meh, by the numbers.

Along with my crazy work schedule (two separate practices, sort-of adjunct faculty at one college and various temp jobs within a 20 mile radius) I've been attempting to get back a little to my arts and crafts roots. Whenever I have moments to spare, I've been making wine bags and tie purses. And kind of experimenting with headbands, but that's a whole 'nother story. In a couple of short months, I've amassed quite the collection: 62 wine bags and 7 tie purses. But while working on all these bags, I literally had no goals in mind. I was like "I'll upload them all to Etsy and see what happens!" Well....

Nothing happened. Which I was expecting... I guess. It's nice to have no expectations, and then when those non-expectations are shattered when someone buys something, you're super happy. But I guess I was expecting that too, and I was disappointed when no one purchased anything. Therefore crushing my expectations. Does that make sense?

So I started to embark on looking for craft fairs! Nothing is better than some solid one-on-one connections! The first one I participated in was more of a flea market than a craft fair. To be honest, most people were there looking for deals, not handmade items. But remarkably, I sold two wine bags! Then again, three people also asked me where the ties were that I was selling (which I don't sell individual ties). Then, on two separate occasions, people called my stuff decent.  Fucking decent. What the hell is that supposed to mean?  Here's my interpretation of decent.

I was supposed to participate in another fair today. It was cancelled because of the rain, and I can't make the rain date (poo). But, since that one was cancelled, it gave me the opportunity to sign up for the TRENTON PUNK ROCK FLEA MARKET! The spaces sold out in like, less than 10 minutes, so I'm jazzed that I am going to be participating!

I'm trying to go in with no expectations, but you can already guess that that's going to the shitter pretty fast. So during now and then, I'd love to be able to really really work on my table display. Maybe go to the Salvation Army and get an old fashioned coat rack to hang up some of my purses! You know, make that shit look professional! Cause honestly, if I don't sell much, EVERYONE IS GETTING SOMETHING MADE OF TIES FOR CHRISTMAS AGAIN.

much success! a guide for goal achievement and such

So lately I've been hitting some of the goals I set out for myself, like paying off my student loans, making fun stuff for people, and .... that might be the entire list. (high five ya'll)  People have been asking me "DAMN JILL, how you be doing that?"** So I thought I'd share some tips on how to, you know... accomplish goals.

Here are my thoughts:
1. Believe in yourself, damnit. You have no idea what you're capable of, so go ahead and try something new. I was asked this weekend to run a 10k race with a friend. I have never run that far in my entire life. But I had two choices: Yes or no. If I said yes, I'd either fail or succeed. So why not try? And guess what, I did it! Here's another example: I wanted to go to dental hygiene school. But as a nine-fingered 30 year old, I put the doubt in my mind that I would most likely fail. But I also promised myself that I'd do whatever it took to reach my goal. True, I sacrificed a lot. But now I'm a full-time dental hygienist and part time educator. Who would have thought two years ago that I would be where I am today? Honestly, not me. There's no reason why you can't try something new, so stop making excuses!

2. You'll fail sometimes. But who gives a shit if you fail? Most likely, you'll be the only person who gives a shit. But instead of being all pissed off at yourself, just remember: You didn't have to go out on a limb and try. But you did! Be proud of trying something new. It takes balls, and now my friend, you've got balls. Be proud of those balls! Do you think I woke up one day and was like I'M GOING TO SEW A MOTHERF****** QUILT AND MAKE A SHIT TON OF STUFF OUT OF TIES!!!? Nope. Friends, I've been sewing since before I could drive. I've had MANY MANY sewing fails, including a shirt that LITERALLY split open at the seams while I was at a party. I've even machine sewed my thumb by accident. But did I give up? Naaah.

3. If you fail, then don't beat yourself up. You're human, not a damn robot. Life is full of ups and downs. You know the expression when it rains, it pours? Guess what: THAT EXPRESSION IS PURE BULLSHIT. It makes you think that when one shitty thing happens, then other shitty things will pile right on top of it until you're covered in shit. Here's what people don't tell you: The rain brings out the beautiful colors in life, like the brightness of the leaves on trees after a rainstorm. Which means, sure: Bad shit is going to happen. But take a look at everything  around you. When you take a minute to realize how fortunate you really are, the one shitty thing happening can't ruin your day like it use to. 

