'Pressing

The letterpress is on its way to functionality! The hope was to have it ready this weekend, when my partner in crafty-crime will be here to help decipher the mystery, but we are not certain some vital parts will arrive in time. Disappointing. But exciting to finally be on the verge of learning how all this works!


Tools of the trade: The lovely man at Ace Hardware recommended the SOS pads, and let me tell you, those things are like magic at getting off the rust. And of course the trusty WD40 (which I always accidentally call DW40 and therefore completely lose face with the Ace Hardware man I'm sure) was put to good use. I think I used the entire can.


Not quite entirely clean, but a good two hours scrubbing and oiling I would say, and the parts that are supposed to move seem to move, and the hinges and springs are well lubricated, and the platen is as shiny as my arms and those fantastic SOS pads could handle in one sitting.


She's a beaut, yessiree! I just can't wait to ink up and make the first print!

Mmmm

To finish off the Thanksgiving weekend with a taste of Christmas, we decorated a few oranges with cloves. Mm-mm. They smell amazing.


I hung mine over one of the radiators, hopefully the heat will make our house clovey and orangey and wonderful.

Procrastination Project

This was one of those projects that people do - or I do, do you? - when there is something else quite pressing that should be done but is somewhat distasteful. In this case, vacuuming and mopping and doing some general cleaning up were the items on my to-do list that had been successfully avoided until about 10pm on the evening before I was leaving for an arts festival and C's mother was arriving. So of course I decided that this was the perfect time to make leaves using the serger and some wire, one of those ideas that come in bushels when there are other more important things to take care of.


The serger/leaf idea worked quite well. I think it could be done on a regular machine using a zig zag stitch. The beauty of the serger is the blade that trims as you sew, making a perfect edge. Here's the scoop: cut out a leaf shape, stitch all the way around, insert wire all the way around using stitches as a channel. I made some flowers by cutting strips of fabric, sewing a loose running stitch up one side which were tightly gathered and then the edge twisted into a spiral. I ended up pinning the entire wreath together rather than sewing it, so it can be taken apart simply when the time comes (next deadline, perhaps...). The wreath itself is a foam mold from the craft store, wrapped in a Guatemalan print fabric. I pinned some buttons into the flower centers to cover the spiraling and for a little extra sparkle.

Miniature Living

I made everything in this little room and that makes me really happy. - click on the picture for a larger view on flickr.

(By "tomorrow," I obviously meant "day after tomorrow"... oh well.)

Tools and Such

What could this mess be about? Its been spread out over the dining room table for the past three days, and I am having so much fun!




I'll show the results tomorrow...

(or you can have a look on flickr, I just couldn't wait!)

Another Day, Another Festival

I am getting ready to drive South, down to Manchester, Vermont for the Southern Vermont Art and Craft Festival this weekend. Tomorrow is setup day, the festival opens Friday. See you there?!


Sometimes little things make me feel quite clever, and I would like to share this one with you. Several weeks ago I had a hankering for waffles. I think those berries brought it on. In a handy moment, I made an extra large batch and stuck the extras in the freezer. Now I can just pop a few in the toaster and violà! Breakfast in a flash!


I do realize that other people thought of this way ahead of me. But my own waffles are so much tastier, and quite probably healthier. So I do feel clever.

New Taste of Stowe - Part II

I made it to the field about 10am on Thursday, in time for the exhibitor check in. It was really great to finally meet in person and put faces to all those names I have been seeing over the past several months at this job. Not so great were the heavy rainclouds that hung persistently about and periodically dropped buckets of rain on our heads and on the festival field and all the gravel (subsequently mud) roads throughout. It was a fairly dismal day, made exciting by events but with an ever-present fear that this might just be the weekend's forecast.




Imagine our feelings of relief when 6am the following morning brought bright blue skys and mountains glistening from the overnight thunderstorm. Friday was a gorgeous day. We finished the set up and the public began to arrive as soon as the gates were open. It was not a mad crowd, that would have been an unusual - although certainly acceptable - turn of events for a Friday morning. But it was satisfactory. This was our first festival of the season, but some of the exhibitors reported that at other festivals, attendance has been down by some 20-50%. We had significantly better results than those, but the current economic situation was apparent. Interesting how that works.


