I'm on Pins & Needles

   Half way through the month & the alphabet. Phew. I'm liking the jumping off point & the "pressure"  (good P word?) to keep going...every day.

                                                 

 Being a fiber gal and a book artist means Needles are an important part of my tool arsenal. It's the little things that matter. As with all things every part of that little needle has a name.

 

 At an art retreat years ago a friend pulled out the needle holder she made.  This is my interpretation. It's a little hand made book with a spine & fabric glued at the top. The hand woven fabric was donated by another gal at the retreat and she let me use her serger to finish the edges. My hand made paper embellished with stamps glued onto mat board is the cover. A real collaboration. The original had felt glued in to hold the needles. the donated fabric makes it much classier don't you think?

       

One of my favorite book structures is the coptic binding. Centuries old, somewhat difficult to execute, functionally a great binding as it lays flat. This one below is over the top in terms of design. Click the link above to see lots of variations both simple, elegant, wild, & whimsical.

                                                          A little guy of mine 

      

 In order to pull this off you need curved needles, more than one at a time in some cases.

 

I've been looking for good reference material on embroidery techniques lately as I think taking fabric, thread and needles while traveling would be a good way to keep my hands busy on creative projects without the need for many supplies that take up room. While at the library yesterday this book practically jumped off the shelf into my hands...

and look, it fell open to these pages that tie in with my desire to create lichen in fabric. See the post from 2 days ago on Lichen.

Serendipity at work.