Archive for January, 2009

Finally a New Beginning in the Studio

Monday, January 19th, 2009

OK, I'm a little behind…. I finally am feeling like I am getting myself ready to begin the new year…. My first goal was to get my studio cleaned and organized. It has been a long time since I did more than a quick, pile things up clearing of my cutting table. This time I did a full scale clearing and organizing of everything that was in the various piles.

I had to take photos of my studio, so that I can remember that I did get things under control. This is a photo of the studio from just outside the door, in my office. My cutting table has somehow ended up blocking more than half of the doorway. It is on wheels so it can be moved when needed to access shelves and the electric panel.

This is an extremely rare sight– a clean cutting table!! The only things on it right now are cutting rulers and a pottery vase my son made in art class full of various pencils, pens, markers and scissors.

 
 The view just to the right inside the door…. This shows my favorite things for storing supplies, fabric scraps and more– plastic drawer units. I have many of these- here they are on top and under the counter. I just raised the pink units up off the counter so that I can still open the bottom drawers even after the counter clutter returns. (I am being realistic, here) I now have a space to stash notebooks of ideas and sketches. I collect glass, and love to use little glass bowls and coasters to hold various little things on the counter.

Here is the North wall with my ironing board and machine. the window faces out to a garden and an open yard area- a  great view. On the wall over the ironing board is a piece of foam covered with fabric for pinning up various inspirations, photos, and other things. The design wall is on the end wall- left in the photo. I now have a 4×8' sheet of 2in thick foam with batting over it for a great pinable wall. Hidden behind the foam is my original design wall- a 4×6' piece of plywood covered with flannel on a hinge over the shelves on that wall.

The pride and joy of my studio– My shelves! OK, I didn't totally organize my fabrics, but they are on the shelves or on hangers instead of in piles. My husband built these for me, he actually made  them the way I wanted them! They cover two full walls to 6' high. This photo shows more of the design wall. I randomly pinned things that caught my attention as I was cleaning. Not sure what willbe worked on first… Also behind the foam wall  and hidden plywood wall, is more  shelves and the electric panel- not very handy- The foam has to be moved, the plywood hinged out, and shimmy in to get to the panel- thankfully we don't need to access it too much. The wide vase with the pencils, etc. was made my my son, Nick in an art class his senior year of HS. A great size to hold things handy.

  This was taken while standing next to the ironing board. The pile on top of the serger is a batch of WIP that I would like to work on. I still thinkI need another of the small drawer units to get the yarn pile under the counter under control. I also didn't totally organize what is inside the drawers… Things are in their proper drawers, but a bit jumbled. Considering that a week ago I could not see out this window because of the tower of stuff, I really got a lot done!

This photo shows the doorway from inside. As you can see, I have more plastic drawers in my office. There is a unit on top and one under the big wooden desk. One of my computer tables with plastic boxes of quilt sandwich chunks and hunks is seen in the doorway on the right.

This is the computer table that was just peeking out in the previous photo. The right end of this has the plastic boxes stacked on it. The black shelf units are new for raising up my laptop for easier use, and more room for stored fabric scraps and projects. Under the desk is the keyboard for the computer in the corner which was being used to print note cards when I took this. The pink is my new rubber roll-up keyboard for my laptop- I can now use it like a desktop with less neck strain. I do have to remember which machine I am working with- using the wrong mouse won't work….. Note the steps to the living room in the lower left of the photo. Above the desk is more shwlves to the ceiling for storing fabric, batting, and office supplies.

 

This is my other desk, on the other side of the steps. I sit in the path of anyone wanting to go from the living room to our greenhouse. The computer here doesn't get much use now that I have my laptop. As you can also see, I have another dorway partially blocked….. You don't need the whole width of the door to go through do you?? Roxy, our son Nick's dog is sitting next to another drawer unit I use for office supplies and reciepts, etc. Above it, taking up half of the doorway is my collection of painted fabrics. I paint most in fat quarter sizes, and found that hanging them on skirt hangers here is easier for me to find something for a project. Behind the fabric is a stack of plastic tubs of stuff I need to do shows, and other things I don't use all the time. There is also another piece of foam covered in fabric for a place to pin stuff up.
This is the last time this will be seen looking this good for a long time. As soon as I start working in there again, it will be soon back to it's cluttered state. At least I have a fairly clean slate to start with for the new year!

Hopefully I will be back to creating and will have some new things to show off, soon.

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Rocks Again….

Sunday, January 11th, 2009

My second post for today, trying to catch up with life. I had finished two more "On the Rocks" quilts just before Christmas, but didn't get photos taken of them until a few days ago. To show that I have been doing a little with my quilts, here they are…..

This is "Echinaceas on the Rocks", 8"x10" in size, it is shown in this previous post before quilting. I spent much of December doing the beading on this one. I didn't have much time at home, but took it with me to various appointments and even our trip to Marla's for our Christmas gathering. I finally decided it was done. It is hard to decide when there enough beads…. It was nice to play with the purples, I had used some purples in many of my rock & mud fabrics, so I was able to coordinate the rocks to the photo too. I also found some really tiny butterfly beads during one of my bead hunting trips. This quilt is available for purchase here at my Etsy Art Quilt shop.

Here is a closeup of the top corner. I added tiny shells in addition to the beads and gemstone chips to the rocky area.