I spent most of Friday touring the tents, meeting and chatting with exhibitors. There are some really wonderful people who attend this show - I am looking forward to seeing several of them again in Manchester, VT next weekend!



Saturday, I had to make a trip to Syracuse, New York to visit another festival - it was a big weekend!

New Taste of Stowe Arts Festival!

This weekend all the work of the last seven months starts to pay off - our first Art Festival of the Season! If you are local, please do come by, there are some really amazing artists and artisans selling their work, and the food is going to be simply incredible. The show is in Stowe, Vermont, a top-quality resort town for those unfamiliar with the area, and several of said resorts will be attending the show, offering spa treatments and gourmet menu samples. If you are in the area, you can visit craftproducers.com for details.

We are so hoping for these crazy thunderstorms to pass on by!

Its been a Big Week

Wow, ok, where to start? As claimed in my last post, I did indeed get a slew of miniature paintings painted - fun! Also some other projects with which I am quite pleased. But those didn't happen so much on the weekend as on the days I had to stay home from work due to an unhappy run-in with an ill tempered zebra mussel resulting in a late night trip to the emergency room.


Not so much fun.

The new paintings are going in the shop, and I will share pictures of them here over the next few days, but first I want to show you the other things I made.


Ever since I made the abstract cover for my quilt book, I have been wanting to create some fabric flags or banners. I had patchwork ideas like the quilt book cover in mind, but I also wanted to incorporate some text, simple words or phrases. Turns out the awesome wooden type I found works quite as stamps! I brushed them with india ink and stamped words onto the fabric. They are watersafe and I really like how the letters are a little wonky.


The words I could create were somewhat limited by the fact that I neglected to get a letter "R". Oops!

I stamped the letters onto colorful cotton and stitched them onto a natural linen backing. There is a channel at the top for hanging.


I would like to try a few more of these, but I also know how my brain works and instead of mass production, it is quite likely I will move on to something else new... !

(These hangings will be in the shop shortly as well)

Inherited

I did not actually know the old man across the street. To be perfectly honest, the only times I ever saw him were late at night when he was being rolled into a waiting ambulance. My part of town is full of these shadowy people, living in the myriad apartments that pack the old houses and hold a surprising number of inhabitants.

Early this Spring, the ambulance came again, and soon thereafter, the apartment across the street was emptied, and the old man's possessions were left on the front porch, a cardboard sign offering them free to whomever stopped by. I didn't go over right away, it felt strange. As if I were trespassing into his life.

About a week later, a friend and I decided to have a look. Another older gentleman, the owner of the building, was there as well. A friendly man, he remembers my parents from when they visited and asked about them. He told us that the old man form downstairs was dying, that he would not return home, and that now the decades worth of possessions that filled his generously sized apartment were his landlord's responsibility. He walked us through the apartment, an old house with beautiful dark woodwork and worn green carpet.

On the front porch, in a pile of old clothes and sheets, I came upon a treasure. Someone's handwork, unfinished. How did it come to be in this old man's possession? I somehow doubt it was his work. Was he once married? Was it a project inherited from some other relation?



I don't know what I will do with this, but it seemed too good, too intriguing, to pass by.

Busy Days!

It seems that in the Spring things just get busy. I don't even really have that much to do, but if I am not outside enjoying the days somehow, I feel that I am missing out.

That said, I spent quite a lot of Sunday asleep on the sofa. Day of rest and so forth...


One inside (mainly) thing I was able to accomplish in the last few days was finishing up a couple little needle felted dolls for listing in the shop. They are very sweet, I am especially fond of the green polka-dotted jumpsuit.

Another little lady in the Shop!

She's about 3.5 inches tall, spunky and pretty and ready to venture forth! Visit her at amandamay.etsy.com!

New Dolls and Old

My little shop is back in business. It was never actually closed, but it was sadly neglected for a while there while other things took precedence. Things will do that.