4. If you want to feel like shit, then go right ahead and feel like shit. Or be happy if you want to be happy. The lesson is, don't let anyone tell you how to feel. You're your own person. Don't let others dictate your feelings or make you feel small.

5. Treat others how you want to be treated. You know how I go around being nice to everyone? Guess what? It's because I'd also like people to be nice to me.  I have a real problem with people that are shitty to others, either because they judge a book by their cover, they are prejudice against their race, religion, sexual orientation, or hell, because they're nerdy, overweight, skinny or whatever the case is. We're all human, damnit: Nothing makes you superior to the person you're judging.

So, that's my life advice. Technically I'm allowed to give advice now that I'm in my thirties. But hey, just remember: You're taking advice from a person who has zits, twirls, wears children's hats, gets nose bleeds, hangs out with butterflies and mimics a child eating ravioli. You're welcome.

**More like, "good for you", and no mention of a question asking me how I did these things. 

all tied up.

Figuratively. And literally. But not like that. Figuratively I've been tied up with wedding planning. And ceiling fixing. And ignoring basic responsibilities in life while watching the Food Network. Literally I'm not tied up. How would I be typing this if I were tied up?

I've been sorta off lately, needless to say. I haven't felt much like blogging, crafting, or  all the other yadda yaddas. Most people I've told this to say that it's normal for people to relax and not be "productive" all the time. But for me, not doing those things becomes literally depressing. I feel like I should be working on wine bags, poof ball flowers and be all sunshine and smiles. But when I try to find the motivation in me to start sewing or crafting... well, there is none. So I sit down instead. And think of all the things I could be doing. And I don't do anything. Except I watch the Food Network. F***ing Food Network. Everything is so ga'damn delicious.

Luckily, that all changed yesterday. I finally told myself ENOUGH ALREADY! No more excuses!

I went out and got 7.5 yards of fabric. Today, I sewed the exterior of 7 new wine bags, in a completely new design! And I cut the inside fabric for a total of 16 wine bags.

new tie pattern!

new fabric!

In other news, I kinda looked like Where's Waldo today.

don't hate.

the problem with wood stain.

Everyone at some point during their life will probably use wood stain. And I have yet to find a way to stain wood without pissing someone off. It's the gad'damn fumes that I loathe, and I can't find any way around it.

I'm working on a kinda-secret project. Not a hugely secret project, but a project that I don't want to advertise all over the internets none-the-less, just in case the recipient of said secret project stumbles upon it and figures out it's for them. You get me?

So, that being said, this not-so-secret project begins with wood: Wood that I had to stain. Now unfortunately, our region has been stuck in a sneaky death spiral of being more humid than the Amazon. And then it's really hot, then not so hot. Pretty much the perfect atmosphere for these assholes - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ->

When I go outside, I have to slater myself in DEET just to avoid one bite. If I don't, I get about 20 of them which turn into bright, puffy, itchy welts. So I decided to stain the box in the garage yesterday. But the fumes were bad, and I knew that boyfriend future husband might return from his outing and want to do stuff in the garage. So.. I moved the stained box outside in the backyard to dry. This is where I encountered problem #2: It's too f***ing humid for any shit to dry outside. I left it outside for THREE HOURS and it was still as damp as it was when I stained it. I got three mosquito bites just by going outside to check on it. Fail.

So now I had a bigger problem: Where do I put this mother f***ing box? I can't leave it in the garage and piss off Lou. I can't leave it in the basement, because it will smell up the whole house and piss us both off. So that left me with quarantining my office/art space. I shut the air vent, turned on window fan so it blew outside, and shoved a towel underneath the closed door... It still didn't f***ing work. Which makes me feel like an asshole.

