Time for Plan B

This was not a week when painting was going to happen.  Between listening to yet another week of horrifying news and going through some struggles with my son, I was left without much creative energy.  I need to have full presence before I can tackle painting.  And a good dose of self-confidence to get me through all the painting days when nothing seems to come together and I start wondering if it ever will. I had neither this week.  Thankfully I had my plan B.  Fabric scraps!  They seem to always do the job.

A few years ago I made a ton of fabric prayer flags in all sorts of colors. I made a bright, cheery one for my niece, and she now asked me to make her a new one in all black and white for her dorm.  She's a senior this year, but already decorating her dorm room.  The chances of her still wanting black and white a year from now are slim, but I was happy for the project.

I was a little concerned that 1. black and white would be boring and 2. I wouldn't have enough interesting black and white scraps to make it work.  HA!  How could I have doubted my scrap pile or my love of black and white.  It's a very different look from the colorful ones I made before, but I love the emphasis on texture and pattern in this one.

You can see some of the colorful ones here and here.

Bright and Cheerful

I am happy to say that I'm finishing up details for our show this weekend and have allowed myself a couple days of relaxation before the big event. These things are always more work than I remember, but I'm happy for the intense creative state it throws me into, and even happier when it's all over!

Lots of bright colors lately.

Some fiber bundle jewelry:

And more prayer flags. I always love black and white with colors played off of them for sheer cheerfulness. Here's a nice shot on my paint-stained table.

And finally some fiber heart cards.

Hope to see you at Multnomah Arts Center in Portland this Fri. and Sat. Please say hi if you stop by!

More Prayer Flags

Still playing with new color combos. then hanging these on my porch to capture a few last minutes of sun. They make me happy, both to make and to hang. I keep picking a favorite set, then switching when the next comes along.

This black and white with brights:

Or maybe the deeper, earthier tones?

Or the warm and brights?

And a few new contenders in progress--the purples:

And the greens:
I just really love color--all colors, including black and white!

I was so happy to win a blog prize from the wonderful Jacky at Stitchworks. I received this fun journal made of paper and fabric with funky stitching on it. It's very much my style and I love it.

And look at the clever way she attached a pencil on the side.

More Prayer Flags

I've been having a lot of fun playing with pattern and color in new sets of prayer flags. I started some tiny ones back here. I decided to make this set longer, 3"x7", so they would hang more gracefully.

I found a remnant basket at a local quilting shop full of scraps, some odd cut shapes leftover from classes, for .50 an oz. I got a fat bagful and challenged myself to make these 2 sets of flags out of it. I love having a challenge like that--it forces me into some combinations that I might not normally do. I cheated a couple times when I needed a pop of color that wasn't there, but about 99.5% of these came from that bag. It's a fun way to get to delve into those cool, modern fabrics without investing much.

A cool set:

And a warm: