fresh start

The show is over and Miss. A is back from a long weekend away with Grandpa. My studio is cleaned and I am renewed and refreshed by a long and relaxing weekend.

It was quite a surprise on Monday when plans were set for Miss. A to fly to Montana with Daniel’s father. He was going to visit his parents and after I mentioned that kids fly free if they are under two he was all for taking her with. I actually was not convinced that they were going to go until around Wednesday and then reality hit. From the stories told she had a wonderful time and was quite entertained by all the relatives. She loved every flight and was quite content as long as she could get a bottle of water, straw, and some food. I guess it makes for the perfect science experiment. It was a bit sad to have her gone for almost four full days but I believe it was refreshing for everyone.



With Miss. A gone I was able to focus on the final details of my sale. Everything went quite well on Saturday. I was a bit unsure of what to expect because it was my first sale. It was wonderful to network with other sellers and to see family and friends who came out to support the event. I am now ready to open my Etsy shop by the middle of February.

Once the sale was over we were able to enjoy some relaxing time with friends. On Saturday evening we went to dinner. It was so nice to stay out late and not worry about getting up until ten. We were even able to track down a shady bar that had free shuffleboard, something we had not played since college and it showed.

By Sunday I had rested enough to tackle my studio and get it back into working order. For the past month I was in production mode and had given up cleaning at the end of a night of work. Needless to say by Friday night nothing was in its original place and it was becoming a nonfunctioning work environment.



We were able to get my new worktable put together and replaced the old one. It was so rickety it was affecting my ability to sew without weighing it down with sandbags. So out with the old and in with the new. Now everything is in order and I feel like I can once again be inspired to work. Well maybe tomorrow. For now I am going to enjoy being home with my daughter.

photos::little time for words

I just wanted to quickly post a few photos of what has been taking place in the studio. The labels are finished and I am quite pleased with the results. Here are a few photos of some items that I will be selling on Saturday. For those of you who are not in town I will be opening my Etsy shop on the 15th of February.



Thank you to everyone for your words of encouragement and support. This endeavor has been quite exciting for me.

production zone

gocco::labels

[production zone]

[screens]

[ink]

[labels]


well yesterday we attempt to make gocco labels. i say attempt because the process failed. the problem is in getting an even inking each stamp. at this point we are giving up on this technique and are going to try using bubble jet set and print them off the printer onto fabric. have any of you tried this method? i would love some feedback on it. i hope it works because honestly i just want this part of the project to be checked off the list. the one thing that we did get out of this attempt is the desire to setup a small silkscreen studio in the basement and sell the gocco. we will see.

i hope to take some time this week to photograph the items i am making and post a photo or two each day.

rhythm of life [right now]

[respite] a time to relax before a few weeks of work


[inspiration] i was hit with inspiration for this bib while lying in bed one night


[work] every evening this is where i can be found once Miss. A has gone to bed


[fun] snow::walks::laughter



it feels good to be in a rhythm of sorts right now. being focused on an end goal is good for me it makes me feel productive.

the big 1.5

Today is the day Miss. A turns the big 1.5, yes 18months have passed so quickly before our eyes. I was looking back at photos from a year ago and this day last year we were getting ready to feed her solids for the first time. for some reason I was quite excited about this.



Ambitious to make all of her food knowing(thinking) she would love it. The first thing I made for her was some rice cereal and I still remember her distaste for it.


I could not understand her reaction until I tried it for myself and sure enough it tasted like paste. I guess when you go for six months of getting sweet milk the change is quite drastic.

Jumping forward a year and she is now quite the eater but has an opinion. She loves to eat Tofu uncooked but is quite picky about her meat choices. She will eat cured meats and Brie but will not eat turkey slices with cheddar. When we are shopping she will beg for the olives and will not discriminate she loves them all. She loves corn on the cob and would eat it for days but will not touch broccoli. It is amazing to see how her tastes have changed with time and I am sure this is only the beginning.



It is wonderful to see how much she has grown and changed in the year. Not only does she now sit-up on her own but she is running, walking backwards (quite strange to me), picking up new words by the day, potty training and more. She is ambitious and determined to figure things out. Her most recent obsession is keys. She will sit with a set of keys and for twenty minutes try to unlock something. I am constantly amazed by what she teaches me each day. I look forward to what we will be looking back on a year from now.

We are off to the coast for a relaxing weekend with friends. I have one book and one knitting project to bring along with a pair of running shoes. My goal is to enjoy a fun filled weekend with no obligations. I hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing weekend as well.

{thursday} thrifted finds

i fond this piece of art a few months back at the end of summer and was just waiting to get it out. now i realized that i needed to post about the thrifted find while it is still in season. i usually never looked in the art/fame section at thrift stores and that has since changed. this image is just amazing and i did not know the artist. the characters and life that is given drew me in. the artists name is Flavia Weedn, she is still living and actively making work. as i started to look into her work i had a mixed reaction. her older work is truly amazing and the newer stuff has changed quite a bit. i know that many like her new work judging by the marketing but i can't say i am sold on it. there are quite a few of her older works on ebay that i have to resist the urge to buy. i guess part of me wants to hold out for that amazing find at a thrift store.

at first i thought that i liked her older work better in part because she only did paintings and wood prints. her newer work is with fabric, stationary, calendars etc but in her older work i realized she also did images on playing cards, cards, statues etc. part of me felt that she had sold out but in reality her style had changed and i agreed more with her earlier work. i have found this to be lesson for me in how ones own creative process changes. what i am making now may be nothing like what i make in ten or twenty years. a lot of what i am milling over currently is the process of design and creation. there is much to be learned in the new year and i am excited to see how my own process will change over the next 362 days. for now i will enjoy what i am making and eagerly look forward to the future.

slowly coming back

Happy Holidays to all!

I hope that each and everyone of you had a wonderful December and are enjoying the starts of the New Year.

We had a wonderful time during the holidays and it was not without a dull moment. I was a bit ill leading up to Christmas so laid low. The day after Christmas Miss. A and I piled into the car and headed up to Seattle to visit my sister. It was wonderful to spend time around her place. Despite being eight plus months along with her second child she was all about letting me just relax and enjoy myself. I felt a bit guilty but enjoyed the evenings reading books and a wonderful morning to myself at Ikea.

We are now back home and knee deep into projects of the new year. At the end of the month I am selling a few items in a small craft sale and so much of my brain space has been filled with ideas and lists. I am quite excited for this opportunity and look forward to all that will come from it.

If I am a bit absent it is only because I am focused. I do miss reading others posts and writing my own. I hope to get around to finding time to read some soon. Know of think of you often.