randomness

I don't have much in the way of a cohesive post so I just thought I'd give you a list of random stuff I'm doing instead. (I know you are intensely excited, hold back your enthusiasm.)

1) I am very nearly done obsessively redesigning my website for the third time. I don't know what my deal is. Every time I finish it I think I really like it, then I live with it for a year and decide its poo. So I've done it over again, this time with a cleaner look (the current color scheme started to wear on me quick, looks dingy - from the latin dingeta) so I went in the complete opposite direction. I'll probably complain in a few months that there isn't enough color. (I'd say bet me but I know I'll loose, I'm not that silly.) It goes live either this weekend or beginning of next, its got the online catalog for the '08 Breaking Traditions exhibit so the whole thing had to wait. It also has a gallery of all my Where I Stand shots, I'm excited for it. (Doesn't take much these days.)



2) I spent part of yesterday and today working on another quilt for Breaking Traditions. One of the quilts just didn't make it over to me (victim of Hurricane Ike) and of course I had already assembled all the panels so there was a big gaping hole. I can be OCD with the best of them but pulling apart thirteen panels to make sure they were all in alphabetical order is not on the agenda, especially when the exhibit hangs in two days. So pretend that my last name starts with an E instead of a K just this one time, okay?

Here's the quilt I made:

You'll have to wait for the online catalog to be published for an explanation.


3) My studio looks like there was a keg party held in there. So I have all the mess to clean up without having the benefits of the beer. Anyone want to come help me dig it out?


4) I found a ball of yarn on Dooley's blankets this morning. (He has two squishy blankets that are on the floor, kind of like a little nest. In a moment of poor judgement, we decided it would be nice if they were white. So is Dooley. He tends to blend in. Thank goodness his nose is black, it saves him from being squished.) I can't say that I blame him, it was one of those extra squishy ones. I actually got a dirty look from him when I took it back, still not sure how it ended up there...


5) I ordered more Moo mini cards tonight. I went through nearly all of my stash when I was at Open Studios at IQF in April. This time I ordered several with my photographs on them, including my Where I Stand shots. Oh, and I got stickers too, thought they looked neat. If anyone wants to trade cards, let me know and we can swap.


6) I'm contemplating learning how to dye sock yarn. Yarn is like crack...


7) Its a good thing I have so much wool in the house. Mom is having hot flashes from hell and keeps opening all the windows and turning on all the fans. I am dressed like I live on an iceberg and wondering if it would be weird if I took all my wool yarn out of my stash and buried myself in it.


Ummmm...I guess that's it. I'm kind of boring right now. I've been fiddling with getting things all packed up for the exhibit. Since my back is bad right now (I found out I have arthritis in my lower back also so I have a sneaking suspicion that's why I don't fare well when the seasons change) its taken me working on it off an on all day to get it done. But done it is and I have a couple lovely friends ready to hang them for me so all is well.

I'm also looking forward to seeing the sock creature exhibit the fiber art group I belong to is putting together for expo. Should be hysterically cute and funny!

I'll have lots of photos to share so that should be more interesting then just a random ramble. The blog will be fed well shortly...

are you on ravelry?

Okay, I have to shamelessly publicly admit that I am on Ravelry and have severely neglected my spot there. I'm working on fixing that. I've been gathering projects to take pictures because regardless of what my notebook says, I have finished more then half a pair of socks.

So I realized that I don't have many contacts/friends on there and its making me feel a little whiny. So if you are on there and would like to be my friend (oh, that sounds appealing. Almost like a stranger asking a little girl if she wants some candy...ugh...), leave me a comment with your ID and we can bond. I really want to build up my spot there, I figure its kind of rude that I've been ignoring it for so long.

My ID is redheadknitter75.

See you there.

a mountain of sheep hair

I've been going slightly insane lately due to the fact that I rarely leave the house. And on the occasions when I do, its for a doctor's appointment. While necessary, I'm sure you'll agree that they just aren't all that fun.

So when I heard about the fleece fair that was coming up today by a local spinning group that was pretty close to the house, I begged a ride off my friend Carol, grabbed my cane and got two hours out of the house that restored my sanity and also got me some sheep hair.

I've been to their fleece fair in the past but this is the first time that I went as a spinner. Granted, I'm a fledgling spinner but I was excited to go be among all that roving and wheels and spindles. I wish I had taken my camera because there is no way to describe what this fair looks like. They take over a middle school gymnasium and set up tables and there are literally mountains of roving all over the place. In every color imaginable. In every fiber imaginable. Its quite the site to behold.

When we were walking up to the door there was a sign stating that they now accept visa and mastercard. Luckily I intentionally left mine at home. I'm really interested in getting a spinning wheel but have not researched them enough and am not physically able to take lessons to learn how to use it so I want to wait until my back is done torturing me.

