wrong turn

I made major misstep with this piece by putting a layer of cotton batting under it before machine stitching the larger elements in place.

When I sat down to start some of the hand stitching the first stitch reminded me of the nagging worry that I had pushed back...dreaded bearding. The top cloth was open linen, the batting was old and cotton and the thread partly metallic. A huge tuft of white cotton was pulled through the top along with the black thread. Stop. snip.

I spent the rest of the evening clipping the batting away from the back giving thanks that I had not gotten carried away with the machine stitching and was able to cut almost all of it away.

Every time I catch this piece out of the corner of my eye I think about Karma. Crumpled up in a chair or tossed on the work table, it brings her to memory and mind.

Not that Karma ever let Sweetie get this close but she seems to have an affinity for this piece. The only time she won't get on it is when I hang it on the design wall.

Thank the stars for that  stickybuddy thing.

lazy boro

When I climbed into bed last night I accidentally tore the strap off a favorite old nighty. I was carrying my sewing stuff (which is why I clumsily kneeled on the hem of the nighty in the first place) so I sat there and did a little hasty boro..while I was still wearing it..not bad for upside down and backwards..

inventory

I am in the market for something like a giant's coffin. Something to keep these cloth logs stored in. I've spent the morning ferreting out rolls of quilts from all the various keeping places upstairs. There was a moment of panic when I couldn't find two of the pieces that my host expressed interest in... but they turned up.

 So did a lot of other things that I haven't looked upon in some time. It's quite shocking to me how much better they are in person than mere images flickering on the web. 

This is "Secret Message" laid out for inspection. This piece kindly reminded me what I love about free motion stitching. No matter how many times I've tried to photograph it - the image on my website is actually an experimental composite of two lightings, natural and artificial - which was a whole lot of work and still it does not do the real thing justice. Sure makes a case for professional photography but that's not happening anytime soon.

detail from Secret Message

There were several that never made it to my website at all, excuse unknown - "Giraffe Crossing" which was born down at Focus on Fiber 07 at the ACA in Florida.  I'm taking this one and several others back over to the shop so she can audition them in person. I have about 35 finished pieces most larger than 45" on the short side, a handful closer to 70" on a side.  A whole lot of fabric has been whipped into a frenzy here.


 a side note about tools...I recently took a chance on a  Sticky Buddy (as seen on an obnoxious TV commercial) and guess what? It really works!  I wouldn't try to clean my couch with it but it's great at the studio work table.

I also uncovered a few red-headed stepchildren that never even got named, like this one which really irks me because I spoiled several pieces of  special cloth in a hasty dash to fool with a new technique. This piece is destined for dismemberment and hopefully, rebirth.




back to work

slip sliding away....

Now that I've implanted that tasty earworm in your head, here's why it's on my mind. I almost let an important event go slip sliding away.

Back in the spring I was invited to have a one person show at a very popular local shop, the Phoenix & Dragon Bookstore in Roswell, GA.  They have a large meeting/classroom and turn the walls over to local artists. My show is set to open on August 3. Now you know what I know...that's right, the scramble is on.

Of course the work is ready to go. I'm meeting with the owner tomorrow to select which pieces she wants to hang or carpet the place with. There will be pictures, eventually.

 
On my side of the court, I have to order business cards and update my website which has cobwebs on it. The image on the left is going to be the front of the card - a detail from "Stars Out of Place" - and the image below on the back of the card, if I can have my way.

What say ye?

chaos, ordered up

I spent most of yesterday morning reordering the studio so I can start the machine work on the new piece. Poor Big J hasn't been put through his paces since the last time I had it serviced. The room is a bit cramped but highly functional...warning ..DO NOT open those closet doors!  Order is nice.

the rush!

Don't know how or why but there's a rush on at the store!
The sale is ongoing, buy one get the next 10$ off . and there's still a nice selection.

Picnic

results

Here's what's come of yesterday's work overdyeing and discharging the black and white pieces that turned up gray and green. The surprise of the whole lot? All the way on the left is a small piece of a big piece of cloth that I picked up at OHCO on the weekend.

 I bought it because it was light enough (beige originally) to dye and the jacquard pattern was bold and interesting but once I handled it, it  was so stiff with some upholstery chemical stain protection that I gave up all hope of dyeing and bought it for backing cloth.

