I think this picture is going to be the basis for my next quilt. I have to get moved first though. Watch the Work in Progess page for updates.
Click here to see the original picture on NASA’s astronomy picture of the day.
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I don’t normally post twice in one day but I couldn’t help myself; I just had to share this picture… I wish I could get this comfy.
This is one of my first attempts at original art. I made this piece in 2001 as part of the challenge for our yearly quilt show. I didn’t quite get it done in time to be judged but I like to think that it would have done pretty well… who knows though; some of the judges aren’t real keen on non-tradional quilts. I’m sharing it now because I can’t create anything new at the moment and it is driving me nuts.
We are now home owners. Yeah!!! All of us, cat included, will be real happy when we are finally moved in. Us because we will finally have a nice quiet place to call our own, BT because he will be able to go outside again. We adopted him as a stray several months ago and up until that point he had spent all his time outside. He didn’t mind staying in where it was warm this winter but it has been a bit warmer the last few days and he has a bad case of spring fever…. let me out, let me out, let me out now!
We close on our house next Monday. It seems like a good time to revisit what I want out of life and what I can do to accomplish my goals.
Here is my list so far… I think I will update as I go along this year and see if I am making any progress or not.
1. Practice machine quilting… a lot.
2. Work smart; I saw this somewhere and can really relate to what they were saying. S: specific goals M: measurable goals A: attainable goals R:realistic goals and last but not least T: Time (as in make sure I have the time to get my goals accomplished).
3. Refuse to Fail… This sign currently hangs over the door in our sales department. I think it can be applied to what I want out of life.
My goal in five years is to be a stay-at-home fiber artist. I know that in order to do that I need to really apply myself and make the time to create. Not always easy, but then, what is?
The plan for this year… have a garden, can and freeze as much food as we can, practice my machine quilting and try to get at least one small, original piece of artwork done and sold.
Wish me luck!
I took the time this weekend to ply some yarn. We hope to close on our new house this week and play time has been non-existant for awhile. All of my fabric is packed away… very depressing.
I think the yarn in the top of the picture has to be the ugliest yarn I have ever made. It doesn’t look anything like I thought it would… live and learn I guess. As I was plying it I was getting lots of ideas for new yarn… pretty yarn… not ugly stuff.
I had a little time to play with the spindle this weekend in between football and packing. I have had some red, white, and blue superwash in my second etsy shop for awhile and really liked how it looked. I dyed it several years ago while we were still living in Hawaii.
It looks totally different on the spindle…
Before…
Red, White, and Blue Superwash
and after…
Red, White, and Blue Superwash
I am really enjoying adding little bits of different colors here and there as I spin it. Sometimes I have to stop and wait while the cat finds something more interesting than the thing that mom is playing with.
Meet BT… my 18 pound baby. And he isn’t fat… just huge. He also has the best personality of any cat we have ever had. Now if I could just get him to sleep past 5 am on Saturday morning.
A Vest as Art
I thought this would make an interesting piece of original art. It is make up entirely of fabric that I hand-dyed myself. It was supposed to be a vest… way back in the day. I trimmed it and then mounted it on canvas that had been prepared with Gesso. To finish it; I mixed together 50:50 gel medium in gloss and matte. I really like the finish; it is almost like it isn’t there at all.
I have started adding pictures of my hand dyed, hand spun yarn here… in fact I have given it a page of its own. I’m not able to create new art at the moment because we are buying a house and I am starting the process of packing everything… and of course the sewing room is always the first thing that gets packed (at least for me that seems to be the case). So I have put together some of my favorite roving and spindles and will “sit and spin” yarn when I have a break (or need one).
Here is one of my favorite pieces…
Candy Cane Yarn
Here is what is currently on my spindle…
Red, White, and Blue Superwash
For the holiday season our local quilt guild buys teddy bears and we members make quilts for them. They are then given to children in need or the elderly at Christmas time. Here is my contribution … it is a bear paw pattern done in blues.
