Garrison's Garret Fiber Art

Tools for me.

2009-03-13T12:15:00.000-07:00

Greetings all. I've been busy in my studio making my sculpting tools. If I do say so myself they came out wonderful. I can barely wait to get to the sculpting portion of my education. I bought a sculpting book in the fall sometime and I'm going chapter by chapter. Next I have to make the tool so I can make the foil head armature. I'll do that tomorrow. That won't be very interesting as it'll be just white. Once that is done I can start on faces. I've also decided to start something new on my blog. I'd like to start a regular monthly column caller THE RANTING AND RAVINGS OF A LUNATIC AT 47 . I turn 47 later this month so I figure I'll launch the column on my birthday and update it on the 29th of every month. Rants will be similar to my Christmas Card piece but you know different as it's not Christmas anymore. When I grow up I want to be a writer as well as a princess. I'm way to intimidated to write a novel but I figure I can manage one piece a month. A friend suggested I start a blog and publish without leaving my name to see if it will be successful or not. Well, I already have this blog why start another. So even though you know who I am I'm trying my hand at publishing a regular column. So look on March 29 2009 for the birth of my newest creative venture. I'll also publish in between all the other stuff. I'm not giving up on the fiber. Until next time....

For Tessa

2009-03-01T18:17:00.000-08:00

Dear Tessa:

I just finished sewing on the patches for your first Girl Scout vest, the blue one for Daisy's. I added several patches and just in case your leader asks why I added them I thought I'd tell you here goes:
1) GS Friendship- I added this patch hoping you find and make many long and lasting friendships during your years in girl scouts. I have many great memories of me and your Mother during our years in scouts. Some of my favorites are the field trip to Philadelphia and two camping trips.
2) Science-I hope you'll consider science to be an interesting school class and consider it as a career choice. One of my goals with my own girls is to expose them to as much science as possible. You are very smart, smart enough for Science.
3)GS Winter Fun- Winter is a great season with so many fun outdoor activities like sledding and skating and snowball fights. Don't listen to your mother Winter is an awesome season.
4)Smores- There are so many traditions in Girl Scouts that are important to honor like learning the promise. But please don't forget the fun activities like smores what's better then toasting marshmallows and eating a smore.
5)Girl Scouts Make the World a Better Place- There is no doubt in my mind that you make the world a better place just by being who your are. Just having you around brightens the world.
6)Daisies have Attitude- I hope you'll always have a positive attitude about yourself and always walk with your head held high.
7)I love Patches- Sometimes in this world it's okay to love something just because. You don't need a good reason or explanation. Just because is good enough.

Mainly I just wanted you to know I LOVE YOU AND THINK YOU'RE SPECIAL. I may only see you on the rare occasion and you may not get to know me well but I love you and think your special. I hope you'll always have everything you need but please know that I am out there in the world if your need me. I love you.

Aunt Maryellen

2008 CHRISTMAS CARD MANIFESTO

2009-01-01T20:05:00.000-08:00

My favorite part of any Christmas is the Christmas cards. I love them. I save last years cards so I can review them as I write out my new ones. I love picture cards. You know the ones of your kid’s, dog’s, cats and vacation places. I especially love the ones of people vacationing in Disney World. I love Disney World almost as much as I love Christmas cards. I even love the generic Christmas letters sent in some of the cards. I like reading about all the happy stuff you did all year long as well as all your accomplishments. I really do. Before I had kids I’d address and sign all my cards on the day after Thanksgiving. I’d get my supplies together and a nice hot cup of tea (Earl Grey of course Twinnings) and I’d spend a few lovely hours looking at the old cards and writing personal notes in the new ones. That would be all 70 new ones. Now that I have kids I try to get the cards out before January and personal notes are a thing of the past. But I have a few grips. These grips really are with family members who either don’t know about my blog or are too important to read it. So really I shouldn't’t burden all my wonderful cyber friends with my evil grips but I have to share with someone so I wrote my manifesto. Plus I liked the sound of the word manifesto. I like decapitate too but it’s really hard to work into a sentence, especially a sentence about Christmas cards. So without further ado I bring you Maryellen Newton’s Christmas card manifesto.

