Gypsyheart Art

Upscale Crafty Apron

2011-07-10T12:22:00.000-07:00

Want to make something awesome for your crafty friend, super mommy, or best chef? This handy multi pocket apron is super stylish, slightly upscale and just as useful as your usual kind of apron.

I sew, but I don't use patterns and my seams aren't always perfect....but with this crafty apron that's not a problem, because we want our finished product to be embellished, patchworked and slightly tattered. Best of all this is all made out of scrap fabric and leftover trim!

Materials include various small squares and rectangles of fabric, cotton, rayon, light canvas etc. Ribbon, lace, tassles, rick rack, seam binding will be used to trim the apron. Don't have any? Fabric stores sometimes have really inexpensive "grab bags".

The main body of the apron should be 25-27"long and 12-14" wide.

Strap & top binding approx 3" wide piece 72" long

Not a hard and fast rule, that's just the approx measures of the old regular apron I used for a template. I like this size, it hits me at mid thigh, and the pockets aren't too low.

I happen to have a bunch of light upholstery/canvas fabrics that I got at a fabric barn clearance sale of their 18" sample squares. So to make up the body of the apron I used two pieces. An 8" piece and 18" piece. Sew these together first I off set the contrasting piece for interest. You could also just the whole main body out of one piece as well.

The pockets can be various sizes. The apron I made for my friend had two big pockets, a little 6" x 4" in one corner and a tall pocket (spoon/scissors) on one side... The one I made myself 5 pockets! I imagine this coming in very handy at shows so I made a tall pocket, a large pocket, two phone/gadget pockets and little coin pocket (3" 1/2 x 3" 1/2). I just start cutting varies size rectangles and start placing them on my main body. I was lucky in that many of my fabrics had selvage edges, I just zigzag stitched right over them. You could fold and iron them under.. I'm not that patient! I like to keep ironing at a minimum.

Design the apron. Lay everything out first and pin together pieces that need to be sewn first. If you want to you should turn your mainbody edges under and sew them down (unless like me you plan to cover them with trim) You can iron and sewed the strap onto main body first or last its your call. The strap piece will also cover the edges of the top of the apron and become the apron ties. I did iron this piece, turning the edges down 1/4" and ironing and then folding in half and ironing again. Find the middles of the main body and the strap and line up and pin together. The raw edge of the apron is sandwiched between the strap becomes a nice binding for the top.

Most important is to sew the little pockets on top of the big pockets,before sewing to the background. You can also take a larger piece and sew dividers into it and create smaller narrower pocket. I sewed a small inch of fabric (kind of a gusset) on the edges of large pocket and then tucked the bottom together to make the pocket stick out. Some embellishments need to be sewn on first, if they are on the top of the pocket. If its just trimming around the edges than that can be done after its sewn on. I actually sewed the pocket down...make sure not to sewn it shut! And sewing the trim on reinforces the pocket and beatifies at the same time.

I have a lot of frayed silk ribbons so I went to town sewing these around the edges in an effort to hide some of those ugly edges. I made couple of little appliques that I thought added to the whole piece. One of the aprons has a puffy heart in the corner, I cut the shape sewed it on the background, leaving a space for stuffing bit of polyfil and sewed it shut. I later ribboned around it. the zigzag and satin stitch is your friend. Experiment with textures and patterns, there's no wrong answer, some things I didn't think would work actually came out great.

These aprons can be sleek and modern, or patchwork and eclectic. Whoever gets them will love them!

Cut the pieces.

Pick your trim and pocket patches.

Design the layout. If two pieces, sew the main body together.

Iron the strap and sew to main body

Pin the pieces. Sew little pockets to larger pieces.

Embellish to your heart's content.

Summertime Sum-sum-sum timmeee!

2011-07-07T04:10:00.000-07:00

Summer is my creative time. I can't do a lot of shows in the three digit Texas heat, last summer I felt so in my groove. I entered two contests...(I won one and got 4th in the other) I participated in the Peace Felt project. I taught myself new felting techniques and I taught myself how to dye... This summer I just feel like I might die... I've been suffering with a pinched nerve in my back since the middle of May. I'm slowly recovering. I've had to awake up and make some changes in my diet and habits. My husband has been with me every step of the way. We got a new memory foam mattress to help my spine. Sadly though, I'm not up for the serious Nuno felting tasks I did last summer. I'd get up at 6am set up my table on my porch gather my materials and get to felting.

I am still being creative, I just have pain as a constant companion so I have to stop and start. I can't needle felt for too long because I just can't sit. Maybe I should make some Nuno felt at least I'm on my feet for that and moving around seems to be better for my spine.

Anyhow... I loved my Spring shows I did.. I'm also becoming quite adept at small wet felting projects. I had a very successful Renaissance Faire show in May. One memorable occasion was at my friend Amie's tiny hair salon one, stormy Friday, that turned into an impromptu jam session. I'm not a musician, but I'm never bored... I had a travel sized bag of equipment with wools and bubble wrap. Asked by my young friend Michael I let him design some felted medicine bags which I felted and sewed later for him. It was a blast.. I have realized that I really like teaching people felting... it the thought of an actual class terrifies me however.. Its just a lot of responsibility.

I'm going to get my mojo back into full swing..its not lost. I'm going to restart my blog and publish more things. If only for myself so I can remember how I did some stuff. I have a new camera and I can't wait to take some pictures! Its got auto stabilizer for my shaky hands... I'm posting new stuff all the time on Etsy!

Cheshire Cat

2010-09-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

My Super

Psychedelic Cheshire Cat Won First Place in the Living Felt Art Doll contest!

