every-single-day

The Dragons' Lair...

This was a week of packages!
A few weeks back I traded a teddy bear for yarn and BOY did Abby do well by me! She even sent a wonderful little felted purse, I am enamoured by it! She went all out! Candy, beads, soap, toys and a book! The English Patient, which I have never read.
Deb, over at More Whiffs, Glimmers & Left Oeuvres:: sent some Warn (I mean warm, I just keep typing warn) and Natural batting for me to try out.

And Kristine Mays....

sent me these "little pieces of nothingness", (her words) for me to use in rusting fabrics. I want to... I really do... but Kristine's work amazes me.
It is the kind of thing that makes me pause and wonder why she ever stopped to wonder how she could sculpt with little bits of wire. I wonder if she has cut up and beaten hands and if they hurt after she completes a piece.
I will use them to rust up some cloth because that is the spirit in which they were given, but I am going to enjoy them too.

New and Improved!

I have given my blog and up-doo, what do you think? She was looking a bit scruffy, no?

This is the latest small piece. A birthday gift to JJ. I felt a bit protective of this piece. I could have stood to own it a bit more before giving it away. But as My Man said, "Don't worry, they are all yours, even if they are going to all corners of the globe." And anyway, JJ deserves art for her walls and a dab of Melly love to boot.
JJ and I went to Northampton to celebrate her birthday this weekend. We saw Pamela Means, an awesome folk/jazz guitarist and song writer. She opened for Ann Heaton.
We stayed over night, ate lots, shopped. It was a good time!

We found this awesome fabric store, I wish I had one like it close to me. I will go again, next time I am up there. The selection was awesome, the books and magazines were out of the ordinary. They even had some beautiful rayon velvets!
In true hammy fashion I picked up my issue of Quilting Arts and bragged publicly to all in the store. I had my 15 minutes of fame! Was asked to sign some copies, even!

Then I came home to the book that Emma at Strange Little Girl made for me. I couldn't be happier.

Movin' On Up!

The table was christened yesterday! Because I am so enamoured with (or perhaps addicted to) the owl cam, I painted this owl from memory. It needs some magical pattering to the left and above the owl. When it is complete, I will post a proper picture.
All I really care about is that fact that I am enabling a fantastic space to foster and encourage the creation of beautiful journal pages.
My man gave me some cash this weekend and told me it was present money!
With all of my studio improvements, I would like to continue my organizational quest. I am pricing out shelves, bins and the like.
Check out JuJu Loves Polkadots painting space.
I want to see more spaces.

I Caught the Fever

A long while ago Mary Beth Bellah got it in my mind that I needed an antique iron, one that had no steam holes and got very hot.
Last week I went to Rayna Gillman's web site and saw this post. Then caught the bug.

So this iron will be coming my way very soon. I found it on Ebay.

I asked the seller if the cord was in perfect order and she said yes.

I really hope it is. It really is an American Beauty, don't you think? Then I read this article and saw the Silver Streak Iron by Pyrex. Now I am not going to get antique iron obsessed, especially not when one of these irons goes for around 550$! Geez! But aren't they purdy?

Thanks for the emails about batting! I will purchase some within the next few days!

Rust Patties

Last week I posted about my rusted fabric.
Today I wanted to show you my "rust patties". I found them on a construction site. They had been cut out of some Ibeams. I collected 9 of them.
To rust the cloth: I bunched it up, put it in a plastic bucket, placed tha patties on top and poured straight white vinegar over the whole deal and covered it. I may have waited a week for it to stew.
Sophie over art Artstitches may have influenced my rusty endeavors, but it may have been Liz at Dreaming Spirals too! I don't know. But I feel the need to credit all you good people out there.

In April I am going to participate in this:

Click the image to be directed to the site.
Does it count if I purchase a box of quilt batting this month? I have none and know I will be embarking on a major project soon. Is this cheating?

Cathy Kleeman of fiberstudio suggests Warm and Natural cotton batt. I want to purchase cotton batt. If anyone has any opinions I would love to read about them.

The helpme Stool

I reupholstered the stool! I love it!
The old incarnation of the stool had the words, "helpme" written on the seat cover. JJ studiously removed it to the best of her ability. It just looked like a smudge to me. But because this stool was given a new home and renewed life, I figured it needed to be recovered too!
Horray!
JJ's Man found this by the side of the road, I love dumpster diving! Thanks to people like JJ and her Man, I have a new stool and the world has less junk in the land fill!

