Playing around

the glue dried

and this is what the piece of fabric looks like after I sprayed it with dark green dye over the glue "drawings"

oh yes, I put salt in the dye spray, but I don't think it got totally disolved because the result has those little "spots" of more intense color

I like that the flowers really show up -- I was actually surprised that it worked so well

I don't like that the flowers are still "stiff" and a little sticky when they are damp

when I do my dark laundry load next week I'm going to toss this into the washer and see what happens --- I'm hoping that will remove the rest of the glue residue without loosing the image

we'll see

I got a very cool envelope in the mail yesterday from my friend in California

we've been working on similar projects, and since I've been sending her pictures of what I've been doing, she sent me some pictures of what she's been doing

got to LOVE this elephant!

on her note she says she cut this rubber stamp out of that nice white rubbery stuff from the craft store -- she must have had one of the really big sheets of it, because the actual print is 6.5 inches tall --- sooooo coooool!!!

I'm hoping to get to make a print or two of this elephant on a shirt I'm working on when I go to California ---- I think he'll go nicely with the giraffes I've been working on, and together they'll be just the thing on a jungle themed shirt

time to get movin'

another balloon

the third balloon for Carried Away

I was concerned that the vertical stripes would be a problem on this one, but they worked out very nicely

So now it's on to the last (and biggest) balloon, which is a checker board pattern --- I hope --- we'll see how stitching that goes







Before I actually draw right on the frame for the Birds in the Mist, I decided a test on some scrap lumber was a good idea

What I learned is this: some colored pencils will take being coated with a sealer and some will not

Most of the blue and gray tones I tried did just fine, but the browns and rusts just disappeared --- interesting

So, those cattails were drawn on with a Micron pen after the sealer was dry

I think that will work

So now it's on to the frame itself!




When I was talking to a friend we were discussing an idea that we saw in that wonderful Complex Cloth book.

In the section about resists, it suggests using Elmer school gel glue as a resist

So, yesterday I decided to experiment

I used the bottle of gel glue to draw freehand right on the cloth

You can see the designs here as pale blue against the white (this picture was taken after the glue was all dry)

Next I'll be getting out the spray bottle and spraying some sort of color over it, then we'll see what happens.

Today I have a doctor's appointment, but she did call me yesterday to tell me the biopsy report came back all clean. I will still be having surgery in July, but there is no cancer. I am very grateful for that.

Time to get rolling!

Mittnz #5

and another pair complete!

usually I make one entire mitten then the other, including the thumbs, but on this pair I knew I was really close on having enough yarn, so I knit the hands of both first

hence the contrasting thumbs!

so now it's on to pair #6

Carried Away

at long last, the promised pictures of the progress on the balloons

In the pictures these two look like they are the same size --- but if you look closely at the size of the individual beads, you'll see that the yellow one is actually smaller

(Ok, not a lot smaller, but smaller!)

Yesterday afternoon I started working on the next one which is a sort of pastel rainbow vertical stripe, and it's coming along nicely

Meantime, the DH is working on the back ground piece

So before too long I'll actually have to figure out the whole "how do I actually suspend these inside the frame" issue --- which should be interesting

Recognize these?

Aside from carrying the color out onto the frame from the beaded Birds in the Mist, I wanted to add something on the frame that takes the picture even further

I think something like these will do that job nicely

Yesterday the DH brought in a piece of scrap wood that I coated with gesso so I can experiment with how I will paint on the frame --- or draw on the frame --- I'm going to try colored pencils and markers and maybe even paint (though I'm not near as good with a brush as I am with a needle!)

Onward!

actual progress

I finished the bead work on Birds in the Mist

In this picture the beadwork (which has not yet been sealed or trimmed) is laying on the table with the frame I picked out to put it in

The idea is to carry the design of the beadwork right out onto the frame with paint or markers or colored pencils or something (I'm still working on that part)

It looks pretty neat --- even though I had to really scrounge to get enough of those dark blue beads to finish it up --- it took more of those than I realized it would to make the drastic change in the shape

So now I can spend some time doing some drawings to determine what I want to do on the frame


You may recall seeing that drawing on the left back when I originally did it.

