Design Wall Monday

photo used for subject

After many months, I think I'm back in the swing of working on my pieces. Today I have a mock-up of my Common Grackle. This little guy will be changed a bit as once I take photos of pieces, I can really step back (sort of) and see what doesn't look right to me.

mock up with swamp/marsh fabrics I dyed the other day

I realized this morning that I now have three pieces that I have in line waiting for me to work on and my working time has been limited. Got to fix that!

I found this piece the other day looking through some older pieces I have. It's one of the last pieces I made BA or before accident. As you can see, it is very geometric and I had started hand quilting it - there is even a little left over blood on it where I pricked my finger!


See what others are doing at   http://www.patchworktimes.com/

Dyeing on Black Friday

That title sounds morose. BUT, I got this idea to start another bird depiction and need some brown/tanish background fabric. So I decided to do a tiny bit of dyeing. Instead of getting all the usual stuff out, I just wet the fabric and sprinkled the dye colors on.I then added soda ash water on top of it and now it sits stewing. I'll probably rinse it out tonight or tomorrow and then, hopefully it will be the colors I imagined.

Thanksgiving- everything tasted fabulous and there were happy people that we all spent good times with. Can you ask for more? Nah.

New Stuff!!!

Got my Gelli printing plate, now I just need to feel like doing something :) Still have that crappy cough and going to the dr tomorrow.I plan on printing the scarves I had at the show - I just ran out of time, as usual.

 Tonight is the Opening of the Exhibit and Facilities at the new League of NH Craftsmen's headquarters. We've been working up to this for a while and now the DAY is here. I will be there for a while, but not as long as I first thought. I'll leave when I start to feel numb.

So, back to talking about dyeing stuff. I am going to get some good clamps soon. I have been relying on cord and rubber bands, but would like something that will do a flatter fold.

While I was getting my plate from Pro Chem, I also got some fabric paint thinner medium, more Propasol and two new green dyes. My favorite green came out bronze last time I used it and poop to it!
I do see me starting some more silk vessels and experimenting with shapes. They look quite good with a flickering fake candle in them. One of the ways I enjoyed doing the scarf dyeing is to just sprinkle it on the soda soaked scarves - made a neat random "cosmos." That's the same way I do the vessels too.
I also need to make some more greens for backgrounds

I started some marsh marigolds during the show and am working on that while I sit around. Now that my hand works :) What a difference too!

No dyeing yet

I started to wrap, fold, spindle, mutilate silk scarves ala shibori, but my thumb gave out and I have to do this a bit slower than I want to. I got one tied, and one half tied with 7 more to go, but some will be folded as well, so that isn't hard to do.
The problem with dyeing is that there are SO MANY wonderful colors and so little fabric! I am going to do some ice dyeing with this batch too.

Back to finishing up the squares and sticks handbag..............  what a good girl  :P

Handbags and Hatboxes and Stiff Neck - Oh My!

Yesterday morning, stiff neck ignored (bad idea, by the way) I sent off my Bohemian Waxwing to NY for the exhibit. That is a milestone for me - never sent any of my work away except to the jewelry publisher - but that doesn't count. This is for a real genuine exhibit and I hope I sell it too!

I finished my hatbox I was working on for my red feather hat I had made for the wedding. Now it has a home.







I have also been working on another handbag which is my own design - I call it Squares and Sticks. It is in a fairly vibrant color scheme. I will do the next one in the orangy/greeny/browny colors of the squares and sticks - 'cause I like it. This bag is smaller than the others I have been making. I was getting the feeling that I had been making suitcases (LOL!) not really, but being a small person, I usually like smaller sized/scaled things, so here you have it.

I also have a black and tan/gold one, a multi-color one, another purple one, brown and teal and blue. I don't think I have enough time though.

Today I plan on getting out some silk scarves and dyeing them. We will see how the dye fairies think of me being so absent :)

Back to dyeing scarves

Today I decided it was TIME. So, I got out my stuff and did some painting on silk scarves, kind of. I did use the alginate and like how it works too. Nice thick dyes that you can do stuff with.

This one I will overdye with some color............no idea right now what color, but suggestions are fine by me :)

I also did a sprinkle thing with dye powder.

What you see here are long skinny photos - that's the best I can do this morning. Being short doesn't help when you have something long and thin to photograph  :)

Thread and how it reproduces?

I got a load of thread yesterday in the mail. NICE! I am very happy and just need to use it and test it to see the quality - or not quality that is to be determined. Actually it woulld be more like does it work of me or not?