How the hell do you paint or stain anything, ANYTHING when conditions aren't friggin' perfect outside? Well, I found this article which might be able to help me in the future. Here are some thoughts from an article on EHow.com.


1. Open all the windows. (This wouldn't have worked in our Amazonian humidity, and potential threat of mosquito intrusion.)
2. Turn on fans. (I did that. Sorry number two.)
3. Light an odorless candle. (AH HA! That I didn't do... sounds plausible.)
4. Put crushed charcoal in a bucket with wet paper towels. (Ah, charcoal. Didn't think of that, probably because we don't have any charcoal lying around.)
5. Put a bowl of white vinegar in the room. (.. white vinegar? Alrighty. I'll try that. But how do I get the vinegar smell out of the carpet, when I accidentally kick it across the room when I forgot it was there in the first place?)

fond memories

Yesterday I had the pleasure of running into my former sculpture professor while I was hanging up fliers for the Bike Art & Student show at the MRAC (<-- another story, for another time). I had just paid for my large iced coffee at the local DD, when I turned around and instantly recognized her. And I was so flattered that she recognized me as well. With our coffees in hand, and my bike in tow, we walked back to her home where we discussed our activities over the past seven years. I was surprised that she remembered my bark and latex figures. They were something that I've always loved to work on, and should do so more often, now that I think about it.

From the way I was explaining my so called 'art-goings-on' it honestly sounded like I was trying to convince not only her, but myself of my involvement in the art world, if you could call it that. I've done a good amount of work in the past couple years... but... I don't know. Nothing extraordinary, I guess. And no, I'm not being hard on myself. It's the simple truth. I'm an artist with professional training with a full time accounting job. I try to allot the time to work on pieces on my 'off-time', and sometimes I simply cannot. Sometimes I feel like I've failed already.

Seeing her again... It makes me yearn to begin new sculptures. It makes me want to finish the work that I have already begun. It makes me sad that I don't have a functional sculpture studio space to work in. Sure, I have my 'office' that doubles as my sewing room, where I can cut stained glass and paint... but a sculpture studio, it will never be. I'll either ruin the floor, muck up the walls, damage the stairway to and fro, this or that or so on. Sigh.

Will I ever work on sculpture ever again? HELL YES I WILL. I don't know when, but I have so many concepts that I want to explore. I wonder if other artists have gone through similar periods in their lifetime. First and foremost, I have to finish three projects that I've already started. None of which I'm keeping myself. Only one of which I'm being paid for. I have to stop doing that, too.

same ol' shizzle, different dizzle.

Last week had an obvious lack of posting. To be honest, I was a little burned out from the constant crafting over the past couple of weeks. Finish this painting, frame that one, and that one, stained glass, spray paint this, cushions galore... I needed a g'damn break from being crafty. So I took a week off. I can't say that I'm back with a vengeance yet, or even with gusto. I'm tip-toeing back. I may retreat at some point and resort to the comfort of watching Wild Russia and How It's Made.

I still haven't been able to find a good balance when it comes to everything that I have on my plate. If there's anything I've learned from this blog (now 99 posts and counting), it's that urges come and go. My activities and schedule vary from week to week, and I won't really know if I'm excited about something until the moment is upon me. For example: I knew yesterday would be the perfect day to be outside. It doesn't get much better than sunny and 68 degrees. Unless it's 70 and sunny. I also knew that I had a shit-ton of soldering to do. Another thing I learned is that it's horrible to solder indoors. The fumes, while deliciously intoxicating, are extremely intoxicating and quite bad for your health. Was I excited to solder? Not really. Was I excited to be outside? Absolutely.

Exciting + Not So Exciting = Pleasurably Tolerable, if you ask me.

So, I spent a good two or three hours outside, finished soldering and earned a 5 star sunburn on my neck and shoulders. Don't let April fool you. It burns.

theme show.



In June, the Manayunk Roxborough Art Center is going to have a bike part art show to coincide with the ever-so-popular, Manayunk Bike Race. I myself, am SUPER PUMPED about a bike part show, and I couldn't wait to start thinking about what I could come up with the submit to the exhibit!

