happy friday

I have to step back from hand dyeing for a few days. My process includes hand rinsing everything before putting it through the washing machine and last night my poor paws were begging for drugs.



So for the next few days I'm falling back on this little bit of hand stitching which is shaping up into something compelling. Tonight after work I'll slather my hands with some Bengay, put on gloves and be well in the morning.




I have also taken huge step in the direction of Peace of Mind and made an appointment with a tax professional for tomorrow afternoon. The 800 pound gorilla is packing his crap and vacating my studio as we speak.

spilling its guts

Here's the original purpose of the original cusspot which is about the size of an apricot - a thread catcher to carry with me when I was still working at the office.


Today I'm decanting everything I was able to cram into it since last nesting season. I've decorated the crape myrtles up by the mailbox and hope that some of the birds have ignored the crazy weather and are just now building nests.




Rather than drive everybody to bored tears with an ongoing project I've created a separate page for the Sun Lion piece....the link is up there on the tool bar.

inprocess

the waxed sunlions are floating in a pool of wisteria.

sun lions

I kept going back to this design and color in my sketchbook. Now I really have to leave it alone before waxing and moving on to the next colors.

in the meantime, a new clutch of cusspots gets the boston beanpot treatment and once they are washed and dried they'll be stuffed with hand dyed scraps for sale. The way I crank these things out would make someone think I was trying to quit smoking - not the case.

work before play

I've spent the morning hatching out some test pieces. Tinkering with the colors, seeing which appeal and which need either flushing or rebooting. I have officially renamed that fuchsia "the Devil's Blood" because it's so seductive but such a contaminating pain to work with. Look at it out there pinking everything all crazy.

I've cleared the table in preparation for doing some (big) whole cloth dye painting but I'll have to wait until later because it's turned nippy..not optimal for the strong colors I want right now..

For everyone who is waiting for a package, please forgive the delay. I hope to get everything to the PO tomorrow!