm making with a cloth body and a paper clay head. I also put a layer of black gesso on the head/ shoulders before adding the first layer of flesh ochre acrylic paint. She is now sitting upright in a drawer waiting for me to put her makeup on and attach her limbs, before dressing her. She's being very patient with me. :)

I decided to make another attempt at paper cloth making, and, using stuff that was handy to me, this is what I came up with. It's about 12 x 18", white cotton, with tissue paper, tea bags, napkins, ink blots, magazine words, and a written "to do" list, among other things, glued on with gel medium. This is my third attempt, and I haven't sewn on any of them yet, but I've discovered that if I want to use them as book covers I need to put the most interesting part on the right side of the cloth, so that it will be on the front of the book instead of the back. :o Anyway, it's fun to do! :)

I also got the bug, for some reason, to learn to weave, and in my research on the web, found out how to weave with yarn on cardboard, with instructions on making a cardboard loom. I tore the bottom out of a sturdy card box, measured 1/4" increments, dotted them, then cut them in each end of the board, then, using a skein of variegated crochet yarn and a yarn needle, I proceeded to weave a bookmark using a very basic weave. I enjoyed it immensely. It's very meditative. Above is while it's still on the board. I had to do more research on how to get it off and finish the ends.

This is the finished bookmark. I didn't leave the end threads long enough for longer fringe, and that also made the knots hard to tie. I would have also liked the bookmark itself a little longer, but, I'll know better on the next project. I learned what not to do next time, plus I enjoyed doing it, so it's all good! I'm thinking now I'll make one of thinner yarn with beads on the ends. I'll have to make another loom though. I have some mat boards upstairs that should work nicely for that! :)

I've also made another bunch of prints using my Gelli Arts printing plate. Love that thing! I haven't maade pictures yet though. And I've been working on the huge Contrary Angel painting some more. She's getting there! If I could ever work more than a few minutes at a time without being interrupted I might get her done. But there's really no hurry to see the final outcome. The process and the learning is what counts, and she's been one heck of a journey for me. :)