Fab '06, Day 1

And We're Off!
Yesterday started with a bang! Fabric was flying and brains were buzzing.

Laura's class started with a focused huddle:

They stayed that way all morning. It looked intense! After lunch, things loosened up and everyone was busy-busy:


About 10:00, coffee and tea arrived and everyone burst out of the rooms. That Java is important business:

Part of this event's focus is the atmosphere. We want a beautiful setting to inspire the artist. I think Garland fits the bill:

More work, more learning, then lunch:


This is the girl that brought the lunch, Tracy:

We love her. We treat her nice. She brings us the food. We're aaalll about the food.

Pamela's class was hustle-hustle from the jump. They had time limits to force an spontaneous mode of working:




She did get a break, as seen here with Peg Keeney:


And Jeannie's class made a huge mess and had a great time. They moved paint and got it onto fabric in ways I never new existed:



Dig the messy hands. Now that's art!

Fabrications 2006

RETREAT!! wild Retreat!!

Yes, Fabrications 2006 kicked off last night with a lively reception. We had food. We had live music. We had ART! Many people arrived early to set up class space. They were invited to hang recent work in our reception area. At 7:00, the party officially started. After that it was a blur of checking in, looking at work, and conversation. Our three teachers, Pamela Allen, Jeannie Beck, and Laura Cater-Woods were on hand. It was a pleasure to have them there.

Pamela on the right, in the funky blouse:


Jeannie in the center, leaning to the right:


Laura, standing, already mentoring:


Now, this is the time to admit that any photos related to this retreat will not be works of genius! Apologies to all people and artwork that fall victim to my lense. There are a few pictures of work. Again, apologies for no names, etc...though some of it you may recognize style.
I think this is Peg Keeny in top left, Gail Ingraham to the right, and I'm unsure about bottom left:


This is all Jeanne Beck, all the time:


The very identifiable Pamela Allen:


Truly Cool Rusted Fabric by Carol Myer:


And more party-party, happy-happy:
View of the room, featuring two of my co-planners (there's a third: Peg Keeney), Desi Vaughn and Kathie Briggs, at the registration table.

Believe me, they are holding me responsible for this photo!

The appetizer spread:

God Bless good food and all those who bring it to me!

A student viewing the design walls:


And lastly, your faithful author (center with the burgundy scarf) chatting with friends (and eating...I'm aaalll about the food):


Another student, Melissa Rian, is also blogging about Fab 2006. Go here to read her take on all of this.

So, our first evening was loads of fun! Today, everyone is hunkered down in class rooms...busy busy. Serious talk, comingled with lots of laughter is floating from all directions. They've relished a coffee break. We still have lunch, an afternoon of work, and our evening forum with Kathie Briggs. I wish all of you could be here. The vibe is Electric!

Stay tuned!

Cathcing Up

Earlier this summer, I started another run of dye samples.

Anybody remember this?

Yeah. Just a little bitta' work there. That was how, waaaaay back in December 2005, I decided to tackle this project. You can read all about it here.

Sinced then, I've learned a great deal about how to do this. For those that follow the dyerslist, I've used Doug Wilson's immersion dye technique. For those not on dyerslist, Doug Wilson is this chemistry dye genius that seems to have a day job testing dyes of all ilk.

The other change I made was to achieve color through overdyeing. The benefits:
-not having to measure out microscopic amounts of dye and auxillary
-being able to dye with only 6 bins, instead of a bazillion tiny plastic cups
-easier control of batching temperature
-the ability to break down the project into manageable sessions
-higher dye saturation and very little mottling
-the grades are more consistance

Now for the pictures. We start with enough yardage to dye all the yellow for the whole project:

It's then cut and shuffled, ready for the red dye bath:

Cut and shuffle # 2, ready for blue:

Then I had a brain fart and forgot to photgraph the blue dyebath. So we jump to where I am right now:

Slowyly, over the summer, I've been gluing squares in. The loose squares are sorted into envelopes and waiting for some time to free up.

Here's two of my favorite cards:

Love that color! All the color.

