blog anniversary

Not mine...Terry Grant from Portland, Oregon has been entertaining and informing for SEVEN years over at "and Sew it Goes" . She's been on my link love list all these years for many good reasons.

 This made me stop, think and dig to find out that it's been almost NINE years of yattering into the wind for me. It started with sharing some good news!  and I didn't even post a picture back then - here it is.
I called it "Blue Oyster Soup with Crackers" ....ah, the days of cotton prints and beads.

take two

This part of my morning went right....these are snips and pieces from what I thought was the last of my raw materials..the kind of odd scraps that wind up being the heart and soul of a completed work. Later in the day   our friend Tony came by with a bag of damask and huck napkins and small table cloths. I didn't even inspect them but just dumped them into the sauce to poach. Later I'll hang them to dry and take them with me to what's become an annual event..a dye day with Elizabeth Barton.

We get together to use up each other's spring born dyestock, take a look at what ever we have been up to, have lunch and generally enjoy the day. Another annual event is that I get lost driving home from her place..always an adventure on the backroads of Georgia in October.

On the "do-over" side of the slate, I have to reshoot all the entry photos I sweated over yesterday. Why did no one smack me in the head with a cod when I hung a white backdrop to shoot pieces that are 90% white themselves??? I went to bed wracking my brain over where I'd find something appropriately dark and neutral and awoke with the answer. We have a set of sheets that are dark grey..the top sheet almost never used. It's in the dryer right now getting it's wrinkles removed. Back  to the mines....

September on the burning dyedeck

I got the sleeve stitched on to "Jazz Takes Over" and even found a hanging slat in the closet that was exactly the right size. Two completed and nothing left to do for the third but cut and fit  another sleeve.

Spectacular weather today (although it could have used a few more degrees for dyeing) anything left in the direct sun heated up nicely. I've been commissioned to colorize a set of damask napkins and two tablecloths and hope the grape  I cobbled up stays true after the wash and dry.

More color bound pieces were laid out and all the mason jars stuffed with shreds, sauce and blood of the rainbow. Even the new table padding had fun. I should have used a piece of cloth or even paper with a brayer while this spot was still chemically hot but it's been since hosed away.

A good weekend mostly in the can. The Braves swept the Mets in NY while I spent an hour in the pool, Chef James is making chili and I have the Sunday NY Times to spend the rest of the afternoon with.  I want a cup of coffee.

an eye comes to light

it's been there all along, just a sketch but I finally decided on a way to bring it around to real.

I stitched until the callous on my right middle finger broke down after one too many jabs...and then found my brass thimble and really got down to business. I'll fit the sleeve on this one tomorrow while I wait for the temperature outside to hit the promised 80s and get in a little more outdoor dyeing this year.

getting it done

Tuned up big J, new needle and all and just  popped in disc one narrated by Will Patton. See you at 4 when the Braves meet the Mets.

backsides continued

See what I mean?
I have moved her from one quadrant to the next as I work. All the cats have been upset over something lately. Sweetie is within arms length of me where ever I am and will shadow Jimmy if I'm not around. Voodoo has been destructive to get extra attention and Juice is spending more and more time in the kitchen instead of out in the weeds. Earthquake? Tornadoes?

 Oh, that title?  "Jazz Takes Over"

curing back trouble

Turns out that damask is a perfect, if exotic, answer for backing large pieces that have irregular edges.

 It has enough give to wrap graciously around the edges and curves but, across the expanse of the piece, there was a limit to how far it would stretch. The edges of both of these pieces curled back after being "hatched" so I had to cut the backing in a cross to relieve the tension and will be hand appliqueing over these cuts .

As it was, I had to piece damask scraps for an expanse large enough for the one on the right and will be using dyed pieces to applique over the openings. The back is getting very interesting .

Still debating the title...it's very rare that I have no title this far into a project. I will dwell on it during the drive over to the gallery this morning - it's take down day - and report back later if a winner comes to mind.

summer scrambles

I actually got out of the house for a little while today and stopped at the top of the hill to put the numbers back on the mailbox.

