SALE

I've marked down many of my beautiful cloaks. Cloaks for weddings, Christmas, and ren faires. Many are now $49.99. That is $10-$20 off the original price. Check them out at http://www.mwestdesigns.etsy.com

SALE 15-30% OFF

Huge sale going on this week just in time for Christmas. 15-30% off cloaks, rugs, paintings, polaroid transfers. All original art on sale. Check it out at http://www.mwestdesigns.etsy.com

Christmas Velvet Crafting Box

I have a new item in my Etsy store. It is a 5 lb box filled with crushed panne velvet in Christmas colors. It is perfect for crazy quilting, crafts, doll clothes, and many other craft projects. The colors included are reds, greens, gold, silver, white, and ivory. Check it out http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36132043

Country Cowboy Christmas Treasury

It always is such a nice surprise to be included in someones Treasury. This one is titled Country Cowboy Christmas and deusprovidebit. This is a beautiful treasury with snowmen and snowflakes. Candles and gingerbread soap which looks like fudge and I'm sure smells heavenly. I think my favorite is the Birch Bark Gift Tags by rusticblend. Very simple but also very cute. Thanks so much to Gramma Harv and Terry for including me!
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=93887

One of my favorite quotes

I don't know who said this, but it is still one of my favorites. " To be an artist includes much; one must possess many gifts - absolute gifts - which have not been acquired by one's own effort. And, moreover, to succeed, the artist must possess the courageous soul. "

Creativity on a cold morning

Sometimes creativity is difficult. I suppose if it was easy then there would be no reason to create. Being an artist is gift and we are "born to make manifest the glory of God within us." But why is it that some mornings I just don't want to. We had our first frost and that means that it is cold in my studio. It's like I am a 4 year old throwing a fit.
But I think all this superficial junk is just fear. What if I was a successful artist? What would my life be like? There are so many stories of artists or musicians or actors who loose their way and end up in a terrible place or even dead. There aren't many stories about artists who lead happy, healthy lives.
The only way to deal with this fear is just by showing up. By going down to my studio and starting a fire and turning the heat on. And then just start something. Who cares if it turns out wonderful or in the dumpster. And by holding on to the dream or going to work just down the hill from my house. A short commute to my studio and days filled with creativity. Hold onto my dream and find the joy in the small things in life.

Vacation

So I'm back from my 1,800 mile trip. I went all the way to Minnesota and back. We had such a great time. I saw all of my family and about 987 lakes. :) I bought a pair of hot pink cowboy boots for my niece's 5th birthday. They have a horse and stars on the side and they light up when she walks in them. They were a hit, though she wore them all day without socks and got blisters on the bottom of her feet. She also received hot pink golf clubs. So we spent some time in our boots golfing on the front lawn. It was lots of fun, but I think we both need more practice. Now I need to gear up for Halloween. I have tons of new fabric for cloaks and I need to sew, sew, sew. Of course I might pretend that today is my last day of vacation and finish this great book that I'm reading!!

Custom made cloaks

This custom made cloak is reversible in the hot pink and orange. The fabric was a funny spandex polyester and I had some problems sewing it. I tried so many different needles and setting on my machine. I had to sew most of it 2 or 3 times because it just wasn't sewing right. I think it turned out great and I love the colors.

Custom made cloaks

I just finished nine custom made cloaks. This first one is a hip length white panne velvet. It has a lined hood, ties at the neck, and two inches of gold trim. I had a problem deciding how to put the gold on. I finally cut the cloak two inches shorter and then sewed the right sides together. It flipped down and then I top stitched it. I'll be listing the other 8 in all the cool fabrics in the next week.

The old into the new

I saw this book (can't remember the title now) about taking old clothing and turning it into something new. It had some great stuff and gave me some great ideas. I had these two skirts that were so cute, but they didn't fit. So I had this idea to turn them into capelets. I started by cutting up the seam where the zipper was. Then I took the zipper out, serged the seams and then sewed the edge down. My biggest problem was how to do the neck. I finally decided on just taking some tucks. I sewed all of those down and then I thought about putting a ribbon on. I couldn't find exactly what I wanted, so I just put a little hidden hook and eye at the neck. It turned out so cute. And I only threw away just a little tiny amount of fabric. Find it here http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28283047
s

Forgiveness by Le Ly Hayslip

My favorite quote is by Le Ly Hayslip. She was a child living in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. She wrote a wonderful book and this is from that.

