Joyce Makes Art

Finishing What I started

Today is the last scheduled day for my yarn listings (click HERE to see them) to raise funds for a donation to Heifer.Org.  For those of you seeing this for the first time, Heifer is a charitable organization that helps hungry people by providing them with the tools necessary to become self-sufficient.  Heifer lets donors pick an animal to donate and the obvious choice for a knitter seemed to be trying to donate a sheep.

The results from the first two weeks of "Give Back" listings have been so encouraging that I've set my sights a bit higher, and my goal is to donate Heifer's Knitter's Basket item -- two sheep and two alapca.  The idea of people raising their own wool for goods to sell so they can take care of themselves, while raising generations of animals to help other become self-sufficient too is very appealing to me.  And that goal is reachable.  Please come and take a look at the last Give Back yarn listings and help me reach my goal!  Here are some of the items that are available.

And, even a little bit of roving for spinners and felter.

Please come by and bid generously for this wonderful cause!  I'm looking forward to reporting back next week with the total amount we raise and the donation we're able to make.  I'll also have one last auction due to the kindness of Katie, who won one of the earlier lotteries and decided to make a donation of her own.  Katie has sent some wool care products and I'll be putting together some yarn, stitch markers, and Katies's items together for one last Give Back item.  Make sure you check back in this weekend, for this one last, wonderful item.  I really thank all of you for helping me give back -- something that we can all do to help make other people's lives better.

Dear Family:

Dear Family:

Every year at this time, you send me requests for information about what the kids want for the holidays.  Usually I send you a rather pedestrian list of books and video games.  The truth is, our children are a sort of predictable bunch in this regard.

But Ollie is, well, different.  He has a special request this year.  Perhaps it is a side effect of having a mom who is constantly packing things up in boxes and shipping them off to exciting places.  What Ollie really wants is a nice box, big enough for him to comfortably fit inside of and play.  Until then, he is trying to make do.

Love,

Joyce

Art Catch-Up

I'm still behind the eight ball, technology-wise, with a scanner hooked up to a computer that won't talk to the internet.  So, I'm playing catch-up tonight, showing you all my art from the week, after burning the scans to a disc and bringing them to my laptop.  (I think I need a knight in shining armor to come fix the computer).

First off, I had Susie LaFond's beautiful house shaped pocketful round robin book to work in this week.  Just deciding which page to work on was a challenge, because Susie did a crackle finish on her house-shaped pages, and they were very intriguing.

I finally did this for the front of my page.

I incorporated my favorite diamond shaped stamp in this piece, making it my piece for this week's Wednesday Stamper challenge, as well.  The collage of the girl sits inside the pocket.  Here is the entire collage.

While I was working on this collage I heard that they had finally found the bodies of the Russian Tsarovich and one of his sisters, perhaps Anastasia, and the words popped into my head, forcing me to rumage through my current cut up book (one that had its binding chewed beyond recognition by bad-doggie) until I found them.

With the collage out, the pocket looks like this.

And here is the back of the page.  Susie's crackle finish was absolutely wonderful to work on top of!

I also worked on the envelope rr's this week, both the regular one and the valentines one.  A certain artist who will remain unnamed but who knows who she is, is incredibly prolific and it is not uncommon for three envelopes to show up in one day.  I absolutely love the freedom of working on this format in an unaffected, spontaneous fashion.  I'm really a background person -- I like to work my backgrounds to death, so it's a challenge for me to look at this as an exercise in composition without thinking about things like the overall background development.

Here are some of my favorites from this week.

This is Vicki's envelope.  It arrived with the man, who I viewed as some sort of renaissance cleric or government official looking pointedly away from the woman in her crown.  The beautiful briar rose, which seemed to carry out the theme from that period was there as well, along with an all over background patterning in white with some red stamps of row houses.

I really wanted to create a connection between the two people on the envelope.  After trying out lots of different possibilities, I settled on the three eggs and the butterfly.  I'll leave it to you to decide what it conveys and what the relationship between them is, but I was really happy with the outcome.