At the end of August I entered a contest sponsored by Living Felt; a Alice in Wonderland themed contest. I was so excited because I wanted to create really ambitious piece for it. Earlier this year I found the wonderful products at Living Felt and I loved how fast their Merino Cross batts felt up. Thats when was doing the Troll Heads in February.. Then I had also found this really awesome neon wool that glowed under blacklight dyed by a seller on Etsy (Zauberzeug) I've made some small little psychedelic critters . At first I just thought I'd do a disembodied Cheshire Cat's Head! Like a Troll Head..only a Cat. I was highly influenced by those comericals of the 3D movie where the Cheshire Cat is totally coming at you with glowing eyes! Silly me I had just imagined using that neon wool in the eyes. I actually made the head first, totally complete in itself. The head is felted on top of a soft foam ball. Then my brain was like no.. you should do a whole cat! So I had these huge football wet felted shaped globey things and at some point I wired the tail and covered it with purple felt. Its a this point I realized I'd mixed up the deadlines for some other things and had to go work on that stuff for a bit. My grinning Cat Face ball hung out with me for a while before I started working on it again. Unfortunately, sometimes when I'm really excited about a project I forget to stop and take work in progress pics. I made a lot of progress at this little Con that my friend Shawnna was at. I was just keeping her company and needle felting away on what looked like a white football with purple tail. I attached the head and the body and covered the whole thing during those exciting hours! At one point some dudes come up and tell me "Man, that thing is sick" in an admiring tone.. I replied and its not even finished yet, wait till I do the stripes! I used foam in the paws covered with core wool, then purple, then felted the neon on and the details of the paw pads. I made my husband hold my Chaucer Cat (my real Cheshire cat) upside down so I see his paw pads. The striping was the hardest part really, it was very tedious. But it was the most fun too. I'd like to say I made a plan and drew it all out before, but I didn't. I just let it flow... the stripes evolved in the best possible way. The tail was crazy because I had to follow the colorway and I almost ran out of green. :( I had so much fun creating such a large piece. I hoped, but really didn't plan on winning! Crazy!

Finished Peace Felt

2010-09-26T20:15:00.000-07:00

So I finished felting the Felt Peace "Bound By Angels" wall hanging. I'm very happy with how it turned out! After rolling and fulling I let it dry and then decided to embellish a bit with some beads and ribbon. I had this wonderful strand of Mother of Pearl shell shards that reminded me of the luster of the mohair. Shells invoke the ocean

energy and love and that's Peace too! I made and se

wed by hand the channel for the dowel rod and then did this free-form bunching and gathering decorative ribbon along the top of the wall hanging, really just because I liked it. I plan to mail this off tomorrow to Canada and to my Peace Partner.

Peace Felt

2010-09-21T06:25:00.000-07:00

I'm involved in a project that is exchanging felted pieces with other artists and hobbyists all over the world! Today is the International Day of Peace and we are supposed to create them today and then mail off our creations in the next week or so. Yesterday, I went to start my Peace Felt so that I could finish and send it off. I had so many ideas about what I could do or create that I was a little overwhelmed. I wanted to make everything and I wanted it to be perfect! I even was having my husband film a video of me creating it. But I kept getting bogged down. I had to pull off the wool over and over again. I finally got so frustrated with myself I had to have him stop filming. What was wrong? Then it hit me. I had to let go of my ego and my expectations. I thought about what is Peace and the hope of it and what can bring us all together when despite our human natures? Immediately I thought we are all bound together by angels... that we are all reaching across the void of hyperspace, across the oceans, across the continents to connect through our love of this particular art form. That spirit connects to us to each other. Then I thought about the wool itself. The animal that provides it, a sheep. The symbol of gentleness.. I think about end of war.. the lion and the lamb laying down together. Sheep allowed our ancestors to make clothes, shelter and have food. Its strength and warmth keep people going.. the fibers of it are so small yet when a little chemistry happens with some hot water and soap it turns into this enduring thing. Fragile seeming yet all touching each other and bound together by a force that seems almost magical. Peace is like that too. After that thought I just let go of what I wanted my piece to be and I let a higher power guide my creation. So my Peace Felt is called Bound by Angels. And as I finish it today I'm thinking of you Danielle.. my peace felt partner in Canada. Two souls connected by angels.

The Wondercraft

2010-09-14T08:35:00.001-07:00

Last summer four ladies banded together and started this great mobile boutique and here they are getting some local news recognition!

I have a few things on consignment there and I've volunteered a couple of times. Its just the most awesome concept ever!

(once again scroll down and pause the large green box so you can hear the Fox clip)

What is Felting

2010-08-29T06:18:00.000-07:00

So I often get asked what felting is or isn't. And I get asked how its done. Thinking on that subject I ran across a Youtube video about this wonderful felting exhibit that was in New York a year ago. I can't quite figure out where its gone too, because I'd love to see it in person.

but anyway. Here's the clip. Oh, it might help to scroll down to the bottom and pause the music selection, otherwise it'll play right over the clips. This was like an ad and then the other is from Martha Stewart's show.

Needle Felted Unicorn Creation

2010-07-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

“The Unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone…“ These are the first words of The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle and if you haven’t read it then you might not understand my fascination with unicorns in general and The Last Unicorn in particular. I can’t remember when my obsession with unicorns started. I do remember that when The Last Unicorn movie came out I didn't get to see it in the theater. I’m pretty sure that I was obsessed about unicorns before the movie, although I don’t think I’d actually read the book so maybe not. I don’t remember having that “oh they changed that or left or this” moment. I was pretty particular child when it came to mythical creatures. I don’t like mixing them up (unless they already come that way, like a chimera). No wings on my unicorns, please, and no horns on my Pegasus, thank you. I still don’t like werewolves that don’t turn all the way into a wolf. As a very bookish kid I liked mythology, I like legends of the gods, so of course I liked fantasy. I also conducted my own research into things by reading everything… I didn't care if I understood it or not, I just read it. When I finally did read the Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle I wanted to know everything about unicorns; everything, for example, early in the story the unicorn has a conversation with a butterfly. The unicorn is trying to find answers and is asking the butterfly whose answers are made up of bits of poems and songs, because that’s how butterflies communicate. I looked up all the poems…there’s Yeats, Bible verses, and snatches of songs. I think there’s a scholarly paper on the whole thing somewhere, not mine…but someone’s, I’m sure of it. At 11 or 12yrs old I had a need to know. I collected books on unicorn photography unicorn"photography" (damn you, Robert Vavra, you big faker, yet how love them), mythology, history, art, everything. I guess I’m trying to say that The Last Unicorn is complex, it’s not simply a fantasy, but it’s about immortally vs. mortally, about loneliness, fighting fears and obsessions too. It’s also about redemption and discovering your own power within you. That’s all hidden within layers of irreverent humor and fairytale satire.