I liked the little nibbling giraffe so well that I decided to try to cut a rubber stamp of it

There on the right at the bottom is the stamp that I cut --- at the top is what the image looks like when I stamp it

I'm really pleased with how this stamp came out, and I am seriously considering using it to stamp along both sides of the button band on a shirt I've been thinking about altering --

No, I'm not all that smart either that I could just draw the head on the rubber material and start cutting to get it right --- I used some software on my computer to take the scanned drawing and print it like a negative so I could remember which parts should be cut away and which parts needed to stay.

I like it a lot!

Work on the beaded balloon piece is also progressing --- my daughter has given it the title "Carried Away", which I really like. The DH is working on painting the plastic panel which will be in the back of the frame with transparent colors, and it's looking really good. Two of the four balloons (and their baskets) have been beaded --- ok, one of these days I'll remember to bring those to the computer and put them in the scanner so I can show you what they look like! Today I will start on the third balloon ---

If you've been reading here for a while you may recall these two pieces that I did early in the spring.

I had entered them in a competition sponsored by Fire Mountain Gems (a supplier that I use almost exclusively for many of my seed bead projects).

I knew that the acceptance date on the first round of the competition was May 30, but I figured the notifications would be email, and when I didn't hear anything for the first couple of days in June I just figured it was the usual stuff. (And frankly, I've been sort of caught up in the health issues this week and just wasn't thinking about it much.)

So I was totally stunned to reach in the mail box yesterday afternoon and find this letter from Fire Mountain telling me that not one, but both of my pieces had been accepted through the first round of the contest.

Now I have a questionaire to fill in about my work and each of the specific pieces and the pieces themselves go off to Oregon to be considered for the second level of the competition.

Uh, I'm still in shock! Being pretty used to "throwing stuff against the wall" and having it just rain back on me, when something finally "stuck" I'm not exactly sure how to react.

Wow!

Anyway, in the next couple of days the DH will bring in the cases so I can retrieve the pieces and I'll be working on the questionaire.

unbelievable!!

Mittnz #4

One thing I can do while still groggy from pain meds is knit a pattern that I've done many times before

So, in the last two days, another pair of mittens for the great Mittnz 09 challenge

ok, only 5 pair to go!!

and now perhaps a return to what resembles normal for a few weeks anyway

Mittnz #3

here they are, all complete

the third pair of mittnz for this year's challenge

so now it's on to the next pair (same size, different color)

mittens and doodles

another mitten all done!

This is mitten number 1 in pair number 3

the first knitting I have done on bamboo needles --- they are so light, so smooth, so easy to work with ---- very nice

so, on to the other half of the pair!





and here are some doodle critters that I did while I was hanging around in waiting rooms for medical stuff this past week

not bad, not bad

my favorite is the giraffe leaning down to eat grass

Final pieces, sticky stuff and a "freebie"

Ok, these don't look like much, but they are the last pieces I needed to create before the great "put together the giraffe" work

These are eyelids (trust me here!)

So now I can sit at the table and put all the pieces together

Pretty exciting!!

Pictures of the process and the finished project to follow


mmmmmm, more jam!

This is the time of year when the berries are in season and the grocery stores here put them on sale at really good prices

This is Bumble Berry jam

Part raspberry, part black berry, part strawberry

all absolutely yummy

Oh, and that little dish there? There was just a bit left over when we filled the jars --- can you tell I've been dipping crackers in it (shhhhh, don't tell!)




This is my victory over the grocery bill for the week

Now that Kraft has taken the MSG out of most of it's salad dressings, I watch for the coupons in any publication that has coupons, and I watch for the grocery store to put the stuff on a sale (which they do really often.

Yesterday we were in Walmart to pick up 50 feet of plastic fencing (I need to keep the labrador out of my garden!), so we decided to walk around and pick up a few other things we needed.

They had a big display of the salad dressing priced at $1.33 per bottle. I had a coupon for $1.50 off the price of a bottle.

