Wednesday, July 03, 2019

Another roadside rescue

He won't need much...

Found on the side of Buford Highway at the entrance of the Car Wash From Hell. (It's a fun place but post-wash, the exterior of my car smells distinctly like dogshit soup, per my co-pirate, but I agree with him.)

Anyway, this guy has not seen any real weather, but he's been rolled around on the highway a mile or two. Dingy as if he's lived with smokers, but not smelly.

I'm going to open a few seams, take out those frigging plastic pellets and hope it's not a package of crack. Take out his old fluff and give him a good soak.

Tuesday, July 02, 2019

shortages


It's a good thing I'm not a purist. I don't have enough of any one color for this project, so I'll be sneaking back into the inventory.


When I take my first dibs from a dye fest, I only take one of a particular colorway. Next time around, I'm going to be a little more greedy.

Planning on some purple-gold-brown, gray-gold-blue and other threeway sets soon.

Anyone have any suggestions or requests?

ps..I named this image for the cursing I was doing as I came to the end of a thread and had one more letter to do with that color. 

Sunday, June 30, 2019

...my field of fvcks



Just what I need. A little diversion.

I love the imprecision of the original lettering. You can bet I'm going to do my best to duplicate it.

Dirty thread is perfect for the job even though I'll have to improvise, colorwise.



Saturday, June 29, 2019

Revisions flies


This is the orientation the new owner decided on. I like leaving that choice up to the buyer.

And so, I created and affixed my maker's mark, something that I haven't bothered with since the second baby quilt. Somehow, this one called for it.

Right up until this second, I had the horrors that I'd spelled something wrong. Leaving off the date was deliberate.

A little note about the backing cloth.

'99? At the OHCO fabric warehouse, a man driving a bobcat with a snowplow attached was pushing piles of fabric around on the concrete floor. A length of this was trailing from under the pile. I grabbed it up before the tracks could damage it. Five or six yards of sixty-inch jacquard weave of unknown content or provenance. It's grand stuff.



Here I am all patting myself on the back for finishing, but I forgot to find out whether or not she wants a sleeve for hanging. Doh!

Friday, June 28, 2019

Wet work

 I think I do my best work in the pool. Really, what's the worst that could happen? There's cloth and water.

And no shortage of Good Help.

I made this post with my phone and could hardly see what I was doing it was so bright out there. I need one of those little hats with an umbrella attached.

This is the first time that I've used my own Dirty Thread to do text and I'm tickled at how the color transitions worked out for this size text.

Liz works so much smaller than I do.

I split the six-ply in half, then I double the three strands. I guess you'd call this a split chain.

To give lines clear definition, I usually wrap chains with two or three strands of the same thread, but not this time. Don't want to interfere with the shading on the letters.





Thursday, June 27, 2019

spongey


I keep looking at it wondering why I can't see the end of it.

Since when have I ever worked that way?

What's making me try?

It's really early.
I know better, so, pins and basting only.

No more nailing stuff down when it's in this cloudy state. It's hard on the cloth and hard on my patience.

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Sunday, June 23, 2019

sunday stitch

Caught just enough morning light to confirm that I was happy with what I was working on last night in not-nearly-enough light and didn't have to tear the whole project apart. It happens.



Whenever I use elements that have a finished edge, I like to nail them down with some invisible stitching well inside that edge, once I'm sure of where they need to be. That way, I can tuck things under that edge. I drag these projects around with me like a toddler does a blankie so, at this stage, my stitching is all about construction.

This piece is already feeling not big enough. I have more of the dark linen background, but I need a good sized piece of black polar fleece to built the whole thing on - adding on as design demands.
.
I stumbled back through the archives to find a few old tricks, ways of making the cloth and the thread see sense, work together in more than just a construction manner. 

I love the little berry on a plate and the line going to and from nowhere but with such purpose.



Saturday, June 22, 2019

The nightside

Getting up at crack of dawn with the ping of a photo message (below) is not a bad way to start the day. I seized it for a change, instead of pretending that the week owed me a Saturday in a mumu.

There was NO half&half for my coffee!  A provisioning mission was necessary, so real clothing was required.

Home with a ton of stuff, (most of which has to be cooked by some fool) by 9ish.

Then, the studio time I promised myself delivered some much-needed serenity.
 I missed the brief window of first light on the stitching chair, so I took up the darkside cloths again. Mostly sturdy linen and some delicate lawn cotton, they needed ironing.

This time, they had something to say. Even before I chose all the players, the title came: "Raised Beds in Hell".  First in the "Night Gardener" series. I'm off to baste for a while.

sunrise at Brisco Airfield by CCL
  Later - just a sketch. this one is going to be hard to get good pictures of, at least with my cell phone.

Friday, June 21, 2019

something flat

 A Solstice cloth, kinda. I'll make some time in the morning light with these. Try to bring some order. Some purpose.

Editing/writing requires thinking in four dimensions including time and my brain is as tired as my body.

A stint of two-dimensional design is in order, like a lemon sorbet. I'm not saying it's any easier, just different.

All those big dark cloths? (and they really are) they're just laying there, defiant. A cold weather project, maybe.
 Right now I want to make some monsters.



Remember this mess?




I brought them to order.



solstice


the blessing.

Truth be told, there's a gang of them. Teenagers fighting over me, as I am considered 'territory'. She on Whom We Perch.

I got to spend the midday seining tree crap from the storm out of the pool. Walking in endless circles to round up the bottom crud for netting.  Then marching the perimeter, scrub brush in hand, annihilating cities of algae. Now I need a nap.

But this is how the summer goes. It was pouring. No thunder or lightning. Only the grownups noticed as we huddled under the shelter.