two kitties

Projects that use Felt from Wool Sweaters

I love to make things out of felted sweaters, so I was really happy to see these projects in the latest issue of Marie Claire Idees.

But I have way too many unfinished projects as it is. So I'm sending off my favorite cashmere cardigan to Kim Taylor, the Sassycrafter, for "re-purposing." 

I came across this photo on her flickr site, and promptly put a request in for a custom order.

This charcoal grey sweater was made of the best quality cashmere - which must be why something chewed a hole in it over the summer.

Kim has free reign to alter the sweater in whatever way she chooses - I can't wait to see how it turns out! In the meantime, check in to Kim's websites to see what she's got going on!

Backyard Archaeology

Mike is building a bone altar on the column outside our front door. I really like this about him.

It started when he found an antler shed next to our creek last spring.

Since then, we've added bird nests, two skulls, some vertabrae, assorted deer leg bones, driftwood and a bushel of twigs chewed by Tally Lake beaver.

The Last of Our Summer Fruit

We have 150 cherry trees in our orchard, one plum tree, and one very, very small pear.

Dr. Whippy - Demitrios Kargotis

Demitrios Kargotis' "Dr. Whippy" was the hit of Ars Electronica: Festival of Art, Technology and Society in Linz last week.

Dr. Whippy asks you a set of questions and asks you to respond by speaking into his electronic box. He can determine your stress level using a computer program called voice stress analysis.

The more unhappy Dr. Whippy figures you are, the more ice cream he pumps into your sugar cone. I kind of wish I had one of these at my last job.

Like the Voice Knitting Machine, Dr. Whippy requires the user to participate in the art making process, and is part of a thriving global electronic arts scene. Some recent work is posted on the Ars Electronic Prix website if you'd like to check it out.

How to Preserve Fall Leaves

Here are a few ways to preserve fall leaves. I know it's still early, but I wanted to give you a chance to get your materials together so you'll be ready! These are great projects to try with kids.

• Did you press leaves between sheets of wax paper in nursery school? I did, and I remember my teacher adding crayon shavings to the mix for extra color. All you have to do is place the leaves between two layers of wax paper. Cover the wax paper with an old towel or rag and press the fabric with a warm iron. The heat will seal the wax paper together with the leaf in between. Cut your leaves out leaving some wax paper around the edge, or trim it and use them as place mats, sun catchers, whatever.

• You can also preserve leaves in the microwave. Take separate leaves or twigs and put them in the microwave on top of two pieces of paper towel. Cover the leaf with with a third paper towel. Set the microwave for 30 seconds to start. You will have to experiment a little with this method. The drier the leaves, the less time they will need. Don't cook them too long or you will light them on fire! Leaves that curl after removal have not been dried enough. Leaves that scorch, were left in too long. Let them dry for a day or two, then finish the leaves with a sealant, such as an acrylic craft spray which is available at Michael's, Joann Fabrics or any other craft store.

• If you want your autumn leaves to remain pliable, you can preserve them in a solution of one part glycerin to two parts water. The glycerin keeps autumn leaves soft. Place the solution in a flat pan, and submerge the leaves in a single layer in the liquid. You'll have to weigh them down with pebbles to keep them submerged. Let the leaves sit (it may take up to six days) until they have absorbed the liquid and are soft and pliable. Wipe the liquid off with a soft cloth and let them dry. They should remain soft indefinitely.

• Supermarket floor wax is another option. Lay out your leaves between sheets of newspaper and use an iron set to medium heat to flatten them a little bit. Pour out enough supermarket floor wax to cover the bottom of a foam meat tray or other flat pan. Dip the leaves one at a time into the wax. Turn over and dip the other side. Remove the leaves from the liquid wax, shake once,and let the excess wax drip off. Lay each waxed leaf to dry on waxed paper. A hand-held blow dryer set on low can help speed up the drying process, but be careful not to let the hot air get too close! When the wax has dried a bit, dip each leaf again. This second dip should make the leaf smooth and pliable.

A Field Guide to Getting Lost

Colombian artist Andrea Acosta tried to get lost in the city of Worpswede, Germany while planning an installation project. She says, "I found myself looking at the enormous amount of street signs that crowd the view of the streets, telling you where and how to look and move...

I found myself looking at the signs themselves [and] the grey space hidden in their backside, at the grey surfaces that are always there but somehow invisible, camouflaged within the constructed landscape we are so used to."

Rebecca Solnit, the author of the book, A Field Guide to Getting Lost says that the word lost derives from the old Norse term for "disbanding an army." She fears that "many people never disband their armies, never go beyond what they know." I've found that to be true.

Solnit continues, "There's an art to attending to the weather, to the route you take, to the landmarks along the way. . . . And there's another art of being at home in the unknown, so that being in its midst isn't cause for panic or suffering."

Acosta altered the back of the street signs to create an unexpected, almost ephemeral encounter within a more concrete environment. These subtle, organic forms are cut from vinyl would be barely noticeable to the self-absorbed.

