Grief

"Faith sees best in the dark."

- Soren Kierkegaard

Cremation pall detail.                                          

Joyful Sparkle

I love this happy design, and each one I do has its own personality. On this particular one, I created a denser effect with the pearls and crystals at the base. A custom order with a shortened length, it plays well with the sparse amount of crystals as it moves upward.

Stones in the River

A bit of detail from the finished baptismal stole. A mix of watery blue dupioni smocked and bordered with french knots on a sandy cream background. Within the folds of silk are hidden beadwork and treasures. Appliquéd shell on the back of the neck is trimmed in varigated Egyptian cotton thread. All work is done by hand.

This particular stole is really focused on that special moment where the minister stands in front of the congregation and presents the person (be it an infant, child or adult) to be baptised. The congregation is then charged to play a supporting role in this person's life and a congregational promise is then often given.

This stole represents that promise, and how that despite that there will inevitably be stones in the river of our lives, God's love and the support of our church family will surround us.

Fishers of Men

I had a great time designing this tea green stole with hand embroidered koi. I was going for something a bit different and am pleased with how the three tones of varigated thread play against one another on the silk.

The silk has a great glow under lights and is now available in my etsy shop for immediate purchase!

Be Still and Know

Here is my completed pulpit parament in memory of Lu. Dupioni silk with wool, silk and cotton floss. The work is approximately 22 x 32 inches.

This really WAS a joy to make in memory of a fabulous spitfire of a woman who made all those who met her feel they were heard and valued.

Workbasket: Baptismal Stole

I am continuing to make strides in wrapping up the baptismal stole. Pleased with the effects on the pressed smocked silk, I have added beaded treasures within the folds of the silk for a water effect. French knots complete the border.

Dove with Ribbons in Olive

A detail from a stole placed for purchase in my shop. The last of a gorgeous olive dupioni silk with white silk dove and hand-dyed thread.

North American Smocking - Instructions

Inspired by the costumes found in 'Game of Thrones', I decided to create my next stole with a nod to the exquisite design and embellishment which the production excels in.

The particular pattern I want to create involves the illusion of a babbling brook, so I am going to end up with a repeating V-shaped design.

First, I have plotted on a large sheet of paper, a grid pattern of 3/4 inches square. I created a pattern of alternating triangles that are joined by a solid line. The penciled grid is perfectly measured, but because I want to have my finished product reflect the flow of a river (which is not perfect), I am marking my ink guidelines in an irregular fashion. For what I needed, I made three rows of these.

Using a light box, I marked the reverse of my fabric in pencil with the dots and line and lightly traced the triangles to help keep me on track of where I was in the pattern. This is not insignificant, as it can get a bit confusing with all the dots lying around!  :)

Casting on at the lower triangle you will work your way up. Secure at the point of casting on (1), pick up the points, 2 and 3 returning to 4 and pull together securing the tented tips with a couple of stitches. You will then do a straight stitch to point 5, securing it as your base for the next triangle, as you did with the first.

Flip it over after that one row and it will look a bit like this.

Once you complete three rows the effect will look more like this. It really is that simple and smocking creates a huge variety of embellishments and accents that are unexpected.

Good luck exploring!

Workbasket II

Because no fiber artist can have just one project going at a time, here is a snapshot of a portion of an pulpit parament I am currently working on as well! Created to honor a friend who passed away two years ago who had lived around the world and had a great love of Japan. This also will feature a crane standing in the water to the left.

Materials thus far include dupioni silk, wool, cotton and silk threads.

Red on White

Now available for purchase in my Etsy shop!

Please click on link on the left for further details and my other offerings.

Workbasket

Joyful clusters of flowers are blooming!

Love is the Law of the Land

To love!

Fabric Manipulation: North American Smocking

I've received three inquiries about my smocking technique and wanted to share where I learned it, and some exceptional resources for you to explore. 

The photo below shows my first attempt at North American Smocking and then how I incorporated it into a stole made for a funeral.

I picked up one of the best instructional books ever: The Art of Manipulating Fabric by Colette Wolff. Absolutely the best money you will spend. If you have a hard time finding it, please try eBay or abebooks.com, as it is really worth the hunt. In it, the process, along with many more, is explained in detail.

