Another class

Cyber Monday!!! signed up for a new class on Craftsy. The free motion quilting a sampler by Leah Day for half price. Whoo Hoo!!! I have many written pieces on free motion quilting but I am a show me girl. Once I see, I get it. This class will be so valuable for me in my business.

I have almost got my studio setup and will certainly post pics by end of week. It is very practical and I owe a multitude of thanks to my spouse and partner, Dave, for setting this up for me. I am also setting up a new web page for Dave's photo art and my fabric art using 1and1.com. Check it out and watch the building. http://www.dccreationsart.com/

Stay tuned for move on quilting and stuff being created in my studio.

May life treat you well,
Caroline

Still working on studio

No pics yet - but close to the end. A couple of more days and we will have pictures of the new improved studio. Husband set me up with a network dvd that includes my computer and internet and access to Netflix which has all of the old mystery tv shows I just love. Finished watching the 23 episodes of Rosemary and Thyme a BBC show. If I had it better I could rap on the staircase and ask for meatloaf and a beer. If you have not seen the commercial it is funny.

Have taken time to set us up a web address and now working on getting all of our products on it. Spouse and partner is a photographer and you know where my heart is - fabric, fabric and more fabric. Now to see if I can link this blog to web page.

May life treat you well,

Caroline

Papa Hemingway and transformation of a studio

Hello from cloudy Waynesboro,

Finished the two shirts - love them. The brown shirt is from a Hemingway collection, thus the title of this blog. I love retro patterns and this certainly fits the bill. You can find these and many other beautiful pieces of fabric on Equilter.com. I also love that 2% of the purchase is given to a charity - they have about five you can choose from.

On another note I am in the middle of reconstructing my studio. I and spouse. See what it looks like now at bottom of blog and then check back in a week to see how wonderful it is transformed. Cabinets from Craig's List, plywood and Formica to make a large cutting area and for a top to our old platform bed drawers. Grids from when husband did art shows (his photographs hung on them). Constructing something from something else.

It is fun and tiring but we will get it done and have, at last, an area to sew and paint in that I have always wanted.

May life treat you as well,
Caroline

Hooray, hooray, new material has arrived

Gloomy day out but the material arrived for two shirts that the friend, I just finished a shirt for, has ordered for her brother and his partner. This is so much fun, especially seeing what different types of fabric patterns people pick out. Below are the materials these two gentlemen selected. The cool blue seashells are wonderful and the Hemingway post card material is really vibrant and kind of retro looking. I am anxious to get started but still in middle of making my studio workable. Will carve out time before the week ends however as I am really ready to start to work on these lovely materials.

On another note I sewed two pillows to go with the log cabin quilt I made in class this last Spring. I am sending to number two child (lives in Texas) for Christmas. She can curl up on couch under the lap quilt and rest her sweet head on one or both of the pillows. I know she will enjoy them as much as I enjoyd making them.

May life treat you well,

Caroline

Wonderful Wednesday

Hello,

Spouse and I walked around Gettysburg, PA and of course bought some nice stuff from a couple of shops. One of the things was this Day of the Dead skull from Spirited Ladies. They have some great stuff. We also bought some wonderful things from A and A and had lunch at the downtown Pub.

We then stopped at a place outside of Gettysburg that has all manner of yard items. We picked up this Day of the Dead skull there. This one is ceramic and wonderfully painted. So Frida Kahlo looking.

 

 

 

 

Last but not least I finished the Day of the Dead shirt for Dave. Am I in love with the whole Day of the Dead thing? I think so.

 

May life treat you well,

Caroline



 

The 'Sail Away' shirt is done

Hello,

I have finished the commission shirt for a friend - hope her significant other enjoys it. Great material by Michael Miller.

This shirt is the shirt I made for spouse out of a retro print. I love this print, maybe because I am a 50's girl. At least I was a teenager in the 50's, or as it is known now, the mid-century.

And now for a bit of 'The Day Of The Dead'. This print will be spouse's next shirt. Great for Holloween. Wedding scenes - I love it. Picked it up from a shop on Etsy.

And last but certainly not least is a selection of materials I have picked up for the start of the collection for the quilt pattern shown. The pattern was free on Fons and Porters web site. I will have to hire someone with a long arm quilt machine to quilt it as it will be a king size. Busy, Busy, Busy.

