Snow Bird

The first of the Visioning Project pieces is complete

I like it

and I learn a lot about texture along the way -- which was the whole point

this is a small piece --- 12 inches square --- which means it fits neatly into one of the cool plastic containers they sell now days for the scrapbookers

nice, by the time I've finished I'll probably have a few of those containers full



if I get some time this afternoon, I'll be finishing the chocolate cherry  suite of jewelry --- yippee

but first there is the final painting in a bedroom to be done

Tractors!

I finished this lovely last night

it took almost exactly one month of my late evening scheduled knitting time

(and actually there were several evenings that I didn't get to it)

I think it's adorable --- and I love those metal tractor buttons

just hope Mr Cute likes it too

you may recall that I've been going through things in preparation for some painting and flooring

yesterday I found this piece that I did back in 2002

I'd been looking for this for a while because even though it had been declared "finished" back then, by my new approach it just isn't

so last night I picked out the stitching around the edges which meant the back is now off --- and there was no quilting involved in the piece originally -- which I think it needs

today I hope to get this ready to be quilted in the areas that are not covered with beads

the stamping has begun

I never did locate the roll of freezer paper I had, so I picked up another one at the grocery store so I can just get on with this project

today I will iron the freezer paper over the first stamps and stamp the next layer

fun


of course there is laundry to do and a trip to the drug store, and some work in the house, but I hope to get back into the studio this afternoon

The Project That Can Not Be Named

I know --- it's blurry

not only is it blurry, it's only a little piece of the whole

so why am I showing you this?

because yesterday I finished "the project that can not be named"

the facing is all stitched and the rings have been attached

the deadline for this piece is not until the day before Thanksgiving, but I'm happy to say that it's all finished!

and I promise to show you the real thing after that --- and the rest of the pieces that go with it too


yesterday I signed up to go to the SAQA conference next spring

I'm really delighted that next year's conference is within easy driving distance (we used to do an art show in Albuquerque every spring, and Santa Fe is about an hour closer)

and I'm also thankful to my sister, who has once again been the "supporter of the artist", and sent me the money to register

excited already!!

chugging along

the two little glass pieces have now been attached

and now I've started working on the "chain" that will go around the neck

looking good!


yesterday afternoon I started working on another Christmas project that I can't show you until after Christmas!

and I'm nearly done with the facing on the "project which can not be named"

today's activities will include a trip to get our flu shots, pick up some groceries, mailing a package and a couple of other errands

onward!

in spite of there being a doctor's appointment and a trip for groceries and a guild meeting yesterday, there actually was a little time in the studio too

I hadn't originally planned to cut two stamps, but after I did the first one and tested it out, I decided I needed the "reverse" version too to make a pleasing background for this project

and cutting these fairly simple shapes didn't take very long to do











here is what the two look like when stamped

I did the cutting and glued the stamps to the plastic backing so it can set up before I use them to do the job I have in mind

meantime, I'm turning the house upside down trying to figure out what I did with the roll of freezer paper I have that I need for part of this project -- it makes me NUTS when I misplace something -- especially something that is obviously big enough that I ought to be able to find it --- GRRRRR!



and since I sat and waited in the doctor's office for almost 45 minutes (another giant waste of time!), I did get another afghan square finished

it will be number one in the next box to go out because I've already sealed up the box to mail the last batch




last night was the annual fund raising auction that our quilt guild does to raise funds for programs during the year

this bracelet was one of the pieces that I donated to the auction

and it was fun to watch the bidding -- I was happy to see it go to someone that liked it so well that she put it on as soon as the auctioneer handed it over to her

neat!

lots to do today -- time to get to it

update on the chocolate cherry piece

the edging is done and the big piece of royal ruby glass has been "installed" there in the center with a bezel

I decided that a little transitional piece of additional glass on each side would be a good design feature

so now it's on to creating the "chain"

and I need to decide if this piece needs any kind of fringe

right now I'm thinking it doesn't




the quilting on the white piece has begun --- and I'm liking how it's going

today we again have appointments and errands, and this evening is a quilt guild meeting, so it's going to be a busy day

time to get to it

back to "normal"

or whatever looks like "normal" around here for now

I'm still working on paperwork from the auction, but that is winding down

 which means I'm back to working on some things in the studio --- Hurray!

this piece for instance

this is the first piece for my Visioning project, and it's now ready to be sandwiched and quilted

I'm pretty pleased with it


 I have just finished the quilting on the "project that can not be named"; and will be facing the edges in the next couple of days


remember the "mug shot"?

