I'm Not Outside Enough

The other day I spent a while doing various "chores" outside, mainly digging to make holes for some potted plants. Oh, I still need to mow the lawn, I just remembered.
Anyway, I've often lamented to myself after forgetting to write down or otherwise remember what I've planted where. With vegetables, it's kind of ridiculous not to know, but with flowers, it's almost fun. For example, I can't recall what the above plant is going to be, but I can see it's getting ready to bloom so it's exciting to wait and see. When I looked closely I saw that little bug on there just hanging out.

Push Pins for the Dentist's Office

I finished the set of 10 toothy push pins. The spray painting process makes sense, but masking off the tooth part from the gums is a hassle and gets gunky. With these I ended up doing touch up all over with another shade of pink which was more of a magenta than the original spray paint. I'm working on a set of beads which will hopefully make better use of the spray paint. And I'm going to look for more small push pins I can use for making more of these.

Entering the dental office supply business could probably be quite lucrative.

In other news, I've created a HALLOWEENY section of my etsy shop. I need to restock it with more of the spooky mask goods from last year and then make something else spooky if I have time.

(g)lovely clutch

Well, I finished the project and named it (g)lovely clutch. The auction is taking place Oct. 16th.



I actually ended up abandoning the inner form which was the salvaged clutch... it turned out to function as more of a "dress form" really, and enabled me to structure the shape of the clutch without having to actually create a second skin for it. (That means I still have the "form" clutch, not that I'm sure I ever want to attempt making such a thing again).

It's very multi-technique and multi-textural, which I guess is typical of my style, especially when experimenting. Techniques include applique, embroidery, various stitches, quilting... Materials include vintage gloves, one dotted swiss shirt, rough silk-type fabric, felt, batting, a fabric covered button, beads, floss.





There is also a pair of matching dyed vintage gloves included.

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Next up I'm attempting to make some toothy pushpins for a dentist's wife.



Right now they are unpainted sculpy and look grossly fleshy. I have some white spray paint and I think tomorrow I'll go buy some pink. Usually I paint toothy items by hand, but one of my ongoing goals is for better time management so I think I'm going to try out spray paint for a change. We'll see.

Oh Wouldn't It Be Gloverly...

glov·er·ly /gˈlʌvərli/ [gluhv-er-lee] Pronunciation Key
–adjective, adverb

the characteristic of being a proponent of glove-wearing; one who loves gloves.

slang: The characteristics of one who is prone to act like Crispin Glover.

* * *

I don't know what my problem is. For some reason everytime I start to write a blog, I end up having Audrey Hepburn musical numbers on the brain.

But back to gloves. Earlier I mentioned I had been playing with a box of RIT dye.



That was back when I deluded myself into thinking I could take apart a purse with a top closure "kiss clasp" and reuse it... but then I mangled it. So, after some amount of thought, I abandoned that idea.

Oh yeah, and this is the continued purse topic related to the purse fundraiser project It's in the Bag for LINC (Legal Information Network for Cancer).

My idea all along was that I would be using vintage gloves in constructing the purse. Maybe I should have gone with wearing vintage gloves while constructing the purse? Perhaps when Method Crafting really takes off, I'll start wearing period costume depending on my project.

So.... I have quite a few of the vintage gloves from Fannie Rose Vintage left over from long ago when I worked with her, windshine, and bubblecup on our Seven Exquisite Sins wall hanging for the etsy collaboration contest.

I had some white gloves with some discoloration, so I decided to dye everything with the coral RIT.



I threw in a vintage purse while I was at it. Light over the kitchen sink is reflected in my dye bucket.



So, the wet gloves remind me of raw salmon and tuna, and should be sliced up and put on top of sushi rice. No. They're totally dry now, because I took these photos a while ago. Actually, at this point I've started finishing up the "shaping" of this purse, which is turning out to be a clutch. I did find a thrift purse to use as the innards for this, and there's no clasp involved, though I'm thinking of using magnets for closure. It's going to have a lot of different textures and gloverliness, so I'll post photos when it's done.

P.S. Speaking of photos: my free flickr account is almost full, and I'm considering upgrading to their unlimited pay account. Anyone reading this have any advice or suggestion of an alternative? Thanks.

Seam ripper and faulty cube construction

Without deadlines to prompt me, I'd never get anything done. That said, it's irritating when I decide I must finish something and then I just can't. I tried mightily to finish a set of 3 blocks for the Etsy Kids Challenge. I stayed up too late, picking out the 18 sides of fabric and thinking over possible designs. But then the next morning time went too fast and I totally ran out of time, not to mention the sewing machine decided to hate me.

Here is what I experienced:

# of infuriating balled up messes of thread: 15-20

# of needles broken: 1

# of times I had to re-thread: 10-15

# of totally sewn sides I had to rip out and redo: 3-4

# of times the thread broke while sewing: 5


All was going ok, though I was looking at the time and thinking those Project Runway folk are crazy. But then after all the sewing machine problems, I thought I had the first block done and lo and behold I had sewn the cube together wrong. I don't know how I did it, but it was some sort of rectangular-tube shape. I guess a cube is the kind of thing I thought I could just do without really thinking, and then I sewed the sides together all cockeyed. Well, I had to rip out the seams on those and redo it. And then I had to stop to go to work and I knew that was it as far as meeting the deadline.

So, in the end, I had one complete block. The rest of the prepared pieces for two other blocks will have to wait.




For some reason I felt compelled to adapt Moon River in my head to the occasion although I kept in "Huckleberry friend" because it's bizarre to begin with regardless of having it be associated with a seam ripper.

Seam ripper... wider than a mile
I'm tearing out these sides today
You dress maker, you threadbreaker
Whatever you're ripping I'm watching it fray....
Two sewers off to stitch the world
There's such a lot of world to sew
We're after the same ribbon's end
Hemming round the bend
My huckleberry friend, seam ripper...
And me

I've always wanted a Huckleberry friend.... I think....

And last but not least, from stumble upon Modern Life.

Seed packets, purse, projects to pick

Today, courtesy of stumple upon, I present:

Weird horse quartet
Dirty Car Art Gallery
Hidden Airplane Factory

What are my updates?

Bizarre Market was nice. J. from Monkeydogstudio had saved some tape dispenser rolls for me, that was awfully sweet of her.



I met K., who found a great use for the seed packet books I made. They go wonderfully with the cool mini flower presses she made with kids at the William Byrd Community House. If only I had as many successful vegetable results as I have seed packets.



Now what? I still need to make the purse for the LINC project, but of course I got sidetracked. And then I have til 11:59 pm EST to enter Etsy's Handmade Kids Challenge. I guess that means I should get off the computer and make something now. I had cut out some squares to make blocks, but now I'm not sure where I put them. Maybe I'll see if I can get it together in the next 21 hours.

Photos hosted by flickr.

Bizarre Market Reminder

This is just a reminder about tomorrow (Saturday 8/9's) Bizarre Market which is part of Art 180's Jonny Z Festival to be held on the 200 block of N. Shields (not outside Chop Suey Books this time).

I totally meant to take some photos of stuff but I ran out of time. So, this is going to be short. If I wake up and attend you may find the following items:

Little notebooks made with old seed packets
Flip books and other mini books
Something screen printed
Maybe magnets
Flip cat dolls

Hmmmmm... what else. Ok well I'm out of time so I'll have to post a followup afer the fact.