The FunkyC Fiber Spree

Boys with Toys...

2011-08-08T22:26:00.002-04:00

....sometimes share with their mothers.

He earned the money himself, did all his own research, and let me play with it today. Oh...and his hair still looks great!

April Day

2011-04-27T23:22:00.000-04:00

I'm breathing Spring.

I took this picture:

The rest were taken by...

My Daydreamer.

Easter Basket

2011-04-27T00:30:00.003-04:00

My family decided...

...that instead of chocolate bunnies...

...they wanted homeless kittehs.

Wish granted.

Visitor: A Springtime Story

2011-04-11T22:37:00.002-04:00

A sure sign...

SPRING has come to this northern land.

Bunny's been waiting aaalll winter for a fresh nibble...

Visitor would like some, too.

Our Heroine has a better idea! C'mon!

Mmmmm....that's tasty.

Wrap it all up with a Great Big Hug.

SPRING has come to this northern land!

Grannies and Squares

2011-04-05T12:48:00.037-04:00

I come from a long line, not just of crocheters, but of women who could and can work MIRRACLES with a crochet hook. These women, my Mom included, are Champion Crocheters, hooking everything from awful Red Heart slippers to breath-taking fine cotton lace. I could blather for hours about the feats I witnessed while playing near their armchairs.

As it turns out, up to now, I've barely crocheted more than a simple chain, or maybe a bit of trim. My fiber time has been focused on knitting, spinning, sewing, and printing cloth.

But now, my genetics have bitten me firmly on the A-Double-Snakes. I have a sudden, uncontrollable urge to make granny squares. This is not just a blip, a momentary whim. This feeling runs deep, calling on my womanhood, my ancestral lineage. This craving is seducing me to take my place in line with my Mother, my Grandmothers, and countless women before them.

I will, I must, rise up, hoist my hook, and crochet.

What I did...

2011-03-04T22:35:00.002-05:00

I cut out some felt,

and shaded it with marker.

And turned it into these!

Aren't they cute?

I'm in the process of refining the patterns and thinking about making lots of them. Who doesn't need an extra pair of ears?

Pen, Paper, Wood, Wool.

2011-02-21T23:43:00.004-05:00

Howdy! Here I am, snow bound again after being lured outdoors by a fake spring. Hopefully, Real Spring will arrive any minute now.

After a day of fussing and gathering and scanning, looking for camera cords and answering to my name, this post is Finally coming together. Having just discovered the Picassa collage maker, I will proceed to overuse it in one post.

First up: a truck load of sketches from several Sundays. You'll notice I've ditched the circle format when it suits me.

Secondly, one of my children went to Arizona to hang out with Uncle Jeff. Uncle Jeff has a homemade CNC router used for his amazing all-wood clocks. Said child was given free reign and came home to surprise his mother (moi) with these wooden versions of my mandalas. He gets bonus points and extra pudding.

The wooden image on the left is less clear because they didn't program the router to cut deep enough into the wood.

Lastly, there has been yarn, much making of yarn:

Something about winter makes me want to spin and dream of knitted projects. No knitting--just dreaming of knitting. And in preparation for this summer's Ren Fest, my satellite has pulled out her drop spindle and begun to hone those skills. I will be sharing a booth at a small local festival and plan to sell fiber of all ilk, including hand made drop spindles. Our children will be shunted into the crowd and forced to spin in public as advertisement. We'll pay them in yum-yums and free time to hang out with the belly dancers.

On the left, is my daughter's first hand spun yarns. The orange merino is her firstest first, the lime she Koolaid dyed and spun herself. On the right is her current yarn, something not-merino. She's starting to get the hang of drafting and is producing what will be a bulky two ply, maybe for some leg warmers or fingerless gloves.

So, there it is, Lemon Drops: a fresh post and a new week. I'll be back soon!

Sunday Circles

2011-01-23T23:29:00.003-05:00

Hi-Ho! Super Speck here, leaping life in a single bound.

So, the regular sleeping and I? Not so much. Something about the lack of sun, and my inevitable sink into a depressive state....makes me crazier than normal this time of year. All this means that I went to church today on about 90 minutes of sleep.

Turns out 'Exhausted Cathy' = 'Super loose sketching'!!!. Yay!

She looks like some kind of new Godzilla, with the super-robotic beefy arm at the left and her mega Medusa seaweed hair on the right.

And this? Something about a crescent moon and half-dying-Tim-Burton-marijuana-plants-that-don't -really-look-like-marijuana and ovary-eggs-nestled-in-a-cross-hatched-world-of-fibrous-vessels. I'm trying not to think about it too hard:

While stumbling around in a half-awake stupor was greeaaaat for unlocking that scary subconscious drawing monster, my outlook was horrible and I ended up taking a 3 hour nap this afternoon.

After that: auditions for 'Steel Magnolias'. My 'nervous while waiting' lobe kicked in and I turned out this tight-sphinctered piece of dreck:

There has to be a balance somewhere. While I want to be all loose and free all the time, sleep must be had. Otherwise I become a public safety hazard and wreak emotional havoc upon my world. I also know that trying to do this every day gets old, wearily old. All of the sketching so far has reminded me that creating daily is not optional for me. A couple of other fun projects have crept onto my work table. When they're fully gestated, I'll share them with you.

2011-01-18T00:46:00.001-05:00

The circle format, even with the addition of color, is starting to feel a little stale, especially when I see them lined up on the blog. But drawing still feels right and I don't believe the format is exhausted yet. I would like my style to take a more sophisticated turn. Pen is not as natural for me as pencil.

Practice is in order.

Sunday found me completing three circles, two started during church.

My first scan was accidentally in grayscale, but I like it that way:

Chunkier:

And one drawn during our 'Star Wars' marathon:

Something about the flair of a Jedi's robes during a light saber fight made me want to go here.

Have you been drawing at all? Leave a link in the comments. I'd love to see what you're up to.

2011-01-16T21:44:00.001-05:00

Here it is, my first post of 2011. I am officially sticking my tongue out at last year and looking toward the horizon.

New Year's Eve was a quiet evening with a few friends. There was 'Settlers of Catan', finger food, and fireworks at midnight. My friend Deanna was here. She's an artist (and high school art teacher). We broke out the Mandalas and markers:

This one's mine. It was going downhill fast but seemed to level off and end in a good place.

Deanna's

Pen and ink happens to be one of her favorite mediums, so it was no surprise that this lovely design evolved under her hand. I am inspired by the way she brought color into it. And that's the signature of a creative mind, don't you think?

My daughter's also been caught up in the spirit:

Lots of color! She's responsible for the first picture too. I'm so proud of her for throwing herself into any project that comes our way.

I took a break after this, my head being full of other details. Real life elbows it's way in line and has a way of taking precedence over personal projects and cyber-life. But here I am anyway, Super-Speck in the face of the universe, determined to keep moving forward.

2010-12-23T16:25:00.001-05:00

So, smaller works out pretty well if my pens are fine enough. I pulled out a set of India ink markers from Faber Casteel. I was able to get the level of detail I wanted with the smaller format circle. This means smaller doesn't take less time, doggonit.

What I love about this doodle is the flagella on the edge. This is an effect that's long fascinated me. I don't care so much about what's in the circle, much preferring an image with some focus. We shall see what tomorrow brings.

Smaller...

2010-12-22T21:47:00.002-05:00

These are 3 or 4 inches in diameter, done in my pocket sketchbook. I thought smaller would be quicker, however it is also...well...smaller. Much less room for detail and harder to get the kind of contrast and depth I found in the previous pieces.

This is my favorite of tonight's efforts:

It seemed kind of small and sad until the 'flagella' appeared. Now it has more life.

This one is just....meh...nothing to write home about. I blame it on the show my family was watching.

I have a few more pages with this size circle, so will keep trying. On larger paper, I scribed a circle with a dinner plate. It is so empty, yet full of potential. The idea of drawing into it has me holding my breath.

For Solstice

2010-12-20T19:25:00.006-05:00

#2

2010-12-20T09:46:00.003-05:00

Drawing in Church

2010-12-19T12:32:00.006-05:00

WARNING: LOTS OF BRAIN SPEW, ONLY ONE PICTURE. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!

There is an idea floating around the creative community that piques my interest. And though I am not one to follow fads, this idea dovetails nicely with my nature. It is the concept of Zen drawing.

Now before there's any eye-rolling, or fleeing from the blog, lemme' esplain. No. There ees no time. Lemme' sum up:

-I believe firmly that 'Zen Drawing' is somebody's catchy phrase to either sell something or to make themselves feel cool. Nothing wrong with feeling cool. Or selling things. It's just that I'm about as cool as I'll ever get (not very) and I don't really need more things. Really. House full. Money limited.

-I am a chronic doodler. It is a condition I've had from a young age and will carry to my death. My daughter recently was peeved with me for this very habit. I had a long phone call. There was a pen and an envelope near by. I covered it with mindless patterning. The envelope was important to my child. This habitual practice is hard-wired. Right up there with hangnail-picking and lip-pursing. An investigation of the loose paper in my home will reveal meeting agendas, old bills, graph paper, letter heads and the occasional receipt covered with black ink, preferably felt tip. No napkins though, never napkins.

-I focus better while doodling. This is a proven fact. ADD runs in my family. I probably have it. If my hands are empty and I have to sit during any kind of meeting, I will create endless tasks for myself, even if only in my head. I will make mental notes, watch the clock, look for faces in the wood grain, check out everyone's wardrobe and hair. It's detailed business. You ever been to my church? I probably know what you were wearing and can give you a rough estimate of how long you've owned that garment. I know when people have haircuts and when the shade changes a minute step towards red, blond, brunette, etc... This behaviour is not by choice. The grey matter demands activity, stimuli. It is a slathering, hungry beast. And it must be fed.

Doodling (or knitting or spinning, especially spinning) satiates that beast. Simple activity calms the stimuli-hunger pangs just enough for another part of the brain to absorb information on a different level. It's as if I can feel part of my mind hovering above the inner gears of basic function.

-This is not new. Lots of people doodle. Some of them use props. Some of them are more free-wheeling.

-This is also not suddenly my new medium that's going to make me rich and famous. Yes, my most successful artwork has come from extensive doodling. Yes, perhaps at some point I will turn from felt tip pens and scrap paper to India ink and a high quality surface. But not now.

Still reading? Alrighty then! All of that blather is to say that I have begun to draw during church. It helps. A lot. I can listen to readings. I can focus on the sermon. I can sit through a Bible class. I can stay awake.

I will, starting today, post these drawings here. It may not be weekly. I may fall behind. Or forget. Or become depressed. But I will try. Starting now:

Seuss!

2010-12-08T13:27:00.004-05:00

Hi, Everybody! I'm making time to blog today. Don't you feel blessed? I'm just happy you're taking a moment to see what I've been up to.

So, about 4 years ago, I decided it was time for the kids to embrace community theater. I missed it and they needed the creative and social outlet. Every play we've done, I've gotten in too deep and committed to crazy sewing plus a part plus an arm plus a leg, making for a very unFunky C.

This fall, a production of Seussical the Musical (junior version) was being produced and not only did I manage not to audition, I managed to only volunteer for ONE job. I've never done this before in my life. It didn't stop me from procrastinating, but there is hope!

So, my one job? Seuss hats. In lots of colors. And sizes. That stand on their own and can be used as dance partners.

Here we go!

Brims:

It's like a pile of gigantic Cheerios!

Bodies:

All stripedy and ready for action.

Test Hat, complete with wire coil insert.

This is the largest size I made.

With siblings:

And a few minis:

On stage, with a good friend(left) and an offspring(right):

The stage images are Photo Shopped to the hilt.
Stage photography + pocket camera = image nightmare.

Opening scene with The Cat in the Hat and Jojo:

Opening Dance number with hats in action:

My two favorite Whos (I made the circle skirt on the left, too):

The show was in mid-November and my kids had a blast! It was refreshing to be involved, but not too involved. Changing how I involve myself is a major adjustment for me and I'm hoping it will give me the freedom to do more of what I love. Bye for now!