1) To the woman who insists on addressing every card, package and envelope to just Jeff Newton I’d like to remind you that I’ve lived with the man for over 20 years. We’ve been married for 19 years and there are two little girls that have resided here for 9 years. We aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Not acknowledging our presence just pisses me off. Who do you think is going to look after you when you’re old decrepit and can’t move fast? Hmmm. Funny it won’t be Jeff because he’s too busy working, mowing the lawn (which takes two to three days and various modes of law mowing machinery to achieve) and playing brand new video games. You might want to think about that the next time you’re faced with an envelope.
2) To my dear sweet old aunt who insists on addressing my family’s card with Susan, Jeff, Amanda and Megan. I am Maryellen not Susan my older sister. And yes I do realize its confusing with two sisters. I call Megan Amanda all the time. But I do mange to writer Megan on all her important paper work. But there are four really good reasons that I’m not Susan:
A) Susan has never sent a Christmas card to anyone at anytime. She’s never had a stamp and a pen in the same room at the same time let alone a fancy card and your address.
B) Susan has never been married to any man, woman or beast let alone my husband Jeff. Get it she is not married to Jeff I’m married to Jeff. Jeff is my husband. I wash his dirty underwear and socks so the least you can do is remember my name Maryellen that’s M-A-R-Y-E-L-L-E-N.
C) Susan has no children. She doesn’t like children. She doesn’t want them around and refuses to play with anything resembling a child. She didn’t spend 100’s of hours in labor to bring my children into the world I did that’s me Maryellen.
D) And the last most important reason is that Susan has been dead for three years. That’s dead as in dead in the ground no longer alive no longer breathing and no longer sending Christmas cards wishing you a Merry Christmas.

3) To all who send me a card please stop informing me of your dead relatives and pets in the card. Wishing me a Merry Christmas then informing me that your father passed away is a real downer. Just because your Christmas is going to suck doesn’t mean mine has to. Informing me that your Father passed away nine months ago is really lousy. Do I send a sympathy card now instead of a Christmas card? Now I’m not a callus person. If you inform me your father has died and it’s within my power I’ll attend the funeral or send flowers, Mass card or sympathy card. Readers please don’t think I don’t know what it feels like to lose a relative. I personally have two dead Grandfathers, two dead Grandmothers assorted dead aunts’ uncles’ cousins and pets. One dead sister. And the mother of all dead relatives a dead mother. My own personnel mother died on December 4th and I sent out 70 Christmas cards refraining from mentioning my dead mother while wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. That’s right my Christmas sucked really badly but I did not try to ruin anyone else’s Christmas. You can do the same. Oh and this goes for dead gold fish too, you know who you are and I mean you.
4) To the family friend who insists on including the bad news in the generic Christmas letter by making it happy by stating we’re making lemonade out of our lemons don’t do it. Carrie Ann does not appear strong and resilient because she can make lemonade out of the reality of her ex-fiancé beating her up, stealing all her money, setting fire to her house, and killing her dog. It makes her appear stupid. After all if she wasn’t so busy making lemonade she may have noticed that something was off with her ex-finance before he beat her up, stole all of her money, set fire to her house and killed her dog. Please just include the happy positive news it is Christmas after all.

That about sums up my Christmas card manifesto. I hope everyone had a healthy and happy holiday season. I look forward to 2009 as I always look forward to the New Year. And in closing may all you’re 2009 Christmas Cards be happy Christmas Cards.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-21T11:45:00.000-08:00

I recently gave a party for my friends. As a Christmas Present to all of you I thought I'd share my invitation. If you have a sense of humor please read on. if you don't skip my blog and go have a glass of wine. Until next time.....

Right here was a lovely picture of a Christmas tea pot that won't copy in so use your imagination.

THE HONOR OF YOUR PRESENCE IS REQUESTED AT MARYELLEN NEWTON’S FIRST ANNUL CHRISTMAS SUCKS TEA AND ORNAMENT EXCHANGE.

WHEN: Monday December 15 at 8:45A.M. until? Please note the date change. My Spiritual Advisor stated that 16 was not a proper number for mass coffee and tea consumption. Mass outbreaks of wildfires, earthquakes and weird people showing up at your door requesting old socks would happen if I didn’t change the date. Now I didn’t want any weird sock requesting people at my door so I changed the date to the 15th.

WHERE: My house. It’s my party so of course I’d have it at my own house. It would not be fitting to have my party at your house. Well, it would be easier on me to have everyone over to your house and cheaper too as you’d have to provide the food and do all the cleaning up but then I guess it would be your party and not my party. And the purpose of this party was for it to be my party. So I guess I’ll just have to have the party at my house: 302 Morgan Valley Drive Oswego IL 60543.

WHY: Well to drink tea and eat food and celebrate why Christmas sucks so much. Why else would I have a Christmas Sucks Tea?

RSVP: Well, you have to RSVP to me because it’s my party. It would make no sense to RSVP to someone else as they are not having my party. But if you know someone who is willing to have my party and provide the food and clean up please let me know. 551-1816

WINE: I will not be serving whine at my party because it tastes like goat piss. Serving your friends goat piss in a glass is rude and I would never invite you to my house or someone else’s house and be rude. Now I will serve Scotch because it does not taste like goat piss. Please feel free to bring your own bottle of wine and I will provide the wine glasses. But I won’t be sharing your wine because I think it tastes like goat piss and why anyone in there right mind would drink swill like that is beyond me. Nothing ruins perfectly good food like a big tall glass of goat piss.