From now on, I'll always check the back of street signs when I'm confused about where my life is heading. Find more street art at the Wooster Collective.

Andrea Acosta's "B-Side: See Reverse for Directions", Variable dimensions. Adhesive vinyl cuts, ink, found dirt and moos on the backside of street signs. Worpswede (Bergstraße), Germany. July 2007

Passage Quilts - Sherri Wood

Functional mourning quilt by Sherri Wood, in memory of Georgia Marie Wood (1917 - 2003), 2004, 64"h x 78"w. Fragments of my grandmother's housecoats, Sunday dresses, and golf shirts. Made as a gift for Wood's father.

Clothing can bring back so many memories of loved ones who have passed away. I have a t-shirt in my drawer that I gave my Dad for Father's Day almost 30 years ago. It has, quite literally, traveled the world with me as a remembrance of happier times. When death didn't seem possible. Probable. My father wearing the shirt on a canoe trip with friends, doing what he loved to do.

Sherri Wood, an artist from Durham, NC  helps her quilt making students create a "passage quilt" from the clothing of loved ones. Wood's  students work through their grief by selecting material from clothing left behind by loved ones, ripping the clothes into pieces, designing, and constructing the quilts.

Wood has been making improvisational quilts as a creative spiritual practice since 1993. She has a Masters of Theological Studies from Emory University and an MFA in Sculpture from Bard College. She periodically teaches quilt making at Penland School of Craft.

Anyone who sews will understand how calming a needle and thread can be. In an interview with Allyn Meredith, Wood talks about the physical posture of hand sewing being very similar to prayer: your head bowed and your hands together, with your heart in between. You can listen to this very moving interview with Sherri Wood at IndieFeed.

Goyte - Heart's a Mess

How to Make Pop-Up Cards on Your Inkjet Printer

If you've got an inkjet printer, spend a little time exploring Canon's Creative Park website.

Creative Park has hundreds of free project templates and digital photo downloads. The 3D and pop-up art projects for the inkjet printer make me tremble - I don't think I've ever seen anything like this come out of my inkjet.

This pop-up birdcage card is one of my favorites. The bird holds your personal message in his beak. Way too cool.

Voice Knitting Machine - Magdalena Kohler and Hanna Wiesener

IMG_3845, originally uploaded by we-make-money-not-art.

To create Gelsomina, or the "Voice Knitting Machine," Magdalena Kohler and Hanna Wiesener altered a 1970's knitting machine and attached a microphone and a computer.

The computer turns the sound of your voice into binary code which is then interpreted and transformed into a knitted pattern. Different vocal moods are visible in the variety of knitted patterns on the sweater(s), but no one will understand the message but you. 

If you could use the Voice Knitting Machine, who would you make a sweater for? And would your secret, coded message be a blessing or curse?

The Fall

 

Dennis Darzacq: La Chute.

Free Vintage Embroidery Patterns

Lion and Lamb, originally uploaded by lothruin.

I found a group of vintage embroidery patterns while browsing lothruin's Flickr site. I'm partial to the Lion and Lamb - his mane looks kinda 70's to me.

How to Stencil a T-Shirt: II

Last month, I wrote a short post about threadbanger.com and their quick and easy method for stenciling t-shirts. 

Wisecraft has been making t-shirts this week, and mentioned a site called Ottobre Design. A source for free sewing patterns and cool images for t-shirt stencils. I'm all about the reindeer.

Check out Ottobre and then settle down to work. Send me a jpg of your t-shirt and I'll post it on this site! 

Murder by David Halliday

Murder uses collage and prose to tell the story of an innocent man accused of killing a starlet.

Artist and writer David Halliday published Murder as an e-book, and you can download this short piece here.

High-Test

Can wisdom be found in the bottom of a coffee cup? Yes. Absolutely. Sometimes even at Starbucks.

Check out the quote that was printed on my cup:

The Way I See It # 168

The human brain is the only object in the known universe that can predict its own future and tell its own fortune. The fact that we can make disastrous decisions even as we foresee their consequences is the great, unsolved mystery of human behavior. When you hold your fate in your hands, why would you ever make a fist?

-- Daniel Gilbert, Harvard professor of psychology and author of Stumbling on Happiness.

More Starbucks' "The Way I See It" quotes are available here.

How to Hem Jeans

This two ton ball of discarded jeans was exhibited last year in China as part of the exhibit "Fashion Slave."  About how many jeans I've had to alter my lifetime. I'm guessing.

But every once in awhile, someone shares a simple, obvious, truth that totally rocks everything in my universe. This may sound shallow to tall people, but Dacia Ray's post on How to Hem Jeans did just exactly that.

Dacia will teach you how to do it without cutting off the original hem - so the jeans look just the way you did when you bought them.

I tried out the technique on two new pairs of jeans yesterday. It works. If you have basic sewing skills, you can absolutely do it.  I will never, ever, take my jeans back to a tailor!