Less Blather, More Fiber

This space, oh fellow fiber web jockeys, may appear static. (snort...was that understatement?) However your faithful author has been the picture of industry (no laughing in the back row.) In June, I tie dyed over 100 t shirts and screen printed 50 of them. Did I show you some already? Memory fails...

Here's a sample of shirts I did for a church in Indiana:


the screen printing was hired out to a business that truly knows what they're doing.


AWWWW! Little shirts are so stinkin' cute. I can just feel that toddler snuggling in my arms. And the middle blue color?.... PRO MX Intense Blue 406. Get some. It's completely worth the money to see that vibrant...almost Carribean water-like blue.

In other Funky news, the children of FunkyC have embraced a summer of theater:

Flyer by moi, la-la-laaahh...with some borrowed graphics from the script cover.

And I have been turned loose in the costume department:

Last Week's News

Danger, Young Robinson! Not only is the following post not fiber, it's probably not fit for children, or sissies.

This news story left me so befuddled that I'm still marvelling. Let me share:


Politicians, strippers mourn the loss of porn king
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 07/20/2007 10:13:27 AM PDT
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Right off the bat...what is this? Why am I suprised that politicians and strippers are in the same sentence with porn king? Somehow, I missed the invitation to that club.

ANTIOCH, Calif.—Hundreds of people, from politicians to pornographers, gathered to mourn the loss of a pornography profiteer who gained notoriety by turning eroticism into a political cause.
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Okay, nothing unexpected here. I've long since been desensitized against my will to the idea that legal pornography and free speech are equivalents.

Jim Mitchell, co-founder of the Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theatre, was buried next to his brother and business partner, Artie, whom he shot and killed in 1991.
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Huh?!?! What? He had shooter's remorse? Who decided this? And how does Artie feel about his new crypt mate?

Mitchell, 63, died of a heart attack on July 12 at his ranch in western Sonoma County.

Included among the 300 mourners Thursday were former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, ex-District Attorney Terence Hallinan and political operative Jack Davis, all of whom mingled with writers, film directors and strippers.

"We all owe personal liberties and rights to the brothers that they fought for on our behalf," Davis said.
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Somehow I'm having a disconnect between this back alley slime ball and, say, ......oh.....Martin Luther King, Jr., all the Suffragettes that paid for my voting rights and even notorious bad boy, Patrick Henry who put his 'jewels' on the line so I may live without oppression.

The brothers also produced a string of pornographic movies, including the 1972 hit "Behind the Green Door," one of the first porn flicks with a plot line.
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Oh, Joy, a plot line. I'm sure the story line was epic.

In February 1991, Mitchell kicked in the door of his brother's Corte Madera home and shot him to death. The slaying led to a spectacular trial and a three-year prison term for manslaughter.
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Again....?!?!?!?

Mitchell's son Raef told the crowd his father was a man of his word, despite his faults.

"He always told me, 'Son, I'm not the greatest man. I'm not perfect,'" Raef said. "'Don't try to be the greatest man. Just be a man.'"
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That's right, boys and girls. Aspire not to greatness. Simply know your gender.

How have we come to the place where this man is celebrated? Here we have a written blurb parading not as sensationalism, not as the Jerry Springer show or 'reality' televesion. This garbage is being presented as legitimate news.

My nausea, fellow homo sapiens, is indescribable.

Behold.......

....a Finished Object:


"Flow"
35" x 25.75"
July, 2007

...though you've seen it before in various stages. This piece was started while listening to a friend pour out her heart. Her daughter had just been diagnosed with a life changing illness (turned out to be a false alarm) and we had a long talk about the burden a mother carries in her heart for her children.


...an indoor shot...funny how the color is different...

Some reactive journaling revealed terms like prayer, suplicate, uterus, floating, hands uplifted, fallopian tubes, sperm, letting go, embracing. You get the idea. Again, I'm amazed how emotions play out in a piece that looks relatively benign.

Closer in:

The little sparklies are heat set crystals, a whole gross of them.

And closer in....


'Flow' is being mailed tomorrow for an exhibit in Indianapolis. In fact, anxiety about parting with an older piece is what forced me to finish this.