ORNAMENT: Please bring a $10 or less ornament to exchange with others for fun.

So Who Likes Turkey!

2008-11-27T10:41:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all! This is Lenny but my face looks similar right now before I dig into my turkey dinner. I saw on someones blog a meme about the seven things I'm thankful for. So I decided to participate. Here they are:

1)My family Jeff husband of 19 years, and Amanda and Megan my daughters that I talk about all of the time.

2)My dog Bessie Spot, she's big energetic lively and a big couch potato.

3) My cats because through them I see wildness. Sandy 13 Lenny 4 Lily 4 and Lou Lou 3. And yes muliple cats are a huge blessing.

4) My good friend Maureen who has been a huge part of my life for 36 of my 46 years. She's the guardian for my children if something should happen to me the first person I call with good news and the person I call when I'm sad or upset. Friends like this are rare, hard to find and one of the best reason's to stay alive.

5)Creative work, its what keeps me going. It's a reason to get out of bed when all else fails. It's a job I never want to retire from.

6) Books reading is my most favorite activity and the one fun thing I've done everyday of my life since I learn the line "Go Dick GO".

7)My wheel with out it I couldn't spin and it is my peaceful activity and the only non living object that I would want to save if my house was burning down. It's an Ashford traditional that I bought used from a women in Dover New Jersey who bought it used from someone who bought it from The Spinnery. The wheel has a great feel and when I sit to spin it's I don't know how to explain it but I don't think I would ever want to spin on another wheel. I just feel right at home with this piece of wood it seems almost alive to me. All right enough weirdness about pieces of furniture. Until next time....

At last me live well sort of live!

2008-11-19T14:41:00.000-08:00

It's been several months since my last post.This particular meme sums up my life at the moment.

List Five Things You've Done In The Past Few Weeks!
1) Drove Megan to soccer four times a week and once on Sunday for a game.
2) Drove Amanda to dance four times a week but not on Sunday for a game.
3) Drove Amanda and Megan to Girl Scouts and ran said Girl Scout meeting.
4) I did laundry, food shopping and cleaned the house so bacteria won't form in huge quantities just small isolated cells.
5) I went to Karate, I love karate.

If you told me ten years ago that my life would be totally kid centered I'd laugh in your face. I never liked children very much and never really minded that we planned on not having any. Then two accidents occurred and well see above. Originally I planned this blog to show my work and talk to other fiber people and artists. I have lots of friends here in town but no one spins or makes dolls. A few knit but they don't design their own stuff. So when I had nothing of artistic interest to report I didn't report. I really didn't think you were interested in soccer camp and practices and dance classes. Well I'll tell you anyway. Megan made the travel soccer team which practices twice a week with optional training sessions two other days. Megan wanted to go to all and woke Jeff up early on Saturday and Sunday for more practice. The season is over now so we have a rest. Amanda takes four dance classes a week which keeps her busy during soccer practice so I don't have to listen to how bored she is and how she hates her boring life. Dance doesn'e end until June so I'm very busy but rather bored. I decided to buy some face books and study faces to hopefully finish a doll before the next decade comes rolling in. Ii purchased Creating Lifelike Figures In Polymer Clay by Kathrine Dewey which is fabulous. My other three book purchases were Fantastic Figures by Susanna Oroyan which is really good as all her books are, Creative Cloth Doll Faces by Patti Medaris Culea which is good and lastly Artdolls Basic Sculpting and Beyond which is my least favorite but still a good resource book. So then I needed a place to create. Where will I do this great new endeavour? I thought the kitchen table but then I had to clean up every night before the kids came home. So it left me my studio. My dirty disorganized overfilled dump of a studio. The last time I dared entire that room a big roll of paper fell on my foot giving me a nasty bruise. Three weeks later I have a less filled clean workable place. I sent two big bags of wool out to be made into roving, I gave many books away as well as other stuff. My studio is a vision. As soon as I get rid of my kids tomorrow I'm going to start my face filled odyssey. So please get ready for some cool face activity on my blog here. Are you as excited as me? Well I'm excited anyway. Until next time.... And yes there will be a next time......

L is for Laughter.