May life treat you well,

Caroline

The land of the unemployed

My unemployment insurance ran out this week and it is time to apply for the next tier. True to form DC said I did not work in DC, since my address is not in DC I assume, and I must apply through the state I live in. After going around in circles with the PA system where there does not seem to be any offices one can go to, I have applied over the internet. We will see what happens from here. All I know is one does not need to be hungry when drawing unemployment insurance as it is small enough when one gets it and really small when one has to jump through hoops to get it.

In the meantime I will continue on with sudying couture sewing, making shirts, quilts, and whatever else I can download free from internet. I love the internet it is a source of all things good, at least for me. I also purchased a 24x24 inch canvas to oil paint Georgia O'Keefes poppy on for our master bathroom.

Entertained a couple of friends last night and tried a new pok roast receipe. It was perfect as was the evening.

May life treat you well,

Caroline

Never cut two cups of Jalapenos without wearing gloves

This crazy Summer weather - not to mention the crazy Spring weather really confused my tomatoes. They did not start until late and now with the temp getting down in the 40s at night they are not ripening. Problem solved. Picked the ones worth picking, tore out the vines and spent the day making green salsa. Now in the process of making the salsa I had to chop up two cups of Jalapenos and a couple of Poblanos to add to the salsa. Chopped them without gloves and my hands burned for about two hours after.

You can take the girl out of Texas but you cannot take the desire for good Tex-Mex out of the girl. And in this case the guy, spouse, loves good Tex-Mex. I do not expect this salsa to be as good a Mrs. Renfros but I will work on it. Actually Mrs. Renfros has no tomatoes in it so there can be no comparison. Hers is made with just Jalapenos and is hot, hot, hot.

Bet she is smart enough to not chop them without gloves. Above is the fruits of my labor. Should have gotten more for all the pain I went through.

On another note I signed up for a couture sewing class and received the pattern for the class today. Really looking forward to this on-line class. Also have a commision from a friend to make a camp shirt for her significant other. That material arrived today from E-Quilter, the friend picked it out, it is beautiful as you can see by the pic. He is going to look great.

That is all for today.

May life treat you well,

Caroline

100 Quilts for Kids

I am sending on a web page I got from a Oh, Fransson! blog. If you are a quilter you may be interested. http://www.ohfransson.com/oh_fransson/2012/09/100-quilts-for-kids.html

I have been working in my studio today - trying to get it setup. It is hard since Dave has only had two weeks since his operation on his knee. But we are getting there. Cannot wait to post pics of it.

Finished two more Sun Bonnet Sue pillows. Decided I am going to make the fourth into a wall hanging instead of a pillow. But in the meantime I have to make a coverlet into a duvet since the stuffing shifted during cleaning. What a bore.

May life treat you well,

Caroline

Couture Sewing or Why I Love The Internet

Whoo Hoo, signed up for an online couture sewing class with instructor Susan Kahlje. Really looking forward to this as I have always loved couture and I have been following Susan for a long time. Class comes with a Vogue pattern and does not expire. Looking at the projects on the class page I see many people have already taken it and submitted their work for others like me to look at. This is fun - I love the internet - all doors are open.

I have made and sold mens tropical or camp shirts before. Have also sold many of my fabric bags and totes. I have sewn for over 50 years but have not really done couture sewing. In a day of get it done as fast as you can, does microwave brownies ring a bell, courture sewing is old fashioned. But I believe if you want something that is just yours - it is the way to go. I am really looking forward to designing my own fabric, using Spoonflower.com, to sew with - now that is "just yours".

Will keep you posted on the progress of this class as well as the quilt block of the month class with instructore Amy Gibson which I also just signed up for. All on Craftsy.com - check it out some of the classes are free.

Until next time,
May life treat you well,
Caroline

Has it been two months?????

Goodness - a lot has happened. My spouse Dave has had a knee replaced and is still moving slow. He cannot yet drive. His being incapacitated has added to my duties around here - but that is what married folk do. I have joined a local gym and am disciplining this rather sad body. Never too late.

Adding to my Etsy store and hopefully will sell something soon. But in the meantime I have made some real nice items. Also hoping someone reads this blog at sometime in the near future. When I first started I really did not want anyone to read it as I was shy, but now I am really ready to be read and to sell. Also want to start my own website along with Dave - he is an excellent black and white photographer - old school film and prints them in his own darkroom. I have added one of his pictures to this blog as it is one of my favorites.