October 2nd, 2010

2010-10-02T13:10:00.002-04:00

Dear Blog,

I have been away for a while. This is regretful.

This summer ended with many changes in my life. I believe they are all positive, but the process has not been easy. Nor is it over.

One of the momentary benefits has been the freedom to get back to one of my true loves: All things fiber. My spinning wheel has been watching me with longing eyes. A few new knitting projects have crept into my lap. I've been dreaming of new garments, hungry for the process of pattern drafting. I want to design fabric, lots of fabric. The are new tools in my arsenal that are fueling old ideas for layering, creating depth on the yardage surface. I'm fighting the urge to jump into it all at once.

Instead, I will start in one small corner. I will sketch. I will order fresh dyes. I will make luscious fabric. After that, who knows?

With Love,
Funky C.

New to Me

2010-07-02T12:28:00.004-04:00

Loretta Grayson, Australian artist.

I am in complete love with this work.

Check her blog. Lynn, scroll down for granny squares.

Juicy

2010-06-16T12:21:00.003-04:00

Oooooo....the plants were started in a greenhouse....totally cheating, I know. But LOOK at them! There will be fresh, juicy tomatoes in no time. The first ripe one will be savored within moments of picking. I will toast a piece of bread, slather it with mayonnaise, add a slice of 'mater, a hint of salt, and taste summer burst alive in my mouth. Mmmmm.

And aren't the babies cute?

In other news, it's time for the annual t-shirt circus. Today's act: 35 shirts, 3 colors. Here are some of them scrunched in a bin:

Looks like a mess, doesn't it? But then, look at the bottom. You can still see white:

Isn't that cool? I'm expecting good crystallization and some nice contrast.
Here's the whole batch:

They got a little squish, to enhance the mud and then were tucked away in an electric blanket cocoon for their afternoon nap:

I'll wash them out tonight and keep you posted!

Very Funny, Lynn Krawczyk.

2010-06-13T22:35:00.005-04:00

Oooo, look who know so muuuch....Lynn posted on my bloooog...isn't she impwessive???

Remember, Miss Lynny-Baby: There are things that one can do with Bengay, Nair, and Superglue. MMuuuwaaaahhh....

Today, the petting farm. Witness The Farm Animal Whisperer:

Her legs almost touch the ground and she remembers how to ride.

Little Oreo Goat figured out she could climb through the fence rails and break free. Greedy for carrots, that one.

Squeaker needs a goat of her own, don't you think?

Chook-chook....my word for calling chickens, from an old Mother Goose poem.

Squeaker on the farm. My girl loves animals and I love my girl. Thanks, Lynn, for a great weekend!

sing with me!

2010-06-11T21:38:00.002-04:00

cathy cathy bo bathy banana fanny fo fathy, me mi mo mathy! ccaaaaaaathhhhhyyyy!

again!

cathy cathy bo bathy banana fanny fo fathy, me mi mo mathy! ccaaaaaaathhhhhyyyy! cathy cathy bo bathy banana fanny fo fathy, me mi mo mathy! ccaaaaaaathhhhhyyyy! cathy cathy bo bathy banana fanny fo fathy, me mi mo mathy! ccaaaaaaathhhhhyyyy! cathy cathy bo bathy banana fanny fo fathy, me mi mo mathy! ccaaaaaaathhhhhyyyy! cathy cathy bo bathy banana fanny fo fathy, me mi mo mathy! ccaaaaaaathhhhhyyyy! cathy cathy bo bathy banana fanny fo fathy, me mi mo mathy! ccaaaaaaathhhhhyyyy! cathy cathy bo bathy banana fanny fo fathy, me mi mo mathy! ccaaaaaaathhhhhyyyy!

(posted by Lynn, not my fault, she used my laptop and forgot to log out...muahahahahahah!)

Grand Finale!

2010-02-23T08:09:00.003-05:00

Presenting: Grade School Tie Dye Awesomeness!

There may be more pics than you care to see. All that tie dye kind of blends together. But the kids are so adorable, I couldn't resist.

Dye Day!

2010-02-16T11:53:00.004-05:00

The second stage of our grade school tie dye project was Dye Day.

Dye Day is a Great Day!

This step was messy and fun. The team of adult helpers were fantastic. They kept kids moving, kept the mess under control, and kept everyone happy.

Two of my children came as assistants. They've both been dying shirts since they were old enough to hold squirt bottles. They were knowledgeable, displayed maturity, leadership, and encouragement. Much to their shock, I took them right to Dairy Queen and bought them Blizzards (this a very rare occurence, saved for only the highest of honors).

Here's the slide show:

Schools and Uniforms

2010-02-02T20:24:00.005-05:00

*No Catholic school girls or plaid skirts were used in the writing of this post.*

I stopped by the school today to see the t-shirts for myself. They are pale--not the purply, grape soda color I wanted, but they are still pretty shirts. I talked with the principle and she said the kids are thrilled. They got to see the results of something they made with their own hands. It's all good.

There are still a selection of shirts that need to be dyed. Each grade's shirts are purple plus one other color (green, turquois, blue). Staff, such as the lunch workers, will have shirts that are purple plus all three colors. Friday, the whole school is wearing their tie dyed shirts! How cool is that?

On another note, have you been following the Uniform Project? It's a daily fashion project raising money for a specific school in India. The clothes are imaginative and the kids are....well....kids--wide eyed and sweet. Check it out here.

Tie Dye Pics

2010-02-01T13:19:00.002-05:00

Here's a slide show of the school tie dye project. These were taken on the day we tied shirts.

The Good, the Bad.

2010-01-31T10:28:00.005-05:00

....there's already plenty of ugly in the past few posts.

The Bad: My 400 t-shirts project has somehow gone awry. The shirts are pale. They either didn't get warm enough, or I goofed up the soda ash somehow. The shirts were left in garbage bags (one per class) in a room set to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm not sure the warmth got through to all the shirts. As for soda ash, there's a good chance I used too much. Am going to the school tomorrow for a personal peek.

The Good: Scrumbling. I love it, though have never tried it. For those not in the know, scrumbling is free form knitting and crochet. Scrumblers know who they are and Prudence Mapstone is their Chief. Her blog makes me happy. Check it out.

It's Been a Busy Week

2010-01-28T21:57:00.004-05:00

400 grade school children with t-shirts, a dozen volunteer parents, 4 full days, two of my children, and me.

Guess how much dye we used.

hmmm...

2010-01-17T18:09:00.005-05:00

Now here is a conundrum...

Cathy and I both use blogger. Her laptop did not follow her to my house this weekend when she came to visit and here all I've done is innocently gone to post my Where I Stand post and lookey lookey...she's still logged into blogger.

I could be a good girl and simply log her out and go about my business. But really, where's the fun in that?

So I offer you one of the photos I have from my "Cathy" album in my iPhoto library. She is fearless in front of the camera and it never really phases her when I threaten to blog the photos I take so I figure she won't mind if I put one here:

Enjoy!

Lynn

oookkkaayyyy......

2010-01-17T00:17:00.003-05:00

I'm posting.

I'm at Lynn's. We are wearing pajamas. We are watching horrible television. We are knitting.

I love it.

Speed Bump

2009-10-05T10:32:00.006-04:00

Sometimes a metaphor is so strong that it can't be avoided.

Yesterday, I tripped on a speed bump in a parking lot. My body lurched toward the pavement and was stopped by my face. There was no chance of getting my hands out in time. Nothing appears to be broken, but there is plenty of swelling and some lovely bruises forming. The injuries list includes the right side of my face, both knees--especially the right one, pavement burn on the edge of my right hand. And this morning, my entire right arm is sore and weary. Oh, and lest we forget, my spirit is officially damaged.

This act was humbling on so many levels. Any vanity I may have been storing has left the building. The facade of always being in control is lain bare. Necessity is requiring me to rely on others. Welcome to my personal h-e-Double Toothpicks. Want to see what it looks like? I've included a happy picture for comparison.

The smile was painful, though it did light up my eyes a bit. Here's what it feels like:

Awesome. Couple this with lots of blubbering and vocal distress, then tell me why I told the nice stranger that I was fine and could get up on my own.

Enough misery. I have been knitting a bit:

It is a basic, comfy shawl for my daughter who's been dragging around in my coziest clothes and then losing them in her bedroom. Yarn: Cascade 220. Needle: Addi Turbo, size 9. I may need to keep it near my person for a few days after blocking, so it smells like 'mom' too.

The pattern is simple and free. You can find it on Ravelry. Click here.

How Not to Do It.

2009-06-17T08:06:00.005-04:00

After Action Report: Mission: T-shirt Tornado

Little Flyer Reporting.

2009 June 16
1030 -Receive via UPS 45 white, 100% cotton t-shirts, sizes XS to 3X.

2009 June 17
0630 -Scour 15 t-shirts, mixed sizes.

0715 -With shirts in washer, fill washer to medium level
with 110 degree Farenheit water.

0730 -Prepare ammunition using 3 TBS. turquoise dye powder.
Add to agitating washer.

0745 -Add ammunition support: 1 C soda ash to agitating washer.
Reset washer to agitate for 15 minutes. Leave area of operation.

0805 -Realize washer has drained completely due to
screwdriver depressing lid's safety switch,
allowing artist to watch agitation as entertainment.
Also allows full cycle to proceed. All dye and soda ash
not attached to shirts lost forever.
Dye recipe and careful calculations are out the window.

0806 -Contemplate success of mission. SNAFU early in
process does not project favorable outcome. Artist thinks
objectionable language.

0830 -Artist AWOL.

Be Inspired

2009-06-16T09:29:00.005-04:00

Hello, Blogophiles,

I've noticed a rash of bloggers posting about inspiration this morning. Here are a few of my faves, in case the cyberverse doesn't take you to the same haunts I frequent.

Lorraine Glessner:
lorraineglessner.blogspot.com
Lorraine is a mixed media artist and an academic. She posts work from a wide variety of artists. This feeds my eyes and my soul.

Sandy Snowden:
sandysnowden.blogspot.com
Sandy is a garment-head from the UK. Today, she has posted about finding inspiration in photographs. She encourages us all to look at our photo collections a bit differently to find inspiration. Fire up that camera!

Christine Predd:
www.christinepredd.com/quiltingontheedge/
Christine is an art quilter who posts "Tuesday's Ten", a list of 10 inspirations that riffs on one subject. Today's flavor: Scents. It took me straight to Olfactory Heaven. Check it out.

As for me, stamp carving is on hold this week. I'm knee deep in planning for an event next week. Will post more about that tomorrow. I can still think about stamp carving, just can't pick up the tools, or nothing else will get done.

So that you're not left completely fiberless, I'll share a little knitting, my "waiting for kids" passtime:

This is a sock trial based on Cat Bordhi's new book. For those not in the know, Cat is to knitting what the globe was to Flat Earth believers. She's the knitter's physicist and I find her to be very inspiring.

More Carving

2009-06-13T14:58:00.006-04:00

My Dick Blick order arrived and I've finished two more blocks. Here's their battleship grey linoleum in action:

It's hard, slick, and crumbly. The hardness stresses my already overused right arm and shoulder, though it does hold a nice, fine line. The tool slippage I experienced felt a little out of control. I don't have one of those nifty carving benches that let one brace the block in place while carving. Might have to work on that. And the small dots I'd envisioned carving flaked right off. Maybe my tools aren't sharp enough. At least it was cheap.

Behold Wonder Cut:

I like this stuff, though haven't tried to carve anything too detailed. It cut more easily (not as easy as soft-kut or erasers). It's less crumbly. Plus I like the bigger size of the pieces I bought. My dh mounted this on plywood with wood glue. It seemed to hold up to printing and washing.

I didn't care to work with the grey stamp. It's smaller and my throbbing shoulder was mad at it. Plus, my last carving rendered similar images. The Warrior-Elf was delighted. She made this:

I like it. She had fun. It's all good.