I didn't have a chance to meet Peter Beagle until just a few years ago. I saw him at an author’s table at Dragon Con in Atlanta. That first time I just looked. I couldn't actually bring myself to speak with him. I didn't want to go all fan girl, although I’m not that bookish, shy, awkward, kid any more I still have my moments. So the next year I did go up to his table and get a book signed, it was towards the end the whole thing so the crowd was thinning and I got to thank him for writing a wonderful story that totally influenced my childhood and adult life. I don’t think I said exactly that. I do remember I starting weeping uncontrollably and apologizing a lot. He patted my hand and said that sometimes he gets like that too. I also met Connor, his manager who responsible for bringing Peter out into the open once more and discovering where Peter had hidden all his stories away. (Find out more about Peter's new projects here. ) Since that tearful, kind of embarrassing meeting I go where Peter’s appearing whenever I can. I got to pitch and help out at his table at Akon in Dallas a few years go when they were overwhelmed. There was another teary moment at Apollo Con in Houston, but I got to hear him sing. I've missed some things, like Peter at Scarborough Faire because I was working at the Castle in OK that month and I missed Akon this year. Last year at Dragon Con I not only saw Peter and Conner again, but to my delight the artist Rebekah Naomi Cox was there too… and I had my own teary moment with her. She is wonderfully enchanting and talented person I've ever had the chance to meet. I had that same soul touching experience I had with Peter Beagle. I also was making little felted creatures and I got to give one to her, I think it was Puss n Boots. I gave Peter a merman and Connor a centaur. All needle felted pipe cleaner people I’d started making out of boredom in the car, starting with a Ninja. (That’s another post.)

So being obsessed with anything about Peter Beagle (I mean unicorns) and wanting to support his endeavors, I had to order the comic book when it came out and I didn't read it right way. I put it away and only about month I was looking for the extra copy I’d ordered for my friend’s birthday did I look through the whole thing and see this contest.

The Last Unicorn Art contest that they hope to put into a book, compiling all the entries and there’s prizes and such. However, didn't even have time to think about this project for while. I got some dates mixed up, I thought I had another month. I've been discovering the nuances of Nuno felting and have therefore have been a bit distracted. So while I could mess with this for another month. It’s probably better that I don’t. Don’t they say an artist is never finished but also knows when to walk away? Mostly, I made this for me… something that I love, and a little tribute to my favorite author.

Okay, enough about my unicorn craziness. I still obsessed by the way, I just try to limit it and I demand that it’s mostly tasteful… Mostly.

Down to the method end of it now... sorry its taken so long. The actual needle felted unicorn is wool over wire armature, its core is felted more solid that anything I've ever felted before. It’s very firm. The body took a week, maybe weeks to create. I've been working off and on this for about month so time a bit compressed in my head. I only had these really big glass eyes and no time to order or make others. This is maybe one of the largest pieces I've made by needle felting, especially over wire. The wire underneath makes everything more difficult, because as I poke and shape the wool there’s a significant increase of needle breakage. I actually broke quite a few. I was in such a hurry to create (and out of camera batteries) that I failed to take pics of the actual work in progress. Bad Joyce, I know. In the back of my mind was also, who wants to see me stabbing a unicorn, really? Good thing I’m pretty philosophical about that sort of stuff. Many times I had to work a little on this and then stop… for fear of over working it or screwing it up. The look of the unicorn is influenced by the description on the first page of the book. “She did not look anything like a horned horse… being smaller and cloven-hoofed…Her neck was long and slender, making her head seem smaller than it was… the long horn above her eyes shone and shivered with its own seashell light…” She really came together in the last couple of days… I sculpted hooves out of polymer clay that I mixed to just the right shade of silver. They kind of came out a bit largish, I think I’m influenced more than a little by Michael Hague. I like those splayed cloven hooves. I ended up filing them down and reshaping them by hand until I got to a size I liked. Once I set her eye in they didn't look quite so large even though she’s based on the mythical description of a unicorn (at least one of them) the Last Unicorn’s “look” is also highly influenced by the animated feature. I totally avoided blue, pink or purple mane, you have to drawn the line somewhere. However, she does have somewhat of a Japanese look to her. Partially, because of those over sized orbs. I had to root the silk mane mixture a ¼” section at a time. It’s actually a blend of silk, wool, and bamboo with a tiny bit of shiny firestar fiber thrown in. It was very, very tedious. Its so soft I thought that if anything was unicorn hair this was. Softer than clouds or dreams or cobwebs.. I love her, she came out better than I could have possibly imagined. I don’t care if I win, I hope she makes it to the book. But this is more about creating a tiny piece of enchantment …unicorn out of wool, wire and silk and a couple needles. I hope you enjoyed this explanation of her creation.

Another day at the "Office"

2010-07-12T09:25:00.000-07:00

I don't have a big house, or a studio, but I do have lots of outdoor space. If you're not afraid to be super hot in summer or freezing in winter then you can utilize it to your best advantage. Its taken me a while to appreciate this, but my husband Cedric has generously cleaned up our back porch. Its shaded from the sun and had electricity and lights.. I put a few tables out there and voila instant studio! So I thought I'd include few pics of my "office". My view and how do you like my "office chair"?

Rainbows of Color

2010-07-07T19:41:00.000-07:00

After a week of rain! So here's the fruits of my labor after screwing up my courage to actually dye wool roving for the first time ever... Its just a little intimidating when you spend money on this bunch of nice wool and you're terrified that all you will have to show for it is a giant dread lock. I also kept toying with the idea that I needed to do this on my stove or I needed a special Crockpot... (actually, a big Crockpot would be nice) Focus! Focus! Okay... so I after completing my research on YouTube. Thank you, new internet connection with unlimited bandwidth usage! Oh, my favorite ones are Rexene's Get Ready to Dye and Spin2weave's Dyeing to Spin Part #3... the first one is so funny and full of practical advice. She showed me that I don't need a huge space to work in. The latter video showed me that I can just heat my wool up in the microwave without burning it. I also looked at countless other videos many of which are for kettle dyeing or yarn dyeing and not hand painting... and some folks well its kind to say they are a yawn a minute. I also figured out what I'm did wrong pretty fast. Well, wrong.. its not exactly wrong, undesirable maybe.. but this wool is mostly earmarked for my nuno felting so I then dyed it to compliment the silk I dyed earlier...

I started this whole thing Sunday and it felt like I wasn't getting a bunch done. I was also fighting the holiday languor. It's mostly waiting. Waiting for the wool to pre-soak, then waiting for the wool to cool, and then finally waiting for the wool to dry and see how it turned out. Hoping that some where that mass of soggy fiber there's artistry and beauty. There's also making the dye baths... realizing that I need way bigger squeeze bottles, improvising with solo cups... forgetting to wear my gloves and ending up with red hands...(my fingernails are still orange) oh, and the actual dyeing. Then today I hung all I've finished up next to each other and thought, thats not too bad for a start...

I like rainbows.. Promises and hope.