2008-07-21T07:11:00.000-07:00

It seems my art career is on hold. I'm not sure for how long but I don't seem to have the urge to go into my studio to work. I haven't spun in ages and that is usually my stand by activity that I did almost religiously. But everything is on hold for now as I've become a social butterfly. On Friday night I hosted the first annual Girl Scout backyard camp out. It was great fun for all. Well maybe not for Jeff. I came to be a Girl Scout leader in a round about way. Amanda's always had a troop that I wasn't involved with at all. Megan's dance class met at the same time so a friend took Amanda to all the meetings so I could take Megan to dance. Once Megan was old enough to join girl scouts I helped her leader there by becoming a co-leader. Said leader was not organized so I sort of stepped up and did a great deal for the troop while she remained the main leader. Last year the leader for Amanda's troop started to make quitting noises. The new leader was going to be the mother of the area bully which would be bad for Amanda. I wanted her in the troop I was doing the work for but the main leader freaked out said no and I pulled my kids and started a troop with three other women. It's been a fabulous experience for me. I think the kids are pretty happy too. Amanda and the two other older girls just flew up to juniors. The camp out was a junior activity with only sister or leader brownies. There are five other girls in the troop besides the leader daughters which makes the group very easy to run. Plus we've done so many great activities that I hope my kids continue to enjoy it. But me and the other women stayed up until three in the morning laughing and just having fun. I guess it was a slumber party for us as well. Jeff made pancakes the next morning which everyone enjoyed. This is the second party we've given this summer. I've never had so much fun and so many parties. I really need to thank the old leaders of Megan and Amanda's troop for giving me such a great gift even is it was delivered with a great deal of aggravation. Until next time....

Kis for Karate.

2008-07-11T09:20:00.000-07:00

I started studying karate with my whole family and Allison's whole family last summer. Here a year later Allison and I received our green belt. I am so proud of both of us. And I can't wait to get to class every week. After we received our green belt the other advanced students seem to warm up a bit. Most made a point of approaching us and saying congratulations and good job. I guess now we've earned their respect and have really settled into the advanced class. Amanda and Allison's daughter Anwin are the only family members still left in class. Amanda is iffy as to whether she wants to continue. I'd like her to but I won't force her. I plan on continuing until I get my black belt. I hope I get the black belt before my AARP membership kicks in. Until next time....

J is for Just wonderful!

2008-07-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

I'm participation in pay it forward. If you wish to participate please leave a comment and I'll send you a home made gift. Then you need to post about pay it forward and offer to send gifts to those who leave a comment on your blog. . The lovely Silvia form http://slowlaneblog.blogspot.com/ sent me this primitive doll. I just love it. Hence the j. I don't really have a great deal of J's in my life at the moment. Anyway Silvia sent me this wonderful doll all the way from England right in the middle of relocating to a new home. I love him he's called Harris. Silvia's style is very different from mine so I'd never create a doll like this so it's really the greatest gift. Harris sits on my dresser with his sheep. The girls really want to play with it but I won't let them. They have there own toys. Silvia I can't thank you enough for the most wonderful surprise gift. I love it and I think about you all the time when I see it. Also I wanted to advertise about a free doll costume newsletter I discover this morning. Needle and clay at http://needleandclay.wordpress.com/ listed the link to sign up for a great resource. The sign up link is http://www.costumesandtrim.com/register.php and I can't wait to read my first issue. I believe it was started last summer. So I'm off to clean up the house. Until next time...

Dogs on Thursday.

2008-07-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

I only have one dog. Bessie is of course the perfect dog. So here is one perfect snout. Bessie is my best friend and companion and loves to curl up on my pillow. This is fine in the winter but now I'm afraid if she gets too close she's sent to the floor. I get too hot. She gets too hot too. We're currently working on leash training. Bessie is an 80 pound lab who almost pulled me off a cliff the last time we were hiking. Okay it was a small cliff but I don't bounce as well as I used to. So for the past week we've been working on slack leash training and next week we'll start the heel. Of course she's learned so quick being the perfect dog. I'm using the book How To Be Your Dog's Best Friend by the Monks of New Skete. The Monks of New Skete are an order of Catholic monks who train dogs as their work. I never new there were fun orders of monks but here's one. Until next time....

I is for Incredable!

2008-07-11T08:43:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am. It's been a very busy summer so far. Our garden is almost presentable and the kids are busy with swim lessons. But we went to the Great Smoky Mountains in June as our first summer camping trip. As you can see by the pictures we saw black bear as well as deer, turkey, butterflies, salamanders and loads of birds. The mountains were such a change for us as we live on the great prairie where a slight incline of your driveway is about as big a mountain as you get. We did a little bit of hiking but Megan did not enjoy that feature of the vacation. We picnicked everyday in the park by steams that the kids played in. Megan was much happier with that activity. Gattlinburg was a fun city with all sorts of shops and restaurants and of course miniature golf. We camp at a Jelly stone camp right be another stream where the girls played every morning. The weather was way to hot for me but the camper has air conditioning. I was ready to go back north after the week. Between the humidity, steams and daily thunderstorms I felt like I was growing mold. Until next time...