 I planted these seeds in the middle of summer once the other flowering thing had given up. It's taken over the place and probably scares the mailman.

Some tougher cousin of the morning glory I think.

my kind of labor day

 
Colin is back from DragonCon and we are relieved that his car wasn't towed, booted or ticketed.  I'm also happy my Canon Elph made it home with him. I love my Big Canons, but for quick and dirty shots in the studio, this little bugger is my go-to tool.

 


I spent most of yesterday and all of this morning convincing "Consolation" (stitch by endless stitch) that it would be in it's best interest to lay flat, have no pooches and generally act like art.

That mission accomplished, I took a deep breath and machine pillow-faced it with a damask backing trusting that the soft cloth would wrap nicely around the tattered linen edges of this piece. At first I was worried that it would lose it's "wildness", but now that it's done I can see that those hairy edges were a messy distraction and the facing was a good choice.

There's a sleeve pinned in place that I'll nail that down after dinner. And Medlen just pitched an entire game for the Braves, beating the Rockies 6-1!

my spirits lifted over the fence

Labor Day Sale

And now a word of crass commercialism from our sponsor..Random Acts of Dyeness..buy two get one free!!    (this is Helios...the more I look at it the less likely it is you'll be able to buy it :)

treading water

I've been MIA here for a few days and with not a whole lot to show for it. We had almost a week of crappy, rainy weather and I feel like I've lost the best part of the swimming season - a big deal for me because it is the only physical exercise that I get and for me, time spent in the water is as much restorative for the soul as it is for the body. I did get in the pool today and got ahead of the falling leaves with the net..the water is still warm and clean and the sun was strong enough to chase the chill of the breeze. Feeling much better now and can face another Shift of Fools (I have to work the day job this weekend).

I think I've solved a knotty presentation problem with a piece I'm preparing to enter in Quilt National. The piece is large with several layers of cloth and completely hand stitched – a recipe for a Bitch to Hang -which would be a provocative name for anything else that I undertake with this same combination of materials and methods. You read it here first...”A Bitch to Hang”. Another six or eight hours of stitching and fiddling on a sleeve and it will be ready to photograph.

My show at Phoenix & Dragon comes down next week and I plan on taking these giant bad boys with me. While Colin is taking down the show, I will put these up on the spacious wall and hopefully get some quality shots. Three birds with one trip across the metro Atlanta top end..otherwise known as the race track from Ben Hur. Now all I have to do is get them completed.

Oh...the prizes are in the mail, Dazzle is on a camel bound for Australia (two weeks the PO told me!) and there is a basket of beautiful cloth under the work table that has been whispering to me "come, sit down and play. leave off with that deadline crap. who cares anyway" 

another year, another Con

Nothing exciting from me but my son Colin is attending DragonCon 2012 this weekend and has sent back some pictures including this one which could be a fabulous quilt..

those broad strokes

It's been so long since I fired up the Janome and rocked that free motion foot...speaking of which I really need to find a replacement for this one, silly little open toed plastic bugger anyway. If you have any recommendations for a freemotion foot  that will fit the Janome 6500 I'd welcome the info.

I'm using a different sort of support for this one for the first time. Not a batting but a synthetic mattress pad. Weird stuff but I have acres of it so the price is right. It has no warp or weft like fleece but very stable with no stretch or give at all in any direction, needles like it's not there and not too heavy or thick although the size of this piece makes me feel like I'm making sails. (the oval in the center of this image 8" across) . There's just enough depth to show off the  machine stitches.

I am looking forward to more Broad Strokes using up those Usual Suspects.

Giveaway results..

I didn't forget..oh yes I did and Sweetie is mad at me about her new flea collar so there was no persuading her to pick a winner this time so I  it did it the old fashioned way..names scribbled on paper snips and drawn from the hat. First pick goes to Jeannie and second to Phyllis King. email me with your snail mail addresses and I'll get the out to you by the weekend.  Thanks for playing!

