percolating

This is the first thing I see when I come in the front door and last night it got me thinking about the Next Big Thing. The long, white lines are a sheer cotton lawn that was spattered with gold metallic fabric paint. The edges and ends were turned under and the doubling of the cloth created a kind of bright glow along all the edges. During the studio dig, I came across some silk sheers and plan to experiment with it on the "devilment" fabrics. 
I also found a perfectly good Rapidograph pen and was scribbling in the dark while watching the game last night.

studio upheaval

I'm preparing to give over a portion of my studio to the day job. 40" of wall space for 15 hours per week given back to my life? More than fair trade off.

So tubs of shreds and "somedays" are making room for a small desk and chair where I will work at a computer. A long overdue deep cleaning is underway.

I'm throwing out a lot of crap and uncovering some amazing starting places. These fabrics were bundled together for some distant notion. I have SIX finished tops, all of them bedware waiting to be batted, backed and quilted. There will be a lot of giveaways in the near future.

haunted places

There was a lot of revisiting the past while I was in NY. I spent a morning with my Dad touring my first hometown, Armonk, NY.  I didn't know there was a private family cemetery for "his people" which included Useteds, Smiths, and Wrights.  Working folk all.

Then I spent a delightful afternoon lunch & tea with my former neighbor Terry as if I hadn't been gone from Carmel since '93. There is never enough time and we never run out of things to talk about.


These four pieces of cloth (which continue to taunt me) were called to mind by this shot of the water under the bridge up the street from my family's house. Layers of light and color. Reflections, memories and reality all in one place at one time.

the Wheel turns

One phone call and everything changes. While I was still in NY, my supervisor called to say that I was being considered for the next telecommuting class and was I still interested?  Being able to do my day job from my home will mean 2+ more hours of each workday coming back to me to use however I want. Could more Art be in my future? Sure as hell won't be house cleaning! And going forward this blog will be the only input I have to FB. Having given up the time vampire Lexulous, I see no need to go there. Google reader let's me know when the people I care about have updates. likewise email notices when someone posts to me in FB.  There's been a lot of background buzz about "disconnecting" and I'm paying attention.

home

I'm home from whirlwind visit to family in NY. I was expecting fall to be well underway but when I arrived I was surprised to find Summer frozen in time - the leaves all still green and in place, the sun still strong and hot. When I mentioned it everyone shushed me strongly - they are hanging on to summer tooth and nail. Given the four gorgeous days I had there, it's all understood.

What with all the visiting around there wasn't much time for stitching but I hung a few doors on "Ocean Homes" and took a lot of pictures all over two counties. Hope to get them posted somewhere for the family to share.

Here's my Monet Moment. My family lives close to the vast NYC watershed reservoir system. Large numbers of mute swans congregate on the upper reaches of the reservoirs and winter over there and then spread out to ponds and rivers in the spring and summer. Getting closer shots of these birds involves a level of risk I am no longer interested in. These fuzzy long views will have to do.