Some are new and some have been around a while. This gentleman was introduced quite some time ago, but he was waiting for his wife to return from her hair procedure before he ventured into real public life. As it turns out, the hair problem was somewhat more complicated than expected and I am afraid our friend got a bit fed up. He actually hardly knew the woman, it was more a marriage of convenience, so don't feel bad for them. Someday perhaps she will get some hair and then she too will wander out into the world. As it is, the dear man is waiting a smidgen impatiently for someone to offer him some new adventure...

My dear dancing lady has also been listed. She has been a regular around the studio for a while now, just gadding about. But I am afraid she has become a tad bored with me. I don't blame her, I'm hardly here these days what with work and the dog and the nice Spring weather, and she's getting restless. So off she goes!



And then there are some simple Waldorfian-ish finger puppets. These little princesses were a means of mental relief for me from the lengthy process of the needle felted dolls. Where those are time consuming and detail oriented, these are relatively basic and wip up in a very satisfactory instant-gratification sort of way. And they have such sweet character in their simplicity. These sweethearts just plain make me happy!

Hot Glass

While I was in Tucson I dug out the copper enamel supplies and spent two days thoroughly engaged in pendant, wine charm and mini-platter making. This is a magical medium, where fairly dull glass dust and small pieces of copper are placed in an oven and something mysterious and wonderful happens and jewels emerge. It is truly amazing.


And - should I admit this? - it actually takes very little talent because it is really quite difficult to make something that does not turn out beautiful. And if something is not to ones liking, a little more glass can be added and back into the oven it goes! A constant amazement and surprise - nothing ever turns out the same twice in a row. One can have an approximation of what will happen, and there are plenty of people with incredible patience who make all sorts of intricate designs and painting-like pieces, but I am always way too excited to see what is going to happen and too thrilled with my somewhat fateful results to become very technically skillful.

Oh well. But aren't they gorgeous?





(These are headed to a little art festival in Virginia)

Ideas are Brewing...

And a Boy!

My very first needle felted boy doll is dressed and ready to meet the world! I think he is very sweet, he has a pensive face but looks like he could kick a soccer ball with the best of them!


This was also my first attempt at a wire armature, which turned out to be a bit of a hassle. Three felting needles were broken, effectively halting my needle felting evenings until the emergency refill pack arrived from Ewetopia. It is good to have friends with connections.

My favorite part of this little man are his ears.



I am tempted to go back and add ears to all the other dolls I have around.

Visit my shop for more pictures!

Summer Sweetheart

Now available in my shop! She is not a Lenci, I still have some practicing to do to get to that level, but she is very sweet. If I do say so myself! I think she can be a wonderful dollhouse inhabitant, or a sweet little friend to stick in your pocket. Or she can decorate a desk or nature table, as others of her compatriots now do!!

I have been having some dilemmas on the pricing front. If I priced these dolls so that my time was actually worth, well, something, they would be way to expensive for anyone to buy. Conundrum. I am working on ways to cut down on production time while keeping to my meticulous standards of quality, we will have to see how that works out.

The part of making these dolls that takes up the time is felting the body. It takes an astonishing amount of wool to make each one, and compacting it in layers and layers is time consuming. The really fun part is when the basic body shape is together, and I can start to individualize it. Extra layers are added on to make bumps and curves, the legs must be rounded out and the tummy plumped up. Then the face, for sure the most fun part. It is amazing how the dolls come to life once they have eyes. Actually, I usually try to leave the eyes until the very end, it is hard to stab the needle into it when it has eyes. (Just to clarify, for those of you who are unfamiliar with needle felting, it is a process in which barbed needles - often recycled from industrial felting machines - are poked and jabbed at the wool, causing it to felt).

Two of my dolls have so far headed off to new homes. I know that this one is looking forward to traveling too!

Fun with Food

Potato prints! I had not made any potato prints for ages and ages, but was inspired by needing a project for two young boys to whom I teach art. So I broke out the potatoes and the exacto knife and set about making a prototype.

It was fun. Why do I not do this more often? So easy, so necessarily simple, so satisfying.