Snazzy, ay? I'm particularly excited about the merriment.

Last weekend, I started by cutting and sanding three panels of super thick, fine-a** quality plywood for my project and used a dark walnut stain to give it a rich, rustic look. (I'm noticing a whole triptych theme here, I'm wondering why it is I've been working in threes...) I really didn't think about the panels during the week: But on Friday, after learning about the impending weekend rain storm, I decided to go home and give it some much needed attention. No one likes to spray paint in the rain. Or at least, I don't.

I set up my bike-art-spray-paint-base-camp in the driveway so I didn't stank-out the birds in our backyard: We already have one cardinal that isn't so s-m-r-t, and I didn't want to affect future generations of birds from the fumes. One bird constantly flying into the window is quite enough, we don't need his baby-cardinals flying up to our cat thinking its a tree. ITS A TREE ITS A TREE ITS A TREE! Next, I took some of Lou's old mountain bike chain rings and started layering them on the panels. I had seven different spay paint shades, and began the process of spray... rearrange!... spray... rearrange! 

I just realized that this photo is of the same two panels repeated, instead of the three I actually completed. I'll have to take better photos and upload them later. See what fumes can do to you?!

Anywho, after about a billion layers of spray/rearrange, plus the period of pause and let dry, I covered each panel in a quick drying poly-acrylic to seal it all in and make it shiny and bright. I also started experimenting with the chain rings and spokes (not spokey-dokes, unfortunately... although, now that I think about it...) so I'll have to take a picture of that and post it, too. I'm not sure how to incorporate it all together, but I'm sure an afternoon of drinking ...I mean constant thinking. I mean drinking, should clear that up.

In other news, I'm cooking dinner tonight. I accidentally spilled a bunch of red pepper flakes into the olive oil I was simmering, and didn't think too much about it. I should have. I just tasted it, and it tastes like burning. Tasty. JUST BURNING.

update

Fail.

NOW WITH GLITTER.

don't like.

Yesterday I decided that I would finally do it. I gathered my supplies: the quilt, thread, needles, and a big ol' hoop, sat down on the couch and started to quilt the quilt.

Truth be told... here comes the complaining in 3...2...1...
I don't like hand quilting.
I don't like it one bit.
I poked myself with the needle, and the needle went in FAR. I almost bled out. not really...
And I only hand quilted about six inches.
I have 7,225 total inches to quilt.
I quickly became discouraged and turned on Intervention to make myself feel better.

So. What to do now?
Turns out that my sewing machine gets through all three layers quite nicely. And fast. Without all the pokes. My machine quilted 170 inches of quilt in the time it took me to do six by hand.

IN THE BATTLE OF HAND VERSUS MACHINE....

MACHINE WINS.

a three hour nap.

Yesterday I mentioned that my goal was to "try to accomplish as much as I can". If by that I meant, go home and take a 3 hour nap THEN I DOMINATED MY GOAL. But it wasn't my goal, alas. I still dominated the s*** outta that nap, though. It was so worth it. I woke up with a craft vengeance, and a hunger for sausage and stuffed peppers.

I didn't manage to accomplish much after sausagefest, but I made the most of my time after my significant nappage. I dissected a seat cushion from one of the barstools outside so I could made a template for the new bright yellow upholstery fabric I purchased from Jo-Ann. (Wouldn't you know, I just checked the website and the friggin' fabric is now 40% off? DAMNIT.) It actually ended up being MUCH easier than I imagined! The seams came apart quickly, probably because it was so old and weathered, and after a fast ironing, viola! Template complete! I cut out eight pieces of fabric (two for each of the four cushions) and took the other three cushions apart.

Today I made a template for the two straps that will secure the cushion to the chair, and I also purchased fabric fusible Velcro: I figured that'd be easier than making the straps into ties. I think I might actually be able to sew at least one of them tonight, if not more.

We'll see if I nap when I get home. That'll determine my progress, I guess!

fraud.