The End

Two Trips

Howdy, Fiber Guys and Gals! Funky C here, bringing you a snap shot from the past.

April 2007saw me saddled up and on the road for two weeks: one in Chicago at the IQA Spring Festival and one at AQS in Paducah. The two constants in both trips were my faithful Travel Companion and Trip Administrator Power Connie and my employment by Embellishment Village. Now, in Chicago, Embellishment Village had a choice booth location in the Quilting Arts 'Make It U' area. Standing in one spot brought by so many friends and I got to see everything going on with 'Make It U' and QA's virtual studio. It was a blur, a hubbub, a happenin' scene.

At one point, before the Chicago show opened, I found myself driving Katie Pasquini Masopust, whom I've never met, on a chaotic supply hunting trip around the perimeter of O'Hare. I was the only one to be found that a. had a vehicle (oh dear....my 30 yr old Ford 150 pick-m-up truck, stick shift, no air) and b. was deluded enough to tackle the suburban terrain. It was all very surreal (especially my driving) and Katie kept me laughing the whole time. (somehow, I ended up with 300 paper plates....huh?) But! The best....

...was this:

Witness Quilting Arts Magazine's 'Surviving the Runway' challenge.


Here, Faithful Fiber Wrangler, Kut-It-Up Kathie Briggs, giggles for the camera.


The glue hits the tables and the action begins. Rip it up....


...Pass it to to a friend. Enter Fiber Diva Debbie.....


Wha....? That's right. Dancing.


Lots of Dancing.


Only the brave, the intrepid, the Groove Shakers, were given more supplies.


Whew! Now that that's out of the system, back to work.


Taking shape.


Must..have...paint. Must...daaaance....


And voila! It's Aahhrt, Dahlink.

Isn't she proud? I was honored to be one of three judges. It was nigh impossible to decide....we only had a few minutes. This event was, bar none, the highlight of my trip to Chicago.

Now, Paducah was fabulous in a different way. Power Connie and I love to wander the river front area with all it's funky shops and galleries (and we never miss the chocolate shop). The AQS quilt show is lovely, but there's so much more to the town. I met too many Quilt Royals to count, the highlight being Libby Lehman as she strolled the show floor. (her Thread Play vest gave her away) And I did a fair amount of shopping. If I'd had $700 layin' around, I'd have come home with this:


Very Funky, Very C.

In My Free Time.....

**update**

The second one takes less free time.

Screen Printing

Don't ask where I've been. The excuses fall flat. Accept that I'm offering up this post for your perusal and try to love me in spite of my time issues.

Here we have a tie dye/screen print t-shirt project:

The shirts are dyed and ready. On the left, you can see my trial run on newsprint. There's also my beloved squeegee, a prepared screen, and some paint.

Here's a shot of the screen, developed with the writing facing the correct direction.

Use your creative inner mind to contemplate why I mention the direction of the letters. Imagine me disolving an incorrect screen with mild cursing and sighs of resignation.

Here's the result:

My husband designed the image for an event from which he just returned. I printed 11 shirts by stretching and pinning to my print table and inserting freezer paper inside the shirts. This was a good first outing for my screen printing abilities. Said abilities enjoyed the walk and are asking to be taken out again.

Three Views

Funky C here....coming to you live from the eternally frozen tundra of Michigan. Yikes! It's been cold. But I'm not tired of the snow quite yet. The drugs must be working.

Here's a little project I've been fooling with: the card holder featured in Quilting Arts Magazine, winter 2006, issue 24. The center holder, with the woman's face, was a gift from a dear friend. Using it is a pleasure.

View one:

















Blue, on the left, has fusible craft interfacing. I loves it not....too flimsy. My heart is given instead to the Peltex version on the right. It feels much nicer in my hand...like a fine accesory.

Here's the magic side. A bit of yarn, or string pulls out and cards pop up like magic:

































Voila! Isn't it cool?
I'm admitting to you alone that this is ---Bar None---the best cheap thrill I've had in ages. When I use the holder to access I.D., people think I've worked some kind of magic. They actually exclaim out loud and proclaim me awesome for even owning it. So, evidencing my inner diva (she's not buried too deep), I now have a system:

1. Select items for purchase at retail venue.
2. When checking out, place card holder conspiculously on counter.
3. Strike up conversation, write check slowly, whatever it takes to draw out the suspense.
4. When clerk asks for I.D. or payment option, pull string and present card with nonchalance, as if you've been fabulous all your life.
5. Bask in ensuing glory, completely forgetting about your hum-drum life as director of digestive systems management for 4 humans, 3 guinea pigs, a dog, and cat.
6. Repeat as needed to feed Ego.
   