Vicki's valentines envelope, on the other hand, was an exercise in frivolity.  I loved it and my addition is the five pink circles, made from micro-beads, which I hope will hold up on the envelope's travels.

The last picture I have for you is Jood's very whimsical envelope.  I have a hard time breaking away from my vintage ways, and didn't go very far afield here, but I like how my little Paper Whimsy image works and how the stripes I made from cut up text play against the diamonds on the right hand side of the envelope.

That's all of my art for this week.  I hope you enjoyed it.  My studio is an absolute disaster and I'm going to have to start contemplating a clean up as soon as Ellie's Nutcracker performances are over.  It's so bad I think I would almost do better to bulldoze it and start over!

Harry eats yarn, we raise some money for charity, and all is good in our world

That very hairy leg you see belongs to my 17 year old, who has been helping to skein yarn for our effort to raise money for Heifer.  While daydreaming about what ever it is that 17 year olds daydream about, he was attacked by Harry, the Maine Coon cat, who really loves the entire yarn dyeing process.

If you haven't seen it yet, please take a minute to visit our fundraising effort.  I'm hoping to raise $500 and donate a "Knitter's Basket" -- two sheep and an alpaca that can ultimately help an entire village become self-sufficient through breeding and raising wool and making products for sale.  Pretty cool idea for knitters, no?  If you want to participate but can't afford a lot, consider buying a raffle ticket or two ($2) and getting a chance to win some great yarn, including silk/cashmere, while helping others.  There will be more yarn starting on Thursday, as well.

Meanwhile, here are more photos of Harry messing with the yarn (click to enlarge).

       

I got a wonderful note in the mail from my friend Judy about the fundraiser.  She wrote that  one year, her daughter decided to host a big extended family Thanksgiving and do all the cooking.  She told her mom that when people asked what they could bring, she was to suggest they make a contribution to Heifer, instead.  Judy said the idea was a huge hit, they raised enough money to purchase several animals, and several of the family members still contribute to Heifer, as does my family, at the holidays.  Judy also enclosed a very generous check for me to put towards our donation.  I feel incredibly fortunate to have a friend like Judy, invariably a big supporter in all things I do, and I love her dearly.

Also in the mail, I got a cool bag from Crankypants that I ordered for a friend.  Really, I wanted it for me, but it is going to a friend.  Amy knew that, and she tucked in a smaller bag for me to keep for myself.  How cool is that?  Perfect for carrying around the tea cozies I'm knitting for a few friends for Christmas.

Thank you Amy!

The bag, however, forced me to raise a troubling subject.  I have so much holiday knitting to do that I've been afraid to even make a list.  There is no way I can do it all.  Really.  I'm totally screwed.  Next year, I'm starting in January.  But for now, I'm going to try and pare down to just a few things and hope that the combination of a little business travel and ballet rehearsals will give me lots of time.  I have this.

• The Be Sweet yarn is all going for tea cozies for friends
• The white is some incredibly soft Blue Sky organic cotton, destined to be a baby bolero
• The pretty multicolored skein on the far right has a mate in back and is going to be felted bowls
• The darker multicolor in the back is some of my own yarn, destined to be hats (I have two more balls of it)
• The two small balls are for Blythe, Ellie's new doll obsession
• The pale pink is some beaded Tillie Thomas yarn I got on sale along with her baby hat pattern

I'm also knitting a vest for Ollie -- he's been begging for one out of the same yarn I used for my Clapotis.  It's a very soft Debbie Bliss aran silk/alpaca blend, and I'm terrified I'm going to run out.

The color is the color of his eyes and he is going to look incredibly handsome in it...if I can find more yarn.  What was I thinking?  I've emailed the store it came from and may have to go stalk people with it on Ravelry.

I'm also dyeing some yarn.  First up, some silk/merino yarn for a Clapotis.

