Mopery in Progress

I have been having great e-converse with the Empress of Dirt (don't I hang out with the nicest crowd?), author of Fabric Dyeing 101 a wonderful and generous resource for folks who want to take a crack at dyeing their own fabric. I was reading through her take on the whole process and occasionally giving myself the old "Palm to Old Forehead, Sharply" gesture - the way you do when you know you are screwing up even as you do it...like ironing the wrong side of the fusible crap. Damn I hate that stuff but it's the only way I can think of to close up the birthing slot left when I pillowcase a backing...(who else but another art quilter would know what the hell I was talking about.) So I took a moment to tell her about Table Moppers, but she'll elaborate on that. Anyway, to finish off the discharging session I started last night, there was this one piece of fabric left on the kitchen table, one of nastiest Table Moppers from the last dyefest.I got rather caught up in the thing and before I knew it, there were seams and batting and backing and birthing and "3 to 5 for Mopery" was hatched, another whole-cloth monster just begging for lots of paint & stitching. It's just amazing what can happen when there's a clean place to work and you (mostly) know where all your stuff is. Just a lazy eyed jump from mopper to mopery, the title refers to a family joke around here. If one of the boys was sulking about and had the nerve to utter the phrase "I'm bored" they would be convicted of Mopery, something I had a nodding acquaintance with as a teenager. Somewhere on my permanent record it must say "suspected of mopery with intent to creep", not convicted mind you, just suspected.

New Stuff, Like I needed More New Stuff

The deal is, for every hour I spend sorting, folding and making order in the studio I get at least two hours of messing around with stuff. Today I went the lazy mystery route and picked a few pieces from the stash to discharge. This fabric was from a very old nightgown. White cotton with the shoulders and bodice crocheted from pearl cotton. This interesting effect on this turquoise commercial batik came from putting dishwasher gel on dry fabric, waiting about 15 minutes then misting it heavily with water and popping it into a hot oven on a cookie sheet for about 5 minutes. and yes, yes Anti-chlor for everyone at the bar! Ain't it cool?

Born with the Platinum Spoon in her Mouth

My husband has long suspected that in several past lives I was a duchess or baroness or queen of some such. Not merely some aristocrat but one of the FEEELTHY rich. No one had to convince me. Given any choice of goods I will invariably choose the most expensive thing in the group without ever seeing a price tag. Needless to say, he is also happy that in this lifetime, I recognize value, live simply, am easily amused and don't covet material things. Still, this car pulled alongside me on my ride home today and I was spellbound and drooling. As it pulled ahead of me so I could see the badge and identify the maker, I said aloud "Of course it is..." I tried to put it on my Amazon wishlist but they don't stock them.

Photoshoot

Sunny days are for taking pictures outdoors. In the service of gross and wondrous commerce, I spent a few hours taking pictures of a slew of small things from the last two years that have never seen the light of day. Now, I'll spend the rest of the afternoon putting some them up on my online store Like Hotcakes and a few over at the Etsy joint. I will be happy when I can stop being a merchant and go back to being an artist. I must have uncovered at least a half dozen UFOs!

What Happened to My Weekend?

Here's me and Voodoo luxuriating in turkey poisoning. I've spent most of the day ironing pieces of hand dyed fabric to post for sale on the web. Can't buy or make any new stuff until the old stuff is cleared out and as fast as I was posting pictures, people were buying them! Whoopee! Last night I made pizzas from (almost) scratch. The dough comes in plastic baggies at the Publix bakery. I actually got it spinning in the air with nary a flop to the floor. The guys at Redendo's Pizza would be proud. Next weekend we'll have video - I'm teaching eveyone how to make pizza for themselves now that I've found out how much cheaper it is to make your own pies. All in all they were pretty good but the sauce needs tinkering with.

More company for Dinner

Look who heard there was a turkey carcass heading for the trashcan. He just couldn't wait another minute and came tapping on the back door. I have no idea where the Kat Krew is at the moment - probably at the neighbors house playing poker with Angel and Orangelo.

Feast Day

I can't remember when I spent hours and hours embroidering this linen tablecloth. It was supposed to be cutwork done in ecru. Can you imagine how boring? Here's the detail that makes it an heirloom. Jake invited a few friends so we had to have a KIDS table. Fortunately it was balmy enough for them to eat out on the deck. Believe that from a 26 pound turkey there are almost no leftovers. I was most thankful that Jimmy got home at all. Snafu's on the job almost pre-empted his trip home (he and Colin have already gone back down to Macon) and I was about to have a meltdown when he told me on the phone. Things worked out after all and the kitty girls were both mad to lavish love on him. And even though there are (still) dishes to be washed, I am going to sit down, read a book and take a shot a learning a new addiction, I mean technique

Buy Now Button Fixed

PayPal finally got back to me about fixing the BUY NOW button on my Hotcakes site. I still have a dozen of these scrap bags left and the price includes first class postage inside the US.

Food Frenzy

So I'm in Publix doing the last minute holiday provisioning. It's the baking stuff aisle and for a full two minutes I am looking for the paper thingies that get baked around cupcakes. A young woman stocking shelves on the opposite side of the aisle senses my need for assistance and asks what I am searching for. I opened my mouth and for an instant realize that I don't know what they are called. It's not Alzheimer's - I never knew what they were called in the first place. Without any other thought process I blurted out "cupcake panties". The look on both our faces must have been the proverbial priceless. In a heartbeat, she got my drift and plucked a small container from an obscure corner of the display. Made both our days I suspect.

Webwork

This is not a sane way to spend a sunny day off! I started the morning fifth in line the newest of the Gwinnett County tag offices finding out what became of the renewal sticker for our pickup and getting new plates for Colin's car. Oh the joys of being the family CFO. Compared to my near-arrest at the New York DMV, which is all the bad, evil New Yorker jokes rolled into one, this was a piece of cake for breakfast. Then I made the unsound decision to spend three hours pushing pixels and html code around to update my website for the first time in nearly two years. NO - I have not finished the gallery and I probably won't today. My brain is fried so I am going to the park to walk and then spend the rest of the day in the studio. All criticisms welcome.

Loose Ends

Cleaning the studio goes forward with the occasional diversion to finishing a UFO. Imagine, making time to sew on sleeves! This is a dye print with painted accents stitched with gold metallic thread. It's stiff as hell and miserable to sew. Finished I'd say.