  This little quilt is "Hemerocallis on the Rocks", and is 6"x8" in size including the loopy yarn I used to bind it with. In addition to the photo, there is a sunprint of rose leaves and assorted flowers done with gold, brown and green along the side. This quilt is available for purchase here at my Etsy Art Quilt Shop.

A close-up of this one….One of the tiny butterflies can be seen in the upper right of this photo. The beading on this piece was started while waiting for my mini van to get it's brakes fixed. I got a lot done because the new part didn't solve the problem, and I had to wait for Ken to pick me up. Lots of waiting and stitching that day.

With all the ice and now snow we have been getting, I now have ideas coming together for some new pieces showing the rocks with ice and snow on them. I am not sure exactly what will turn up, but I have lots of inspiration around me. I have some canvas fabric I painted in icy blues with pearly shimmer that may coordinate with a flower photo with the sky as the background. I got some great shots of some white Anemone early last spring.

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Time Flew…..

Saturday, January 10th, 2009

Whew!! Were did the past 3 weeks go???? Christmas with it's visits and cooking and everything else passed sooo fast, and now we are over a week into the new year!

I had a post started where I was going to give you the recipes for some of  my "must makes" foe every Christmas. Life happened, and all I did was get some photos posted. For anyone who may have popped by and found some odd photos, here is what they go to, even though the holidays are over, these treats are great any time, especially in the winter. Here is the recipe for my popcorn, this would be great packed in a pretty tin for Valentine's Day.

I ALWAYS have to make  my Molasses Popcorn– My Dad's favorite each year. I try to disguise it by packaging it and wrapping it differently each year- He usually guesses, but some years he gets it open without knowing :) The first photo shows one of my roaster pans full.
The popcorn is coated with a mixture of brown sugar, molasses, butter, and more. When I make this, I don't always keep strictly to the measurements listed, and will add extra molasses and corn syrup, and use more popcorn. With some playing, you may find you want more heavily coated popcorn. The recipe is for my large batch- You may only want to do half to start. 

Sue's Molasses Popcorn Recipe:

10 quarts of plain air popped popcorn- no salt or butter
1 cup butter
1 cup molasses- regular (if the dark or "robust" is used the end result is darker, but still good)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
1 teaspoon baking soda
2-4 cups Peanuts or other nuts (optional- see notes below)

You will need 2 large foil roasting pans. I spray these lightly with cooking spray.
Preheat oven to 250 F.  Pop corn, and place half in each of the roasting pans (I use more popcorn sometimes, too).
Sprinkle nuts over the popcorn in one or both  pans- 2 cups or more in each. Plain peanuts or mixed nuts- whatever you like best, more if you really like nuts. I don't like nuts, so I only put nuts in one pan and leave one without.
Place butter, brown sugar, molasses, corn syrup, vinegar, and cream of tarter in a 5 quart or larger heavy bottom pan. I usually use a bit extra of the molasses and corn syrup, depending on the day- Place over high heat and stir with a heavy wooden spoon until butter is melted and sugar dissolves. Place a candy thermometer in the mixture, and allow it to boil rapidly until it comes to 250 F. Remove pan from heat.(The temperature will rise some after taking pan off heat) Add the baking soda and stir rapidly until well mixed and foaming.
Carefully pour half of the mixture over each pan of popcorn, gently stir to coat popcorn with candy mixture. Do this quickly, and Be Careful of the hot mixture, it can burn your hands.

Place both pans in preheated oven. The photo above shows both pans in my oven- a tight fit- they will fit better in a newer full size oven. Heat in the oven stirring occasionally until the candy coating the popcorn hardens to a crispy texture when cooled. I usually stir after the first 20 minutes, and again 15-30 min after that. Stirring will help to evenly coat the popcorn, and will separate the kernels. After an hour or so, place a few pieces in a small bowl to cool.

The popcorn is done when it is no longer sticky when cool. (Yes, you will have to sample this as it is made- I eat way too much when I make it- done when it doesn't stick to your teeth) When your sample pieces are at that stage, remove one pan at a time from the oven, stirring constantly, breaking up and separating the kernels from each other. Once cool they will no longer stick together. Allow to cool completely and store in airtight plastic bags or containers. I line tins with plastic bags. This will keep for a long time if not eaten right away, but it doesn't last too long around here. The closeup photo shows how it should look when done.

I will share my recipes for my hot fudge sauce and sugar cookies in another post. Both are great any time of year.

And now the family photos:

These photos were taken at our first Christmas gathering at my step-daughter, Marla's house. We were missing only one son, Nick who had to work on Christmas and was still in GA, and our oldest granddaughter, Ally.
From L-R: Maia, Me, Ken, Marla, Derek, Zack, Aaron holding Jenna. In  front- Jackie, Eva and Andrue. Derek, Maia, Eva, and Ally are Marla's kids(Marla is only 5 yrs younger than me). It is pretty odd seeing a grandson taller than my sons (Zack was slouching, too). Derek is between my 2 youngest in age. Our Daughter-in-law, Jonelle took this photo.

Here is just a photo of the guys- Ken, Derek, Zack, Aaron and Andrue.

I will be slowly catching up here. I have been cleaning and organizing my studio and making pretty good progress!

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