This is for one of my customers on approval.  I don't really like doing custom dyeing, because I don't want anyone to ever end up with yarn they don't LOVE.  But, I get so many requests for Clapotis yarn (I dye mine on the same core yarn used for the Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb yarn that the pattern is written for) that I've developed a list for interested people.  They get to tell me the colors they want, I dye a yarn in my interpretation of the colorway and they get to choose whether they want it, or not.  The idea is that if they don't want it, it goes into the store.  However I've never had any luck getting it into the store, so I've started dyeing it in batches big enough for two Clapotis, in hopes there will actually be some in stock that y'all can buy. (If you're interested in getting on the list, drop me an email.)  I've also been dyeing lots of roving this weekend.  Here's the first bit, some Blue Faced Leicester.

I'm off for the rest of the day.  We have leaves to rake, a movie to see (should it be Enchanted or Beowulf?), and a pie to bake.  All year long, through the extreme drought down here, we nursed along our seven year old Meyer Lemon tree.  It has only had fruit the last two years and we were determined.  Last night, with help from Harry, we had the most wonderful lemon meringue pie.

But it disappeared in no time and I'm longing for another slice.  Fortunately, I have just enough lemons on the tree for a second pie.  I love it when a plan comes together!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who are in the United States!  In my family, it's a wonderful day of incredible food and family being together.  I feel fortunate to have married into a family that also values gathering together, since I live all the way across the country from my own family.  We're all looking forward to turkey and fun later in the day.  I hope everyone else has a wonderful Thanksgiving too!

                                                

Thursday is my usual stocking day at Elliebelly, and I decided to let the yarn for the second week of my  fundraiser for heifer.org go live today, despite the holiday.  I hope everyone will eat turkey and enjoy their family today and take a look at lots of handpainted yarn tomorrow.  There are lotteries and auctions listed as "Give Back" items, with the proceeds being donated to heifer to help hungry people become self-sufficient.  So far, you all have helped me raise $234.00!  I hope everyone will like this week's items too.  My goal is to raise enough money to donate the knitters basket (more on that below).

Here is  a sneak peek at some more of the yarn you will find this week.

Although my original goal was to raise enough to donate one sheep, everyone's generosity last week made a larger goal like the knitter's basket possible, which seems so very appropriate in a season of thankfulness for what we have and love and charity towards others.  The description of the basket on the heifer site reinforces for me how important it is too put together small amounts to help make a real difference in the lives of others:

This year, instead of another sweater that will end up in the closet unworn, why not honor Dad with a Knitting Basket -four wool-producing animals that will give new hope to families in need? Your gift will warm his heart and yield bundles of wool for clothes, blankets, ponchos and more … handcrafted pieces to earn precious income for food and basic necessities. Dad will love it!            

Your gift of a Knitting Basket represents two llamas and two sheep —  four animals famous for their warm, income-producing wool. From shearing to spinning, weaving and finally to selling woolen goods at market, the gift of a Knitting Basket will help struggling families earn extra income to break free from the grip of poverty and hopelessness. Over time, as that gift multiplies and more animals are passed on to help others in need, entire communities will be warmed by the precious wool of a knitter's basket

                                                               **************

Enjoy your holiday today and join me tomorrow (or today if you're doing a little post-turkey surfing) and help me Give Back.

Inspiration

This weekend has been totally given up to family and fun.  Our #2 child is home from school, junk food is in evidence, and we have accomplished little of any worth.  We mostly try to sit around and stare at him when he will allow it.

Other than child-watching, I've been making some art and dyeing some yarn.

Vicki's Pocketful Round Robin Book has been out on my table for the last two weeks, and I've been working on it here and there.  I knew what I wanted to do the second I saw it -- her book is titled "Habit" on the front cover and in my mind that immediately translated to "Habitat" and the idea of where I live -- my comfort zone.

I have a beautiful rubber stamp of Catherine Moore's that I love -- an old garden chair that reminds me of my cottage garden, or at least of my pre-drought cottage garden, so I immediately envisioned using that stamp, making it multi-colored to represent all the colors in the garden and the pleasure I take in sitting quietly and enjoying it.  So, I did this.

And strangely enough, chair was the theme at Wednesday Stamper this week, so this is my chair piece of stamp art, as well.

The other side of the pocket is done almost in a glue book fashion, using some of my own photos from the farmers market this summer.