"Hating people who wronged me only kept me in their power. Forgiving them and thanking them for the lessons they taught me, on the other hand set me free to continue on my way."

Blue handwoven rag rug

This rug is 30 x 30 with black cotton warp. Most of the fabric was recycled from an old comforter. A friend had washed this comforter and it had gotten lumpy. She was just going to throw it away and my Mom saved it. It was a king size so there was tons of fabric. I just cut the seams open and took out the batting and then cut the fabric into strips. My Mom was making some blankets at the time so she used the batting for those. So we only ended up with about a handful of stuff to throw away. You can find this rug listed on Etsy http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28133634

The power of lighting

I got a phone call at 11:30 pm last Sunday to tell me that one of our barns was on fire. We had just had this big storm and had gotten 1.5 inches of rain. I called it in to the Sheriff's Dept and drove over there. It isn't very far, maybe a 2 to 3 miles, but it seemed like it took forever because the roads were horrible after so much rain. My very nice neighbor who had called me was there, and shortly after the Fire Dept's from Lisco and Oshkosh showed up. It was a beautiful 100 year old barn. It was a two story and the bottom walls were cement. The house next to it had been built by my great, great - grandfather on my Dad's side. So he probably built the barn too. It was not used for anything and only had some old hay in the loft. The interior had all these wood corrals and gates. By the time I got there the whole top was gone. It had been burning for a while before my neighbor saw it. I am very thankful that we had gotten so much rain because the pasture and wheat field that are right next to the barn could have started on fire also. And I am thankful for the people from the Rural Fire Dept's that showed up.

Custom made handwoven rug

I have finished another custom made rug. It is red, yellow, blue, green, purple, orange and burgundy with a black warp. It is the second one I have made in those colors. She ordered the first one and then needed another one. The rugs are one-of-a-kind because there is no way to duplicate one exactly, but I used the same colors and size on the second one. I think it turned out very well.

Baby Birds

I have this nest tucked under the eaves of my house. It has been interesting to watch these baby birds grow. Their mom continually comes to feed them. They are growing well and it is amusing to see how half of them hang over the edge of the nest because there just wasn't room. They other day they started leaving the nest. They kinda hung out in the bushes around my house. Then we had this huge storm and it was pouring. They all hung out under the eaves until it subsided. And now they are all gone.

Custom made handwoven rug

I finished the custom made rug for Elnora. The colors are burgundy, blues, and tans. It measures 21 x 30. Most of the fabric I used was old men's plaid shirts. It's amazing how much fabric I can get out of one. And they are cotton and so soft because they have been washed a million time. It's great to be able to recycle 90% of something the just would have been thrown away.

Wildflowers of the Sandhills

I went out in the pasture this morning and the wildflowers are everywhere. I guess 8 inches of rain in the last two weeks has really helped them grow. The purple spiderwort is my favorite and that seems to be the most abundant. I found a new one called Plains Beebalm. The prickly pear cactus are abundant too. They are a pale yellow color. The bright small yellow is greenthread. There are clumps of them. And the Yucca's are getting ready to bloom. I think the 90 degree weather next week will have them all opening.

Rainbows

We have had some pretty intense storms lately. Lots of rain, wind, hail, and tornadoes. I haven't seen so much rain in a decade. Which is great because the drought is over, plus the added benefit of an ending storm is rainbows. We had some huge rainbows and even some double ones. Who know if there is a pot of gold at the end of these. Maybe I should go check it out.

Lace Wedding Cloak

I found this amazing white lace fabric. It is sheer and has these neat little flowers in the designs. It is a very delicate fabric, so sewing it was a challenge. Actually even cutting it out was challenging. :) After trying several different needles, I finally selected an 11 and that seemed to work pretty well. I sewed all the seams and then I serged them. I then resewed the seams just to be safe. I had wanted some white satin ribbon for the ties, but I finally settled on white velvet. It is a stunning cloak.

