the deconstructed

(mood enhancer just added) I took those shirts apart yesterday and when I was finished I wondered what I would do with the pile of collars, cuffs and plackets . These little headless creatures are not quite what I had in mind. These are benign and silly looking compared to the scary things that I keep seeing in the corner of my mind since Jim showed me this silly thing. At least I got it out of my system before I put all the rest of that great seersucker together. Now I'm I'm sure I'm going to have to do something to it - as yardage goes it's pretty boring. No wonder they put the shirts in the Goodwill box!

Highs and Lows

On the upside, these two pieces, "Baghdad Bazaar" and "Clubbin' " have been selected to hang at the Peabody Auditorium Rose Room Gallery, Daytona Beach, FL. After running a lot of lists mentally, including the things I can and cannot control, I won't be going to Focus On Fiber '08 down at the ACA in New Smyrna Beach. There are too many cons for travel at the moment but I hope to try for the October edition. I plan on holding my own private FOF08 all next week here at the Lawrenceville Frankenstein Dyeworx. There will be pictures and play by play! I plan to try keeping to the same schedule and pace that I set for myself when I was at fiber camp last spring - working "cain't see to cain't see" most days. Both of the pieces above were "born" at FOF07.

recycling old(new) stuff

Deb Roby & I must have been tapping into the Zeitgeist today. She wrote about it - thrifting, repurposing, dumpster diving - whatever you want to call taking old garments/fabrics and using them according to your own design - while I was out doing it at the local Goodwill. Being frugal that is. The awful truth is that if I had waited until tomorrow I could have gotten these 3.99 seersucker shirts for half-price by proudly waving my AARP card around and cackling. I spared myself the mortification 'cause I just had to have 'em. today. (more truth - I may go back there again tomorrow for more stuff even cheaper) I was on the lookout for wool sweaters and silk blouses to cut up and a Bullet Blender (for dye mixing) but I stumbled across these shirts which were never worn! Old Navy just off loaded them. As they are not quite my comfortable size, I'm torn between saving them for the legendary "10 pounds from now" and cutting them into strips for a real bed blanket - something to needle by hand. There is no design plan in my head at the moment so I'll stay the scissors for tonight. ps: to my pure horror the Most Perfect Pair of jeans (that were also had for a song) are un-zip-able and I thought they would be my new second skin. Curse Girl Scout Cookies! Something drastic is at hand.

Quiet Weekend

Some might say "the End Times are at hand!" The bad blood between these two usually runs hot. Now I'm beginning to think the animosity they usually display is a pose for the humans. Jim spent a lot of time at the job this weekend supervising a critical phase and Colin went to Florida to meet the internet GF for the first F2F. Within limits of propriety (and nosy mom-ness) I'll let you know how that went. I couldn't even get in any good consumerizing. All the places I like to shop - Goodwill, thrift stores, HoAnne's & Mikey's - were all CLOSED! poop. Packed? No, I'm still only making mental lists.

Piddling, paddling, it's all good.

I never get tired of catfish. When I was a kid I used to feed them like city people feed pigeons. Catfish raised on Wonderbread! This almost has an Amish feel somehow. Since I don't have a traditional quilting background I know it's an echo of some technique or style but can't say just what. I just know it was fun picking through the scraps. It's a bit too studied (once again) but they are just nailed in place to the wall for the moment. I'll fiddle them around a lot before I pin and baste (you read that right) everything in place so it travels/handles well. It's all going to be hand appliquéd but leaving raw edges everywhere.I like the way the fuzzy edges look water blurry. My point in setting this treat up is so that I'll have something to keep busy with while the dyes batch properly instead of rushing things the way I always do. I might even take it to the beach one afternoon.