I made a little babble to go inside the pocket -- it's an altered plastic tag that I've used images off of an old bird-watching book and an optometrist's lens on, and tucked it inside the pocket.

Vicki's book is beautiful -- full of watercolor pocket pages and happy, pretty art.  She's going to be so happy when it comes back home to her!

After making art I did some dyeing.  I'm working on presents for friends and family, several wholesale orders, and some yarn for the stocking at Elliebelly to benefit Heifer dot org.  If you missed out last week, please drop by on Thursday when new yarn will stock and you can bid or buy raffle tickets, with the proceeds going to support a great charity that helps hungry people become self-sufficient.

Because of all the requests, I've done some Paintbrush yarns in "boyish" colorways.

and a silk/cashmere blend in the "Wanton" colorway.

There will not, however, be any organic merino this week, as a certain someone decided to claim the yarn I had measured out for her own.

The Power of Yarn

This is the power of knitters -- when faced with a need and a charity suited to meet it, they will rise to the occasion, swiftly donating money in the hopes of winning yarn, but really in the certainty that they can make a difference.  That was what happened when I offered up my first few skeins of yarn today in an effort to raise money for heifer.org, a group that fights hunger.

My plan is to offer several skeins every week between now and the holidays as "Give Back" listings.  Since Heifer lets you donate an animal, my hope was to donate a sheep, at a cost of $120.  I listed my skeins of yarn today in the hopes that I could get part way towards that goal, raffling the yarn for $2 a chance and offering one skein of sock yarn as an auction.  I was really astonished when I saw that the listings -- what I thought was a really large number of tickets that might take a week to sell out -- sold out in hours.  Winners are drawn, yarn is in the mail, and we raised $200.  The auction is not yet closed, but it is already at $25 with three days left to go.  My original plan was to donate all the money raised, minus paypal fees and shipping costs, but I'm so touched by the speed with which these tickets sold out, that I've decided I want to cover those fees myself to maximize the amount of the donation.  We are well past that first sheep, and I'm now dreaming of being able to donate a small flock.

Mark your calendar for next Thursday at noon.  We'll do it again with new yarns, fun yarns, yarns that will help hungry children eat.  The Judge can make his petty little jokes about "when knitters rule the world"  -- I think even he has a sense of what a better place it would be if we did.

Cabinet Cards

***Before I start in with cabinet cards, I want to remind y'all that I am auctioning and doing raffles with yarn to raise money for heifer.org.  The listings start today, Thursday, and will continue for the next several weeks, so please check back.  It's for a good cause!  To be part of it, click here and look for the "Give Back" listings.

On to cabinet cards.  I haven't been able to share art for what seems like forever, due to issues created by the men in my house totally racking a brand new computer.  I've rigged it so I can scan to the computer that has major issues, transfer to my laptop using a primitive USB picture card (they've messed with the computer so much it won't even recognize my external hard drive) and give you a little peek.  Like this.

                                                       

This is Petunia, and she was my little warm up piece for Susie LaFond's cabinet card book project.  Susie's idea was that we would each alter a cabinet card, front and back, and then make enough (embellished) copies for each participating artist.  In addition, we were each to make two more original cabinet cards, which would be used as the front and back covers for one of the books.  Susie always comes up with the best ideas, and I love playing in her swaps.

I finally ended up with this card as the one I decided to copy.

                           

I rarely draw or paint because, well, I can't.  But this card cried out to become a nesting baby in a tree, so I did enough painting with acrylics to get a tree that my little nest could perch in.  I dislike working on original cabinet cards, because of the sense that they are someone's family, so I chose cards that were damaged beyond repair for this project -- the acrylic paint is covering up lots of nasty spots and splotches and I think this sweet little baby is probably happy to be having an altered life.  I didn't scan after embellishing because, well, a girl has to have a few surprises up her sleeve.

This is one of the cards I did for covers.

                              

This is the first time I played with my glass glitter (flower centers) and it is some seriously cool stuff.  I must have been a crow in a former life because I love shiney things.  It's going to be a temptation to use this glitter everywhere.

And this is my favorite of all the backs.  I think I'll print out the scan and use it as the basis for some more art this week.