(just a quick note: I'm leaving names of people and galleries out of this.)

Almost exactly one year ago, I received a request to make 25 wine bags for a woman who saw one in a gallery space off of South Street. To say that I was excited was an understatement. I was elated to think that someone would like my creations so much, that they'd buy 25 of them to give out to family and friends as a gift! I promptly set myself to the task, working tirelessly to complete the job.

Flash forward one year later.

Lou and I set out to a gallery we both admired for their First Friday show: A photography exhibit by a wonderful local artist. I also brought along a new wine bag, tie purse, and my business cards, just in case there might have been an opportunity to talk and make an appointment to come back with more of my work. I recognized one of the store's employees almost immediately, as Lou and I have chatted with her on a previous occasion. After catching up, and thanking her for inspiring me to create more my new little business, she then introduced me to the store owner: I had such a lovely time talking with her. I was so flattered that she admired my tie purse, that after a flash of confidence, I brought out my wine bag, telling her that I was interested in displaying them in the store as well. She mentioned that there was another wine bag in the store, and went to retrieve it for me to see.

At first when I saw the wine bag, I felt like my eyes just didn't focus on it right. Then my stomach sank. Was that the fabric that my mom had given to me? Was that the tie that I picked out to go with the fabric? Was that the same exact design that I came up with? It was. It was one of the 25 wine bags that I had made for that woman a year ago.

"Oh my gosh. I made that. That's my wine bag." was all I could muster out. I turned over the price tag and saw the name of the woman I sold the bags to. I was shocked. And sad. I felt so stupid. So very stupid. How could someone take my work and put their name on it?

I ended up telling the surprised gallery owner my entire story: My excitement for the commission, my not-so-great transaction with the purchaser, and how everyone, literally everyone, kept telling me that I wasn't charging enough for the bags. Turns out that I wasn't. She didn't want to buy them to give out to family and friends: She saw a girl undercharging her handmade items, and saw an opportunity to make a buck off of them. And she did. The gallery owner and the store's employees believed me 100%, thank goodness, and I feel like they might have been just as shocked as I was. They had someone defraud them as well.

At the end of the night, Lou and I walked out to my car, where I promptly exploded into messy tears. My feelings of shock and sadness turned into disgust and anger: Not only for the purchaser, but for myself as well. Unfortunately, it put yet another dent in my faith for humanity. But I know there will be positives to come out of the whole experience. I think the gallery would really love to have my bags and purses in the shop. And I know I've made new friends there, too.

I do feel like I need to make  or find another charm for my necklace. LESSON LEARNED, it should say.

abcdef fail.

ring-a-ding, ya crazy broad!

(attempt 1) Let me be Frank.
Yeowzaaas! One misplaced capital F and this ol' blogsville's in the bag, baby!

(attempt 2) Let me be frank: I had an amazingly productive weekend. But I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that my current art projects were not organized, finished or as they should be. This became apparent when I went over Lauren's house to craft and drink wine... you know, whichever comes first. I brought along a small acrylic painting, similar to my Time to Eat? painting/collage. The canvas was covered in dried paint, but I wanted to collage some letters on it. Through my wine induced, SVU haze, I decided on the alphabet. It sounded like a great idea, until I tried to find all the letters to the alphabet. Sounds easy, but when all you have is Martha Stewart and Glamour, it becomes increasingly difficult to find a font that's not MARTHA STEWART or GLAMOUR. I made it to the letter F, then gave up. Here's what I ended up with.

I kind of love it. It reminds me of all the times when I try really hard, then realize that it's just not worth it. Hell, I look at it and it makes me laugh. Art is so much fun! It's nice to remember that it doesn't have to be so serious all the time.

bueller? anyone?

I feel the urge to craft today. Or at least do something, DAMNIT.