If you would like immediate instructions I invite you to explore Black Bird Blues blog: http://blackbirdblues.livejournal.com/56295.html

They have done a great job laying out the process, which is easy and gives lovely results.

I hope that helps those of you who are inquiring!

Ordinary Arizona

A custom order for a special newly minted minister. 

Silk on silk. Jackrabbit done in brown linen.

INRI

On purple dupioni that is shot with a bit of blue, with light golden dupioni for the letters. Finished up with buttery yellow cotton floss French knots.

Jerusalem Cross on White

Grey/Silver dupioni on a creamy white.

A Bridal Stole

The bride wore a white knit sleeveless knee length sheath from St. John, gold beaded pumps, with bold gold crystal earrings and this. 

80 inches long and 28 inches wide, dupioni silk, lined, with lace embroidery and beadwork in gold. A timeless look for a timeless couple.

Engagement by the Sea

I made a small gift for wonderful friends to mark their formal engagement. This measures about 3"x3" and the sea and surf is made up of tiny glass beads. Finished with cotton thread for the initials and starfish.

A stole for Eileen

Eileen came to me with a particular design in mind, one she had incorporated into her invitation to her upcoming ordination. I duplicated the design with white dupioni silk on red dupioni silk that has shots of black in it.... A joyful stole!

Paraments in White

I wanted to share the finished paraments. Subtle and modern, hand embroidered with cotton floss, tiny pearls and crystals.

Snowy Paraments

Currently in my workbasket.... white paraments for the pulpit. It will be used for Christmas, Easter, funerals, marriages among other times. I am going to call it "Layers" - the design representing the many layers in our lives, community, family, experiences, diversity, wounds, healings, commitments and teachings among others.

Here it is in raw form before being sewed into the final product.

Custom Stole for a treasured summer intern

"From Bud to Bloom"

Wool, silk and cotton on a woodland dupioni silk.












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Ordinary Joy

A custom stole for ordinary time...

Communion Paraments for Ordinary Time

The custom pulpit paraments below were commissioned by Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church for ordinary time. The design features the trunk, symbolizing the church; leaves, symbolizing both the diversity and outreach activities of the congregation; the grapevine and wheat, representing Christ and holy communion. The traditional Christogram anchors the design.

The hand embroidery was done on dupioni silk using wool, cotton, silk and hand dyed tencel.

Workbasket

I have spent the weekend sketching, working with colorplay, and seeing what I have on hand before filling in the missing spots. I have some beautiful Midas green dupioni, and will be embroidering something a bit like a 'Tree of Life' design, but with grapes and wheat as pulpit paraments. I thought the hand dyed tencel would translate well into leaves, and the wools into tree bark and grapevine.

David LaMotte's new book 'White Flour'

David LaMotte (beloved son of Montreat) has recently released his second book ‘White Flour’ – a wonderful piece of art that engages the eyes and heart with a colorful explosion of poetry, politics, art and love.

It’s a story about fighting hatred with humor. In Seussian rhyme, it tells the funny and inspiring story of the day that the Ku Klux Klan met the Coup Clutz Clowns,who offered a whimsical and wise retort to their racist rally. The poem that provides the text for the book was inspired by true events in Knoxville in 2007. 

It would be interesting to hear how David would describe himself (and my guess would be firstly as a husband and father) but he certainly is a peacemaker, musician, poet as well as a visionary and leader.  It is a blessing that he shares his passion with us all.

The art of Jenn Hales is delivered with power, joy and talent.  I have such respect for her design vision and it is such a huge part of the reader’s enjoyable experience.

I see both Jenn and David as contributing weavers of our social fabric.   May we be cloaked in, and share in, that message of love.

Here are Jenn and David’s links:

http://www.patinacollaborative.com/
http://www.davidlamotte.com/

The book is available online and in stores, and can be picked up at the Montreat Bookstore as well.

As a side note:  This book was funded through Kickstarter, and I was a very small part of the the overwhelming response David received in support of his dream. I share that fact only to show you that the journey that this book has taken in its creation and publication is as interesting as the book itself!  It was a neat experience to hear from David the updates on fundraising, production and more.

I encourage you to discover Kickstarter and invest in projects that speak to you.

Montreat

Pretty much says it all!!! :)

New offerings in my Etsy shop

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MontreatDesigns

Please come visit!

A little fisherman...

Here is a hair ornament made for a friend.






And his catch!!