Yes folks, Walmart paid me $0.17 to carry this out of their store

Victory is sweet (or it's light italian in this case)


In case you're wondering, yes, I'm still working on the bead pieces. But for as delighted as I was to get the letter telling me I'd finally been juried into the show in St Joe's the end of August, I am equally unhappy at this point as I'm not going to get to do the show ---- I get to have major surgery this summer instead.

{sigh!} ok, everyone tells me I'll feel a lot better afterwards and next summer will be just great, but I'm bummed none the less

Anyway, I'll get to those beaded pieces, and I'll post pictures when I do

time to get busy

more giraffe

the horns for the "little" critter are done

these are also crocheted

now it's on to the eyelids, then I can spend a day putting him all together

exciting!



Work continues on the beaded balloons and the birds in the mist

Hopefully I get something done today between the medical appointments and the needed shopping trip

giraffe ears and bookcases

no, I didn't finish the giraffe and just forget to tell you all about it

I've sort of been working on other things (what a surprise -- NOT!)

Anyway, these are the ears

I needed to create something that would curve and come to a point but not require turning and using a wire

So although the giraffe is knitted, the ears are crocheted

Now it's on to the horns and eyelids (yes, I said eyelids!)

And this is now in the living room!

The bookcase that the DH designed and built to match the bench (remember the bench?) , all to go with my loom.

The bookcase has a "wicked" history of it's own, being that it was the piece he was working on when he had the close encounter with the rip blade of the circular saw (which is healing up very nicely, thanks)

So now what I really need to do is move some things around so I can actually put things away in the bookcase, then repair the loom and get it warped up.

{sigh!} so many projects, so little time!!

Tulip in Etsy Shop!

Tulip is now available in my Etsy shop.

You can check her out here !

Thanks for looking!!

another finished object and a progress report

Ta Da!

The second pair of mittnz complete!!

That makes 2 pair in this size, so the next size will be bigger.

Now that I have that pair of size 4 needles I can do any size I want from this pattern, and since I basically have the pattern memorized, I'm not likely to change patterns!

only 14 more mittnz to knit!

Worked on both the beaded birds and the balloons yesterday --- looking good

A while back (ok, three years ago!) I had an idea to do a beaded piece of a street in downtown Atchison, KS. At the time I wanted to try to make it into something that could be worn. I've decided to revisit the idea, but as individual buildings that will be in small frames. I'm pretty excited about the possibilities.

So, today (being as it's Monday) I'm doing laundry and hopefully working on more beadwork!

Puttering about

This is what happens when the grocery store puts fruit on sale for $1.00 a basket

We bought 10 baskets --- ate one right away on cereal (mmmmmm, fresh raspberries on cereal)

Two baskets went into the freezer to be used to make this yummy cake that the DH came up with

And 6 baskets got made into jam

Ah, the lovely "ping!" sound the jar lids make as they are sealing themselves

Pretty, pretty raspberry jam --- like a mouth full of sunshine on top of the slice of toast

yummy!!

Remember I said there were issues to be dealt with in our set up?

Well, our local fabric store was having a sale for the Memorial Day weekend, so we went to take a look

Those baskets are a sort of corn husky outside, and we plan to paint them a silver gray and use them for carded pins or earrings in our booth.

The fabric is an upholstery fabric they had on sale. It has a lovely stone on blue grey pattern on one side with the reverse side being --- well, reversed!

The plan is to make up some display pieces for the beaded jewelry using this fabric.

Oh yes, that picture frame was in the garage --- we've been hauling it around for a while. We plan to paint it the same color as the baskets and put a padded covered panel inside that we can pin a beaded piece to for display.

And, I started reworking this piece yesterday

This was the very first bead embroidery piece that I designed, and originally it was made up as a necklace.

About a year and a half ago I decided it would work better in a frame, but I just hadn't done anything about it.

During Friday's trip to the craft store, I found an oval wood frame that I think will be perfect.

So, now I'm reworking this piece to fit

(Nothing like actually getting into a show to get me motivated to work on stuff!!)

The DH filled the little problem in the frame (hey, when you get a frame for $1.00, you expect to do some work!), so now it's ready for me to start painting

Onward!

New projects and good news

I made a trip to the craft store yesterday.

