(♥ World Through the Eyes of a Fiber Artist ♥)

Bambool fiber - nice, warm and soft!

2011-12-11T11:28:00.001-05:00

I love using bamboo fiber in my textiles. Not only it is a "green" fiber (it is a natural fiber made out of crop that grows quickly) but it feels great to touch! It feels similar to silk but is a lot cheaper! Bamboo fibers are extracted through a steam explosion process where bamboo is injected with steam and placed under pressure and then small explosions within the bamboo due to steam release allows for the collection of bamboo fiber.

The photo is this post show a scarve I just completed, which is made out of Bambool. Bambool fiber is a combination of bamboo fibers (80%) and merino wool (20%). It soft and warm. The texture of the scarf is fairly tight for a hand loomed scarf, but not as tight as you would get on a machine made scarf. Because of this soft texture it drapes beautifully.

This scarf is available for sale in artwork gallery.

Meet my model "Hedy"! I picked her up in a fiber store close-out sale. I named her Hedy because I am making my textiles on a rigid heddle loom.

Blue with teal and pink accents hand-made Scarf

2011-11-20T16:49:00.000-05:00

Here is another sample from my new fiber hobby - hand loom weaving. I purchased a loom and began creating my own textiles. I love it!

My current interest is creating skinny art scarves, which I noticed in some fashion shows. They can be worn almost like jewelry necklesses, and definitely can dress up any outfit. Here is one of my creations: it is made out of a multi-colored threads. The mulit-colored threads are silky and shine like jewelry when the light hits it just right. The variegated cotton thread gives it nice structure. This scarf is available for sale in artwork gallery.

Meet my model "Hedy"! I picked her up in a fiber store close-out sale. I named her Hedy because I am making my textiles on a rigid heddle loom.

Amazon "filler" item finder to get you over $25 to get free shipping

2011-10-23T08:45:00.000-04:00

We all been there... put the items we want into the Amazon shopping cart and be informed we are only a few dollars away from free shipping. I found a neat site that can help you find a product to cover those few dollars and actually be useful. All you have to do is enter the amount and it will present you with the list of items in increasing cost order. You can spin through that list looking for something that you can actually use! It is call www.filleritemfinder.com/.

This web site has another interesting tool which show you which item is most wished for (Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson), which could be handy finding a gift for that hard-to-please person.

Hand-loomed stained glass fabric

2011-10-10T08:40:00.001-04:00

Here is another sample from my new fiber hobby - hand loom weaving. I purchased a loom and began creating my own textiles. I love it!

My current interest is creating skinny art scarves, which I noticed in some fashion shows. They can be worn almost like jewelry necklesses, and definitely can dress up any outfit. Here is one of my creations: it is made out of a multi-colored threads. The mulit-colored threads are silky and shine like jewelry when the light hits it just right. The very thin black cotton thread gives it nice structure. This scarf is available for sale in artwork gallery.

Meet my model "Hedy"! I picked her up in a fiber store close-out sale. I named her Hedy because I am making my textiles on a rigid heddle loom.

My new interest - weaving high fashion art skinny scarves.

2011-09-30T10:10:00.001-04:00

I recently got interested in a new fiber hobby - weaving. I purchased a loom and began creating my own fabrics. I love it!

My current interest is creating skinny art scarves, which I noticed in some fashion shows. They can be worn almost like jewelry necklesses, and definitely can dress up any outfit. Here is one of my creations: it is made out of a light teal and grey threads. The teal threads are silky and shine like jewelry when the light hits it just right. The very thin gray wool gives it nice structure. These scarves will be available for sale in artwork gallery.

Meet my model "Hedy"! I picked her up in a fiber store close-out sale. I named her Hedy because I am making my textiles on a rigid heddle loom.

Beautiful Iris

2011-06-18T10:23:00.000-04:00

Beautiful Iris is my contribution to Macro Flowers.

Vermont tranquility

2011-06-18T10:18:00.000-04:00

Driving through Vermont we saw this lovely farm. Freshly mowed grass made it look so neat and clean. See more shadows at Shadow Sunday.