In a Holiday theme, I cut out a steaming mug (of cocoa I presume) and a snowflake, and printed in red block printing ink. After a few tests, I recalled the big package of white tissue I had recently acquired. Soon a sheet was covered in cheerful red snowflakes and I was determined to hand-make all my wrapping paper for the year!



As it turns out, I had many other things to take up my time, and after a little more fun with potatoes and ink during the boys class, no more printing took place. And so I had one sheet of precious handprinted tissue, which was promptly used and now sorely missed.

Perhaps I will have to make Spring tissue paper!

Living Traditional Arts

I have (finally) gotten around to updating my parents website, Living Traditional Arts. We are still trying to figure out what, exactly, is the purpose of the site, but for now it is a portfolio of the various artistic mediums in which they work, and also includes some work of family and friends. The idea is a gallery of the ongoing life of traditional arts, I guess.


Check out the quilts especially - there are quite a few pictures of my great-grandmother's quilts. Gorgeous, and a bit intimidating in their complexity.

Feeling sparkly

For some reason, I started feeling very wintry and sparkly this afternoon. It has nothing to do with the weather, which was incredibly pleasant here. Usually I feel this way when there is a light dusting of snow and big flakes in the air, bundled up in a scarf and wishing for gingerbread. Maybe it was Martha did it, with her crafty ideas and wealth of wreaths and ribbons and glittery candles. Anyway, I happened to have come across a wealth of copper in the form of a discarded electrical cable, so, with a desire for candles and craftiness, I set to work.

It was simple to strip off the outer layer of protection. The inner layers are a bit more difficult. Lucky for me, not feeling up to too much effort at the moment, one strand of copper was not covered. I decided to leave the others be.

My plan was to create a candle-ier; a twisted copper hanging candleholder. Here is how I went about it...


I folded the copper length in two, and looping the middle around a door handle, pulled the ends tight and twisted them together all the way down.



I then spiraled the twist, with the loop at the top for hanging.


For a while I have had a pile of cute little tart tins in my pantry. I am sure they would be lovely for tarts, but tarts are rather fussy and it occurred to me that the pans would also make very sweet candletrays, affixed to my copper base.


So they were pulled out and, with the help of the handy glue gun (note: I used a cute little itsy-bitsy glue gun. Don't follow my example), fastened at intervals along the copper.

The spiral was bent, stairstep style, along the way in order to hold the trays flat.


Ta-da! A pretty glittery candle-ier!

I think I will tweak it a bit to hang better - the trays could use some leveling and the entire piece needs to lowering. But it has a nice warm, holiday-ish glow. Now I just need some gingerbread! Or maybe some patience.

oo, I'm Featured!

Very exciting! Erica from FiddleLee just featured me on her Etsy Treasures Blog. There are some pictures of my work that is for sale on Etsy, and an interview. Thank you so much Erica! I'm so honored!

The littlest witch

This little lady was just posted to my shop. You may remember her from this post a little while ago, but now she has explored a little out of doors, and she is ready to travel further to a new home!


To see more, visit her in my shop!

What to do?

So I have this doll's head, made quite some time ago and still in need of a body. It has travelled with me from Toronto to Vermont, and has not made any progress. The head is made with a wire armature, covered in fabric which was then gessoed and painted. It sits on bare wire shoulders and has a small soft cloth torso.


Perhaps it can become an interesting puppet? I just don't know, but I always feel guilty leaving half finished dolls lying around, especially when they have faces. I know I would be frustrated in their situation!

Wool and what I made

I got these exciting bags in the mail a few days ago from Ewetopia Fiber Shop. Specially ordered for doll felting, I got a yellow mix for hair, a peachy skin color, a nice mix of reds, and some browns and grays. I was looking forward to these new colors, because gray is just not great for skin, although the little doll I made is pretty durned cute, if I do say so myself!



I think the little witchy hat makes the gray skin work ok.

Ewetopia!

I designed this logo for my darling friend Kathryn who has opened her very own fiber shop in Viroqua, Wisconsin. Ewetopia Fiber Shop looks just gorgeous from the pictures - I have not had a chance to visit in person yet. I have, however, been the beneficiary of some bags of wool and a set of needle-felting needles and I am now spending my evenings stabbing and forming wool into the most wonderful little dolls. Its a bit addictive, I tell you.

