That word 'funny' always makes me feel uncomfortable. Because if I were trying to be funny, I would be something like Bill Wegman - he really tries to be funny. I don't try to be funny. It's just that I feel the world is a little bit absurd and off-kilter, and I'm sort of reporting. John Baldessari
Squirrel du Jour
Too late for this year's tree, but think about the excitement of him hanging there next year1 This is, of course, Archie McPhee's squirrel-in-underpants ornament. And I think I will probably throw up if he doesn't stop spinning.
Daily Musings
Still toiling away on the Rave of Raccoons quilt and it seems like it's going nowhere fast but indeed the story is here in my head and I need to assemble a whole buch of parts to get it working. Here is a flat detail of the grapevines on the arbor:
And no matter the season, my grapevines had leaves on them, so here are some leaves. The grapes ripen in the fall so half the leaves were off and scattered around the driveway, the rest tangled and un-green and hanging on for dear life. The clumps of ripening grapes were one day ON the vines, the next day IN the driveway because of nighttime marauders, the infamous and invisible RACE OF RACCOONS. I was only able to catch them at it once when one of the fat little babies fell onto the wooden deck with a plop and woke me up. I got downstairs to watch the family gourging themselves and then having a food fight with my grapes. SO, long story here, the quilt is about robber raccoons but will contain none because they leave quickly with grape juice all over the deck, and half eaten grapes strewn in the driveway. Which I had to pick up and hose down or I would still be there in the driveway stuck by the dried juices.
Grape leaves fussy cut out of a 1998 Merrimekko purple background fabric bought from the Cate and Barrel outlet. I used to love shopping there for the off cuts and odd pieces they used to decorate the store, but then the outlets near me disappeared so my supply dried up. It's now been over 20 years of me hoarding my supplies so time to use the damn stuff. And the other thirty or forty pieces gathering dust in the stacks. Almost VINTAGE by now, probably.
So, today I am giving up on the fussy cutting and taking a break. Instead I will finish up the hand appliqué of the vines and bring home the leaf fabric to work on at home... AFTER I BUY NEW SHARP SCISSORS.
(Mine are (ahem) used and abused for many years so Fiskars, here I come.)
Short lesson here on fussy cutting- I put a layer of fusible on the backside and add a new fabric over that and fuse it together. I try to NOT line up the gain so one side is straight, the other on bias. After it's fused and cooled down I can then cut out the leaves (or whatever) without worrying about frayed edges. These leaves will be sewn down by lines where their veins might be and free edges all around. For the baking fabric on these leaves I use scraps of different greens so if the backing shows it looks like it belongs. See the top of the photograph for the rough cuts of the purple background, below is the removed background.
Ahhhht Lesson
Swedish designer Ulla Stina Wikander uses household appliances and cooking tools as the base to her cross-stitched sculptures, bestowing outdated objects with a new life. Most of the items come from the 70s, yet the patterns she covers their bodies in are much older. The cross-stitch designs come from the 59-year-old artist’s vast collection, allowing Wikander to give a new context to each blowdryer, rolling pin, and typewriter she covers. You can see more of her sculptures, as well as a variety of designed accessories, on her website and Instagram.
OMG, How I love this work!
Sew Sandy Sew!
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