Sewing Workspace - My little heaven!

I can't recall if I've shared a pic of my actual workspace in the big ArtBarn, but here it is! I do rather love it! I wish the rest of the barn was organized as well, but baby steps, you know!

Had the hubby turn on the heat yesterday, we'll leave it at around 55 degrees, so nothing freezes, and when I'm working in there I can turn it up a bit. I do tend to get rather warm when I work; do you supposed it's because my brain is working so hard? I'm not sure, but it sounds good!

I have a nice little rug under my worktable, because I don't know why but I must operate my machines bare-footed. I cannot stand to wear anything, not even slippers or flip-flops!

All my supplies surround me, and with my office wheelie chair, I can just swing around and reach anything I need....heaven!

New Red Panty clothes!

Now that the quilt exhibit is over (well, I still have to take them down, patch the nail holes, put up the next show!) I'm concentrating on the Red Panty clothing. Guess what?? In November, Sherri from Go Figure Consignment is sponsoring a Fashion Show and guess who will be the featured designer?? Okay, yes, it's me!


Thus the need to really produce ALOT of pieces, and to get busy and bring some new designs to life....I've got visions of little jackets and coats in my head, but they need to come out!

There will be a shopping boutique set-up, so after the runway show, you can purchase the designs!

I've finished a few pieces Sunday and Monday!

Stage Fright

I'm getting a wee bit nervous...I'm giving a little "Gallery Talk" for the closing of my art quilt exhibit here on campus.

I like to think that my quilts each express themselves pretty well, and don't really need further explanation. I did add a few statements on the wall, giving more information on a few of the series that I did.

Many of the quilts in this particular exhibit are rather dark, expressing some intimate feelings that I won't often admit to. So, how do I discuss things I don't want to discuss?

I'm thinking I'll talk a bit about process, more about actual technique and form. I think the technique of using fabric is something different enough, I'll be able to draw attention away from my thought process and keep things focusing on the "how", rather than the "why"!

I mean, does the viewer really need to know that part of my thoughts about the Valentine series comes from the fact that I like to read paranormal, vampire romance novels? I don't think so!

Blue Bottles and Poison Ivy

I think that Autumn is starting to creep in....I do like the smell of burning leaves, although any more, most cities don't allow it.

I've lit my chiminea a couple of times and have been burning the dead sticks that constantly fall out of the giant maple trees; what is it about them, everywhere we've lived, they shed like cats!

I'm working on my blue bottle garden, though...I need to find some bolt cutters to use on my rebar, but dowels work fairly well for the shorter limbs. Sad, though, the tall ones bent right over from the rain. Yep, that's poison ivy peeking through the pine needles and snaking up the tree trunk. I'll have to deal with it soon, before it gets out of hand.

I've been collecting sculpture to fill in around it...Killer Bunnies that I bought from a graduating senior a few years back, and a turtle and cobra my brother Michael made me from parts when his engine exploded.







My father-in-law's dog is enjoying the backyard more, now that it is a bit cooler. Floyd, too, likes to sit outside and enjoy the antics of the squirrels and stray cats.





Lots of exciting things coming up for me, with my clothing line....Stay Tuned!

BATS!!! in my belfry

Apparently things aren't crazy enough at our house, but that we must now entertain bats!

Last Thursday or Friday, the 2 cats woke Ron from his sleep on the couch in the middle of the night, running to and fro, knocking things over. When he got up to yell at them, he was startled by the thwop-thwop-thwop of little bat wings, flying from the kitchen to the front of the house and back again. He opened the front door and THOUGHT it flew out into the night, and that was the end of it.

THIS MORNING, however, as he was leaving the house, he noticed a little bat hanging in the dining room window, between the storm window and the screen. The only way it could have squeezed in there is from INSIDE the house! So maybe the bat didn't really fly out the other night. (I tell myself this, because I don't want to imagine TWO bats have been inside my house!!

So here is the little bat as it trembled, squeaking, while the cats circled it from inside, and here is my Great White Hunter after his successful expedition to trap flying rodents!

Interview on the Internet

Well, it's been 3 months since our move to the new house! So many changes, good, bad, ugly, but we're still rolling with the punches!

Bottom line: I've still got boxes to unpack, walls to paint, and more stuff than ever has been moved to the barn "temporarily" and is in my way, but I'm sewing alot lately.

In June, Pam Spence interviewed me for an online Columbus magazine, The Artist's Interview. She had seen my Red Panty Clothing and was intrigued enough to want to learn more, and I was happy to oblige! Check out the link above; there are even a couple pics of me.

Here at the homestead, we are settling in. I've got pots of herbs on the back porch, perennials in the front, and I'm making basil flavored olive oil!


My father in law has now been with us for a full month, and thanks to my cooking, he's gained back some weight. I think he's tolerating us well; I know his dog, Lilybell, is enjoying the freedom of going out, coming in, going out, coming in ad nausea.


Here Ron is giving her a MUCH needed bath!

Art Barn - the disaster site

Well the move is complete....we are totally moved in to the new house, nothing remains at the old place (except some lovely herbs and some brick pavers). The new place gets homier every day...at the end of each day, we proudly point out to each other the boxes we've emptied, the pictures we've hung, the new plants we've nestled into their beds. Soon, very soon, it will be our HOME!

The Art Barn, well, that's another matter! As the final days approached and we were desperate to be finished, boxes and bags and items which we just couldn't make a decision on (keep, toss, donate, sell?) were all tossed into the barn. MY barn! and so Ana & I made the brave first step last week, to try to clean-sweep and make some headway.



Here is the Barn immediately after the move....Ana is standing near the side door, in the only free space available. Mountains of rubbermaid tubs, plastic bags, furniture that had to be emptied pre-move, and the boxes of contents that came from within. Plus knocked-down shelving units, the barbecue grill, a completely over-the-top wheelchair ramp that came from the University....we need to put a small ramp off the back porch for Ron's dad Floyd, who uses a walker, and the university was going to trash a ramp, so the B&G guys dropped it off.....14 feet long, 48" wide, built to carry a rhino! Serious overkill for our needs! so THAT'S got to go!


Ana & I managed to carve out a tiny workspace for each of us, and I've put together 3 shelving units....a bit rickity, we'll have to move them around again before we're finished, but it gets some of the clutter out of the way. We've moved bookcases around and filled them back up, creating a nice pile of empty totebags, "borrowed" post office carriers and some empty boxes....I can see a teeny bit of headway!


Yesterday I actually got the Bernina plugged in and turned on....yay! At this point I can at least do some work while we chip away at the big pile of belongings. I dropped off another 2 bags to Goodwill this morning on my way to work, and we'll continue to rid ourselves of this baggage, I'm sure. It can't possibly be healthy to cling to so many objects. But I do look forward to the day when my friends and I can gather in the barn, to create and collaborate!