I decided that I wanted to use that "bean" background

is it coffee? cocoa?

either way, these two stamp pads used with some hand cut stamps should create that nicely

just need to get those stamps cut

of course the traveling meant more afghan squares got knit

these and all of the others I've been working on for a while will be going in the mail this week -- as well as all of those wool hats and the four wool sweaters

nice

today I have some errands to run before I can get back into the studio -- guess it's time to get to them

where I've been

the auction that I've been coordinating is over

on Friday we did all of the packaging, then on Saturday we did the set up in the new space

there are still some odds and ends of paperwork to be completed, but  for the most part this project is done


now it's back to the art work --- especially the ones with deadlines!!

Wait --- I didn't order THAT!!

I woke up this morning to find SNOW on the top of the van

it didn't really stick much of anywhere else, but there it was -- clear evidence that summer is over and we will now start every commitment to travel with the words "weather permitting"

and I admit, I have a love/hate relationship with the weather --- I don't do well in very hot weather, but I don't like really cold weather either

picky, picky, picky

so today I'll be doing the packaging of the items for the charity auction --- time to get moving!

doing my homework

this is the first official month of the Visioning Project which I will be working on for the next year

the point of this project is to set a goal in some segment of my work as an artist and to work toward it

this year I will be working on my design skills -- beginning with doing the exercises in a book titled Art + Quilt written by Lyric Kinard

for those of us that work with fiber, texture is a big part of the impact of our art

the first fiber assignment is to create a piece that is all white with as many different textures as possible

this involved my digging through all of the tubs of fabric that would not normally be used in quilts to find as many different pieces of white fabric as I could

and now the work has begun -- and yes, I'm taking a step into the abstract with this as well --- totally uncharted territory here, but that's part of the growing part of this too

of course in the meantime work on other things will continue

I started the edge work on the bead piece yesterday, and quilting on the "project which can not be named" is moving right along

last night as I was drifting off to sleep I think I solved my problem with the background print for the Mug Shot piece --- under the "DUH" factor, the key word here is "print" -- I'm going to be cutting a couple of rubber stamps of those over sized coffee beans and using a couple of pigment ink stamps to create that background --- should be fun!

time for the next step

I finished the beading yesterday and spread the fray check over the back so it can dry

the next step is to trim the edges and put the backing on -- I'll be using some thin plastic to stabilize the piece then the back will be a soft brown suede like I used inside the bracelet




last night I finished knitting the sleeves and started the hood on the "tactor" sweater that I'm making for Mr. Cute

and I'm in the last quarter of the quilting on the "project which can not be named"

 moving right along

studio time

I've been working on this idea for a few days

 now that I have a drawing that I like, I've printed some sheets so I can play with the colored pencils and try some different color combos

 that will be fun










this piece is coming right along --

the top picture is the bead work

the second picture gives you an idea what it will look like when I get that final big red crystal installed

cool




today I have laundry and errands and some other things to do before I can get back to the art


time to get to those

no Cinderella coach here

only pumpkins

and they are pretty muddy pumpkins at that

after the hail storm I went out with my pruning shears and cut them free of that bedraggled vine

they were ready to be picked actually -- I was just letting them stay out there hoping for some cool nights to sweeten them up, but since the leaves are totally destroyed, I decided it was time for them to come into the house

the smaller one will probably continue to turn orange -- that will be interesting to watch

some work on this piece got done again yesterday

this shot was taken without the big pear shaped glass piece sitting in the center

because I want the light to come through that piece from the back, I need to add it after the piece is all beaded and backed

the surface is slowly filling up, and so far I'm pleased with the way it's going

I've been trying to get my studio organized

yesterday I went through all of the bags and the SIX flats of bead "stuff" that has been accumulating as I finish a project and just go on to the next one instead of putting things away as well as the new stuff that has been ordered and not yet used

the table was covered with bottles of beads, plastic bags of stones, and assorted other bits and pieces

I now have only ONE flat full of project bags -- these are items that have either been pulled from inventory for repair or rework as well as some projects that have been planned and/or started but have stalled for some reason --- obviously I need to consider working out of this flat when I finish the current project!

