Friday, July 10, 2026

Sewing In Progress and a Hungry Hawk

    Hi everyone. Another Friday is already here. I hope everyone has had a nice week so far.

    Today I'm joining Nicole at Friday Face Off, Gillena at Friday Lunch Break and also Halle at Art Journal Journey. Today I have some art in progress  to share.

    I've been working on another cloth journal. My base pages are done, but I haven't put them together or added them to a rigid backing (like interfacing). After that I will stitch 2 pages together back to back to make a two sided page in this journal.


  My background is just an old yellowed bed pillow cover that I cut up. Then I die cut some circles from fabric scraps, and  I appliqued them onto the background.  The photo booth faces and  the slide are paper images that I  printed onto some white cloth. You can create your own cloth to run it through the printer (*instructions below) or you can use pre-treated cotton cloth sheets that you can buy. I happened to have an old packet of ready to print cloth sheets that had a few sheets left so that's what I did, but making your own sheets isn't all that difficult either.

  After that I took 2 little crochet-like flowers and 2 red buttons and hand stitched them down. I snipped these flowers off of something old a long time ago and I can't remember what they were on. I also took a small applique (again snipped off something old that I can't remember) and stitched it down. What I do to finish this page is something I don't quite know yet.

  My other face for today is this Cooper's Hawk. The other day I was driving into my driveway,  just a few feet from parking, when this guy swooped down in front of my car.  He/she then flew over and landed on my husband's workshop.



  I think he/she was interested in raiding the phoebe's nest which sits up under the eaves, but he couldn't get in there. I was down below in the driveway next to my car, and all I had on me was my phone. I zoomed the camera to max, and that means I can't really crop down these photos because they won't come out very clear.



   While I was watching him the whole forest was filled with songbirds in warning call mode. And then, it went very quiet.


  After that he/she flew off into the woods. I'm sure he was looking for another nest to raid.
  That's all for me in this post. Have a great Friday and start to your weekend.   



*Step-by-Step Guide for making cloth sheets for your printer
  1. Cut the Materials: Cut a piece of freezer paper and a piece of fabric so they are exactly the same size as standard printer paper (8.5 × 11 inches). 
  2. Iron Together: Place the freezer paper shiny side (the waxy side) down against the back of your fabric. Use a hot, dry iron to press the two layers together until they are firmly bonded.
  3. Trim Edges: Snip away any stray threads or frayed fabric edges so the sheet will feed smoothly without catching on the printer’s rollers. 
  4. Feed into Printer: Place the fabric-and-paper sheet into your printer's paper tray. Note: Ensure your printer is set to print on the fabric side, not the paper side. On most top-feed printers, this means facing the fabric side down.
  5. Print: On your computer, set your print settings to "Best Photo" or "High Quality". This prevents inconsistent ink flow on the fabric. 



26 comments:

Iris Flavia said...

Great art! I made some on my trousers, maybe I should share. I ironed it on. I´ve never seen a Hawk for real! Have a great Friday, hugs

Angie's Recipes said...

I still haven't seen a hawk in our neighbourhood...maybe I didn't look hard enough in the wood.

Tom said...

...I love fabric art, too bad that I can't thread a needle.

Christine said...

Lovely page and photos

Carola Bartz said...

Erika, this is very creative. Since I am not in sewing (and never will be), I admire this, but will not attempt to do something similar. Oh, the Cooper's Hawk is fantastic. Every now and then, one is sitting on my fence; more often it's a Red-shouldered Hawk. I love birds of prey, but I'm still not happy when s/he gets one of "my" birds. But they need to eat, too. I'd rather have a hawk catch a bird than a cat. Have a lovely weekend, hugs - Carola

Gillena Cox said...

Wow, i enjoyed your appliqued image
Happy Friday
Thanks for linkingbto AFFF

Much love

DVArtist said...

Your cloth journal is magnificent. Your design is off balance but balanced at the same time. It is a technique that is difficult to accomplish and you did this perfectly. I love the red and the crochet details. Brilliant! Oh what a treasure to see the hawk.Thank you for sharing with FFO and have a lovely day.

The Rev. Arnoldo L. Romero, MLA said...

I'd never heard of a cloth journal, but I like it! I love hawks, and we used to have some nesting on a tree by our house before, but not lately. Happy FFO!

Debra said...

Your start on your fabric journal is lovely. I'm glad the hawk didn't get the nest. I always get so worked up when all the birds are in an uproar. I'm going to try the fabric printing-thank you for that!

Mary Kirkland said...

I like your journal page. The hawk is so neat. I don't see many hawks around here.

Jeanie said...

Don't you just love the avian warning sound? They know!

Fundy Blue said...

Reading how you create your fabric pages is fascinating, Erika. The creativity people have is amazing. The photo images are lots of fun! I really enjoyed seeing the Cooper's hawk. I've seen them many times. Gorgeous birds! Even if they're predators. Thanks for sharing. Enjoy your weekend! ❤️

brenda said...

Really admire your neelepoint journal shares, so very different and imaginative.

And of course appreciate the Cooper Eagle, we get a good few birds of prey here being pretty remote but never fails to amaze me that despite their size and hunting nature, the Crows so often see them off in a blaze of noise.

B x

Shari Burke said...

Your cloth journal pages look great! Bill and I went through a phase where we were printing his photos on fabric and I was turning them into wall hangings. So many possibilities! Such fun!

David M. Gascoigne, said...

A visit from a Cooper’s Hawk is always very special, Erika, although the songbirds might beg to differ. No doubt this individual heard of your creative prowess and flew in to see the results. At this very moment birds of prey from near and far are being told about fabric pages so better prepare for an influx of raptorial admirers. They’ll probably want lessons, too, so better design the curriculum. Snacks will be needed - cuisse de goldfinch, and poitrine de blackbird will be fine. No preparation required. Extra rare preferred. Have a great weekend - David

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I'm most impressed with this latest page you have created for AJJ. I was also glad you shared how to create cloth sheets for your printer. This is a marvelous entry for Halle's theme at AJJ. Also, happy FFO and AFFF.

Kathylorraine said...

Thanks for the instructions on how to print on fabric. I made a large cloth journal when we first moved to the lake with wool pages I really enjoyed it. Loved seeing the bird nest Happy weekend

Gene Black said...

I have never tried printing on fabric, but if I were to try making a fabric book it would be useful. Yours came out great.

Maria Medeiros said...

Lovely fabric journal! So lovely! Have a beautiful July!

Katerinas Blog said...

Thanks for the tips, Erika!
Your journal is going to be wonderful!! I’ve always wanted to make a journal too; maybe I’ll find the time someday.
For now, I’m really excited about writing fairy tales!!

Linda's Relaxing Lair said...

Beautiful photos and lovely art, Erika!

Lowcarb team member said...

I do like your fabric journal page and nice to see your photographs of the Cooper Hawk.
Enjoy your weekend.

All the best Jan

Veronica Lee said...

Such creative fabric work, Erika!
The crochet flowers and buttons are charming.
And what a treat to spot the Cooper’s Hawk right at home.
Happy Sunday!

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

We have seen red tail hawks flying over the river from our window and sometimes feathers have drifted down from the roof above. Hope that your hawk left without a mail.

Halle said...

I'm in love with the fabric journal page! And you are making an entire journal that way!! Wow. That hawk is beautiful. We've had some around here lately dropping down and grabbing mice or voles.

DeniseinVA said...

You are so clever putting these art pieces together. Love them! We haven’t seen a Cooper’s Hawk in a very long time, what a beautiful bird.