Adventures in Nuno Felting

2010-07-03T06:21:00.000-07:00

So, I think I'm finally getting the hang of Nuno felting. I started Nuno Felting about a month ago. I took a leap of faith and ordered some dye and 11yds of silk fabric from Dharma Trading Co. I had never dyed fabric before but the silk I'm dyeing is brilliant and wonderful. It creates the base of the wrap or scarf. Then I take tuffs of wool and lay them out in various patterns over the silk. I create layer after layer of delicate wool; sometimes incorporating curly mohair locks, or eyelash yarn or strand of unspun silk for interest. Its like trying to stretch a spiderweb. Each time I do a new wrap or scarf the more I learn about the whole process. I don't have a studio, I live in a small house. Where there's a will there's a way. I have lots of space... outside. So I'm using my covered back porch that my husband cleaned up. Its soo hot here in Texas all summer that getting really wet doesn't bother me. There is the wind, however, imagine having this beautiful delicate creation of wool and silk piled up like a fluffy layer cake and an errant gust destroys all that work! Its so frustrating, to say the least. That only happened once. ONCE!

I found that if I wet the wool down as I go then that won't happen. Then I roll up my wetted wool and silk into the bubble wrap and seagrass matt and roll it back and forth for well.. its a while. Makes me long for a nice steppe pony or camel that I ride with my roll dragging behind it.. (felting old school Mongolian style!) Not to digress, but they really do. Except its huge rugs not scarfs they are making.. Hmm, maybe I just need one of the cats....

Okay srsly, now.

I'm very pleased with the results. And I think Nuno felting in the summer heat might be the next new cardio workout program.. its intense.

Okay back to the felting. For more pictures on this process checkout my Facebook Gypsyharte Arts fan page!

Horse Riding, Reiki, and Yoga!

2010-06-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

An unlikely combination you might think, but it actually goes together quite well. I had a chance to experience this first hand this morning at the Rock C Ranch near Rosanky, Tx. Beth and Charlie Parrish manage this 51 acre property out amongst windy prairies, surround by pines and live oak. Here they teach people to relax and enjoy the incredible experiences First we got to know the horse, Bentley, a Throughbred/German Warmblood, first grooming him and feeding him some treats. Then we moved on to a little bit of yoga as taught by Ms Virginia, the ranch's Yoga Instructor. The centering and grounding exercises really let you relax and breathe and loosen all those little tensions that you didn't know you had. After stretching a bit with the yoga we went out to the round pen and thought about mounting up.

Okay this is where it got really interesting , because I hadn't been on a horse since I was 14... I had had a horse and a few lessons but my whole horse horse endly rather stressfully after a few years... so while I still love horses I had to love them from afar and just think that riding wasn't for me.

So faced with this huge animal almost 18 hands high was really quite something. Even with the mounting block I didn't think I could make it in that tall tall place. I was excited and really scared of not making it in the saddle. On the ground his back was a foot and half above my head.. and I'm not exactly the most athletic body shape ever. But Beth and Charlie are so kind and super patient. After some creative thinking and a little panic attack and break on part... I did get on eventually! I watched my husband ride and he had never been on horse at all! And Charlie did some reiki on me to help me release the stuff I'd built up in my first attempt. Then I tried again and was able to make it on! It was very very cool. I loved Beth's gentle instructions telling me about why to tighten these muscles or straighten here.. it made alot of sense. Things I'd forgotten or just hadn't ever heard when I was 12 or so. And Bentley was so sweet and calm and really patient with me too. I dismounted with out wiping out and collapsing on the ground. So think all in all my first lesson was a great success and I really am looking forward going back. They call this inspired riding and I can definitely say that I am inspired and touched by the wonder of it all.

Nuno Felting and Silk Dye

2010-06-16T10:33:00.000-07:00

So its hitting 95 and up, and I don't have an indoor studio! Who cares! I'm refusing to let it stop me; so I have been outside sweating buckets on my porch. I ordered some silk and some acid dyes hit youtube and google for some instructions and fearlessly plunged ahead. Dyeing isn't that hard I think I'm getting the hang of it. I also think its helping that I'm dyeing small pieces and I'm using a second hand microwave to steam set my silk.

Nuno felting a laminating technique that involves marrying silk and wool into this new luscious creation. I'll probably be explaining this process later on in detail with pictures... I mostly want to show you my first result. The silk is the base fabric and the wool is mostly along the edges as well as stretching delicately across the center of the piece. I dyed the silk lilac, purple and yellow to match the hand dyed wool roving I had. I include some mohair locks too provide luster and interesting texture. This is a scarf that start out approx 18" x 72" and shrank down to around 15" x 60". The wool fibers are actually driven into the silk so that they come out the other side.. it makes the silk wrinkle and pucker in the where ever the wool is. The silk is glossy and smooth between. This piece reminds me of the inside of irises.

New Year New Post

2010-01-06T09:43:00.000-08:00

It's a brand new year and I'm totally looking forward to that fact. I won't lie, 2009 was pretty rough on me and alot of others. It's over and done with! So I'm going to focus on the very postive last thing that happened in 2009 and that's my sister, had a little baby girl. Lucy Faith was born on 12/31/2009 and I got to be there to welcome her into the world. I also got to spend time with my sister's three older children and that was pretty awesome too. All of them have a pretty special place in my heart.

I've been really really overwhelmed and busy in the world since about August 2009. Craft shows, Renaissances Faires and Cons are all over now and I'm so looking forward to a little lull and to creating some felting projects.

I'm still trying to keep up the blog on a regular basis, its one of my new year resolutions. I didn't do that great last year but it wasn't to bad, or I hope too boring.

New Monday Treasury

2009-10-12T22:38:00.000-07:00

Nothing but a new Tresaury for the week. I had a hard time finding exactly the look I wanted. But then I was totally inspired by a art work titled "Searching for Fairytales" at Thisyearsgirl Etsy shop. It was so captivating I knew I wanted a treasury almost completly understated but whimiscal. I think I suceeded...

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=87419

Ninjas Vs Pirates!

2009-10-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, its been forever since I posted anything. Have I mentioned before that this is hard for me? It is. I always have 5 million things going on. Or I don't and I get stuck in lazy town or depressionville.. its like margaritaville without the 'rita part...

