Hooking for Fun (no profit in it)

I picked up a couple of wonderful books at the library the other day and set about to see what all the fuss is about. I like that rug hooking can be a real recycling art using almost anything at hand, and I got lots at hand. With a quick stop at JA's for some burlap (shudder) and yet another crochet hook that I didn't really need. The fact that they didn't have a real rug hooking tool tells me that this technique is not on the trendy scale here in the South. At this particular JAs they are still up to their butts in scrapbooking materials/supplies and probably consider rug hooking to be a bit provincial like churning one's own butter. I worked up this little sample in no time and I like it. The burlap doesn't thrill me but the potential and the notion of using whatever charms me. I missed the chance to observe some pros at work at the ACA retreat back in March; I was too intent on my own thing and boy, they were intent as hell over their things too.

webwork

Come on over and see what's new in "Like Hotcakes". It was tedious as hell getting all them little buggers posted but if know one ever sees them, who will know?

the gesture theme continues

It hasn't taken a lot of contemplation to realize that this new direction is actually a continuation of a theme that I have been working on for almost two years now. The arc, just half a circle, is the simplest track of a desultory lift and fall of a hand. You don't even have to make the effort to join up the ends and there it is. Tongues, tombstones or tonsures, make of it what you will - it's a mere flip of the hand.

The Day Job

Did you know that I have a day job? I work at the offices of the Handweavers Guild of America in Suwanee, Georgia. When I first took the job I thought "who knew there were so many weavers out there?" Now I know. Here's my first attempt at weaving. At HGA I answer the phone, do computer stuff and try to make myself useful. They publish a magazine called "Shuttle, Spindle & Dyepot" and every other year put on a gigantic fiber art conference called Convergence. The next one is going to be in Tampa, FL hosted by the Florida Tropical Weavers Guild and promises to be the Lollapalooza of fiber art gatherings. The next issue of the magazine comes out in October and contains the registration information for CO'08. This is when we tighten our chinstraps and hunker down.

cross-eyed & crazy

Limbo 38"x68" I spent most of today finishing the quilting on this piece which was actually late born last summer. I'm particularly pleased that each and every piece of fabric from that session has gone on to be part of a finished piece. That was a really good day a the dyeworx. Here is a detail shot. I'm not sure I am completely finished stitching but I'll let it hang a while on the wall and see what comes to me.

Signatures and such

Thanks to Tracy Helgeson for blogging about it first. Over the weekend I decided to dismantle, clean and oil my Janome 6500 which is well overdue for professional assistance. Doing it myself was the next best thing. Once I had it back together I started noodling around on my test sandwich adjusting the tension and such. I have half a dozen pieces either poised for shipping to shows, or waiting to hear if they are going and none of them have labels or signatures. This came out just the way I wanted it to: Now I have to get busy with sleeves for most of these pieces. Colin snapped this picture of Karma standing lifeguard duty even though it's a race with the falling leaves to keep the pool clean. When the air gets cooler in the evening the water still feels warm and refreshing. We are in for a spell of rain and cooler temperatures so I'm afraid the end of pool season may be upon us.