Description: Please note. Anything you find on my blog is yours for the taking. Please use, share and make money from anything I have created and posted here excluding anything refering to Heal My Hands because that's how I make my living. Now mind you, this only applies to MY work, craft and cooking related. Patterns, sources and information credited to others still belongs to them and you would have to ask their permission as usual. But otherwise - what's mine is yours. I won't sue you - I promise. There's just too much of that going on already.
After endless fiddling, switching and switching back, I've finally decided on the backgrounds for all four quadrants. These backgrounds will be faded to about 15 - 20% and printed directly onto the fabric with my inkjet printer (I have a Canon S9000). Once that's done, hopefully today, though I'm having guests for barbecue so I don't think I'll actually get that far (still have to test the prints), I'll be able to collage the teabag tracings on top. Stay tuned!
I now know more than I ever needed to know about corsets, their history and the making of them today. Yes, that's right, there's a thriving corset community out there making corsets of all colors and complexity. And WEARING THEM! All I can say to that is wow - I can barely manage to get my rather utilitarian underwear on right-side out every morning. I can't even imagine lacing myself into any sort of anything. I mean, I wear crocs most of the time. No laces, see?
Well anyway, I had my daughter and granddaughters here for a week, hence no progress on the quilt. We did have a really good time though and there are several photos of my adorable girls on my Flickr if you're so inclined (there's a really cute photo of Anthony and Charlotte in there). I did think about the construction of Go Figure quite a bit even though I didn't PhotoShop or stitch a thing. And I had an idea.
You know the story about Grandma's ham and how subsequent generations all cut the end off the ham because Grandma did it that way so it must be better somehow? It turns out that Grandma's pan was too short and a whole ham didn't fit into it. Thats Grandma - that gives me a great idea!
The fabric I bought to run through my printer is from www.colorplusfabrics.com and it comes in a sample pack of 8 1/2 x 11 sheets. When I ordered it, I thought our specified size was 8 1/2 x 11. Not so! Turns out it's 12 x 12. Right. So I have this fabric specially treated to run through my inkject printer and it's all too small. And yes, I know I can buy Bubble Jet, treat my own and iron it to some freezer paper. But did you read what I just typed? I don't think I'll be doing that any time soon. So on to the problem of fabric sheets too small for the project. Hmmmm.....
I guess I'll have to cut them up!
This is how I figure I'll do it. This way, the largest quadrant is 7 1/2 x 9. Brilliant huh? But don't get too excied, this is only the photoshop version, I have yet to print or cut any fabric. I did find corset style hooks and eyes and I'll be making the eyelets myself with an awl. Yikes. But even though I'm sure the real thing won't be nearly as neat, anything less seemed like a cop out to my subject matter.
So after I figured this out, I started to lay my images on top of the four quadrants and that's the next installment. Let's just say that with the exception of chasing a coyote from the chicken yard, and eating tomato sandwiches made with our own Japanese Truffle tomatoes (which were knee meltingly delicious) this is pretty much all I've done all day.
As I promised: here's what I'm thinking, my initial doodle, for Go Figure. I did this in PhotoShop with images from Wiki Commons. At this stage, I'm really just playing. I know what I want to say, but I'm unsure of how the statement should look.
There will be several more revisions before I'm done, and a shape change. The challenge rules require the piece to be 12 x 12, but there is no stipulation as to the shape. Good. I'm thinking corset shaped, with eyelets and lacing down the center.
Of course, this will change the imagery and placement, but we'll see how it all plays out when I draw the shape in Illustrator and start placing images. I want to try and use the pregnancy corset, the child's corset and the movement opening (double image). I'll most likely lose the metal brassiere and the bustle, but I have another project idea for those.
I've also started to trace the illustrations onto dunked, opened, rinsed and ironed Lipton teabags with Pigma Micro pens. I'll trace them all, since I plan on using the others at a later date.
Oh, and by the way, all these images are from the US patent files (yes, they're now in the public domain - I haven't stolen anything). They're actual garments or, rather, devices of torment. And women actually put these things on every blessed day of thier lives. Incredible isn't it?
I've begun my next project, and you guessed it - it's about fences. Not the kind that keep animal in, the kind that keep women in. The kind made of whale bone. Here's a sneak preview:
I'll be publishing the process as I work on it, so stay tuned!