So at Dragon Con this year to amuse myself at the Cd table I made little people from pipe cleaners. I was kinda on a Halloween bent so I made mummies, wolfmen, and zombies... then I started making pirates and ninjas and I just couldn't stop. I even made a felty version of the Bedlam Bards. (I'll get those photos soon)

We've been in some kind of monsoon season here in Texas, and its been raining or cloudy for weeks. On the sunny days its been a sauna and a mosquito paradise, I risked malaria just to photograph these guys.. but I finally did it and posted them on Etsy. That was just this week.. and I also found out that they'd been spotted and Jennifer writes about them on her blog at

http://blog.jenniferhayesart.com/2009/10/felt-friday-smile.html which in turn has goaded me into writing about them here. So I'm off to get packed for the Renaissance Faire.. hopefully it'll turn into a beautiful fall weekend!

Imagination Manifestations

2009-07-24T15:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, apparently lack of sleep and lots of stress and driving late at night gives one a unique opportunity to think alot about thing other than one's issues. Right? So I reflecting on what I was asked by Amy Hadley during the little interview and what my and other people's answers were. She said "why buy handmade?" and the answer was inevitably "because you get to meet the person that made it.." Which is true enough at a show. But what about online? How much of your personality and charm can come through in a few blurbs? Your product has to speak for itself. In fact will continue to speaks to the person that buys it or gives to someone else everyday. This is more to me than just "meeting" someone... its an entire part of me that is made visible in art form. Whether its felt or clay or fabric. Its totally just a manifestation of my imagination.

So I thought hard about this question. As artist its really difficult to answer some of the question we are asked... Like how did you make this? Easy, ya see I took 3/4 of a pound of hand dyed...and then did....and you simply fold this here... oh wait.. what folks really mean is how did you manage to take these seperate raw materials form them into this creative wonderful new thing? And just maybe they want to know why for godsakes? And that answer also required some hard thinking... But the honest answer is these things are like little pieces of my random thoughts; an image, a poem, a dream... They may not turn out exactly like I want. Sometimes they are a work in process or they are better then ever imagined. I often make things my inner child would love to play with. (she's six, loves unicorns, but hates pink) Sometimes I make things for the sheer challenge of maninipulating all those raw materials and seeing what I come up with. Lot of times its especially for those questions and the looks I get... You made did this? Holy.. (yeah, I love those looks)

So the next time I'm asked how or why... Not going to say this is my brain on art, hold and I'll give you the recipe.

I'm simply going to say its an imagination manifestion. "Wanna see?"

Hey Now, Whoa Now Video's up

2009-07-22T19:31:00.000-07:00

I met Amy Hadley a few weekends ago at Austin Handmade Market... she grabbed some great footage off all us kids braving the heat of day and selling our wares. I love her attitude and I think that the name of her website is the best, talk about stickyness... she's got it! Anyways she made a great video with a cool song behind it.. it gives a great sense of the energy going on downs there... *after mojitos, before heatstroke* ;)
Thanks Amy!

Austin Handmade

2009-07-20T06:39:00.000-07:00

The highlight of the past week for me was going to Austin Handmade's Opening event. Its actually a reopening since they just moved to a new and improved local. Just off of south First st in SoCo they feature some of the best local artists and designers. Last Thursday evening was a quite an occasion, I saw a bunch of Etsy folks... including Robie, of Parsimony http://www.parsimony.etsy.com/, who I had met at Funky Finds Spring Fling.. her fabulous dresses can be found at AH and she had the foresight to bribe ah hem.. persuade a few of her friends to model for her. I'm sure that wasn't too hard given the lively atmosphere and added incentive of Sweet Mama cupcakes.

Beth H. and Beth A. were there launching their creation of The Wonder Craft, a exciting new mobile art learning experience. http://www.thewondercraft.com/

It was so encouraging to see so many people admiring the cool and crafty offerings. (why, yes those are my Felted Sushi Kits in the DIY room.) I swear I didn't stand by them all evening, I was to busy juggling my cupcake and drink! (oh, and never put a half of velvet cupcake in your pocket the results are very bad) All in all it was a fun evening doing what Austin does best, having a good time and helping each other shine.

http://www.austinhandmade.com/

Tesla Event and Austin Handmade in the Shade

2009-07-13T06:25:00.000-07:00

Whew! What a weekend! I made it through.. it was almost but not quite like a marathon. Trying to get it together for two back to back events was well, interesting. I did it! Yay! Of course I added to my stress by saying to myself, "Hmmm, I really need a table banner.." I've been wanting one that's more portable for indoors. It needed to be something I could pull off w/out a sewing machine since mines in the shop for over abuse. At around 12pm on Thursday I started needle felting "Gypsyharte" onto a piece of recycled sweater and then jury rigged that to a tapestry piece that I think was a valance at one point... It looked amazing! I had this hand dyed green and gold silk fiber (yes, silk) and I just printed out a nice font I liked to eyeball while I did it and lo.. it was done.

Crazy what you can do a 2am in the morning.

So I was running to get ready the next day ... but we made it there no problem. I thought Frugal Media executed a fantastic event. It seemed well advertised and attended. I loved being in the stacks of books and my table looked pretty good. I was right across from Haute Toddies.. I picked up a sweet patchwork journal from Sweet Wolf.. and little hot/cold rice pad w/ pink skulls on it from Deathly Cute. I was surprising swamped all evening long. I did a bit of demonstrating what I do and talking about needle felting. I got a lot of praise and sold some things! Yay! Thanks to all my friends who dropped by to see the event. It was also nice to see old vending friends from the Grapevine Market and of course the Etsy Austin crew.

My husband James/Cedric was there to promote his business Harmony Hypnosis and wow people with amazing hypnosis demos. Of course he was still busy at 10pm when everyone was packing up. Comes with the territory.

So scamper back home for a whole 6 hrs of sleep and schlep out again in the morning to Austin Handmade. The new store on S. 1st looks wonderful inside and there's a lot more space to spread all those cute hand made goodies out. I was afraid of being late and thus was the first one there and got a spot shaded by the huge live oak tree. I actually heard that it was a few degrees cooler than the day before... well, I dunno if a drop from 105 to 101 is "cool" or not. But it couldn't hurt. Out hosts at Austin Handmade are great, Jason helped me unload and get my tent up and everything. Next to me there was the most heavenly scent wafting my way from two soap people, Nepenthe's Bathtime (Samantha, did Tesla event the night before as well, so she's pro) and another soapy person from Dripping Springs (sorry I didn't get the name, I blame heatstroke) Lets see other brave and crazy folks were Irene, from La Beba, and Kelly of GemJunkie. (I love my amethyst wing earrings)

So there was great coffee next door to Austin Handmade... I had a wonderful iced latte,

Later in the day we had our Team meeting for Etsy Austin. I loved talking to all the South Austin folks as the wandered through our little show.. even a few familiar faces from the night before!