H is for Henna Tattos,

2008-06-04T14:47:00.000-07:00

First I'd like to thank Silvia for her gift but that's a post for I which hopefully will happen tomorrow. But for today we have H. My friend Laura and I have wanted henna tattoos for over a year. On Mother's Day we went to a little local diner for breakfast where we meet Paisley. Paisley is her nickname or as she put it her soul name. She had a great paisley tattoo on her wrist and hand. I pounced and was told she did it herself but had a friend Michael who loved to adorn people with tattoos. So he came to Laura's shop and did my hand and back. The tattoo on my back didn't stick for two reasons. The paste is the same color as my freckles so in the future I won't get tattooed anywhere I have freckles. Second according to Michael the skin is too thin or doesn't have enough layers to hold the dye or stain. The pictures appear black because the paste is still on. It flaked off and left the red you see on my foot. My hand is a week and a half old so its lighter but still really cool. My foot looks great and should entertain me in karate tonight. School is over tomorrow and I'm very glad. I've survived the spring and can't hardly believe it. I haven't had a free weekend since March. One dance season down and a soccer season, girl scout camping trip, bridging ceremony and final crafts, gymnastic meet over, soccer try-outs, Memorial day family camping trip, birthday barbecue, friends party , friends moving day that turned into moving week and we arrive at the first week of June. Boy I'm I tired. Now I only have to catch up on cleaning and laundry and pack for our family trip to the Great Smokies. Until next time....

G is for Geocache and garden.

2008-05-13T15:59:00.000-07:00

In March we took a family vacation to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was too cold to swim so we went geocaching with friends. We shared a house with my best friend Maureen and her family. The first cache we found in the woods and the kids placed my first travel bug. A travel bug is an item that has a dog tag attached with a tracking number. People move the item from cache to cache. My travel bugs have the goal of seeing all 50 states. Maureen found the next cache right at the beach so she placed the next bug. Bryan found the last at an inland fishing lagoon and placed the last travel bug. We had a great time on this trip. Since then we've geocached two other times with local friends. It's a great hobby to do with kids as instead of the kids acting bored and annoying they're excited about finding treasure. The caches are hidden via your GPS system and you plug in way points into your own GPS and follow the arrow. If you geocache please sign me up as your friend. My geocache name is Garrison's Garret. I wanted something I wouldn't forget. Now the garden is a big project underway. I spent 5 hours weeding yesterday and there is still plenty to do. We're having a party this weekend for Amanda's birthday so I wanted the yard to look really nice but I doubt I'll get to most of the garden. It will always be a work in progress. No fiber work as I just seem so busy and tired I can't get excited about anything. But rest assured I'm thinking about my next face adventure. Until next time....

F is for fleece family and face.

2008-04-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

Greetings all. As you can see I have a large amount of f's in my life right now. First is my family, if you didn't know already I'm married 18 years to Jeff. Sometimes the years seem long but for the most part we're compatible. I think it's largely because we both have great capacities to be able to ignore one another. We're both annoying people a great deal of the time. We have too little girls who are largely leaving the little stage behind. Amanda Jean is going to be nine and is in third grade. She enjoys ballet, gymnastics girl scouts and making up stories. Megan Maureen is seven and in first grade. She loves soccer soccer and more soccer. She'll tap dance and do brownies as long as there is no soccer going on. F is also for fleece as you already know I love to spin so therefore there are bags of wool everywhere. And finally the face is my latest attempt to finish my dolls. I really love the way it came out but it is not right for my dolls. So it's back to the drawing board for my next face idea. This one was loosely based on a photo of lizard eyes I saw on some one's blog. I wish I could remember who. The picture was just a rectangle of the eyes. It was really cool. So I tried to reproduce a human version of a lizard face. I used the eyes I made ages ago and surrounded them with green clay. Ten I place circles of other cool colors around the eyes. There is no nose and I added a hint of lips so it would look humanish. I'd really like to cut this face in half and hang beads for the lower half for some sort of doll. So there you have my F post. Until next time....

F is for a friend's yarn.