I got some pretty nifty roving, here's Dooley dog checking it out:

He always gets all a twitter when I bring home handspun yarn or roving. I'm not sure if he gets excited because he knows its from another animal or if he thinks they are imposters and wants to take revenge on them. Its hard to tell. See that multi-colored one he's nudging in the picture? He rolled it halway across the living room before I realized what he did and had to screech at him to knock it off. No telling if pulling and yanking would have been next.

The colors on each of these are really pretty. They all contain a mixture of wool and mohair so they are soft and squishy. Here, admire the colors with me:


This one didn't have a name for the color on it but I'm calling it autumn. (Its richer in person, my camera is being crabby.)




This one is called Fiesta. Very pretty. I was eyeballing this one for a while and then when I saw a sample that had been spun up I caved. Its very pretty and apparently has the added bonus of rolling well should your dog be interested in a gigantic wool ball as a toy.






The last one is Oaks and Acorns. (Also richer in person.) This one is going to have a very slight variegation in it and I'm liking that, I'll be able to do a stitch pattern with this that won't get destroyed by all the colors.

I still have two rovings I bought from them last fair for felting that are straight up wool that I considered spinning but they are pretty coarse so I don't think I want to use those for spinning. They are going to have to be felting material.

I consider the fact that I came home with only these a triumph. I stood and stared at several spinners as they were working on their wheels. (I tried really hard to not look like a creepy stalker but I'm not sure I accomplished it. I was kind of entranced.) They were friendly, one was a licensed dealer for the smaller one she was working on and was trying to convince me to come to a meeting to try them out. I'm going to once I'm feeling better.

So now my back hurts like the devil and I'm going to go lay on the sofa to appease it and read a book. I'm hoping to feel well enough later on today so I can sit up for a little while and start spinning one of these.

Which one should I start first?

Where I Stand Sunday

The expression is always the same, looking up from below, eager to see what my next move will be. He moves around my feet constantly, replacing my shadow at every opportunity. He has claimed a portion of my life that I am glad to turn over to him. As I move through my day I can count on him, trailing behind me, inspecting my activities, seeking a moment when he can shuffle beneath my hand for some contact. He is the definition of unconditional love.

Where I Stand Sunday is an ongoing photo essay examining the different places I spend my life standing. Too often we take for granted the everyday places we spend our lives walking on. The ground we tread on has its own stories to tell.

it doesn't always work

I got an email a few days ago from a reader asking me if I could explain to her how I go about designing my art quilts. I asked her if she would mind if I talked about it in a blog post, she said go for it, so I am.

To be honest, my first instinct was to say, "I don't really have a process." But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I kind of do. Its a bit whacked but it seems to be a recurring method of the way I work so it would seem that I do, indeed, have a process.

I'm not one of those artists that sit and ponder a piece for months and sketch it out and measure and angst about everything being perfect. I have respect for these people but I just can't work that way. I start with either a piece of fabric that I like or an embellishment and go at it.

Not every element is thought through prior to beginning. If there is one aspect of the piece that I know what I want to do, I tackle that and then when its done, I move on to the other spots and work to pull it all together.

Its pretty much like intentionally backing yourself into a corner to see if you can get out of it.

See? Told you it was a little whacked.

Does it always work? Nope. Sometimes all I end up doing is giving myself a headache. Take these, for example:


The fact that these are residing on the floor is not a good sign. Its kind of where my art quilts go to die. (It also allows me to step on them in revenge when they frustrate me.) If they are stationed on the floor, that means I'm having major issues with them and have decided that I just need to stare at them for a while. I move on to other projects that like me more and just wait to see if something strikes my fancy.

I've been staring at these for at least a month now and finally decided to give up last night. Not entirely on working with these images but with the format that I have them in. Its making me cross eyed and I have considered pretty much every option (including gasoline and matches) but nothing makes me have that *aha* moment.

So they will get tossed in the box I have reserved for works that have gotten on my last nerve and will most likely be recycled into a different form in the future. I have a new idea for these images and will pursue that and already I can feel the *aha* working its way into my brain.

I pretty much tackle every work this way. That's how Red Bird started too, a much more successful result.

I had the three bird linocut prints that I had made some time ago and started fiddling with inking them and it went from there. The blue is one of my hand dyed fabrics and it reminded me of a moody sky. I stitched down the images, did the strong stitching around the edges and then left it alone for about a week. The rest of it filled in almost on its own. (This one rested on my ironing board, not the floor. It felt easy so I knew it would work, no floor for it.)

I wish I could say, "I do this and then I do this and if you do this then you can do it too." Its just not that simple. Everyone works so differently that its impossible for me to really explain every step. What I can tell you is that I really feel its important not to over think things. Of course there is thought put into each piece but if you chip away at each element one at a time, then you'll be surprised how it will come together and your brain won't hurt. At least that's how I do it.

I don't know if that helped...it may have just been a very long ramble...