...but there are times when I scratch my head and wonder why anyone would spend time making the article in question. It's not that I consider my arts and craft choices to be superior, and I certainly realize that everyone is entitled to my their opinion, but seriously...
Thanks to Flickr. They have some VERY unique pools, including this one: Tacky Craft Tuesday.
YAY - it's FINISHED!!! And I'm pretty darn happy with it. While I was working on it, I often found the imagery disturbing, to the point where I covered it with a piece if fabric. I know, I know, I took the picture, what was I expecting? Well I certainly wasn't expecting to be as disturbed by it as deeply as I was.
This is the same image that A's dad got all irritated about when I sent him a poster of it a few months ago. He thought I was making comments about his hunting. But it is, and always was, about the fence. About the fencing our great grasslands. About their near destruction. About how good fences do not make good neighbors.
I finished the image, and was fretting about quilting the barbed wire lines. This was another big issue for me, both in light of the wire itself, and how to best represent it. I ended up using a medium gre Gutterman thread in the needle, and a silver metallic in the bobbin, so that only the occasional tiny dot of shiny silver showed through the front. You can't see it in the photo but it's perfect.
Again, I was stumped or a quote for the border quilting. I considered a free-motion design, but I had too much to say. I reread The Devil's Rope again looking for inspiration, and then two days ago, I line from Frost's Mending Wall popped into my head: "Before I built a wall I'd ask to know What I was walling in or out"... And I had my quote.
I had gotten the words transferred, and was sitting down to sew when Chan called. I read her the quote. Her comment? "Did you say offence or a fence"? A fence would be very Ogden Nash. Yep, she was right, so a misquote it was.
Before I Built a Wall
21.5 x 19, Cotton and Cotton Organza. Cotton, Rayon and Metallic Thread,
Mending Wall by Robert Frost Misquote: Before I built a wall I'd ask to know What I was walling in or walling out, And to whom I was like to give a fence. Something there is that doesn't love a wall, That wants it down.
The line should read, And to whom I was likely to give "offence". But when my daughter suggested the Ogden Nashian turn of phrase, I couldn't resist
Once upon a time in New Mexico, a brand
new cookie was born. Full of unexpectedly delicious flavors and more than a bit
bold, it shone like the desert sun and cast a shadow on the flavorless...
There’s a new cookie in town: Albuqcookie!
Albuqcookie
is a client of ours here at 8 arms creative. We did their website, which
launched on Sunday, and their print. Oh, and we eat their cookies because
those cookies are TRULY delicious. And you know they are because if
picky-ass me says so, they must be.
I am munching the Toffee Almond Biscotti, my absolute fav, as I type. And
no I haven't had lunch yet. So what.
What are you waiting for - go see our cool website design and order some YUMMY cookies!www.albuqcookie.com
Steven's gorgeous photos (isn't he cute) by my pal Jamie atScout J Photography
Oh, and I took the cookie photos with our new light box!
I have to admit being pretty darn pleased with this one - hence the really large photo. The apricots came from our a tree we stumbled upon buried in the wilderness down by the pond, The harvest was doubly sweet for being a complete surprise!
The recipe I used last year to make a plum variation of this cake didn't thrill me, even after my adjustments for altitude. The darn thing was pretty, but dry as a bone. This time I made some serious alterations to the recipe:
Apricot Upside-Down Cornmeal Cake
3/4 cup whole milk
1 cup coarse ground cornmeal **
4 ounces unsalted butter *
¾ cup dark brown sugar *
a double handful of small, ripe
apricots, halved and pitted
a handful of slivered almonds
3 whole eggs
1/3 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
blended with a bit of milk to thin = 1/3 cup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
¼ teaspoon orange
flower water
4 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour,
approximately 1 cup
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup sugar
¼ cup melted butter
¼ cup canola oil
ra* The original recipe calls for 8 oz
butter and 1 cup dk brown sugar.I
reduced them to see what would happen.What happened was that the butter and sugar slid to the edges of the pan
and left the middle plain, as you can see in the photo. You get a tart middle
and a sweet edge,I like it, it makes a nice flavor contrast.