I will be doing more with this technique in the near future..stay tuned.

hunkering down

Some of the colors have gone soft and wishful while others remain fierce. The mixes are getting tired this late in the season. And of course, when I wasn't looking for it, a Stygian black blended from a little of this, that,and the other! The white spots are from soy wax resist. There are a few more pieces done with a second round of soy stewing in a dark sable brown and will have to stay until tomorrow.

sweet sunday

I made the mistake of spreading this one out on the work table this morning and then turning my back for a moment. After I worked on it most of the morning I put it up on the design wall and Jake said to stick a fork in it....it's done.

Then I headed out to the dye deck..today the colors were those of fantasy, dreams and superheros. These are destined for a series in the works.

There are several tubs with monsters sleeping too. Waiting for tomorrows washout.

busying myself

Not long after I finished my shift last night my sister called to let me know that she was waiting in the ER with Pop who was in great pain from a long ignored hernia. So it was middle of the night surgery and all nighter's for my sibs in NY.  

All things considered the surgery went well and he is in the best of hands if not the best of spirits and mood.

All I can do is  worry and harass the hospital staff long distance and lay awake plotting all that I was going to get done the  next day..all the fall back stuff you do when you'd rather be with family and you can't be there.

An impromptu dinner thrown together right after breakfast and I spent the entire morning machine stitching the WIP.

 Midday found me making up some more B&W piece-parts but tomorrow will be all about COLOR.  The beautiful weather will hold for another precious day. I just finished another set of cloth burritos and now it's time to settle in to the sewing chair and cheer the Braves on...they need my help.

testing new waters

Started machine stitching on the WIP  which is still  Unbaptized (which is almost  the name of one of my other pieces so I can't use it again). This one doesn't speak to me as much as it grabs me by the face and hollers.

I knew the machine stitching was going to be lost if I did not put something under all that damask, lawn, lace and linen so I basted the whole thing down to a raft of white polar fleece, properly oriented to be sure.

I've committed to mixing hand and machine stitching now but I have to stay my hand from cranking up the dials and using broad bands of machine satin stitching just because I want to see something materialize that can be seen from across the room.

Still looking for those broad strokes.

hanging on to summer

With hurricane Isaac bearing down on the southeast, today and maybe tomorrow could be the last really beautiful sunny summer days for this slice of heaven. My mission for the morning is to get the chores, house & studio, out of the way so I can get out there and make like a fish for a few more hours and then dry off with some stitching in the sun....restoring my soul.  Grace is right when she calls it "church"





TADA !!  nine new cloth burritos!   

Giveaway time!

Why wait for someone to copy my work (as if!) ...I did it mysef!

Inspired by something about making art accessible that floated through the info-waves and into my brain, I spent the morning cramming fabric into  a machine and pulling out these paper clones.  The detail is amazing - I'm so glad I remembered to bring the sticky roller in with me or you'd be marveling at the cat hair and cooties worked into the stitching.

This is an 11"x17" section of  one of the "grand rêves" printed on nice matte card stock and this one in the background .   While I do some research on archival inks and paper, signed and numbered copies and such, let's just have a giveaway with the proceeds of this day!

If you want to play email me  or leave a comment, which ever is easier,  and next Tuesday night I'll persuade Sweetie to pick two winners.

PS.. I recently discovered that blogger had decided on it's own to moderate who and how people could comment..I think I've whipped it into shape and will keep an eye out that there's no backsliding ....

camera historica

Once upon a time I had a wonderful camera called the Canon Pellix. It had a very short focal plane which made it great for stills or portraits.  This was way back in the day when you took pictures and sent the film off to be developed and printed...days, weeks of waiting to see if you got what you thought you were shooting. I had no training and I can tell you for every one good shot there were six or more crappy ones.

 There were no manuals available. At the time it came into my hands the camera was already 30 years old. Over time in the heat and humidity of the south, the interior light meter failed and the mirror film inside became clouded. I could never find anyone who could repair it and gave it up to a collector in England. None since can compare. I can still remember what it sounded like when you pressed the shutter..zzzwuck-clikt.