I have started with children items for my store. Sun Bonnet Sue is the beginning. Tarpunto effect, machine creative stiching, hand sewing. Enclosed a pic of the first one done. I have added several other fiber artists blogs to my reading list.

Until next time - may life treat you well.

Caroline

Rapunsel let down your hair

Just finished watching tangled for the second time. What a fun picture but cannot even imagine having hair that long and magic. I do good to keep it short and belligerent. Oh well.

Did make it to Golds today and work out for about an hour 20. Feeling great and maybe it is my imagination but stronger. Will be back there again at 6 in the morning.

Now that the weekend is over, back to the routine. Going to sew a couple of new pillows for the shop today and start to work on a new shirt for Dave. He does love his tropical shirts and there is so much great material out there to use. This is a retro material with one of the most retro of things - a flamingo. Will post a pic as soon as it is done.

Off to work

Best of life to all of you
Caroline

Another year and trip is still moving

Hooray! Hooray!

Three monkeys dressed for a party

Deck platform is built. Master bath is remoldeled and I feel better physically than I have in years. All of that work helping my partner and spouse has paid off. I start at Gold's Gym tomorrow to keep this good feeling up.

Still learning how to connect all of this social media together. Any suggestions from anyone would be so very helpful. I am discovering more and more how to use Etsy - the crew there are terrific with their help manuals and all of the users of old are also wonderful. This trip is moving, no stopping me now.


Cheetahs and Monkey

Oh, and by the way I turned over another year on the 4th of July.

Best of life to all of you

Caroline







Two monkeys dressed for a party

Seems live just keeps on getting in the way of me blogging on schedule - now we are building a deck behind the house. I know I will spend many hours enjoying it, but at this moment it is just another construction project that is taking time away from my business and other things. On a better note I have managed to preserve several jars of rasberry, cherry, and strawberry jam. Found a receipe for Strawberry Margarita jam - all the good stuff in it. Life will taste really sweet this year with all of the local good foods stored in our pantry. Also had a bit of time to whip up a couple of new pillow tops and love the idea of cutting things up and putting them back to together in a new way. Add a few beads to the butterfly and flower and it is a whole new thing.

This summer has not been as hot as some in the past, at least not yet. For this I am grateful as the older I get the less I can enjoy the heat. Strange for a girl brought up in the Mojave, but there you have it. Anyone else out there from some place in the Mojave?

Good life to all of you
Caroline

Hump day

I have finally finished putting all that I have completed on Etsy. I also finished with what I could find for DC Photo Art on Etsy. Need to look in the matted work hidden in the garage to find stuff to photogragh for the photo art business. Dave needs to finish with the remodel of the house so he can get back into the darkroom and get busy, busy with new photos. He is a great talent. In the meantime I have included a couple of the bags I uploaded to Etsy today.

Best to you in life,
Caroline

work, work, work

After recovery from chair fall and getting Mr. Benina back I am ready to continue on. Today will be taking pics of the rest of my completed bags and pillow tops and putting up on Etsy. Will include a couple of pics in my next blog. I have also been working at getting DC Photo Art up on Etsy. This is a little more difficult as photography has more than one size of the same print. Work, work, work but it is better than working for the man or the woman as was my case. Moving on.

Best to you in life,
Caroline

Moving forward

I have recovered mostly from chair accident - but now my Bernina needs a Dr. to look it over. Making a clunking sound - but only since I cleaned it. Maybe the stuff in it was muffeling the sound before. Will take it in Monday - so next week will be project week around the house. Plants to plant, Received my tomato plants from Burpee today. Floors and windows to clean, painting to be done - name it, is it here waiting on me to do it. I also will work on DC Photo Art for my spouse. Lot of work getting it on Etsy also. Best of life to you, Caroline

Between Concrete and Dirt - I Will Take Dirt

Working hard on a Tuesday. Added more and more bags to Etsy store. Yesterday my work chair in studio fell over with me in it. It is a tall drafting chair so I landed hard on upper thigh. Wish I could say I jumped up and said 'Ta Da', or at least bounced with style. But, alas, neither of those things happened. I just lay there and thought about how fast one can hit the ground when not expecting it. Use to dirt ride motorcylces in my younger day and hit the ground a lot - but somehow it seemed softer than the carpet in my house. Maybe has something to do with the concrete under the carpet? Anyway, I am a bit sore, but all is well. I was not a blaze of light before the accident, so the extra slowness is not real noticable and sewing does not require a lot from the upper thigh. Three of the new bags shown below.