2008-04-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

I tried to get blogger to post all four of my f pictures but it would not do what I told it to do. Sort of like my family. Anyway the lovely Silvia had a contest on her blog. I won and I didn't even follow the rules. She asked if I would evaluate her yarn as I've been spinning longer then she has. Well let me tell you Silvia, your a much better spinner then I was at this time. Most likely your better then me even know. Lily is modeling the two colorways I received. The yarn is balanced so it won't twist on itself showing good plying. There are some thick and thin spots but just enough to show that it's a hand spun yarn rather then machine spun. The colors match up so well not creating a barber pole design that many people don't car for. I don't mind it but many don't like it. So I can't find a thing wrong with either skein and both would make a lovely sweater or jumper as Silvia would say as she lives in England. I haven't decided what I'll do with either skein as it's so soft. Perhaps mittens. I don't know yet. Lily wanted to model the yarn as she's so glad to be in the house. We lost her the other day. I got a call from Jeff after I got home for dropping the girls off at school. Lily didn't come out for breakfast. She never misses a meal but at the time he didn't think much of it. Well I couldn't find her and the girls left the door open so I got really scared. So I started looking around the yard and neighborhood for a place she would hide. She's very skittish so I doubt she'd go to another person. I called the pound to put them on the alert plus she's microchiped so if she turned up at an animal shelter they'd contact us. By micro chipping will certainly not protect her form car wheels or a hungry hawk or coyote. Jeff recently picked up a big wood table from his boss so we had the table pushed up against the back wall of the garage with a great deal of junk. Lily had crawled under all the junk and got herself stuck. She usually comes when I call her or at least meows. She has the softest voice I've ever heard. All the other cats I've come in contact with were whiners. So even thought I looked in the garage and she answered me I didn't hear her. Jeff came home early with missing cat fliers for us to post in the neighborhood. The girls and I were across the street looking under brush again for the cat when he found her. He park outside the garage and walked in and called. He heard her little squeak. He called us home and we started moving junk so she could free herself. She ran like a bullet back into the house and prowled around purring and squeaking for an hours before she settled down. I bet she won't do that again. Until next time....

E is For Eagle and Eventually.....

2008-03-19T14:59:00.000-07:00

E is one of those hard letters to post about. Last month we went to the Illinois waterway station on the Illinois river to see bald eagles. Even though it was actually too late we saw five eagles or the same eagle five times. They are beautiful birds that I never saw in the wild until I moved to the mid west. And here in Illinois the birds winter every year on Plum Island in the middle of the Illinois river. It was fabulous. We also saw hawks, great blue herons and of course gulls. To the left you see my first attempt with the push molds. I used waste clay. You know the bunch of clay that gets stuck along the sides of your work area that's all different colors and ugly. When I blended mine together I got eggplant purple and dark slate blue. Not the worst but not the most pleasing colors. The faces right out of the molds are a touch too small so I played around with the faces you see here. It was fun but now all three of these faces are too big plus they don't curve so they can't be glued to the dolls face. I guess it's a better plan to have the specific doll your trying to face right next to your work area. Well this is the first try and yes they are cool but alas no good. I'm starting to think I need to make a face and create the doll around
the face. So I'm up to three strikes for faces. But these have the most potential. I've notice various articles around the house that I can press into the clay to create texture so the face won't be oval but non symmetrical in shape. it would still have human features but will be different. I have an idea in my mind but I can't seem to describe it in words. You'll just have to trust me. In other fiber news I dyes my 24 yard skirt for belly dance. It's a light turquoise but looks more like a yellow shade light blue. No pictures as it's drying. I need to pick some sort of top. I ordered a purple satin skirt for Amanda to wear. She had costume day at dance last week and the kids are really starting to look like dancers rather then kids impersonating dancers. She really looks quite graceful and confidante rather then confused and unsure. I guess she's growing into her dancing. I love her teacher she's so positive and has taught her to dance for five years now. Megan loves her tap dance but hates ballet. Each to their own as it were. SO I'm off to make dinner. Amanda is receiving her yellow belt in karate tonight. I haven't moved up this time but never fear I'm not quiting. For Easter I'm off to the outer banks in North Carolina with friends. Hope everyone gets a few eggs for the rabbit. Until next time.... Oh as an after thought could someone recommend a paint that covers polymer clay and looks shinny. I painted these faces with cheap acrylic paint as a first try. It covered but not to my liking. I would appreciate any ideas from other polymer clay users.

The book Meme. And it's March so march.

2008-03-02T16:56:00.000-08:00

I love book memes as I read a great deal. This ones easy bold the books you've read, italic the ones you want to read, leave the ones blank that you have no interest in. Consider all of you tagged.
1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye(J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25 . Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner(Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)5
4. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay
)77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91.The Skin of the Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce) New

C is for cat and camping. D is for dog.