Truro lighthouse at dusk

2011-06-11T09:57:00.000-04:00

Truro lighthouse at dusk is my contribution for Shadow Sunday.

Dogwood blossoms by Quiltworks

2011-05-28T10:30:00.000-04:00

I love Dogwood blossoms! Here they are in black and white for Shadow Sunday.

Wonderings from the old building

2011-05-21T11:48:00.002-04:00

This picture is taken from inside of an old building in New Hampshire near Contoocook. This building is now a theatre. I wonder what it used to be? The walls are so thick! For more interesting shots Shadow Sunday.

Reflections in Walpole, NH

2011-05-20T08:48:00.001-04:00

There are a few little towns in New England that I like to re-visit at least once a year. One such town is a Walpole, NH. It is very pretty. It has a lot of beautiful old buildings, like the two included in this post. However, for me the main attraction in this town is out of this world chocolate. Directly across from the lovely buildings in this post is my favorite gourmet chocolate shop Burdick Chocolates. Attached to the chocolate store is a very nice restaurant also called Burdick's. For more beautiful reflections visit Weekend Reflections.

Shadows of Sagamore Bridge

2011-05-14T10:14:00.002-04:00

I love taking pictures at night, you never quite know what you are going to get. This photo is shadows of Sagamore bridge. Shadow Sunday shot.

Tranquillity by Quiltworks

2011-05-07T09:18:00.000-04:00

Tranquillity on the walk around the pond. It was totally still and quiet. May tranquillity be with you from this Shadow Sunday shot.

Umbrella greenhouse is back at work

2011-05-02T15:02:00.000-04:00

For the last couple of years I have been growing a couple of tomato plants on my patio in large pots. Until last year I waited to plant my tomatoes plants until the end of May as cold frosty night we get kill tomatos that are planted too early.

Last year I decided to see if I can start growing tomatos earlier by using an umbrella green house. I was not sure whether the umbrella would provide sufficient warmth, as my plants are located on the wooden deck with air circulating in spaces between the wooden slats. If the umbrella was placed on the ground would provide a warmer environment.

My tomatoes plants are watered by the drip irrigation system on a timer. The umbrella fit perfectly over the pots as well as the drip irrigation tubes coming into the pots. I left the umbrella on the plants during the days and the nights, lifting only to fertilize the plants every two weeks. If you don't have a drip irrigation system, there is a zipped opening which will allow you to water the plants without moving the umbrella greenhouse. I left the umbrella on the plants during the days and the nights, lifting only to fertilize the plants every two weeks. The umbrella handle comes with a removal stake which can be planted into the ground which I did not use since my pots and umbrella were sitting on a wooden deck. I positioned the stick next to the pot, rather than inside it. And was able to have two plants covered by one umbrella. The plants grew rapidly and survived well through a number of frosty nights we had since early April. By the beginning of May both of my plants had several flower clusters. Here is a link to my last year's post 2010 garden.

I was concerned about pollination, since my plants were under an umbrella and no well meaning bee could get to the flowers. After doing a bit of research I found that either insects, wind or hand shaking of the flowers would carry the pollen from the anthers to the stigma. I found that some people use electric toothbrush placed near the blossoms to simulate buzzing bees. But I went with a simpler method: shaking the plant gently once a week for self-pollination. The tomato pollen is not in the exterior of the anthers like most flowers but is produced internally and then released thru pores in the anther. Motion is required to release the pollen, and the greatest quantity is released by sonication of the "correct" frequency. When you shake the plant by hand try to mimic the natural resonances of sonicating bee. Shaking should not be violent, just as close to the right frequency as possible. Note that using implement like a cue tip or a brush is not very effective because the tomato's pollen is not on the surface.

In the last week of my last year I noticed the first tomatoes on my plants which is pretty incredible for the cold North East! I felt like a proud mother since I polinated the plants myself with a technique described above :-)

I am starting a little later this year: tomatoes, strawberries and herbs went in May 1. Tomatoes are again under umbrella greenhouse.

Last snow on a Cape Cod beach

2011-05-01T07:17:00.000-04:00

This photo is a from a view weeks ago. This is the last snow on a Cape Cod beach. The shadows from setting sun are my contribution to Shadow Sunday shot.