Kathryn is all about shipping supplies to far off people, and has actually discovered that her prices are a lot lower than elsewhere. So I highly suggest you have a look at her website, and get some ideas, and then call her up and tell her what projects you have in mind. She is a fabulous artist herself and will help you figure out just what you need!

One word of advice - if you do take up needlefelting, I recommend not doing it anywhere in public. The stabbing may not feel ferocious, but to the uninitiated it looks very much like voodoo. And stay away from children, they might not understand why you are poking the poor doll in the eyes.

Wrapped yarn

By far the most popular activity in my Belize art class was making God's Eyes. The first class I tried to teach had around 35 or so kids, and it seemed disastrous. The only way they seemed to understand what to do is if I went around to each, individually, and showed them on their own two sticks. I had perhaps made it to two thirds of the kids by the time the class was over.

But then I think they must have begun teaching each other, because it seemed that the next day, everyone not only knew how to do it, but were completely into it.



I had God's Eyes of all sizes and colors, all I seemed to hear was "Miss, more yarn, Miss" "I want red, Miss" "Miss I need more yarn".

This fellow took it all very seriously - he would not let me take his photograph until the large piece was finished.



To make a God's Eye:

• two sticks (we used wooden skewer sticks with the points chopped off, and later we made mini versions on toothpicks)
• yarn of various colors

Cross the sticks and tie together in the middle with one end of a longish piece of yarn.







Begin by wrapping the yarn entirely around one stick - over, under, and back over.

Move to the next point, in the direction the yarn is going, and wrap the yarn over, under, and back over.




I told the kids to repeat "over two, under one" as they worked. It also works well to rotate the cross as you go, so the point being wrapped is always pointing the same direction. Then the mantra is "over two, under one, turn, over two, under one, turn..."





To join colors, just tie the new yarn to the end of the old and keep going.

To finish, I just wrapped the yarn around the last stick a couple times and tied it off.




The second day we made these, I had the students string them together into hanging mobiles. They turned out really pretty, although it was difficult to get the kids to make crosses for the mobile structure, since they just wanted to use all the sticks to make more God's eyes.

Art-to-Go

If you happen to be around the Burlington, Vermont area tomorrow evening, and are in need of something totally awesome to do, why not stop by Studio STK at 12 North Street and take in some crafty, do-it-yourself, handmade goodness! Chic and hip are the new "craft" buzzwords - you won't find any fitsy-futsy doo-dahs around here. What you will find are handcrafted jewelry, silkscreened clothing, ceramics and pottery, and quite a bit more!

If you don't happen to be in Burlington, but are feeling left out - come on up next month! or the month after! This is going to be a montly extravaganza (small art gallery style - I don't want to lead people astray with my enthusiasm).

Learn more about the whole deal over on my other blog, Art-to-Go!

My bag

I left for Toronto on Friday afternoon, after finishing up summer camp, biking around town in the interests of my fish, and generally trying to do everything last minute that I should have spread out over the past week. With half an hour to spare before leaving the house, I decided I absolutely must have a new bag.

Luck was with me (having deserted me the night before in a linen pants incident about which I am not quite ready to think), and the bag creation went smoothly and ended up pretty much just as I wished!


This lovely canvas-type fabric was a sort of impulse buy during my quilt fabric shopping spree, bought with the specific intent of making a new bag. I am ever so proud that I actually followed through.

Naturally, with more time, there are a few extras I would have added - interior pockets, probably an exterior pocket between the straps. It has a sort of secret pocket perfect for my fast approaching Central American travels - a flap from the outside folds over to the inside, the perfect size for passport and money protection.

I really just love the colors. Lately I seem to have been developing an unconscious affinity for dusty pink (the flowers are pink. Upon viewing my picture I see that this is somewhat indiscernible. Oops. In real life they are actually quite prominent). My mother says that it is generally a sort of grandmother color, but then I have always had elderly qualities :)

I think this post takes the prize for the most parentheses. Yay.

