Houses

I joined a house swap for the Textile Challenges group. This is the most recent one that I have completed. I had a lot of fun working on this one. Thanks go to hubby and kids for making the huge sacrifice of eating ice cream so I could have the sticks. : )

Bookmark and Collage Tutorial (and trying out my new camera)

Several people have asked how I did the fabric for the bookmarks. So I put this together. It's really easy. I'm pretty sure the painted fusible idea came from Two Creative Studios. I think the idea for fusing threads etc. and then covering with netting came from the same place but I can't remember where I saw it first for sure. Lots of people use it for surface design. If you get a chance do click on the link for Two Creative Studios. It should take you directly to the free project page. They also offer online classes at very reasonable prices and I'm dying to take several.

The background for the collages were created basically the same way but without the paint. I used snips of fabric and steps 4 and 5 to create the fabric then layered like a quilt and used fmq all over the top. I cut them to size, used a fairly large zigzag on the edges and stitched on some leaves. I then mounted them to bristol board that I had previously painted and stamped.



Step 1:

I put a piece of fabric down and painted fusible webbing that I cut into different shapes on top of it. I really like the negative that you get with this process. I don't remember what kind of fusible I used, it was either heat n bond or steam a seam. I used lumiere paint.
Step 2:

I fused the fabric to peltex 70 and fused a backing fabric on the other side. I did this first because I used netting over the entire thing and it can't handle very high heat.

Step 3:

The previously painted fusible got arranged and fused down at this point.

Step 4:

I fused a layer of mistyfuse over the entire surface. It really shows up in the picture here because I didn't really fuse it down on this piece of fabric. I'm not sure what I will use this fabric for yet so I just laid it down to get a picture.

Step 5:

You could add anything else you wanted to at this point. I just left the bookmarks plain. The postcard shown below has candelight thread on it, I just laid it out in a grid pattern over the mistyfuse. Add a layer of netting and fuse it over the top. Make sure to test your iron temp first on a scrap. It does melt. : )

Step 6:

Cut it up to whatever size you like and finish the edges. On the bookmarks as well as the postcard below I couched candelight to the edges.

Have fun. : )

P.S. I really like my new camera. : ) Very user friendly.

Real Life - Discrimination? And New Work

It has been a week now since I quit my job. I know that sounds crazy with so many people being laid off and so many companies closing. My former employers really gave me no choice. My options were to stay and risk injury and further physical deterioration or leave. Not really much of a choice.

The short version of my physical condition is that I was born with a birth defect that required multiple surgeries and ultimately a hip replacement. I also have constant pain in my back. I don't go very many places I don't absolutely have to go. It about kills me to ride in the car. Every little bump sends waves of pain through my back, head and arms. That's not all but enough to get an idea.

I was with my previous employer 4 1/2 years. During that time I was off 10 months for the hip replacement. I pushed having the hip replacement done until I could barely walk. Some days walking was a gamble, I would take a step, my leg wouldn't hold the weight and down I would go. Almost immediately after I got off the crutches I went back to work with restrictions. No running, jumping, climbing or crawling. I also had to sit down quite often, though much less as time went on, by last week I was only sitting down a few minutes (less than 5 usually) at a time 3 or 4 times per shift and I was generally working on paperwork during those times so I wasn't just hanging out not doing anything. I should mention that I had worked my way up to assistant manager during my first year there so there was not much I didn't know how to do. The only reason there were a few things I didn't know how to do is because we were purchased by a different company shortly after I came back. Same concept, different procedures. When I returned I gave my manager at the time a doctor's statement outlining my restrictions. This piece of paper mysteriously disappeared when a different manager took over and I tried to talk to her regarding my restrictions. Hmmm....

Anyway, she kept insisting I do things that involved crawling on the floor (organization of floor level stuff), and climbing. I made several attemps to speak with her about this. Her response was to tell me that she knew I could handle it. At one point she asked if I could handle an hour by myself every once in a while. While not thrilled we were short a couple people and I figured I could suffer through an hour a week alone. That hour alone every once in a while turned into every day. Then a couple of days a week it was 2 hours alone. Finally on the last schedule it was 2 hours alone every day. Um..no. I tried to talk to her about it and asked her to fix that because my body couldn't handle it. Her response: No, our labor hours have been cut and I know you can handle it. End of discussion.

I'm seeing a pattern here. Was she just trying to get me to leave? Maybe. Was it discrimination? I'm not sure. Was it just poor management or did it go beyond that? I can't answer any of these questions.

Has anyone else been in a situation like this? What did you do?

On the bright side - there is almost always a bright side - I have more time now to work on art and play with fabric, fibers, paint, beads, you name it. I am even playing with the idea of trying to sell some stuff.

Here is a photo of a bracelet and pendant that I have been working on. The colors are kind of washed out, they are a good bit darker. This is my first attempt at jewelry. What do you think? I really like working with beads, I'm sure I'll be using them more frequently in the future.