** I used regular cornmeal and it got
so thick and hard in the bowl I had to break it up with a fork before I could
even think of mixing it into the other ingredientsI couldn’t find coarse cornmeal.Rats..
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a microwave-proof dish, bring the
milk to a boil. Remove the milk from the microwave and add the cornmeal. Stir
and let soak at room temperature for
30 minutes. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a 10-inch cast iron
skillet over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the brown sugar and
stir until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the
heat and carefully arrange apricots
cut side down filling the bottom of the pan.Fill in with slivered almonds.
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt
into a medium mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
In a separate
mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, yogurt and extracts.
Add the sugar to the eggs and whisk to combine. Add the canola oil and melted
butter and whisk. Add the cornmeal and milk mixture to the egg mixture and
whisk to combine. Add this to the flour and stir just until combined. Pour the
batter over the fruit in the skillet and bake for 40 to 45*** minutes. Remove
from oven and let cool for 30 minutes in the skillet. Set a platter on top of
the skillet and carefully invert the cake. Serve.
No, it's not the name of a Chinese dish, it's Thai astrology, sort of. I just finished reading Bangkok Haunts by John Burdett . I loved it. It was slightly gruesome, but immensely entertaining - perfect summer reading. Among other things I learned about Thailand was the fact that the Thai's have a "good luck" color for each day of the week. Cool. Upon doing a bit of reading about it, I also found that everyone has lucky colors associated to their Birth Day. Wow. Who knew. I've probably been wearing the wrong colors all along, and perhaps you have too. So in an attempt to remedy that situation, I present the following:
Wear these colors on these days
Sunday (Sun) Red
Monday (Moon) Yellow Tuesday (Mars)
Pink Wednesday (Mercury) Green
Thursday (Jupiter) Jupiter Friday (Venus)
Blue Saturday(Saturn) Purple/Black
Traditionally it is believed that Buddha spent seven days
following his enlightenment thinking of the suffering of all living creatures
and how unimportant his life was prior to reaching enlightenment.
In Thailand,
the majority of people practice a form of Theravada Buddhism. It is based on
the Pali Canon augmented by the practices, beliefs and magic traditions that
make it unique to Thailand.
Buddhism is based on the Four Noble Truths through the practice of the
Eightfold Noble Path and the daily Five Basic Precepts.
Thais are superstitious and believe that their day of birth
reflects their life and there are seven Buddha images to reflect each day of
the week (actually, there are eight Buddha images but I’ll talk more about that
in a moment).
The days are also each assigned a different color and many
Thai people pay special attention to this. The most visible example is the
wearing of yellow shirts on Mondays to honor HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Likewise,
you will see many blue shirts each Friday as that was the day of the week that
HM Queen Sirikit was born.
Saturday I had another birthday - boy, they just keep coming! I've turned 55 and it seems as if I've reached the top of a particularly trying peak. Not K2, but close. I sort of felt like I should be planting a flag for having made it this far. You know?
We celebrated with our first ballroom dancing lesson, which was really cool because we learned to do the basic two step, and the basic fox trot. So now we can dance to Frank and to most country western. I can't even tell you how excited I am about this, I've ALWAYS wanted to learn to swing and to tango and to be able to get out on the floor with the seniors when the band strikes up without looking like an idiot.
It was an awful lot of fun and I can't wait to go back on Wednesday night for our private lesson. When the instructor asked if we had agenda's, mine was a bout as long as my arm. He laughed and said, well with practice, you can get there. I was so tickled I laughed out loud. ME - that's ME on that dance floor!!! On Sunday, Anthony arranged some of our country and big band stuff so that it was easily accessible and we practiced a bit this morning. How darn cool is that - dancing away a Monday morning when the work is piled sky high.
After our lesson, we went for sushi, which we haven't had since leaving New York. I don't know about you, but I'm just a little creeped out about eating raw fish so far from the ocean. But the fish was delicious and the chef was amazing (we sat at the bar), and all in all it was a marvelous night. On Sunday, my friend Fran down the street made an absolutely yummy pancacke breakfast and gave me an adorable top which I'll have to photograph for you. Our across the street neighbors brought a fruit salad and made me a fab card. My next door neighbor burned me a music mix. What a great street this is.
And by now, being 55 doesn't feel all that different from being 54 except that I had a particularly wonderful birthday weekend.
