today i am being a fauve. this is a copy i just did of georges rouault's 'head of a woman' 1939. rouault, was a french painter who showed with the fauves, but i think he was not actually considered a fauve. so maybe i am altering art history here. anyway, i love the faces he paints. gives me inspiration.

another patched pair of pants. these didn't need patching, but i love to take a piece of an old sweater, some felt and embroidery thread and put it together on something.

playing with water color paints and adding texture.

here are the beginning diary pages. scroll down to see others i posted a week or two ago. eventually this will be a book.
























i have a yellow beetle named 'lukyduk' (my vanity tags). she is my favorite car so far.

the most BEEOOtiFULL girl in the world. this is lindie, my honeybee! here she is making her first sock monkey. I LUB U.

what is this? painting in the snow. my opus tutor, james hunting (http://www.jameshunting.com), likes me to make things big and loose. so here it is big and loose painting in the snow. it's fun to try! i am pretty sure he is going to tell me now to stitch it. so i will do that and show you in a future post.

oh...and, thanks for saving me from the lobster pot. happy travels!

big hiney is going on a trip. BYE!

stitching on paper - a first for me. this is part of an opus exercise, which combines making marks on paper and then stitching on it. i coated the paper with matte medium to give it some durability. i like the feel of stitching on paper.

one crafty habit leads to another... i used to make lots of purses from RECYCLED stuff. this is one i saved for myself to use. it is made from stuff found at thrift stores and yard sales. the tie (purse strap) was absconded from my hubby's closet. ties work well in a second life as a purse strap, as they are soft on your neck and shoulders, durable and often tacky.

time to get back to OPUS homework. here is a pen and ink drawing i did of my linen closet. i liked doing this and if you had asked me a few years ago if i would like to draw, i would have said, "no" instantly - especially the idea of drawing the inside of a closet - you gotta be kidding! with the encouragement of two textile artists, and lots of really good teachers (at community college), i not only learned to draw, but learned to love to draw.

big hiney's story

a simple day in the life of big hiney and irritable: waiting for friends at the ferry, a visit to hamilton marine for sailing stuff... oh wait! hiney has to save irritable from the evil chain saw. ok, now it's time for lunch. and after all that some lovin'. what a great day. too bad i couldn't get all the photos in the right order.


























































here is big hiney's story: he is made of a real sock that this blogger lovingly wore for a few years - a comfy sock made by pine tree knits and purchased at the maryland sheep and wool festival. eventually, the heel wore out. and so in making big hiney, the hole in the heel had to be covered, which in a sock monkey is the butt. this got me to thinking...while hiney's hat says LOVE, which he really is full of, he is also a big hiney behind his back - a big hiney who wears his heart on his sleeve that coincidentally has his favorite girl's initials.

here is irritable with the love of her life, big hiney. they are cuddling up because even tho it is april, there is still snow on the ground in portland, maine. irritable LOVES big hiney and they often have mortal misfortunes. some of their misfortunes will be posted here from time-to-time.

so to keep with the theme of the blog, here is a sock monkey. she is my alter ego 'irritable.' irritable is one of the seven deadly sins sock monkeys, of which there are more than 7. stay tuned for some mortal misfortunes of irritable and her very good friend...coming soon!

happy bday to my precious precious first born! here we are biking the big apple together. luv uuuu.

time for another sock monkey. this one is called 'unrequited love.' it is part of my seven deadly sins series, and no, unrequited love is not one of the seven deadly sins, but don't you think it should be?

today (and everyday!) i am really missing my truest love, that is not unrequited at all, but still too far away.

playing with being paul klee. the top one is called "maggie's story." the bottom one is a bit of a self portrait. can u recognize me? i can't wait to try stitching these designs.

embroidered diary pages

more pages from the embroidered diary...

love to everyone today!

patching a hole in my favorite pair of pants. this patch is made from two pieces of cut up felted sweaters that i embroidered on top of. i do love hand stitching! the felted wool makes a really durable patch and comfy, too.

opus homework. geez, i had forgotten how hard it was to do a pencil drawing. once i get started tho, it's very meditative.

i am stitching my life story. here are some of the pages, so far. i used cotton embroidery thread on silk noile.

cleaning up the floor in my studio and had to do something with this stuff, instead of throwing it away. doesn't she look cute?

more work from my opus class. i cut an image in cardboard and then block-printed it onto some green painted vellum. then i did a rubbing with a wet tea bag on tear-away stabilizer over coins. stitched them together with embroidery thread and voila!

a quilt from the 80's. i made this for my son jesse. this quilt has gone with him to college, to living in san francisco and now living in brooklyn (click on the link for 'bike the big apple'). the quilt was back for some repairs, which included a new backing - check out the bicycle fabric. i am proud to say that my hand-stitched french binding held up beautifully for 25 years.

self explanatory...WTf is not one of the seven deadly sins, but it could be.