New Treasuries TODAY!!!!

YES!!!! Treasuries Plural! THREE of them!!!

I feel blessed! And I really need to feel blessed today! Our 11 year old pup, Max (a normally high-spirited PBGV), is very sick. I'm just waiting now for my husband to get home so we can take him AGAIN to the vet! So thank you NightSkyJewelry and Tamaran for featuring my work in your respective Treasuries today. Each has produced very beautiful Treasuries for our viewing pleasure!

First is NighSkyJewlry's "A Splash of Gold" in which she has featured work from artists she has hearted over the past few months. She graciously included my Techno Freeform Multimedia Necklace/Neckwrap. And to thank her for this honor, I have selected Opposites Attract - Black Onyx and Freshwater Keishi Pearl Earrings from her Etsy shop - a beautiful piece that could so easily have been a part of her own Treasury.



And next is Tamaran's "The Finer Things," a simply stunning array of handknitted and crocheted fiber - art to wear with joy and pride! She selected my Winter Splendor Cachecol - one I happen to love very much! So here is her Treasury and a wonderful item from her own shop that could very well have been featured in her Treasury!



Ragamuffin with Snowflakes by Tamaran



And then there is the absolutely AWESOME SandFibers' Treasury West, called "Farewell to Summer."

Carol Dean Sharpe (aka Sandfibers) has included my Winter Splendor Cachecol in this one, and I am including her Farewell to Summer Peyote Cuff here to thank her. Of course this beauty belongs right in her own Treasury! And if you are not already familiar with her work, then you are in for a treat when you visit her shop, her flickr site, and her blog!

Be the Change Treasury by IamJewelee Or is it Kimbuktu?

OK, OK, so I am so confused! I see this Treasury right now on Etsy, and it appears to be by IamJewelee! But it apparently was designed and created by kimbuktu. So far, I have no clue how this happened, why it happened, but my thanks to whoever really created it and included my piece! Maybe the name is the clue here!

Here is one of Kimbuktu's fabulous fabric bags that would have a place of honor in HER Treasury: Blue Jean Batik Beach Baby Bag

Happy! Happy! I listed my Techno Multimedia Neckwrap just yesterday, and despite low views, it appears in a Treasury just now - a beauty called Be the Change by IamJewelee!

To thank IamJewelee (awesome shop, BTW!), here is an item from her shop that would fit very well with the theme of her own Treasury! It's called "Light Blue RHINESTONE Flower on Chocolate Brown...Scrabble Tile Pendant." I LOVE it!

Beaity by SixSisters is the latest Etsy Treasury to incorporate my work. I am grateful always to my cyber artists friends who select something from my Etsy shop for their delightful Treasuries. This one is no different. Here is her Beaity Treasury AND a piece of HER work that would fit nicely into her own Treasury!

ZUDAGAY'S TREASURY!

Is it TEAL? Is it AQUA? or Is it TURQUOISE? I never quite know what to call my favorite color, and obviously others struggle with that too. But whatever we call it, ZudaGay's latest Treasury on Etsy honors the most beautiful color - for me anyway! Here's her Treasury, and a perfect item from her shop of wonderful polymer clay pieces that would fit HER theme perfectly! It's called

Blueberry Limeade Flower Focal.

The Felt Results and Tropical Storm Hanna!

Here are two brooches I created from the smaller nuno felt samples I made on Tuesday of this week: BLUE HALO and SEAFOAM HAZE (left to right) . They are both at Port City Pottery and Fine Crafts in the Cotton Exchange in Wilmington NC (as we wait for tropical storm Hanna to arrive!) It is expected at this time to be a direct hit on Wilmington, later tonight and into tomorrow.

So much hype, however, over what seems to be a fast-moving tropical storm that will be nothing more than a rain event with a little wind (we hope!) In preparation for what looked like it might be a hurricane, I bought and brought a plastic bin to the gallery yesterday to secure all my fiber and that of weaver Karen Smith. So I denuded the place of my scarves, bags, jewelry, and feltworks and Karen's scarves, dishtowels, dishcloths, and napkins. All our fiber artwork fit into this 23 gallon bin! I'll go back on Sunday to replace it all, but I think it's always better to be safe than sorry. That bin contains the better part of my entire collection, and of course fiberwork is very vulnerable to water damage, so I feel secure. IKE is the next one to be far more concerned about, but it's too soon to predict its course.

And brown must be the color of the day, because I had a sale on Etsy of my cachecol called "It Must Still Be Winter Somewhere!"Angela of Filigree Fairy made my day by completing this 96th sale for me in that venue.

Felt Day IS Labor Day!

