It all started with a text message...

"Hi grandma I was wondering if u could make me a pouch for my drawing tablet.  Could it pls be gray and pink.  The measurement if 14.2 x 8.6 so could u pls make it a little bigger.  Love u so much.

Of course, I checked out my stash and incredibly, I had no pink or gray fabric!  (not my favorite colors!)  So I went shopping and bought some FQ's in a variety of values and started making the fabric using my left-over Stitch & Slash technique.

Because I have been making wallets and purses for a while, I was pretty confident of using a zipper to close the top and attaching the lining for the inside.  

I thought a 9" opening would be fine but no!  Did you know a 9" zipper doesn't open to 9"?  I didn't until the entire pouch was made and I couldn't insert the cardboard tablet I made in the dimensions of her tablet.

Back to the drawing board.

But problem solving is a part of all my artwork so instead of starting over (which I hate as much as ripping out stitches) I cut out the zipper and finished the raw edge with some couching.  Then, it was too short.  So I added some Sari ribbon to the edge and added more couching.

So instead of a zipper, I created a tab and added that with a couple of magnetic closures.

To personalize it, I added her name using some alphabet beads.

​All in all, I think it turned out cute.  I hope it fits and she likes it.  If not, I can always make another one now that I know how to do it right! 

Took a break from packing and donating things to Goodwill (yes, I'm moving next week!) and rewarded myself with a class on sewing up a bag using waxed canvas. I was obviously distracted because I had to use my seam ripper TWiCE!  (you know that broke one of my rules but it had to be done.)

​Andrea is a wonderful teacher.  She explained everything, gave us numerous tips, and in the end, everyone made a wonderful bag.  The instruction for this bag are included in her newest magazine — By Hand Serial #8.  You can buy it here.  I am one of the artists featured in this magazine so I hope you will support her and buy a copy!

Best part of the class was meeting and sitting next to Ali DeJohn, the founder of Makerie.  We became friends as we were the most challenged students in the classroom but helped each other out and had fun, regardless of our mistakes.  We both are involved in creative retreats, knowing that it can be life-changing.  And it was fun to be on the other side -- being students instead of organizing and teaching.

Ali and I will be creating together one of these days, as soon as I get this move under my belt.  Can't wait!

I was so excited to receive a copy of LookBook #8 published by By Hand Serial.  

I was one of several fiber artists featured in this magazine and if you live in or are thinking of visiting the Front Range of Colorado, I encourage you to buy this magazine.  I learned so much about my local community and my New Year's resolution is to take up knitting!  (Just love all of these hand-dyed yarns!)

Obviously, fiber art runs in our family.  My husband's cousins' daughter is also featured — Dani Frisbie, owner of Sunshine Yarns — small world!

After 30 years of living in my old house, I'm moving to an apartment!  One of the most time-consuming things I'm doing to prepare to move is going back over my life by reviewing photos (thousands!) and files (hundreds!)

One of the files I'm reviewing tonight concerns the publication of my first quilting book "The Patchwork Quilt Design & Coloring Book" published in 1977.  

I couldn't resist sharing this photo with you because it shows how things were done in 1977.  When you wanted to share something with fellow employees, you created a "Routing Slip" that was stapled to the item and included a list of initials who needed to know this information.  Once the person saw it, they would cross off their initials, put it in their "out-box" and the mail guy would pick it up and put it into the next "in-box" of the person on the list.  And this would continue until it eventually was returned to the person who sent it in the first place.

The list was always prepared with a pecking list -- most important person to least important person.  That way, if you were on the list, you always knew where you stood in the corporation.

It took months for information to be shared in the old days.  I'm not convinced that wasn't a good thing!

I love making my own stamps.  I found some small wooden letters at my local craft store and glued them onto a wooden substrate.  Remember, reverse the letters if you want them to read correctly  I didn't care since I wasn't making words,  
This is my favorite stamp!

Lately, I've been making Art Tiles.  Hundreds of them

I don't know why.

My tiles are 2" x 2" and start with a substrate of book board.  I'm layering all kinds of things on top using gesso, paint, gel medium, napkins, tissue paper, book pages, magazine pages, whatever I can find in my studio.

As a final layer, I cover the tile with Diamond Glaze or a Leveling Gel (I don't really see a difference between these products so buy whatever is less expensive!) 

You might ask — what are you going to do with all these tiles?

Honestly, I don't have a plan yet but I'm having fun experimenting with different layering ideas on a small scale and eventually, something will inspire me to make them into a cohesive piece of art.

This method of working reminds me when I did the same process — making lots of 6" squares of fabric to make a quilt.  Hmmmm.  Some things never change!

This small book was made using the "Blizzard Book" folding technique invented by Hedi Kyle.  I first saw her technique demonstrated on YouTube and the instructions are presented in her new book The Art of the Fold.  This book is perfectly suited for holding standard business cards.

I added color to the paper using my Gel printing technique with StazOn stamp ink pads and covered book board for the front and back covers.

Instead of business cards, I created some circles with some flower images and love how the shapes interact.

These mini books are really fun to create and I hope you try one.  Or two.  Or ten.  Yes this is addictive!

​

No one knows how this Mandarin Duck came to be floating in the middle of Central Park in NYC.  But everyone agrees it's the most beautiful duck there!

One of the things I do to get my creative juices going is to print out a photo and put it into my watercolor sketchbook.  Then I try to duplicate every color I see in the photo.  This duck was a particular challenge since you don't really see these color combinations in most nature photos.  Hot pink, teal & ultramarine blue, purple, rust, brown, white and black.  The reflections in the water gave me a chance to gray down the colors as well as to add various shades of dark green to my palette.  

This exercise does two things:  improves your color mixing abilities so you can achieve just the right hue, and it trains your rye to be more alert to color in all it's variations.  I bet if you do this with a friend, each of you will come up with a different palette from the same photo.  (Hint:  everyone sees color differently!)

I had an old book that I wanted to use for eco-dying and I interleaved organic material between each page, wrapped the book with string and boiled it for a couple of hours.

Even though the pages took on images from leaves and flowers, I really just liked the way the string and book became it's own work of art.  

So Japanese!

Spent a day with my friend Susan Brooks, doing some eco-dyeing on paper.  Susan is a wonderful and generous instructor and shared all her knowledge with me (so much, I couldn't remember it all!) but I came home with some fabulous pieces.

I can't wait to incorporate them in my junk journals and other artist books.  She inspired me so much, I started collecting the things I need to replicate this process in my studio.  Now I just need to find some fresh leaves to work with since all the greenery in Denver is gone.  Sigh!