Seek...find...restore...vintage linens to incorporate in my works for my exhibit..........

 I find inspiration in checking out this Art Quilting Studio magazine....I have found several techniques I might enjoy playing with in the near future........ now to find the time to read  this...........I am continuing my healing process and drops in my eyes as the new lens are still healing....

 Home is another magazine just chock full of inspirations...no I will not be making candles ...and such...I enjoy the quiet reflections I discover when I stroll through a different avenue...... process ideas......

 here are a few of my treasures..........some have immediate purposes to try while other s seem to cooking on the back burner....lovely tinges in colors and textures...many were linens...

 crocheted potholders.....rings for possible flowers with antique button centers..........attachment of old laces and ribbon silk edges..........who knows....

 some colors were deeper than others....stains seem to disappear after the allowed soak time....

 it is difficult to see...but Sunbonnet Sue is definitely showing her wear...she has a story of her own while watering her pink posies....I have some handkerchief fabric I might use to rebuild her dress ...to add some more color and texture.............I have never used a Sun Bonnet Sue motif before....

 I love this tea towel...with the red work standing on its own....I am thinking of using a new photo transfer process that Jacquard has just come out with....

 small delicate napkins with intricate needle work and they are in great condition....

 this piece of linen with red cross work on all four sides....there are actually more stains and dirt residue on this piece ...but I just could not walk away without it...the possibilities for the center space...well I am going to wash and see how this comes clean.....

 this is a well loved runner with intricate needle designs on both ends....there is some damage and holes but I feel they will add to the designing process...

 I am drawn to this simple clay pot with the transplanted Pothos plant out in my garden...I love this beautiful range of greens and moss colors.......  it was early evening and the rains are settling in ....






this is a LOVE tee shirt for my Hannah and a sunny lacy dress to begin the school year...I also have a gift card for her.... so she can pick out something to play with....she is growing up so fast........

Yesterday I made the rounds to my Goodwill's and St. Vincent's resale shop for some fine vintage linens.  It is becoming more difficult to locate quality vintage fabrics to incorporate into some small and hopefully large assemblages for my exhibit next March 2014.  It is a pretty unpredictable market out there ...without spending a pretty penny...to locate the quality I can use in my planned works.  As design elements ....I need to be able to manipulate the fabrics...possibly print onto images...and then stitch and quilt additional metaphors onto the embellished surface.  I did locate some wonderful pieces and came  home to soak...wash...on a gentle cycle and then dry to test strip them for their tensile strength. Today I washed two loads this afternoon ...and so far so good.  Now I will sprinkle them and gently iron them smooth.  All of this to remove unwanted browns and rusty spots from the majority of the surface of the cloth.


This evening I received some disturbing news about my younger brother Ed who lives in Nashville, TN.  It appears he has had a heart attack...in the past...and will undergo a procedure to place a stent in his arteries to open a blockage.  I spoke to him for a short time to tell him how much we love him ...and he was going to feel so much better after the blockage is cleared.  He has been a hard worker his whole life....but the fatigue is growing and he just didn't feel right.  Please keep him in your thoughts as you create in your studios....my words fail me when I try to express how scary this next 24 hours will be. 

I am working with my artists tomorrow morning with my three grand daughters at Dawes  Arboretum.  Then we are going to The Works for their final summer concert ...with Sticks and Stones and back to school activities for kids of all ages.  Devine Pumpkin Farms will be there  as well as the Newark Library with activities for the children and free Velvet Ice Cream!!!  After lunch we are heading over to Columbus to have a trail run...of Ken's radiation procedures....yes I did say we were flexible yesterday...but I am working on taking one hour at a time.  Imagine and Live in Peace,  Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart