Done for now

The only thing really left to do is stitching along the strap to flatten it and I'll leave that for another time...I wore it today but had to leave the reception early since the fragrance in the room (despite signs asking people not to wear any in the building) made my DH ill so we had to come home. After 20 years of this, I'm mostly used to it, but today it brought home to me that my husband needs to retire from working in places where he can't control the environment. It seems to me in the last couple of years his response to an exposure is getting worse....the effect on him is worse and he's beginning to become angry when he's exposed, which has not always been the case, so I think the effect it's having on his brain chemistry is getting worse too. I know that complete isolation isn't an option for him, but I do think we can work harder at finding work for him in places where he can control the environment...and that just won't be in any building open to the public, so that lets out the visual arts center.

Poe's Raven

I've signed up to do a postcard with the theme of E.A. Poe's raven so I've been sketching some roughs from photos...all I need is an outline, so we'll see if any of these look good in fabric.

Joie de vivre

There seems to be a trend on some of the blogs I read regularly for people to choose a word or concept to use as a theme for this coming year...nina bagley' s is nascent, jude hill's new piece for the year is coma and leah kolidas of CED has chosen play for this month's theme....
I don't think I can choose just one word for a whole year so I think I'll go with the concept of joie de vivre and see how far into the year it takes me...I know I've had about all the heavy stuff I can deal with for a while and I need to turn to the lighter, more joyous side of life for a time. I'm going for "an exultation of spirit"...

Bag

I've gotten some more done on the bag....the sides are sewn and the shoulder strap is pinned on but not sewn yet...decided to use the same fabric as someone suggested...now I'm looking for buttons in my button collection...I think I'll be able to finish it tomorrow though since I'm hoping to use it on sunday for an art reception.

Happy New Year!

I want to thank everyone who has stopped by during the year and (especially the gals from the BJP who drop by regularly) and wish everyone a very happy and healthy new year! It's been such a pleasure to post in the blog and then see what you all have to say about the posts...I know if I was just posting for myself, I'd be posting a lot less, but you all make it so rewarding to do this on a regular basis.
And since I've committed to being Creative Every Day (which will be known by CED from here on in), I'll be posting even more regularly...life and the weather permitting!
And for today's CED, I've sewn the stitched piece onto the purse and lined it....I'm saving the finish for tomorrow, as I'm still unsure about the strap. It isn't a very large purse, about 8x11, I think, but it will give me a nice one to wear to art openings and I'm sure I'll get lots of feedback there!

Travels

Chuck and I drove up to Astoria yesterday to check out a cooler for our local food co-op...I went along to drive and take photos and managed to stop at a few viewpoints on the way home to catch some of the wonderful skies....we had every kind of weather except (thank goodness!) snow....sun, rain, hail and most of it just coming in waves, so we'd have hail and 2 minutes and a mile or two down the road it would stop and a bit further along we'd have sun! The kind of weather we're used to having on the coast in the winter, thankfully!
Also got a shot or two of the container ships waiting in the columbia to go upriver to portland or go back out to sea across the bar, or maybe all of the above...
Also got a photo of my patch of stitching from outside, but it still doesn't show the irridescence of the sheer fabric that's on top of the dark fibers....maybe I'll try another shot taken at an angle...and I found some interesting trim that I may use for the strap, but I'll have to do some stitching on it first...and a possible button as a closure...if I make one.
It's sure fun making a purse improvisationally!

boy, blogger sure arranges photos in a weird way...I'd call it ugly, but I'm too lazy to go back and see if I can fix if...

Blog Changes

I think for the next few days I'll try some changes to the look of the blog...and then on the 1st I can put up the final changes...although with blogger making it so easy now to change the look of the blogs, I might change it more often...at least the header photo.

Bag

I'm thinking of adding the 5.5 inch square to the purse...still looking for something to use as a strap/hanger though...

New Bag

I bought some upholstery material to recover a camel saddle footstool and had some left over so I'm making a purse...haven't made one in years so it will be very simple...just have to find some cord for the handle...the solid green is a silky material I'm using to line it.

