two kitties

Martha Stewart Craft Room

If there is a such a thing as craft p*rn, it would be have to feature photos of Martha Stewart's craft room.

Am I right? What appeals to me is the organization. Obviously, she's the type that puts the glitter right back in the drawer after she's finished with it. The drawer that is organized on the color spectrum and then probably alphabetized within the color spectrum.

And it is hyper-tidy. There is no glitter spread all over the jute rug. Doesn't look anything like this, anyway. And Martha doesn't need to dress like a hobo to get her craft work done. She's all about the carefully pressed Faconnable. 

Which is a long way of saying, I dress like a hobo when I go up to my art studio, and it is floor to ceiling with paint, scraps of paper, glitter, coffee mugs, and giant stacks of books. Also a long way of saying that while I was flipping through a mail order catalog, I came across this Martha Stewart Living for Home Decorators Craft Space Furniture Collection.

Martha is no fool. She offers the collection in three colors, including this "rhododendron green", so you can pretty much kit out your craft space exactly like hers. I was into the flat files and the gift wrap hutch.

 
I've always made do with whatever we had on hand, but it's seriously tempting to just pimp out the art cabin once and for all. If you had the money and the time, how would you make your art and craft space a better space to do projects?

Mixed-Media Birthday Card for Kelly.

I started this piece at Anderson Ranch a few years ago, and finally finished it last summer. It definitely belongs in the category of "Art That Scares Even Me."

The box originally held three miniature liquor bottles that someone sent to Miranda during our workshop. I have this thing about packaging. I look at it and I see things - and it makes me want to keep it - HOARD IT - until I make the thing in my mind. Like the No. 9 Shrine made from a birthday cake container. (Still for sale, by the way...$9.99...Get in touch...)

Back to the Eye Box. The communion cups I pilfered from a Christmas Eve service two years ago. Technically. Because the original cups melted when I poured the hot resin into them. Second time around, I used Ice Resin and cups sent by a friend. The wedding ring is from a gumball machine.

The eye print was made using the Van Dyke process and the box is lit with a tiny light string (lights removed from the back for the photo.) The outside is covered with mink salvaged from an old coat. It feels pretty amazing when you hold it in your hands.

Beginning to end, I think it was about three years. Off and on, of course. I have no idea what it means, I just decided not to censor myself. It's scary what you find sloshing around in your brain when you pull the cork out. The only thing I could think to do with it is send it to my artist-friend Kelly as a birthday card. She said she liked it.

Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian Cookbook

Since Christmas, I've been on a self-imposed austerity campaign. As in, I'm not going to spend ONE UNNECESSARY DOLLAR during the entire month of January. I've been cooking at home, skipping my favorite lattes at the roadside coffee shack, and reading all the books I already own but have never bothered with.

Anyway, that whole thing lasted a total of 14 days. Mike wrecked the truck ($1500 minimum) during an ice storm, so we had take it in to the body shop. It was my first trip inside a non-food store in about a month. I promptly blew $300 on a new pair of snowshoes, some poles, a couple of new cookbooks.

I follow Veggie Burgher on Twitter and the last few months she's been cooking like crazy. Christmas was non-stop cookies from Isa Moskovitz' and Terry Romero's Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar and meals from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian Cookbook.

As I was checking out at Borders, my old man cashier says to me, "SO, you're going to cook some vegetarian food, huh?" Now being a vegetarian in Montana is considered a crime against the cow. It just ain't done. It just ain't raaaght. And quite frankly, it's almost impossible.

But me, displaced city girl, I also have *my* dislikes. For example, I don't like it when cashiers make comments about my purchases. I nodded and said, "Uh huh", but in my mind? I was thinking, "Yeah. Tonight I'm serving my favorite dish, Vegetable Gratin a la Shut The Fuck Up.

It was delicious. Here is a savory mushroom goat-cheese tart with potato crust. It was incredible. Even Meat Man Mike loved it.

On the side, I did a Romaine lettuce salad with sundried tomatoes, roasted peppers, garlic, and pine nuts.

Sorry about the crummy photos. I was too hungry to do the food model thing.

Both recipes are from Mark Bittman's book. What have you been making lately?

Felted Sweater Wiener Dog Dachshund Soft Toy Stuffie

This weekend, I completed a custom order via my etsy shop, Wienermania. My customer sent me a beautiful blue handknit sweater in a luxury yarn that was accidentally washed - a genuine knitting "Waterloo." I have cut many cashmere sweaters in my time, but I hated to cut this one! All the same, it made a lovely set of dachshunds - a mum and a pup - and gave the dogs a very nice weight. 

To give the stuffies a little color, I made each dog a removeable turtleneck sweater. This is very easy to do and would even work for a REAL, LIVE, small dog if you have one. Just take the sleeve of a felted sweater, cut leg holes, and adjust the length accordingly.

The felted sweater doxies I made earlier this year are now completely sold out! I so enjoyed making the bigger one that, if it continues to snow, I may make a few more for the holidays.

Felt Sandwich.

The weather turns my thoughts toward the needle. Isn't this the most beautiful f***ing thing you've ever seen?!

A piece of wool felt lettuce. One layer within Myrtle & Eunice's felt sandwich. You can see the sandwich, and learn how to make your own, via the "Let's Do Lunch" tutorial.