2008-02-28T13:24:00.000-08:00

Well I'm updating again. My blogging style has really gotten very sparse but there you have most of my activities. The cat in the picture is Sandy she's about 12 or 13. I got her as a gift from Jeff when we lived in Michigan. I certainly did not expect a cat when he came home and handed me a box. We had one dog and cat and Jeff said "We can't afford any more live pets. Dead ones are okay." So then he gave me Sandy. A woman at work brought in all her barn kittens and Sandy was the cutest. Sandy was way too young to be away from her Mom so I bottle fed her for four weeks. It always amazed me that one tiny little beast could yowl loud enough to wake me up in the middle of the night for a feeding. She's getting old know so I sometimes sneak her a little extra food. The other cats don't like that very much but tough luck. As for camping I've planned our trips. On Memorial day weekend and Columbus day weekends we'll head to Starved Rock right her in Illinois. It's a great park and it's a short drive. In June right after school lets out we're heading to Gattlinburg Tennessee for a week. We can explore Smokey Mountain National Park for a week and do some other fun stuff as well. And in August we're spending a week in Petosky Michigan. I love Petosky and the rest of my family does too. So now I have Cabin fever so I bought some seeds to start indoors. Now as Lily cat likes to eat plants I bought greenhouse set ups so she can't get her mouth on anything. And yes D is for Bessie Spot. Bessie got me up at 4 to go out. I couldn't get back to sleep so I spent an hour rubbing her stomach. She's a great dog. And today I've sold out. I bought push molds for doll faces. I can't find the right face for my dolls. They've been on my studio wall for over a year. I want to start something new but I need to finish the dolls hanging on the wall. I also bought a mold kit. If these faces work perhaps I'll try to carve my own and take a mold of it. I feel like I'm cheating using a push mold but nothing that I try seems to work so this may be the answer. Well it's time to pick up my children and get on with the daytime routine. Until next time....

B is for Bagpipe jokes.

2008-02-13T15:38:00.000-08:00

Q. Why do they call it a "kilt"? A. Because a lot of people got kilt when they called it a skirt.

Q. What does a bagpiper wear under his kilt? A. Shoes and socks.

Q. Why do bagpipers walk when they play? A. To get away from the sound.

Q: What's the only thing worse than a bagpiper?A: Good question. We're still trying to find out
too.
Q. What's the definition of "optimism" A. A bagpiper with a beeper.

Q. What's the range of a bagpipe? A. Twenty yards if you have a good arm.

Q. Why do bagpipers always walk when they play? A. Moving targets are harder to hit.

Q. What's the definition of a minor second? A. Two bagpipes playing in unison.

Q. What's the difference between a bagpipe and an onion? A. No one cries when you chop up an bagpipe.

Q. Why did the chicken cross the road? A. To get away from the bagpipe recital.

Q. What do you call bagpiper with half a brain? A. Gifted.

Q. What do you call someone who hangs around with musicians? A. A bagpiper.

Q. What's the difference between a bagpipe and a trampoline? A. You take off your shoes when you jump on a trampoline.

Q. How can you tell if a bagpipe is out of tune? A. Someone is blowing into it.

Q. How many bagpipers does it take to screw in a lightbulb? A. 5-one to do it, and four to criticise his fingering style.

Q. Why are bagpipers fingers like lightning? A. They rarely strike the same spot twice.

Q. What's the definition of a gentleman? A. Someone who knows how to play the bagpipe and doesn't.

Q. How do you make a chain saw sound like a bagpipe? A. Add vibrato.

B is for Bagpipes and Belly dance!

2008-02-12T13:18:00.000-08:00

Greetings all. That is if there is still an all out there. I've taken up the bagpipes. I've always wanted to play them and took lessons briefly 20 years ago but my practice chanter languished in a box. Over Christmas I got the bug again and signed up for lessons every other Wednesday afternoon. So far I've had two lessons. My playing has progressed from sounding like a cat torture session to sounding like regular musical notes. My chanter is the black thing in the middle of the picture. Plus I keep my music stuff in my fancy white bag. Hey B is for fancy Bag. With the bagpipes you learn on a chanter first and when you’re ready onto the pipes. I hope by this time next year I'll be playing the bagpipes. I'd love to join a band and march in a few parades but as I have only had two lessons I'll try to keep myself from grandiose dreaming for the moment. After all I'm just trying to learn to move from note to note without sending my dog running in terror. The purple floral and orange and maroon skirts are for belly dance. I love wild outrageous skirts and belly dance is the place where that is normal and doesn't look like a fashion miscalculation. I love the class its great fun and good exercise too. Plus the music is great an I've met some fun people. So I'm now covered for January on the alphabet thing. Of course we're halfway into February but I'll post with my c next. I'd love to report all the lovely fiber work I've finished but alas there is no such work. My life seems so busy but in reality it doesn't make good copy. It's snowing like a gerbil currently. (Megan used to say that when she was a preschooler) We're having a rather snowy winter but the weather doesn’t bother me as it does many others. I keep hearing people wish they lived someplace south. I did live in the south and I'd rather have the snow. I wish I could still ski. I hurt my back eight years ago with a soft tissue injury and now I'm afraid if I ski I'll hurt myself again. I'm not a particular good skier or even remotely athletic. So alas no skiing this year. I'm off to the orthodontist for Amanda now. Until next time...

A is for angst, face angst.