Check it out on Etsy http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=26504570

Rain

Western Nebraska has been in a drought for 8 or 9 years. It's been going on so long that it is hard to remember when it started. But I think that it is finally over. We have had 7.35 inches of rain in the last week. That is half of our yearly rainfall in a week. The pastures and hills are so green. It is such a pretty sight. We don't have much of a problem where I live with flooding because I live in the Sandhills and most of the water just soaks into the ground. There are some fields with low spots that have standing water, but not too bad. I think the county roads suffered the most with many spots washed out from so much water. I am very thankful for all the rain. The wheat looks good and we should have a good crop, plus I haven't had to water the lawn or garden in forever. And with the sun finally out my garden should just grow and grow and grow!

My Studio

I am fortunate to have my own studio. It is an old wash house built in the 20's or 30's. The walls are made with cement and there is horsehair though out. It has great lighting with about 10 windows. My Dad and I spent a long summer years ago fixing it up. It hadn't been anything but a junk house for decades. Most of the window panes were broken and we spent a lot of time fixing those. We did a lot of caulking to keep the mice out and worked on the vent for the old coal stove. For the last few winters I have tried to work down there with only the heat from the coal stove. Last winter I gave up. It would take hours to even get it up to 40 degrees. Luckily my Dad brought an old propane stove and today we are installing that. It's hooked outside to a propane tank and the exhaust goes into the stovepipe and out the chimney. It is going to be so amazing this winter to have heat down there. I am a very lucky woman.

A Night of Fun

I spent last evening with " The Birthday Club". We had so much fun drinking margarita's and just laughing. It's always nice to get together with some old friends that I have known forever, and some new friends that I've just met. The really surprising thing is that when you find out why for all these years someone has acted like they do. And it was a good surprise to finally understand her. Life is full of wonderful surprises. It was a great evening and I can't wait to do it again.

Necktie rug

I have been the recipient of a whole bag of old neckties (thanks Abby). I have decided that I am going to cut the large ends lengthwise so that they are the same thickness. Then I will sew them together and weave them. I think they will make a wonderful rug. Even though they are the double thickness, the width is only 1.5 or so. I think it would work really well.

New Rag rug

I just finished this custom made rug. It is shades of red, pink, tan, orange and yellow. It is 30 x 80 and just a huge rug. It really brightens up the room. The fabric I used was old fabric bought at garage sales and a bunch of old cotton clothes.

FREE US SHIPPING

I am offering FREE US SHIPPING in my etsy shop. Handwoven rag rugs, renaissance cloaks and capelets, handmade paper book, painting, photography, and Polaroid transfers. Go to www.mwestdesigns.etsy.com.

Turquoise blue faux suede cloak

The fabric for this cloak is a super soft faux suede. It is such an amazing color. I love how it just pops. A real attention getter. I made this cloak with a shoulder to floor length of 60 inches, but I can shorten for free if needed. It has a large hood and ties at the neck. It is perfect for Ren Faires, or prom, or weddings, or just about anything. I have it listed on Etsy.http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=23019785

Free shipping and capelets

I am offering free shipping in the US on capes and capelets thru 5/7/09. Check out my shop and get in of the free shipping. http://www.mwestdesigns.etsy.com/. The capelets that I have finished are the green and purple. I had to modify the pattern I had to make it more user friendly.

New velvet capelets

I have been hording fabric pieces that I thought would make little capelets. They are perfect for prom or just anytime you need a little extra warmth. They are all about elbow length and I started with dark purple and dark green. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24344395. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Weaving a wool shawl

So I am working on my first non rug. I bought some beautiful hand painted wool from Brown Sheep Company in Mitchell. It is gray, blue, and purple. For the warp I bought some wool call blue fog. I'm not so sure about the warp though. Maybe it's just not as strong as the rug warp, because I keep breaking them. I have tied them back on and now I have adjusted the tension so that it is not so tight. Hopefully that will work. It's going to be too warm to wear it soon, but a least I can say I made a shawl.