Autun Stone Carvings, Irving Penn, Figurative Painting

I have images from Cathedral St. Lazare taped up on my studio walls this week. The church is said to hold relics of Lazarus - you can read about that here.

As an artist who doesn't draw very well, I have found that carving helps you get RIGHT DOWN TO IT. An artist working in stone has to decide which lines will be absolutely essential to create form and expression.

Flight to Egypt

Eve

And I've been rediscovering the photography of Irving Penn, for the same reasons. I've been a slavish reader of fashion magazines for years, so I've seen many of the images before, but hadn't considered them beyond simple visual. It has that same, essential line. I have gotten a lot of painting mileage out of this old photo.

 Her face led me here:

 and here:

 

Interesting differences, so far.What is on your inspiration wall this week?

 

The Last Supper Embroidered Pillow.

I found this embroidered "Last Supper" wall hanging at a thrift store awhile back. Whenever I see needlework in a thrift store, I almost always buy it. It's difficult not to appreciate how much time and effort went into recreating Da Vinci's famous painting.

I bought it for $2.50, cleaned it up, and turned it into a kitschy bed pillow. My plan was to sell it in my etsy store, but I dunno. We kind of like it.

Embroidered Felt Baby Booties; Deep Thoughts.

I realized the other day that one of the reasons I never go work in my art studio is because it feels like a gallery of unfinished projects. Like this one. A pair of embroidered felt baby booties that I completed - with the exception of the ties - one weekend back in February.

Officially, this was what I call a "felt warm-up project" - something simple and satisfying that I use to get my MAKE juices flowing. I knew early on that I would never crochet the ties per the directions but, somehow, buying a yard of velvet ribbon seemed to be the beta blocker to completion.

So here they are. Complete. And so is my old friend's baby girl, Iris Irene - born last month and totally beautiful, as seen on Facebook. I like the fact that the last time I remember hanging out with her Mom, we were 19, likely drunk, and rocking out to Crosstown Traffic on her Jimi Hendrix cassette tape.

Now, we've both got careers and husbands, accomplishments and deep thoughts to discuss [electronically], and that amazes me and makes me thankful - so few high school relationships ever get past high school in the mind. I still really like her and everything she does impresses me so I'm going to send her baby these freakin' booties.

Back when I started this blog, I was making things all the time. Just having the blog motivated me to get things done so I could share it with the universe - didn't matter what it was. I had all of these thoughts that had no place to land, and no one ever read them. I was lucky to see fourteen hits a day - most of them from my own computer, checking to see if anyone had read my blog yet. I was never going to be one of those bloggers who eventually posts a goodbye/thanks for everything/I won't be posting anymore type of post.

And I'm still not. But I'm aware of how much has changed in my mind over the last few years of writing. All this is? An anthropology of the way my own mind works, the things that inspire, take hold, take over my day. I used to crave connection with the world outside of my every day life. Now I find myself craving a little more anonymity so I can write about the things that are on my mind without offending the people I love and those that love me. I probably do that anyway, but even so, I'm still holding back.

I'd love to go all Brooklyn on your a**, and use words like motherfucker, kind of like Fashionably Late to the Party who gave me the word in the first place but really more like Jive "Eating prunes at my desk, who wants to do me?" Turkey but with a cherry orchard slant. 

If I had that veil over my identity, I'd tell you the truth about myself - the unattractive parts; the sins, the memories of *not* being around a campfire with my parents, the long list of hurts I have intentionally dealt to others, mostly out of fear that I was un-loveable. But you're not supposed to do that. I do some of that on this blog anyway, but you do learn the hard way not to be honest with coworkers, neighbors and even some friends.

Sometime, substitute "Tell the truth" for "I love you" and see what happens. 

Eating 300-500 calorie breakfasts and protein at lunch will prevent chocolate binges later in the day. 

Iron your thread before you hand sew or embroider - it makes everything go more smoothly, motherfuckah! 

Put a lemon down your garbage disposal and your drain will freshen right up.

Paintings of Matisse, Derain, Laurencin, Rousseau van Dongen

It's been an inspiring time in the art studio this week. (OK, I only made it up there one afternoon, but it was a productive afternoon.) I've been looking at the figurative portraits of Matisse, Derain, and others this week. I may come out as a Fauvist. If I can work up the courage to tell my Mom.

Henri Matisse, Odalisque with Red Trousers:

Andre Derain

Marie Laurencin:

Rousseau's portrait of Marie Laurencin and her lover:

And Kees van Dongen:

 

 I'm in a rush at the moment, so I'll have to come back and fill in the blanks (and links) about the artists and their work. I just wanted you to have something to look at - to get you through your Friday.

The Best Gift You've Ever Received?

GiversLog is helping Ladies Home Journal with an article about the best gifts ever received. What comes to your mind when I ask this question?

When I was 6 or 7, I had a birthday party for friends at our house in Michigan. I believe this was the very party when I chugged a giant 2-liter bottle of cherry-flavored Faygo and then puked it up later that same evening. (If I don't tell you that, my sister will via the comments, so I'm just putting it out there the way I remember it.)