I've been feeling very blah lately.  Much of that feeling comes from being sick.  I'm on my 11th day of not feeling 100%, and now instead of it taking a toll on my physical well being, it's taking a toll on my mental well being. At first I was all like, "Nah, I'm OK!  It's just a cold, it'll pass! Life is good!"  Now I'm all like "I want to do something, but I'm still sitting on the couch moping about my lack of actually doing anything. What should I do?".  It's a vicious crappy cycle, based solely on my inability to GET THE F&*$ UP AND DO SOMETHING. Plus I keep having coughing fits which annoy the shit out of anyone I'm around. So I'm better off doing something by myself, or at least that's what my head is telling me.

The thing is, I want to do a bunch of things: Go out to get a beer with real people, sew more rows of the quilt, cook a delicious meal, exercise, socialize.  BE PRODUCTIVE.  But who wants a fogged-head, coughing, snotty mess hanging around them? Anyone? Anyone know the effects? It did not work, and the United States sank deeper into the Great Depression. Today we have a similar debate over this. Anyone know what this is? Class? Anyone? Anyone? Anyone seen this before?.... sorry, I got carried away in the Bueller moment.

So tonight, my plans are to hit up hot yoga at 6:15 (<--check!).  Cook a nice soup out of all the awesome produce I've gotten from Produce Junction (<--check!).  Do something crafty (<--check!).  And for chrissake, make actual plans for tomorrow night (<--friggin check!).

(updates in bold!)

if at first you don't succeed, take a nap. then try again.

First off, I'd like to explain my cryptic brain rant that I said I would update 'tomorrow'. Unfortunately, tomorrow is now 6 days from tomorrow.  Wait... 6 days from then.  From the last post.  This post isn't clearing anything up so far. Let's try again.

FAIL

Last Wednesday night I decided to start tiling the back splash in our kitchen.  My goal was just to do the tiling behind our now non-existent stove. It took me about 3 hours to do it, but I did get it done.  Not as successfully as I'd like to, though.  All in all, about 43 tiles fell off the wall due to, A: bad tiling advice and B: bad mortar application.  After feeling sorry for myself and developing a migraine, I struck back.  I used my Dremmel tool to grind out the dried mortar and I hand applied the missing tiles to the wall.  Lou and I got an additional 8 square feet done tonight. I can't wait to get our project done, and to cook something on our new stove!

SUCCESS

I also got ALL ALL of the squares done for the quilt!  That's right.  I finished all 224 squares... THEY'RE ALL DONE.  I finished sewing the last of the squares on Friday night, and I just trimmed them all up last night.  I'm really excited that I accomplished this much so far.  Now, I'm ready to start sewing the rows and columns.  Pretty soon, it will start looking like a real quilt!  It's going to be such a fun winter project!

4 new wine bags, 224 squares!

A friend of mine (and also my former landlord) ((and also the nicest landlord I've ever had)) asked me if I could make her some wine bags for the holiday season coming up!  I'm really proud that I started cutting them out and sewing them together on Friday night.  I'm hoping that I can complete them tomorrow, and maybe bring them to her sometime this weekend.  

The reason why I was trying to get all of these things done before the weekend, was because I traveled down Washington DC!  It was a lot of fun.  We had great weather, we saw a ton of things around town (both by foot and by bike!) and ate amazing food.  I wish I had more time to browse around the museums and national monuments. I feel like I just was beginning to scratch the surface of the city, then all of the sudden it's time to leave and board the train going back home! I picked up a new book as well, and I'm hoping that I can incorporate some of it's philosophy into future blog posts!  

Well, that's an awfully long post, so I'll end it at this. You can do anything you put your mind to.  Especially when you have coffee.

person virus vs. computer virus

The similarities are that they both infect you and make you feel terrible.  I’m pretty sure that’s where the similarities end.  A person virus... let's just say the common cold for this matter, makes you feel crappy for about 4 days.  Eventually the headache disappears, the snot dries up, and the raspy voice and mucusy throat are a distant memory.  Congratulations! You’re back to normal.  Let’s celebrate by going out to a bar and getting another cold!  A computer virus makes you feel crappy to the 10^th degree until it’s finally gone.  I don’t even know what that means, but it feels like shit. And it’s not like tea and chicken noodle soup will help.  You need a computer-ninja, someone to sneak into your computer like those people from the Matrix sneak into the Matrix and set shit straight… a master of the hard drive: Like my friend Mike.  Onto the story.

