the transistion

The group show "Fierce Fibers" opened last night at the Art Place in Marietta, GA.  It looks terrific from what I have seen. My time was totally co-opted yesterday and the Honda still down for the count, so I was not able to attend.

Between scheduled obligations, I was able to squeeze in one more day of water time, although I was getting pretty cold in short order. And notice that advancing tinge of green as the algae gets a toehold.  Today started out looking like crap all day, but the sun is baking down.  I may put a toe or two in again.    

 

laundry

This was supposed to be "Modern Quilt with Hummingbirds" but they were faster than the camera.

the ether and the real world

just breathe with it

There's nothing like a few real world issues to get me to stop fussing about nonsense that goes on here, in the ether.

Sometime over the weekend, nefarious individuals did something invasive and potentially infectious to my website so my host, Dreamhost, disabled it until I could pick the cooties out of the code, which I was able to do. Glad they had my back.

The trouble is, something about the existing structure was changed by the host in this effort and direct access to the old site no longer works.  Talk about an omen!

I taught myself hand coding back when the internet was invented and pretty much finished my education on the subject when I got to where I wanted the site to be. Since then it's been 'patch this' and 'link that' and the code looks like baby swiss.

Times have changed and I'm pretty certain I'm not going to be able to fix it this time. I barely understood the instructions from the techs at DH. A new approach with some new technology is called for and because I have neither the patience or inclination to expand that particular set of gray cells, I'm going to cheat and go the WYSIWYG route.

Is anyone  happy with their super user friendly, build your own thing, website and care to make a recommendation? I took a look at Weebly once and was mowed over at too many options. Simple and Clean are going to be my watchwords here. Oh, and don't forget Free.

Oh! and those real world concerns? The roof is leaking.

Season's end

It rained most of yesterday afternoon and into the night. The sun joked with me for a few minutes after I got in  and found the water temperature still bearable. The storm cleanup was minimal thanks to Colin's fine leaf dipping work.

I hate to think that this might be the last swim, but unless we get some sun soon,  it may be back to the public pool, a very different vibe but not to be sneered at come November.  I'm not as hardy as I was when the Mass. and RI coastal waters were my playground.

This piece of dyed and discharged damask was lying around looking forlorn, so I took it out to play.  It looked like whale shark skin under the water...something I did in cloth long ago.

the karma

This is one of the pieces that I'll be taking to the installation next Tuesday and I have decided that I want to change the orientation ninety degrees to the right of what you see here.

I'll be picking off the sleeve, resizing it and putting back on ..Real needlework.

Going to a hangin'

There is a show coming up next week and yesterday I scurried around looking for a few specific pieces.

They were right where I left them, cocooned in the closet with another dozen or so pieces that have not seen the light of day since they were born. Some pretty impressive stuff in that closet.  I wish I could find the feel for it all, but it escapes me still..

I'm going to have to look into different ways of getting this stuff out into the public eye.

If you live in the Metro ATL area, you should come by and see us in the flesh.

Elsewhere

A whole week without a post!  Could it be the long-feared Witness Protection Program?   Nah...

Just me being convinced that I don't have a whole lot of interest to share lately.  Like many folks at the turn of the seasons, I get introspective.

There are a lot of life changes on the horizon, but right this minute I want to grab this gorgeous day by the tail and get outside for a while.

I'll tell you more about it all soon.

holding on to summer

This is how it is now. Each day there are more leaves. I get in and clean for an hour chasing down every speck, even as new ones fall on my head. Dragonflies and bumble bees that are a whole summer's old drown themselves on a regular basis.

It's been in the humid mid 90's for a week with another week of the same promised. There is no other place to be. Even with afternoon thunderstorms that echo on into the night, the water is perfect.

Soon there will be a string of days when it rains hard and the temperature falls in the night and the water will be choked with leaves and branches. I will put on my suit, start down the ladder and be stopped by the cold. Summer's end.