 I cut a foot wide strip to use as a stabilizing base under the damasks as I painted them then I noticed it was wicking up the dye gradually.  After dyeing and discharging it has turned out to be so full of character and potential that  I called Jan to stop by the shop and see if the other large piece of it was still there. dumped in a bin like so much trash. $3 a pound.

taking another tack

The beautiful new cloths suffered in  a failed attempt at a neutral black. After batching a whole hot day they were crawling with green blooms. Rather than moan over it  I dreamed a plan that includes overdye and discharging. There are in the colors right now.

There are tons of cloth in the world still waiting and these will be just as special as others I have worked on, not failures...it was only the experiment that ran off the rails.

committing large

This one is all hand basted but last night I dreamed about stitching it on the machine. Successfully combining machine and hand stitching in a large piece is my next great challenge. Arlee is going to be my go-to guru here as she has mastered the trick as far as I'm concerned.

I did some research on how long "Consolation"  took me to finish and at that rate, this new piece might not see an end until next Spring if  I do it all by hand.  No sacrifices or compromises here, just adaptations that will work on larger pieces.

There were great gifts and finds this weekend too. JR and I made a stop at OHCO in Covington and, dumped in a holding pen in the parking lot, I came across a few large expanses of a remarkable cloth that you will be seeing soon...next on the design wall, for sure.

When I finally got home there was a package with several of the most exquisite pieces of my all time favorite fabric, vintage cotton damask and what I call huck. Thank you so much Nancy! As soon as the weather dude promises me a hot, dry day, these will be taking part in the great BLACK DYE experiment.  More the the yet undiscovered Karma piece which I am slowly sneaking up on. Clink on these pictures to appreciate the  workmanship that went into them.

loose on the town

This weekend has been all about a good change of pace for me - away from work, the day job and the fiber studio.

These are my two best friends, Jan and Jan. Although I am not an introvert, I tend to be an insular person and I don't get out with like minded individuals so often that I don't recognize how special these times and friends are.

 Jan K has a friend and neighbor who frequently bestows her with Braves season tickets which she shares with me when I can free up my schedule. How could I not in Chipper Jones last season? It was a strange Friday 13th at the park, with all the luck running to amazing and serendipitous. The skies were abrew with heavy thunderstorms but not a drop fell all evening. The entire ballpark was darkened by a 16 minute power failure in the 2nd inning and not a soul in the place went Zombie crazy and acted up. We had great seats, great food and great company in the people who came out on a threatening evening to love on their team, watch them beat the NY Mets  AND the best fireworks I have seen since the bicentennial events in NY!

Saturday I spent the day with my other BF Jan.
We did time together at AT&T..only other former AT&T operators and call center employees could really appreciate that.  This day out will be our last for some time to come since she is taking an amazing opportunity to move to CA and be a part of her son's growing family while he returns to school. Although I will miss her, I can't help but be thrilled for her, she loves the SF Bay area so...and now I will have the ultimate excuse visit the west coast.

jazzworking

why can't I remember how much better it always is with music? I could hardly nap I was so frothing to get on with this one..changes upon changes.  FYI it's about 42" high.

B&W in heavy weather

I had a two hour dinner break from work this evening.

The trees are thrashing about under darkening skies and the thunder and lightning are getting very serious. Power will probably go soon. We made up cold salads for dinner and I gobbled mine like a prison inmate and ran outside to get a few more pieces painted. All the while "George Harrison - Living in the Material World" playing in the background.

I scored a beautiful linen dress at GW today - here's one half of the front, the buttonholes ranked down the right side. There was also an enormous cotton lawn skirt..yards of white cloth, thank you Queen among women, and a teeny tiny white party dress..something a hooker might wear to a christening maybe. Halter top, peek a boos around the waist and a short flounced skirt, all in white cotton with tiny dots fuzziness woven all through.

All of them deconstructed and plunged into the sauce for further contemplation and action tomorrow. 

sad to say both of these were spoiled by my haste and optimism. It rained a lot harder than expected and too much water too soon smooshed paint and dye excessively...

thinking along those lines

I'm   starting to think about a Karma cloth.

I wanted more contrast that just dye would give me so I reworked these pieces with textile paint. My bag in the foreground  tells me how hard it's going to be for me to stick with just black and white so I'm not going to force the issue.
 
Spent a little while last night snapping the fuzz out of the latest batch of dyed cloth. With all those raw, torn edges why am I amazed at the amount of lint generated.  I even made bold with the iron for  while to seek out the true nature of some of the sorrier looking pieces.
 
Like civilized folk, we even had company for a little while. It was nice to see Jake and Missy.


( I do not put blue dye in my pool)