31 January 2019

a sweater dilemma


I made this fabulous sweater and it "seemed" like it would fit but when I was done I and 3 of my best friends could have worn it at the same time. Too big is too small a term. I wanted it big just not tent sized. Anyway, against the advise of those in the knitting shop, I am unraveling the entire sweater and will be re-knitting it. I am also asking another set of eyes for their judgement after knitting about 6 inches.









28 January 2019

Monoprinting


I had a hankering for monoprinting. I started with a gelli and that totally didn't work. Sorry no pics. Prints are in the trash. Then I moved on to ink on Plexiglas. I had a hard time stopping. I kept running out of paper then sunlight....


The good, the bad, and the ugly


An old plate I made years ago - just fooling around with it.



This could have been so good to ;(








Birds on a wire


My fave, no contest

24 January 2019

Knitting and my self portrait from 1966



I recently sent my son two of my remaining art pieces (I destroyed the rest, temperamental?) and now I just have one left. The two I sent him were a pen and ink - pointillism - of a young girl and a charcoal of a young boy. Here they are hanging on the wall in his house in Malta. I did the girl at 16 and the boy at about 19.



 I dug around until I found my old self portrait which NO ONE liked but me. Odd since I was so hypercritical of my painting as a kid. I was 15 or 16 when I painted it. Any how, the frame was crap so I re-framed it and I like it even better.





Now on to the knitting. I found this lovely lambs wool Aran yarn in my knee wall while looking for forgotten things. I have no idea what I will do with it.


And last but not least this is "The Lake", Horizon 3 on it's way to Arizona.


21 January 2019

knitting bag


You know how it is in the winter - weight gain. I needed to have something to do with my hands other than put snacks in my mouth so I started knitting again. I was carrying it in a basket but it was too bulky so I made a cute bag with soft leather handles.


Maine was famous for shoe shops but the trade went to cheap overseas vendors. I was the recipient of MANY full leather skins. This one is very soft and perfect for handles.





Binding the top and applying the handles. The Juki handled the quilted fabric and leather easily.





Side seams and box bottom.





Both sides.








My alpaca cowel in its infancy.


17 January 2019

My sister's new studio


My sister moved in to my old studio on the second floor of my house. It's huge (32 X 24) with a 12 X 15 bathroom. I moved my bed upstairs to free up the space in my former living room where I have been sleeping for the past few years. I just can't do stairs anymore. Now I only have to go up and down once a  day and there is a lot more room in my "new" studio area.


Most importantly are her dogs. Scruffy looks like my Jaic and the little black girl is Bebe. Scruffy travels with Susan when she is driving the truck and Bebe stays with us during the week.


Scruff in his happy place.


Susan and her space.














She already made a top. We hit a big Joanns sale and she bought batts and I bought LOTS of white fabric to dye, batik, deconstruct, or maybe silk screen


14 January 2019

More quilt redux


This was really a wide quilt and I had a hard time finding a jar to slip inside for shape and stability. I made a load of Peanut Butter Crisscross cookies for the holidays and I ended up with an empty PB jar that fit perfectly.




This ruler was the exact height I needed.



It was a Rainbow Trout


I think this was so funny. I was cleaning out some cabinets so my sister could put her kitchen items in her own spot when I came across a coffee cup cuff I made long ago. It fit perfectly with this jar.

I slipped a small jar into to hold my magnifying glass for threading my sewing machine needles.

10 January 2019

The last of the print table covers.

I had to clear out my print table and silk screens to make room for my sisters stuff in my garage when it comes off the truck. We will gradually get everything up to her suite but in the meantime.......

This was the last of the table covers from the Maine Event. I thoroughly sprayed the 4' X 8' piece of fabric with soda ash because I hadn't pre-soaked it prior to the event. Here it is coming into the house in a bucket.





It doesn't look like much here but it is really beautiful fabric.








70 pecking birds I received for my 70th birthday from my friend Rita.