Fwustwaaaated!

Saturday evening, a storm with lots of lightning blew through my little backwoods town. Suddenly my DSL modem ceased to function.

Sunday, I called my internet provider. I waited, I 'esplained', I convinced the techie I wasn't a moron.

Today, my brand new DSL modem arrived. I plugged it in. No dice. Soooo, I got baaaack on the phoooone. I talked to not one, but THREE different techie minions. I heard everything from 'it's a bad cable' to 'oh, gee, you must've fried your computer too.' None of them were Mac savvy. The most helpful minion concluded that it must be a faulty box. GEE, Ya' Think?!? He took my name and address in order to mail a new box. He put me on hold. He came back and informed me that my story was being passed from the Land of the Techie Minions to another floor that only houses Brains in Jars. The Brain in a Jar listened, typed, advised, talked to higher ups and finally concluded that ....gasp....I must have a faulty box!! He asked me, even after verifying aaaallll my account info, for my mailing address. What?!? Didn't the last guy just type that in? Isn't there a box on the screen showing where to mail the bill? Are they running the place on post it notes and dumbwaiters?

Now I get to wait some more. My box will arrive Thursday. Until then, I'm at the mercy of my husband's office computer. If you've sent e-mail, I've probably read it. Consider this my official response. Having no access at home is right up there with being out of clean underwear. 'Cept the clean drawers is usually something I can fix MYSelf. Oy! Say it just like Elmer...right along with me....Fwustwaaated!

Suddenly Employed

Last week, a post came across the PAQA list concerning a job for a designer from NYC. On a whim, I applied. Is it 'on a whim' if everything I do is on a whim? Hmmm...

Anyway, much to my suprise, the designer, Greg Climer, contacted me! I suddenly find myself sewing a gazillion log cabin blocks for tuxedo shirts. His line is called 'Godspeed the Well Dressed Man' and you can see a picture of his Tuxedo Deco Shirt on the website's splash page.

Greg sent me a bit of fabric to get started. USPS is winging the rest of it to me right this minute. It's a beautiful pima cotton broadcloth, finer and more buttery than the Robert Kaufman pima many handdyers use. I've been wondering how it would print and dye.

Here's a bunch of blocks, constructed and ready to be set in rows:



Here's the set blocks, pressed:


Here's the nicely hand drawn pattern piece on the blocks. In case you didn't know, I'm a pattern making geek and I think well drawn oak tag patterns are a thing of beauty.


Here's me, a kid, and our nighties...


And...just for kicks:


XO!

Fiber + New Computer

Today, I'm horsing around with blogger, trying to find the most efficient way to achieve my blog's look. The new iMac is making this so much fun!

Sooo, we're going to take a little time warp with some older work. Featured are two banners I made for church events:

This banner background was handpainted with thickened mx dyes. The 'LIFE' letters are also handpainted cotton. The cross is very coarse raw silk, dyed to a rich plumb. I still have scraps of said silk that I can't seem to throw away.

Next:

Now this was cool to make! The black and white drawing of Peter and Jesus came from some Bible study material. I brought it to life with color. It was made in conjunction with a week-long Bible study. For each day's theme, I added an element of the picture. The image was complete by the end of the week, but it didn't get quilted for a while (read "too embarrassed to admit how long it sat unquilted). To add to the madness, participants brought in fabrics. One friend of mine, knowing I love color, brought in some bright orange. Very funny.

Detail shots:



A little careful thread painting had a huge impact on the depth of this image. My only regret is a serious lack of flatness at the bottom. So far, I'm the only one who's noticed.

Yes, there is fiber to come. But for now...

Look what I can do!



I'm doomed to pay for his therapy with my social security. Guess it'll be Alpo for me.

Fiber will appear sooooon. Have faith.

I Am So Cool!

Well, not me, really....my new computer! It's cool!

I can see all buttons in Blogger.

Welcome me to 2006