An Introduction

I would like to make an introduction.



This gentleman would like to shake your hand.



His name is Edmund and he recently made an appearance in my studio.



He is quite friendly and sociable, and he walks 2 miles every day. That's why he has such lovely shoes!



His wife is currently undergoing some operations (she might not like it that I'm telling, but her dress was not fitting properly and her wig was completely wrong. Those might not seem to require surgery per se, but when one is only 6 inches tall one's problems are necessarily of a different sort). She should be along to meet you soon.

I am not sure if Edmund is a father or not - it seems likely, however, so I wish him and all the other fathers out there a Happy Day! (yes, one day late. I did call my own dad on time though!)

Craft Fair Fun

I have been busy these last couple days putting together the Art-to-Go DIY Show and Sell. It has been quite exciting - a flurry of activity! Registration is now closed, but if you head over to the Art-to-Go blog, you can sign up for the mailing list and learn how to sign up for the next installment in August! Yes, this will be a monthly deal, and I am pretty excited about where it could go. I have all sorts of grand scenarios worked up in my head... I like to dream...

The daily sketching worked well for a few days, and then I got caught up in other activities, but since they were also creative and crafty I feel ok about the situation. Actually, Im pretty tickled with a couple projects in the works, and will post pictures as soon as I figure out how to make tiny little black shoes.

(that's one of those cliff-hanger endings, where you're just left in suspense until I post again...)

A New Batch of Cards

I made a new batch of cards, thank you notes for all the lovely graduation generosity that came my way!







These are new postcards, now awaiting proper postage (it seems like postage prices are changing very often these days, I can't keep up). These are created out of handmade paper I made with a friend a few years ago. It came out rather stiff, so I had not found a use until now, but it was perfect for postcards! The writing was made on a little Cub Printing Press I just purchased on Ebay. More on that later.



I love making postcards because they are confined spaces, but have so many possibilities. They don't have the intimidation factor of a large canvas, and expensive or special supplies are not necessary. They must be relatively two-dimensional to go through the postal system, but other than that anything is possible. I enjoy collaging on postcards, partly because collage is difficult for me. I never would have imagined collage to be complicated, but there are certain people who just seem to have a gift for putting pieces together in ways that are pleasing, and for me that is frustratingly hard. But on the small scale of a postcard I do ok, and I thoroughly enjoy it.

A Good Cause

I just came across this site while browsing through blogs - not quite sure how I got there, but glad I did! It looks like a really wonderful organization - Women for Women International. I would tell about it, but it is probably a lot easier to go and learn for yourself!

Over the last year, I have become very interested in micro-loan and micro-credit programs and especially in craft cooperatives. Another favorite site of mine, also selling fair trade goods, is Fair Trade Quilts - their patchwork quilts by Mayan women are just amazingly gorgeous. Someday I will have one of my own!

It is difficult to be interested in doing good in the world, and to learn how hard it really is. I mean, little things are important, and little things are accomplishable - things like recycling and composting, biking and walking instead of using a car, turning the heat down, turning off lights, using insulated curtains to conserve heat - things like that. But hopefully, those things will become just a part of life, and then there is the desire to do something more. Only, when one is in school, or working, or both, so often life become busy busy busy and trying to figure out how to do this extra is a real conundrum.

I do feel that learning about all the great things that are happening, and passing the news along, is another little way to support good and combat all the horrors that seem so abundant in the world.

Tiny stitches, and why is it snowing?

I am progressing in the stitchery department. Several blocks are finished and my quilting stitches are slowly becoming smaller and neater. The first will probably be embarrassing someday when my standards have refined, but at this point I just don't understand how those miniscule, barely visible stitches are accomplished! They certainly give me another reason to appreciate the skill put into a quality quilt.



Lately, in my ponderings of quilts and their importance, I began to realize their importance as holders of memories. Historically, there are the memory quilts made by a group of friends for one who was leaving, and traditional quilts were often pieced with scraps of old clothing. My grandmother points out pieces in her mother's quilts, remembering how a certain dress was made with this or that fabric and sharing the memories of the time associated with that particular piece of clothing.