My first shot, not so much. Whenever I see sponge painting done like this, it makes me cringe:

Here, the block is repeated differently and printed more closely together, even overlapped in places:

I dig this. The bigger block covers more turf. It gives an all-over feel without the hassle of registration marks and even looks almost random. I think this stamp might deserve a run on fabric. What do you think?

Garden and Kid Post

2009-06-12T23:06:00.005-04:00

Tomorrow, I'll share the stamps I carved today. Tonight, I talk about my daughter and one of my Fiber Heros: My Grandma.

Every year, my Grandma Tanguay comes to life in my yard. She lived for her flower gardens (and her fiber arts). Now she lives through the flowers transplanted from her yard. She insisted that these day lillies and irises belong in the same bed because they bloom together:

She called the lillies "Lemon Lillies":

She had a huge bed of the lillies and these irises all intermingle...30+ years old.

God rest her soul. I miss her, even though I didn't see her very often.

Grandma also passed on the gift of foot dna.

Consequently, in Kid News, the Monkey-Warrior-Elf will be having super powers put in her feet sometime after her 12th birthday. In the mean time, she gets orthotics, $100 sneakers, ibuprofin when they really hurt and a warm rice bag at bed time.

Orthotic Molding: better than mucky puddles.

More Stamps

2009-06-05T22:53:00.006-04:00

Behold! Three carved stamps. They're carved into something like E-Z Cut. In pursuit of finer detail, there are several grades of linoleum heading toward me right now.

And then, stamped on paper:

The left sample is my favorite. I like the way the stamp tiled to make an all over pattern. The middle comes in next. It's not an all over pattern, but I like the diamond shape in a half drop repeat. I think the left sample is called a half drop rotation because the stamp is flipped every other row. Half drop patterns amuse me. The sample on the right simply sucks. I haven't yet found a pleasing way to print that stamp.

The Monkey must also carve:

She's planning to use her stamps on a wooden sword her brother carved for her....part of her Elvin Warrior persona.

The Monkey-Elf herself:

Thoughts on Motherhood and Alone Time

2009-06-02T22:03:00.006-04:00

These images are not the best, but they do show what I've been up to:

Carving, lots of carving.

The big squiggle is mine, the others were done by my daughter.

Sample print of the squiggle:

My daughter made the letters as gifts for twin highschool graduates that used to babysit for us. I took the liberty of stamping some stationary for them. The tiny stamps were suppose to be lower case A's. They looked like leaves to me.

Sometimes it's hard for me to let my kids create along side me. This causes no end of guilt. I crave creative time for myself, yet am fully aware of the blink that is childhood. Soon they will be gone. There will be more silence than I can stand. So, I carve, she carves. We bump elbows and use the tool the other has been waiting for. She uses up all my stamp material, I order more. She learns the value of a handmade gift, the personal touch. We sing and chat about life. How can I deny the blessing of camraderie with my child?

She fusses with bows:

The gifts are ready and we're off to the party:

Time Warp

2009-06-01T00:54:00.010-04:00

Hello Blogophiles. It appears that I have time for a post. Doesn't this make you happy? It makes me happy.

Let us go back in time a bit and chronicle certain events from my spring.

Concert

3 of these tax exemptions are mine. The 4th is somebody else's, but she fits in well with our family. Photo taken in April. We're standing in line for a free, open seating concert. We're praying the wind does not rip the meat off our frozen bodies. Note the Calvin imitator back left.

Apnea

Your very own Super Spec (moi) rigged up for a sleep study. Turns out that even though I stop breathing 5 times per hour and sustain a 93% blood oxygen level, my condition is not severe enough to warrant insurance coverage of the recommended equipment. So now, not only am I a spec in the face of the universe (and my charming insurance company), but I am not properly rested. This makes me surly.

Girl Time

See Mary. See Mary laugh. See Mary not wet herself while laughing.

See Lynn. See Lynn hide behind her camera. See Lynn take my picture.

See Mary's quilt. See all the pretty colors.

More about this episode of Girl Time here.

Collage Mania

2009-04-02T00:53:00.005-04:00

My household is asleep. Consequently, I finally have a moment to post my submissions to Virginia Spiegel's amazing fundraiser, Collage Mania. It's part of her larger effort titled Fiberart For a Cause which raises money for the American Cancer Society. Forgive, please, for washed out color. These were tough to photograph and didn't scan nicely.

Pothos
5.125” x 4.75”
Donated in memory of my Grandma Anne: all around tough broad, cancer survivor, crocheter extraordinaire, passionate gardener. She has passed on, but not from cancer.

Life Radiant
7.625” x 5.375”
Donated on behalf of Grandpa Ben, doting husband of Anne, unconditional adorer of spoiled granddaughter Cathy. Grandpa Ben succumbed to lung cancer during my childhood and his passing still remains one of my most sorrowful losses.

Both pieces are mounted on 10"x8" mat board, ready for framing:

Spring Rain

2009-04-02T00:49:00.004-04:00

Nothing makes me feel alive in the same way as the fresh scent of spring rain.

Flash Back

2009-02-10T00:27:00.007-05:00

Here's a flashback to an art show presented by Eye For Fiber, an art group in Michigan. The show was in 2006 and was great fun. Click slide show for larger version.

I'm In Luuuv.

2008-12-11T22:21:00.002-05:00

Oh, baby, technology has found me! I have recieved a wireless router for Christmas.

Let all Lutherans rise up and ask:
What does this mean?

I'll tell you what this means. It means I can lay in bed and blog from my iPod.

Fully realizing how truly behind the curve this puts me, I can still say, in all my middle aged, country bumpkin glory,
"Look at me and my bad self!"

Day 3 Lunch

2008-10-31T13:46:00.003-04:00

Lunch Al Fresco!!

And with new friends!

I cringe at the thought of having to go back to Michigan winter.

...and Today...

2008-10-31T00:44:00.001-04:00

I'm still not over that chin. When did it show up and how do I make it stop??? On second thought, don't answer. I don't want to hear it.

Today was fun. Betty and I wore crowns all day (a pattern she is selling) and we sold tons of stuff...shiny stuff, sticky stuff, helpful stuff. There are so many interesting people to watch and help and chat with...it's like a big party.

My shining moment of the day was when I accidentally scanned a credit card into the items sold area of the computer/register. The sale showed up for Six Billion Dollars. And the lady's change came to Six Billion and something minus 10 dollars. I'm a wiener.

The funniest moment IMO was when a lady from Louisiana showed up wearing skull pendants. Turns out one of the pendants was a whistle. Forgetting to consider the gentleman vending across from us (he was soundly asleep in a convention hall chair, chin on chest, eyelids slightly parted), I said 'yes' when the lady offered to blow the whistle. It was piercing. The sleeping man jumped out of his skin. I nearly wet myself trying to keep from howling with laughter. How do you sleep in a convention hall full of raving quilters??

I know, it's not nice to torture sleeping people. The customer promised to return tomorrow for more hijinx. Can't wait.

And this, my friends, is what the end of the day looks like:

Make up off, nightgown on. Neck elongated for 'less chin' look.

Hello Houston!

2008-10-29T17:05:00.002-04:00

Hey! I'm at the Quilt Festival! I"m waiting for Betty, my boss for the weekend, to arrive with my name badge. Here's what it looks like:

Good Grief, that's a big chin. Never mind that. Back to the show.

So...I'm working for Betty during the day and staying with a family friend at night. I've learned from working with Betty that I see more friends if I stand in one place than if I'm walking the show floor. Plus it's just fun to talk to customers and get them excited about Betty's products.

And the deal is sweetened by the fact that I'm able to get free wireless here in the convention center cafe area.

It's all good.

...sigh...

2008-10-09T16:09:00.005-04:00

The Fyberartysta has tagged me for a meme, so now I must face the music, log in and actually post. The rules: six random facts about me, tag six people.

1. I enjoy watching boxing, kickboxing and all their variations.

2. Choreographed martial arts entrance me. My fav. scenes to date are in the Matrix (I know Kung Fu) and in Batman Begins.

3. I am a nonviolent person and view the above two as a version of dance. I see wierd beauty in their practices.

4. I love to canoe and be on the water. My dream is to live where the sea can lull me to sleep every night.

5. I am terribly insecure and paranoid about what people think of me. This posture alternates with 'I don't care what anybody thinks' on a high frequency cycle.

6. Word games bring out my competative one-eyed monster. So does Backgammon. And I'm kind of a sore loser.

The following people are officially tagged:

Deb, fabulous in so many ways, at the Scarlet Zebra

Von, a new friend at Nuts Over Fiber

Molli, a local good friend and Knitter Extraordinaire

Teri who's been involved in the art-quilting internet community longer than anyone I know.

Emily at What's That Gonna' Be. Go to her Etsy site. Buy her sock yarn. Buy more.

Carol, Goddess of Printing. Let's make her post something!

The rules are as follows:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know your entry is up.

My Saturday

2008-07-13T23:49:00.004-04:00

Much to my delight, I spent yesterday with members of Running With Scissors. We talked about dyeing cottons with mx dyes, mixed up some dye stock and generally threw colors at fabric until exhaustion and brain fatigue set in. It was fun, FUN, fun.

Lynn has a flattering review and some pics here. I, Super Spec, gnat of small brain in the face of the Immense Universe, did manage to remember my camera, but as noted in Lynn's post, the heat, humidity (good for the dye, bad for my delicate nature) and general excitement of a fiber class zapped any picture taking initiative.

It's been a while since I've actually taught the dyeing process or led a group of adults. Molli counselled me to not freeze up, which was tough. In spite of all my prep, it felt as though I spewed rambling every time my mouth opened. Chalk it up to nerves.

Then there was the shear stupidity. Like leaving my entire stack of handouts and notes at Lynn's house. And putting the most brain intensive exercise after lunch, when my brain usually grinds to a standstill. I gave recipes incorrectly, mixed pre-soda soaked and dried fabric in with my other pieces and couldn't tell them apart, misjudged supply needs, and much more. From listening to many other teachers, I know this is all part of the learning curve. The best teachers have worked through these kinks and refined their classroom experience.

But even the best teachers run into the unexpected. At the outset of the day, there seemed to be no hot water....not good for a dye class and made me nervous. Turns out, we just needed patience and time for the tankless water heater to kick in. I've listened to and read about teaching horror stories that far surpass a little cold water.

All in all, it was a great day! We learned from each other, told stories, and sweated together. I would do it again in a blink.

Oh, Yes, I Will...

2008-06-24T18:06:00.003-04:00

Hi. This is Cathy. It's Servant Event week, therefor I'm knee-deep in t-shirts. This year, I'm dying and screenprinting the shirts. Will post pics this week as progress is made.

In other Funky C news, our household now contains a driving teen ager. Lucky for us, he falls in the geriatric category and not the Speed Racer category.

Back to the dye bath....

Because she won't...

2008-04-11T22:33:00.002-04:00

This is not Cathy. She used my laptop tonight and for some reason it has chosen to log her in when I went to put up a new post on my own blog.

I'm posting because she hates us all and won't do it herself.

I have no pictures for you but you know, Cathy can't even be bothered to put text up so I guess this is better then nothing.

Have a good night.

(Lynn)

Yarns

2008-02-22T15:06:00.003-05:00

Wednesday night, I got to go to my fiber group. It's been a few months due to life in general. We're suppose to be devoloping art quilts, doing critiques, etc.... In a fit of spring fever, all of that was abandoned for the lure of hand dyed yarn.

Enter my first hand dyed sock yarn:

This looks like salsa to me...fresh tomatoes and peppers...good enough to eat.

In other knitting insanity, there is lace:

This is the Swallow Tail Shawl by Evelyn Clark, published in Fall 2006 Interweave Knits. The yarn is hand dyed silk (dyed by another artist). I've made it once before and am saying bad words in the same places as last time. Fancy that!

Fabric

2008-02-19T17:53:00.001-05:00

In the interest of keeping this blog alive, I'm posting some pics of fabric I've made over the past couple of weeks. These are all done with mx dyes. The colors looked a little wierd in Photoshop, so I'm not sure if they'll seem as dramatic to you as they do to me.