On Saturday morning after I wrote my previous blog post, I decided that it would be an awesome day to sit and sew whilst listening to Pandora radio.   This was not to be.  The second I clicked on Pandora, things went to shit.  Instant virus.  Windows kept popping up telling me how bad shit was, and that my memory was gone.  I believed that lying piece of jerk virus for about 5 seconds, until I saw a window that said “buy the full version here!”.   That makes NO SENSE. Why WHY would I want to buy a full version of a virus?  For the next 4 hours, I was closing obnoxious windows, restarting in safe mode, running virus software (that kept saying that nothing was detected) crying and sitting in my pj’s trying to figure out how the hell I was going to fix my problem.  I just wanted to listen to the Fiona Apple station.  Then shit got real, yo.

I finally decided that brownies would fix my problem.  Usually when something in my life goes wrong, I try to temporarily forget them by making myself something delicious.   It’s not uncommon to find me in the kitchen after a bad day.  Then out of the blue (the blue sporty-car they own, I knew they were coming over so it wasn't out of the blue-blue) Mike and Lauren arrived and solved two of the biggest problems in my life.

1) Who would help me eat all these brownies so I don’t get a fat-ass?

2) Can someone solve my computer virus problem?

Answers: THEY DID.

All was right in the world again. I only finished 20 squares this weekend (170 down, 54 to go) but all in all, Halloween is supposed to scare the shit outta you right?  Mission accomplished.  Next year, I think I’ll go as a computer virus.

In slightly related news, this was my Friday night. It's self explanatory.

decisions, decisions.

I've been aimlessly flipping through quilting books and magazines for the past couple days searching for some sort of quilt design that looks feasible for me to accomplish.  After all, this is my first attempt at an entire blanket.  I finally came across one last night while I was half asleep. I confirmed my find this morning when I was slightly more awake, but before my first cup of coffee.  After my second cup of coffee, I reconfirmed how awesome my decision was, and started planning my trip to JoAnne Fabrics.  Behold, the string quilt from Sew Quick Scrap Quilts.

Looks easy enough...right...? ...Right?!  No, people that are reading this (unless you're a master quilter with robot hands); this does not look easy.  But it looks like fun, and it certainly looks like something I can accomplish. Especially because there are no real straight lines other than the muslin blocks that I have to sew.  The scrap fabric can be any width I feel like, thank you very much.

Oh, and if you didn't guess this before: I'm finished with stained glass for now.  Making that light box seemed as fun as hitting myself in the face with a raw chicken.  That's one FAIL I can be proud of.

frustrated.

I've been trying to upload a damn photo of my damned stained glass, and I can't get the damned thing to upload in the right direction.  DAMNIT damnity damn.  I've been so friggin' frustrated this week (and by this week I mean pretty much all of last week, this past weekend and today) with my lack of... well, ANYTHING!  I had all these lofty plans to do SOMETHING and basically none of it got done.  Trying to demo the backsplash in the kitchen?  Fail.  Starting the mounting for the stained glass?  Fail.  Starting the two little side-by-side paintings?  Semi-fail.  Exercise?  BIG FAIL.

I need to get my friggin' act together.  Today.  NOW.  These are my plans.
Work:  Retype all the recipes I've printed out the past year.  Yes, you read that right.  I will do this at work.
Gym:  I will run 3.1 miles and stretch like hell before and after.
Art: I will paint the negative space on the side-by-side paintings.
I will also research where to by the solder patina I need.
I will also revise my stained glass frame drawings, as I was stupid and did not measure the glass before.  I thought each panel was 10x10.  Yeah, it's actually only 9x9.

Time to hold my self accountable for stuff.  Time to get this shit done.

I need his help.

sketchy sketchums.