My mom didn't allow any sugar in the house, and that's basically where my bad relationship with the white powder begins - TO THIS DAY, if I can get my hands on sugar, it feels like a wicked, wicked treat. But that's another blog post.

Bueno, en resumidas cuentas, my neighborhood friend Ruthie brought a gift to my party that I would call the "best" gift I've ever received. It was a shoebox filled with small toys and surprises. There were crayons, jacks, play money (my favorite!) and one of those rubber balls attached to a paddle that you smack around for five minutes until it breaks. In essence, it was a box full of things that I'd see at the grocery store, always wanted, but my mother would never buy for me. 

I found a great tutorial at IndieTutes that demonstrates how to turn an ordinary shoe box into a pirate's treasure box for kids.  These are photos from the IndieTutes site. My box looked a lot like this. 

Interestingly enough, I don't remember playing with anything in the shoebox. The real moment of excitement was the package itself - the feeling of surprise when pulling the top off, wonder at each item and the feeling of being suddenly toy rich.

I have received many wonderful gifts since that time but this one comes to mind as the first, best.

What is the best gift you've ever been given? GiversLog is collecting stories for an article in Ladies Home Journal. You can email your story to AmberLee at the address noted here.

Felted Sweater Wiener Dogs!

 

These felted sweater stuffies are $23 for Cashmere or wool. Dogs may be purchased through my shop.

Good Mail: How to Make Artist Books

I decided that today's studio project would be a letter to one of my best friends. He lives over in Australia.  I didn't have anything special to say, I just miss seeing him.

This week, I've been playing with book structures in the art studio, so I decided to work some of those ideas into mail. I used some envelopes I thrifted awhile back.

In each envelope, there was a random (but interesting) piece of paper. There were vintage postcards - this one from Kobe, Japan to a person here in NW Montana dated 1947.

Another vintage postcard of St. John's Cathedral in New York City notes that the sender sailed for Brazil that day, in 1949.

Other envelopes contained simple books, made with papers from my collage pile. This one is a one inch high modified accordion-fold book made with a cyanotype printed two years ago.

This one is just a photocopy of an aerial photo of commercial flower growing fields in California. An almost Rothko modified mini-accordion fold with belly band.

Another is an "instant book".

Folded flat, the inside looks like this:

The outside:

Dancers from American Ballet Theatre at the height of the company's success. A wordless narrative from this fat ballerina with the ruptured tendon.

I put my letter in the last envelope, shuffled them, and bound them together very simply. All of these techniques came from a great book I keep in my studio - Esther K. Smith's How to Make Books. Autographed copies are available here. 

Fused Plastic Bag Reusable Lunch Tote

Using this fused plastic bag tutorial and this super simple reusable lunch bag pattern, I fashioned a little something for my commuter sister. 

Patchwork is Personal: History and Quilts.

Photos: Library of Congress

The thing about old time patchwork is that its personal. By the time a quilt's binding is complete, every little piece of that old time fabric has been worn by a loved one, then washed, pressed, cut, arranged, and stitched, sandwiched, quilted and tied by someone's hands.

I have two quilts made by my great-grandmother that have been part of my life longer than any other thing I own. I remember taking naps underneath the blue one during preschool and holding it up to the sun so I could see the light coming through all of the different fabric "envelopes." Much later in life, I learned that it was a variation on the "Flying Geese" pattern. My mother says that the patches were cut from dresses she remembers her grandmother wearing.

In her retirement, my grandmother volunteered with "Helping Hands"; a group that stitched lap and bed quilts for people in nursing homes. She brought my sister and I to one of her old lady quilting bees, down in the church basement in Indianola, Iowa. I was about 10 years old and I remember a bunch of women working together around a big frame. The quilt was yarn tied, and my grandma had us help tie the yarns in knots because we had small, nimble fingers.

There might have been lunch, but there was definitely church basement coffee.

The Prayer Book for Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg

I've been working in the art studio with a six-month goal of finishing two pieces each week. I'm working on completing old projects (some of them I started ten years ago!) as well as newer, encaustic pieces that use my bird photographs.\

The deeper I get into the bird work, the more I think about the symbolism of classical painting. This week, I'm thinking a lot about that, and just happened upon this image from a 16th century prayer book over at the Getty Museum.

It so happens I have a work-in-progress with a similar, rose colored circle. In my piece, the circle frames the head of a baby bird and cherubs look down at the baby bird in consolation, and an oval laurel wreath (a grave rubbing from Butte, Montana) frames the scene.A coincidence. But I love the colors in this piece so much, I might try to manipulate the similarities even more.

The classical work you are looking at is called The Worship of the Five Wounds, and was created by Simon Bening, a Flemish artist, between 1525 and 1530 A.D. Bening used tempura paints and gold leaf on parchment paper.This image is part of a prayer book for Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg. Because it was part of a major exhibit mounted by the Getty called Imagining Christ, you can see the Prayer Book in its entirety right here.

Resin Bottlecap Collages

I've been trying to take a little stay-cation time in the art studio. If I've been out of the studio for awhile, I usually choose a small, no-brainer "warm up project."  This project - bottle cap collages coated with clear ICE brand resin - was inspired by CPF "The Sassy Crafter.

The funny thing about "warm up projects" is they are small in size, but never wind up being no-brainers. These took about a week, and the resin pouring was about ten minutes of that time. But I'm in love with ICE resin and I don't care who knows it. I made some resin paper and plan to do some other resin projects soon!

M. chose a bottle cap for his desk, but the rest are headed to my sister in Minnesota. 

.

Wiener Dog Races

Random, I know, but I signed up for a booth at my local Wiener Dog Races 2010. I'm going to sell Wiener Dog themed crafts. This will be my first craft show. Any advice for me? The organizers told me about 200 people attended last year, but they expect even more this year, since "a guy will be bringing about 40 wiener dog owners from [Southwest Montana]." How much should I make/bring?

Sewing Machine Maintenance: Ruffler Foot Accessory

This is not a can opener. It is a special attachment for sewing machines that can make pleats and ruffles on fabric. The foot works much faster than making ruffles by hand and it can stitch a ruffle down to a second layer of fabric at the same time.

Yes. It is a great idea. But it isn't new-fangled or anything. The ruffle foot was patented in the late 1800's! You can buy one for your machine for about $20. I bought mine at Sears.

Check your machine's manual for sources or have a look at Charlene Phillip's book, The Sewing Machine Attachment Handbook. This is a helpful guide to keep on your shelves - there is stuff out there you've never even heard of. Charlene knows her stuff and will walk you through setting up the right attachments for your machine. 

Be sure to check your needle position! The ruffle foot may require the needle to move to the left or right. If you make a mistake, your needle will hit the metal and break.

The ruffle foot works by scooping up the fabric with a little fork and forcing the pleat under the needle for a stitch. Watch this super-short Pfaff ruffler foot demo video to see how it works. You can adjust the distance between gathers. Here, my pleats are about one inch apart.

On this strip of red ribbon, I've made teeny-tiny ruffles. Helpful, if you're into the Elizabethan thing, I guess.

 

Now if I could just find ruffle projects that don't look cheesy! A ruffled pillow might be good. Like this pillow, made from an old bridesmaid's dress. Or this pillow, made from strips of t-shirt. Any project ideas you can think of for ruffles?

How to Make Things: rules for students and teachers by John Cage.

The collaborators: John Cage, Merce Cunningham, and Robert Rauschenberg.

some rules and hints for students and teachers

by John Cage

RULE ONE: Find a place you trust, and then try trusting it for awhile.

RULE TWO: General duties of a student - pull everything out of your teacher; pull everything out of your fellow students.

RULE THREE: General duties of a teacher - pull everything out of your students.

RULE FOUR: Consider everything an experiment.

RULE FIVE: be self-disciplined - this means finding someone wise or smart and choosing to follow them. To be disciplined is to follow in a good way. To be self-disciplined is to follow in a better way.

RULE SIX: Nothing is a mistake. There's no win and no fail, there's only make.

RULE SEVEN: The only rule is work. If you work it will lead to something. It's the people who do all of the work all of the time who eventually catch on to things.

RULE EIGHT: Don't try to create and analyze at the same time. They're different processes.

RULE NINE: Be happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It's lighter than you think.

RULE TEN: "We're breaking all the rules. Even our own rules. And how do we do that? By leaving plenty of room for X quantities." (John Cage)

HINTS: Always be around. Come or go to everything. Always go to classes. Read anything you can get your hands on. Look at movies carefully, often. Save everything - it might come in handy later.

written by John Cage

Work in Progress.

This mixed-media encaustic collage piece is the first to incorporate some of the grave rubbings I've been collecting. The rubbing was done on silk with wax crayon. It is the cream-colored scroll work that runs across the top of the board.

I like the rubbing, but I'm still trying to decide how I feel about this piece. It's too early to tell, really. It still needs to be waxed, and the wax will make all of the layers take on a level of transparency. You'll be able to see handwriting underneath the lighter areas after waxing, and the intensity of the paint and pastel work should pull back a little bit. On top of the wax, I plan to embed some gold leaf detail.

I definitely worked this piece more than I usually do, the question is whether or not it will wind up being too much.

How to Block Print.

Block printing is something I've always wanted to learn. A few years ago, I tried some wood and linocut and basically found out that it is *not* an activity for people who drink a lot of coffee. Watching this video, I realize that my cheap tools look totally different than what is being used here. Perhaps I'll buy the stuff and try again.

Stuffed Animals Inspired by Kids' Drawings.

Super-simple instructions here at  MarthaStewart.com  I've got to dig up my early work!

New Pig

 

When I'm stressed, I sew stuffed animals. I don't have any kids, I don't have a sales outlet, I don't come from a family of people who sew. I don't understand it. It just is.

Sewing Machine Maintenance: Change Your Needle!

When was the last time you changed the needle on your sewing machine? I'm guessing that mostly people only change the needle if it breaks. I'm guessing that my sister, who uses my Mom's 1960's nightmare Singer, has *never* changed the needle. I'm guessing that my Mom never changed the needle either.

If you have a newer machine, chances are they provided a small envelope of needles, each with a different color tip. Some brands might use a letter, like Q for Quilting, and some might have a number. Find your machine's manual and look up what it has to say about needles - your machine's needle system will never change, so get to know what makes your machine happy! (If you can't find your manual, this chart may be helpful for you to look at.)*

And you will be much happier with your machine and your sewing if you choose the right needle for the task. Use the wrong one and you could wind up pretty frustrated with your project. For general sewing, the best place to start is, again, your machine's manual. It will tell you which needle works best for the weight of the fabric you are working with.

