only 19 days left...

...until Christmas, that is. Holy cow, when did that happen? Seems like the holiday season somehow managed to sneak up on me like a stealth ninja. Leann made the comment that it tends to do that when snow is late arriving and I think she has a point. I've started giving the calendar dirty looks. Everything seems to be zipping by at the speed of light now so you get another list:

1) Leann and I went to Sidney's opening reception for her show at Little Monsters in Lake Orion on Friday night. Cool artwork (it is Sid after all):


and incredibly cool store. (Be sure to check out Leann's blog, she posted a really flattering picture of me.) I picked up these little guys for future Everything is Better with Bacon shrines that I make for Mixed Bag Designs:


Oh sure, they're smiling now but just wait until the forks come out...


2) Saturday night was the holiday party for Running with Scissors. We decided to hold it in a restaurant this year. Dooley was sad but it was a good time:


Sandy gifted me something unique:


That's a pink glow-in-the-dark skull. Haven't tried out the glow part yet but I do have to say that my stance on the devil color is beginning to waver a bit. I rather like the skully so if that isn't proof that I'm giving in, I don't know what is.


3) I decorated the Christmas tree:


Looks crooked to me. (And no, its not because of the way I was holding the camera.) I keep pacing around it, grumbling at its crookedness. Mom has forbidden me to try to fix it. *sigh* Doesn't it look crooked to you? Its not straight. Right? Totally crooked...


4) Did you know that there is such a thing as online grocery shopping? Me either but I am totally in luuuuuuvvvvv...my back injury often prevents me from grocery shopping on a regular basis. Busch's has come to the rescue. You make the list online, they shop for you (for a fee of $6.95) and then load it into your car. All hail Busch's. I am now fully stocked for the baking extravaganza to begin:


Of course, the oven needs to be fixed now. Well done, Murphy, well done.


5) The movie production is back in town. My geeky self keeps driving by the house they are filming at hoping to see someone of the famous variety. So far, this is the extent of my thrill:


The arrow is pointing to a camera or light or some other contraption that they keep using. So sue me, not every day we have movie stars in my backyard. The movie is called Trust and although it doesn't sound like something I would normally go see, I'll have to now since my hometown is in it.



6) I am knitting for Christmas. Just one thing. Dooley despises the knitting, it takes away every single free second I have (which translates into less attention for him). The reasonable part of my brain says this will be a close finish but the creative side is kicking back with a beer. There are 19 whole days after all, what could there possibly be to worry about? I guess we'll see who is right come December 24. Here's a little look, I don't think the recipient reads the blog but you can just never tell:




I'm going Christmas gift shopping tomorrow and running a ton of other errands. I'm hoping its the last time I have to go near a store for the holiday season (with the exception of quick little jaunts for necessities).

The launch of my etsy store has provoked another reorg of my studio. Nothing major this time, just a little tune up. Yes, you may mock me now. Girl needs a hobby, right?

Where I Stand Sunday

The determined glow of the lights struggle to stake their claim against the moodiness of the night. It is a stark contrast to the sharp prickly wind, offering a glow that draws the eye and the mind in search of warmth. It is a quiet signal that the year is quietly shutting its door, its hinges creaking sleepily after several months of hard work.

Where I Stand is an ongoing photo essay examining the different places I spend my life standing. Too often we take for granted the everyday places we spend our lives walking on. The ground we tread on has its own stories to tell. (The project is now in Year Three. Year Three will feature artwork inspired by that week's Where I Stand photo as well as the photo that inspired it. Year One and Year Two can be found here.)

INSPIRED BY ARTWORK TECHNIQUE: stencil cut out with colored underlay


Original photo:

Mixed Bag Designs etsy shop up and running

I'm really happy to announce that I've got the first of two etsy shops up and running today.

I'm pleased to present to you Mixed Bag Designs.

Like everyone else, I can't limit myself to just one thing. Fiber art is my first love but I'm unfaithful on a regular basis, wandering off into plushies and knitting and whatever else strikes my fancy. So I decided to split the two activities and the crafty side of me has been dubbed Mixed Bag Designs.

I've got more items to list in the shop and I plan to run contests and giveaways and interviews with fellow crafters and all kinds of fun stuff.

feel good felt ornament giveaway - go here for details

But I plan to do it on its own blog. It really is its own entity and wants to run amok whenever it pleases so I figured I better give it its own place to play. I just announced a giveaway and one of the shop promotion programs so I encourage you to go take a look.

