Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Winds and Dragons


This is my newest nuno felted vest which I'm calling "Winds and Dragons" in honor of mah jongg, another one of my passions. I learned mah jongg from my mother who played the game once a week from her mid 20's to almost until she passed away at 85.  My Aunt Bernice is still playing at 90.  Looks like I'm on the same path and I love it.  Mah jongg keeps your mind active and is an amazing game of skill with some luck certainly thrown in too. 

 This vest has two vintage mah jongg tiles used as buttons and closed with felted cords. The maj tile in the photo to the left is a One Bam and the tile in the photo above is a Red Dragon.


Shibori balls embellish both the front and back of the vest.

  I play mah jongg at least once a week and sometimes more.  I have taught several friends to play over the years and they in turn have taught others.  Some are so good that they have even entered tournaments.  When I was on a cruise in South American last December, I went up to the game room to get in on the maj game.  All of a sudden, I hear "Is that Beth Marx?" Can you believe it, it was a maj player whom I had played with a few times at home.  How fun it that and how cool that you can get a game going anywhere.  For more of my mah jongg posts, click here:  


  


 

 Work in Progress




 The collar is made from an beautiful silk/metal fabric and looks amazing.

 Of course this vest is reversible and can also be worn upside down as a shrug/shawl.





Friday, April 3, 2015

Nuno Felted Vest Workshop in Southern California - March 2015




An incredible group of twelve inspiring, positive women attended my March 2015 nuno felting seamless vest workshop in Southern California

Day 1 of 4 involved taking the Metro Blue Line from Long Beach to Los Angeles for fabric shopping in downtown LA followed by lunch at the upscale Bottega Louie. Some of the students said that this alone was worth the price of admission!


On the morning of Day 2, I taught the group how to make and size up a pattern to account for the shrinkage.  Then it was on to creativity and hard work as the women exerted lots of energy, but certainly lots of fun and camaraderie too, creating their own unique seamless nuno felted vest. 

On the afternoon of the last day, each student beautifully and proudly modeled her creation for our photo shoot.

Enjoy the video which really captures the essence and spirit of our time together.  Still smiling!