Warning of the shopping scam - MyShoppinggenie scam

2011-04-23T11:42:00.000-04:00

On another forum I came across an invitation of a useful tool that helps you find bargains. It sounded pretty good until several people de-debunked it and provided analysis at watch dog site Corporate Narc.

Quick summary: MyShoppinggenie scam invite victims to join or subscribe to the site of MyShoppinggenie.

Once you become a member of the site, you will be given some affiliate links that you can distribute to others as well. From these affiliate links there are products available for purchase at Ebay. Once these products are purchased by buyers or consumers, you can be able to earn a commission.

The scam in here is that it requires a subscription fee before you can be able to download the software that you will be using in promoting the website. The fee is amounting to $199 or an estimated $29 per month.

Windmill of the Cape Cod

2011-04-23T10:22:00.001-04:00

Cape Cod area of New England has a lot of old windmills. On one of the recent weekend trips to the Cape we decided to visit a few of them. These old windmills has been restored and serve as an education glimpse of the past. The wheel that you see in many of the images was used to rotate the windmill top to point into the best orientation relative to the wind. The shadows and shapes of the windmills are my contribution to Shadow Sunday shot.

Love chocolate? Visit Burdick's in Walpole, NH

2011-04-16T18:05:00.002-04:00

There are a few little towns in New England that I like to re-visit at least once a year. One of such town is a Walpole, NH. It is very pretty, with beautiful old buildings, like the one on the left. This building looks like a church, but is a school of some sort. Directly across from it is my favorite gourmet chocolate shop Burdick Chocolates. Attached to the chocolate store is a very nice restaurant also called Burdick's. This evening shadow shot from Walpole is my contribution to Shadow Sunday shot.

Spring is here! by Quiltworks

2011-04-10T08:38:00.000-04:00

Spring is here! I was walking down the street of a small town in New Hampshire when I saw this incredibly blue store front with a spray of red tulips. I loved the color combination and it screamed "Spring is here!"

Flowers Today features beautiful flowers from around the world!

Spring is back by Quiltworks

2011-04-09T11:02:00.001-04:00

Spring is back! For more beautiful close-ups of flowers visit Macro Flowers. Even though the meme is taking a break, Maia has beautiful pictures worth visiting!

Old Mill by Quiltworks

2011-04-09T10:20:00.003-04:00

These shadows come from Brewster’s Windmill on Cape Cod, also known as, Old Higgin’s Farm Windmill. The Windmill was built in 1795.
The octagonal, 20-foot diameter base supports a revolving cap that was constructed with curved timbers similar to a hull of a ship. Pulling the tail pole rotates the revolving cap. The tail pole is attached to a wagon wheel on the ground. It is pulled by a horse, ox or human so that the masts face into the wind. The entire mill stands 30 feet tall. I had posed a person near the wheel pushing to give a sense of scale. When I saw the shadows it was casting I knew it would make a great Shadow Sunday shot.

Buds and flowers

2011-01-30T08:38:00.000-05:00

Flowers Today features beautiful flowers from around the world!

Pink buds open into beautiful burgundy flowers!

Flower buds in the snow

2011-01-29T10:15:00.000-05:00

After getting 60+ inches of snow in less than 30 days I like looking at photos of last spring flower buds! I can't to see them again, I had enough of snow! For more beautiful close-ups of flowers visit Macro Flowers.

Nature's abstract

2011-01-29T10:10:00.000-05:00

We are having a crazy snowy winter. It is not even an end of January and we had 60.5" of snow! Snow is everywhere! This picture is from winter walk around a gris mill in the town of Brewster. I saw these two sticks frozen in the river near the mill - a nature's abstract! When I saw it I knew it would make a great Shadow Sunday shot.

Red Red Red!

2011-01-22T08:46:00.000-05:00

Red red red! What a beautiful color! For more beautiful close-ups of flowers visit Macro Flowers.

The second close-up is my fiber artwork featuring red poppies. To see more of my fiber art visit my art gallery, there is category for "floral" if you want to see just flowers.