Fine Art Friday

"If we don't have a sense of humor, 

we lack a sense of perspective."

 - Wayne Thiebaud

At 90 years young, Wayne Thiebaud is still painting.

Maybe you know his work, 

or perhaps you're seeing it for the first time. 

Either way, this interesting 6 minute video shares

his life, career and work to date.

If you'd like to read more:

Thiebaud at the Smithsonian 

Or add to your personal library:

A visual treat

J'adore

Papier Mache.

 New to me, and fun, fun, fun!

In just one afternoon with my dear friend Cheri, 

I gained a 3-D perspective on my self and my art.

Thank you Cheri!

In an Artist's Studio:

Treasures & gems tucked high & low, 

in front and behind, all around the room. 

In the center, the real gem, my dear friend Cheri.

Expert teacher. Guiding hand.

Sharing a tasty meal made with love.
Wet paper & gloppy wheat paste.
Listening to stories, hanging on every word.

Touching silk more than 100 years old.

Reading horoscopes. 

Green tea with cinnamon.

Working to the sounds of the river 

with its banks almost overflowing.
The winds pick up.

Tearing wet paper strips. 

Generous gifts.

Layering wet paper strips. 

Darkening skies. 

The tapping of rain.

  Jumbo peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

I am full.

Open Studio Sunday

Yesterday, I went on a 
Treasure Hunt of a different kind...

Bingo, anyone?
An alphabet game & antique baby carriages.
 

 
Assorted mason jars. Children's noise makers - fun!
Stained glass on a dreary day. A child's toy stove.
 

 
Miniature, hand-operated sewing machines. 
Parts are in working order, a tell-tale layer of dust,  
and look at those colors.
Jackpot!
  
And here's the treasure that came home with me:

Finally Friday!

I aim to have an entire bouquet

in just a few days. 

 Natalie Chanin's Mums made from cotton-jersey

are the speedy solution to my need for pretty. 
Romantic. Soft. Sweet.

Clear instructions and beautiful photographs are in her book, 

"Alabama Stitch Book." 

 

You might remember this skirt, and then there's another 
I'll show soon, plus the pile of cotton jersey waiting to be cut,

so clearly I'm a Natalie Chanin fan. Why?

 

(Turn up your volume) and have a listen, 
from Natalie Chanin herself, 
then pour a fresh cup of coffee and sit down with her 
online journal. Be prepared to really be inspired.

And, if you make some flowers this weekend, show me! 

I'd love to be inspired by what you're making.

The Most Dangerous Woman

Because story telling is a gift passed along 

from one person to another, from one generation 

to another, here's my gift to you today. 

Performed by Ani Difranco and Utah Phillips 
on the album: Fellow Workers.

Open Studio Sunday

 

Plain and simple, I need a day to play. 
As Julia Cameron says in "The Artist's Way": 

"Since my artist is a child, the natural child within,

I must make some concessions to its sense of timing.

Some concessions doesn't mean total irresponsibility.

What it means is letting the artist have quality time,

knowing that if I let it do what it wants to it will 

cooperate with me in doing what I need to do.

So, here's a look inside the Studio to see what 

I've allowed myself to play around with so that I can 
get back to doing what I need to do. 

Pretty & reversible headbands.
I really enjoy The Long Thread, and these were fun to make.

Two pairs of flannel PJ's. 
Cheery colors & pretty patterns to chase away the damp chill.

I cut these skirt panels so long ago, and today is the day 
I let myself bring them out and start embroidering.

I've admired Natalie Chanin, of alabamachanin.com,
for a few years and have enjoyed getting to know 
some of her techniques. If you savor hand work, 
either or both of Natalie Chanin's books are worth 
adding to your personal library. 

Heading in to evening, it's time to set up the wheel
and ply some gorgeous indie dyed roving 
by the one and only, Into The Whirled.  

 

I'm glad I gave myself permission to play,  
and to momentarily stray from the schedule.
Play. It does an artist good.

Best Intentions

About this time last year on www.sewmamasew.com 

I saw this eye-catching project from Anna of 

Noodlehead.blogspot.com.

The pouch was billed as a great Mother's Day gift. 

In agreement, I excitedly printed the instructions, 

set them in my studio and even cut some fabric 

for specific, special women in my life. 

 

That was a year ago. 

 

Well, here I am finally making good on my intentions. 

Just yesterday morning I sewed up this 

sweet pouch and couldn't be more pleased. 

Anna's directions are clear and easy to follow. 

The final result is both useful and feminine.

My daughter is going to love it.

Smart looking, fast sewing!

You absolutely have to make some for 

the special women in your life. 

Check Anna's blog often - it's loaded with fun and inspiration.

Open Studio Sunday

Puppy & Kitty Clutch'ems top off this sweet 

basket of handmade gifts for a tiny new friend

my husband and I are meeting this evening. 

I can hardly wait!   

Quilt number three is off and running, 

or should I say swimming?

While it pains me so, I'll have to refrain 

from sharing too much about this 

quilted wall hanging until it's finished. 

What I can say is that it's designed with

boys in mind. It has hand embroidery

and options for personalizing, 

oh, and one more thing,  

you can almost smell the salt water.

I'm as excited about this wall hanging as I am about 

the nearly finished Ladies Who Lunch quilt (below.)

Never fear, Stanley's here. 

Of course he is. 

He's tried to snuggle on this quilt, sit on it, lay on it, walk on it - 

 any thing to be a good helper. 

 Poor guy, this is the closest I'll let him get. 

Soon, you'll be able to get close, too.

P. S.

I apologize for not giving notice for my absence this past week. 

We now have a mac in the house (YAY!), and with that came 

data transfer and a very short learning curve.

Suffice it to say, I'm back on track!

Open Studio Sunday

With my nose gladly to the grind stone

 I'm thrilled about what's been happening in the studio:

 4 new quilt designs, HOORAY!, 2 of which are well

under way, bits & pieces shown below.

Each quilt is designed for equal parts charm and speed.

I'm chomping at the bit to reveal the quilts and

make them available to all of you.

A pile of leaves.

Some grass.

Pausing for a moment to look at the progress.

Or the mess. 



Miss Froggie is ready to make some new friends.



What are grass & leaves without Ladybugs?

Honestly, it was going to be ants,

but I listened to that little nagging voice,

consulted my chief-bouncer-offer (a.k.a. my husband)

and decided to go with Ladybugs.

I'm relieved to see Miss Froggie agrees. 

(I sewed her up soon after arriving home with

the sweet, fun, funky book, "Sew Me, Love Me" by

the very talented Hsiu-Lan Kuei.)

Stay tuned for all 4 quilt designs to land in the shop

as PDF's. Who knows, some ready-mades

might even be available....

give me one more HOORAY!

Finally Friday!

Be prepared to devour.

Thank you Abby for

these 4-ingredient Nutella Brownies!

If you have 3 minutes to mix and

12 minutes to bake, you will have

fudgey-hazelnut-chocolatey goodness

in 15 minutes flat.

I hope you whip some up this weekend and share.

Or don't share.

But don't forget a cold glass of milk.