meantime, I still have a lot of tubes of beads on the table that I'm sorting by color so I can actually get them back into the plastic containers they belong in

every now and then this is a necessary exercise and it actually can serve as inspiration to keep me working on things

this is part of my clearing the decks to get ready for The Visioning Project -- which officially begins tomorrow

I haven't yet finished a couple of things that were already in progress and are committed for other projects, but I feel pretty good about being ready to dive into this new work --- we'll see how that all goes

oh HAIL!

apparently our gardening season ended the same way it started

 with hail

yesterday afternoon we had tornado warnings, thunder and about an inch of hail

I'll be going out a little later today and stripping any usable tomatoes and peppers

and these three pumpkins  


this is what the blue spruce looked like from inside the house











and this picture taken about an hour later of the tracks the dog left in the hail on the patio

this morning there is still a pile of hail around the rose bush in the front yard and along the edge of the new brick work

very strange weather for almost October!




the work has begun on the necklace part of the Chocolate Cherry Jewelry Suite

this piece has some open spaces, and I'm trying a new technique to create those

hope it works the way I think it will







the body of the "tactor" sweater for Mr Cute is finished, and last night I started on the sleeves



time to get to work!

more chocolate cherry goodness

like I said -- a pair of earrings for the chocolate cherry suite wouldn't take long

and here they are

simple, clean, elegant and FINISHED!!

now it's on to the necklace






and this is finished too -- okay, this is number 17 of these

are we done yet?

well that depends

I think I have enough of these for the Christmas giving I have planned -- but there is still a lot of the yarn here on hand (even though I appropriated some of it to make that cute little dino toy for Mr Cute)

and they are such great "keeping my hands busy" projects when I'm on the phone

we'll see

 I'm thinking about the background that will go behind that mug sketch from yesterday

the shapes of the coffee beans in this photo are interesting

I'm thinking of doing them really big as a kind of texture behind that mug

there will be some playing with layers of tracing paper here shortly



I spent most of yesterday afternoon working on stuff for the auction, and today, since we got paid yesterday, we have some shopping to do

time to get moving

Mug Shot

no, not THAT kind of mug shot

just a little sketch I did last night

thinking about doing a small piece (8x10) for a magazine challenge

this idea just popped into my head when I read the challenge

why not!


meantime, cleaning and organizing continues --- we hope to be able to put a new floor in our family room at the end of October, which means we need to take everything out of there, so it's a great excuse for donating stuff and just throwing stuff away

onward!

"Tactor"

finished the rows of the sweater that make up the tractor

and now the rest of the sweater should just zoom along

I need to knit about another inch at the bottom edge, then do the ribbing  before it's on to the sleeves and the hood








a little bit of time yesterday was spent working on the next part of the chocolate cherry pieces

 both of these have been backed and the earring posts installed

next step is to put a net around the pear shaped ruby glass and string them together

should have that done in the next couple of days -- I hope

meantime, work on the charity auction project is progressing --- just a few more packages to put together, then create the catalog --- we're in the home stretch

time to get busy

chocolate cherry piece #1

finished!

and I do like the way this looks

now it's on to the next piece in this suite of jewelry

I'm thinking I'll do the earrings next because they'll go really quickly



the quilting has begun on the "project that can not be named" --- moving right along


time to get moving -- laundry is calling

some outdoor work

the DH has been working on this project this week

this is the little shed that sits outside the garage that we use to store things like display equipment and our craft show tent

it is built almost entirely of recycled materials and every so often, we need to repaint it

so this summer we have been haunting the "color mistake" area of the hardware store, scooping up $5 gallons of grey paint so we could do this job before winter weather

 the DH still wants to get a small can of white to put a second coat of paint on the trim, but at least now the surface is protected

 YEAH!!

