almost showtime

Getting these and seven others ready for a gallery show ..delivery Sunday.

Under the gun much?

I forgot how pesky the detail of backing small hand-stitched pieced can be..thanks Joanne, for a trove of the perfect sized napkins to close the deal.


And thanks, Colin, for the orientation advice. I never know which end is up.

False Fall (I hope)

I call him "Git 'Er Done"...by Jude Hill and I have to take that direction.


It's dark, rainy and cool here. Snoozing in weather. Reading weather. The pool is finally recovered from a bout of "vacation neglect" algae, but by the time the sun finds time for us again, I fear the water is going to be pretty chilly.

I'm finding I'm not as Atlantic Ocean hardy as I used to be. Numb is okay, but not when it persists for an hour after you get out. I blame air conditioning.


I'm in the fiber studio today making a bunch of pieces ready for a small gallery show coming up in September.



There's always the one thing that you can't put your hands on and, not finding it will drive you to distraction (a short hop for me) until you find it.
Nonetheless, I'll git 'er done.

The Wheel

It's been a fraught, lost weekend. Last post I was crowing about having salvaged a batch of rags from a bad dye-job. Hah! Such Hubris! Today it's back to the business of making a living, caring for family and self and worrying about things that I don't have a lot of influence over. (Note to self, I used the word "influence" rather than "control").

I have family and friends in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. All of us are in the wake of the subhuman at the helm of our country. We all do what we can.



Yesterday with Charlie was a great respite from all these cares and concerns, even if I am paying the price today. Getting him and two other stray toddlers in and out of those bucket swings and keeping them going has me longing to be just flat on my back studying the ceiling, but I know that ceiling too well and there is shit that has to get done.

Charlie and his Hero!

Down demon pink!

Curry, bronze, daffodil, and peacock got the job done. Fuschia rescue a success.

a day outside of time

It's been a long difficult week for a lot of people close to me. They said the eclipse was going to rock boats. No shit.

Friday is my one day off from the paying job with no outside obligations. I spent most of at a much-needed writers day with part of my crit group. The bitch-kitty scene that's been defying me for a month (as I putz about around it) fell in flames and rose from the ashes reborn in glory even as T. and I solved the problems of the world. From the writing blog a month ago:

Revision

Is like shaving off prison tattoos a square inch at a time.

So far it works like this. I'll read the last scene that WORKED and then the new victim,
the next one and the one that follows it. If it fails on enough fronts - and I've had more than
half do just that, I brood over the truth of it. The five 'whys'.

Then I start the autopsy. Print and then redact - just like in the movies- with the broad,
 black marker anything that's crap. Anything that's not a jewel.

Then I brood on it some more and find a different way to set some, not all of those jewels.
A setting that not only makes the scene worthwhile but nods to the one before it
sets up the next. Dominos dipped in nitro.

fool the eye

I was in the grocery store today grumbling at the proliferation of "flavors" of bleach. Not wanting to have any of it in the house anyway. Then I spied a tiny little bottle of Mrs. Stewart's Bluing. Why not. My favorite throw and the king sized duvet were looking dingy. Stuff works, even if it is an illusion.

Demon Fuchsia

There has been a dreaded PINK incident and I'll be dipped in shit if I don't salvage this mess. There. Temper tantrum over. When will I learn that Raspberry, Watermelon and the other silly pinks all contain that damn contaminate, fuchsia?

I GOT this...

not your usual tuesday

took some time in the AC to recover from a dye frenzy out in the blazin'.  The 'feels like' index said 101. Every bit of it.

Kept this one for myself, I'm sure there will be more when I get them in the morning light.





Later, there was a quick visit from someone with a big surprise for me.

Eclipse

We went to the park early to be sure that Charlie would expend enough energy making nap time easier. The heat and humidity almost did me in and I was mostly just watching. There was no one else at the park which made leaving early a little more agreeable.

The lunch menu discussion has turned into a ritual of hilarity:
me: Shall we have chicken livers?
C: NOOOO!! the giggling begins,
me: clam eyeballs?
C: Nooooo! more giggling.
me:  Pony toenails?

by this time he can hardly answer for giggling.  We picked up the standard chicken fingers, sun chips, lemonade and one petit four, and made it back to the house in time for a TV picnic with Curious George. He was sound asleep by 1:30.



I waited until the sun and moon were really getting it on before stepping outside to see what I shouldn't see. Used my camera to sneak an inept peek.
More interesting was the change of light over everything else. Even at only 97%, it was eerie. disorienting. I felt short of breath or that the air didn't have enough oxygen in it.

Went back inside to a very dark apartment and slept for a few minutes until Charlie climbed up onto the couch with me to continue our adventure together.

early results

One of these days I'll remember to open the screen before I take pictures, but you can tell what this special Eclipse edition of Dirty Threads is going to be like. There are 60ish, all told, plus another dozen or so of the last round. Once they are are ready to go, I'll put them in the store.

Now, to clean up after that mess and get some very special linen down for a round of the same treatment if the heat doesn't get me. There will be texture galore!

Something special

I'm prepping a large batch (I lost count!) of a special edition of dirty threads and hand dyed scraps. I'm dyeing all of it today and leaving everything out to cure under the solar eclipse, primarily because it's a Charlie Monday tomorrow and I can't be in two places at once.

Same prices, same stuff with a little twist. I'm throwing back to a little sugar dyeing. Curious? It's no big thing.