Weaving with my Niece

My niece was here and she helped me do some weaving. She sat next to me on the bench and I would throw the shuttle from one side and she would catch it. Then she pushed the peddles and threw the shuttle back. It was quite fun and we laughed a lot. I can't wait for her to come out again and we can do some more weaving.

Faux suede rug

I made a black and dark purple faux suede cloak a while back. I had all of these scraps left over so I decided to make a rug. I used black warp and about 2.5 inch wide strips. I decided to use two shuttles, one color on each. It gave it thicker ends where I had to overlap the colors, but I like it. It is soft and thick and cushy. Feels great to walk on. I listed it today. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=23543379

Custom cloak

This cloak is the last of the 5 that I did. The red is a stretchy velour. The brown is almost a crushed velvet with sewn sequins and vertical ribbing. The red was so stretchy that I had to have it with another stretchy fabric. I tried to do the red with the satin and it would sew right. I pinned and sewed and ripped out stitches. Several times until we decided to switch to the brown.

Blizzard

So the blizzard came and left us with lots of snow, huge drifts and no electricity for 24 hours! I spent the quiet day reading and weaving. I put a table by my loom and set candles and a lantern on it. It made me think about how in the old days they would have lived without all the modern conveniences. It was kinda nice. I got a lot done on my new flannel blue and sage rug. It's going to be a long one. Plus it's super soft. Now I'm off to do all those things I couldn't do yesterday. Like laundry. Yeah for electricity!!!

4th custom cloak

This is the fourth custom cloak of five. It is a marbled blue/magenta/purple with sparkles and reverses to magenta satin. I've really enjoyed creating these. They are fabrics that I normally wouldn't have used but they turned out really beautiful.

Fabric flowers

I use a lot of my fabric scraps from making the cloaks in my rugs. Sometimes I have fabrics that I am unable to use in my rugs. Mostly the satins and brocades. I was working with a black brocade and I had lots of scraps and I was trying to think of something I could use them for. This brocade is beautiful. Black with red flowers and then the underside is red with black flowers. So I thought about making 3-D flowers that could be used to pin on clothing or purses or even shoes. So I checked out the books when I was at Joann's and I found " Fun to Wear Fabric Flowers" by Elizabeth Helene Searle. It is an amazing book. It has about 35 different flowers to make. Pansy's, roses, dahlia's, daffodil's, camellia's and many more. It tells about many different kinds of fabric to use and several different technique's. And the pictures are out of this world. Very nicely illustrated with great, easy to follow directions. I can't wait to try them all out. Stay tuned for some pictures of my new spring flowers.

Custom cloak

This is the third cloak. A hot pink satin with the almost tie-dyed fabric. It is reversible, so either side can be worn on the outside. I just love the tie-dyed. You can buy several different versions of the fabric at Joann's. Just make sure you have a coupon cause it's a little pricey.

Custom made cloaks

This cloak is a orange and silver satin reversible. Both fabrics have sparkles. The Orange was supposed to go with the brown velvet. Because of the stretch in both the red and brown velvet, it was easier to put the satins together, and then the velvets together.

Rainbow Rag Rug

I finally have the black warp on my loom. I had lots of help from my wonderful niece. This is the first time I have used the black. I have only had the natural warp. I thought I needed something darker because I had all of these bright fabrics to use. Now I have the rainbow rug done. It is 30 x 39. Macy would stand on the end and catch the shuttle and then throw it back to me. She also was great help on pushing the peddles. She'll make a great weaver someday!

Mud puddles

I was talking to my Mom on the phone the other day and my 4 year old niece was there. She told me Macy wanted to go outside. So she was watching through the window while talking to me. Macy was investigating a mud puddle. First she put her toe in, then she stomped around for a while. Then she knelt down and put her hand in. Then she decided to go all or nothing. The last thing I heard from my Mom was " I gotta go, Macy just layed down in the puddle!"

Custom Cloaks

I am making these amazing cloaks for a wonderful woman in California. She sent me the most amazing kinda tie-dyed fabrics. They are such bright limes, and fuchsias with sparkles and are gorgeous. I'm doing 10 and this is the first one.