Off kilter

That's been life lately. 

wonder

             This makes me think about what I can't express with words or cloth

Finishing touches

Look - I haven't forgotten how it's done. Put these finishing touches on yesterday morning, then spent the afternoon doing what Nanas do, feeding, changing and rocking.


Holding this baby is my new favorite drug.

I dished out tattoos in the waiting room last week. Not everyone rushed to sign up.

Studio time

I'm not sure if it really counts if you are only killing time waiting on a phone call.

Still, this piece has been promised to a show in the first week of September so something else is going to have to get back-burnered for a little bit. Today, I'm thinking it's pool time. Drat.

This is going to be a monster under the needle.

and the biggest irk is
...when I look at the original drawing, I'm not happy with the way this one is turning out.

The last time that happened, I would have fed the piece in question into the industrial shredder at the office but the door to the shred room was locked.  I finished the piece, entered it in a show and it sold. My first ever sale. Go figger.

TGIF

It's been a harrowing and hectic week at the House of Lacativa.

Fingers crossed that Missy and Charlie will be sprung from the hospital this weekend. They have hung out the No Visitors sign which is perfectly understandable.

When we first brought Colin home from the hospital, Jim and I were sitting at the kitchen table having morning coffee as we always had,  kind of planning the day.

 He said "What do you want to do today?" and before I could answer Colin made his birdie squawks from his crib in the next room and we both laughed and said
"Oh yeah, that's right." Somebody else had just taken the majority vote.
It takes a little getting used to.

shopkeeping

Always one for illicit activity..
I'm peddling cloth again. You know who you are and you know you want it.

Go thaw your credit cards out of the ice cube tray.

Fat Baggies are back.

He's landed!

Charlie James Lacativa came to us last night, a little early, but he and mom Missy are both doing well.

For 3.5 weeks early, he's a nice six pounds, four ounces and twenty inches long.  To me he looks just like Jake did the day after he was born.

Jimmy would be, is, so very proud of Jake & Missy and just loving this baby.

baby day....

This seemed like a lifetime ago and, in a way, I guess it was.

A few weeks short of nine months, my first grandson will be hurried into the world sometime in the next whirl around the sun.

Spontaneous colors

There's been a pile of cloth crusty with soda ash sitting on the deck for a few weeks.

Who knew that the soda ash would eat holes in the aluminum tub?

It was in the mid eighties by ten this morning so I pulled the colors out of hiding and called the dyefest to order.

I'm going to leave this lot out in the sun for the next day or so. A lot of other things are pressing...updates as they happen.

life's wheel

The Vigil Cloth   2013

Seth Says 2013

A friend I've never met is facing the end of her journey here.

A child I've yet to meet is getting ready to join life's party.


It's all so full that for once in my life I am without the right words and will just remain on full receive and pay close attention for the duration.

the first

Charlie's quilt finished out nicely. All done except for his name and birthday and my mark when the time comes.  A good thrashing in the washer and dryer and it already looks well loved.

garden redux

It's been raining for most of three days here now and the local greenery is happy. I thought I'd be happy with a little weather enforced confinement, but I'm getting stir crazy.

The mailbox garden which was wiped out at it's peak back in the middle of May, has come back in a wild way. The flat of marigold that I put in just to cover the bare dirt has been overwhelmed by the seed started morning glories, nasturtiums, Lantana and this gorgeous sunflower. Wild and undisciplined. The way I like it.

sweetness

These are things that make me smile. A new box of crayons, my floppy hat cause I got too much sun the other day and ten longhand pages to type up and build around.

We had a night of deep sleeping temperatures for the first time in ages last night after I got home from an evening with a different writing group. Different folks and slant. Nice bunch and luckily I won't have to choose between the two groups as they meet on opposite weeks.

I got my car back from the dealer this  morning prettier than it's been in years. Drove it to the park where I put in a fast mile and then drove the long way for some provisioning. That span of time gave me the bones of a scene that I have been sneaking up on..the Money Shot they call it in the film world.  Some pool time too.

Then I got an email from Bubbles reminding me that Fierce is expected at a show at the end of summer...best get back into it soon.

it's all a dream

I got a disturbing email from the hosting company that I have been using since 2001.