This one uses my favorite 'face' screen print with many layers of discharge and dye painting:

Next up, more discharge over layers of dye painting. I layered ripped freezer paper on here and then painted discharge off the edge:

And then two pieces of scrunch dyeing. These were the best of several

The kids kept me so busy today that this post is the extent of my creative efforts for the day. I've also been working on a lace shawl that is sucking the lifeblood out of me now that I'm to the border. Grrr.

I'm hoping to make more fabric this week.

Frustrated...

2008-02-15T21:11:00.002-05:00

...everything I touch in the studio today is turning to garbage. Better quit for now.

The good news is that a trip to Barnes and Noble ended with this

And I did teach a lady to knit today. That was good. And my daughter taught herself how to mix brown. She's coated several pieces of paper with brown paint....fun.

So maybe there's more good than not. Now I'm off to bed with my new book. Tomorrow is a new day.

Today's Output

2008-02-14T16:24:00.003-05:00

...a little abstract:

Pulling the fabrics together only took minutes. Making the clay emblem was a different story. I have the perfect button for this piece, but it's a Rama raku button and I didn't want to use it on this simple exercise. Enter the clay and paint boxes, the toaster oven, and the E-6000.

I think this piece is okay....it's nice but not earth shattering. I like the tree element mixed with abstract componants....maybe worth further exploration. Somehow, I'd like to get more portraiture in these little works. Not sure how that's going to happen.

Here's my daughter's output for the day:

She, too, loves the clay box:

New Stuff

2008-02-12T09:11:00.000-05:00

So, here's a piece that got rejected recently:

"Fertile" approximately 25"x30"

I was kind of bummed about it, but then a wise soul told me that artists usually have enough rejection letters to wall paper a bathroom. Point taken.

Detail:

There's a fair bit of applique and embroidery, but also textile paints. I'm noting here publicly that the paints did not play well with free motion embroidery. They shredded all but the slickest threads. I like the effect, though and will probably add paint to future projects.

Here's a couple of quick stretches:

'Valentine' 7"x5.5"

I did this yesterday....20 minutes of design time and 30 minutes to finish. That leaves me a few moments in the hour to scan and blog.

Here's today's:

'Cropped Plant' 5"x4.5"
Cropped images have an appeal that I love. They're so immediate. This little composition was not so great. Some healthy cropping made it better.

A Family Movie

2008-01-07T20:55:00.000-05:00

Note to Self......

2007-12-14T22:17:00.000-05:00

DO NOT run Floriani Stitch N Wash Fusible Water Soluble Tearaway through laser printer EVER AGAIN. Kick self over and over for trying it THREE TIMES before giving up. That's right. Three times. I'm pure genius in motion. Clearly I have a dizzying intellect.

The inkjet printer worked quite well. Pics soon.

2007-12-13T07:47:00.000-05:00

Here are the links mentioned/shown in this video:

Laura Cater-Woods:
www.cater-woods.com

Elinor Peace Bailey:
www.epbdolls.net

Emily Parson
www.whatsthatgonnabe.blogspot.com

Sophie's Toes sock yarn (by Emily Parson)

Hold, Please.

2007-12-02T15:32:00.000-05:00

Hi, ya'll.

I'm slowly wending my way home from this year's final trip. I got stuck in Chicago for and extra night due to the ice storm from H-E-double toothpicks.

Rest assured that upon returning home (morgen, mit meinen Kindern), I will trip up the steps, rush right to my beloved iMac, turn on the camera and make a movie just for you. The dog can lick my face later.

xo
Funky C

Make It Stop!

2007-11-27T01:01:00.000-05:00

!Achtung! JulCool!

2007-11-26T15:30:00.000-05:00

Hey, Julie...my email is cathy@funkyc.net

Look in last post's comments for 'how I did that'.

It's snowing and I'm freezing. More coffee!

A New Thang

2007-11-25T23:02:00.000-05:00

No Moss on This Stone!

2007-08-21T19:19:00.001-04:00

Greetings, Blog Hoppers, Fibernauts, and readers of all ilk.

It seems since I finished the heart image 'Flow' a few weeks ago, my creative floodgates have sprung wide open! I can't stop making stuff, have been..gasp..rising early to make stuff.

As a thank you to the group of adults that led my children's summer theater experience, I made these:

More magic card holders. They are so much fun to use and these were especially meaningful with webs on the front, pigs on the back:

Note the initials spun into the back webs.

Since then, it's been all fabric painting, all the time, though there's not much to show for my effort yet. Marking fabric also requires prep and I've been going through all my old screens, putting on new mesh, getting them taped.

So here's a piece that has a good base of color on it:

Somehow, I think it needs more and am mulling it over for a time. It might need some discharge and an additional color painted in...hmmmm...

And here's a piece that's done:

This one's been worked over pretty well...at least three different layers of stuff going on. I started with some pre printed screens and release paste, then did a layer of discharge paste with screens and free hand painting. The last layer was adding in turquoise and gold. Oh, one more touch: black opaque paint. Could I have tortured it any more? I'm pretty sure it was screaming, 'ENOUGH, Already!' by the end.

Then, in a fit of late night creativity, I decided to throw down a screen with some red and brown dyes:

This will definitely not be yardage. I think it's going to be whole cloth quilted. This left turn from my normal over-the-top collage has left me surprised and I'm not sure what to make of it yet. The rinsed and drying piece appears much bloodier than I intended...I think. And I'm a bit repulsed by my own work. There needs to be more dye painting....

If you've watched this blog for any length of time, you'll recognize the woman in the image. She's been hanging around as a screen for a while and recently, I thought she'd be a large collage piece. Maybe not.

And if that wasn't scary enough, behind every photo of clothes line fabric, lurks...The Creature....

AAAAAggggghhhh!

Eye for Fiber Meeting, July

2007-08-13T02:07:00.000-04:00

Below you'll find a group of design teasers I led at my monthly fiber group meeting. The writing's a bit dry, but hey---I can't be all fabulous all the time. Can I? Working with paper was quick and dirty...and FUN! So, break out those magazines and get cookin'.

First up, we picked one color, a more intense version of that color, and it's complement. Then we cut out graphic designs to make positive/negative images.

Secondly, we chose complementary colors, then chose more paper to create an analogous + complement color scheme. We used the analogous colors to fill space.

Lastly, we did a group exercise, round robin style:

This was great fun!

How could these exercises translate into fiber? The first one might be interesting as thread painting or quilting. What if a design is quilted in yellow thread on black fabric? What if it's black thread on yellow fabric?

Could the analogous color exercise be used to design a literal image such as a face? How might this idea translate into a traditional quilt block?

The elements in our final exercise pull it all together. We started by dividing space (anything but in half!), then we added text, black and white elements, printed image, and finally filled out the design to balance it. Think of all the ways you could add these elements with fiber......

You Are Now Screenland

2007-08-11T10:56:00.001-04:00

Greetings, Fibernauts! Welcome to my new show 'Screen Print Crazy Amounts of T-shirts'!

Here we have props:

...shirts, transparency with design, neon paint, mostly clean table.

Next, we set the stage:

The screen has been coated with photo emulsion, allowed to dry, and is now being exposed for 14 minutes. This involves details and care, never my strong suit.

Proceed to botch the screen completely beyond recognition. The words I'm searching for, I can't say, because there are preschool toys are present.

I think the emulsion was too thick and not dry enough. This destruction occurred during the post exposure rinse out.

And again...sigh....

This try was successful due to more care and patience. I get bonus points for using bottle of toilet cleaner used as glass weight.

Here the screen is mounted on a printing frame my husband made for mostly FREE. The 'real' version was about $150.00.

Note the beloved squeegee. Oh how I love green.

Shirts everywhere, drying, waiting for heat setting.

And, the front:

What's not to love?

Less Blather, More Fiber

2007-07-26T05:40:00.001-04:00

This space, oh fellow fiber web jockeys, may appear static. (snort...was that understatement?) However your faithful author has been the picture of industry (no laughing in the back row.) In June, I tie dyed over 100 t shirts and screen printed 50 of them. Did I show you some already? Memory fails...

Here's a sample of shirts I did for a church in Indiana:

the screen printing was hired out to a business that truly knows what they're doing.

AWWWW! Little shirts are so stinkin' cute. I can just feel that toddler snuggling in my arms. And the middle blue color?.... PRO MX Intense Blue 406. Get some. It's completely worth the money to see that vibrant...almost Carribean water-like blue.

In other Funky news, the children of FunkyC have embraced a summer of theater:

Flyer by moi, la-la-laaahh...with some borrowed graphics from the script cover.

And I have been turned loose in the costume department:

Last Week's News

2007-07-25T15:56:00.001-04:00

Danger, Young Robinson! Not only is the following post not fiber, it's probably not fit for children, or sissies.

This news story left me so befuddled that I'm still marvelling. Let me share:

Politicians, strippers mourn the loss of porn king
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 07/20/2007 10:13:27 AM PDT
-----------------
Right off the bat...what is this? Why am I suprised that politicians and strippers are in the same sentence with porn king? Somehow, I missed the invitation to that club.

ANTIOCH, Calif.—Hundreds of people, from politicians to pornographers, gathered to mourn the loss of a pornography profiteer who gained notoriety by turning eroticism into a political cause.
---------------
Okay, nothing unexpected here. I've long since been desensitized against my will to the idea that legal pornography and free speech are equivalents.

Jim Mitchell, co-founder of the Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theatre, was buried next to his brother and business partner, Artie, whom he shot and killed in 1991.
-------------------
Huh?!?! What? He had shooter's remorse? Who decided this? And how does Artie feel about his new crypt mate?

Mitchell, 63, died of a heart attack on July 12 at his ranch in western Sonoma County.

Included among the 300 mourners Thursday were former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, ex-District Attorney Terence Hallinan and political operative Jack Davis, all of whom mingled with writers, film directors and strippers.

"We all owe personal liberties and rights to the brothers that they fought for on our behalf," Davis said.
-------------------
Somehow I'm having a disconnect between this back alley slime ball and, say, ......oh.....Martin Luther King, Jr., all the Suffragettes that paid for my voting rights and even notorious bad boy, Patrick Henry who put his 'jewels' on the line so I may live without oppression.

The brothers also produced a string of pornographic movies, including the 1972 hit "Behind the Green Door," one of the first porn flicks with a plot line.
-------------------
Oh, Joy, a plot line. I'm sure the story line was epic.

In February 1991, Mitchell kicked in the door of his brother's Corte Madera home and shot him to death. The slaying led to a spectacular trial and a three-year prison term for manslaughter.
--------------------
Again....?!?!?!?

Mitchell's son Raef told the crowd his father was a man of his word, despite his faults.

"He always told me, 'Son, I'm not the greatest man. I'm not perfect,'" Raef said. "'Don't try to be the greatest man. Just be a man.'"
----------------------
That's right, boys and girls. Aspire not to greatness. Simply know your gender.

How have we come to the place where this man is celebrated? Here we have a written blurb parading not as sensationalism, not as the Jerry Springer show or 'reality' televesion. This garbage is being presented as legitimate news.

My nausea, fellow homo sapiens, is indescribable.

Behold.......

2007-07-19T18:14:00.001-04:00

....a Finished Object:

"Flow"
35" x 25.75"
July, 2007

...though you've seen it before in various stages. This piece was started while listening to a friend pour out her heart. Her daughter had just been diagnosed with a life changing illness (turned out to be a false alarm) and we had a long talk about the burden a mother carries in her heart for her children.

...an indoor shot...funny how the color is different...

Some reactive journaling revealed terms like prayer, suplicate, uterus, floating, hands uplifted, fallopian tubes, sperm, letting go, embracing. You get the idea. Again, I'm amazed how emotions play out in a piece that looks relatively benign.

Closer in:

The little sparklies are heat set crystals, a whole gross of them.

And closer in....