I made this little needle keeper out of a fabric scrap and some quilt batting and I keep it close to my machine. Once you've changed the needle a few times, it's really not a big deal - so long as you can find your needles close by!

Even if you stick to sewing fabrics of similar weight, it's important to change the needle from time-to-time to keep it straight and sharp. I like to think of the needle as the "underwear of the sewing machine." You really want to put a fresh one on about every eight hours of sewing. 

* I have two machines, and their parts are not simpatico. I learned this the hard way, and had to make an expensive repair.

Snowy Walk.

Blue Heron.

Coyote. I love his natural "camo!"

Hawk.

M. upgraded my digital camera at Christmas, but this was the first weekend I've really had time to play with it. I'm shooting with a Panasonic Lumix FZ35 - 12 megapixels and 18x zoom.

We took a long walk in fresh snow this afternoon - and there was nature. The heron shot is amazing - he did me a favor by standing like a statue until I got my stuff together.

Sewing Machine Maintenance: Clean Your Bobbin Case.

I'm convinced that you can get as much out of a relatively inexpensive home sewing machine as a costly, professional model. The trick is to understand your machine and take good care of it.

Like any piece of equipment, your sewing machine needs a little TLC from time-to-time to prevent damage to its delicate parts. Taking good care of your machine will help you, the sewist, to better understand your machine and, if you can keep things running smoothly, preventing many of the frustrations that pop up during projects.

Before you do anything, track down the manual for your sewing machine and READ it. Technology has moved on in a big way since your 8th grade Home Ec class, and your manual will show you how to clean the bobbin case on *your* machine.

Let's take a look at my bobbin case and see what's happening in there. Even the finest fabrics and threads have slubs that leave fuzz inside your machine. Too much fuzz can upset throw off the tiny parts and keep the needle and bobbin from doing their thing.

My sewing machine came with a tiny brush. I got a little bit of fuzz, but since I have cleaned my machine in awhile I decided to remove the plate, just to be sure.

Ya.

Seriously.

Gross. Those little "worms" to the right of the bobbin are fuzz that was packed inside the grooves between the feed dogs. Take five minutes and clean your bobbin case before you use your machine. Get in the habit of checking the bobbin case regularly, especially if you sew fuzzy stuff, like felted sweaters.

Hooded Towel - Last Minute Sewing Pattern.

St. Francis models this fetching hooded towel - whipped up last night from a pattern in Last Minute Fabric Gifts.

 

Start to finish, I think it took me three hours. It would have gone much faster if I could have located one of my three rotary cutters.   I used a cotton chenille remnant and a vintage bedsheet from my stash. I love working with vintage sheets - after so many launderings, the fabric is wonderfully soft. I would absolutely make this again.

 

I know the littlest one will feel cozy and warm after his swims in the pool or baths before bed. I wish I had time to take a better photo, but I'm already well past the birthday deadline!

Tooth Bear by Cynthia Treen

I love working with wool felt - it's just so easy and fun! I found the pattern for this wool felt tooth bear, along with a stash of other ideas, at Martha Stewart online. By coincidence, it was a craft created for Martha by Cindy Treen, CPF and visitor here at Paradise Ranch.

I made this bear in a couple of hours over the weekend. The pocket is big enough to hold a baby tooth for the tooth fairy, as well as the quarter she might leave behind. I started off thinking I'd make three, one for each little kid, but didn't have enough wool felt in gender-neutral colors. In the end, I decided they could probably share one bear, but it's time to place an order for a new pack of felt. 

In the past, I've purchased wool felt at Magic Cabin, but I've also been looking at the beautiful colors sold at Purl Soho. Felt-o-rama has felt made from recycled plastic bottles and bamboo fiber, and offers to send three swatches of these new blends for $1.99 so that you can test the products in your studio.

How to Make Resin Jewelry

I've always been fascinated by resin, but I haven't ever made the time to really figure it out. I've had bottle cap collages on my mental 'to do' list forever - I feel better about it since I've seen Jennifer Perkins' "How To" from Threadbanger. I think I'll experiment one night this week and see what I come up with.

T-shirt Necklace Tutorial.

T-shirt necklaces have been our list for some time. 

This is a five-minute craft. All you have to do is grab some old t-shirts, a rotary cutter, and a cutting mat. According to fabric whiz Cynthia Treen, if you want the fabric to roll, you'll want to use a single-knit t-shirt rather than double-knit.

I can't tell you the difference between single and double-knit until she texts me back. I just know, for now, that most, but not all t-shirts will work. Start by slicing the shirts (across) in one inch strips.

Make a bunch. Stretch the loops and they will curl up into 1/4" strips.

Loop them, braid them, add charms, knots, whatever you like. It's incredibly flexible and always looks amazing.

 

They even have man potential. Just be sure you call it a "scarf" not a necklace.

Thanks to T. and T. for the idea.

Knitting Slouchy Cardigan from Greetings from Knit Cafe.

