FRIDA

Today I'm keeping it short & sweet, then I'm gonna sew.

ARRRRGH

HELP - Can anyone tell me why my published entry doesn't look a thing like it does when I'm creating it ?????
I can't make the pictures stay where I put them - & what is that huge gap in yesterday's post all about - it's not there when I write it & then when it's posted it's there - I have tried to edit it in Blogger & Windows Live Writer to no avail.  Is Wordpress or Typepad more user friendly than Blogger -because I am spending waaaay to much time just trying to get a cohesive format. Thank you for any advice you can offer me. Is there a Blogger tutorial out there somewhere?

AED – Day 3

I have spent so much time downloading Picasa & Windows Live Writer using dial-up service –(literally hours for downloads) – but now I hope they will help the

    

      blogging go smoother.

And it seems to have helped quite a bit – learning something every day.

   

These are a few fabric postcards (4x6) that have been lying around in various stages of completion. And now they are finished. I can actually send them to people now – how fun!                

I have dozens of these around. I am learning lots of lessons about my work style & issues even on these really small simple pieces. Such as – I really like making the parts – I like the dyeing & the painting, cutting out little parts – I have boxes & boxes of 

                                                                                

LikeThese

   And these           

…and many, many more. Then what happens  ? They are just waiting around for the right  project. Lesson learned– USE your stuff –don’t hang onto the special  hand dyed, hand batiked fabrics or those dreamy Hoffman batiks or all those other things that are waiting for the perfect project. Use it all up. There’s always plenty more.

Here’s the back of the postcards I thread a small

ribbon through the back & capture it in between the stiffy stuff (I like the Peltex stuff with fusible on both sides)  and the backing piece. Then you can hang it with a small nail or thumbtack.

              

                        






PS – See comment, from Corrine in Sat. Jan 2nd post, about the Humbug Bags – The pattern is  available. Unsolicited plug – I have made several in different sizes – they make great gifts & you can use all kinds of fabrics – very easy too.

ART EVERY DAY - Day 2

Here's my project from Day 2 - I know today is Jan 5 - I need to catch up on my picture taking & blogging. I still find that the computer stuff is really time consuming - and I'd rather be makin' stuff.
 This was a small UFO that has been hanging around for too long ( remember I love starting things ).

This is what I had to start with - THEN   I finished it by adding  hand painted silk moons and some hand printed leaf squares. Then printed out a  label on the computer, did some stippling on the longarm, trimmed & squared to final size, added sleeve, put on binding  & cut a hanging stick. It's all those last details that I get bogged down in. And, if  I was going to put this in a show I would also need a label & description. However, now that it is done, it does feel good to have a finished piece.

ART EVERY DAY - DAY 1

So how did it go? Well the project I initially was going to do turned out to be a bit more than a one day project - so at around 6:00 PM, in a panic ((Remember, NO STRESS ) - I quick made up a little Humbug Bag - after my big  announcement yesterday I couldn't very well wimp out & not have something to show.  I already had a piece of fabric that I dyed & stamped. I added batting & a backing ( the lining) and quilted it on my longarm machine. The Humbug  pattern is from www.quiltwoman.com  - copyright is from 2000 -so not sure if still available - I  got it somewhere(?) a while ago. 


         I  have one that I use as a camera bag - because I quilted it, it's nice & padded.                                                                        

Well so much for day one - please excuse the format of this post - for the life of me I cannot get the pictures & the text to go where I want them to -every time I try something it just does something erratic & just goes wherever - I'm using dial-up service right now & I'm tearing my hair out waiting for stuff - like uploading these few pics !!!  Better luck tomorrow .

RABBIT,RABBIT,RABBIT

 New Year's Day -No resolutions -but full of ideas and inspirations. 

 Last month  I  happened upon this blog,  http://www.creativeeveryday.com/  , which has 2 challenges which I will not try to explain -just go there & see for yourself.
 Every November she offers an Art Every Day challenge - which I discovered in Dec. - so I am going to do my own Art Every Day challenge in January - what better time than January -the holidays are over & Spring is still in the very distant future  -so it's good time to just hunker down & enjoy making Art.
 My only resolution last year was that I would NEVER do a challenge again !  You know - those challenges that tell you what fabric to use - or what theme - or size - yeah,yeah, yeah  I know they help you grow & stretch your imagination blah, blah, blah - Well what they did for me was waste my time on stuff I really didn't want to do & keep me from doing what I DID want to - they stressed me out and I now have a bunch of art quilts that I don't really like & don't know what to do with.
 So, why am I doing this ? Well I get to do what I want, MY rules - actually NO rules, well just one rule - DO the work - every day for a month. That's it - and NO pressure - I can go small & simple, or finish something that's been on the UFO list forever, any medium, any color. I can make an art quilt, a clay pin, a fabric postcard or a nice artful loaf of bread.
 I can still work on bigger WIP (work in progress) projects during the month & maybe even finish some them.  That is really my motivation for doing this - every day have something finished. I am a great starter - I LOVE a new project - I love going through all my books & Quilting Arts magazines - I love getting all my stuff out - my paints, dyes, stamps... I love fondling my fabrics -going through my big tubs of fabric & thinking of all the things I can make with them - then having clutter all around me until I put everything away again because I am overwhelmed. So Art Every Day will keep me motivated and blogging will keep me accountable. Let's see how that works !!

Goodbye 2009

  Time to reflect on 2009 ( don't worry I'll spare you & will not do that here - all I can say is "What a long, strange trip it's been ") & look forward to a fresh start in 2010.

One of my favorite sites is www.christinekane.com/blog/  -she is a life coach ( oh geez - how's THAT working out for me??? -don't ask )  -anyway - every year she encourages people to pick a word for the year - something that will maybe guide them - that they will focus on for that year. Well last year I tried to narrow it down & pick a word - that didn't quite work -so many things I need to focus on & I kept changing my word !! Oh well I am going to try again - I'm not going to tell you my word though - that's too much of a commitment & I haven't decided on one yet .  But , I  do think it's a good idea  & maybe something for people to consider when setting goals & wishes & intentions for the new year -  Christine writes an excellent newsletter -lots of ahh haa moments when you read it.

Wishing everyone new beginnings, health, wealth, happiness, peace, love... &    you fill in the blank.