They have suddenly discovered that I am violating terms of service by parking files on  their server that are not part of the website that they host for me. Funny. I thought I was renting the space on a monthly basis.

 Without prior notice they have relocated them to some other place that I have to access with some esoteric app and imaginary keys.

Many of these files are pictures of family and friends that I have scanned, all other manner of digital files...

A letter has been written. Hopefully, gracious action will be taken on their part.

Lesson...don't get to comfy with the web. Don't take it for granted. If something really matters to you, make sure you can hold it in your two hands.

wheels

This is the view from my writing space these days.  We moved Jim's truck in preparation for some tree work at the back of the driveway.
I don't always get the little heart leap that I used to get when I saw it parked in the driveway as I made the turn onto our block: or if  I saw one like it on the highway where the white Ford F150 rules the road, at least here in Georgia.  It's more a touchstone now. I'm looking forward to driving it once it's ready, but there's no hurry.

Last Saturday, my car was damaged in a minor wreck and Monday I'll be handing it over to the repair shop - the other driver's insurance company is picking up the tab for the fix and a rental for me for the duration.  I really wanted a convertible, but couldn't talk Enterprise into bringing one up from the airport location for me.

Not much from me on the fiber front. Charlie's quilt is nearly finished and good thing too, the baby shower is today and there's another tomorrow.  Pictures when it's properly finished.  Mostly what I have been up to is  here 

Of two minds

I was in a bit of a tailspin through the month of June but I've pulled up and set my feet back on the path. Consider the alternatives.

The baby showers are bearing down on me so I kicked the quilt making into high gear. The hand work - nothing fancy, just some very utilitarian stitch-in-the-ditch, felt good. A mild mind altering drug.

 It puts me in a place of no think to the point that I have to double check where I am at every corner's turn. Don't want to wander off course on this one.

This is where the real high comes from. The writing space.  After a week of not writing (or doing much of anything but taking an extended  wallow in sorrow and self- pity)  I was asked to write a deposition for a custody case.

I was given the facts, the groundwork for the piece, and from there I swung for the fences and it looks like my words may have made the difference for the clients.

While I was writing it, I found myself in a place of strength and competence that I  had forgotten about and it felt good. Felt like high test juice. Felt like something I need to do every day like any good junkie.

frayed

Summer, life, has left me frayed and unraveling and I have been unable to pick up the stitch.

Many friends have offered suggestions, all good, and I thank you all.

There will be time off for bad behavior.

building some Love for Charlie

Once I got past selecting the fabrics I was happy that the groove was easy to find and Big J was in tune with the project after so much neglect.

Since this blanket is going to be used, washed and dried several times a week I'm only using the best commercial batiks and cotton broadcloths. Now to find something suitable for backing...                                                                  




 I find I'm looking forward to              hand quilting this one...nothing fancy. Just lines of love.

Preoccupation

Moses and Jake 1986

I've been occupied with so many other things lately. Lost picture books being scanned, preserved. Walking, swimming, writing..anything other than picking up cloth and stitch. Is there an aversion there? I'm thinking maybe. I open the door to the studio and all I can see is the past. Nothing potential calls me.
Big changes? The summer weather? Who knows. It is what it is. No apologies here. Just Life.

store update

I've added some larger pieces to the store. These are all vintage damasks (and some linen)  that have been hand dyed with Procion MX dyes using a combination of distribution techniques.

 This batch included coarse grain salt and some split peas. This piece and few others were also discharged.

see the rest here

news from the burning dyedeck

Since my brain is still on vacation  (taking a few sick days too} I thought I'd take advantage of the heat today but it got the best of me in short order.
I needed to see some texture after all the pure color in the last group, so I found a box of clumped up salt and a bag of split peas to bring into the fray.

 There are a lot of vintage tablecloths and napkins awaiting transformation and every thing you see here will be available in the store  as I get them washed and dried, hung and shot...Sorry - there will be NO ironing!!  You'll have to discover how different this cloth looks once it's ironed for yourself!

pending dyefest

Can it be cloth~?