I started another "slouchy cardigan" from Suzan Mischer's book, Greetings from Knit Cafe. When I say I started, I mean I started it back in March of 2008.

I'm making a deal with myself - no new projects until I complete some of the stuff on my table. All I have to do to finish this pup is knit the front, left panel. Probably two hours worth of work that I've let sit for...oh...I couldn't even guess.

In the meantime, Knit Cafe has closed and even the website, with the pattern corrections, has been taken down. I guess I'm not exactly on fire about this project.

By the way, are you on ravelry.com? The site for knitters? If you are a member, friend me - "twokittiesblog" .  I'd love to see what you're working on!

Felt Fortune Cookie Bill Holder

Last night, I whipped up these little fortune cookies out of wool felt using a pattern from Martha.  On Christmas, the girls will find a fortune and a little bit of gelt inside each cookie.

All you need to make them is a little bit of felt, some wire, and some glue (I recommend SOBO.) I completed them in about ten minutes, not counting the drying time for the glue. I love them! I'll never give money in a plain, old envelope ever again. Never. Ever. Ever.

Cardboard Christmas Decorations from Marie Claire Idees.

In my ideal job, I would get paid to spend my days making stuff like this:

Which would look great in a cardboard living room, also made by me, in my ideal job:

These ideas for recycled cardboard and paper holiday decorations were scanned from an old issue of Marie Claire Idees. I love that magazine. I don't subscribe anymore, because I wound up hyperventilating every time I picked up an issue. So many amazing things to make, so little time.

The Shepherd's Farewell.

I spent the day sewing dozens of tiny birds. I cut them back in October but have been too busy with work to stuff and finish the project. My goal for the weekend was to do exactly that. While I stitched, I thought about you, Two Kitties reader, and listened to Christmas music on Pandora. I found a new piece, by Berlioz, that I'd never heard before. I love the music, and I'd like to share it with you.

Heidi Rettig: Still Life No. 1

Heidi Rettig, Still Life No. 1 (2008) digital print, mixed-media and encaustic on panel.

I play with some traditional symbols in my own art work. You can see a few other images here. 

Symbols in Still Life Painting

Still Life with Dead Birds and Mouse, Jean Baptiste Oudry

Still life painting doesn't get ya going, am I right?  If you think of traditional still life, you probably think of it as something for old people to hang on their walls. A piece of decor that pulls a room together, fruits and flowers artfully matched to the upholstery and promptly forgotten. A museum gallery you would rather not spend time in.

In that way, nothing has changed. Still life was looked down upon from its 17th century beginnings in the Netherlands. The style didn't seem to require any originality of thought. All that seemed necessary to create the visual illusion of reality was strong hand-to-eye coordination and sophisticated technical skill. 

And buyers of Dutch still life were of another class. They were merchants and businessmen or "new money." Their art market functioned outside the traditional patronage of churches and cathedrals and depicted secular subject matter. They wanted paintings that were pretty to look at but small enough to be hung at home.  

What I'm about to tell you will change the way you view these paintings forever. You see, what makes still life painting really interesting is that the objects depicted are seldom neutral. The simplicity of the composition is somewhat deceptive because many of the objects carry overt symbolic meaning. These symbols shape underlying themes that can then provide meaning from painting-to-painting.

Vanitas (Latin for vanity) is a distinctive theme of still life painting and it is most often attributed to painters who worked in the Dutch town of Leyden.  Its subject is the “momento mori”, to remind the viewer of death,  the fragility of human life and the brevity of earthly existence.  The artist might include a skull, timepiece, or snuffed out candles as symbolic reminders of the passage of time. Items like books or musical instruments (precious at the time) warn of the futility of worldly pursuits.

In the Oudry still life (above), we see that the sands of time have run out. Two birds, both likely (but not certainly) dead, traditionally represent the resurrection of the soul after death. The bee and butterfly are symbols of hope, and, by their delicate nature, a reminder of the fragility of life. The mouse is considered to be a very fertile animal, and so became a symbol of lechery and destruction. Here, he waits to devour these gentle creatures at the hour of their death. 

I could go on for days. Next time you visit a museum, check out the still life gallery and take a second look. Pay attention to the small stuff. The objects chosen and the subtle contrast between them. A good dictionary of symbols in Western art is very helpful to have with you.  This one is a favorite of mine .

Cynthia Treen Pin Cushions

Cindy taught us how to make these beautiful pin cushions. A photo will never convey what it is like to hold one in your hand. The cushion fits right in the palm of your hand. The silk velvet and the weight of the Turkish emery inside makes the cushion feel interestingly alive.

Here are mine. The finished cushion is one that Cindy made for me. The other is my work-in-progress.

Cindy wrote about Turkish emery and these pin cushions over on her blog.

How to Needle Felt Animals

During our studio week, Cindy Treen taught us to needle felt small animals. In this photo, she is wrapping yarn around her fingers to make the core of the body. You can see the rabbit she made earlier on the table just in front.

Wool roving is then punched into the yarn body using a set of felt needles and a brush mat. Cindy brought these needle felting pens made by Clover. I decided to make a miniature "White Kitty", and you can see his yarn body below.

He turned out nicely!

Debra made a set of bunnies. The bigger bunny is a kind of family icon, often featured in the cartoon notes her husband draws in love notes. This rabbit was a gift for him. He has a cream colored underbody with a mustard overcoat punched in.

