Fremont Street Experience

Here are some photos from the Fremont Street Experience light show in Las Vegas. I took so many great shots, it was difficult to narrow my choice down to a four.

 This photo gives you an idea of the overhead canopy where the light show is taking place. See those dark shapes that look like trees. There are a bunch of them that run along the tunnel like canopy and provide the power to the 12.5 million LED lights.

Yep, that's right, 12.5 million lights lit up overhead at one time and constantly changing. And music too! It was pretty amazing.

The designs that flashed by were incredible. I can't believe how well my camera photos came out. I guess there was plenty of light available. haha

There was a different light/music show every hour that lasted about 10 minutes. We were there for 3 different shows. There are 3 or 4 stages set up under the canopy with free concerts going on, and a bunch of casinos, restaurants and stores. Plenty to things to keep you entertained for an evening.

Search Dog Foundation

A good friend of mine told me about the Search Dog Foundation a couple of years ago and I've been a supporter ever since. I'm really impressed with the work they are doing and how many lives are being saved. These dogs are highly trained to find LIVING people among rubble and chaos. As you can imagine, they get shipped to every disaster around the world.

If I'm ever stuck in a bad situation, I want these dogs looking for me.

If you want to learn more about the Search Dog Foundation, click here.

Hand-Dyed Fabric for Sale

As you know, I've been busy dyeing a lot of fabric lately. I've decided to share some of my gorgeous fabric with the world and have begun selling it. If you you see something you love and just can't live without it, send me an email and we'll work out the details. I'm pretty close to getting all the photos and details finalized for my Etsy Shop but I thought I would give you an idea of what is coming.

Fabric 3: Gorgeous Sateen Fabric, MX Dyes, Fat Half (22" x 36") $12.00

Fabric 4: Gorgeous Sateen Fabric, MX Dyes, Fat Half (22" x 36") $12.00

Fabric 11: Gorgeous Sateen Fabric, MX Dyes, Fat Half (22" x 36") $12.00

Fabric 12: Gorgeous Sateen Fabric, MX Dyes, Fat Half (22" x 36") $12.00

Fabric 19: Gorgeous Sateen Fabric, MX Dyes, Fat Half (22" x 36") $12.00

Fabric 29: High Quality Broadcloth, Thread Count 133 x 72, MX Dyes, Fat Half (22" x 36") $10.00

Fabric 36: High Quality Broadcloth, Thread Count 133 x 72, MX Dyes, Fat Half (22" x 36") $10.00

Fabric 38: High Quality Broadcloth, Thread Count 133 x 72, MX Dyes, Fat Half (22" x 36") $10.00

Fabric 42: High Quality Broadcloth, Thread Count 133 x 72, MX Dyes, Fat Half (22" x 36") $10.00

Using Resists during Dyeing

Look what happened when I stacked brass circles between folded fabric and sandwiched it between plexiglass. The rubber bands held the stack together while I squirted yellow, red and purple dye between the plexiglass plates. 

This is what it looked like when I opened the bundle.

Sky blue was used to over dye the whole piece. It certainly is a unique piece of fabric. It was an interesting experiment and worth exploring more. Next time I'll use a fat quarter instead.

My daughter dyed this shirt using wooden clothespins for the resist. I really like the way she placed the pattern on the diagonal.

Don't the clothespins make a great pattern?

Knittin and Stitchin

There's quite a bit happening in my studio, but nothing is completely finished. I've been dyeing a lot of fabric and silk scarves and printing note cards that feature my photography. I'm planning to open an Etsy shop soon, however, it's quite a bit of work to get it all organized and get everything photographed. If any of you have any advice for me, it would be greatly appreciated.

I meet with a group of friends once a month and everyone except Lora and me knit. Well, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and started knitting a Russian Wedding Band Cowl. Normally, it has 3 loops that intertwine, however, I think I'm going to make two loops and keep the yarn the same for both. I consider myself a novice knitter and have to review how to cast on stitches every time I begin a new project. This is the first time I've used circular needles. So far, I think it's going pretty good. What do you think?

