The Artist's New Lingerie

I'm still working on reducing the fabric stash. This weekend, I used up about 12 yards of fabric, and the fabric pile is just as big as it always was. Jim is going to have a wonderful lingerie collection at this rate.

More Lingerie

Lingerie for Man

What to do with leftover fabric? I can't throw it away and some pieces are too big for quilts and too small for garments. I took the leftovers from two shirts I made Jim and turned them into boxers. I'm not sure if you can see the details, but I used a green holographic thread for the hems and for the stitching around the fly.

The Final Product

Here are some of the finished projects hanging on the line. Yet to come are the orchid and "jade" which is actually a gorgeous peacock blue.

Dye Buckets

Here's the start of the dye project. As before, the color I thought I was getting was different from what ended up in the bucket. The deep purple is supposed to be a pastel orchid. But... dyeing is an adventure and it works best when treated as an adventure.

My New Kick Wheel

It's not new, but it's new to me. Jim refurbished it and it's now on my patio - or my outdoor clay studio. Tomorrow, I give it a test drive.

It's A Baby Woman!

A good friend of mine became a grandmother on June 28. It's been ages since I've had the pleasure of making little baby girl clothes and I just had to indulge. I found a pattern that didn't require me to put pins, presser foot, and fingers into a tiny opening and went out and bought fabric I like. I just can't bring myself to make pastel baby looking clothes. I've noticed that when babies see something that's a bright color, that's where the baby focuses. So I chose an Asian print and a wild batik. Then I had fun picking out buttons.

What To Do With Little Quilts

I attached the little quilts to tote bags made from upholstery fabric.

She's Got Betty Boop Eyes

Watching The Storm Arrive

Put On A Happy Face

Little Quilts

I started playing around with 12" square quilts this weekend. I wanted to take what I learned in Pamela Allen's class, combine it with some of my favorite things to do with quilts, and see what comes out.

Sewing things on by hand is okay, but I dearly love my fancy thread collection and those threads work best in the machine. My quilt, my rules.

Detail of Quilt

I Just Can't Fake It Any More

Here it is all finished and ready to hang in my office. It's titled: I Just Can't Fake It Any More.

There's a poem about Richard Corey, a man who had a perfect life and one day went home and put a bullet through his head. I don't think it was depression that caused him to be suicidal. I think it was the constant strain of faking it, of holding in emotions, of biting back feelings and not saying what ought to be said.

Jim's Newest Quilt Project

Here's Jim's newest quilt project. He's wondering what size needle to use to quilt this. He's also considering embellishments. I think a row of fringe beads would be nice and maybe some crystals.

He had some basal cell cancer on his nose. The cancer's all gone, but we still have a visit to the doctor and a trip to the hospital before the skin graft is done. He has no pain, but he had to take out his 14 earrings so he's feeling rather naked. Meanwhile, Jim's considering new quilt projects utilizing one of these nose blankets. We've got an extra one.

The moral of the story: Wear Sun Screen!!!

Not Quite Done

I began this class with no idea in mind. I hadn't sketched anything. I hadn't even thought about how I would do this. I just followed the instructions and magic happened. I had no idea what sort of face I would create, but once I got the fabrics placed on the background, I realized this is a very sad woman. She's got her emotions locked inside of her because it isn't safe for her to let them out.

I need to finish the hand sewing and do the quilting. I need to do a bit more with the embellishments. I'm hoping she will tell me what she wants to be called.

My quilt in progress

I've admired Pamela Allel's quilts for ages and I've been wanting to take one of her classes. Pamela has always been so encouraging and it's all her fault that I enter shows and sell my work. Thanks, Pamela!

I'm from Buffalo, NY and that's only about an hour and a half away from Rochester where Pamela was teaching a class. And yes, we really did fly in just to take her class.

Jim's Quilt Ready for Critique

Here's Jim's quilt ready for critique. He needs to finish up the hand sewing and to do the quilting.

Jim's First Quilt

Jim does wood turning and paints (mostly oils) but he had never quilted before. He took Pamela Allen's class with me, and here he is working on his first quilt.

Working on creating a great mug

I will learn how to make a great mug and that's all there is to it! So far, I'm either getting a decent handle or a decent mug. I need to get them coordinated and then work on making a truly great mug.

Frasier Celedon Mug

Frasier Celedon Mug

Adventure

When we were on the cruise, I spent a lot of time sketching. One of my sketches is of the wooden panel by the bar. The panel has a port hole in it. As I sketched, I thought about how some people just look out at adventure and some people go out and experience adventure. May you experience adventure.

Farther down is another box based on this sketch. That box is made from high fire clay.

Raku Peas

I tried my first raku firing yesterday. I used pine needles, pine cones, wood shavings, paper and palm fronds. I'm not fond of the palm fronds. The nasty things left cuts and slivers in my hands when I tried to pull the leaves apart.

You'll find more raku photos if you scroll down a bit.

Great idea, not great results

I used a bulb syringe to make the squiggles inside this bowl. Unfortunately, I used a really ugly green slip. Next time, I'll use a smaller opening on a syringe and a nicer color. I like the idea, I just don't like the execution on this bowl.

Spodomene bowl with ocher celadon rim

I hadn't expected the ocher celadon to run the way it did, but I like how it turned out.

Spodomene bowl with teal rim

The teal ran, which I expected. I like what it did with the glaze. It's not teal, but it is interesting.

Raku Bowls