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Queen Anne's Lace No. 8 in Progress


John helped me remove the clock face, thought I was going to have to cut the silly thing out but he was finally able to loosen a nut that was holding the arms in place.


The back, which I removed as it wasn't possible to remove the face of the clock body without it falling completely apart.


The clocks innards now live in my mixed media junk box.


First base coat of paint.


Now to take some measurements and stitch up a panel for the interior.

Third Quarter Woes

It' never ceases to amaze me when God gives me what I need before I actually need something. Friday I sold three pieces of art to a new collector!  That is certainly a Praise!  Nothing is more validating to a visual artist than to be able to sell their artwork and at full market value.  Usually when I have a sale I put a little aside for savings, my 10% for tithe, and typically replace materials used and any equipment needed in the studio with the remainder.

As of yesterday the guessing game was new tires for John's truck or taking my truck and having it fixed OR buying a new house fan.  As of today that question has been anwsered and we will now be having the central air repaired/replaced and the furnace serviced. 

When I got back from shopping with my BF Brenda, this afternoon, I noticed the house was exceptionally warm.  Looked at the thermostat and sure enough it was set to 73F but it was 78F in here.  Went down to the breaker box and it had been tripped.  Me being the chicken little that I am refused to touch the breaker and had John flip it back on and I'm glad I did.  Pop, crack, and flames shooting out of the breaker box.  We'd been having electrical problems all weekend John has been blowing circuits in the garage, etc, which has been happening since the city replaced our old meter with a new digital smart meter but now things are getting way worse and I'm looking the large appliances.

I'm not happy, but I am grateful that the Lord covered this one in advance! Here's to hoping and praying the CA can be repaired and not need to be replaced, this year.

Olof - WIP


John has been helping me with the construction of my latest pieces, running the saws and drills for cut outs etc., he cracked a huge grin when he put Olof's eyes in place which he picked, I was going to use gauages for the eyes, but John decided that Olof needed gears for eyes instead.  The gears definately changed the mood from dark to spry, Olof has a joker side, he loves playing practical jokes on people and may even revel in scaring them a wee bit.  I'm currently auditioning mouth pieces and body colors.

To Frame or not to Frame

I’ve noticed a rush to stretch quilts around stretcher bars/frames of late and am seeing a good many of these go up for sale on etsy.com. Not all pieces are meant to be stretched, maybe it needs to be matted and framed, maybe the piece needs a shadow box, or MAYBE it actually needs a sleeve sewn to the back and hung on the wall like a traditional wall quilt.

What I am noticing is a bunch of quilts that have been stretched and it does more to detract from the piece than it does to help it. I remember my screenprinting professor, Tim McIllrath, coming unhinged at one student who stretched what “was” a lovely hand stitched screen printed piece, unfortunately it distorted the stitching – which is something I’m seeing in a lot of pieces, and when the student removed it from the frame the damage had been done and was fairly permanent.

When deciding how to finish a piece one must really step back from their baby and ask themselves does this piece stand on it’s own merits with or without a border/matt? How will stretching this piece affect/effect the stitching, pattern, piecing, embellishments, etc?

There is no easy answer to this dilemma expect to experiment with scraps, stitching techniques etc. this will give you your answer. It is, however, very disconcerting to see what would otherwise be a gorgeous piece stretched around stretcher bars and I suspect the artist doing so believes that the pieces will sell better in doing so – and this couldn’t be further from the truth especially if you are looking for collectors for your works.

Also sometimes a piece simply needs a large plexi frame, this would include the sides, expensive yes but your beloved creation may find a home much sooner in doing so.