I'll give you noodges from time to time to go check out the blog or the shop but 90% of the promo for it will go on outside of this blog. I am planning on selling artwork through my Fibra Artysta etsy shop but I've not uploaded the work yet so that announcement will be coming in the future (most likely January).

So here's the deal: I'll promo both shops here on this blog. But I will keep it to a reasonable amount. If you want to know about all things Mixed Bag Designs then you can become a follower of that blog or subscribe to that there (and I hope you will, I plan to have fun over there so I'd love it if you'd join me.)

I can't say that I'll not advertise either shop because really, what's the point of selling stuff if you don't let people know about it?

I'm super excited to have the ball rolling - hope you'll join me! :)

12 Connected

As part of my committment to focus more on creating art, I have joined a group of artists for a two year challenge. We are called 12 Connected - twelve art quilters doing twelve challenges.

Every two months, a new challenge will be announced. The first one just went up on the group's blog. The theme is Sanctuary and I'm really looking forward to exploring the word, I've already got a couple of ideas kicking around.

We are creating 11" x 17" art quilts. I like this format, its a size I've not worked in before but I think it will offer some interesting opportunities. I won't be able to post in progress shots but I can talk about inspiration and process. You'll have to wait until the next challenge is announced to see the results of the first.

I do hope that you will consider following us on this journey. We're just getting started and its going to be an exciting group, full of talent and lots of diversity.

the big day

This past Saturday I took the plunge into selling my work. Sidney organized an art bazaar for the fiber art group we belong to, Running with Scissors, and she did a most awesome job of pulling us all together.

All the stock I've been working on for the past couple of months finally got to come out and play:


I've decided to split my work into two shops - Fibra Artysta and Mixed Bag Designs. I'll talk more about that later, still trying to get things organized in both camps, should be set to go by the end of the week.

One of the most exciting things about doing this is that every single table reflected the artist's personalities and showed how diverse our group is.

Check it out (click on the pictures to make them bigger):

Top to bottom: Kate of Oma's Patch, Leann of Wicadoo and Mary of Turtle Creek Quilts






top to bottom: Deb of Life in Stitches, Janice and Kat of Stitchnut





top to bottom: Barb, Carol and Cynthia

Because I am a total dork in every single way humanly possible, I neglected to get photos of Stephanie's and Sidney's tables. *sigh* The two people who did a large portion of the work and I put off taking pictures of them until, well, the day ran out. Visit their links so that you may admire them, they are completely admire-worthy.

The turnout for the show was really good, especially considering this was our first run. In addition to the tables and the shoppers, we were lucky to enjoy a performance from the Oakland Choral Society:



It was a really nice addition to the day and some very talented singers.

All in all, the experience was great. I sold nearly all my stock for Mixed Bag Designs. What I do have left will get tossed up into the etsy store by the end of the week and then I'll do a little talky talk here about how I'm going to play this out. I don't want to turn this blog into one big commercial so that's why there is a separate one set up for it. But I'll babble more about that later, still trying to recover from all the hubbub.

Not to mention the fact that my house looks like a cyclone hit it and its time to start digging out from underneath it. I swear, there has to be something like a cleaning fairy somewhere in existence, need to trap some of those little buggers and put them to work...

Where I Stand Sunday

The list of excuses has dwindled down to a single sentence, one that is not strong enough to hold weight. The needle slides through the fabric, creating a familiar rhythm of meditation. The small works are placed out like a peace offering, new and unsure and full of hope. My mind wraps around them in a single strand of pride, knowing that they are the best they can be.

Where I Stand is an ongoing photo essay examining the different places I spend my life standing. Too often we take for granted the everyday places we spend our lives walking on. The ground we tread on has its own stories to tell. (The project is now in Year Three. Year Three will feature artwork inspired by that week's Where I Stand photo as well as the photo that inspired it. Year One and Year Two can be found here.)



INSPIRED BY ARTWORK TECHNIQUE: Leann's graffiti stencil technique as shown in her article "Letter Imperfect" in the May/June 2007 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine


Original photo:

happy thanksgiving

I hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving holiday, full of family and friends and lots of good food and warm fuzzies.

Thanks for hanging out with me here!