Traveling

This is my box. I never travel without my box...( Amahl). Anyway, silliness aside, vacation is coming up and I'll carry this with me in case the mood strikes and I see something I want to record. In this box is everything I need to create a little piece, by hand, on the spot. I am imagining myself sitting in a field or on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean all the way to Ireland. It all fits into a flat wooden cigar box that fits on my lap. In it are needles, thread, floss, scissors, beads, buttons, fabric scraps. Draped over the top are the precut base fabric and batting.


I'll also have my journals, pens, paper,and paints in another bag. Hopefully, there'll be room for the necessities, like clothes. And wine.

Look what I found!

In the corner of our house is a little nest, chock full of baby birds. The mother graciously stepped aside (not too far, mind you) so I could get a baby picture. There are at least 3 and maybe even 4.

Bright spots

Do you remember when you were 10? I do. I remember struggling to think of something to say in letters to my two grandmothers who lived in the same town. It was so much work that I would write one and copy the same words in the other, usually starting out with, "Hi- How are you?-I'm fine. " Little did I know they would talk and chuckle together over the sameness of their notes from me. In hindsight I'm happy I could at least provide a little enjoyment for them. So, now I'm enjoying my own little chuckle from my 10 year old niece who is thanking me for going to her grandparents day at school:

Thanks for coming to grandpersons day I couldn't find any one else. Mom work Dad
working Papa wouldn't like it very much. Other grandparents Florida Aunts and uncles working exept you! Love Ella J

Oh, the innocence of youth searching for words.

I'm still here!!

I have so many loose ends in my life right now, things seem a bit overwhelming. Nothing bad, but just thins I can't come to closure with, you know? And I NEED that. Tie up loose ends. Cross it off my list. So, consequently, I feel stuck. It's all my own doing, you know, in my HEAD, thinkin too much. And because of it, and because I'm here now, I'm goin to move forward, my new mantra will be "DON'T THINK SO MUCH".

It doesn't help that my 'g' key is stuck. A metaphor, perhaps?

On another more upbeat note, we just spent the weekend in Bar Harbor. We had a little bit of every kind of weather, rain, sun, warm, cold. And we were there for one and a half days only. The highlight might have been the Azalea Gardens at the Asticou Inn in Northeast Harbor. IF you ever come to Maine check it out. It's stunning any time of year, but especially now when the flowers are blooming.

I've put toether a little travel kit of supplies that I take with me in case I get the urge to do some spontaneous handwork. (see the little birds I made a few posts ago). I'm finding it challenging to create these pieces from nothing, except what I have in my box. Recreating what I see by looking at a scene and without drawing anything, just cutting fabric scraps and sewing it all by hand. And trying to do it within the time I sit there. I mention this because in the new Cloth, Paper, Scissors Studio magazine is an article titled,"You can take it with you", travel kits. As soon as I tidy mine up a bit, I'll snap a picture and post it tomorrow. How's that for selfmotivation to post sooner rather than later?

May 13, 09

Birthday Bug

Longed for Spring is HERE

I've done two creative things in the past couple of days, neither has anything to do with fabric, but both make me happy in that artsy sort of way. First, this:

a collection of beautiful mosses placed on a long dish and used as a centerpiece on my long island. The tall plants are lily of the valley which I hope will bloom. I added some hens and chicks and a pile of little rocks (for Deborah). It looks very pretty in real life, though I don't know how it comes off in this photo.

The other thing I did was this:

My daffodils have gone by and since you're not supposed to cut the leaves but let all the nutrients head back into the bulb, isn't this a great way to hide the unsightly dying vegetation? It looks very artsy in a patch, like soldiers marching across the garden! You simply fold them over and tie them up with one of the leaves. I saw this at Anna Jane's house and was smitten with the simplicity and look of this. It takes a bit of time, but remember when I said I'd found the time that always escaped me when my kids were young? Ah, retirement.It IS all it's cracked up to be. Or, it is what you make it. Enjoy this beautiful spring.

Cinco de Mayo

I've just returned from a weekend with family, celebrating nephew Charlie's First Communion in one of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen (St. Mary's Catholic Church in Northampton , Mass). It's one of those big, old cathedral looking churches with columns and naves and a long center aisle leading to an altar which was a deep robins egg blue with gold trim; white columns. Magnificient. I find being in church is a very emotional experience for me. Brings up lots of stuff I guess, lapsed catholic that I have become. Probably need to spend some time thinking about that. But what I AM spending my time thinking about is yardwork. A little bit every day. Yesterday I spent an hour or so dividing my lily bulbs. Hope they survive. I read online they were pretty hardy and could withstand some abuse, so I went at it. I also drove to the coast and the site of our new home and planted the 3 crabapples, the lilac and the 'something' redbud my sister gave me. By the time we start building, we'll have some nice trees waiting for us.