I wrote the other day about laboring on Labor Day, forgetting how laborious a day of nuno felting is. I spent today (mostly ALL of today) creating 4 rather small pieces of nuno felt. Well, two of the pieces are actually scarves and the other two are smaller pieces to make in to brooches. It is not such a fun process, because it is so time-consuming and quite literally very HARD work, but it is indeed an interesting one. And I learned a few things through the process today:

• I need a bigger variety of wool roving in many more colors!
• I like the effect of felting both sides of the silk chiffon better than just one side.
• But both sides have to use a light touch when applying the wool
• Cover ALL edges with wool - lightly, so the cut edge is "finished"

So here are the results of my day of laboring with silk and wool, soap and water, plastic sheeting, solar pool covering, and a pool noodle - and a HUGE amount of elbow grease!

Laboring on Labor Day!

I have always considered Labor Day JUST THAT! A day to labor before Summer ends - although not officially - and school begins. Labor Day always marks the beginning of something for me: being a student, being a teacher, being a career counselor in an academic setting, getting the kids off to their own school settings and activities.

I always measured my year from September to June! It's only since my employment with Duke ended in February that I went out and bought a REAL calendar - one that actually began in January and ended in December. And still, I think of beginnings. Now that I am "retired," I live those academic calendars vicariously through my children and grandchildren. One daughter is a school psychologist, and she begins her school year on Tuesday - with a new job, I might add. And the other daughter, who has three school-age kids, has already sent them off - this year to three separate schools.

But for me, Labor Day always meant doing all the things I didn't get to do in the summer and needed to get done before I started my own work once again. And I always resented all that laboring! So instead of that, I "worked" all day yesterday and four hours today at Port City Pottery and Fine Crafts, where there was loads of traffic and some sales too! And I'm happy to say that tomorrow - the real Labor Day - the only thing I have pressing is the completion of a tennis match, already postponed THREE times due to rain! And we had won the first set, were losing the second set, and so my job is to do something right on the court tomorrow so we can win this match!

Such is my life right now! Can't really complain!

While I was working both days, I also completed some new fiber art - photos are NOT ideal! The black and cream is a remake of the scarf sold yesterday at PCPFC. And this wild and funky rainbow scarf in nubby, bumpy, Sheela yarn: Oh, and I guess I WILL vacuum and straighten up the house! Such is life! Laboring on Labor Day!

You Gotta Have a Look! A TWEST by BagsandmorebyPam

Thanks to SandFibers, my cyber-artist friend on many levels, who alerted me to this, here is a Treasury that includes our tri-collaborative creation, "Lulicade Goddess." It's the work of SandFibers, LisaPetersArt, and Scarfitup, and it has a beautiful place within the gorgeous Treasury. You just Gotta Have a Look! The Treasury is up until Saturday evening, so you still have plenty of time to view and comment on it. It's the creation of BagsandMorebyPam, whose work is adorable, BTW.

Pam's Scarlet Poncho caught my eye. And it would have melded beautifully into her own Treasury!

Lulicade Goddess is listed in SandFibers' shop, but I actually have her here in my home. Anyone interested can purchase her through SandFibers, and I will ship her out immediately. The collaboration continues.

Scarfitup for Scarfitup (for Those in Need)

An unusual request appeared in my Scarfitup Convo box on Etsy the other day from Scarf It Up. An organizer for this Kentucky-based non-profit by the same name as my fiber arts business stumbled upon my website. She sent me a convo explaining their mission and asked if I would be willing to donate an item to their upcoming fundraiser. Their organization describes itself as "a program that gathers and distributes handmade scarves to inner city youth, homeless, the elderly and others in need."

Scarfitup makes and donates scarves (and other warmly knitted winterwear) to those in their community who are needy. In fact, Tammy (my contact - and I'm not sure of her position within the group) signed onto Etsy as "Needy." But she chose that not to imply her own needs but those far less fortunate. Their website contains a long list of agencies they support. So what better way to help others than for this Scarfitup to help another Scarfitup! I feel good about this.

I often donate my work to organizations locally and those with which I am familiar. I'd have been very leery of this request if I hadn't also seen their NPO in my own google searches. I scrutinized a little further and felt very comfortable with its legitimacy. I said, "YES!" So....I am off to the P.O. in a few minutes to ship my scarf. Here is the scarf I selected to them, called Mauve Mania.

Button Mania!

I've gotten a Treasury on Treasury West this week - the first one in quite a long time. Having just bought some tagua nut buttons, I thought it would be interesting to feature some of the button-makers in my Treasury. So here is "Button Mania!" featuring a variety of new and vintage buttons in clay, polymer clay, celluloid, glass, and more. Some are handmade; some are vintage from collections of fabulous buttons. I've become enamored of funky buttons of any material for use in my own creations. They can absolutely MAKE an accessory POP!

I didn't get to include the tagua nut buttons recently bought from AmysBeadingSupplies so here is a photo of them. Aren't they luscious-looking? I plan to use them on my line of cachecols (neckwarmers / neckwraps / scarflettes), bags, and for wired jewelry.

OH TREASURY!!!!