2008-01-06T08:33:00.000-08:00

I've joined the ABC-along on Raverlry. Perhaps it will make me a regular poster. I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I had a fabulous December with a few bad glitches but overall it was a fun season. But as Christmas goes I'm rather happy it's over. As much fun as Christmas is its a tremendous amount of work for me and most of my activities get pushed to the side. So before Christmas took over my life I was trying to figure out what type of faces to add to the dolls I've been working on for over a year. I tried clay faces they didn't work. I tried drawing faces that you see but they don't work either. So my next step is needle sculpted faces which I tried. But sadly I really can't remember how to do them. I tried but got really frustrated and put them aside and got swept up in Christmas. Over the wonderful two weeks off we had I've decided to start Tuesday morning and relearn needle sculpting. I've also purchased a little pattern on beaded faces which I want to learn as well. I have loads of beads. The only kind I don't have are bugle beads. So I'll be starting a bugle bead collection to facilitate my beaded faces. Those are my two doll related goals for January. My family has started a new hobby geocaching. We went twice and now we're all hooked. On a Wednesday afternoon we took off for a local park to find a two stage cache. The park was in Lisle by their high school. It was a huge park with baseball fields a water park and some small wooded areas. On this winter afternoon the park was deserted so we were able to let the dog run free. Bessie loves to romp on her own. I spent my childhood going hiking at Bear Mountain State Park in New York during winter. I forgot how much I love hiking and spending time outside during the cold winter months. Parks are deserted the air is cold so I don't sweat and it's just well fun. Plus the scenery covered in snow doesn't hurt either. So now we're on the chase of the perfect GPS unit so we can geocache on all our planned vacations. We've decided not to go to Yellowstone this year but save it till the kids are older. We couldn't decide where or how to stay. So if we wait until the kids are a little older the issues with food in a camper attracting bears and Amanda getting cold won't be as great. So this year we'll spend time in Petosky an try out the national park by the great smoky mountains. We also thought to hit Mammoth cave in Kentucky on the way home. That should take us a few weeks. Let's see what else what else. We are all set to go back to out planned activities. Same as last semester except that Megan doesn't want to take ballet anymore she wants more soccer. Well I really enjoy her dance recitals but the child wants to be a goalie so what is a mother to do but trade her pink ballet shoes in for a pair of black cleats. Megan has never been particularly prissy and she is still taking tap so I will see her dance. Amanda still enjoys ballet and really wants to use toe shoes. She's still too young and I have a very strong feeling that once she tries on point dancing and if it hurts that will be the end. But we have a few years before that happens. My New Years goals are basically the same as last year: spend more time with my dog, keep regular studio hours, start growing or establishing my business, learn a few new things. Your basic keep the brain from dying list. I hope everyone is having a great new year. Until next time....

Blogger lost the pictures below!

2007-12-02T18:43:00.000-08:00

Here's Laura and I at the show.

2007-12-02T18:38:00.000-08:00

Somehow Blogger deleted a picture. So here it is again. Until next time.....

I'm walking on air!

2007-12-02T18:34:00.000-08:00

Garrison's Garret was out in public for the first time today. I made some money but the experience and being out was fantastic. My friend Laura has been after me for over a year to get my act together. She hosted this Woman's Expo and told everyone who came into her shop about my scarves, dolls, quilts and everything. She's such a special person to me and I'm sitting here crying as she's just been so kind to me and believes in my work. She's arranged for me to do a trunk show in her store next Saturday and would take no money if I didn't insist. Claire's been great too. She's so patient where as I'm not and over the last month has been very positive assisting me to get my act together for this show. Jeff whipped together the big rack for my 36x108 scarves and the wooden circular rack for my 8x54. He ran back and forth from home to the show getting me the stuff I forgot as well as getting lunch for us and bringing a case of water for us all to drink. In addition to my scarves I also sold little sheep ornaments and sat at my wheel for hours spinning. Spinning in public always draws a crowd. I had some yarn and bird coat on hand as some folk thought I was spinning wool to make my scarves. Crazy people. I can't wait to do more shows. I do really like the atmosphere and the tension of will I sell something. Plus spinning out is fun. While living in Michigan I used to spin out frequently but with all the moves and the kids I'm not sure if there are shows where I can do that here. I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight after all the excitement. I really had a ball. I guess I'm grown up now as I said in my blurb at the sidebar that I wanted to sell my fiber art when I grow up. Until next time....

We moved up in rank for the Second time!

2007-11-29T09:04:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to show that Amanda and I moved up in rank in karate. Amanda got her red belt and I got my yellow belt. In most martial arts the yellow is the first belt. But our karate teacher broke done the requirements for yellow into three sections so the kids could have more opportunity to move up and stay excited and motivated. Well, I have the maturity of a five year old and it's worked for me. Amanda is still interested too so here's to us. Until next time...