One is Egyptian Cotton, one is Polyester and then I got a sample spool of Trilobal Polyester. Colors? I got blues and greens and imagined I got purples, but that was just my imagination.

Today I will be staying in again - too humid for me - and trying to finish up my second purple bag. I started this one a couple of weeks ago and kept putting it aside to do something more interesting :)   Like buy thread.

We have two fun things coming up in the next few weeks here. The League of NH Craftsmen's Fair at Sunapee, NH and the Mancuso Quilt Show in Manchester, NH. I plan on going to both.
Actually can't wait, but will have to as that is how time goes.

I have become addicted to two tv shows on BBC America. Top Gear and Chef Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares. Top Gear, BBC, is just interesting and funny (Top Gear America is just boring) I like that English humor rather than the old boy stuff.
Chef Ramsey.........well, there is a certain fascination with how some restaurants are run that interests me. Now, I try not to think about it when I eat out. AND, I do like cooking shows, so it sort of clicks. Better than watching Say Yes to the Dress.

I am still limited on what I can do with my hand. I started making some silk flower corsages. Those are fun, but tire my hand muscles out fast, so those are slow.

The call of the dye is in the air though.

Still goofing around.....

I'm looking around my work room/studio this morning and for someone who can't do much, this place is a mess! Small piles of cut fabrics here, batting over there and  a pile of feathers to make a fascinator over there. We'll see how that goes, I need two hands to do something like that. Maybe hot glue..............how gross! I prefer sewing, please, but may be forced into using hot glue.The wedding is two weeks away, maybe I will be able to handle a needle by then.

I have an appointment to have my work juried into a local gallery and will be going there today after PT.

First dye job of the year!

I have a couple of small pieces that I needed to be a nice dark bright yellow. So, I added just a teeny pinch of two other colors to it, thinking it would make this shade - WRONG! Instead I got a deep yellow orange, which is nice, but not what I wanted. Guess I have to do this again. :)

Some progress is good

Yesterday I found out I can type with TWO hands. Much more efficient.

I've been looking for a good sun hat, as I have gone back to the garden. Ok, so it has been neglected for 5 - 7 years and it is a mess. My problem is where to start.
I have this huge patch of vinca growing in my garden by the side of the house and it is choaking out everything.............that's probably where I will start. I know people pay to put this in their yards, but it grows like a weed here and is very invasive.

Still trying to NOT think about having fun with fabrics................ as my new sewing machine sits over there getting lonely, I'm sure.
Working my way to being able to take photos (of anything)  :)

Going through stuff

I am quickly finding out that I don't have much I can do. Yes, feeling sorry for myself too. BUT, I wondering if drawing would be therapeutic and will try it - I just need someone to get my drawing stuff out for me. :(   Later this morning.

I found out that the splint and I will be friends for a few months..............not weeks like I initially thought.
So far, I have been writing my stuff out with one hand and then erasing all the whining. I have always found that process to help me see how truly annoying I can be :)

Today is supposed to be super hot and humid - just yucky weather. I will go out later and water the new bushes we put in last week - it's got a soaker hose, so I don't have to move anything, just turn it on.
I have been working on my groups postcard mailing list for our show in the fall. I have been in minimal contact with artist friends - where is everyone?
Enough said.

Doing everything possible! The BIG WHINE!

I'm doing everything possible a one handed person could do, but my "art" keeps calling me. I have all my 7 small canvasses done. I'm thinking about trying to actually dye a silk vessel. That's probably crazy, but when it comes down to a perfectly neat desk and studio area, all bills paid, checkbook balanced, odious healthcare account pay back submitted.................

Gardening? I have one hand, and it just is too awkward. Can't drive yet either. All I get for mail are advertisements............look friends, I'm recovering from hand, not brain surgery! It's ok to write :0)

That's probably all most people can take..............sorry for the rant.

Wasting time :)

Just hanging around waiting to go to surgery. It's 6:36 and I will be leaving soon. (I hope the pants in the dryer are done by then)

I pulled out a few canvasses (sp?)  to do the painting of the raw wood. My right hand can still paint, but probably won't get to that for a few days. Easier to pull them now, rather than with one hand. The boxes are stacked and pretty heavy.

I changed some colors on the blog and used one of my parfait fabrics for the background. I don't know about you, but I get bored looking at he same thing/color all the time.

Am I done yet? Is this over yet? - me, nervous? .........sort of.
I'll check in soon.