We were looking for the plastic cleaner solution for the balloon project.

They evidently don't make it anymore (we last used it about 8 years ago!), and we decided that we could use alcohol to clean it instead.

But since we were in the craft store, we decided to take a walk down the "clearance" row ---- and lookie here!! Five new styles of birdhouses!

So while I'm working on repairing the one that got damaged last weekend, I'll also be working on these.

I especially like the windmill one -- and yes, that really does turn!!

Guess I'll be doing a bit of research to figure out five new birds too --- well, only four --- the barn needs an owl, so that one is already decided.

So now we start in on the wood works --- removing the little rods that are on the fronts and installing something actually long enough to perch the bird on, sanding all the surfaces, putting on the primer coats, figuring out color schemes --- cool!

I also got wire to start making the beaded flowers for the flower pots. And a pair of size 4 straight bamboo knitting needles. And a wood frame with an oval opening for a beaded piece I'm reworking. Your basic eclectic shopping basket at the craft store.


And after having been to the craft store and bought the birdhouses, which at the time I had no real idea where I would even take them when I finished them, the mail man brought this envelope.

I knew from the feel of the envelope that it was an acceptance letter, but I tried not to get too excited --- after all, I had applied to this show last year and been accepted, except they had put me in the "crafter" area, which is NOT where I wanted to be.

Was it the magic words "Mixed Media" on my application that did it this year? Was it a different jury panel? Is it just finally my turn?

Who cares --- the letter is from The Fine Arts Chairman! We got in!!!

This means I need to get more pieces done and figure out the display issues --- and I have until the end of August to do so as the show is August 21 through 23 in St. Joseph, MO.

Ok, I'm still doing a little virtual happy dance --- and thinking about what I'm doing next.

A really BIG finished object

After working on this for months in bits and pieces I'm delighted to say that it is FINISHED!!

This began as a project to follow along with a pattern that had started over at Mason Dixon Knitting, but it just took on a life of it's own.

First of all, I can tell you that absolutely NOTHING was purchased to create this loveliness. In fact, about 90% of the yarns I used were recycled from a sweater of my daugher's and a sweater of the DH that had ceased to be useful clothing and I decided to "un-knit" and use the yarn for something else.

There is something very "Gee's Bend" about this. Little odd shapped pieces, an interesting spatter of different colors all tied together with the gray (which was the duster style sweater of my daughter's, which she wore all through college).

When I started this project, I wasn't at all sure what I would do with it, but I have since decided that it will be a perfect Christmas gift for my friend in California who has been fascinated with the Gee's Bend ladies ever since we first heard about them.

So, one more Christmas present done!!

Remember the balloon drawings from yesterday?

Well, here are the graphs, all ready for me to start in with creating each of the balloons.

We were in the hardware store yesterday and picked up a piece of plexiglass that is big enough that the DH can experiment with the painting on the back without worry of ruining the only piece available. We still need to pick up some other materials -- like the bottle of conditioning coat (sort of like the clear undercoat in a manicure) that goes on the plastic before the paint.

We're moving along!!

I was also in Walmart yesterday --- our once a month journey for those things that are absolutely the least expensive in that location.

Magazines are one of the things I buy there, and this time there were two that I couldn't pass up.

The beading magazine is full of techniques that I want to experiment with, and pictures from the latest bead competition winners.

The Quilting Arts will be a month's worth of reading and probably the source of some inspiration --- possibly for some projects when we go to California to "hob nob with other wizards" in June.

I already have a full page in my spiral notebook jotted down for online searching, and I've barely started to read the articles!

yummy!!

Ok, so it's time to get busy

Good Things in Small Packages

If you are a long time reader, you may remember my talking about creating this little quilt for a magazine's challenge. It wasn't accepted for publication and it came home to me.

Since then it has been sitting in it's little baggie on the top of my desk.

This week it's going off in the mail as a donation to the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. I hope it raises some money to help the cause! If you'd like to read more about AAQI, use this link, if you're a quilter, I highly encourage you to get involved!!


Have I mentioned recently that I always seem to have several projects running at once?