'Flow' is being mailed tomorrow for an exhibit in Indianapolis. In fact, anxiety about parting with an older piece is what forced me to finish this.

The End

Two Trips

2007-05-30T22:27:00.000-04:00

Howdy, Fiber Guys and Gals! Funky C here, bringing you a snap shot from the past.

April 2007saw me saddled up and on the road for two weeks: one in Chicago at the IQA Spring Festival and one at AQS in Paducah. The two constants in both trips were my faithful Travel Companion and Trip Administrator Power Connie and my employment by Embellishment Village. Now, in Chicago, Embellishment Village had a choice booth location in the Quilting Arts 'Make It U' area. Standing in one spot brought by so many friends and I got to see everything going on with 'Make It U' and QA's virtual studio. It was a blur, a hubbub, a happenin' scene.

At one point, before the Chicago show opened, I found myself driving Katie Pasquini Masopust, whom I've never met, on a chaotic supply hunting trip around the perimeter of O'Hare. I was the only one to be found that a. had a vehicle (oh dear....my 30 yr old Ford 150 pick-m-up truck, stick shift, no air) and b. was deluded enough to tackle the suburban terrain. It was all very surreal (especially my driving) and Katie kept me laughing the whole time. (somehow, I ended up with 300 paper plates....huh?) But! The best....

...was this:

Witness Quilting Arts Magazine's 'Surviving the Runway' challenge.

Here, Faithful Fiber Wrangler, Kut-It-Up Kathie Briggs, giggles for the camera.

The glue hits the tables and the action begins. Rip it up....

...Pass it to to a friend. Enter Fiber Diva Debbie.....

Wha....? That's right. Dancing.

Lots of Dancing.

Only the brave, the intrepid, the Groove Shakers, were given more supplies.

Whew! Now that that's out of the system, back to work.

Taking shape.

Must..have...paint. Must...daaaance....

And voila! It's Aahhrt, Dahlink.

Isn't she proud? I was honored to be one of three judges. It was nigh impossible to decide....we only had a few minutes. This event was, bar none, the highlight of my trip to Chicago.

Now, Paducah was fabulous in a different way. Power Connie and I love to wander the river front area with all it's funky shops and galleries (and we never miss the chocolate shop). The AQS quilt show is lovely, but there's so much more to the town. I met too many Quilt Royals to count, the highlight being Libby Lehman as she strolled the show floor. (her Thread Play vest gave her away) And I did a fair amount of shopping. If I'd had $700 layin' around, I'd have come home with this:

Very Funky, Very C.

In My Free Time.....

2007-05-25T10:38:00.000-04:00

**update**

The second one takes less free time.

Screen Printing

2007-05-23T15:56:00.000-04:00

Don't ask where I've been. The excuses fall flat. Accept that I'm offering up this post for your perusal and try to love me in spite of my time issues.

Here we have a tie dye/screen print t-shirt project:

The shirts are dyed and ready. On the left, you can see my trial run on newsprint. There's also my beloved squeegee, a prepared screen, and some paint.

Here's a shot of the screen, developed with the writing facing the correct direction.

Use your creative inner mind to contemplate why I mention the direction of the letters. Imagine me disolving an incorrect screen with mild cursing and sighs of resignation.

Here's the result:

My husband designed the image for an event from which he just returned. I printed 11 shirts by stretching and pinning to my print table and inserting freezer paper inside the shirts. This was a good first outing for my screen printing abilities. Said abilities enjoyed the walk and are asking to be taken out again.

Three Views

2007-02-03T11:57:00.000-05:00

Funky C here....coming to you live from the eternally frozen tundra of Michigan. Yikes! It's been cold. But I'm not tired of the snow quite yet. The drugs must be working.

Here's a little project I've been fooling with: the card holder featured in Quilting Arts Magazine, winter 2006, issue 24. The center holder, with the woman's face, was a gift from a dear friend. Using it is a pleasure.

View one:

Blue, on the left, has fusible craft interfacing. I loves it not....too flimsy. My heart is given instead to the Peltex version on the right. It feels much nicer in my hand...like a fine accesory.

Here's the magic side. A bit of yarn, or string pulls out and cards pop up like magic:

Voila! Isn't it cool?
I'm admitting to you alone that this is ---Bar None---the best cheap thrill I've had in ages. When I use the holder to access I.D., people think I've worked some kind of magic. They actually exclaim out loud and proclaim me awesome for even owning it. So, evidencing my inner diva (she's not buried too deep), I now have a system:

Select items for purchase at retail venue.
When checking out, place card holder conspiculously on counter.
Strike up conversation, write check slowly, whatever it takes to draw out the suspense.
When clerk asks for I.D. or payment option, pull string and present card with nonchalance, as if you've been fabulous all your life.
Bask in ensuing glory, completely forgetting about your hum-drum life as director of digestive systems management for 4 humans, 3 guinea pigs, a dog, and cat.
Repeat as needed to feed Ego.

2007-01-31T17:04:00.000-05:00

Whoa, Fiber Jedi! The Syth Lord Vi Ral-ILL Ness has been clawing at the Outer Rim of Immune System Funky C. In a suprise move by rebel White Blood Cell leader Mom, the entire galaxy was shut down for a day of rest. The complete picture is scary beyond all reason, but here are the highlights:

System Funky C exploring new orbital heating unit:

Note the use of formerly blogged hand spun yarn and her sisters. A kid mohair was thrown in just for kicks. Very Funky. Very C. Matching Wonder Woman cuffs in progress.

Back up heating units brought into battle ready position:

Scratchy orange sport weight socks knit by the departed, but still much loved Grandma Tanguay. Bless her for these on a day such as today.

The blue thing is my fav' winter nighty. Curse it not, for I loves it. And you'll have to excuse the well scaled, hairy legs. Nobody's shavin' nothin' until the Ides of March at least.

The orbital heating unit appears to work even on Sattelites:

The Blues

2007-01-24T10:07:00.000-05:00

I love winter....the beauty of snow, the activity at my bird feeder. But I detest the accompanying blues. I try every day to just not be a loser. It seems my success rate is much lower in winter.

Sigh

Knowing my yarn was feeling the same way, I decided she needed sisters:

Behold the Brown Sheep yarn. Color: true royal. Content: silk, wool, mohair.

In other knitting news, my shawl is off the needles! Hurray!:

But! Before I can block it, I have to take care of this:

Boooo! Down with cleaning! This, my padded dye table, perfect for blocking yarn projects, is not currently padded. It's been unpadded since summer when a dye project went awry and soaked the padding with purple dye. Everything's washed and ready, but I can't seem to bring myself to repad it. I've had it almost clean several times, but doggoneit! it's such a big, open horizontal surface. Everytime I come home, it begs to hold my purse, coat, fast food wrappers.

Why do I do this?!? It's maddening and yet I can't seem to get over it. I need this table to work. There is a truckload of fabric that needs to be made. My shawl wants to be blocked and worn before June. There is some underlying insanity that prevents me from tackling this....fear of success....physical barriers as a symbol of emotional barriers.... Shall I go on? It's madness and I mean to conquer it. Wish me well.

Starting and Finishing

2007-01-17T10:22:00.000-05:00

Behold and Marvel!! Finished projects!
I, Funky C, bring you.....The Yarn:

Hand dyed silk/Merino roving by Lisa Souza. Hand spun by MOI...la,la,la over about two weeks. There's 180 yards. I steamed it to set the twist...no good reason, that's just what I do. Then I felted it ...just a wee bit.... in the kitchen sink with a potato masher. It seemed the right thing to do. Does it count as 'done' if it's not knit into anything? I'm thinking of combining it with something deep periwinkle and making a hat.

The Dye Project:

This sat half done for...oh...half the year. I finally got it all glued down and into page protectors. For the record, the mx dyes this time around were turquoise mx-g, yellow mx 8-G, and red mx-5B. In the next picture, a comparison view with the previous dye sample project, you can see the difference in mottling and color intensity. I learned a ton this time about how to get rich, consistant colors:

It feels good to finish. But the REAL work is just beginning. As some of you know, I've been struggling with an image for my local library:

It was suggested to me that this looks like a giant floral arrangement...meaning it's pretty, but that's about it. Where's the meaning? I took this to heart, agreed, and in a flash of inspiration while sitting in the libarary came up with this:

It's raw, but it's a good concept. The idea is to show a leaf and a page slowly merging together and through each other over six panels....three per wall. I may throw in the added idea of the leaf going through seasonal changes across the panels. My thought process involves leaves marking the passage of time and the written word transcending time....not too concrete yet, but that will come with the making of the image. I need to sketch more, flesh out the image fully. And, oy, the fabric that needs to be made! I may have to give up sleep for a few months. That'll be pretty.

Wa's Up?

2007-01-15T11:29:00.000-05:00

So, I've been busy. First, the yarn:

Here, I'm attempting to spin a silk/merino roving into a kind of thick-n-thin wackiness. You'd think wacky would be easy for me. Turns out, with spinning, it's hard to not spin 'normal' once you get 'normal' down. Who knew? The roving is from Lisa Souza, color Mardi Gras. Waaay too yummy. I'll be buying more.

Next, my current lace knit:

This is the Swallowtail Shawl from fall '06 Interweave Knits The yarn: my finest handspun to date! Once again, Lisa Souza roving: Blue Faced Leicester. Not sure which colorway.

So much for knitting. That's my hobby, you know. Everything else is my 'job'.

I've been fooling around with this image:

This is a sketch I scratched into a flour paste silk screen. Somehow, she keeps asking to be more than just a screen. Having scanned the image onto my computer, she was just waiting for the magic touches of Lucienne (my pen tablet pen, whom I love with fierce devotion).

Where does this stuff come from?!? Somewhere in the twilight of my mind, these images lurk and I'm always amazed by them. I've been talking online with a friend about what medium she wants to be. I'm so afraid of the amount of time she will require in fiber. The thought of even beginning overwhelms me. But begin I must (at the prompting of said friend).

Lucienne helped me boil the image down to the most basic terms:

I'm doing all this drawing in Photoshop Elements. The red lines were added as a seperate layer. Before I met technology, this was all done with tracing paper and Sharpies. In Photoshop, I was able to convert the red lines to black and then print them seperately. This will become my fabric 'background'. The rest of the image will be built on top of it, though I'm not sure how.

Here you can see the background pattern, the drawing, and a bunch of pattern pieces traced on tracing paper. The background remains intact to use as a reference. All the drawn segments are numbered so I can fit this back together like a puzzle.

I really have no idea what will happen next. Maybe some fabric auditions. Intuition tells me that I'll be dying fabrics for this project. There's so much about making art that terrifies me...I can't put it all into words. Trying to break it down into baby steps keeps some of the fear at bay. It'll be interesting to see how it turns out.

Wild Friday Night!

2006-11-10T22:32:00.000-05:00

Oh, yeah, baby...I'm walking on the wild side, living in the fast lane....that's me. MM--mm. I've been wearing my nightgown since 8 o'clock, letting my kids watch tv, and...uh...embroidering grapes. That's right....clubs have got nothin' on me, man. I'm cutting edge.

Yeah, and my husband and I used to go to Sportmart on Friday nights....try on the rollerblades with the plastic thingy still attaching the pair. That was painting the town, I'm tellin' ya'. Closing down dance halls and rough bars? Noooo, too tame for us. Passing footballs down the aisles without getting thrown out of Sportmart? That' s living large for you.

About those grapes:

That sideways squiggle was begging to be machine embroidered. How could I not oblige? In the comments, Debra suggested tackling this with hand embroidery. That would be an issue for my attention span, which is abbreviated at best. I'm really digging the way built up stitches form a raised surface, even though there's not much done yet. A little hand stitching (certainly nothing approaching gratuitous use *snort*) might be the finishing touch.

Next, Funky C brings you a list of aimless thoughts brought to light during the embroidery process:

-Is this really art? It's pretty realistic...not much hidden meaning or personal imagery in drawing green grapes that look like...uh...green grapes.