This morning in an attempt to play catch-up, I was going to blitz through all of my work and write a new blog post!  My attempt was thwarted however, when I got into work and realized that the phones are down.  And so is my internet connection.  Then to my obvious joy and delight, I saw my USB thingy sitting in my purse.  Therefore I am typing this post at work, and I’ll upload it later from home.  Don’t be jealous of my brain skillz.

So no, I did not get in my copper foil over the holiday weekend.  But that didn’t stop my productivity!  Would you like to hear what I did?  OF COURSE YOU DO!  Why else would you be reading the ramblings of a crazed hamburger-addicted girl?  (I had three hamburgers over the weekend, now I have meatbrainitis.) 

I sketched out a design for two small paintings that I would like to do.  The canvases I have are 5”x5”, and the design flows from one panel to the other.  I’ve been fiddling with similar design patterns for awhile, and it’s something I’m excited about!  Think organic/geometric windows with a touch of intestines.  You read that correctly.  I’m still debating what medium to use (acrylic or oil) but I know that I’d like to somehow incorporate wax.  Should be a fun project to start later on!

I also rustled up four paintings that I completed a while ago.  I’d like to look into getting frames for them and hanging them up around the house.  One painting will have a standard frame, but the other is a triptych.  I don’t know what my obsession is with triptychs, but it looks like that one will have to be custom made too.  Damnit.

I started drawing a design for the light box that I’ll be building to house my stained glass piece.  I really hope that I can plan this out and execute it properly.  I might need more brain skillz to figure this one out.  Or maybe another hamburger?

And lastly, I am going to be starting a tie-messenger bag for my sister!  She’s in her last year of grad school, so I thought I’d make her something pretty that she can bring to class.  I hope I can sketch out the right dimensions and make it work!

delays? but it ain't m'fault!

Great news!  After much deliberation, and many broken-slash-failed pieces of stained glass, I decided to slightly reconfigure my design.  My main purpose for doing this?  The blue glass is still on back order.  For me to complete my piece without more delays, I figured I'd have to push forward at some point and work with what I have.  Here's what I ended up with...

Ta-daaaaaaaa! Here it is. I still love the flow of the design, even though it's slightly different from my original sketch.  And not all of the dark pieces above are black: Most are the transparent purple/magenta color.  I'm hoping that when it's back-lit, the colors will really shine.

Onto my little subject title about delays.  I noticed today that I don't have enough copper foil to complete my goal by this Sunday.  Faaaaaaaaaaaaail.  As soon as I realized that, I ordered more 1/4" 1mm foil from Warner Stained Glass.  Alas, it's a Friday before a holiday weekend.  I sincerely doubt that I'll start foiling again until maybe Tuesday.  I made great progress today though!

schnitzel, stained glass and hurricanes.

Holy schnitzel Batman!  I fell off my blogging wagon for a couple of days.  Many apologies.  I figured I'd do a brief recap of my extravagant filled birthday weekend.  And by extravagant, I mean hurricane/tornado induced hysteria.  Onwards!

Thursday was my 28th birthday.  It was also the 10 year anniversary of my first day of college.  It was also the 28th anniversary of my mom's c-section.  I thought I'd throw that in there since she's always asking me if I want to see her scar.  I find myself getting off track of this recap in mammoth proportions.  Onwards, once more!

My day was spent yelling at stained glass and crafting with my good friend Lauren.  After telling the stained glass to go f*** itself numerous times, we carried on to Michael and made a quick stop at the Salvation Army.  I got some supplies at both places for my next project... secrets, secrets!!  I spent the rest of the weekend tracking the hurricane, succumbing to tornado warning instructions, and riding my bike taking videos of the flooding and damage.  I also watching numerous episodes of gypsy weddings.  That s*** is ridiculous.

I realize that I haven't set a goal for myself to actually finish cutting and foiling The Beast... I'll say by Sunday, September 3rd.  The design has changed slightly, but I still think it embodies much of what I want it to.  Look at me, using big words!   This post also feels naked, so I think I'll just upload a picture of myself.  Your welcome.

PS... the cucumber soup tasted like glorified vomit.