Keep in mind, I'm not the genius that came up with all of this. Carol Soderlund has designed a week long intensive class covering this whole process. Seeing her cards on line is what inspired me to think about this process. I'm probably missing some great crucial elephant, but am happy so far with these experiments. And since my brain processes so slowly, it's worked well for me to explore these techniques in my own time.

Talk to you soon!

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

Hi, It's Me

I'm Cathy Arnett and I live at this blog. You can call me Funky C. I try everyday to be funky, or at least not a loser. Sometimes I call myself Super Spec....a small, persistent gadfly pushing through existence in the face of a giagantemous universe. Some of you know me as Betty Sow DeFudge, but that's another story.

This blog is not dead. It's been on vacation, in rehab, taking a sabbatical. It's used up it's personal days. But it is not dead. In my head, it's alive and well. I continue to think in blog tense. 'Oh, this'd make a great blog pic'....'Gee, I should really blog about this project'....you get me.

Why now do I choose to blog? Another blog under my care Scraps of Grace, needed some editing. A weird text thing jumped in where there should have been apostrophes. After fixing that and staring at the blogger desktop, I thought, 'What could it hurt?' So I decided to throw a few notes up here.

What's new with me? Not much and lots...all at the same time. Daily life continues at it's frantic pace with ball games and evening meetings. I've managed to sneak a few fiber activities in and around the everyday. Most notable is my new Spinning Wheel. Spinning has been a distant dream for me, right up there with weaving. I suddenly found myself in the company of spinners. They placed fiber and tools in my hands. (dern fiber artists...worse than crack pushers, I tell ya') It feels so eerily natural, like waking to some weird deja vous. I fight the entrancement every moment and try to remember to feed my family.

We've also acquired new family members...three baby guinea pigs. Two were picked out by children and one by moi for it's fabulous subtle taupy-cocoa color and it's snuggly personality. They're all adorable and their presence in my home officially marks the outnumbering of humans by pets. I, The Momminator, meanest parent this side of the Mississippi, have called a !Cease Fire!..no more pets. Well, except the hermit crab still needs a roommate. (sigh) So much for sticking to my guns.

Anyone Still Reading?

First, let me say, "YIKES!". Did I really not blog for over a month?!? The scary part is that, except for constant reminders from a couple of annoying friends (you know who you are--xoxo), it feels like I just did that last entry. Then again, March is a month I try to avoid if at all possible. I want a nice white winter, and then to skip right to a warmer than average April, please and thank you.

Secondly, I'm checking in to report:

This is a quilt for my friend Connie. The top is from a round robin we did ages ago. She had it all basted and on a lark, I started quilting it at her house one day. Connie and I are going to IQA in Chicago this week and I'm determined to have the quilting finished before I leave (plus a rod pocket and a hanging bar, if my husband is willing).

Photographing machine quilting in anything other than natural daylight is tough for me, but here's the best I can do:


The yellow applique section is all one thread color. I, the unsuspecting---and ever optimistic--quilter, realized how close I cut it after I walked around my sewing table:

Yet another panic trip to Joanne's avoided!

Third in line:

I also owe Connie's husband a long overdue project. This fabulous (and dyed by moi) fabric will be made into cushions for his very artful willow furniture. I plan to make an equally elegant leaf motif centered in the top third of the back cushion. Pray for me, cuz' I want to get it done too before I leave. These are people that have proven their friendship through gracious patience...and that's understating a bit.

It is a personal goal for me to tidy up loose sewing projects for other people this year. There are several--a couple quite large--and I need to get it over with. My own long forgotten projects don't count. And I also vowed to blog regularly this year....obviously that's not going my way so far. My only consistant quality is inconsistancy and it's going to take some sweat to change that.

In other Funky C news:
-I got a lucky, last minute spot in a Jane Dunnewold 'Improvisational Silk Screening' class. The driving time was longer than the class time, but worth every mile.
-Fabrications 2006 (a fiber arts retreat in Northern Michigan) is open and accepting registration. Our teachers this year are Laura Cater-Woods, Pamela Allen, and Jeanne Beck. Plus we're offering an open studio. Ya'll come and hang out with me!
-My taxes are done. I am so relieved.
-I've learned how to use a drop spindle and *love* it. My goal: hand dyed sock yarn.

And now, boys and girls, it's time for me to go to bed. Guten Nacht!