mini quilt with buttons
A finished project! a fun little reminder we should all heed: the crown reads, I am gorgeous, with hints to imagine and giggle. Make appropriate combinations of all three to your own liking and moods. love (and donuts).
Good, bad, and ugly
Perfection pressure: how fortunate we are to have mass publications of every art/craft outlet. How unfortunate we are to have mass publications… Think about it, we have unlimited images of wow-art created by people just like us, but now our creations have to measure up to what we see. If we experiment and the end result is lousy, we feel failure; it isn’t as WOW as the sample in print.
We’re taking away our privilege to fail, to experiment, to make something ugly, to grow as artist.
Remember, what you see in print is the best, the cream of the crop. They don’t publish the rot of the crop. Don’t berate yourself for rot, it is necessary to the creative process. Let yourself go crazy. Give yourself the challenge of an ugly theme. You may be surprised at a creative leap you make. love. myc
stolen GOODS
Avoidance. When I don’t want to finish a task, I get a lot done. I usually clean when I’m avoiding- ick, but yesterday, instead of working on the finished project of the April 25th post I embellished a new cubby for my office wall. Instead of button holes, I left the embellishments as tiles and glued them on to a really cute cubby (stolen from my poor suffering mother).
And did you see how adorable Jack-the-studio-cat is? look on the left hand side of the site for my over- indulgence in cuteness.
Take a flying…
Leap! Kickin’ it to California. We decided out of the blue to commit to vending at IQF in Long Beach, July, 2008. Since Chicago’s IQF, we’ve been sluggish and morose, (apologies to anyone reading my posts, it might have been obvious how blah I’ve been) now we’re hyped and creating anew. WhahHoo!
More upbeat news: Bubba’s working on purchase availability right though this site. And an awesome alternative to the photo albums that I am crazy about. Hope to have them up this week. (evil ploy, hee hee)
I’ve mentioned Lynn in a past post and just added her to my new Favorite Links on side bar. She is witty and entertaining and a blog of fresh air. Her blog has introduced me to Skulladay which I love, and she admits to a tote bag collection; I have yet to own up to my bag adiction. Lynn has inspired me to attempt more finished projects with our buttons, because hers are beautiful and have a calming effect on me. But trying to flesh out a thought process from my head is anything but calming to my nerves and maturity level.
beginning project
Auditioning fabric for the beginning of my first wall hanging: working title “sun warmth”. I intend to post a small photo album here of the steps I take, successful or not. I also hope to include other’s finished projects. Nancy Smith of Great American Quilts has one or two in process and we are anxious to see the results. Stay tuned…
Finish project: no evil
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. I’m really good at starting projects, not so good at finishing them. However, by posting the process, perhaps guilt will push me. This panel is an embellishment card that has been adhered to an old filing card that TT painted to coordinate. It is one simple solution of how to incorporate the button cards into finished work. I will begin working on another project to show more options with fabrics, so please check back and help me stick to my commitment. thanks, myc
quilted big fatty mugs
You can sleep under a patchwork quilt, but how about drinking from one? Doesn’t this kiln load look like a giant easter basket full of patchwork painted jumbo mugs? It does to me. Their extra large size makes them fabulous for baked casseroles, layered desserts, or belly busting root-beer floats. Available by special order only - to see more shapes that can be customized like these beauties, check out EYStudio.com
Earthday green
Earth day, but with minor effort, could be earth week, month, year, century. I am the proud new nurturer of 2 tiny little twig crabapples, that I will watch with unbridled glee, grow to be beautiful trees.
The above card may be an odd pick for today, (and it does look much better in living color) but I like the idea of seeing beauty in everyday nature. The way the light bounces off the curves of bell peppers, the smell of fingers having just peeled an orange, the splurge of a bowl full of lemons on the counter. Respect nature, revere our resources, appreciate and preserve. Love
permission to slow down
Many of us work 2 jobs in addition to care-taking, housekeeping, and creating or working on our craft. Why not hang up a little affirmation to allow yourself a wee luxury? Take your coffee back to bed. Soak in the bathtub till the water cools. Splurge on take-out. Sit and sip that hard earned martini without doing chores. You deserve it.
making music
tickling the kids, cats purring, dogs sassing, paintbrush shushing on canvas, sewing needle in motion, sizzles from the wok, Joplin from the stereo. How do you make music? The soul needs it as much as the ear. Don’t forget to celebrate the magical qualities of the everyday, ordinary, music. Feed your soul.
Studio Tour
Take trip on a magical tour of our studio by clicking on image above
Shout outs: hello Lynn, new mentor of Thing and Thang the enchanted soul twins. I’m happy you 3 compliment each other so well. See examples of Lynn’s creativity on her blog including a beautiful spread in Cloth Paper Scissors Oct/Nov, 2007 issue, she has a gift for embellishing art quilts (I think of them as art quilts first, collage second).
Further hellos to the lovely Yoga lady who had much encouragement and support for our new endevour: the Life Coach with the words of encouragement and hope: and the Magnet Wall lady who inspired this slide show album of the studio tour:
and to QuiltingLizzy (posted on the quiltingshow.com) I would love to see what you’ve created with your new EYembellishment, and hopefully post it here. I hope to see you all in the future, sincerely michele. love
Alex Anderson 1st in booth
An honor: personable and talented Alex Anderson was the first customer in our booth in Chicago on preview night. Here she is with my mama-san, (TT is on the left). To add to her glowing and generous personality, Alex has the most beautiful complexion I have ever seen. I am so jealous. See Alex at: Thequiltshow.com. Joining Alex in our tiny space was our cherished friend, Nancy Smith of Great American Quilt Factory here in Denver Colorado. Nancy is our guiding angel of encouragement and continues to impress us with her willingness to try new things. Thank you for all things good and yummy, lots of love, michele
Never enough buttons
Well the girls are back and I did not have any new photos of finished cards so I made a little compilation photo of buttons ready for more embellishment cards when they get back in studio tomorrow. You can however see hundreds of cards on the gallery page.
Click here to see tons of whimsical cards albums on gallery page
Sloan
Creature Feature
Although they were not behaved enough to be able to go. The sock kids wanted to wish everyone a great time at the International Quilt Festival in Chicago.
Sloan
Off to to the Quilt Festival in Chicago
The girls are off to the show in Chicago so I’ll be guest posting for them while they are gone. The platter above is one of five they have taken with them to the Quilt show along with the embellishment cards, buttons and kits. See more of our ceramics at EYstudio.com
They will be in the Make it University section. For more information about the participants and venders in the Make it University section visit QuiltingArts.com
For more information about the International Quilt Festival in Chicago please visit Quilts.com
Sloan
Celebrating Chicago’s International Quilt Festival
Hands to work, heart to play. Celebrate the joy of fabric, thread, fibers, quilts, mixed media, embellishments, and the unleashing of creativity. It is in all of us. Paint and dye your own fabrics and fibers. Use papers and found objects in your projects. Tell yourself daily: There is no limit or rules. And enjoy.