And just for the record, I have tried these methods with knitting and crocheting and let's just say, all that I ended up with is a very healthy respect for knit/crochet designers. There's that math thing in those arts that simply has no sense of humor at all.

In case my explanation disappoints, here's another adorable picture of Dooley to distract you:


He sends hugs and cuddles to you all. *smooch*

it's a sickness

I’ve always considered myself to have a healthy stash when it comes to my fabric and yarn. Its not too fat, not too skinny, its just right. I work hard to keep a balance with it and I’ve really become much picker about what I decide to bring home with me when I’m shopping. (Mostly its based on how much room I think it will suck up to just have it hanging about if its not for a specific project that is coming up quickly.)

In comparison to some people I know (or blogs I have read), I don’t feel like my fiber addiction is out of control. I don’t have 40 rubbermaid containers full of fabric (but I would love to shop through a stash like that) nor do I have enough yarn to open my own shop (although secretly I wish I did). I’m by no means judging, just saying that if you put those collections next to mine, mine would be the mini-me of stashes.

Then two things came in the mail today that have me all twitchy and thinking about shredding my credit card.

The first was a catalog from Keepsake Quilting. I’m not really sure what my deal is lately but I’ve become interested in some of the more graphic traditional quilts. Nothing exuberant and usually the patterns that are so simple Dooley could sew them are the ones I’m attracted to.

But I’m beginning to wonder if there is some kind of magical crack spell on that catalog because it doesn’t matter how complicated something looks, I start to think I should give it a shot. After all, a Baltimore album quilt is a snap, right? (That was laced with heavy sarcasm, I have nothing but awe for the artists that make these types of quilts, they look more complicated then brain surgery.)

I usually treat these catalogs as nothing more then a nice distraction to browse through. Now its like throwing gasoline on a fire and I’m starting to want to make some of the things in there. From what I understand, this is how the uncontrollable collecting of ten yard cuts of one particular print begins. Ack.

The other thing that came in the mail today that is just, well, cruel, is the latest issue of Craft magazine. I used to just pick this up when I came across it but decided to go ahead and subscribe to it since I’ve enjoyed the last couple issues so much.

That may have been a mistake.

This issue is all about weaving. Which is something I’ve been peeking at for a long time now. In fact, its something I’ve been experimenting with with fabric lately. (No successful attempts so that’s why you haven’t seen any of it. Pitiful looking work is doomed to reside in my studio only for the rest of its lifetime until I get tired of moving it around and introduce it to the trash can or tear it apart and re-purpose its guts for another project.)

So now I’ve got this cute magazine sitting here staring at me saying, “Go ahead, weave something. You know you wanna. Not sure? Here, look how neat it is and how simple too….”

Devil magazine. (Where are those matches?)

I will be strong. I have to draw the line somewhere when it comes to the areas I work in, right? Currently I create art quilts, knit, crochet, embroider, tat, make plushies and now spin. And with all those, I could work until the day I'm a hundred-years-old and not exhaust everything they have to offer.

So why would I even consider adding in something else?

I’m beginning to think it’s a sickness. A wretched addictive consuming sickness that makes you crave hits of fiber (in any form) and really flares up when you discover another facet of the medium that you hadn’t been exposed to.

I’m not really sure what to do. I mean, I’m a strong minded woman, I should be able to resist fluffs of fabric, no matter if it’s a big wad of sheep hair or twisted up into yarn.

Its not going well so far.

If someone is aware of a 12-step program for this, I would appreciate some literature on it. It would be nice to be among those who understand (especially if anyone in the program is a weaver, I'd love to sit next to him/her at the meetings)...

wish i had been there

The curator of Rare Threads on the Fringe, Sylvia Walworth, was very kind and sent out this photo of the exhibit.

I wasn't able to attend the opening since my back is still exerting its rule over my every action but I'm really happy to be able to see one of my pieces in this shot.

If you look at the back wall just below the windows is Interruption. The space looks very nice and it looks like the show is awesome!

Where I Stand Sunday

It’s like moving through a daydream, the world trapped beneath a darker shade of pale. The sky is burdened with water and weight from Hurricane Ike, unable to move from beneath his intent. Day has not looked like day for forty-eight hours now, the sunlight unable to claw its way through the grey. We wait for the rains, knowing that Mother Nature is not entirely done with the storm.

Where I Stand Sunday is an ongoing photo essay examining the different places I spend my life standing. Too often we take for granted the everyday places we spend our lives walking on. The ground we tread on has its own stories to tell.

go visit my artwork

I might be stuck at home but my artwork is really getting around lately. I was in my studio today attempting to find the surface of my worktable (translation: I've not been motivated to clean, its resembling a landfill in there) and I realized I have a lot of blank spaces on my walls.

Then I remembered that I just sent out several pieces to four exhibits and most are opening shortly. (I blame the meds for my back for not realizing this immediately.)

