WIP

Closing in on finished here, I've enjoyed working on this one with the simplest of techniques for me, hand  applique.

No trixie embroidery, no layering the threads, no crazed french knots - just a double strand of Sulky 12wt cotton in colors matching the fabric.

 Almost all the the fabrics are hand dyed damasks which has  tendency to creep away and fight the needle at every turn. The trick to needle turning this stuff is pins, pins and more pins and then stitches that are maybe an eighth inch apart. Sounds obsessive but the damask needles like butter.  I'd like to take this technique to a larger field for the next project.

Spring will be on us before you know and I'm daydreaming about the first dye fest of the year.
I have so much wonderful raw material at hand.

flings fly

In anticipation of spring this fling will be flying today.

It's been hanging around the studio since it was made and every time I unearth the thing it makes me grin so now it's going to make my mother and her friends at the nursing home smile and have a cackle.

groundwork

Just stitching on a passage thinking about the story.

I walked alone to school from day one. Across Main under the stern gaze of a crossing guard, down along  the dark side of Maple, past the front doors of the firehouse and the local newspaper and down a footpath through a dark wood.

There was a little wooden bridge over a brook and there were certainly trolls under that bridge but they could never catch me, I was running so fast. You had to hold your breath in the woods or they would be waiting when your feet hit the first board.

 At the end of the path the woods unclenched onto  the baseball field behind the school. It was full of cold sun with the block buildings squatting on the other side daring me come, full tilt.

traipsing

JR and I were loose on the streets of ATL yesterday on our bi-monthly mission of self indulgence. Nobody went to infirmary and nobody went to jail - mission accomplished!

 First  stop - IKEA! who is only too happy to feed people free breakfast so they will have the stamina to shop till they drop well after lunchtime. There was a real bedding frenzy going on..I got mine.  I have not been so inspired to nest refurbishment since Takashimaya was in NYC where I would spend my grocery money on a regular basis buying must haves like transparent turquoise and fuchsia plastic boxes, carved chopsticks in silk cases and acid green eye liner. Who needed to eat? Begging in the streets for Taka-money often crossed my mind.

On then to a quick visit to Phoenix and Dragon for a spiritual uplift and to take a few measurements (more about that later)  ..then we went  applying for part time jobs (just kidding folks)

 
Late lunch found us feasting at El Aztecas on Roswell Rd which had  moved across the street and upscaled quite a bit since the last time we ate there. Fabulous food and the waiter was most understanding about the no carb thing and made off with the dessert menu before I could read beyond Strawberry Cinnamon ice cream.

 Later we found out that "ESTATE SALE" doesn't necessarily mean there's any kind of estate involved. Just a lot of crap that was in the place when someone shuffled off and left it. They did leave this behind, to my delight!

inscription or tattoo

Jude says I have "Color and Heart"...
..thanks for the reminder lady.

"Hopped Up"   2007

(here's a little genesis for this one)

beautiful things

Have you ever seen a rock with a soul?

Enjoy the weekend!

a low level buzz of anticipation

"Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in".

The fabrics and stitching that is.
 Out of boredom and frustration, I started thinking spring yesterday with needle and thread. I'm trying to find my way around a serious blank spot in my line of inner sight by  making an end run with familiar techniques and materials.


I'll tell you what is hard...writing is hard. Talk about making something from nothing. Sustaining the attention for your own story, the one you are making up as you go, is like walking into a room full of large fans whilst holding a bunch of helium balloons on very thin, greasy strings.



On the news front, I am talking with the owner of a local bookstore that also has a large meeting/classroom that doubles as an art gallery. They have never had fiber art there.  So far, it looks like a one woman show in April at  a great location that gets a good bit of traffic that didn't come just for the eye candy.  More when the details are hammered out.

hangover

Urgh.

 Bless my darling Goodman for making sure my Valentine's day was celebrated properly, with cannolis from the Italian Pie.  They come dressed with fresh whipped cream and an extra drizzle of a sweet, creamy sauce flavored with anisette.

 This morning I am suffering from a carbo hangover and should spend the morning working out at the pool but will settle for extra fluids and some housework.

roadmaps and hinderances

I've gotten lot of advice from people I know and respect (and a boatload of total strangers) who have taken a whack at writing.

Everyone had a short reading list for me  so I hit the "used" section of Amazon and completed my shopping list for a mere song or two.

It's quite interesting that most of these books aren't a lot more expansive than the instruction booklet that comes (recipes included) with a new crockpot.  Except for King and Lamott, who have fleshed out their instruction with very readable autobiographical stuff, everyone else seems to have taken their own advice and cut to the chase...less and less is more.

Since I've been writing for a while for my own entertainment  I don't know how much or if I will take any of this sage wisdom to heart. One or two not shown here would be best mulched in a blender with fruit juice and taken as extra fiber...like eating shredded wheat dry.

The hardest part for me? Every frickin' thing is in Black & White! My eyes are parched for color.

Brrrrrr!

After a very mild winter we are getting a serious polar swat.  It was in the low twenties this morning and we are all bundled up with our fur on end and very grateful for clear blue skies with no freezing precip in the forecast.

There were actually a few flakes flying by as I drove into the city yesterday. I made a hasty exit off the freeway because the locals were terrible distracted by the flurry and I285 was quickly shaping up to be a demolition derby. They drive faster while peering up into the skies and talking excitedly on the cells. The long perspective looked like they were trying to drive between the scant flakes.

I've rolled one of the little heaters into the sunny studio, cleaned up a little and plan on putting the finishing touches to my friend Jan's quilt top today. Jan if you are reading this, I still need a verse for the band around the edge.