Saturday, June 25, 2016

Open Poncho

How fun is this poncho to make which fits just about anybody.  Make it on a resist with one layer of fine wool roving sandwiched between two layers of silk.  One side is completely open and the other side has a sleeve and is closed.  It is reversible too and is a beautiful accessory to a solid outfit whether it be a dress, leggings and a top or over jeans and a tee. 


I wasn't thrilled with the yellow silk that I used on the bottom of the garment so I dyed it a dark brown color by first soaking it in a mixture of water and white vinegar and then putting it in the microwave in a gallon size zip lock bag for 2 1/2 minutes for 3 consecutive times with a 1 minute rest in between.


The bottom hole was a little bigger than I had wanted so to compensate, I made some felted balls and hung them from the hole - great look.  There is always a way to turn a mistake into a design element.



 It's a terrific one size fits all to leave one side completely open while enclosing the second side.
 I am so loving the Caribbean inspired turquoise and browns.







Sunday, June 19, 2016

20 States, 2 Countries, 5 weeks

The five week trip that Joe and I took in reliable N7542N was amazing.  The bird didn't have one hiccup and flew us across the USA and the Caribbean often in some pretty nasty and zero visibility weather.  In the USA we stopped in 20 states and saw and learned so much about our beautiful and vast country. In the Bahamas, we checked off a bucket list item by getting to swim with the pigs.  

I know it's often boring to look at other folks' vacation photos but I've added peppy music so this 13 minute movie is pretty easy to get through. I mean...swimming with pigs, you have got to see that!



As co-pilot my duties included programming the GPS and locating waypoints & airports on the charts. In five weeks we flew 53.8 hours and besides reading novels, I got in some creative time making a necklace and embellishing a white prefelt.  

Wire wrapped beads on chain with Roman glass, an old coin, yarn and threads as the pendant.



I embellished this prefelt by adding silk and wrapping thread around the wool and silk.
I used a needle and thread to add dimension to the wool and silk.