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Showing posts from March, 2018

Making a wave stitch scarf - a tutorial

My Dr Who Scarf Cyndi Lavin, 2018 My deepest appreciation to Cori Dodds , who designed the scarf that I first saw using the wave stitch.  She got the wave stitch  from MyPicot.com, home of gazillions of stitches that I now want to try!  Scroll down to the bottom of this post for easy instructions for my version of the wave stitch. If you are a beginner crocheter, I would suggestion that you go to MyPicot and follow the instructions there for doing the stitch.  I am abbreviating everything here, because teaching crochet is just not my strong suit.  I also changed the stitch slightly from the original, to better suit the way I work.  This one only looks complicated though, I promise you! Wave Stitch - lengthwise Wave Stitch Instructions The basic pattern is 16 stitches in each repeat, plus 3 at the end to finish.  So if you want to make my Dr Who scarf with the pattern running crosswise, you'll start with a chain of 35 (+ 1 stitch to turn).  A 36" traditi

Quilting inspiration on Pinterest

I love looking at art quilt books, magazines, and gazing at online examples!  It didn't take long before I decided I had to have an  Art quilts board on Pinterest to collect up all the beautiful and inspirational images I was finding.  But before too long, some tutorials started creeping in, and in the interest of being able to find them again, I started a separate board... ...which I cleverly named simply  Quilting tutorials !  Please visit them both :-)

Mounting raw-edged paintings - a tutorial

Anti-Doesn't Matter Cyndi Lavin, 2017 Original and prints for sale There's a special way that I mount acrylic paintings when they're painted on paper and have interesting raw edges I want to show off rather than hide.  Framing is time-consuming because of the number of times you have to let things dry, so I like to frame many pieces at the same time.  I bought Dick Blick's super-value cradled wood panels .  I can get packages of 5 panels, 9x12", 3/4" thick for around $25 each pack.  The additional materials I needed are as follows: Flat surface with a drop cloth or paper Ruler and pencil Small paper cups Waxed or parchment paper  Foam roller or brush Brayer 1" paint brush Carbon black acrylic paint Krylon acrylic spray Gloss medium Gloss varnish Matte varnish (or Satin, if you prefer) 1. Paint the sides and the edges of the clean wood panel with black acrylic paint.  Allow to dry completely.  Use your ruler and pencil to make

Beautiful work with needle and thread!

I have loved handwork ever since I was a little girl, and I've found that Pinterest is a never-ending source of inspiration.  Almost as soon as I started collecting embroidery ideas, inspiration, and tutorials in my Hand embroidery board, I realized that I needed a separate board for Crazy quilt ideas.  Of course there's a lot of overlap, but it still suits me to keep two different boards.  You're welcome to visit and pin what you like to boards of your own!

Neutrino Dreams - a mixed media painting

Neutrino Dreams Cyndi Lavin, 2018 Original and prints for sale Here is my final piece in the most recent series!  I really had an awesome time painting these, and though I might think of another that I have to do in the future, for now I feel the series is complete.  This is my interpretation of a neutrino interaction that occurred in the Fermilab bubble chamber in 1976.  A neutrino is an elementary particle that only interacts with gravity and via the weak subatomic force. They have an infinitesimal mass and no electric charge.  As a doctoral candidate, my husband studied anti-neutrinos.  Why?  Why not?! Next week, I'm going to show you how I mount the ones that I want to actually hang.  The technique is useful for any acrylic on paper pieces that might have interesting raw edges you want to show off rather than hide. A tutorial for the  basic techniques  is at the link. Here is a complete list of all the pieces in this series: Sacred Geometry Charmed Particles A

Fabrics and fibers boards on Pinterest

I have so many tutorials and have found so many others online that focus on fabrics...printing, painting, manipulating, dyeing, bleaching, etc etc etc, that I put together a board called  Fabrics transformed  where all of them can live together.  I love being able to scroll through and see the picture of exactly what I'm looking for. In addition, I made another board of pure inspiration...  Fabric + fiber art

Just Passing Through - a mixed media painting

Just Passing Through Cyndi Lavin, 2018 Original and prints for sale This piece is my interpretation of an interesting event that was captured all the way back in 1964, where particles were detected in a bubble chamber as they were passing right through lead shielding.  That's kind of a mind-boggling thought. A tutorial for the basic techniques is at the link. Copyright 2018 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. The tutorial only may be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.