Austin Handmade had a gallery opening coinciding with the Market and then was not only great art, but do-it-yourself Mojitos! They rocked. It was mostly too hot to do anything except complain about the heat... but I manged to show a few kids a bit of felting and I made the world's smallest sushi platter out of wool. Oh, yeah Jason is going to be carrying my sushi kit in their DIY room at Austin Handmade, woot! And Amy Hadley was there doing some film interviews.. I shudder to think of myself on camera but hopefully I don't sound like a complete idiot. Its all about the felting, right? Her site will be http://heynowwhoanow.com I'm not completely sure its up yet, but soon.

Then it was sip my mojito and try to stay in the shade... But its all finished now and I can bask in the relative success of my shows and be equally thankful I don't have anymore outdoorsy ones anytime soon.

http://frugalmedia.com/

http://austinhandmademarket.com/

http://etsyaustin.etsy.com/

Dog Days

2009-07-09T09:22:00.000-07:00

Its supposed to be 110 today...they really are the Dog Days of Summer. I know because my dog doesn't want to do anything he doesn't have. I don't either for that matter. I did decide to make some dogs though starting with this bassett hound; this is a commission piece for a friend of mine's beloved girl Pixie. Working with a few photographs definately inspired me and here's what I came up with.

Doesn't she look sweet? Pixie is a mostly flat needle felted creation, theres a bit of relief around her eyes for expression... worked in merino, corriedale and alpaca wools.

Now for keeping cool... The other day I decided to take my work outside to my porch because I wanted to make some felty soaps. Its wet work. Thats where you wrap a bar of with wool and allow the lather of the bar itself to felt the wool around the soap and it shrinks to fit creating a built washcloth effect. As you use the bar the wool continues to shrink until you just have a little woolie pouch left. This makes a great gentle way to exfoilate. I made some last week at Rat Fest with a 10yr old and now his mom say he takes his shower everyday no problem!

Next time I'll try to remember to get some photos of the process... I was so wet through after felting 7 bars of soap... I went ahead and decided to wash Murphy as well.. He wasn't that thrilled.

First Thurday!

2009-07-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

I'll be at Austin's First Thursday event in front of Hill Country Weavers tonight from 5pm until whenever ( I think it's 10pm) I'm sharing a tent with LovelyLotusDesigns and GemJunkie

I can't believe I just managed one post last month. Unacceptable. I'm jumping back on the blogwagon, really. I've already been whupping mah Etsy store into shape with a host of new items... some polyclay earrings, tiny rat sculptures and the like.. I really want to post my new needlefelting kits.. Maybe I'll take some pics of that stuff tonight at First Thursday.

I'm excited about this show because its the first in my new Element. Cedric's on his way to Whitehart Faire so I get load everything sans husband power. I can handle it... ;)

Okay now I'm going fill this up with some random pics so it looks interesting.

The Griffin kitteh is still recovering well from his eye surgery, but he's very tired of the C-collar.

I'm Back!

2009-06-10T09:13:00.000-07:00

Okay! I'm finally back after having a host of issues and diffuculties. I had a bunch of outdoor shows in April, and a T-storm that took out our satellite modem and then I was traveling to Muskogee, Ok in May for the Oklahoma Renaissance Faire. I'm actually still recovering from a bronchitis thing. (I thought I'd have to due telepathic readings for a while because I practically lost my voice) My house definately hasn't recovered from me being gone all this time... much less my crafting.

However, I have a bunch of things to photograph and get up on Etsy post-hast. I also got a new car! An roomy Honda element that my husband and I call jokingly "The Elephant". This car will be fanstastic for my crafts shows and ren faires. I want to actually sleept in it come Texas Ren Faire. It also looks like I'll be involved in Team Etsy Austin more and organizing the Team Store Site.

Okay, so for now I'm cleaning up around in and trying to impose some order to the chaos!

Gnome Sweet Gnome

2009-04-06T07:26:00.000-07:00

Okay I finally finished another felting piece. I still have alot of things in the works or in idea stage but finding the time to actually concentrate is hard. My head is alway jumping ahead of my hands... well and I've had 10 little distractions. Yes, the baby rats! quick 'plaining for people who might this and go eww... rats! I foster litters for Hearts of Texas Rattery, who are dedicated to breeding quality pet rats with the sweetest temperments and beautiful colors and best health possibly. I get to raise baby critters without contributing to irresponsible breeding. I don't have to worry that my babies will be dinner for something else or fall into the wrong hands. HOT carefully screens potential adopters and right now there's a long waiting list!

So my mama rat is named Mei Mei, which is a Firefly reference, and means Little Sister in Chinese. She had 10 perfect wriggle kiddos on the 22nd of March. We just a two week birthday and I just saw their eyen starting to open last night. Check out the slideshow in the previous post for unbearable cuteness and awws... http://www.heartoftexasrats.com/

Anyway I finished a lovely mushroom ring and a little gnome guardian to go with it. I'm hoping to make a series of mushroom or fairy rings each with a different attendant guardian. I also found the most interesting needle felting site the other day and over stretched budget to buy Ayala's books. http://www.fiberfanatics.com/default.html She was one of the first people to begin sculpting with wool in the 80's. I actually own very few books on needlefelting... I pretty much figured things out by trial and error instead. Sometimes this is okay, it works out with great results. Other times is a frustrating crazyness and I put my wool and needles up and start playing the Sims. So sad.

So I love my gnome! He was a little thing I'd started and was barely shaped then it just started coming together like magic. Magic's like, isn't? And all those little mushrooms are so nice and firm... I really dislike felting that looks like a cat coughed up something artful. The just came out great I did the caps totally separately and then attached the stems. The base was made on a recycled sweater and I felted backwards.... I felted light green on the underside of the ground piece to get an effect like actual moss growing. I had some very nice natural alpaca roving that I used to felt all around the edges of the base... it looks just like dirt. I stuffed the hill with some fiber fill and felted a hollow in the center... this ring would also be a perfect place to rest crystals or stones. There's also a little joke in the name of the gnome. Silly Simeon. I keep telling people and no one's gotten it yet.

On to next project.. but first a baby rat snuggle!

