Earth-Friendly Landscape Design

Through my seizures I have taken a direction of renewable-re-usable art. I have been a knitter since age 5. I am creating knitted panels for canvas, knitted elements to represent trees and plants of landscape design.

I love pen and ink and all aspects of painting and drawing. However, to make graphite, you need to strip mine, to make charcoal you need to burn trees. Where does our art come from? Our thinking, and not age-old ways of making art supplies.

People drew with charcoal because it was left over from their fires. By using yarns, some commercial, some acrylic, and also handspun, I can use art supplies over and over again. Life Is Fragile, the earth is fragile.

I am using knitting boards to knit the canvases. I am using flower looms to make design elements of trees and flowers, just like my pen and ink landscape design, except I won't be wasting paper and I won't be using the chemicals that inks use. It's as earth-friendly as I can get.

I currently spin my own yarns-using what most Americans see as "disposable wool fiber (opting for commercial yarns), I can give the sheep, alpacas, and goats a place to have their products used.

I currently have several commercial yarns to use up, but after that, all my landscape designs will be in handspun fiber. I am using a hand-made wooden charkha to spin the wool. I will have to photograph each design before re-using the elements,and will use digital instead of film

These are the looms I am using to make double-knitted "canvas"

Flower looms are most often used with yarn, and other than hand-spun (black and cinnamon alpaca included) embroidery floss makes a durable design element. Below photo is with yarn and a frame of crochet and are currently for another project. Pen and ink is more like floss flowers.

I encourage other Fine Artists, used to working in ink, acrylic, or oil, to consider working in yarn and natural fibers. Not to be a "fiber artist" per se, but to take your talent and make it as reusable and earth-friendly as possible.

1 reply0 retweets0 likes

Videos How The Grinch Stole Christmas and More

Videos

How The Grinch Stole Christmas

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer Island of Misfit Toys

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh 1977 - full movie

Peter Rabbit: FULL EPISODES 2018 S0203 The Great Owl Adventure

Mickey Saves Santa | Full Episode | Mickey Mouse Clubhouse | Disney Junior

A Charlie Brown Christmas full story movie episode

Picture Perfect Cake | Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures | Barbie

Flower Looms

I have owned a flower loom for many years, but it was only recently I started to look into all the ways you can use these easy-to-make flowers. Here are some videos (not mine):


Episode 64: How to Make a Flower on a Loom

Springtime - Daisy - Blanket - Loom Flower - Bloom Loom - Part 1 of 2

Springtime - Daisy - Blanket - Loom Flower - Bloom Loom - crochet - Part 2 of 2

How to Use the Crazy Daisy Winder

Civil War Project

My Civil War Quilt project just took a wooly turn. Along with a quilt, and with a theme of Fin Whales (early New England), there will be 42 pair of socks. Honoring the @USCG , and allowing for a clean pair of socks daily on a 6 week voyage.

That is 8 pounds of beautiful grey (Fin Whale colored) sheep's wool. I have my spinning cut out for me on this one! SUPPORT AMERICAN FARMERS. The wool is coming from Gillette, Wyoming! WooHoo!

During the Civil War, women made quilts at first with beautiful fabrics. As budgets got tighter and tighter, they made them out of anything they could find, including feedsacks. The quilts often ended up as burial shrouds, which is why there are so few from that time here today.

I won't be using feedsacks:

A history of the Coast Guard during the Civil War, as it was first called The Revenue Cutter Service.

During the government shutdown of December-January 2019, the United States Coast Guard became the first military branch in our history to go without pay. Thank A Vet Never Forget.

The Toolbox

The Toolbox

The Toolbox

I have about a month before my apartment gets out-priced and won't be approved by Housing for my lease to be renewed.  This has been an ongoing battle for 3 years. The market rents are in the 1500.00 a month range for my apartment and Housing allows about 1,000.00 a month.  It is a nationwide problem, and has very many people, working, non-working, and disabled, all facing homelessness.

What I have been doing for the last three years is being prepared to live in a tent. With my Service Dog, and still being able to make Quilts For Veterans. The fact that I have TBI and PTSD has made this both much more difficult (because I am less and less like other people), and yet, somewhat easier (I have nothing left to lose in many ways).  The threat of not having a warm bed, a hot meal, clean water, can be extremely debilitating for anyone. For those of us with PTSD, it can be life-threatening because many of us don't have the same skills we had prior to the accident or event that left us disabled.  But this isn't about the difficulty. It's about using the tools we can make ourselves, the tools we have a natural skill to use.

I have a green metal toolbox that holds the hand-carved tools I have made in order to continue taking care of myself and also be able to make quilts should I be living in a tent.  The quilts are easy- fabric, batting, needle and thread. The Service Dog sets for Veterans need lucets, spool kntting, hand-spun wool, and cotton warp.  There are many other tools I was able to carve from my Eastern White Pine, and in fact I would have had more, except some of the branches had to be destroyed due to aphids.  If you are facing homelessness, civilian or Veteran, maybe you also could use a tool box like this to make your own things.

Needed: yarn for some items, fabric as needed, wool for spinning if you choose to use all American-made yarns. You will also need to add hand sewing needles and thread.

The toolbox and large branch lucet:

The toolbox is all metal and lockable.

The tools: Large spool knitter made with keys for pins. Small spool knitter. These two items can make ropes, pillows, mats, rugs, and if woven, bands.

Double-point Knitting Needles: Sizes 15, 13, 8, 6, 4 - these can make socks, sweaters, vests, blankets, scarves, hats, mittens, and dog comfort collars

Large and small lucets: These make the place markers for the Service Dog sets, ropes, cords for tying smaller items, leashes, and necklaces and bracelets.

Belt-width backstrap weaving loom: Belts, leashes, bands, strips of woven fabric for batting, narrow flat straps for bundling objects like a bedroll. Strips can also be sewn into ponchos.

Spindle made of a dowel and pewter wire whorl: for spinning wool or cotton fiber.

Yarn sewing needle: sewing yarn

Crochet hooks: Sizes Q and G - for afghans, faceclothes, ponchos, granny square mats or rugs, etc...

Added: two bobbin boxes with thread for sewing (hand-quilting thread), and a small green sewing kit (Korean War replica kit) as well as my own needle book with plenty of hand-sewing needles.

What I would be leaving behind: a  sewing machine, my spinning wheels, my larger weaving looms, my knitting box, my sewing boxes, my crochet boxes, my hundred or so spool knitters and about 15 lucets.

In addition to what is here now, I can tweek this set anytime I want by keeping a simple jack-knife with me for additional carving, as well as some small blocks of Sculpey clay to add to any tools or make a new heddle for the backstrap loom.