My Creativity Pimp

Everyone should have thier own personal Creativity Pimp. I have one but beside telling you that she is female and named JJ (an alias), I will give out no further information. Lest you search her out and see if you have what it takes to make her your pimp.
Nope! That is not going to happen.

JJ came to my house today and made this table for my studio! It fits perfectly into the dormer area of my sewing room.

I was given the legs by another haunt of this blog. I took the table legs almost 4 years ago and they sat in my garage waiting for a genius with the right tools to be able to cut it down and top it off.

And a week ago when I mentioned wanting a table and having legs? Who would have thought that when JJ came to put the table together that she would bring a stool too? My next quick and fun project will be to reupholster this little baby!

This area is going to be my painting and journaling area. I need some more organizational impliments... But this will need to be on the cheap!
Now waht I really want to know is, How do other fiber artists store thier finished works (beside rolling them and dumping them under thier work tables, that is). This girl really needs advice on this aspect of the studio.

**********************************

A new addiction? Go ahead and click it! You will be jones'in for more too.

Pimps and Pusher Mans! That is where my head is at today!
God damn the pusher man.

I am the luckiest woman in the world! Thank you JJ!

Go ahead and Whistle...

These are a few of my Favorite things...
Are you whistling?
I wish I could remember who spoke about rust dyeing and using vinegar on thier blog recently. When I read her blog I ran to the back yard, where I had some fabric under pieces of rusting metal and gathered them up. They had been back there through 20 inches(!) of snow for weeks on end. Hardly any rust.
I went to my dye studio, placed the whole deal in a plastic bucket, poured the vinegar and not even a week later...
This is what I got.
The piece in this photo is just a fat quarter. You know that I have well over a yard steeping down there right now.
Yum.

On a musical note, I am listening to:
Andrew Bird, a professional whistler (it must be a theme today) and violinist. He makes folk music like nobody's bidnez.
Tropicalia a group of Brazilian musicians that know thier stuff! I think this will be my spring anthem album. I am going to have to purchase some more music by Gal Costa!
Fiona Apple, need I say more?
Califone is also a new favorite. I found him/them by going over to Sam Beam's web site

"Just say cheese Gromit!"

First Off! Happy Birthday JJ!

On her birthday, the illustrious JJ came to my home and installed this stained glass window that she made! This will have two homes, one mounting resides in my upstairs bathroom, the other in my meditation room. I love it!
It is amazing to have so much color to look at. Today wasn't super sunny in the west, so I look forward to the day that I get a full sunny glimpse at this piece of happy making.

I know this is a (supposedly) "artsy photo" but I like it.
I will show more photos later in the week when I have made even more progress. For now, I need to get my butt in gear to pick up my Man and have a happy weekend. We will be having great fun, going into the city, my Man feels he may need a new guitar...
Look!
This will be whizzing my way very soon! I am SOOO happy that I am doing the Wallace (and Grommit) 'cheese grin'.
Other things are in the mail for me too!
AND my Man is gifting me with this! Or something very similar.
See you next week!

Big and Little Steps

Since I quit my job I have been feeling discombobulated. I, happily, have taken on some great jobs and cannot complain about that! The discombobulation and discomfort comes in trying to find a working schedule where each of the things I am working on can have it's own time.
I love these commissioned baby quilts! Thursday and Friday will be given over to completing the tops, basting and quilting. I do not have any weekend plans either so I am sure I will make good headway on this project. Yeah!
I disassembled the basted quilt at the top of this photo up. It had been a trial fun for the overall design and I didn't like it. I changed the design and ripped that quilt up. I will recreate it to match the other three I am working on.

I am in love with this weeks chapter of the Artist's Way.
The Anais Nin Quote on page 156 gave me chills:

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.

I have been seeing an expansion of life, lately. Jobs are coming my way. I am participating in creating opportunities. It is not always comfortable or easy. I have been emotional, fearful and very happy with my progress. I am going to take myself to a coffee shop tonight and complete the exercises in this weeks chapter of the AW.
I love this book and my morning pages!
Off to work!