This weekend in Northampton was the Gay Pride Parade. We missed the parade but saw a few of the floats and participants milling around before it began. No one can say that that community is boring. Of course I forgot my camera. We also went to TWIST-a huge art/craft extravanganza. I was impressed with how many of the vendors used recycled materials and had Etsy shops. As a matter of fact recycled-UPCYCLED they called it, was HUGE. Flip tops made into bracelets, purses. Plastic bags made into purses, jewelry. Lots of collage with everything you can imagine.

I treated myself to a new cookbook. My sister had the new Cooks Illustrated tome, a huge heavy book that even taught you how to scrub potatoes, (not that there's anything wrong with that).

But I chose Ina Garten.
To me she's like the Mr. Rogers of the cooking shows. I just feel myself relax when I tune in to watch her. And her recipes are straightforward and easy to prepare. This one is Back to Basics. Just what I need, new basic ideas.

To celebrate Cinco de Mayo, I'm teaching the last rag rug class at the library. Then I'm going to sort some books for our huge, gigantic (we'll see) book sale, then come home and do the laundry. No coffee by the lake this morning, too windy and cold. Showers for the rest of the week. And not one thought about doing something in my studio...hmmm.

Spring Happenings

Yes, I've been lax in postings. I've been doing yard work after a very long winter. Doing it and enjoying it. A little here and a little there adds up to ALL of it done painlessly. I've also been doing housework, trying to keep things neat, so if there happens to be a showing scheduled I can be ready with a couple hours notice. And last, when I usually tend to post (early morning) I've been taking my coffee lakeside. So, so nice. Peaceful. Lovely.

And speaking of lovely, yesterday was a Frayed Edges Day (without Hannah and Deborah :(). I had planned a project, nothing special, just something to DO. We made blocks similar to the ones on the cover of Lesley Riley's new book, Fabulous Fabric Art with Lutradur.


This is Kate's work in progress and mine is the finished example I made earlier. It was fun to have something to work on during our meeting. And interesting how we went from non stop talking and sharing, to hands on quiet artist mode, all working side by side. And as Kate pointed out, with very little direction.

Before Deborah moved to Texas she would always take a picture of lunch table so this is in her honor...fresh spinach salad with red onion, mandarin oranges and toasted almonds along with sliced tomatoes, avocados and ranch dressing piled on a toasted english muffin (delish!).

We finished with homemade chocolate cake by Sarah, seen here wearing her repurposed vest from her son's castoffs.


I have very clever and talented friends. Kate's top, by the way? She found it at her local Recycling Barn. At the transfer station. The dump. We've all been very envious of her Recycling Barn at one time or another.

Little Birds

Going through a rough patch, but these birds do make me happy. I started out with a piece of napkin, that new heavy stuff that's sort of like soft lutrador but isn't, and slapped some paint on in the shape of a bird as it turns out. Then I just added things with no forethought. I put some scraps together in a cigar box, along with thread and floss and took it on vacation. It was relaxing handwork.

The background is an old organza curtain with the white leaf pattern already on it. Embroidery stitches, textured fabrics, paint and buttons.


I went to an artist lecture this weekend. The artist, Brian White, a very unassuming young man who does sculpture with found objects and fresco. He said a lot of things but the one thing I remember was his answer to the question someone posed about being called an artist. He said,"I used to be very uncomfortable about being called an artist until my art started to 'say something'. Before that, it was just pretty pictures." There have been so many conversations about this very subject and as many viewpoints, but this seemed to ring true and simple for me. Something to ponder.

We're home from a week in warm sun and warmer breezes. Florida is truly beautiful this time of year, though it may be my northern eyes in cold April that make it so. It was a TREAT I tell you, a TREAT to leave jackets, mittens, and hats home and to walk in the early morning in nothing but a tank top and shorts. It will be that way here, SOON.
One day we went kayaking in the gulf off of Boca Grande and found a little island to have lunch.
Just a taste of what's to come in Maine. And speaking of taste, this picture is one reason why my pants are a bit on the tight side these days, (the other would be cocktail hour every night). Fresh scones and LOTS of great food and drink for a whole week. Lovely.

It's been a while since I posted last and I can't tell you what I've been doing, exactly, except to say that since I've stopped working I've found time. You know, that thing you always say, "I can't seem to find the time", to do that, get there, finish this. You get the picture. I love it, all this time and I do count myself as one very lucky girl. So, I finally 'found the time' to reupholster the chair with the fabric I bought 6 months ago. It's not the best job I've ever done, but it'll work since the chair itself is a bit on the broken side (I think it must have fallen off a truck at some point in it's life and broke a leg, not to mention an arm so that amputation was necessary). Not bad for $5 at a yard sale.

