Really, Can you blame me?

Can you blame me for loving the ocean? Last weekend we travelled to the southern edge of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We were there for a baseball tournament, but managed to enjoy plenty of fun times on the beach. The last morning (Sunday) I got up early and took a walk on the beach while the sun rose. It was beautiful!


I thought this would be a good time to also share the photos of the bracelet that was published in the current issue of Cloth Paper Scissors. This is the front (which was in the magazine):

And here is the back. They did not include a photo of the back, but I used a series of beach-themed bottle caps, and I like it just as well as the front:

I can't quite believe it is the end of July. The year is flying by at breakneck speed. I haven't spent too much time in my studio, and I certainly haven't managed to get it cleaned and organized! I have managed to take a walk, every morning, with my dog. I have also finished two books this month: Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz and The Broker by John Grisham. Both were good, though not the best I have read by these authors. I probably liked The Broker the best of the two. My all-time favorite Koontz novel is By the Light of the Moon. Truly an excellent book. You should read it!!!

Knee Deep in Jersey Knit

I have to turn this pile of t-shirts ... ...into a quilt by the middle of August. This ought to be interesting .....

Friends in Blogland...

Tracy, Wanda, and Leilani have all given me this "Karma" award during the past week. To say I am flattered is an understatement. I am supposed to post the "directions" (which are below) and pass the award on to other bloggers. Well, I say "right back atcha" ladies, and to all my other friends in blogland ... consider yourself duly awarded... and thank you for being my friends.

Here's the particulars:

The Karma Award: These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kinds of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to some bloggers who may choose more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

A little daydreaming...

Here's a little piece (it's 4" square) that I made this week. I finally got out my foils and used them. They are really easy to use, I don't know why they make me so nervous! The base of this piece is a paper towel which was used as a pressing cloth to iron crayon wax off a piece I did a few months ago. I painted over it, and I like how the wax resisted the paint. I even did some hand stitching (Clevelandgirlie will be proud of me!). But ... it's hiding a surprise, and I'm not telling what it is for a few more weeks, so you'll just have to wait. ;7) ~Michelle

Shakespeare was a working man...

I can't find my puffy paint!!!!!!!

(ok, rant over...)

This month I got to create a house front for the lovely Alis over on Textile Challenges. Her theme was "Shakespeare lived here?" So of course, being the creative working sort, where else would he live but the theatre? The Globe Theatre to be precise.

So here is my house front for Alis. A bit of a liberal take on the Globe. The "siding" is pages from one of his plays. There's even a "prithee" in there! The thatch roof is hand dyed raffia, which soaked up the dye in an interesting way. The windows are bits of leftover fabric paper and the shrubs are melted tyvek. I learned that it is not easy to stitch 1/8" strips of peltex with any precision. Still, I think it came out pretty well. I hope Alis will like it!

I am grateful this is a bi-monthly trade. I have until September to come up with the next idea. Now were IS that puffy paint? It's maddening really. Must be time to get organized!

An Emotional Week (but that was the point...)

The lovely Leilani issued a challenge on Fiber Art Traders to create a series of five 5x5 abstract fiber pieces that reflected five emotions (which she chose). Since I've hit a bit of a dry spell, I thought this would be a good little project to get me back into the studio. Below are the results ... see what you think!

"Joy"

"Sorrow"

"Surprise"

"Fear"

"Love"

Ahhh...summer

We've spent the last few weeks galavanting around the northeast visiting family and enjoying the slow pace of summertime. Here are a few photos for you ... it's back to the studio tomorrow!
To say that Rosi enjoyed the freedom of a big back yard would be an understatement...

Meet Mocha, the alpaca ambassador at the farm we visited. She followed us everywhere. Alpaca's are fascinating animals and oh so cute!

How's this for a 4th of July scene ... this is Saratoga Lake. We fought the clouds the entire time but managed to squeeze in plenty of fun.

We couldn't manage to get ALL of the cousins together, but I did tie dye shirts for all of them. Here are some of them modeling their shirts... the littlest one didn't want to be in the photo which made it a little difficult to get the picture, but I like how it came out anyway.

And here they are all smiling away ... along with grandma and a big tray of 4th of July cupcakes.

I hope your summer is off to a wonderful start - and if you are down under, hope you are cozying up to a toasty fire and enjoying the gentleness of winter...