replenishing the studio cupboards

Oh what a week.

Nothing out of the ordinary, just seemed to drag on for eons longer then it normally did. I blame it on the six days of constant rain, somehow the steady storms make time move slower. The sleepy days make me long for the comfort of my print table in my studio and the meditation that comes with creating fabric. So even though I haven't been able to grab any time in there this week, its been on my mind constantly.

I made a vow earlier this year that I would not buy supplies unless it was for a specific project and there was nothing I already had that couldn't be substituted.

I sort of slipped on that lately. Ah well, what's a girl to do? I'm helpless in the face of all the awesome fibery goodness out there. Want to see what's wandered its way into my studio?

First up is this little beauty:


I've been thumbing through it every night. I now have the desire to bury fabric in the backyard and dig it up in the spring, rummage through the small area of woods behind my house and trample across cloth with muddy shoes.

So I guess its working its charm. :)

Its an awesome book on natural dyeing. Beautifully composed and easy to follow and I'm really glad to add it to my bookshelf. (Although I've no plans to print fabric with cow poo. I have limits.)

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I was feeling a little melancholy on the drive home (again, SIX days of steady rain - cold and overcast I can deal with but rain really gets to me after a few days) so I stopped off at Michael's for a little pick-me-up.

I needed some supplies for the class I'm teaching in a couple of weeks and decided a wander about the store would be a nice treat.

Did you know about these?



I didn't and boy am I ever glad to have found them. Granted, I'm a paint junkie. (Which is putting it kindly.)

But what really caught my eye about the new line from Martha Stewart is that her general all purpose craft paint can be used on fabric. I plan to give it a try tonight to see how it does. She also has different tops you can screw right onto the bottles so you can use the paint in different ways. I grabbed the fine tip one you see up above, got all giddy thinking about how those can come in handy printing fabric.

And even though its shallow, I'm smitten with the packaging too. Kind of vintage, super graphic and just makes me want to gaze at them and admire their colors. :)

I'll do a little review of them once I give them a go, I'm hopeful it goes well. Her color range is outstanding. (Yay! Paint! Paint! New PAINT!)

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Today the magical mailbox portal coughed up some new yarn I ordered. Yes, I need more yarn just like I need more paint but I'm sure you'll agree, its worth having:

I've pledged my love for Blue Moon Fiber Arts' sock yarn (aptly named Socks that Rock) on the blog before. She released the halloween colors and I regretted not snapping these up last year so I treated myself and got them.

The one in front is Frankenhen and the one in the back is Black Magic. Someone bring me my needles.

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Speaking of needles (but of the embroidery kind), I scored at the American Sewing Expo last weekend when I found a vendor selling perle cotton:


These are the colors I use most in my work and I've worn the ones I have now pretty much down to a nub. So it was time to stock up and it seems to be getting harder and harder to find hand embroidery thread at the shows. I know the machines are nifty and I expect in another year or two they will be able to cook and clean for us as well as sew but I still love hand stitching. It will always be my go-to way of working and with my stash replenished, I'm good to go for a while again.

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But lest you've think I've been sitting around eating bon-bons and ordering things online with abandon, I offer proof of productivity from last weekend:

These are my version of jelly rolls (which is not at all food related but refers to fabric collections in the form of strips). They're hand dyed fabric that I've printed and they'll be for sale during my class coming up. Depending on how they do, I may put some up in the shop. I'm rooting for the little fellows!

This weekend is cleaning the studio up from new projects I executed like the freaking Tasmanian Devil, prepping for the class and writing my e-zine. (Don't forget to sign up to receive the e-zine if you don't already, always fun stuff!)

Lots to do and hopefully an upcoming week that has more art around the edges then this past one. No matter how nutty it gets though, there is always fiber lurking about and that's at least something. :)