I finished the beading on the surface of this project yesterday afternoon

because I used the dark felt to stitch on I didn't have to go over the whole piece with the permanent marker and fill any areas that might show

I could get to like this idea!

later today hope to get this backed and finished -- because I'm already starting to think about the next piece in this suite of jewelry


yesterday afternoon's work on the "project that can not be named" went very well --- I hope to get it pressed and get the quilt sandwich made so the quilting can begin

and because I was letting the paint dry on that project, I spent my stitching time last night working on the lap quilt that I put together earlier in the summer --- it's now cool enough in the evenings that I don't mind having a quilt draped over my lap!

soooooo close

the beading is almost done

so close that I'm nearly to the point where I shape it over the metal cuff and start putting in the little groups of beads at the edge

then I can cut out the shape

nice

last night I finished the applique on the "Project that can not be named", which means today there will be experiments with paint --- and that the making of the sandwich for the quilting is very close -- YIPPEE

 the knitting is progressing nicely on the sweater

the cab of the tractor is slowly emerging as I knit each row

this has been a lot of fun (and I'm amazed that so far there has been no major ripping, given that I'm working from a chart that was originally designed to be knit from the bottom up and that this is usually the last project I work on in the evening before I go to sleep)

I'm still deep in the weeds of form preparation for the auction -- I'm hoping to get a lot of that done today

time to get to it

the tailor at work

when I was visiting my daughter she asked me if I could make her a pair of dress pants

she had not been able to find a pair that fit her at a price she could afford

so we made a trip to the fabric store and we did a test run with a cotton fabric (I used an old sheet) to make the adjustments

yesterday I finished the real thing

Ta Da!

I'm thinking I'll be making more of these in the future for her

and I'm considering using the master pattern to make a custom pair for myself --- but I have a couple of projects to finish first!



after some time on the auction work and some more time on cleaning out old "stuff" I got to work on this project some more

I really like the way this is coming together



work continues on the "project that can not be named" -- I've almost finished the sewing the last pieces down which means I'll be moving on to the painting next

today's work will include a trip to the grocery store and the pharmacy, then back to the auction work and the cleaning before I can get back into the studio

not Peter Piper

but there are pickled peppers!

since the chilis in our garden are about the only thing that did well this year, the DH decided to put up some of the jalapenos for future nacho making

the whole house smelled of vinegar and turmeric and hot peppers

lovely





 finished project for my daughter

the finishing work on this piece took a lot less time than the first one did

it's amazing what a difference having good thread makes!


so now the quilting projects shift to more time on the "project which can not be named", and quilting the lap quilt that is ready and waiting

and the trees!







progress on the bead work

slowly working my way around the center "flower"

looking good





this is moving right along nicely too

last night I split the sleeves from the body

and at the next knitting session I should get to where I can start knitting in the tractor

cool



today -- more auction stuff, and more cleaning -- not exciting, but necessary

S L O W L Y

I feel like this is taking forever

I like how it's going, but because I'm working on the auction stuff, and on cleaning out things so we can put down new flooring in our family room

and. and. and

there's just always a million things happening

hope to get back to this later today

this is the first time I've done the first bezel on one piece of backing, then "stacked" it on another backing for more beading

that technique gives the whole thing a lot more dimension, and I can see lots of other places to put it to work

time to get moving -- I need to go have some forms printed for the auction

witchy doin's

finally!

I had been using a spool of black thread that was ANCIENT to do the hand stitching of the binding when I started

and it was not going well

I decided that my time was worth something too, so I bought a new spool of black quilting thread and threw the rest of that old one away!

 (and I admit, that felt really liberating!!!)

the binding on the second one of these is now pinned and ready for stitching -- which I'm sure will take a lot less time

at last, something that is beginning to resemble what the finished piece will look like

yesterday I finished bezeling those pear shaped crystals, then got this all laid out

the original drawing included 4 more pieces of glass (2 more of those ovals and 2 more of the small rounds), but because I'm going to put this on a metal cuff blank, some minor adjustments were needed since these glass pieces don't "bend" and that metal cuff blank is curved where those would have been

 the more I work on this, the better I like it

I'm still chugging along on the charity auction --- getting very anxious to be done with it --- I have lots of other things I want to get on with!

onward

knitting for Mr Cute

I went to the fabric store yesterday because I needed some yellow fabric for "the project that can not be named"

and while I was in there I decided I might as well start looking for buttons for the sweater I started the night before

the plan is to knit a hooded cardigan with a tractor knit into the back

I figured I'd be searching for buttons that I could live with for it right up until I "settled" for something

but no, there on the rack were these lovelies!

they were pricey -- well, we just know that buttons ARE pricey -- but they are SO perfect

so what was anticipated as my biggest challenge for this project is already solved --- how cool is that?!

I'm working on the charity auction stuff --- not so much time in the studio --- but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!