We're off to Florida for a week of warm sunshine and fresh fruit. And when we return, we'll be that much closer to spring and sun in Maine.

Spring in Maine!

Finally. The sun has just come up and it's promising to be a beautiful day, one for cleaning up the detritus of winter and not freezing your butt off. Amazing, the power of the sun. It makes these buds come to life as well as the human kind. And my felted vase is just perfect for them. Nice. Happiness.

March Birthdays, two of the 6...

A while back I posted about an activity I did with some 3rd graders: making funny faces out of pre-fused fabrics. It was a lot of fun and my niece, Bridget, decided it would be a perfect project for her 9th birthday party. So, I became the entertainment. Me and my trusty pile of pre-fused.
There were 12 girls, all around 9 or 10, (well, Katherine is six and I need to put that in or she will correct me, I'm sure). I talked for a few minutes just to give them some direction and then I let them go. I've never been to a birthday party with 12 KIDS where complete silence reigned for at least 15 minutes, then the patience of waiting for theirs to be ironed and stuffed and sewn up. Amazing. And the results, as you can see, were great. Birthday girl, Bridget is in the center of the bottom row.

Keilly, Ella and Katherine.
And two of the birthday guests...Bridget, 9 and Papa 79. My dad is on oxygen now nearly constantly, so he doesn't leave home without it. We thought it best to move the tank when he blew out his candles.

A New Spring Bag

And all because of the beautiful glass button. It deserved to grace something special. Something blue, of course.

Whiling the Winter day's away

And by spring I should have a nice rug. My friend Kate showed me how to do this with strips of fabric and some sort of tool, (she uses a toothbrush) to pull the fabric through the loops and into knots. And true to my old boss's mantra, "see one, do one, teach one", that's just what my intent is. I love to see how the colors work with each other and am always anxious to move onto the next fabric. (Have I STILL not learned about just being in the moment? ) I'll be teaching this workshop at the library next month.

It's quite beautiful here this morning. The (my) world is covered in new white snow, which makes Laddie look, not so much like a white horse, but one that's been dipped in a cafe latte. More shoveling later, as well as some snowshoeing perhaps. I'm also planning on getting into my studio to work on a page for Sarah's book, 'aphrodisiacs', and I'm planning on basing it around this:

Interesting.

Valentine's Day

I very happily spent time 'in the moment' yesterday and made up a basket of hearts from some of my favorite fabric scraps. Each one is different and all make me happy just to look at them. It's not a Martha thing that made me do it, but a way to bring a little festivity into our all too long winter. And since our kids are grown up and not making beautiful decorations to adorn our walls anymore, and I'm always forgetting to ask our grandkids (who are very artistic I might add) to paint or draw anything for us, it's up to me. So, fabric, buttons, floss, felt and several cups of coffee (love that button!) later, I have a centerpiece for our island.

Harold

Harold is coming to take pictures of the inside of our house today. Harold is the new man in my life. He's the one that's responsible for finding a family who will love and care for our house the way we have for the last 30 years. And do it in a way that leaves us with enough money to build our next house without ending up with a mortgage. Now that we've actually really, truly started this process, I find myself sighing a lot. Such a HUGE thing, to leave a place and start new somewhere else when there isn't any other reason but the idea of doing something DIFFERENT. Spice things up. A new adventure. I sigh, and then I get excited. I'm mostly excited.

Anyway, our house has never looked so good. Clean and tidy. And all the projects that never got done when we built this place 30 years ago: done! Closet doors in my studio: done! Molding here and there: done!

I may freak out when I actually see the "for sale" sign in front of our house for the first time, but I'll get over it. We all need to move on.

More wet felting

Mushrooms!

What I'm doing today:

1. Trying to make online State Park Reservations, with no success. Today is the first day to get the park, site, and date you'd like to camp this summer. System errors. So to the phone. Busy. Redial for going on 3 hours now.

2. Finishing my tea cozy. This is made from felt I made and embroidered. I'm liking the texture and feel, colors and versatility of this material.




Yesterday when I went out for my walk I saw a pair of snow buntings, a bird I've never seen here in Maine.

It doesn't look like the little bird on my cozy, but was certainly the inspiration.

3. Making something called Toasted Monkey's Delight that I saw on Jenny Doh's blog for a special dessert, because it will be a cause for celebration, or a reason to buy a lottery ticket, if I EVER get through to make my reservations!