I Found My Thrill!

Click to enlarge photos

I've had two of six classes so far in Peg Gignoux's "Memory Cloth" class. Unfortunately this cloth doesn't provide better memory (ohh, how I wish). Creating a piece of cloth that is in memory of someone or that is a memory or celebration of a particular event (wedding, anniversary, etc) is really the idea here. I didn't pay very close attention to the theme of the class when I signed up. It was the skills that caught my attention. And I am LOVING it so far!

Peg is an artist who has created wonderful (and I do mean wonderful) pieces and she is such a talented teacher as well. For this class, she asked us to stick with neutrals and to bring in fabric, laces, and any odds and ends that could be used to create a bit of cloth. She brought in fabrics and laces, too. And we were invited to share hers as well as use our own.
The piece above was done in about 45 minutes and was one of the most freeing projects I've done. I'm usually too concerned with what the other person is doing or what they think of what I'm doing. I end up getting creativity-paralysis and do something very uncreative. But this was so much fun to just experiment with putting different materials together and not worry about what it was going to be (yet), or whether I could sell it, or whether the teacher would approve (I am stuck in my teenage years wayyyy too often). I used Peg's toffee colored dupioni silk, her pretty geometric lace, and my cheapy muslin and cotton and came up this.
I had so much fun and got so many ideas .... The second class was printmaking which opened up even more ideas. Did I mention I love this class?

Getting organized...not that anybody needs that :)

As most of you know, I design and make purse organizers...

to keep all those little (and big) things in your purse not only organized, but at your pen-seeking, cell-seeking, key-seeking fingertips. Well, I was doing a little market research the other day and came across a great blog on getting organized - anywhere. Jeri Dansky actually has several sites that are devoted to tips on getting organized, the products that help you get and keep organized, as well as addressing the 'why', or should I say "why aren't you", of being organized.

If you need to clean up your act...or you are a helpless neat freak, check out her sites.

Welcome to my studio :)

I love seeing where people work, play and live. And here is where I do all three - at least part of the time. My studio is upstairs in our house. There's nothing else up here - just my studio. It doesn't take up the whole top floor, but it is huge compared to what I was used to. As I come up the stairs, this is what I first see. I have different things throughout the studio that make me smile, inspire me or call to me. I'm sure if some scientist hooked up a bunch of electrodes to my head, they would see my brain do flip-flops everytime I come up here. Jake, our Border Collie mix, comes up here to help me. Unfortunately, that includes getting into my wool roving. Maybe the smell of sheep is still deep within and he can't help himself :). That crazy thing to the left of my bookself is just that. A crazy thing. I made it years ago of chicken wire, lattice backing, and a whole lot of ribbon and plastic what-nots. Over the years, it's become somewhat of a bulletin board to tuck memorabilia into.

And here is the nook where my sewing table is. With windows that look out onto our woods and everything at my fingertips, it makes "coming to work" a pleasure. Well, actually, my whole studio does. I love it.