This is a very satisfying process and it really is amazing how the wool can be shaped into almost anything with a couple of needles and a brush or foam mat. I can imagine it being somewhat therapeutic after a stressful day of work. I bought my sister all of the tools, wool roving, and a "how to" needle felt book for her birthday. I thought of her every moment I was working on my kitty - I could totally imagine her just punching away. 

By the end of day two, yellow bunny had a baby. Here are the three of them together. 

Encaustic Fabric Collage

I've been doing some encaustic work the last few years. I learned from an artist based in New Orleans named Miranda Lake.  Recently, I've been printing my digital photos on fabric or adding bits of vintage embroidery to my wax collages, and this is what I plan to do with the gravestone rubbings we did last week.

For my "demo", I did a quick and dirty "Intro to Encaustics" session for Cynthia Treen and Debra Tomson Williams. First, though, I had to tidy up a little bit. By mid-week, the studio had been completely annihilated - a sign of creative work in progress.

Cynthia did an absolutely lovely encaustic piece. Of course, I do not have a photo of the final product. But you can trust me on that one. In this photo, she is fusing the beeswax to the board with a heat gun.

We had some time to relax, too. We did a little knitting and crochet by the fire. Here's Cindy on Mike's beloved "baked potato" couch.

Debra cooked some fresh, healthy meals.

We went down to the beach on a beautiful sunny afternoon and sat by the shore sorting rocks.

It was hard to ignore the giant piles of bear scat along the way...it's just that time of year. Over the years, I've become more comfortable sharing space with bears. They leave us alone, and right before hibernation-time when they are devouring the fruit that is left in our orchard, we're just extra careful. But nothing could reassure Debra. I may as well have slathered her in honey and locked her outside at night. 

And I took the ladies into town to visit the yarn store. We saw this piece of art when we stopped for coffee. I'm sure they won't find anything like this in Providence or Pittsburgh. 

To be continued....

Debra Tomson Williams' Tutorial: Fused Plastic Bag Totes

Each of us approaches art and craft from a different direction, so during studio week we all brought a favorite technique or project to demonstrate for one another. Here, Debra Tomson Williams is showing Cynthia Treen and me how to fuse plastic bags together to make "fabric."

This is the ultimate reuse project. Two or more plastic grocery bags are fused together under parchment paper using a warm iron. They can be cut and manipulated like fabric - the possibilities are endless.

Debra recommends choosing bags of similar weight - she looks at the recycling symbol printed on the bottom and matches the numbers. We collected plastic bags from the grocery store - looking for interesting graphics or bright colors, and we raided Mike's garage for some "CAUTION" tape.

 

You should proceed with caution - you don't want the iron to get too hot and you definitely want to keep the iron moving. Do this project outside or in a place where air circulates freely. I rate it a 3 out of 10 on the smelly scale, but my studio door and windows were wide open.

Once again, I was too busy making things last week to take many photos, but luckily there are photos of Debra's bags from a post I wrote last year. 

You can see photos of Debra's finished bag here and, if you want to try this yourself, you'll find a helpful tutorial from Craftzine.com

Crayon Rubbings on Fabric Cemetery Headstones

Last year, I became obsessed with some of the fabric manipulation techniques I read about in The Uncommon Quilter. Crayon rubbings on fabric was something that I really wanted to try while Debra Tomson Williams and Cynthia Treen were visiting. We found some really interesting old Montana headstones, and set to work. 

It's really very simple - crayola crayons and the fabric (or paper) of your choice. We found it helpful to bring some low-tack tape to keep the fabric in position and some rags and a brush to clear the stones of dirt and dust. When you're back at home, press the crayon into the fabric using a warm iron and a sheet of paper towelling over the image or text.

The sharpest rubbings came from fabrics that had a stabilizer - I used some inkjet cotton that has a peel- off backing, because I plan to print on top of it. Cynthia brought some beautiful silk used for painting in China that has a light stabilizer on the back. Both worked well. I also brought a selection of papers and had great luck with them.

I was particularly fond of the text, and would take rubbings of certain words - "We'll be together in the clouds..." which I thought would fit well with some of my bird encaustic pieces. 

Unfortunately, I haven't (yet) taken a single photo of the finished products, that's how busy we kept ourselves last week! But I promise you they are stunning and I will share them soon. Today, I'm actually going to hit some of the cemeteries in Butte and Anaconda, Montana - home of the copper mine kings - and I think I'll find some pretty amazing carvings there.

It's always interesting to see what people choose for their stones. Even more interesting that these two people aren't even dead yet.

Studio Day Two with Debra Tomson Williams: The Spool Bird Pattern.

Debra arrived a day earlier than Cynthia. We woke up to cold, blustery weather - good for sewing.

The first project we decided try was a pattern for a small bird published on the Spool blog last year. These tiny birds look amazing when grouped together on Spool's Flickr site. We thought the birds might be beautiful art installations - either in the orchard or placed in public spaces for people to find and take home.

Debra decided to sew her birds with money. It was sinful to watch dollar bills being cut into pieces. Is it illegal? We're not sure.

I loved the money birds.