Karma  about nine months old, in 96.

touched

It's only ten in the morning and I have been moved to tears four times.

First, with coffee while I check email and such, the opening ten minutes of  the Prince of Egypt. The lullaby will be moving around in my heart for a long while and if you have seen it and really paid attention to the story, the music and the expressive animation and visuals, you know why. I will put it on later and watch it all, stitching.


 and then there's Wendy and Velma

 I got back up to the studio in time to catch CBS Sunday Morning's piece on Rufus Wainwright and then, the life and passing of Woody Davis



now I have to sit down to all this work and find heart there as well.

sun lion redux

I started this back in March and it went through some terrible changes and  has been languishing in the closet. This morning it was re-worked with soy wax and spent most of the day in a stew of Fa-geddaboutit Blue and Ch-ch-ch-chino.

Here it is rinsed and still crusted with wax...it's in the wash right now! More pictures later.









  Now I'm happier with it.

holes, dots..ah Friday

Seems like the Spot is floating high in the Zeitgeist these days...what it's meaning for others I don't know..Gerdiary calls it a fever, and there's "rabbiting" at Stitchworks


what are these particles today?

spotz, dotz, holes,   got some??


TGIF

details, big & small

I was in the studio all morning moving from one detail to the next without a lot of thought about the fact that there's a whole herd of them waiting to be run down and dealt with, one by one. Making lists of things never works for me - I lose the lists. I send myself emails with cryptic subject lines "whip the green over the red & gold" or "rescue rags from sauce"..that sort of thing.

Yesterday it was "198 inches of invisible hem stitching -dk gr" . I have to get three very large pieces photo ready by the end of this month so I can take advantage of the wall space over at the gallery and get some good pictures. Or build a photo wall big enough....hmmm. I'll have to consult with my Goodman on that item. I  still prefer natural lighting.

rainy day stitcher

 We were awakened this morning at 5am buy a soul stirring thunderclap that had Sweetie shivering in my armpit until even she gave up hope that I could protect her and dived for her storm haven under the bed. It's gonna be an all-day rain,

In the good company of the Buddha and his Fish, and under the spell of music from WFUV.org ,I'm settling into miles of machine stitching on LDE.  It's been some time since I've done a lot of free motion stitching so I did some warming up first but it really is like riding a bicycle..

...only I was one of those unlucky folks who had to really focus on maintaining my balance on a bike...none of that crazed "look ma, no hands stuff" for this kid. Scabs galore was more like it.  Working hard at being good at something that seems to come so easily to others can be galling if you let it.

No one could ever tell how wonky my inner gyro really was as I whizzed by, braids flying but teeth gritted.



I guess most of you have figured out that this is going to be one of my QN entries so there won't be any good photos until after Judgement Day.  That is of course, assuming I'm satisfied it's finished by the deadline.

(just took a measure..36"x 60"...not so huge after all)

black and white lightning

inspiration and instigation for using all the black and white things I have been making continues to strike

"Los Dados Encantada" was born this morning at 11:43 ...there are spots of blood everywhere - the base piece had five pounds off pins in it and I was in a spazrush to see these shapes fall into [the right] place..



more pictures when the time is ripe

switching gears smoothly

 I went out on the deck last night around 3am and caught two shooting stars scratch across the night sky like matches being struck. signs and portents.



While I was at HoAnn's yesterday couple of batik fat quarters leaped off the rack and grabbed me by the throat and forced me to used my coupons to spring them from the store.  I went there for a yard of white polar fleece and a giant cookie cutter and came home with degenerate cloth!

Once I came to my senses, I plunged them both in the black dyepot and later worked them over with softscrub. This morning it was evident that they take part in the WIP via the Machine now that I am confident that I can integrate both kinds of stitching in this one.

Now it's back to the dyepots - the humidity has lifted and the sun is hot - it's going to be a beautiful day and I want to wring the max out of it.