Sassalynne has been a devoted follower of my work, it seems, and she has yet again produced a stunning Treasury, called "Feltilicious." In it she features one of my latest nuno felt brooches. It's on the lower right of the Treasury.

To honor her consistent use of my pieces in her Treasuries, I like to showcase her work here. This is one of her fine examples of viscose felt.It's making me want to work with those colors - TODAY! Thanks, Sassalynne!

PROVIDENCE and WATERFIRE!

We've just returned earlier this week from New England, having spent time in MA and RI where we lived for 30 years before relocating to NC. During the time we lived in RI, Providence underwent the most amazing transformation, largely due to its former, notorious mayor, Buddy Cianci. He has been MANY things, including convicted felon and inmate and currently very popular radio talk show host. But he was also a visionary, making Providence into one of the most interesting, educational, cultural, and business centers of the East Coast.
And he supported the arts! One of his visions involved moving rivers within the city - and so WATERFIRE was born. So many beautiful photos of this periodic event can be seen at the Waterfire website photo gallery. We were so fortunate to have been in town for one of the full lightings - not to be missed if you visit Providence in the summer. Music, street performers, food (like only in RI!), thousands of people lining and walking the river edge......there is nothing quite like it! And we thank our RI friends for hosting us and for taking us into Providence to experience yet again this unique, artistic creation of Barnaby Evans.

National Root Beer Float Day!

I've no clue what that is, but I found one of my (root beer-colored) Hobo scarves in a Treasury with that name just now! It's curated by Janine of Talking Dog, and it is so interesting! National Root Beer Float Day is here! So let's celebrate with Janine's Treasury.

Here is one of her treasures from her Etsy shop that would have fit right in with her theme.
Thanks, Janine!

In My Absence.............................

During a terrific trip to RI and MA, I missed a number of things in my fiber world! Ah ha! But I also encountered a number of other things (like FABULOUS yarn shops throughout the Northeast!) But I'll talk about that and some of our other activities in another post!

TanisAlexis included me in a lovely Treasury - which I only knew about because she took the trouble to convo me about it. So....I SAW it but was unable to get a screenshot since I was borrowing my friend's computer and had no time anyway to blog. But I wanted to feature her work here as usual - for those who feature me in a Treasury on Etsy.

From Vancouver (where I hope to go next summer!), Tanis "enjoys creating whimsical pieces of wonder using bold colours and organic shapes. Her art evokes happiness." I love the whimsy in her original pieces! Here is just one example from her shop: Forest Horse.

And then, returning home late last night, I discovered one of my loops bags in a Treasury by Sassalynne of the Bbest Team, called Put on Your Bbest!. She chose my best-selling Snow-Capped Black Magic Bag that sells over and over again. Here is one of her amazing textile art postcards, called "Summer Jewels." And her Treasury:

VACATION!

I'll be silent for the next 11 days while we travel north to MA and RI! Next installment: August 21, 2008. Enjoy the Olympics!

Today's Treasuries! Mine and SassaLynne's

I just got one in the BIG Treasury! It's called, "It's in the Bag!" and it's all about BAGS (what else!!!) and all in black and red. Great color combo!






And I'm IN one too on Treasury West called "Only the Bbest is good enough!" from Sassalynne of the Bbest team.

And to thank Sassalynne for including my very latest listing - a nuno felted scarflette - in her Treasury, please note her shop and her fabulous cotton yarn.

The Rest of the Family!

Well....almost! First we had our granddaughter (aged 14) for a few days! And then we had her brothers, ages 9 and 11, for a few days. While I had planned all kinds of gender-specific activities for each, the boys wanted to do "exactly what Katarina did!" So we did! First we went bowling and the next day we went ice skating. And you can see the first batch of photos here.

The boys had bowled before but they had never ice skated! They were great! And you can tell what a great time was had by all. In previous summers, we had sent the children to camp for a week, but this year we decided to just have fun with them and not feel confined to camp hours! I think we all felt that this was even better. So here are some of the many photos of their visit. Alex and Chris, come back any time!
This is our other daughter, not the mother of these children, who had spent much of the summer with us. A great time for everyone!

What's in a Name?

That's the name of NightSkyJewelry's latest Treasury West on Etsy. And she has kindly included my favorite scarf from my Etsy shop. She and I are part of the Bbest team (Boomers), and we like to support one another. So here is "What's in a Name?"

To thank her for including my scarf in Browns and Blacks (bottom row, left), and to showcase one of her own designs, I present to you her Treasury and "Swinging Through Hoops!" Don't you just LOVE these earrings?

My Hobo scarf is a best-seller and all-time favorite!

Back in Business!

God Bless Apple!!!! The new router just arrived today (they told me Tuesday or Wednesday!), and it was a mere plug-in! So I am back in business and now can publish the really cute, unusually-themed Treasury by unusualfelinefinds with my Bleudles Necklace in the top row middle!

Thanks again, Feline!