Whoa, Fiber Jedi! The Syth Lord Vi Ral-ILL Ness has been clawing at the Outer Rim of Immune System Funky C. In a suprise move by rebel White Blood Cell leader Mom, the entire galaxy was shut down for a day of rest. The complete picture is scary beyond all reason, but here are the highlights:

System Funky C exploring new orbital heating unit:



















Note the use of formerly blogged hand spun yarn and her sisters. A kid mohair was thrown in just for kicks. Very Funky. Very C. Matching Wonder Woman cuffs in progress.

Back up heating units brought into battle ready position:


















Scratchy orange sport weight socks knit by the departed, but still much loved Grandma Tanguay. Bless her for these on a day such as today.

The blue thing is my fav' winter nighty. Curse it not, for I loves it. And you'll have to excuse the well scaled, hairy legs. Nobody's shavin' nothin' until the Ides of March at least.

The orbital heating unit appears to work even on Sattelites:

The Blues

I love winter....the beauty of snow, the activity at my bird feeder. But I detest the accompanying blues. I try every day to just not be a loser. It seems my success rate is much lower in winter.

Sigh

Knowing my yarn was feeling the same way, I decided she needed sisters:














Behold the Brown Sheep yarn. Color: true royal. Content: silk, wool, mohair.

In other knitting news, my shawl is off the needles! Hurray!:













But! Before I can block it, I have to take care of this:













Boooo! Down with cleaning! This, my padded dye table, perfect for blocking yarn projects, is not currently padded. It's been unpadded since summer when a dye project went awry and soaked the padding with purple dye. Everything's washed and ready, but I can't seem to bring myself to repad it. I've had it almost clean several times, but doggoneit! it's such a big, open horizontal surface. Everytime I come home, it begs to hold my purse, coat, fast food wrappers.

Why do I do this?!? It's maddening and yet I can't seem to get over it. I need this table to work. There is a truckload of fabric that needs to be made. My shawl wants to be blocked and worn before June. There is some underlying insanity that prevents me from tackling this....fear of success....physical barriers as a symbol of emotional barriers.... Shall I go on? It's madness and I mean to conquer it. Wish me well.

Starting and Finishing

Behold and Marvel!! Finished projects!
I, Funky C, bring you.....The Yarn:









Hand dyed silk/Merino roving by Lisa Souza. Hand spun by MOI...la,la,la over about two weeks. There's 180 yards. I steamed it to set the twist...no good reason, that's just what I do. Then I felted it ...just a wee bit.... in the kitchen sink with a potato masher. It seemed the right thing to do. Does it count as 'done' if it's not knit into anything? I'm thinking of combining it with something deep periwinkle and making a hat.

The Dye Project:

















This sat half done for...oh...half the year. I finally got it all glued down and into page protectors. For the record, the mx dyes this time around were turquoise mx-g, yellow mx 8-G, and red mx-5B. In the next picture, a comparison view with the previous dye sample project, you can see the difference in mottling and color intensity. I learned a ton this time about how to get rich, consistant colors:

















It feels good to finish. But the REAL work is just beginning. As some of you know, I've been struggling with an image for my local library:

















It was suggested to me that this looks like a giant floral arrangement...meaning it's pretty, but that's about it. Where's the meaning? I took this to heart, agreed, and in a flash of inspiration while sitting in the libarary came up with this:










It's raw, but it's a good concept. The idea is to show a leaf and a page slowly merging together and through each other over six panels....three per wall. I may throw in the added idea of the leaf going through seasonal changes across the panels. My thought process involves leaves marking the passage of time and the written word transcending time....not too concrete yet, but that will come with the making of the image. I need to sketch more, flesh out the image fully. And, oy, the fabric that needs to be made! I may have to give up sleep for a few months. That'll be pretty.