-Maybe a big, fat, vocabulicious title coupled with an eye glazingly wordy artist statement will hide the fact that these are just...green grapes.

-Do I really want to thread paint the entire, endless background the rich dark brown I'm envisioning?

-Maybe I'll just call this a 'study'. Studies don't have hidden meanings, do they?

-Do I really want to cut it out and just stick it on a background? Maybe a better way would be to print some grapes on my Epson and fuse them right in the middle of some brown fake batik. Now there's a look.

-Gee...that dark brown background thing kind of looks like some stuff out of the Andrew Wyeth book I've been reading at bed time.

-Oh, crap. Now it's not only 'not art', it's freakin' derivative. Party over. I quit. Think I'll blog instead.

And here we are. There isn't a scene in L.A. that can compete with that kind of mental trip. And I can do it all for free in my nightie.

Sketchbook

2006-11-09T12:26:00.000-05:00

If you give me a piece of blank paper and the right black felt tipped marker, I can play quietly by myself for hours. The problem is, I don't often have hours. And it's got to be just the right pen. All pens in this household must pass audition. I am a stringent critic. If they make the cut, they are quietly hidden in a bag pocket, near my desk, by my bedside.

Lately, the sketchbook has been my friend. I took it with me to Jeckyll Island last month and did some quickies here and there. There were only moments to capture poses, etc... before the person moved. I find the act of drawing live and fast forces me to use my eyes instinctively....forces me to capture the essential information in a scene.

Here are two of my traveling companions partaking of our nightly 'oysters, shrimp, and beer at sunset' ritual:

I think this guy is saying, "Hey, Baby..." I also think they realized they were models, got wierded out, and moved to the other side of the dock:

Notice they all have short legs and big heads. Draw whatcha' know, baby.

My dear friend Melissa watching the ocean:

So much for Jeckyll. It was a fabulous trip...ocean, seafood & beer, old friends. What's not to love?

Back in my real world, Eye for Fiber, my critique group, met last night. Barb Dinneweth, the resident art teacher, led us through an excercise about line. She asked us to draw fruit, just capture it's shape:

In stead of drawing circles for grapes, I wanted to capture their edges with a horizontal squiggle. And unlike the Jeckyll sketches, there was time to use a little more control. This morning, I realized that I've made this mark before:

This is a silk screen image I made using flour paste. I scratched the image right into the flour paste coated screen. The idea that shape is defined by edges and light fascinates me. I wanted to use edges, not straight lines to reveal the contours of her face.

In fact, I've been using this same kind of mark since childhood. I clearly remember defining clouds with these horizontal squiggles. Hmmm...

In the back of the stew I call 'brain', this idea has been brewing. How do I translate it into fiber? The obvious answer is thread painting. But somehow that's not satisfying me. The question of medium is flaring brightly in my mind. Is fiber the best medium simply because it's what I know? Or is it time to explore something new? I know watercolor's not it. And I'm not completely ruling out fiber. But I am thinking. And Horace, I warned you about thinking.

2006-11-03T08:23:00.000-05:00

Not much time today....Friday is the kids' homeschool co-op day, a huge event at a nearby community college. I'm whipped by the end.

Here's yesterday:

Here's today:

Lucienne and I? We make zee beeautiful mooseek, oui?
It's still not right, though. May have to go back to the original image and take this down a slightly different path. Plus I'm learning more about how to use the color tools in photoshop. And working with layers...love the layers. I hadn't found all the color mixing options when I started this. Each leaf is in a separate layer. I need to have each leaf coloring in it's own layer too.

This whole 'taking a picture and designing in place' is really groovy! It' s like being able to design right in the library. That's just cool!

Okay, the ankle biters are eating breakfast. Duty calls....

The Groove

2006-11-02T09:59:00.000-05:00

It's baaa-aaaack! After months of nothing, I feel a groove coming on. And it could be a serious one....one worth pushing into a body of work. It's almost as if this project had to wait until the right time to find fruition. I met Carol Bryer Fallert when she won the AQS Best of Show for her quilt, 'Birds of a Different Color'. She said that the idea for her quilt came 12 years before she had the skills to make it. Composers have been known to write music that they can't play.

In my mind, this all boils down to my self-view not as an artist, but as a problem solver. For me, the art comes through the 'aha' moment---the point of solution. Everything after that is so ordinary, it's almost boring. And I find that when work is truly complete, I'm sometimes disappointed. Seeing finished work doesn't have the thrill that comes with realizing the answer to a problem.

Case in point:

Here we have an unadorned library wall, complete with hideously distracting light fixtures. Even the head librarian agrees that the lights need to go, but libraries run on budgets. You know the rest.

Here is my first sketch, right out of the box. There followed a second, more intentional sketch. And then there was a survey, a poll. The poll indicates that artists around the world prefer the giant leaf collage. Lucky for me, 'cause I agree!

Then came a night of anxst, not over this, but over several situations in my life. At 4 am, I gave in to the insomnia, do a little office work, then broke out the pen tablet. **Suddenly, as I type, I feel the urge to christen said pen tablet, I love it so!** I hereby dub her Lucienne Fauré, Crafter of Illumination!! You may kiss her ring...

Anyway, serious design work ensued. Lucienne and I have arrived at this:

It's a good start, but there's more to be done. The colors haven't quite arrived yet. Seeing the photo so small makes me realize that I need to push the glowing highlights on the edges if this thing is going to show on the paneling. I'm ready to audition fabric and will probably oscilate between Lucienne and the fabric pile until it all feels right.

And I think there needs to be a greater sense of movement, spontenaity, like the original sketch. I want this whole arrangement to have more arch. But Lucienne is getting some beauty rest and laundry is calling with an annoying harshness. This'll have to sit for the afternoon.

What's left in my head is that this will be 3-D work. Copper mesh is in da' house! I've worked with window screening---fun to free-motion, but very pokey, and 1/2" wire grid--- with a sewing machine?...not so much. The needles were most unhappy about it. The copper seems promising. Then I'll need to come up with a way to mount the pieces on a hidden wooden frame---enter stage right---Very Handy Husband.

See what I mean? The hard part---the concept---is over. The rest is a snap.

Procrastination in Spades

2006-10-31T22:27:00.000-05:00

Finally, my moment of quiet has arrived! I'd say 'daily', but the fact is, solitude doesn't visit Chez Funky on a daily basis.

For most of you today is Halloween. Here it is my Sweetie's birthday. He likes man food on his birthday, so there was roast beef with flavorful gravy, yukon gold mashed potatoes, steamed fresh broccoli. And a pumpkin desert (cheesecake)....he loves all things pumpkin. Now the dishwasher is humming (don't make it too perfect in your head, there's still a full batch of dishes waiting to be washed), and the kids are in bed. I'm whupped!

Fiber content:
Procrastination seems to be biting me in the butt! As previously posted, the shirt fronts are done after some delay. Today I got an email from the director of my local library. Ruh-Roh! This is never good. Not because she's evil, but because it means she's reminding me about the quilt installation I promised to do years ago. That's right....YEARS. Last post, we were at weeks. Now we're up to years. Lordy, is it possible I've put something off for decades? Let's not find out. My husband can probably come up with a decent list of things.....I don't want to know. The really pathetic part is that I have several projects for others that have been delayed for years. Why do I do this? Only drugs and therapy will tell.

So, about the library....my biggest block, the only thing that I can voice....is the location for the art:

It's up toward the ceiling and between two giant light fixtures. The fixtures make me crazy. They're so distracting! And I'll have to work hard to achieve impact from such a distance.

This evening, I put this photo into Photoshop and broke out my beloved pen tablet. Now, over the years, I've contemplated a bazillion different designs: landscapes, stacks of books, a tree branch hanging from the ceiling, etc... Tonight, two design roads came to me immediately:

I'm leaning toward the giant collaged leaves. It has potential for some dimensional quality. Given my color choices, it will have impact and stand up to those light fixtures. And I think it's just cool. The other design enhances the rectilinear quality of the architecture and I don't find it unique. But then, my view is a bit myopic tonight and I could be persuaded to change my mind.

By all means, render an opinion in the comments.

Finally

2006-10-30T13:26:00.000-05:00

....these shirt front are done.

Gregory Climer, designer of Godspeed the Well Dressed Man, would have liked them weeks ago. Weeks! But October had a mind of it's own: 3 kids in soccer, three kids homeschooled, 3 guitar classes I'm teaching at a school co-op, 1 wedding trip, 1 big-fat-art retreat of which I'm in charge, 1 husband working full time and spending the rest of his time building an addition at church. Is this whiny excuse making? Yes it is. I barely touched fiber of any kind during September and October. Is that not cause for whining?

But at least they are done. And the retreat is over (for this year). And soccer is done. And there are no trips planned for a while. My spinning wheel, which has been mocking me with it's presence since August, finally got some attention. When there's time to spin, then I know life is slowing down a bit.

Fab '06, Day 3

2006-10-25T10:34:00.000-04:00

That's a Wrap!

For me, day three was the busiest of all. Students were still working at a tremendous pace. And last minute details kept me hoppin'. The retreat was so successful, 18 students preregistered for next year and I'm expecting more in today's mail. I was blown away by this!

These posts may seem full of photos, but truly, they only show a fraction of what went on. I intended to get group photos, but there was so much bustle, it never happened. And when everyone was packed, we had a fabulous work crew to clean up. The energy of this event continued full tilt from the reception right up to the last van to be loaded (mine). What a fabulous testament to fiber artists, their strenght and their spirit!

Now for pics.

From Laura's room:
Peg Keeney working at a design wall:

The results of day 2's stuffed tube experiment:

How cool is that?

A piece that progressed all weekend:

Table mates:

A closer view of all the wonderful colored fabrics made by this student:

Jeanne's Room
Jeanne offering advice:

A work in progress:

More work:

I wish I had some better pics of the techniques learned in Jeanne's class. The layers of painted fabrics coupled with encrusted machine embroidery was incredibly beautiful.

Pamela's Room
Pam working with a student, and the student's self portrait in the background:

Design wall covered with a weekend's designs:

A student and one of her self portraits (she made 2):

More design wall:

A student who just couldn't stop working! She whipped out these little compositions at the end of the day:

Another view:

Pamela posted more pics from her class on her website, plus she gives a nice review of Fab '06.

End of Day Pics
Laura wraps up with a class discussion recapping the weekend and driving home a few key points:

Pamela's class with their self portraits:

And they all created happily ever after! The End!

...well not quite... Tomorrow, I'll blog specifically about our Quilting Arts scholarship recipient, Dianna Call.

Fab '06, Day 2

2006-10-24T13:59:00.000-04:00

Intense!

Saturday was Day 2 of the retreat. They were busy, I was busy. There was barely time to breathe, let alone blog! But it was all good.

People started filtering into class rooms around 8 am. By 9, the joint was jumpin'!
There was ironing:

And consultations with irons:

There was intense sewing:

And plenty of quality time with one's stash:

Wha?!?!

That's right, boys and girls. This student took a field trip to the hardware store and is ramming fibers into a plastic tube. Turns out, curtain adjusting handles work perfectly for this. Who knew?

And the results:

Laura Cater-Woods demonstrated using water color pencils in one's art:

Some dried fibers...fusible web, I think....from Jeanne Beck's class:

Works in progress from Laura's room:

One of the design walls from Pamela Allen's room:

By this point, they'd done a black & white excercise, a study in line, and a color study. Pamela really pushes students to work spontaneously and they were all amazed at how much they could achieve in 6 hours.

Saturday night, we hosted our 'Show-N-Tell Free-For-All Extravaganza'! It was a place for people to show anything they've made. Could be knitted washcloths or one's mosaic soap dish.
Anything! We saw some dolls:

Yes, it's a paper vest and hat:

And even an invisible quilt that only could be seen by the pure-in-heart:

I could see it! How 'bout you?

What a great day! The creativity was infectious, and the atmosphere friendly. I never fail to feel at home and truly myself amongst this group of fiber artists. It's worth every ounce of preparation.