Another way quilts are memory keepers occurred to me while stitching, and is one of the reasons I decided to hand quilt each square instead of taking the faster and simpler route of machine quilting. Hand stitching takes time, and it takes some measure of concentration, especially if the stitches are to be small and neat and the lines straight. And while this stitching is happening, the stitcher has plenty of time to think and to just be. And I really think that this time sort of stitches memories into the fabric. I sent my grandmother a wonderful book I found about quilts and their makers, called "The Quilters: Women and Domestic Art An Oral History," and reading the stories of these women reminded her of the quilting she had before she was married. It struck me that that particular quilt would have that particular time stitched right into it; how she felt as she prepared to embark on a new life would have been pondered as each stitch was made. I am wondering what I will remember from these stitches in this book I am making. I am hoping they will not be flashbacks of stressed out all-nighters as I feverishy try to finish everything before the presentation deadline.



Happy Easter!

Sewing square

Here are what I must determinedly stitch upon in the next few days:







The picture quality is lousy, sorry about that. But I am quite happy with the results of my piecing. Sure, some - well, many - of the corners don't match up just right, but the Amish always include "flaws" in their quilts to let the spirit out, or so as not appear to be in competition with God. Not sure which. But I am willing, especially at this point, to endorse any such arguments.

Now, on to quilting. Somehow I decided that it would be nice to hand quilt. Don't get me wrong, it would be nice. I am just not sure if the amount of time it seems it will take me even exists! I have done one so far, and have started a second. Probably the best idea is just to do as many as possible and then not feel guilty about finishing up on the machine.

The final plan for the project, at this point (it continuously changes), is to applique the hand-developed photos onto the back of the quilted squares. Have I mentioned these photos before? hmm, seems I have discussed photos, but have not actually imparted their importance to the work.

The photos are of domestic or crafting tools, and are photos I took on black and white film, developed, and am now in the process of learning how to print onto liquid-emulsion covered fabric. I had been intrigued with the idea of liquid emulsion for some time, and was very excited to be experimenting with it. So the photos, in the works and not something I really want to think too much about right at the moment (turns out, liquid emulsion on fabric is something of a nightmare! who knew?), will be cut and stitched onto the backside of the pieced squares, and the whole deal will be sewn together into a sort of fabric book.

I have an image of what that final product will look like, right here in my mind's eye. Its gorgeous. Now I just have to make the physical reality match. Here's to lots of tiny little stitches!!!

Coming into focus...

It seems with artistic projects, I always take some time to settle in, to figure out exactly what I want to say or show; sort of as if the materials work *with* me to a finished piece, rather than my imposing an idea onto them. It is the same with this writing, it started pretty scattered, as I jumbled the bits of my everyday life together into photographs and narration that amused me, but I think I am starting to have direction - a focus - and that it, for now at least, this project and my increasing interest in craft and gender. I will probably digress somewhat at times, but really, as I get more into these subjects, they seem to relate to prety much every other aspect of my life as well, so it works out.

And so, in keeping with my newfound focus, here is a visual of what I am up to:



The combination of traditional and modern tickles me, although of course it is totally nothing new.

on a quilt piecing rampage!

I have been having a blast trying out several quilt piecing patterns. The hexagons originated as an excuse for watching The Wire while keeping myself believing that work was getting done, but I became quite fond of the handsewing and now I am attempting another hand-pieced geometric pattern.

An abundance of goodness!

So much fabric! So many colors! So many patterns!







We finally dug ourselves out of the snow and made a foray into the world... Almost a week after the storm, and everything is still a bit out of whack; those huge snowdrifts on the sides of the road make traffic just that much crazier. But we made it to the fabric store without incident and I loaded up on colorful fabrics. Now I can stitch away to my heart's delight! I just need some good ideas for patterns!

And then there were four...

Sad days in the fish tank. Two of the little babies have disappeared.

One, I discovered on coming home yesterday, got caught in a vent of the tube to the filter. Another just disappeared. As much as I didn't really want more fish, having them die was hardly the solution to the dilemma. I am being extra watchful now, although the care and nurturing of itty-bitty fishy babies are not things in which I have any experience.