 This is a prayer shawl that I've been commissioned to work on. The large cherry tree was designed by the client. The background is lightweight wool and the tree and flowers are silk. I'm using a buttonhole stitch to applique all of the shapes onto the background. It's been a bit tedious, but it's coming out quite nice and I'm almost done.

Fun Things to Do in Cambria Area

Mike and I went to Cambria last weekend for the opening of Andi Perejda's exhibit at the Cambria Center for the Arts. Andi is so talented . . . she does absolutely everything from painting and dyeing to masterful hand quilting. And she's a really nice person too. If you've never seen her work, check out her website. She does a hand quilting class for Craftsy, travels around the country teaching, and she'll be doing a demo when we go to the Houston quilt show.

We never miss an opportunity to spend the weekend in Cambria, and this was no exception. The weather at the beach was extremely foggy. It didn't stop me from taking a lot of photos, but honesty, most of them didn't come out very good.

We visited many galleries and shops. There are so many talented artists in the area and there are so many beautiful items on display. This visit we happened upon a shop called Grow on Main Street. They have rare and unusual succulents and gorgeous pottery. You can see some of it below. The colors and textures are wonderful. We ended up buying three plants, two of them are mutations that I've never seen and the third is just a bit strange. If you like plants and yard art, this is a great nursery.

If your husband can't handle all the shopping and galleries, there's a place for him at the Cambria Ale House. We didn't go there, but the sign made me laugh.

 We went to San Simeon to visit the elephant seals, but it was pretty quiet. The mature bulls won't return until November or December. When they arrive, they are so loud you can barely hear yourself speak. We had dinner at Manta Rey Restaurant in San Simeon. It's our favorite restaurant in the area and eat there every time we are in town.

If you live within driving distance, it's a great weekend get away.

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

Photography is one of my great passions. I was 14 when I received my first camera and set up a black and white darkroom in my bathroom when I was 17.

Since then, I've taken thousands of photos. Some of them are great, most of them are average, some went straight into the trash. I'm sure that scenario sounds familiar to most of you. Thank goodness for digital cameras.

These days, I'm using a Canon 60D and loving it. This was an upgrade from a Canon Rebel that I used for several years and also loved. An expensive camera has a lot of bells and whistles, however, if you learn the basics of photography, you can take great photos with any camera.

I would like to start sharing some of my photos with you that have nothing specific to do with any project that I'm working on.

Some will be straight from the camera, some will be manipulated. Let me know if you like the addition of photography.

Not Your Momma's Pearl Necklace

These pearls were screaming my name as I passed by them at the gem show. I stopped and fondled them, checked the price and continued to look around at the other booths.

I gave myself a lecture about how I shouldn't be at the gem show . . .   how I didn't need any more beads . . . then I turned around and bought the pearls.

What can I say, I didn't have anything like these beads. And I seem to be a sucker for lime green these days. It showing up in everything I make.

Don't they look great with the pink abalone mosaic bead in the center? I fell in love with that bead last year at String a Strand in Chicago.

Now, I need to find the right blouse to wear with the necklace.

Trash or Treasure? 3 Deciding Factors

Trash or Treasure . . .

It's an instant decision that each of us has to make on a daily basis. If we didn't our homes would overflow with stuff and we would soon be featured on the Hoarder's television show.

That's not the way I want to gain my 15 minutes of fame, so I'm pretty selective about what I save. Here's how I decide:

1) Size does matter: If it's an inside item, it needs to be fairly small because I'm running out of storage space. If it is going to be yard art, it needs to be large enough to be seen.

2) Color: I can't help myself . . . I love color, especially multiple colored items.

3) Texture: I've been know to stop and stare at tree bark. I even have a photo collection of unusual textures.

Upcycled Binder Clip Pin

This broken binder clip could have easily found its way into the trash, but it didn't. I instantly loved the shape and knew what I was going to do with it. I grabbed my wire and went to work wrapping it around the binder clip, then added the arms with beads for hands. The little crab is the pin attachment. I thought about adding loopy hair but didn't want to go overboard.

What is the most unusual item you've repurposed? I would love to hear about it. Please leave a comment.