I am a nurturer of all people. I always thought I would be a great Mom, but was I as good of a Mom as I thought I would be when my kids were young? What I know is that I was the best I could be under the circumstances at the time, and during those times it was rough for many reasons I am not going to digress here. No matter, my son and I would have dance parties after dinner many nights, I bought my daughter I don't know how many pairs of ruby red shoes and re-glittered many of them as well to go along with her Dorothy theme of years......I taught them both how to cook, I read them bed time stories every night, cheered on and supported their creative selves. I was the Martha Stewart of Birthday parties, even had a food fight party, etc. etc......Yet that's not really ALL what makes a good Mom. I loved my kids hard. Did my anger at times make them think otherwise? Was I emotionally available enough for them? I gave them affirmation, rooted for them, introduced them to culture.....the world. 
You might really judge me here, but as my kids are grown now, I know it worked out for the good.....I also told my children that we are not from this planet. That our species existed on another planet much like earth and was destroyed so we came to earth. My son, when very young, came home one day and told me he learned all about a planet we must have been from and also that he felt his second eyelid blink. At first, I thought this tale of mine might be problematic, but it eventually became about how we are unique...and to this day we all say every now and then to each other , "We aren't like other people because we are not from this planet."  It's our family Mantra. My daughter said something like this most recently at our past dinner gathering when my son, her brother, was in town over the winter holidays. 

So that was my lead into Mother's Day coming soon and not just about making a sale. It was also about being human....I said all the above with my heart involved. 
Now You better get your game on for those women who still worry if they were good Mothers of children now adults, and those women who are still Mothering young children, both of who have done and still do the best they can do under all circumstances.
I have many beautiful hand dyed scarves and hand dyed neck gaiters in my shop to show you her appreciation for Mom's Day and I even have a coupon for 10% off. The code is MOM2022

Go to my SHOP and you will find these scarves and more. 

I know I already put it out there, but again, I am back in the dye life again. I pulled out all my fabulous dye recipes and I am on a rampage putting out new product.....neck gaiters and handkerchiefs (slowly but surely being listed on website). 
Feel free to message me if you need the recipe for the perfect mustard yellow, black, or red.  For those newbies, black and red dyes are tricky and recipes are important! ....and many other colors! Eventually, I will add a page here on my website with recipes.
The image below is from when I was at KCAI in the Fiber department as a non traditional student in my late 30"s. Our assignment was to go to Home Depot and gather paint swatches, then come back to class and try to match them exact per Procion MX dyes.
Fails came first...trial and error, and then for me, finally success.
Even the fails of the original color I wanted are still a success of a different color and so those are recorded.
*Always record recipes, color mixes, mistakes, successes, and failures.  

Ice dying. Process...Easy peasy.....
1.Get your dyes: Dharma is a good place if you can't find local. You will also need Soda ash. 
2. Soak your fabric in soda ash water for 10 minutes or more, then place on a cookie wrack. (see images). Crumple up fabric and place on the wrack, add ice cubes all over fabric, then drizzle powder dyes  (in image some is already melting). 
All ice cubes need to be melted and wait 25 minutes after all melting until rinsing. Hope you had fun. Message me with any inquiries.

I haven't been working much in studio lately and when I have, I rarely post anything on my Instagram or FB page. In fact, my website has been in desperate need of updating!  Bad girl I am. 

A list of my excuses:
*I've been distracted by job changes
*I got sick with Covid
*Cold weather: I just want to hibernate
*Warm weather: I want to work in my garden
*I've been distracted by new to me motorcycle- working on it and riding it.
*I attend a roller skating class on Saturdays.



​Yep, I could go on, but reality is, I HAVE been busting ass again in studio, updating my website and catching up slowly but surely on my social media. 

Usually something new gets me excited to work in studio. In this case it is new product, premade, that I can dye. Stay tuned for a new to me technique in dying I am about to play around with....That is besides the point. My motorcycle (pictured here), affectionately named Rauschenberg (Rausch), inspired me to get back to it. He is a BMW F650CS, by the way.
When riding, I prefer to wear a gaiter, aka neck and face warmer, and I had a favorite. At some point I lost my favorite Chinese made gaitor I bought at Neihaus Cycles in Illinois. Perhaps I lost it in Arkansas last May via the Pig Trail....IDK. What does a person do when they want to replace a favorite item?  They go hunting for for a replacement, in which I did. Nothing I found online or in stores sufficed. The next step, I realized, was to look around for pre-sewn gaiters I could dye. Gaiters I could dye for me, for you, and for everyone. 
(Pre sewn/ pre made.....I do not like sewing, but as you may see sooner than later, I will do it...sew)
What I found is great for motorcycle rides during all kinds of weather as they are made from 90% cotton/ 10% Lycra....breathable, sweat absorbent....etc.  Also great for avid bycicle riders, and you name all the other sports. Some people may opt to just wear one as an accessory, a non bulky scarve accessory. 

Below are all the gaitors I have been working on, most of them available. They are not currently listed on website, but will be soon. 

I am so excited to be a part of the Season Kickstart at Blip Roasters, an event getting fellow motorcycle riders/ enthusiasts back into "that good-weather groove of Wednesday Bike Nights, early Sunday Meetups, lots of coffee and long rides."
Whether you own or ride a motorcycle or not, I hope to see you there! This event is going to be a lot of fun and will host a very diverse crew of attendees. .....and I am pretty certain you will see about 100+ motorcycles of all different types and styles coming and going....always exciting! 

​*Click on the links below for more info. 

Vendors:
• Stubbz Stitches live patch sewing
• Perilin Jewelry 
• Moon Rider- 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘚𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴, Specializing in Custom Motorcycle Seats & Luxury Bench Seats
• RoTextiles- Hand dyed gaitors and scarves, and more. (Facebook and Instagram- @rochellebricknerart)
• Marigold Tintypes- tintype photos

Other happenings:
• Anchor Moto open house
• Underground team racing
• Mark Gardiner book signing
• PC's for People - Donation Drive

Grub:
• Spicy Moon- "culturally ambiguous, vegan, and gluten-free approach to American comfort food."
​• Ying's Thai Food- authentic Thai cuisine

And then there's COFFEE where the event is happening, in the space of Blip Roasters.
Blip Roasters is not only a specialty Coffee Roaster and Cafe of the West Bottoms. They are also a dealer for Bell Helmets, Biltwell Inc, RevIt! Motorcycle Gear, Grifter Gloves, and Ugly Bros Moto Jeans. You will also find Blip swag: coffee mugs, thermos', stickers, patches, etc. 

Besides Shibori dyed scarves I have for purchase on my website, I also have scarves for sale at World's Window located in the Kansas City, Missouri Brookside neighborhood.
Sharing a few of the scarves you might find there. 

It's scarf mania in my studio! I recently went on a dying spree and have scarves coming out my ears!
Infinity scarves, head scarves, neck scarves, even hankies, oh my.....
All of them are dyed using a Japanese dying technique called shibori, in which there are an infinite number of ways one can bind, stitch, fold, twist, or compress cloth in the process of dying. As each method results in very different patterns, I choose a specific method, whether it be using the Arashi (pole wrapping) techniqe versus using the Itajime (shape-resist) technique, in order to to achieve semi-specific results. As I use several different colors, and sometimes put my fabric through two or more dye processes, I tend to have more unpredictable outcomes which I love. 
Currently, I am taking individual pictures of these beauties and when I am done, you will find them available for purchase here in my shop.  

 In the meantime, check out this blog post: Hello Glow: 13 Super Stylish Ways to Tie a Scarf

5 hours worth of dyed wool.