Best of life to you, Caroline

Red Quilted Bag

Black and White Quilted Bag

Hawaiian Song

Added another tote bag to my store on Etsy this morning. Also finished a prototype of pillow coverings that I am going to add to store. Will set up a home fashion section. Any and all things to do with working with fabric - my passion.

Small Elephant Tote

New Home Fashion Pillow

DR Day - oh Joy!! But the rest of the day is mine. Have some new stuff to put up on Etsy - still looking for first sale - I know it is out there somewhere. I really love the two bags below. If you are reading this blog please check out my Etsy shop http:\\dcfabricart.etsy.com. Thanks and have a great day.

Lazy Monday Afternoon

This day was used in yard work - not yet warm enough to plant seedlings but warm enough to sit in sun. Have requested others join me in a book club here in the commons. Only two have responded so far - but am really hoping others will. I love TV and movies but enjoy reading much more. In the first chapters of Shelby Foote's Civil War triology and find his work to be stunning. I can string words together for a computer software manual but descriptive words of how humans functioned, under such dire circumstances, escape me. Tomorrow, Tuesday the 3rd back to working on setting up my studio. Will post a pic on here and on my other blog site on Wordpress. Best, C

From there to here

How did it get to be Thursday already. Caught up in house stuff again so slowed down on DC Fabric Art. Today going to have a sketch of some birds enlarged 400%. Will transfer it to stencil plastic, cut it and stencil it to new bathroom wall. Beach theme in this room. Will be in tones of blues, greys and of course some white. Keep eye out for pic as soon as it is done. C

Making Progress

Had an interesting day on Friday. Went to the city dump with a neighbor to unload a bunch of tile and sheet rock we have accumulated during our remolding of our home. Was it inspirational? No, and it cost me 48 bucks to leave them the 1,200 pounds of stuff. Maybe we should find a way to re-use old sheet rock and old tile - but that would be for someone else to do - not me. Finished another small bag and need to photograph it for my Etsy store - which by the way has not been visited except for family and friends. Have to find a way to get it out there as there is a great deal of competition. In the meantime I will insert an image of a  bag here just for the experience of doing so. Who knows - maybe someone will actually see it - please let me know if you do. Thanks, C

Hooray! Hooray! Finally have made it

Opened my Etsy store.
Find my work at http:\\dcfabricart.etsy.com. The hardest part of all of this is the social networking piece. This is really new to me but I am excited about it. To be honest at first I just thought it was the world making a lot of noise - but it is way more than that. It is fun. It is a challenge but so is just getting up in the morning most days. I hope to be able to connect to others through this social media. After being a computer programmer for over 50 years I find that I was not really aware of what was going on. But you know what they say, better late than never.

Moving from upstairs to downstairs

I took advantage of all of the work being done in our home to move my studio from an upstairs bedroom to take over half of the basement. Large area, large ideas, now a place to translate them from the mind's eye to the actual thing. This is Sun and starting Wed I will be loading what I have ready to my Etsy shop. Also going to play around with designing my own fabrics and having Spoonflower print them. What a great time to be alive.

Today is Thursday

Wednesday was a loss - every muscle in body ached. But this morning, I did not exactly feel 20 again, but when one comes off of the cold to end all colds and aching muscles, feeling like 60 again is not bad. Will finish master bath paint job today, go to Green Castle and get coffee, couple of other small chores, and work on the DC Fabric business. Thank you Yes Dear for finishing the unfinished part of the basement - now next week on to painting it. And, Spring is just around the corner. Waiting to see first Robin - they are always the best sign - even if we will do battle over who owns our trees on the front poarch. They want to build nests in them and then give us harsh words when we want to use our poarch. No eggs in poarch trees this year little Robins.

Moving ever so slowly forward

In between working on the remolding of the house, cleaning the house, cooking, etc.. etc.. I get some sewing done. Have to setup a Pay Pal account and at least get a couple of items up on Etsy by Friday. This is, at times, a painful process. Does not help I lost a week to a very, very bad cold. Oh well, the fact that hubby leaves for work at 4:20 in the morning and does not return until 6:30 in the evening gives me a nice long day to get a lot done.