So I thought I would let you know where the buggers will be so you can go check them out as well as the other beautiful artwork in the exhibits.

Italy's Arches


Michigan Quilt Artist Invitational
Opening reception on September 12 from 6pm-9pm
Greater Flint Arts Council Gallery
Flint, Michigan
exhibit to travel around Michigan through 2010

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

Closure

Rare Threads on the Fringe
Jordan River Arts Council
East Jordan, Michigan
September 14 - October 12

**Three other pieces were also juried into this exhibit.
They are Interruption, Fragile I and Fragile II.

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

Reading Tea Leaves

Art of the Quilt
American Sewing Expo
Rock Financial Showplace
Novi, Michigan
September 26-September 28

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

Red Bird

Breaking Boundaries: Art of the Quilt
Gallery 50
Traverse City, Michigan
October 1 - December 31

**Two other works will also be sent in addition to this piece.

So that's why my studio has gaps right now. These are all new works and I've got more cookin'.

Oh, and by the way?

The largest one is 24".

Just sayin'.

give me a break, okay?

I've been reading a discussion on an email list that I belong to that I find...well...tedious.

The discussion revolves around what size a piece of fiber art should be in order to be labeled as an art quilt. Some say that if its small (meaning under 20"), then its an experiment and has no place in the art quilt world and, therefore, in an exhibit.

So now we've gone from trying to defend the idea that even though these works are quilts, they are more art and not traditional bed quilts to trying to dictate what size something has to be to be worthy of being labeled as art.

It would seem to me that some people spend an inordinate amount of time trying to classify things and make sure that there are a set of rules that suit them. I'm particularly frustrated by this conversation because I don't work in a large format - so apparently, to some people, I should not have a place in exhibits.

Hmmmm.

Maybe someone should let all those jurors who accepted me into numerous shows know that.

I consider myself extremely lucky to have a studio space. But even with that, the idea of working on large pieces (in the 50" range and up) is just totally unrealistic. As is the idea that I could compete with artists who have purchased $15k longarm sewing machines.

I do what I do because my space dictates it. I do what I do because I still enjoy stitching by hand, even though I often catch a lot of flack from people over this. I do what I do because I like smaller works that feel more intimate and draw people in. And I don't think I should have to defend that to anyone, especially to someone working in the same media as me.

I guess the recurring conversation of trying to define what is art is so tiring. I don't understand why anyone needs a definition.

So why don't we try this? Why don't we all just go make things and be happy and fill the world with artwork and not worry about what other people are doing?

Might be a novel concept.

mischief in the studio

So like I said in a previous post, I finished up three more sock creatures a couple days ago. I've also got seven creatures here from Michele visiting so they've kind of taken over the studio. I was up there today to wrangle them together and I found them basically partying in there.

Michele warned me that they were mischief makers but I guess I wasn't prepared for all the shenanigans they got up to!

First off, I managed to pull them all together for a group shot:

The two blue rugrats with the striped ears are mine. As is the one in the way back with the red eyeballs. The rest are visiting from Colorado and are certainly far more comical then my guys. In fact, they were a bit of a bad influence. Here's what they got up to:

Hanging out amongst the mixed media supplies.

He said he was attracted to the shape of my spritzing bottle. I wonder why?

They were also interested in the dyeing and embroidery supplies. I wonder if I could put them to work while they are here?

I got a critique on my new artwork.

They were also quite interested in the photography aspect of it all. It was hard to keep them out of the frame of the photo but I managed.

These two were digging the plants.

Just hanging about.

Groovin' to the iPod. Can't say as I blame them, Annie Lennox was playing after all.

I'm pretty sure this guy was making eyes at the punk plushie that is hanging on the wall. I hope I didn't break any hearts when I pulled them away from each other.

These guys are definitely a lot of fun! I'm planning on making them some more cousins when I'm feeling up to it. I started physical therapy today and am not feeling too spunky at the moment. I'm already plotting the new ones so keep an eye out for them!

Where I Stand Sunday

The summer’s heat tantrums have left scars behind. The cool, wet air is too late to reverse the effects. Autumn is waiting its turn to make a full appearance, offering up previews of gentler weather and the emergence of a color palette only it can get away with. Soon the earth will be able to rest under its blanket of respite.

Where I Stand Sunday is an ongoing photo essay examining the different places I spend my life standing. Too often we take for granted the everyday places we spend our lives walking on. The ground we tread on has its own stories to tell.

dollars and cents

So I actually have decided to use this post to pick all your brains out there about a topic that, personally, makes me twitch: pricing artwork.

I've often been asked why I don't sell my work on a regular basis. The number one reason is that I don't produce enough to be able to do that. I'm not able to really build up a good stash of work to put up for sale so I tend to not really advertise that I do, from time to time, let a piece go.

But one of the most horrid things for me to try to figure out is how to price the devils.

I've heard a lot of opinions on how to about attaching a price tag to artwork but I have issues with a lot of them.