Yes it is. My sister Kitty sent me a fat box of vintage table linen and it's in the washing machine right now shedding years of starch.

The weather is holding brutal hot here, perfect for getting the most out of the colors I already have on hand and some textures that I have been missing.

There's a lot of hurry up and wait during the dye process. I can keep myself occupied.

father's day

Here's to the men in our lives who made the difference in who we all came to be.

Caesura

~back next week~

celebrating a life

Today would have been my Goodman's 59th birthday. He loved a party, but never for himself.  It's your turn now, baby.


 In the spirit of Having A Good Time I have to get busy with the preparations. Jimmy was a superb host on the rare occasions that we entertained. I usually just stood by and took orders. It's on me now so I better get back to work.  Updates next week.

derangement

"...one wants a room with no view so memory can dance with imagination in the dark."  
Annie Dillard


And if writing from inside the trunk of a car will get you a line like that, lock me in. I may write that on the inside of my left arm with a black Sharpie and pretend it's a tattoo.

After spending the entire day cleaning things that may have never been cleaned, I was sitting in my office wondering what to do with the piles of papers and books on the floor left behind when Colin took the spare chair downstairs to make the living room a little more livable.

I remembered this bookcase languishing at the back of a walk-in closet. It was heaped with stacks of clothes that are now headed back to Goodwill.  Not a whole lot easier to move empty, I could club the numbskull who decided to slap a coat of white paint over the beautiful maple. Someday I will fix that. Someday.

As you can see by the morning light, this is no windowless cell. If you can say anything about people based on what's on their bookshelves, well good luck to you. I'll bet you picked the real winner at Belmont yesterday too.

truce

Heather at True Stitches wrote a post yesterday that got my attention. Greedy me, my take-away from a courageous and self revelatory post was

"...But the pleasure and solace of stitching endured, and nurtured my soul, and grew to become something where I could lose myself and find myself again."

 .... losing oneself to the cloth. It's not exactly what I'm looking for but I have to find a balance for my creative energy.

Writing fiction, the way I do it anyway, will turn you into a full blown zombie.
 I have to go there and be with these people, and live in their world in order to bring the words back alive.  It becomes all consuming and probably not healthy.

 The pleasure of tramping the park trails is not about the benefits of the physical activity. It's nice, but it's getting awful damn hot in Georgia for this Yankee. My real payoff is the fistful of notes that I come back with each time I go out, deliberately with a blank slate for a brain.

I was only half mile out on the Spur today,  leaning on a railing and scribbling on a piece of paper when this Lycra clad hussy blew by me in a cloud of something eye-wateringly sweet and said over her shoulder "That's not burning any calories, hon."

All I can say is that it's a good fucking thing she wasn't on a loop to pass me coming back the other way. I'm not usually lost for words, unless I'm lost in them, otherwise I'd be writing you from the back of a patrol car.

 As soon as I can, I'm going to make some order into the studio and turn my attention to the larger unfinished pieces, Blue Horse here pinned up over Fierce. For now,  I'll let them watch me.

In the Clutch

For those who knew us...this is Wedding, Day Two.  No kidding!
Maybe that's what it really takes to get a good long run.

All the kindness that flowed from all over the world yesterday was deeply appreciated. How does one not celebrate? I even bought myself marked down flowers from the grocery store. Jimmy would have been proud of the deal I got on a dozen perfectly matured roses and a mixed bouquet. I had flowers all the time. I will continue having flowers.

No eye candy today - we at House of Lacativa are officially under the gun with one week to go before welcoming out of town guests. Where is Martha Stewart when you need her?

Since last December it's gone from bad to worse around here. There's no denying that Jim was a pack rat and a collector, Colin remains an outright hoarder and I simply acquire raw materials.  Those are hard things to change overnight, but the delivery of a 12 yard Dumpster the other day will be a big step.

I'll be missing from here until the 15th if I'm smart.

I know that having company is good and partying is even better, but it's HELLA stressful.  I miss my chef and master party planner.