Fab '06, Day 1

2006-10-21T13:55:00.000-04:00

And We're Off!
Yesterday started with a bang! Fabric was flying and brains were buzzing.

Laura's class started with a focused huddle:

They stayed that way all morning. It looked intense! After lunch, things loosened up and everyone was busy-busy:

About 10:00, coffee and tea arrived and everyone burst out of the rooms. That Java is important business:

Part of this event's focus is the atmosphere. We want a beautiful setting to inspire the artist. I think Garland fits the bill:

More work, more learning, then lunch:

This is the girl that brought the lunch, Tracy:

We love her. We treat her nice. She brings us the food. We're aaalll about the food.

Pamela's class was hustle-hustle from the jump. They had time limits to force an spontaneous mode of working:

She did get a break, as seen here with Peg Keeney:

And Jeannie's class made a huge mess and had a great time. They moved paint and got it onto fabric in ways I never new existed:

Dig the messy hands. Now that's art!

Fabrications 2006

2006-10-20T10:05:00.001-04:00

RETREAT!! wild Retreat!!

Yes, Fabrications 2006 kicked off last night with a lively reception. We had food. We had live music. We had ART! Many people arrived early to set up class space. They were invited to hang recent work in our reception area. At 7:00, the party officially started. After that it was a blur of checking in, looking at work, and conversation. Our three teachers, Pamela Allen, Jeannie Beck, and Laura Cater-Woods were on hand. It was a pleasure to have them there.

Pamela on the right, in the funky blouse:

Jeannie in the center, leaning to the right:

Laura, standing, already mentoring:

Now, this is the time to admit that any photos related to this retreat will not be works of genius! Apologies to all people and artwork that fall victim to my lense. There are a few pictures of work. Again, apologies for no names, etc...though some of it you may recognize style.
I think this is Peg Keeny in top left, Gail Ingraham to the right, and I'm unsure about bottom left:

This is all Jeanne Beck, all the time:

The very identifiable Pamela Allen:

Truly Cool Rusted Fabric by Carol Myer:

And more party-party, happy-happy:
View of the room, featuring two of my co-planners (there's a third: Peg Keeney), Desi Vaughn and Kathie Briggs, at the registration table.

Believe me, they are holding me responsible for this photo!

The appetizer spread:

God Bless good food and all those who bring it to me!

A student viewing the design walls:

And lastly, your faithful author (center with the burgundy scarf) chatting with friends (and eating...I'm aaalll about the food):

Another student, Melissa Rian, is also blogging about Fab 2006. Go here to read her take on all of this.

So, our first evening was loads of fun! Today, everyone is hunkered down in class rooms...busy busy. Serious talk, comingled with lots of laughter is floating from all directions. They've relished a coffee break. We still have lunch, an afternoon of work, and our evening forum with Kathie Briggs. I wish all of you could be here. The vibe is Electric!

Stay tuned!

Cathcing Up

2006-09-01T09:54:00.000-04:00

Earlier this summer, I started another run of dye samples.

Anybody remember this?

Yeah. Just a little bitta' work there. That was how, waaaaay back in December 2005, I decided to tackle this project. You can read all about it here.

Sinced then, I've learned a great deal about how to do this. For those that follow the dyerslist, I've used Doug Wilson's immersion dye technique. For those not on dyerslist, Doug Wilson is this chemistry dye genius that seems to have a day job testing dyes of all ilk.

The other change I made was to achieve color through overdyeing. The benefits:
-not having to measure out microscopic amounts of dye and auxillary
-being able to dye with only 6 bins, instead of a bazillion tiny plastic cups
-easier control of batching temperature
-the ability to break down the project into manageable sessions
-higher dye saturation and very little mottling
-the grades are more consistance

Now for the pictures. We start with enough yardage to dye all the yellow for the whole project:

It's then cut and shuffled, ready for the red dye bath:

Cut and shuffle # 2, ready for blue:

Then I had a brain fart and forgot to photgraph the blue dyebath. So we jump to where I am right now:

Slowyly, over the summer, I've been gluing squares in. The loose squares are sorted into envelopes and waiting for some time to free up.

Here's two of my favorite cards:

Love that color! All the color.

Keep in mind, I'm not the genius that came up with all of this. Carol Soderlund has designed a week long intensive class covering this whole process. Seeing her cards on line is what inspired me to think about this process. I'm probably missing some great crucial elephant, but am happy so far with these experiments. And since my brain processes so slowly, it's worked well for me to explore these techniques in my own time.

Talk to you soon!

Fwustwaaaated!

2006-08-29T19:17:00.000-04:00

Saturday evening, a storm with lots of lightning blew through my little backwoods town. Suddenly my DSL modem ceased to function.

Sunday, I called my internet provider. I waited, I 'esplained', I convinced the techie I wasn't a moron.

Today, my brand new DSL modem arrived. I plugged it in. No dice. Soooo, I got baaaack on the phoooone. I talked to not one, but THREE different techie minions. I heard everything from 'it's a bad cable' to 'oh, gee, you must've fried your computer too.' None of them were Mac savvy. The most helpful minion concluded that it must be a faulty box. GEE, Ya' Think?!? He took my name and address in order to mail a new box. He put me on hold. He came back and informed me that my story was being passed from the Land of the Techie Minions to another floor that only houses Brains in Jars. The Brain in a Jar listened, typed, advised, talked to higher ups and finally concluded that ....gasp....I must have a faulty box!! He asked me, even after verifying aaaallll my account info, for my mailing address. What?!? Didn't the last guy just type that in? Isn't there a box on the screen showing where to mail the bill? Are they running the place on post it notes and dumbwaiters?

Now I get to wait some more. My box will arrive Thursday. Until then, I'm at the mercy of my husband's office computer. If you've sent e-mail, I've probably read it. Consider this my official response. Having no access at home is right up there with being out of clean underwear. 'Cept the clean drawers is usually something I can fix MYSelf. Oy! Say it just like Elmer...right along with me....Fwustwaaated!

Suddenly Employed

2006-08-25T22:13:00.000-04:00

Last week, a post came across the PAQA list concerning a job for a designer from NYC. On a whim, I applied. Is it 'on a whim' if everything I do is on a whim? Hmmm...

Anyway, much to my suprise, the designer, Greg Climer, contacted me! I suddenly find myself sewing a gazillion log cabin blocks for tuxedo shirts. His line is called 'Godspeed the Well Dressed Man' and you can see a picture of his Tuxedo Deco Shirt on the website's splash page.

Greg sent me a bit of fabric to get started. USPS is winging the rest of it to me right this minute. It's a beautiful pima cotton broadcloth, finer and more buttery than the Robert Kaufman pima many handdyers use. I've been wondering how it would print and dye.

Here's a bunch of blocks, constructed and ready to be set in rows:

Here's the set blocks, pressed:

Here's the nicely hand drawn pattern piece on the blocks. In case you didn't know, I'm a pattern making geek and I think well drawn oak tag patterns are a thing of beauty.

Here's me, a kid, and our nighties...

And...just for kicks:

XO!

Fiber + New Computer

2006-08-12T11:22:00.000-04:00

Today, I'm horsing around with blogger, trying to find the most efficient way to achieve my blog's look. The new iMac is making this so much fun!

Sooo, we're going to take a little time warp with some older work. Featured are two banners I made for church events:

This banner background was handpainted with thickened mx dyes. The 'LIFE' letters are also handpainted cotton. The cross is very coarse raw silk, dyed to a rich plumb. I still have scraps of said silk that I can't seem to throw away.

Next:

Now this was cool to make! The black and white drawing of Peter and Jesus came from some Bible study material. I brought it to life with color. It was made in conjunction with a week-long Bible study. For each day's theme, I added an element of the picture. The image was complete by the end of the week, but it didn't get quilted for a while (read "too embarrassed to admit how long it sat unquilted). To add to the madness, participants brought in fabrics. One friend of mine, knowing I love color, brought in some bright orange. Very funny.

Detail shots:

A little careful thread painting had a huge impact on the depth of this image. My only regret is a serious lack of flatness at the bottom. So far, I'm the only one who's noticed.

2006-08-12T01:32:00.000-04:00

Yes, there is fiber to come. But for now...

Look what I can do!

I'm doomed to pay for his therapy with my social security. Guess it'll be Alpo for me.

Fiber will appear sooooon. Have faith.

I Am So Cool!

2006-08-09T21:59:00.001-04:00

Well, not me, really....my new computer! It's cool!

I can see all buttons in Blogger.

Welcome me to 2006

Hi, It's Me

2006-06-28T22:53:00.000-04:00

I'm Cathy Arnett and I live at this blog. You can call me Funky C. I try everyday to be funky, or at least not a loser. Sometimes I call myself Super Spec....a small, persistent gadfly pushing through existence in the face of a giagantemous universe. Some of you know me as Betty Sow DeFudge, but that's another story.

This blog is not dead. It's been on vacation, in rehab, taking a sabbatical. It's used up it's personal days. But it is not dead. In my head, it's alive and well. I continue to think in blog tense. 'Oh, this'd make a great blog pic'....'Gee, I should really blog about this project'....you get me.

Why now do I choose to blog? Another blog under my care Scraps of Grace, needed some editing. A weird text thing jumped in where there should have been apostrophes. After fixing that and staring at the blogger desktop, I thought, 'What could it hurt?' So I decided to throw a few notes up here.

What's new with me? Not much and lots...all at the same time. Daily life continues at it's frantic pace with ball games and evening meetings. I've managed to sneak a few fiber activities in and around the everyday. Most notable is my new Spinning Wheel. Spinning has been a distant dream for me, right up there with weaving. I suddenly found myself in the company of spinners. They placed fiber and tools in my hands. (dern fiber artists...worse than crack pushers, I tell ya') It feels so eerily natural, like waking to some weird deja vous. I fight the entrancement every moment and try to remember to feed my family.

We've also acquired new family members...three baby guinea pigs. Two were picked out by children and one by moi for it's fabulous subtle taupy-cocoa color and it's snuggly personality. They're all adorable and their presence in my home officially marks the outnumbering of humans by pets. I, The Momminator, meanest parent this side of the Mississippi, have called a !Cease Fire!..no more pets. Well, except the hermit crab still needs a roommate. (sigh) So much for sticking to my guns.

Anyone Still Reading?

2006-04-02T23:51:00.000-04:00

First, let me say, "YIKES!". Did I really not blog for over a month?!? The scary part is that, except for constant reminders from a couple of annoying friends (you know who you are--xoxo), it feels like I just did that last entry. Then again, March is a month I try to avoid if at all possible. I want a nice white winter, and then to skip right to a warmer than average April, please and thank you.

Secondly, I'm checking in to report:

This is a quilt for my friend Connie. The top is from a round robin we did ages ago. She had it all basted and on a lark, I started quilting it at her house one day. Connie and I are going to IQA in Chicago this week and I'm determined to have the quilting finished before I leave (plus a rod pocket and a hanging bar, if my husband is willing).

Photographing machine quilting in anything other than natural daylight is tough for me, but here's the best I can do:

The yellow applique section is all one thread color. I, the unsuspecting---and ever optimistic--quilter, realized how close I cut it after I walked around my sewing table:

Yet another panic trip to Joanne's avoided!

Third in line:

I also owe Connie's husband a long overdue project. This fabulous (and dyed by moi) fabric will be made into cushions for his very artful willow furniture. I plan to make an equally elegant leaf motif centered in the top third of the back cushion. Pray for me, cuz' I want to get it done too before I leave. These are people that have proven their friendship through gracious patience...and that's understating a bit.

It is a personal goal for me to tidy up loose sewing projects for other people this year. There are several--a couple quite large--and I need to get it over with. My own long forgotten projects don't count. And I also vowed to blog regularly this year....obviously that's not going my way so far. My only consistant quality is inconsistancy and it's going to take some sweat to change that.