My New Baby Rats

2009-04-03T10:59:00.001-07:00

Simply Amazing

2009-03-23T22:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, this felted playscape in the pic above was conceived and created (helped with a few tips and pointers from me but really, not a lot) by an 9yr old friend of mine, Raina. Can I just say, "Holy... and wow?" I never cease to be amazed and stunned by the power of kids imaginations. I was watching Raina and her sister, Star, age 7 this evening and last time they were over here I showed them how to needle felt. I've taught kids and adults before and even though there's some trepidation about letting them handle a sharp and pointy needle they are really really good at it. Star's naturally really patient at artistic things and she took to it right away. She made a bunny and a turtle. Raina's isn't nearly as patient, but I love this... she said she felt that this could make her more patience. Working towards something and making it yourself. The last time she was over she started this, (I thought) really ambitious project of covering this felt square in green and making this felted river.. and she was saying I want squirrels and bunnies and trees to pop up out of it.. I'm thinking 5min maybe.. 10 min tops and then it'll be, hey where's the Tv remote? Nope... Tonight she's finished the "ground" painstakingly felting greens into this dark background and then she's like.. hmm, what's the best way to make a tree? I give it a thought and show her and viola! she's making tree after tree...

We did end up staying up way past bedtime... because then we had to make (I made these) flowers and toadstools and we used a bunch of little felted animals I'd already made to play in it... But I'm really proud of her.. Raina made this, and I showed her how. The white tree is a scyamore... She's already planning another installment, maybe a cave... she's also very enterprising, because I'd said I'd seen similair playscapes on Etsy... she wants to make one to sell. Yeah, I'm a little proud of that too.

I love it when a plan comes together!

2009-03-22T13:14:00.001-07:00

Getting everything together for the Etsy Austin Team booth was a monumental task that really came together pratically like clockwork. I'm sure that accounts will vary, but everytime I was at the booth in front of Hill Country Weavers it seemed very smooth and we I can't believe we did it! It was awesome getting the swags bags toghether and all the promo items and the coupons... I'm mean it was a huge task and we all contributed alot to the whole thing... so cool to see it happen.

I had a great time doing the needlefelting demos... it was alot of fun. Talking Etsy to folks and just watching the crowds, hearing music coming from somewhere (everywhere). I feel really lucky to be apart of such a great scene and I'm glad that Austin's not afraid to claim its weirdness title.

I hope everyone had a great time! Check out the flickr site for more great pics....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gypsyharte/

Promoting SXSW and Handmade in Austin

2009-02-24T18:50:00.000-08:00

The Etsy Austin Team is getting busy preparing our promotional swag for SXSW thats up coming in March. A bunch of things are going in these bags, that, themselves, are being handmade out of recycled t-shirts. They'll be sporting a really cool silkscreened logo.... and many folks of Team Etsy Austin are preparing some interesting and fun items, stickers, earrings, charms, coupons and much more to fill out the bag. Here's some pics of us at our first Swag Bag sewing bonanza! Beth of Snuggleherd... and our fearless crew!

Come SXSW time we'll be hitting the streets giving away bags and doing demos and selling Etsy things in front Hill Country Weavers on South Congress. Meanwhile its back to sewing machine!

I'm in Treasury!

2009-02-02T16:19:00.000-08:00

So much fun! I'm in a treasury, chosen by Rabbitthorns from Over the Rainbow...
its called "Counting Sheep" and it features all thing made from recycled wool.
Check it out and remember to click through and leave a comment and the page could move up the lists!
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=37212

Celtic Spirit Event in San Marcos

2009-01-31T20:02:00.000-08:00

I'm prolly too tired to blog effectively, but I'll give it a whirl. I'm short on sleep because I was up last night getting items ready for the little day even in San Marcos I was showing at. And I had to get up early to get there, its about an hour away from me.. and I take forever to set up. But I was pretty cheerful on only 5 hrs of sleep and one cup of coffee. I was also happy to be at an indoor events with no shortage of tables and chairs. I was trying some new display set ups out and this big wooden thing I found at Goodwill ( I think it's a magazine rack) I screwed hooks on it and hung stuff from it. I also spent the majority of yesterday evening putting felting kits together. I often do demos of needle felting at these shows... because it draws folks and its impressive to make cute little critters and things from piles random fur. But so many people told me, oh I did that, or I've always wanted to try that.. thus Gypsyharte's Needle Felting Kit was born. I also have a great stash of really nice wool and so I was able to give lots of nice brights and naturals and included instructions and a foam pad and two sculpey handled needles... I made four packs up and three sold so I think that was a success! I did really good in other areas too. I had pillow kitties, earrings... hairwraps, hats, purses and of course my some of my feltings. People loved my needle felted hearts too.

And I got to listen to Celtic music all day and there was a wonderful little closing ceremony honoring Brigid.. the Celtic Saint/Goddess of Poetry, Creativity, Smithing and Her holiday is Imbolc or Feb 2 which is right around the corner... its the kinda the pre-spring event... when the lambs are born.. A good thing to honor, I think, considering how much wool I go through...

SO... in honor of Brigid of the white shoulders and flowing well... may Her wisdom inspire you in the coming season, and may we all drink at the well of peace and plenty.

Bright Blessings.

Crafty Chicks

2009-01-23T08:29:00.000-08:00

I Went yesterday to Beth A.'s house for the Esty Austin's first group craft, it was fun and productive. I almost didn't make it yesterday due to a wayward half-grown chick named, Matilda. She decided to fly the coop.. in the traditional sense. But I worry because I have a dog that likes to chase stuff and its a big wide world out there! So the better part of my morning and afternoon was spent chasing Matilda all over creation. She is still at large. Sigh> so getting to hang with some crafty mamas was very mellowing for me... and some eclectic music to groove to and even peanut butter cookies to munch on. (made by Megan) yum!

I spent my time working on some Valentine Day surprises and chatting up a storm. Etsy Austin plans to do this pretty often... Next time we need wine and maybe some strawberry cream cheese and crackers.