The one that I totally do not agree with is that you should have a set formula no matter how long it took or how expensive the materials were. I guess this train of thought doesn't make sense to me because, as a consumer, I expect to pay more for something made from silk then from commercial cotton. I also expect to pay more for something that took 100 hours to complete versus 2 hours. Just seems logical to me.

But then I look at my own work, that is hand stitched 95% of the time and consist of hand dyed fabric and (now) surface design and I can't apply the same logic as above...I kind of sit there and stare at it and don't know quite what to do about it.

I have some work going out to a gallery exhibit and one of the requirements for being in the show is that the work must be for sale. I'm good with that part but that means I actually have to make a decision about how much to charge for it.

So my questions to you, dear readers, is how do you go about pricing your artwork? Do you have a set of guidelines or do you just wing it?

dooley is more interesting

So after the last blog post, I got to thinking. (You are all traitors, by the way, for suggesting he attack the yarn and fabric stashes. Tsk, tsk.) I'm completely and in every way possible boring right now. I'm puttering around with stuff but you know, being stuck in the house makes for nothing fun to feed the blog with.

Then two things happened. First, I was torturing Dooley with the camera again (oh shoosh, he's cute, I'm bored, he'll get over it) and got this picture:

I think this picture conveys the mischievous nature of this seemingly cute and innocent dog. See how coy he looks? Yeah, its a cover. Underneath all that fluff he is creatively scheming to take revenge on me. You can see it in his eyes.

The second thing that happened was a package that came from Michele over at Eyembellishments. She sent her sock creatures along to me for a visit for a bit and they arrived in this box.

Now, be sure to click on this picture so that you can read what it says. I intentionally made it larger then usual so you could see what she wrote. Just in case you don't feel like clicking, here is what it says: "if you could get a picture of one of the kids in dooley's mouth, that would be great! -myc"

I admit, I was a bit perplexed (mostly because I usually have to screech at the white furball to leave my creatures alone when I'm creating them). In fact, I went back to my inbox and found an email from her with the exact same request. Michele often sets her kiddies on adventures and shows them off on her blog so it would seem that she decided their next big adventure should be inside my dog's mouth. And since I aim to please, I sat down on the floor with the box, grabbed my camera and opened it up.

I tell you, it totally thrilled the Dooley dog. So much so that I did not get one unblurred photo of the whole thing. I took the box, sat down on the floor and opened the lid. Here is a trail of photos showing what happened next:










He was pleased...up until I took them back. Don't worry, I had three creatures in progress and consoled him by giving him one of mine. The problem is that Dooley believes everything that is soft and stuffed and toy-like exists solely to be his toy. Which can sometimes be a slight problem when you get into making plush toys/creatures.

He thanks his auntie Michele for the fun, he's grateful for the distraction. He still thinks I'm annoying...he's right. Mom complains that I treat him like I did my brother when we were little. What can I say? He's family, he's gotta suck it up and put up with it like everyone else.

Michele's creatures are lounging in my studio now, out of reach of the stumpy little dog. They are totally awesome! Once I'm done with the three creatures I'm working on (they still need eyeballs), I'll take a group shot so you can see how much her's rock.

There is a good chance that the next post won't be about Dooley dog. You never know, stranger things have happened.

a plea

dear blog people,

ever since my sister hurt her back, she has been home. laying on my sofa. waking me up when i want to nap. and now she is just getting obnoxious.

a perfect example is the picture up above. i was sleeping, she came downstairs and started squealing something about looking cute and then shoved that stupid camera in my face. it wasn't a nice way to wake up in the morning, let me tell you.

the other day she actually measured my legs. she giggled when she did it and now she thinks its funny as all heck to tell everyone who will listen that they are only eight inches long. i didn't think that was nice either.

not to mention the fact that she won't walk me anymore. all she does is put the leash on me and walk around the circle drive a couple times. big whoop. talk about boring. i want our half mile walk, i've got mailboxes to sniff that i haven't been able to get to for weeks.

i thought it was so great at first when she was home. i figured we would cuddle and keep each other company but she is mostly just using me for her own amusement. (the other day she made a pyramid out of my toys. is that rude, or what?)

anyway, i just had to tell people about my troubles. i don't care how many cookies she gives me to make me feel better or how much she pets me and tells me what a good boy i am.

i want my sofa back.

thanks for listening,

dooley dog

Where I Stand Sunday

As the information from my computer slips along the black wires to be copied, I reach for my yarn and needles to pass the minutes needed to complete the task. The yarn eases through my fingers and the wood slides back and forth as I knit, purl, knit, purl, knit, purl. Technology and ancient handwork seems oddly at ease with each other. Without the reach of the internet, these crafts might somehow be lost in the shuffle of new and modern and trendy. Something meant to create a slick world by easing the burden of doing things by hand, aids to keep the artists immersed in these arts connected and sharing.