                                       

This was a fun idea and lots of good motivation to reach out and try new things.  I'm not quite done with altering cabinet cards -- I have some more ideas I want to play with, but it's time to move on to my round robin book for this month and a few other things, so they will have to wait.

Taking a class with Nora Bellows from Noni Designs

Today was the day I got to take a class with Nora Bellows, the wonderful woman behind all of the cool, unique Noni handbags.  Since finishing and sewing are not among my strengths, I was really excited about this class.

When we walked in, we got to see lots of Nora's sample bags.

They were even prettier in person and a little bit intimidating.  I felt pretty sure I couldn't make my freshly felted bag like as good as the samples.

Nora wrote down what everyone was looking forward to learning down on the blackboard at the beginning of the class.

Most of the other women wanted to learn how to make a bag the looked like it was professionally made.  Nora characterized the goal as "handmade not homemade." 

Jaime, one of the staff members at In the Making, the store that hosted the class, brought a cool bag.  Like always, she had modified the pattern some herself, using the body from one bag and the flap from another.

Elizabeth made good use of the lecture time in class, picking up some of Nora's ideas about how to firm up the sides of the bag and line it, while knitting another, really pretty, striped bag.

The first part of the class was devoted to stiffening the sides of the bag.  It's worth taking one of Nora's classes sheerly to get the benefit of her advice on how to template the inside of a bag so you can interface and line it.  Here, Frances is working on sewing together a needlepoint canvas framework that will serve as the support for her bag.

My bag, the Noni Adventure bag, is meant to be loose and flopy and doesn't require any stiffening.  So the first thing I did, gasp, was put in a zipper ... with lots of help and gudiance from Nora.

Remember my bag from yesterday?  That huge buttery piece of saffron colored knitting?  I felted it early this morning and after Nora got her hands on it to help me get the zipper in, it looked like this.

I'm pretty proud of that zipper, although it wasn't much more difficult than putting a zipper into a jacket.

After learning a lot of tips and ideas, along with watching hands on demonstrations, I really did feel ready to conquer the world of embellished bags.  I picked up yarn for a couple more and went on to ballet where I sewed on the hardware and strap and then on home, where I pinned in the lining, although it isn't sewn in yet.

Isn't that amazing?  It looks better than I anticipated and I feel like I learned so much, although I'm having a hard time keeping my eyes open as I type.  If you ever have a chance to take a class with Nora, do!

It was mostly meant to be a day doing things like this in my house, a lovely, sleepy, federal holiday of a Monday:

Some people, perhaps inspired by catnip treats, had different ideas however (please note that the male is sleeping while his sister takes care of business):

Since my dreams of a lazy day evaporated, I spent a lazy afternoon dyeing and painting yarn.

This is some of the yarn for the Heifer Fundraiser (it starts this Thursday -- please drop by to read about it or scroll down to the next entry for info).

That's cheating a bit, isn't it?  But I think you will love it.  So far, I have two items up, sock yarn and organic merino and I'm doing a mixture of raffles and auctions.  Lots more pretties coming, including this yarn, which is going to be done up in skeins for hat knitting.

And then there was this, painting some yarn.  This is the last colorway for a wholesale order I have enjoyed immensely both because it is for an eco-friendly store and because the owner has a devastatingly good sense of color.

Don't be deceived by the neat and orderly appearance.  Although this was actually how the table looked when I was done with this particular colorway, generally, there are little pots of dye and brushes everywhere, and often a cat (or two) with a brightly colored tail.

Having survived the holiday, I am really looking forward to tomorrow!  I'm taking a class at my Local Yarn Shop with Nora of Noni Bags -- she is teaching a class in finishing.  I have knit this:

I'm going to pop it in the washer at the crack of dawn tomorrow, before my 7:00 a.m. meeting, and then dash off to the class at 10:30.  I am hoping I won't be too much of a challenge for her teaching skills  -- I've got the two ended zipper and a couple of different potential fabric choices for lining,  but the most I ever seem to manage are a couple of magnetic snaps, so this should be interesting!