On a happier note, I was able to take a whole evening away from much more important work to make these little address books:



The blank books were discovered while searching through a pile of decorative paper on my shelf. The covers are not fancy, and did not exactly call for advanced skills in papercraft, but they allowed me to relax and finish The Scarlet Pimpernel, and to ready myself for another week of insane last-semester craziness. THey did their duty and I am thankful. What's more, I have a nice little stack of miniature contact booklets!

This next piece is not related to anything in any way, except that I had not yet taken a photo of it. I am including it only because it holds a special place in my heart.



My second-ever crocheted rag rug!

So very comfy on the feet and quite satisfying to create. More are most definitely in my future, as signified by the thrifted sheets lying in wait around the house, ready to be ripped and wound. This rug was inspired by one made by my grandmother, which I somehow managed to sneak into my boxes when I moved away from home. The original is now at the end of my bed, and I think fondly of "Nini" whenever I feel its cottony-goodness under my toes.

Catching up my correspondence

This week, in addition to work at setting up the new gallery space, and starting the new semester, and dealing with the onslaught of winter - or perhaps because of all these - I decided my priority would be to catch up on my correspondence. Some friends and I have been postcarding back and forth, and I have developed a fondness for making my cards myself.

There is something very satifying about postcard making. The size is pretty much set, so that decision is out of the way. But on that small rectangle, the possibilities are endless! First, I was into using old photographs (a great use for pictures that don't come out!). Then I tried sewing on the cardstock and had great luck using folded paper for a sort of bias tape edge effect.

And then wonderful things happened. I got a vintage book of salad recipes; some mundane, some bizzarre, all wonderful, except that I knew they were unlikely ever to be used. So the book was cut to pieces, and the recipes were sewn or glued to cardstock to make recipe postcards! Now I am all excited about sewing paper and using vintage books or magazines for images or text. Its all great fun. I began to make some greeting cards as well, because they can be more delicate than postcards that must withstand unprotected travels.

But this time, I made only postcards, and each was created with its individual recipient in mind. They are now addressed and waiting to head out.


results
Originally uploaded by littleloopy.

Fabric obsessions

I really love fabric. I love to just be around fabric. It is actually somewhat detrimental to my sewing record, as I often get so involved in just enjoying the cloth that I lose interest in actually making something of it. That said, I also am becoming more and more interested in not accumulating too much extra stuff, and so I try to hold myself to strict rules about only buying what I need, and having an honest purpose for each yardage.

These inhibitions were thrown aside over the Holidays when I found out that my favorite fabric store is closing. The store is a clearance branch of Fabricland, stuck in the back-door basement of a strip-mall and literally overflowing with $2.00-$3.00 fabric tables and nearly anything else I could want. Of course, the store is in suburban Toronto, and I no longer live there, but it was always a destination when visiting and I will miss its presence from a distance.

The closing sales, and the prospect of never having another chance, filled my basket in no time with all sorts of exciting remnants and more. I told myself they would all become bags to be sold, or part of a quilting project, and perhaps they will. But I am a master of justification and I was in full swing. Oscar Wilde once said that "the only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it," and I do believe the man had a point.

A New little friend

This evening was spent in the creation of a wee new lady,



who will soon be mailed off as a thank you for the fantastic cookies I received yesterday from a friend...



Its been a while since I really got into a project. I dreamt the holidays away, far removed from my cozy little crafting corner, and had a whole slew of ventures ready to jump into upon returning. The past week, however, I seem to be suffering from a crafting variation of writer's block. Maybe just because there was so much I wanted to do, I haven't been able to start a thing. This evening was a breakthrough though, and with luck the ennui will not return.

"Ennui" is my favorite word right now. As I work, I have been listening to "The Scarlet Pimpernell," by Baroness Orczy, on cd. It is a romance of political intrigue during the French Revolution, very dashing and exciting and full of French accents. I speak absolutely no French, but I wish dreadfully that I did and so I repeat "ennui" to myself in a throaty whisper and make believe I am in Paris.