But Debra wasn't happy. She decided to sew a bird out of white muslin and stuff him with [now heavily fermented] cherry pits from our orchard. A gorgeous color, but he had a smell to him and refused to dry out. At the end of the week, he wound up in the branch of a tree along the creek. NOT sent home to Pittsburgh.

I made approximately half a dozen little birds (and counting), but I didn't take photos of them - that's how busy we were last week! I'll upload photos when they are finished.

My week with Cynthia Treen and Debra Tomson Williams

So many exciting things happened in the studio last week, it's difficult to know where to begin. Perhaps at the very beginning. The trip down the stairs to the coffee pot.

Even the smallest details of my life are creatively charged when artists are in the house.

My art studio.

I've been quiet this week because I'm in the art studio. I'll tell you all about it in a few days. It's kind of exciting stuff - Cynthia Treen and Debra Tomson Williams are here working with me! In the meantime, if you'd like to learn more about the history of my "art cabin", I've written about it here and here.

Amy Karol: The Angry Chicken's Gift Label Set.

I like to make things and give them as gifts. But people don't always want something handmade as a gift. Some folks want something store-bought. Or maybe even just a wad of cash in an envelope. But why get into all that, when I wrote about it last year, anyway? Short summary: these labels were tailormade for the people that love those people.

"I made this, just so you know. So don't say anything mean about it" is perfect for me. By Amy Karol of Angry Chicken blog fame. You can buy these labels over on Amazon.

How to Make Seed Bombs

Heidi Rettig & Associates (that's me, in real life) is working with a group of artists in Superior, Wisconsin on formalizing plans for an "arts district" in their neighborhood. Part of this work includes temporary public art installations in vacant lots in the area. We hope these installations will call attention to the creative work happening in the neighborhood that residents may not be aware of, and beautify the many vacant spaces. What would you do with a vacant lot?

We had great fun brainstorming with the artists about the possibilities. The idea of throwing 'seed bombs' out your car window as you drive around the neighborhood to flower naked lots with shots of color was brought by Darnell Nelson. Another Superior artist, Karin Kraemer, remembered her year of unemployment in Victoria B.C. as the period when she went around shoving flower seeds into cracks in the cement. A quick google introduced me to the wild world of guerilla gardening. There are just so many possibilities. 

SEED BOMB RECIPE

Ingredients

1) powdered clay

2) worm castings or compost

3) wildflower seeds indigenous to the area

4) water

5) mixing container

6) stick

1) mix 5pt powdered clay, 5pt worm castings or compost, 1pt seeds in a mixing container.
2) add just enough water to make a nice muddy clay consistency
3) roll up the mixture into little balls like gum balls
4) let dry in a cool dry place for like 3 days
5) throw them in empty fields.

I'm Working In Duluth.

That's why you haven't heard from me.

Elmer Bischoff and the Bay Area Figurative Movement

Elmer Bischoff (1960) Two Bathers

This summer, I've spent a little time looking at figurative painting, portraiture and still life. I'm trying to gather information for insight into some of the flailing I've been doing in the art studio over the last year or so.

I'm 38, and I've never, in my entire life, had any ability or interest in figurative work. Until now. All of the sudden, I want to paint portraits of people - real and imagined - and paint bodies.

I discovered Elmer Bischoff and the "Bay Area Figurative Movement" a few months ago and now I see him everywhere. And Richard Diebenkorn, Paul Wonner, James Weeks, and David Park. This is the kind of work I'd do if I could. I love the faces most of all. What appears to be blank and expressionless is, in fact, a tell-all.

How to Make Paper

I've been wanting to make handmade paper for years. It wasn't until I moved to Montana that I really had the right space to make paper at home. My sister and I set up in the orchard, just outside the art studio.

Earlier this year, I shredded my old journals to ready myself for summer pulp. I had the idea to make seed paper. My friends were horrified that I'd shredded my memories, but honestly -I kind of liked the idea of all that mid-twenties angst being planted in the soil and becoming something a little more green and new.

But, of course, when you have the time you never have the seeds, right? So we just soaked it in the bus boy tubs and then obliterated the chunks in a blender. The pulp was a pale blue from ink.

Hours and hours of writing done during my commute on the DC Metro.

I used a mould and deckle I bought from someone off ebay. I'm kind of underwhelmed. The slats on the back of the deckle don't allow me to use my wet/dry vac to suck out the extra water from underneath. That means it takes a lot longer to dry. And it is pretty much the only reason I bought the wet/dry vac.

But it does give me that nice Tibetan peace flag feeling when it hangs on a line in our orchard.

 

Simple Contemporary Quilt

Tessa leaves for college just about a month from now! I think all of us have a mix of emotions - we're incredibly proud of her and excited for all the opportunities she will have; but we'll miss her like crazy when she goes.

Today she finished the art quilt we've been working on for her dorm room. It is a modification of one of the patterns in Valerie Van Arsdale Shrader's book, Simple Contemporary Quilts.

Tessa chose all the fabrics, cut the pieces, made the sandwich, and did the quilting. My contribution was to inspire confidence, fix the sewing machine, and reassure her that if Laura Ingalls Wilder was making her first quilt, she'd go ahead and guess at it just like we were doing. She loves it and I'm way impressed with her skills.