meltdown

here i am having a meltdown over bh suggesting that we buy a lemon tree for our living room. hmmm... well, in hindsight i did think it was funny, so i made this drawing which will soon become an embroidery.

stitched sketchbook

i like to personalize the cover of my sketchbooks. this is a new one i bought for my opus homework: paint, magazine collage, stitching. yay!

stitched painting palette

more on my recycling theme! i love the look of paints mixed on a palette. i mixed paints for a painting on a paper disposable palette. let them dry. added strips of newspaper and covered with a gel medium to give it a little strength. after that dried, i stitched on top of it. i kind of like the look!

stitched bicycle tubes

playing around with some cut up strips of bicycle tubes. this idea of stitching together recycled materials really has me thinking!

by the way, the bicycle tubes are courtesy of bike the big apple tours.

4th of july recycled 'quilt'

working on more ideas of recycled work for my opus cultural stitched textiles module. my husband, granddaughter and i took a long road trip over 4th of july holiday. i saved all of the packaging from food we ate along the way and cut it up into 'quilt' squares.

mola samples

for my opus module on cultural stitched textiles, i have been exploring the mola. HA! i see how much more practice i need on my hand applique stitching!

the things we do for love OR sock goat on a boat

let me start off by saying i am not a sailor, but we do own a sailboat. sometimes things need to be fixed on the boat that require going up the mast. i have avoided this duty for years, but decided to give it a try today. BH flattered me by telling me he need a 'light weight' person to do the job...so i did and it was actually quite fun. i took a sock goat with me for good luck. the sock goat was made by my friend gavin. as you can see, i did make it down ok, cuz i am posting on the blog and i couldn't do that very easily from way up there! back to opus homework!

more recycled sweaters

my good friend in portland maine rescued an orange sweater from a yard sale and here is a doll i made for her from that sweater and a few others. since the doll, named 'funny,' will be living in maine, she needed a vest to keep her warm. here is a picture of her with the vest and without...and the beautiful portland head lighthouse in the background.

recycled patchwork

more stuff stitched with the theme of recycling. i made a pair of shorts and a quilt top from old scraps of other quilts and some cut up clothing. i think we used to call this stuff 'patchwork' or scrap quilts, but now it's considered recycled:)

recycled sweaters

for my opus BA coursework on cultural stitched textiles, i have been thinking of the culture of recycling. here is a doll/creature i made out of recycled sweaters from the thrift store. i washed and dried the sweaters several times to felt them. i'll be posting more recycled work soon!

PARADE SCHOOL

been doing lots of good stuff: stitching and painting and all. two weeks ago i went to parade school. what a great experience! we made all of these parade structures in four days and week culminated in a PARADE! great community event. i kind of learned how to stilt walk, altho most of the other students were faster learners. i made a big purple prom queen, and an apartment building. three people carried the queen and i was inside of the apt building, carrying it with tall pole.

pix of my studio work area

now that i am a little more settled, my studio and work area and quiet room is a little more settled, too. you can see pix of a few of my favorite things: my macbook pro, my red lips chair, and most importantly, my needlepoint chair. the needlepoint piece was made by my grandmother, helen, who i never knew. she stitched it in the 1930's or 40's and, i think, i got my love of stitching from her. my mom took the needlepoint piece and scoured flea markets and antique shops for just the right chair to use for the needlepoint. she gave me the chair as a gift many years ago and it has been my sewing chair ever since. my grown children sat on that chair when the were small and learning how to use the sewing machine.

my studio is in a small loft area overlooking our living area. i like that i can be up in the loft working and no one bothering me, but still hear my husband piddling around in the rooms below. we live in a restored school building from the 1890's and have 14 foot ceilings, so the loft space is just right.

embroidery and printmaking on pants

what to do with 40 pieces of printed fabric? use one to patch a hole in the knee of my pants! this is just like i used to do with old bell bottom jeans back in the day:)

for some of you asking about my OPUS work, i have taken an unofficial break for a few months due to moving a few times and starting a new job. but i am getting ready to catch up with my cultural stitch module. be on the lookout for some mola samples coming soon!

printmaking on fabric

i am experimenting with printing on fabric. i printed on linoleum with acrylic paint. the paint has lasted through two washings after i heat set it. not sure what i will do with this, but just playing around

painted faces

here are a couple of self-portraits i have been working on. i have decided to practice painting by doing self-portraits for a year. at least i will always have a subject available - day or night, rain or shine! it has been fun trying different styles and seeing the way i see myself at various times.

when i look at the purses i just had on the blog and the embroidered faces i did last year, i must have a thing for faces...gotta think about that one.