Where I Stand Sunday is an ongoing photo essay examining the different places I spend my life standing. Too often we take for granted the everyday places we spend our lives walking on. The ground we tread on has its own stories to tell.

i was defeated by the worms

I never thought I'd say it, but I'm officially tired of knitting. I've started three new projects in the past couple days trying to thrill myself so I think its time to let the needles and yarn take a rest before I end up purchasing enough new needles to start every project I've ever wanted to make.

So I hobbled on up to my studio and started rooting around for something art quilt related. I tend to make baskets and stash them all over the room. They are collections for certain projects of stuff that I think will go good together. So I picked a basket and scooted back downstairs to the sofa and the Dooley dog.

In the basket was these. The plan was to cut them in half so that I could sew them down to the art quilt that I wanted to use them on.

Now its important that you go back to that page and read the whole description. See the part at the bottom that says "Whole cocoons - worm has not been removed."?

Yeah.

I wish they printed that on the package instead of just on the website.

A smarter person may have paused when they heard something rattle inside the cocoon. Or may have even stopped to think that since there were absolutely no holes in this thing, it would stand to reason that the creature that was living inside it would still be residing there. (Only dead.)

So I got set up on the sofa, picked up the cocoons and grabbed my little embroidery scissors. I put on the first season of Project Runway (mom got the DVDs for me to watch, she understands the extreme boredom factor that comes with back injuries as she also has major issues) and settled in to chop away.

Snip, snip, snip.

One cocoon open. On to the next one.

Snip, snip, snip.

I see something fall on my shirt from the corner of my eye. What was that?

What is THAT?!?!?!!?

There, my friends, resting on my belly was an extremely dead, extremely contorted, decaying silk worm.

I did what every rational 32-year-old would do.

I screamed like a little girl, flung the scissors across the room (not sure why I did that, I should have kept them to defend myself in case one of these ugly things had survived somehow), jumped up (as quickly as someone with a back injury can) and fled the room.

I'm not proud. But I don't dig bugs. ANY bug. Don't like 'em. Won't convince me otherwise. And I don't want them ON me, dead or otherwise.

After I regained the ability to breathe, I decided to do the responsible adult thing and dispose of the nasty little things. I armed myself with an entire roll of paper towels (no kleenex for this job, I pulled out the big guns) and headed back over to the sofa. I scooped the nasty thing up while gagging and making gross noises and shoved it in the trash can as quickly as I could. (I've been thankful for the pain medication but even more so for my ability to move quicker in this situation.)

I promptly disposed of the rest of the cocoons and sat on the sofa.

That's when I noticed that there were two cocoons that had been cut open. But I only disposed of one bug.

Then I noticed Dooley sitting at the edge of the coffee table looking at me. I moved around the blanket and pillows and cushions and could not find the corpse.

I looked back and Dooley and he licked his chops.

All I have to say is I am not accepting kisses from him for a couple days.

55 yards of fibery goodness

Behold, the first 55 yards of the Spice Market batt made into yarn.

I gotta say, I'm darn pleased with it too. Its by no means perfect but its got a low twist (which is what I wanted) and the color are absolutely gorgeous!

I've taken to spinning before I go to bed, which helps relieve some of the anxiety I seem to be plagued with at the moment. I'm pretty slow at this yet. At the rate I'm going I should have the 4 oz. of fiber spun up by the year 2076.

I've learned a lot off these 55 yards and considering the fact that I have/had no idea what I was doing (seriously, I just decided one day it was a good idea, grabbed the spindle and started making it go, its a "baptism by fire" kind of learning), I'm happy with what I got.

Seeing as how we haven't had a Top Ten list on the blog for a while, I thought I'd bring you one. So I give you my:

Top Ten Things I Have Learned So Far About Spinning Yarn on a Drop Spindle

1. You know how when you turn the ceiling fan on high your hair swishes about? Wool roving is also hair. It will behave the same way. Turn down the fan.


2. You can not twist lumpy spots in the roving into submission without creating areas in your yarn that resemble dental floss. Pause. Draft out the lump. Resume spinning.


3. Eyeballing your westhighland terrier's fur and wondering just how many months he would need to skip the groomer so you can spin some is the act of an irresponsible pet owner. Move along.


4. Two hints that your spindle is full: a) the yarn is sliding of the end of the spindle like you greased it with crisco and b) that little piece you keep handling along the bottom edge is getting angry and beginning to resemble felt. No one likes angry wool. Empty the spindle and begin again.

5. Curious westie + spinning spindle = disaster. Ban pets from the spinning area unless you are entertained by a dog laced with orange and rust colored roving fleeing from your shrieking.


6. If this was a few centuries ago and myself and my family's clothing were dependent on my spinning and knitting skills being speedy, we would be mostly naked, cold and whatever clothing we did have would make us look funny.