Again, expediency rules the day. I used up all the salt in the pantry and with the pending lunacy of tomorrow, I'm pretty sure the grocery stores today will be as if there was a pending winter snow storm. In Georgia, people lose their minds and hit the stores foaming at the mouth. Whatever is in the fridge will have to do.

If you want to reserve any, email me and let me know - how many, color range. If I can accommodate, you know I will. I should have these posted on Thursday.

Home....

Sunday evening actually.
Lessons learned.

I intended on some stitching, some reading, and writing.

NOT when you are visiting family and friends. It was all about the people and some places with no time for my agenda. That's more than OK, but I should have known. Driving instead of flying filled me with hubris. Half the stuff I hauled never saw the light of day in New England.

Away cont.

sisters

Away

Just love

Charlie's third birthday was yesterday.

I spent the day before with him but didn't say much about the special day pending.  I think too much anticipation for a toddler can be like a hard dose of sugar.

Taking some time to visit distant family and I'm already missing him.



I'll be traveling for a while. As of Friday, 8/4 the shop will be closed until I get back. 

details

Two cast away garments, a blouse and a vest, both linen, have been reborn.

Gifts that will keep on giving.

Alas, linen has to be ironed.

dirty thread updated

here they are


Dyeing thread this way is much like glazing pottery - you just won't know what color you are going to get until the very end of the process.

I'm going to take some time and work with the stuff...see what comes of it.

mending

I like mending. Taking something that's been used hard out of love or utility, and bringing it back to life and usefulness with a cloth, stitch and some more love.  This was my Mom's little "go bag".

She carried it slung from her wheelchair for the longest time. It was stuffed with tissues, crackers, coins, pens, lunch leftovers sometimes. It would get pretty nasty when she forgot about the food that she'd squirreled away, so it's had its share of machine washings and every zipper still works. Credit to Vera Bradley for a well-made product. I've been needing something to hold just wallet, keys and phone. This will be perfect. Again.

My head is also mending today. two consecutive evenings with a migraine, courtesy of the toppings on the pizza we had for dinner (and leftover for breakfast) Wednesday and Thursday. Live and keep learning.

Invited back

I've been away from the cloth for a time now. While duty calls me back, it's the promise of something wonderful that will get me there.

I was digging through the tubs of cloth when these fabrics made themselves known to me because I'm still convinced that my missing notebook in here somewhere.

Dark and exciting for a baby blanket, don't you think? It could be the flip side of something light and fanciful. As much as I love the spots on the avocado field, I can't use it because they were discharged and won't stand up to a lot of laundering. I have mending to do, a slew of buttons to replace. All homey stuff that matters to someone.

And for fun, these. Making them is like eating potato chips. Why stop at one?

seeing clearly

I've been lazy, taking "quick and dirty" shots with my cell phone. I'd forgotten how good digital photography can be. These are from the storm series. All are vintage hankies, doilies or cocktail napkins...I guess. Now, they are stars in their own right. There will be dirty threads in the same(ish) colorways, too.  I left the pictures large so you can dig in for the wonder.

the storm that didn't arrive

All morning it looked like the sky would break open. Hot, thickly humid. There was no going outside for anything. I've been plagued by chaos lately, internal and external, so I did what was at hand - a long overdue purge and cleanup in the studio. Even half-finished, I feel a lot better.

During the rout of un-named boxes of unknown crap, I found a collection of hankies and other tiny, hand embellished things from an era before Kleenex. Into the pre-dye secret sauce, they went. I had a full set of threads prepped and ready for color.

An hour outside on the deck and the additional secret ingredient was my sweat. Everything is in the washing machine right now. If the finished products don't hold up to these wet shots, I'll delete them...the heartbreak of wet photography is real.

And Joanne...look at that little linen blouse. I could kill the woman for being so tiny!

down on the farm

That is Charlie's grampa, Papa Doc. He does blacksmithing demonstrations at various venues including nearby McDaniel farm park. We visited with him a bit then toured the park on a hayride and spent time at an amazing new playground. Thank the weather gods for cloud cover.

The parks department has restored and maintained the farmhouse and outbuildings as a typical 1930's working farm. There was a table set up where someone would be giving a talk and demonstration about cotton. No one was around to answer our silly questions as it was early.

That shred of raw cotton in the right foreground got picked up by inquisitive fingers and dropped on the ground, from there to my pocket.

Once I got home, I examined the bit of fluff. I picked out all the bits of dry leaves. pesky business. There was almost a dozen of those little hard beans stuck in the fiber. I'm assuming they are cotton seeds and I'm going to see what I can find out about growing them.

Maybe I will spin the cotton into thread too. Obsessive. I know. There will be dye.

creature comforts

Please tell me I saw this post when it was new and made all the proper, civilized responses. I love what Ann does with my cloth.

I rewashed all the waiters this morning. Sweetie had been nesting in them with her "friends". Said friends are being evicted in a mighty battle. Anyone with pets knows what the hell I'm talking about. Clean cloth stowed tightly in the closet until it's time for more dyes.

Studio archaeology

Small scrap from the tubs. Color by Sharpie & alcohol.

Remains of the day

This is what's left of round three. I'm going to have to make this a semi-monthly thing. Have more on hand when I put them up for sale. This is all that's left of round 3.

From round 2, every wish granted, every order shipped. Most have landed.

I need to get back to the story - there is no such thing as writer's block in this house. Not permitted.