Right now I'm just tired of building pieces that are somewhat like production work, and since I don't have another confirmed show for a while, I've decided to work on a piece that I did the first rough sketches for about 2 years ago. (Yes, this is why I make notes and draw rough sketches, otherwise those ideas just evaporate into the ozone!)

This then is the layered drawing that I've just done for the project.

When I do these, I use a piece of heavy drawing paper for the background, then pieces of tracing paper for each "layer" of the design.

The plan is to make 4 beaded balloons that will be suspended inside a shadow box style frame and to replace the solid back of the frame with a piece of plexiglass (that we can paint some things on) that will let the light shine through the piece.

So, now that the layered drawing is complete, it's time to start in on the detailed graphs for each balloon.













It's been hot here the last few days.

So why, you may ask, am I knitting wool mittens?

Well, these will all be donated to a good cause at the end of summer.

There's something good to be said about knitting small things when it's hot --- it's not so big that it's all draped over me making me hotter, for one thing.

I think I'm knitting the warmth of the summer sun into each mitten to keep all those little hands warm through the winter.

I hope it works

The damages report

To any of you that came looking for me late Saturday or Sunday, you have my sincere apologies.

For me at least this show was direct from H*!!

We arrived at 11:00 a.m. on Friday morning to set up and had to wait for half an hour for the person in charge to show up and tell us where to set up.

Here is a picture of our booth.

If it looks like we're sitting in the street, it's because we practically were --- the back edge of the tent was about 3 inches from the edge of the curb.

And the wind! Oh let me tell you, it never stopped.

The whole time we were there I was picking things up after the wind blew them off the table. In the picture on the left hand side you can see that I had two framed pieces up, but I gave up on that after they were blown off too.

This picture shows the damage that was done to one of the pieces. All of the little bunches of glass flowers were knocked off the roof and many of the individual flowers around the base of the birdhouse were also damaged.

I'll have to figure out how to repair or rework this piece.

It's not that I haven't done shows in adverse conditions. We worked through some pretty strong winds in Atchison, KS a few years ago, and when we went to a show in St. Joseph, MO it rained most of the weekend, but in both of those cases I was never worried that a big gust would take my whole tent out into traffic -- literally.

Also in both of those cases the people who were in charge of the show were right on site----

and there were bathrooms available (at this show the porta potties were never unlocked -- we had to go ask a local business to let us use the facilities --- which on Saturday morning meant not until after 11 a.m. when we'd been there since 8:00 a.m.)

oh yes, and at that show people were actually there to look at (and buy) the art

At this show people didn't even know why we were there and one vendor got yelled at by a passing driver because he couldn't see around her tent to make his turn.

{sigh!}

I will be writing a letter to the promoter to explain the issues we had, and I'm really glad this was not an expensive show.

There was an up side to the weekend, however.

A while back I ran across the website of an artist that is doing very cool bead embroidery stuff. When I saw that she was doing this same show, I was pretty excited because it meant I would get to see her work, and hopefully talk with her.

I got to do both.

And what I saw has set me to thinking about a whole new way to display my things. I'll be talking about that whole idea as we move along into creating our new look.

The latest (and last for a while) piece of beach glass complete.

Because of the curve of the sides of this semi-triangular piece of glass, I needed to use something across the back of the glass to pull the sides in.

I didn't realize it would look like a sort of spider web through the glass --- an effect that I really like

Because we don't have another show for a while, I'm not going to be working on these semi-production pieces for a while.

I have several ideas for some bigger, framed pieces that I want to work on, and there are some other jewelry pieces I want to do that are bigger and more complex.




Check out my newest doodle!

As I said, folks weren't at the show to buy --- most just walked by and complained about the sidewalk being blocked --- so I had some time on my hands

I did this little drawing of the giraffe

A while back my mother gave me a white shirt that my dad didn't need any more, and I've been thinking about doing something to "jazz it up" so I can wear it sort of like a jacket at shows.




I think I will begin by putting the bear and bird design I've been using on my business cards on the back of the shirt, then add some of the other animal drawings that I've done -- like this new giraffe

We'll see where that all goes.

Time to get some laundry done, and run a few errands