June Month 2015 Mystery Quilt Along

 

I'm keeping up with this QAL sponsored by Pat Sloan.

This has been fun 'Vacation Time"

 

I liked this block a lot!  Wished I made another block!

Just might make one more--especially if the layout needs more blocks.

 

The Wheels Are A-Turnin'!

 Yesterday was the start of the Tour de France--and Tour de Fleece!  We didn't write about the first stage as we were celebrating July 4th!  So, Today, we begin with stage 2 and we're off.............

Well, I'm spinning my wheel--I began yesterday on July 4th, the official start of the challenge!

Just look at this luscious fiber!

I have about 3 lbs. of this lovely white fiber

 , 

I've left this fiber in its natural--no washing, still with lanolin (lots of it!)

I have used this fiber in my one pot dyeing method--that is why it's left unwashed

I bought this fleece at Estes Park Wool Market event one June.  I usually go to the fleece judging--always pride myself on picking out the champion fleece and

this was THE Grand Champion!

I was standing next to the owner of the sheep & asked her if it was sold and she said no!

"Want to sell?" I said.  she thought for a minute and then said "Okay"

we settled on a price!

What a great spinning experience this Romney fleece has been!

Here is the Day 2 stage info on Tour de France......

"For the first time, the Tour de France will experience offshore racing! The harbours and beach resorts of France have offered prestigious finishes by the sea. But only the Netherlands can allow to design a finish line “in the sea”, at the heart of the Zeeland Delta. This unlikely geographical situation will mainly alert the title contenders: risks of echelons are to be highly considered" Christian Prudhomme

2nd Stage

Sun 5 July

Utrecht to Zeeland (Netherlands)

166 L

July 4th!! Proudly We Stand--Let Freedom Ring!

Today, July 4th is the day of USA's Independence--a day when we gather as families to celebrate our freedom--an evening filled with fireworks

A day filled with watermelon, lemonade, hamburgers, hot dogs; beach parties, swimming pools, sprinklers and lawn parties!

Neighborhood parades

And Neighborhood salutes!

Today, July 4th, would have also been my daddy's 97th birthday--he was born July 4, 1918--

certainly a firecracker baby!

Let Freedom Ring for all.............................

 

Quilt of Valor Pattern

Starry Night for Josh has been the QAL for Alycia's Quilts of Valor

I'm just a little tardy posting this step by step QAL.  Hopefully, you'll enjoy sewing up this delightful pattern and present it to a
Soldier, so he/she won't be forgotten and be rewarded for his/her service;

Thank you Alycia for your dedicated service to our military and their families!  I love your patterns!

Step One

Step Two

 

Step Three

 

Final layout!

check out Allegiance Mystery Quilt for another Quilt of Valor pattern

Spinners Delight

Soon, it will be time for Tour de Fleece challenge!

Does your guild need a challenge?

Or do you just need to challenge yourself

when you are spinning?

 

 

Here is a sample board of spinners' delights!

Each spinner took a photo, famous art work, object, etc.

and spun to achieve their inspiration of the photo

 

I think this would be such a great time to think about

placing that photo in front of the spinners and

see what they can come up with.

Let's spin to our delight!

Sculpture of Live--Linda!

What a treat to see this exhibit at Denver Art Museum before it's deadline!

This is work of John DeAndrea and it is so real

it looks Live!

 

 

Linda is asleep--such a natural pose and so lifelike..

Such soft features--you just want to reach out and touch!

This is his most recent sculpture--"Nude with Black Drape"--oil-painted bronze

The features of the face are remarkable

This one is so different from his solo pieces--

polychromed bronze, polychromed vinyl, clothing, plaster, hair and wood

A self portrait of the artist

What a Pity Linda is only shown on rare occasions--so happy I was able to view her

and John DeAndrea's works

The Art of Bark Cloth

I so have enjoyed my visits to the Denver Art Museum lately--not only for their fine art collections but for the textile exhibits that have been featured this summer.

This exhibit was fascinating to me!

There are textiles--even if you need to find them in tree bark!

 

Bark cloth is a versatile material that was once common in Asia, Africa, Indonesia, and the Pacific; mainly comes from mulberry or tapa tree.

Of course, we think of using bark cloth as floor or wall coverings

But, for many natives of the islands, it was used for their clothing items

What really got me was how lively the colors were

 

Design work was usually stamps or rubbings from carvings

Bark cloth

intricate designs to look like lace

Tapa can be decorated by rubbing, stamping, stenciling, smoking (Fiji: "masi Kuvui") or dyeing. The patterns of Tongan, Samoan, and Fijian tapa usually form a grid of squares, each of which contains geometric patterns with repeated motifs such as fish and plants, for example four stylized leaves forming a diagonal cross. Traditional dyes are usually black and rust-brown, although other colours are known.
In former times the cloth was primarily used for clothing, but now cotton and other textiles have replaced it. The major problem with tapa clothing is that the tissue loses its strength when wet and falls apart

Nowadays tapa is often worn on formal occasions such as weddings. Another use is as a blanket at night or for room dividers. It is highly prized for its decorative value and is often found hung on the walls as decoration.

In Tonga a family is considered poor, no matter how much money they have, if they do not have any tapa in stock at home to donate at life events like marriages, funerals and so forth. If the tapa was donated to them by a chief or even the royal family, it is more valuable. It has been used in ceremonial masks in Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands (Mangian masks). It was used to wrap sacred objects, e.g., "God staffs" in the Cook Islands

This is a copy of a carving that could be used for rubbings

"ele is one of the uses of color--check out the info

  Yes, we can find useful ways to achieve clothing from many different native plants and trees.