Okay, this is freakin' hilarious... I wanted to go grab a photo of my felted hearts in the pretty sunshine outside, so I grabbed my camera and low and behold who is on top of baby chickie pen? the wayward Matilda henceforth known as that damned chicken!

http://etsyaustin.blogspot.com/

Birthday Present

2009-01-20T22:17:00.000-08:00

Its my birthday! Just barely, well if we are being technical its really not until 3:16pm tomorrow. But I say it *is* my birthday.
I was cruising through my favs today on Etsy and I was thinking, "Man, I have great taste.. everything I fav gets sold." Then I was thinking, "Mer, *everything* I faved is gone! waaaa!!!"
Ookay... time passes..clean house feed animals... clean some more house.. then my husband bring in the mail. I got this little package and I'm like hmmmm what is this? there's a little note and in some tissue paper is the very bracelet I hearted! My awesome and sneaky sister-in-law in Seattle went and bought me a birthday present off of Etsy. Isn't that the best idea ever? Other than my husband (and I forward him the urls and general give broad hints) no ones ever bought me something off of Etsy before.
Oh and its not just any bracelet...its a fabulously, awsome, mythical, lovely, charm bracelet from Poetsummer which I've been wanting *forever*. Its better and bigger than the pics can ever do justice... It's all tinkly, tinkly.. the weight of it may be a danger to carpal tunnel sufferers...but I don't care! Its sooo awesome.. The charms on this thing are huge and the tiny little picture frames are really clear and the whole thing is just a treasure. See it here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18517076
Did I mention I like it?
And Carrie from Poetsummer sent me another gift as well ...a lovely three strand wooden beaded necklace. How cool is that?
So I hope the rest of my birthday is as good as this present... its an auspicious start!
Go and visit: http://www.summerpoet.blogspot.com/

Good Fortune

2009-01-20T09:30:00.000-08:00

The other day while at a Chinese resturant I got a great fortune cookie fortune. It read:
"Good ideas will spring forth naturally from your mind in the comning week."
Which is exactly how I've been feeling, ideas and images literally just start coming to me when I close my eyes to sleep or when I'm looking out the window driving somewhere. I'm just having trouble making everything I want to make. I want to finish things not just start them. LOL, of course I have my fair share of projects started... some I actually want to finish. I just need to remind myself to write the ideas down and I will get to them. I just need to take it one step at a step. You can't do needle felting fast, not if you want to do it right. So patience is my first lesson of the coming year.
So whats in the works?
Folktales, I love allegory and symbology.. so I'm reading up.
I can't wait to get to do some wet felting. Maybe making a set of slippers or something.
I'm going to expand from hats and make more stuff out of recycled sweaters.
I'll just keep writing down all my ideas and everything will happen in good time.
Good fortune to all. In all our enterprises.

San Marcos Art at Tantra

2009-01-18T15:53:00.000-08:00

I newly joined the Esty Austin street team last week and there I met Kateri, who is doing this great third Sat Market in San Marcos. Its easy to forget that a whole city is just right down south there. So my husband, James and I decided go and set up our respective little booths out at Tantra Coffee House yesterday. James is a hypnosist promoting his business by doing free hypnosis demos showing people how to change their lives by changing their minds. http://harmonyhypnosis.net/
And I had a little bit of everything.... some recycled sweaters hats (since it was chilly) and removable hairwrap jewelry, and of course my felted creations. Anyone who knows me, knows that I hate having nothing to do with my hands, so I had my wool and some bits of reclaimed sweater and was felting away. The place was really fun too.. alot of folks came and went there were some nice bands to to listen too and other see the artists too.
And they were people... bonafide People, they came and talked to me, and I love talking felt! I was suprised at how many people said they had just starting doing needle felting or had just heard about Etsy. That, is my second favorite subject.
It was a good day, I talked to this nice guy, Sean, who was going write something for a paper or zine I think, he also took pics of my stuff. I totally spaced some stuff yesterday morning, like my mirror and I’m still out of business cards… no excuse. Despite my being a tad worried about the weather it was fine, a little windy but to too bad, and the sunshine came out to play later in the day. Tantra’s got some yummy lemon bars and good coffee ( I had the Landry) and my hubby hypnotized some folks… oh yeah I sold some stuff. That’s always nice. The best thing was being in this happening little Texas town, surrounded by talented kids, so creative and it so-made-me-remember-my-college-time; and I was much buoyed and encouraged by so many asking about my stuff and liking it. I think it was a success all around and a lot of promise for growth in the future. So thanks a bunch Kateri! We can’t wait for next time.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=426939595

Sock Monkey know how!

2009-01-07T00:28:00.000-08:00

Okay, I got this really wonderful tiny sock monkey kit from Fantiny for Christmas and its got everything you need to make tiny sock monkeys.... except that the are tiny and therefore difficult... really difficult We're talking 3-5 inches is the largest one. Its especially difficult if you've never made big sock monkeys. I haven't. I'm slowly grasping the concept and her instructions are great for making the tiny sock part... it was the monkey part thats getting me.

So Google to my rescue. And Yup there's a bunch of how-to-make instructions on regular ole sock monkey. I'm back in the tiny teeny sock monkey business... I've got my tiny socks! and I'm going to make a monkey...

Want a tiny sock monkey of your own?

Go here : http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=75350

A Brand New Year!

2009-01-01T23:41:00.000-08:00

Huzzah, its a brand new year and I'm super excited to finally have all my shows behind me for a little while. I will have time to create new stuff. Woot! I had a great time reading Tarot cards at Texas Ren Fest and then a wonderfully sucessfull Armadillo Christmas Bizarre. Now, as the holidays and things are behind me I'm so looking forward to all these exciting ideas that have been perking in my head while. My poor Etsy shop is looking a little bare since I sold (yay!) a bunch of my felted things at the 'Dillo. But hey thats fine by me... I'll make more! I got a bunch of new materials to work with.... as christmas presents, some fine Mohair roving by Kai Ranch... http://www.kairanch.com/ dyed by our friend Lisa... and I also ordered new colors from Draig Athar on Etsy she always has great colors. So just hang on and wait and see what I create with this wool and I even got some cool eyes from Vedabliss www.vedabliss.etsy.com.
Also on my agenda for the New Years, besides seeing how I well I can keep up this blog thingie... is me joining Etsy Austin Team! http://etsyaustin.blogspot.com/ Check this out. Okay I'm totally blurry eyed from no sleep and still slightly hung over from New Years Celebrations... so Night! Bright Blessings

Five minutes after Midnight

2008-09-06T22:05:00.000-07:00

Just as the title implies, it's exactly five minutes after midnight and instead of getting ready for bed, I'm creating yet something else to do. Why? I don't rightly know. I'm terrible at keeping up these things. Only I do seem to have a running monologue in my head, all the time.
I've been feeling really anxious lately... and trying not to show it or worry about it but there it is.... it imposes itself in my dreams in the form of nightmares about floods or my pets getting hurt. No fun, at all. Why am I anxious, you wonder... oh all the usual reasons and few unsual I'm sure. I so need time and time seems to be rapidly well moving on and, how did September get here so damn fast? So five minutes after Midnight and tomorrow's another day and I hopefully I will be productive and accomplish that which I set out to do.