7. Spinning is like crack. Once you start, you can't stop. Do not start at 11:30pm saying you'll only "do a little." You are a dirty liar. It will be 2am before you know it, G-O T-O B-E-D.


8. Never complain about the cost of hand dyed hand spun yarn. Ever. This is not easy stuff. Respect all those spinners.

9. Spinning, like knitting, is very meditative. Only don't meditate so much that you allow the spinning spindle to get tangled in the pre-drafted unspun roving. Trying to seperate them once this has happened is like trying to swat away cob webs with scotch tape.

10. Be prepared for the lovely "wet dog" (or in this case sheep) aroma when you set the twist of the yarn in water. Be prepared to watch your dog obsessively sniff around in the bathroom as the yarn is resting in the sink. Get an air freshner so your pet doesn't loose his mind.


The only thing I'm wishing about my spindle is that it was longer so I could spin more yardage. I'm doing heavier weight yarn so I can't fit much on there, thus the stumpy skeins.


I think I'll end up with around 100-150 yards once I'm done. Any suggestions on what to knit with it?

Finished Objects #7, #8, #9 & #10

Well, tonight is the closing ceremonies for the real olympics, which also means the U.F.O. Olympics are coming to a close. I think I did pretty okay, ten finished objects in fourteen days.

So these are my sock creature guys, they are a bit odd but I like them. I want to do more and probably will. The fiber art group I belong to is doing an exhibit of them at the American Sewing Expo so I would like to finish up a few more for that.


These two came out looking happy. Not sure how, but I just went with it. The one on the right has some creepy eyeballs but he likes you and is happy to see you, can't you tell?





This poor guy photographed terribly. (My camera is apparently having PMS issues tonight.) But he got into some electrical stuff and has wire wrapped around him and some doo-dads hanging off him.





I'm liking them armless. That may be a recurring thing for me, I think it makes them look more creature like. This one is wearing a button (that my SIL makes and sells) that says "ignore me." He's a somewhat stoic looking fellow so it seemed appropriate. Plus the fact that Dooley was doing all his best tricks to get my attention when I was working on finishing him and it just seemed appropriate.

So that's the mad rush for finishing. I'm actually really happy because I met a lot of deadlines without loosing any hair. I still have some things I would like to finish but they aren't as urgent and I can take a breather on it.

But right now I have a date with the sofa, my back has become cranky in the past hour or so and won't let up. So me and Dooley are going to go relax a bit.

Where I Stand Sunday

The camera stares down at its subject with no bias, no expectations, no second thoughts. It draws the image into pixels and color blocks and megabytes. The world is seen through a clear lens, always looking, always seeking. It grasps what its environment has to offer and honors it for what it is in its most simple and basic form.

Where I Stand Sunday is an ongoing photo essay examining the different places I spend my life standing. Too often we take for granted the everyday places we spend our lives walking on. The ground we tread on has its own stories to tell.

i cheated

Okay, so I know I'm not supposed to start any new projects during the U.F.O. Olympics but if you could touch this batt and really see how great the colors are (my camera did a poor job showing just how rich they are), you'd understand why I couldn't leave it alone.


This is Spice Market batt from Daniela of FeltStudioUK. She is my new favorite dealer for spinning fiber. What's even more impressive is that even though she lives all the way over in the UK, I get my orders from her in the same amount of time (sometimes quicker) then things I buy from people in the states.

Drool, drool, drool.

Here's a closer look of just the spindle.

The spinning is improving but after having spun the yucky blue stuff that I didn't like and now this, I'm seeing that the quality of the batt makes a huge difference too. This stuff just kind of comes out smooth all on its own.

I decided to spin it because I'm kind of going stir crazy being cooped up in the house for so long. Which sometimes leads to crankiness and just general malice. Knitting and (now) spinning are soothing to me. I'm not good with this part of injury/recovery. I get to a point where I start crawling the walls and start to wonder just how much trouble I can get myself into poking around on the internet.

I really like the colors on this yarn. I plan to make a scarf out of it when its done. Mom is still not impressed in any way with the spinning. I think she's just jealous. She did shock me last night when she asked me to teach her to knit. Her goal is to learn how to knit socks for herself. Although she looked a bit queasy when she looked at the pair I have in progress that are sitting on the coffee table.

She asked if she has to use all those "sticks" or can she use less. (I knit socks on four double points with a fifth one for the actual knitting.) I think she is a good candidate for knitting socks on a circular needle. Of course, first she has to learn how to actually knit. I have some chunky white yarn that I'm going to show her how to make a very lovely stunning garter stitch scarf. Hopefully she takes to it.

Although there could be a battle if she starts picking at my yarn stash.

Finished Objects #5 & #6

Today I finished up two little projects. The fiber art group I belong to is wrapping up a round robin this month. We exchanged pages for a fiber book. Although I confess that I plan to turn mine into a little quilt because I want to admire it all the time.

