It needs *something!*

It's really too sunshiney to day to take photos, but I did it anyway. You can tell that the lighting isn't right; it's much lighter at the bottom than at the top. Anyway, in person, so to speak, I love this piece. It's 2' x 3', intended to be a processional banner. In the photo, however, it seems to lack something. But what? I've covered this olive green silk with layers and layers of thread, and I think I'll paint on it with gold paint. I love the effect of the paint over the thread.

You can't see it, but the photo is in blogger somewhere! And I've spent enough time messing with it!

I've done another, as well, with a bluer green silk: "irredescent emerald" I think the bolt said. It's intended as a pulpit hanging, and I think it needs rethinking completely. It may end up as a painted banner, too, and I'll do the pulpit hanging again.

Anyway, I'm off this weekend to sew with 6 other art quilters:

Cathy,

Floris,

Mary Beth,

Elizabeth,

Linda, and Dale. We have done this every spring and fall for TEN! years, and here's a photo of us from last fall, when Mary Beth's sister joined us. That's the West River behind us, and aren't our shirts cool? Elizabeth and I found them at KMart for $1 each last fall, while on an emergency search for a coffee makerand barbie shoes.

Unfinished projects

I haven't posted since last week, before I went to New York. We had a great time, visiting galleries and museums. We saw the Munch exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art, and clearly we haven't suffered enough! He was really depressed. There is a scathing review of the show in today's Washington Post, saying that Munch wallowed in his mental problems and used trite and bland imagery. Other reviews have been more positive - there's one in a recent New Yorker Magazine, and this month's Smithsonian Magazine has a big article, too.

Anyway, back to the topic. I have had to put off finishing a couple of things (no deadlines!) for working on things that are coming due. This past week I was in Virginia with my sister, putting a stained glass mosaic on a counter top. We got carried away and put one on the back splash, too!
The photo of the counter was taken from the stairs, leaning over the railing; that's why it's so skewed.

We arrived at the house about 2:30 on Monday, and by 3 we were hard at work. We worked steadily until about 11, except for a sojourn to the emergeny room for a tetnus shot for Nancy. She cut herself on a sharp piece of glass and since her last tetnus shot was way more than 10 years ago, I made her get in the car and drove her to the hospital.
But other than that, it went quickly and by Tuesday evening we had both surfaces ready to grout. The grout needs 72 hours to cure before sealing, so next time I'm there, I'll seal the backsplash and pour a two part epoxy resin over the countertop to give it a smooth surface and protect the glass from us and vice-versa.

Off to NYC

Well, I'm off to New York tomorrow with three friends for the weekend. We're going to see the Edvard Munch exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art, and other than that, we're playing it by ear. No husbands, so we get to do as we choose. The weather is supposed to be warm, with only a chance of showers. Warm is the operative word here, in my opinion. So, when I get back on Sunday, I'll have photos to share.

Dallas Miniature Textiles Exhibit

I am participating in the International Miniature Textiles Invitational-Dallas. I decided to try the iridescent fabric on darks for that piece, and here's what I submitted: Night Garden.

While I worked on this little piece (11 x 14) I struggled with being so rigid. I need to think less about fabric and more about value. Maybe I should re-organize my fabric, but OH! what a chore that would be. Maybe a big sign over my work space would do: THINK VALUE

The Waterfall Diptych is finished.

I finished this piece last week (a month ahead of the deadline!) and we hung it yesterday. I'm pleased and so is the client, and the decorator who recommended me, too. It's hung on either side of the entry from the client's living room to the dining room, pretty high up. Each piece of the diptych is individually lit, and the lighting emphasizes the iridescent fabric. The beads look like stones, and the client actually thought I had sewn stones on it. I put way more beads on it than I had planned, but I love the look.

Progress in the Dirty Workroom

Finally! I painted that white plywood this wonderful red-purple color: Dark Iris. The color (on my screen anyway) is pretty accurate. Next I taped it, with the idea of adding stripes.

The blue tape will come off, revealing the original Dark Iris color, with stripes of a lighter color in between. I painted the edges of the blue tape with the background color. It makes a seal, so that blobs of the next color won't ooze under the tape. Well, that's the theory, anyway.

This is the room where I paint stuff. Fabric, furniture, floor cloths. To the right of the newly painted plywood is the utility sink, and under the work surface in the foreground are two small dressers and a rolling set of drawers. In another space I have a raised work table, and there are shelves along one wall. There are also a freezer, miscellaneous chairs and most of our holiday decorations.

A Blank Slate

I was messing around in my utility room, also known as the dirty workroom, and I wondered if my husband had ever put up those plywood sheets he bought for me. Voila! there they were, and I have no idea how long they've been there. The idea is to hang shelving in front of them, and the plywood will keep the stuff from falling off between the studs. Ask me how I know this.

Anyway, all that bare wood called out for paint. So here it is, all primed and ready to be tarted up. Or Nancy-ed up, as we like to say, since my sister will paint anything that stands still and isn't suitable for mosaic. Stay tuned. As soon as the primer dries, I'll start with the paint.