In other Funky C news:
-I got a lucky, last minute spot in a Jane Dunnewold 'Improvisational Silk Screening' class. The driving time was longer than the class time, but worth every mile.
-Fabrications 2006 (a fiber arts retreat in Northern Michigan) is open and accepting registration. Our teachers this year are Laura Cater-Woods, Pamela Allen, and Jeanne Beck. Plus we're offering an open studio. Ya'll come and hang out with me!
-My taxes are done. I am so relieved.
-I've learned how to use a drop spindle and *love* it. My goal: hand dyed sock yarn.

And now, boys and girls, it's time for me to go to bed. Guten Nacht!

Crossing the Finish Line!

2006-02-27T11:04:00.001-05:00

This photo happened completely by accident....no photoshop editing, no flash, just lots of sun bouncing around. I love it's ethereal quality. If only all my moments were as peaceful!

The knitting was done Friday night. Saturday: blocking. Sunday, I wore it to church. The few peaceful moments I did have were spent knitting this scarf. Mistakes happened when:

-friends were watching over my shoulder
-2 or more children were talking to me at once (an hourly occurrence, at least)
-the phone rang in the middle of a row
-the tech at my mamogram wanted to 'chat' about 'crafts' while waiting for my films to develop.
-My dog jumped onto the yarn
-Dick Button said something especially catty about an Olympic figure skate and I was forced to rebut out loud at the TV.

I intended to post this progress report last week:

And here's Saturday's view:

As you can see, the print table has found yet another good use. How did I ever live without it?!?

And Sunday morning:

A friend commented that the colors have a rosy cast on her computer. For those with the same effect, the colors are that of the beach: cream, sand, and blue. If I had it to do over again, I'd not run out of ancient discontinued yarn and make it about 6" longer. It's comfortable to wear, but there might need to be some fringe added in the future. Maybe in my 'free time'....yeah right!

Here's another picture....better view of the scarf, my rosacea, and my double chin. Yikes!

Of Behemoths and Viruses

2006-02-15T20:23:00.000-05:00

First: A Report

I, Olympic Knitter Catherine Arnett, am fading fast. It seems there wasn't enough endurance training before the games and after 5 nights of staying up waaaaayyy too late, I am now ill. Hate that! So, my trainer (that would be my immune system) is suggesting rest. There will be knitting tonight, but probably only until 9:30. That's the bad news.

The good news is that there's progress!

Now, mind you, my friend and complete Fiber Jedi, Emily Parson has managed to make and block two sweater fronts covered with cables. Maybe she's made the back, too. Either way, she's done it all with small children tearing around. She knits like a cartoon character. I don't think you can actually see her fingers move. It's just a stream of knitting flying off the ends of the needles. I'm in awe.

In other news, The Behemoth got smaller. Then it grew. Exponentially.

What am I gonna' do with all this garbage?!? It's completely overwhelming to me. And the picture is not all of it. Now the evil mass has bled into my new area and onto my print table. The reason for this:

.....The second half of the sewing room remodel. This room is adjacent to the area you saw in January. It's now painted green and carpet squares have been procured for the floor (the lovely tile pattern carpet will remain in the other room due to lack of funds). Storage is the room's main purpose, though it also houses our chest freezer and my Ironrit mangle. Slowly, this will all come back together. I must tackle a bit at a time and try not to let it drive me over the edge (kind of a short trip).

Well, my time's up for tonight. If you'll excuse me, I have a date with my nightgown...and my knitting.

Knitting Like the Wind

2006-02-14T19:34:00.000-05:00

...sort of. I don't do anything 'like the wind'! Especially knit.

Do you all know about Stephanie McFee, the Yarn Harlot? She's a blogger from Toronto with a readership in the thousands and a couple of book deals under her belt. These facts are testimony to her sharp wit and fluid writing style. I read her blog almost every day. Check it out.

The Yarn Harlot decided to create a knitting Olympics that coincides with the games in Torino. The rules are that you had to cast on during the opening ceremonies, that you have to be done by the closing ceremonies, and that the project must be a personal challenge.

For me, this means lace:

I've never knitted lace (have crocheted plenty). Reading the charts and keeping track of patterns has intrigued me, but I've been too chicken to actually pick up the needles and try. The above sample is the final sample of probably a dozen attempts. I spent most of the opening ceremonies and the first night of competition broadcast frogging samples (called 'frogging' because you riiip-it, riiiiip-it).

Finally, the samples stood on my last nerve. I switched to smaller needles and cast on enough stitches for a spring scarf:

It's actually going very well now that I'm into a real project. I believe firmly that everyone should make samples.....as long as it's not me! The adult ADD tried to kick in, but I bent it to my will and swatched enough to get a good feel for the pattern.

This cotton yarn had been waiting to be socks, but I think the colors are too pretty to hide in shoes. I'm using size 4 needles and the pattern is out of the book 'Folk Shawls'. Mine will be more of a scarf than a shawl and will have some scalloped crochet on the ends.

Will keep you posted!

This Week

2006-02-11T20:07:00.000-05:00

A good part of my free time this week was spent at the dye table.

First, my friend Pat came over to dye some perle cottons and various threads she had laying around. Some of her work is heavily handstitched and I think the hand dyed threads will be a playful addition.

Next, I wanted to make some special goodies for a new fiber art group meeting near Detroit. They've invited me to send them a trunk show. What a great idea for the group and for me! They get to do a little shopping at their meeting and I get to sell my work without waiting to vend. If it works out, I may develop the idea further and promote it. There are other hand dyers already sending out trunk shows.

Here's everything they're recieving:

My favorite is this half yard of cotton velveteen:

The texture comes from a piece of gutter guard. I painted thickened dyes onto it, then rubbed it onto the fabric.

Detail:

I couldn't believe how well the velveteen captured detail. Can't wait to try more of this!

The Next Move

2006-02-08T05:07:00.000-05:00

The time has come to thread paint the fern quilt:

But I'm nervous about it. This is the part where fixing a screw up takes an eternity. I'm not sure the quilt and I are ready for that kind of commitment. Plus, I already have a resentful but strangely codependant relationship with my seam ripper. Adding the extra workload of a mistake will only deepen the tension.

What to do? What to do?

Hey! I know what to do! This great idea came to me out of nowhere. I opened the above picture in a paint program, created a new layer (think of it as laying a sheet of tracing paper over the original) and drew some possiblities right onto the picture:

I'm a card carrying genius! Surely I'm not the only genius to think of this, but it felt like true brilliance for just a weeee itty-bitty moment.

Next: Thread contemplation

I keep thinking about how easy shading is with a number two pencil and a piece of paper. Doing the same thing in color, via fiber, is challenging. It requires forthought....not my strong suit. And I don't want to use every thread I own. There needs to be some editing:

Not bad. How 'bout this?:

Maybe. I won't really know until the threads hit the fabrics. There's bound to be some mind-changing and some undoing of stitches. Mr. Seam Ripper is just going to have to suck it up and play nice.

Day Without Power

2006-02-07T09:20:00.000-05:00

6:30 A.M. Blue World.

7:00 A.M. Snow.

10:00 A.M. Snowball.

10:00:02 A.M. Smack! Thankful for Glass Barrier.

10:10 A.M. Activities Not Requiring Electricity:

10:11 A.M. Arranging Fabric.

11:00 A.M. Hooping Work and Careful Placement of Tools

11:05 A.M. Impatience Hits. Packing To Visit Friend With Power.

Sewing Room: Today's View

2006-02-05T19:59:00.000-05:00

This is a current view of my new sewing room.

Like it? Me too! Sewing in complete dark generates the most interesting work. And you knew I'd tire of that 'all green, all the time' thing sooner or later. I decided an all black color scheme would be more soothing. And I think it says 'I'm edgy, buy my art' like no other color can. That's me, baby, on the cutting edge (snort--yeah right...like Mr. Rogers at a rap concert).

Okay! I give! If you must know the truth, I'm still the same nerdy mother of three who giggle-snorts like a Trekkie at dinner with William Shatner whenever I see fabric or yarn or thread or interfacing or looms or anything to do with fiber. The real truth is that almost 24 hours ago as I was holding my scissors poised above my fern quilt....ready to snip a thread from the back.....As I was just nestling into my sewing chair after a day of laundry folding and kid chasing....As I was dreaming of how , in 10 minutes, I'd be blissfully free-motion stitching sweeping lines of threaded genius........My power went out. Out! Completely gone!

Except for the fleeting moment of anemic sunlight that mid winter Michiganders call, 'Day', I've been in the dark ever since (well, some might say I've been in the dark all along...but that's a post for another day).

Lucky for me, friends up the road had power. They let me sew at their kitchen table. And my husband's computer at work is up and running, thus allowing me to type this post. All the roads around us have power. Just not our little mile-long stretch.

So, we go to bed early and snuggle close together....probably the dog too. The kids are bedded down at a friend's house and the hermit crab is cozy down by our family room's wood stove. It'll be okay...because (enter swelling strings and timpani)....as Annie let us know...(Everybody Sing!)...(big inhale, arms flung wide)...The Sun'll come out Tomorrow! Betchyour bottom dollar we'll have power, then we'll sew!! Just thinkin' about Tomorrow....I'll sew like mad and as for all the housework, it can go!--(skip the relative minor bridge, right to the chorus)----- Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I'll blog more tomorrow. It's only a day away!

A Better Day than Yesterday

2006-02-02T23:17:00.000-05:00

After I posted last night, there was more satin stitching. I was cranky yesterday and needed to hunker down behind the machine with a good cd and an interesting project. For me, that only really happens after everyone is tucked in bed and sleeping or almost sleeping. Everyone. Husband, kids, dog, cat, hermit crab. There's nothing like a loud, resonant, "Mo-o-O-oooom!!" to ruin a little private time with needle and thread.

I finished satin stitching around the stalks of my fern fronds and was ready to tackle their 'pointies'. This recquired a thread decision:

Not having the best choices at my fingertips meant having to dig into The Behemoth that is the contents of my nice, empty, spacious, clean sewing room (The Behemoth is in the adjacent family room). We can only have one room clean at a time. Right now it's the sewing room. This means it's *Not* the family room. I've read about a house that has all the rooms clean all the time, or at least once a week. This is not that house.

Here's my final thread selection:

Nice and rainbow-ee. I like that.

While lunging deep into The Behemoth Pile, I ran across the thread on the left in this picture:

It is perfect for a project that I'm quilting for a friend (you know who you are!). This is actually the project I was looking for a couple of days ago when the fern quilt grabbed my attention. I couldn't find it then. But I did find it later as I was emptying boxes from The Behemoth. It's a more traditional round robin quilt and I'm doing my best to give it fine, traditional-style free motion quilting. Will need a sunny day to take a good detail shot.

Speaking of sun, we did have a bit today. Just a wee bit! The weather was warmish--for February in Michigan. It was just above 40 F. There's not much snow. All this meant that the kids could play outside (hooray!) and that I could ponder an upcoming garden project:

Like it? It's a swimming pool...filled with dirt. Previous owners of our home did this because they no longer wanted a pool. They turned it into an 'herb garden'. They buried, under about 6 inches of dirt, a pool-sized sheet of black plastic that has been my nemesis since we moved here. Kinda' hard to use a Mantis Tiller when it's chewing up black plastic. So, on yet another warm day waay back in January, my husband--the Head Elf--took on the back breaking chore of helping me tear out all the plastic. There was a network of grass roots that I can't even begin to describe. This year, I will turn it into a functioning kitchen garden, heavy on the herbs, with flowers for cutting here and there.

In additon to being so very handy in the 'butt-busting-chore department', the Head Elf is a nutburger. Completely Cuckoo for Coco Puffs...and here's proof. Remember, it was 40 today. In this day and age, with dryers commonly available, my husband...in the name of black belt tightwaddery....does this:

Now, I know people (like my mom) used to freeze dry their laundry and all that. Below 60 degrees is about my limit for getting my hands wet outside, thank you. But then, any man doing laundry is a man best left alone (unless they're about to shrink wool not meant to be shrunk). He got 4 loads dry by nightfall. Yet another point for being a good boy!