Today I did Cynthia's ( on the left ) and Mary's page (on the right).


Cynthia's book is based on a poem about candy. I had a bit of trouble coming up for something for it but the page I ended up creating reflects the verse that I got so I hope she likes it.

Mary's book is about travel. Mary and I went to the International Quilt Festival in Chicago this past april and we went ahead a couple of days early so we could actually see the city. We took the subway all the way downtown (and ended up walking into the most wicked sideways rain wind storm we've ever had the displeasure of being in) and we were goofing around taking pictures during the ride. I snapped this Where I Stand picture of both of our feet so I decided that would be a good match for her book.

And here is the page I did for Leann's book:

I finished this one quite a bit ago but can't remember if I posted it or not so I decided to do it now since it fits in with the theme. Leann's book is about symbols and for some reason I'm really into arrows lately so that's what I did.

I'm finding that I'm doing a lot more writing and graphic type drawing on my work and I like the looks of it. I'll have to keep experimenting and see where it takes me.

Next up on the project schedule is sock creatures. I have two that just need eyeballs, one that needs stuffing and eyeballs and a fourth that needs to have his body stitched up and then he gets his stuffing and eyeballs. I want to hand in more then four (our group is doing an exhibit at expo of these little devils) so I need to whip up a couple more.

Stay tuned, hopefully there will be some monsters soon.....

Finshed Object #4

The finishing continues....

This is not only a small portion of the completed quilt but an incredibly crappy photo. (Give a girl a break, my back hurts and I care not about producing absolutely stunning photos. I'm happy just to capture it in the camera, my standards have lowered a bit.)

The reason that its only a small portion is that its for a competition/exhibit. I wasn't sure if I would finish it since things are a bit up in the air at the moment but I was so close to being done with it. So I worked on it over the past few days as I was able and crossed the finish line this morning.

I still need to attach a sleeve and a label and ship it out and fill out the entry form...but what the heck? I'll call it finished. (I hate that other stuff. Bleh.)

I've also decided that I could be in an advertisement for the macbook pro. I've been updating my website while laying on the sofa (not reclining, we're talking completely horizontal) with my laptop strategically situated on my stomach. It was a bit of a challenge at first but I've got the hang of it and I'm confident the Breaking Traditions online catalog will publish without a hitch.

In the meantime, Dooley has been suffering from a severe case of cabin fever. I operate as his feeder/groomer/playmate and since I went down with my back problems he has turned a shade of grey (he needs a bath and a haircut), he has had to rely on mom's cooking (all he gets is kibble but he told me I make it better then she does) and I've not been much of an entertainment source.

But today he was in a bouncy good mood and kept nudging me with his nose trying to convince me it was a good idea to join him in his glee. Seeing as how I can't chase him around the house like I ususally do (what? doesn't everyone play tag with their pets?) or take him for a long walk, I did the next best thing...

I took out my camera and taunted him with it. He is skiddish of the noises it makes and it was enough to set him off to running around the house in circles. I dragged myself off the sofa and just stood in one spot and waved it at him and actually managed to get a good shot of him playing:


Isn't he short?

With that said, I'm going to go lay back down and watch some T.V. I've been leaving it off all day because, to be honest, its been getting on my flippin' nerves. But there are some things on in the evening that I like to watch so it works out.

Stay tuned, there are seven more days left of the Olympics so that means there could be more finished objects posted along the way....

Where I Stand Sunday

The wool and alpaca fibers pool at my feet in a cloud. The spindle rolls in one hand while the other helps the raw fibers find new purpose. The process turns to meditation and the mind stills as the rest of the world hums by.

Where I Stand Sunday is an ongoing photo essay examining the different places I spend my life standing. Too often we take for granted the everyday places we spend our lives walking on. The ground we tread on has its own stories to tell.

Finished Object #3

Above is the third U.F.O. that can now be moved to the completed column of my list.

This is my art quilt for my exhibit, Breaking Traditions. Its much simpler then I normally work but it has a real homey comforting feel to it and that's what I was aiming for. I don't know if you can tell from the picture but I stitched it within an inch of its life so that made me happy. (I LOVE hand embroidery.) It is called "A Place to Bark" and it honors Bernie Berlin's nonprofit dog rescue by the same name, A Place to Bark. Bernie rescues dogs, rehabilitates them and then finds them what she calls "forever" homes.

She's truly an angel on earth, check out her blog (link above) to see the little lovelies that she rescues. It'll definitely make you smile. :)

I think I will spend this evening putting labels on the backs of things. One of my least favorite things to do, by the way.

I have a much larger art quilt that is calling my name that wants to be the next victim in the U.F.O. Olympics but I don't know if my back will be up to all the vertical time required to finish it. I may end up breaking a rule and working on it here and there when I am able to rather then all at once. Girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do and I'm kind of a slave to my back right now so I'll figure it out.

The finishing parade will continue! Stay tuned!