Creative Every Day

I've been wondering what challenge to take up for next year and after looking at dozens, I've decided to do the Creative Every Day challenge that artist Leah Kolidas hosts...
What I love the most about it (besides the no-guilt aspect, lol) is that you can change mediums from day to day...although my major love is fiber/bead embroidery, some days I'm just not up to picking up a needle. But leah considers all aspects of life as avenues for creativity (cooking, gardening, etc. as well as the traditional arts/crafts) so I feel I'll be inspired to do something creative every day, or maybe just notice that I do something creative every day already, but just haven't been honoring it? Anyway, I'm excited about doing this and although I may not write something every day, I am going to at least post a photo of each day's CED's.

Couching Fibers

I've been playing with this photo for an hour in photoshop and I still can't get it to show the richness of color in the original piece...maybe I'll try taking the photo in daylight...

Happy Holidays

December BJP Finished...done with a few days to spare...my much simpler version of the lovely black madonna and child Russian icons...and my holiday e-card for my blog...and new header...talk about re-using!
Happy Holidays to all the fine folks who stop by throughout the year and may your new year be full of joy and peace.

Solstice Thoughts

This is one of my favorite days of the year as we turn back toward the lighter days and shorter nights.
I'm remembering a winter 37 years ago when we had just come back from our trip to Mexico, gotten married, and decided to give living in california a try...we gave away a lot of stuff, stored a couple of tables with friends and put all we owned, plus our siamese cat, chisai, who had gone with us to Mexico in our bus, back into the bus and headed for San Jose.
As it turned out, the endless sun paled a bit after a few months and we headed back to the cooler, wetter pacific northwest that suited us so much better...but I've always been glad we gave it a try instead of wondering later in life if we'd missed something.
Here're a few photos I dug out today...me and chisai and the van at our tiny hotel in San Miguel de Allende...the van by itself and a couple of photos taken from the hills above the town....can't remember if the photos were from our trip into town or when we were heading out...but it was a lovely few weeks we spent there and still hope to return someday.
The black madonna and child are beaded...the next step isn't yet clear though, so they may sit a bit...

Moving Again

I'm getting excited about seeing how this comes out again...

CyberFyber Postcard Slide Show

Here's a link to susan lenz's slide show of the postcards she traded with artists all over the world (me included!)...the CyberFyber show (which includes the postcards, ATC's and invitational work from selected artists) runs from January 8 - 20, 2009 at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios, 808 Lady Street in downtown Columbia, South Carolina, but the cyber show will be at the blog...how kewl to have both an online show and an "actual" gallery show!

Snow Day

Not a lot, but more than we usually get and earlier....good morning to stay in and work on xmas presents...

Fun

I have no idea what I'm doing here, but it's sure fun...I did this yesterday while gallery sitting, so today I'm going to see about adding some other fabric or fibers to it...
The color in the photo is miles off, but I'll correct it next time...it's much warmer and deeper.

What If?

I've followed jude hill's blog for quite some time now and she's been a major inspiration in my quest to lessen the beads and crank up the fiber/threads in my work...along with her first blog, Spirit Cloth, she's also got a blog called, What If, where she (and others) ask just that question and then answer it with fabric and thread...
I don't know if her flickr group is still open, but I didn't think she'd mind too much if I play along in my blog.
Since starting is always the most difficult part for me, I thought I'd make it simple and just ask myself, "what if I put these fabrics together in a simple collage? This is play, pure and simple and I hope I can keep that attitude!

A Bit Further Along

I did a bit more on the icon today but just a little since I had an informal lesson with a couple of friends this afternoon. Neither one had done herringbone so we went through the steps to begin that and then the beginning of flat even peyote...I have fun teaching the two stitches but have not been tempted away from my bead embroidery...and of course, I use the peyote stitch for my face bezels, so it's not like I've abandoned it entirely.

Actually Begun

But would you believe this is a whole afternoons work?