Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Monday, November 23, 2009

Niftiest Purse Ever


Don't you just love this crazy wicker purse adorned with felt fruit? I found it at the local Salvation Army thrift shop. It's too fragile to actually be carried about, but I find myself wondering about the exuberant free spirit who would have sported such a delightfully tacky purse. I have it on a small chair next to my kitchen where I toss in small things that need to go downstairs so I don't forget them.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Salvaged Beauty

Here's one of my favorite pieces ever. It's made largely from discarded objects I salvaged from a dump site on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. If you look closely you'll recognize a rusted sardine tin, bottle cap, glass jar lid and silver lining from chewing gum wrappers. What is so special about this piece is that I made it while on an art retreat with some of my most favorite people, surrounded by the stark beauty of the desert southwest.


Cindi Powell (aka "Piz") and I had so much fun scrambling over the discarded junk, gleefully pulling out treasures from the unstable, chaotic mound.

"Are you up to date on your tetanus shots?" Piz asked, her R.N. training taking over.

"Probably," I shot back, completely undeterred.

Her only response was her unrestrained giggle; we were having too much fun to let things like possible lockjaw slow us down.

And so we dragged back a huge pile of "treasures" to the communal room we used for making art. Adding just a few beads and some milagros I had purchased at a flea market, I let the beauty of the "trash" shine through.



Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Ms. Peacock in the Office with a Scanner

When I was in my boss's office I happened to see this peacock feather on his desk. I have no idea why or how it came to be there, but I borrowed it long enough to scan it for your viewing pleasure. Aren't those colors just glorious? I recently bought some new clothes (a HUGE deal if you know me) and they are in those very jewel tones.



Monday, November 16, 2009

Carla's Coming To Town!

I just found out that one of my favorite people, Carla Sonheim, sold her home in Salida, CO and will be moving to Seattle with her family! I met her at Artfest several years ago and along with a bunch of Seattle artgirls became friends with her. She gave us some fabric transfers of her art and I incorporated one of them into a purse I made, shamelessly copying her purse pattern.
,,,,

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Crazy Crochet

I keep thinking I should submit this freestyle crochet technique as a book idea. I haven't really seen it anywhere else and it's so perfect for people who like to crochet but don't want to (or can't!) follow those confusing directions or count stitches.

Friday, November 13, 2009

As if there weren't ENOUGH birds!

And yet another fabric depiction of a bird. This time I used the shape from my last project and just casually stitched around it a few times. Then I went back and forth kind of crazy-like to create the tail feathers. Easy peasy and pretty fun looking...if you don't mind a few wrinkles. I love the funky stitch I used to attached the colored dots...it reminds me of bird footprints in the sand.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Again with the birds!

Yes, I know....I am obsessed. Obsessed with birds. I can't help it. And truth be told, I don't want to help it.
This is a favorite of mine I made recently. I cut up an old, stained tablecloth, sewed on a bird silhouette (silk from an old pair of pajamas!) and then covered it with a snippet of wonderful vintage lace. The cool embroidery stitch was WAY easy and WAY fast (double yay!)