Cats on my stuff

Silliness

Some silliness for those who have young children:

If you ever see a bunny
whose nose is very runny,
you might think it's funny
but it's (s)not!

Fabric Beads

Ahhhhh, another madness to get obsessive about. Fabric beads. These are just a few of the beads I've finished in the last few days. They are really addictive. Can't wait to begin using them in something - it will have to be nice and three-dimensional.
They're intriguing little things and I keep being drawn to pick one up and look at it closer. Ah well, there are worse things to be addicted to. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Cyber Fyber - I've joined!

I'm thrilled that I am going to be part of the Cyber Fyber Exhibition!
I am trading for Postcard No 156 and this weekend will give some thought to which postcard to post to Susan Lenz, or to perhaps making a new one especially for the occasion.
Many, many thanks to Jackie of Blissfully Imperfect who mentioned this to me and got me curious enough to go and take a look. Apparantly I am currently the only representative of the whole continent of Africa. There are many like me, I assure you, so that is not representative of fibre artists in this neck of the woods. But I am glad we are going to be in there and will attempt to keep the African flag flying high!

Metalwork

These are going to be "teaser" pics, not intentionally, but because the rest of the pics I took are tooooo blurry. I will re-try, but here are the close-ups, so long.
It feels like armour to me, and since much of it was done with the hulking big bandage on my hand, and with me feeling like I needed some armour against life's assaults, that's what I am sticking with.. no title yet, but I'm also not 100% sure that it's finished yet, even though it's up and hanging

Carpal tunnel repair

This is such a clever little operation and it has really, really helped. Above is my left hand, which was done about two years ago - you can faintly see a scar running from the wrist crease to about halfway up m y palm. I call it my "wealth line".

Below is the "Can hold needle - will sew" shot. I have to spend just TWO more days in this bandage, which has been a monumental pain in the {insert own body part here}. It's bulky, hot in this sticky summer weather and by now, much grubbier than the picture (thank goodness I took that shot some time back!)
But I have to say the orthopaedic surgeon has done a fine job - and of course I have a design worked out for a new work based on this experience. Making lemonade and all that...

Edit 4 March 2008
... and here it is just after the bandage came off. Still very red, but that will fade.

Is this Angelina?

I've read so much about Angelina fibres, but have never found a really good picture/description, and have never found it locally, so when I found this lilac fuzz at our local stationery/arts/crafts shop (Albany Business Machines, in case any locals were wondering) I thought it looked like what I imagine Angelina fibres to be. I bought some and took them home to play with. I tried to iron some together, between two sheets of fusible release paper and it worked like a charm! So even if it isn't Angelina, I can use it as if it was :)

It's called Angel's Hair according to the lady who orders it and the label says Sparkle Shred. Next I am going to ask if she can order it in different colours (the lilac is not my first choice of colour!) Can any of you knowledgable people out there in blogland tell me if it looks like Angelina?

I'm listed in a sidebar :)

Belonging to webrings has been a great move - I've been getting a bit more traffic on my blog. It's not the traffic I am after as much as the contact and exchanges with other similar folks - so thanks to anyone who has stopped by and left a comment, so I can follow you to your own site and get inspired :)

I've now even made it to a sidebar of another fibre art blog! - go have a look at Jackie K's Blissfully Imperfect (love the name!)

Mickey

Metal

I've wanted to explore using metal with fibre for some time. Apparently you can buy craft metal (not sure if it's pewter or what) but I have not seen any here in Grahamstown, which is the usual downside to living in a small place.

The upside to living in a small place is that you then get inventive about finding substitutes. So here is a very plentiful substitute: the ubiquitous cooldrink can (or "soda can" as the Americans call it). I wash them out, cut off the top and bottom and down the middle and voila.

I used an old dry ballpoint pen to scribble patterns on them. This isn't the best tool as I found I had to press very hard. It was VERY hard on the hands - I did these before my hand operation, and will not be able to do any more until my hand has healed. I would imagine the craft metal that is sold, is softer. One buys a ball tool for this, but really, how is a ball point pen different? You also have to cut smoothly as any jagged or pointy edges are really sharp. I bought a cheap (as in R5.99) pair of kitchen shears from Pep to cut the cans with as I was not going to risk my nice scissors and they have proved perfect (Now I'm wondering if cutting metal does not actually *sharpen* the scissors? Anyone know?)
To disguise the origin of the metal I backed them with fabric wrapped around the front and hemmed with mitred corners. I also want to try doing something that does not disguise the other side, but I did not want the distraction of the multi-coloured side for this project.

I would also still like to try and find another way to make the marks on the metal, that doesn't wreck the hands quite so much. The metal/fibre combination has SOOO many possibilities I really want to do more.

Pics of finished project soon...

My Blog of the Week!

If you haven't seen it already, you MUST hop along to Sue Bleiweiss' blog.
Fantastic stuff.
She publishes an online Mixed Media 'zine called Fibre and Stitch. Just a look at the contents page of the latest issue made my mouth water. If the Free Projects are anything to go by, I think I may just NEED to get this into my life :)

Not so bad

I've taken painkillers on 6 occasions in the last 6 days and there is no more pain, so I'm pretty impressed with that. Still not a lot of grip strength in my hand (cutting with scissors is out) but the opposable thumb bit is getting better. It aches at the end of the day, but I have to admit that is when I have pushed it hard. I still have a very bulky and irritating bandage on, which is only coming off in TWO weeks(!) I have finished my black and grey piece, but pics will have to wait until I can get them uploaded.
So, not that much of interest here, today. Sorry.

I'm a terrible patient

I'm so restless and need to be doing something with my hands.

However, I CAN hold a needle (joy of joys!) and even though I don't have much strength in my right hand, (using any of the hand muscles pulls on the stitches and hurts) I can do basic things. So I have installed myself on the couch with season one of Grey's Anatomy and about 2 seasons of House MD and I am working rather mindlessly on a black and grey piece that I'll show you when I can figure out how to get pics onto a computer whose USB ports are all broken. Mickey kitten comes and climbs onto my lap and plays with my thread and is soooo cute. Every now and then I take 2 of the 20 pills I was given for pain, when it gets too sore, although I must say the pain has not been very bad.

I can't shake an oppressively heavy, depressed feeling that has settled over me like a blanket. It seems it is always lurking about, waiting to pounce on me when I'm not alert... :(

Post-op thoughts

I wish I was a glow-worm
a glow-worm's never glum,
For how can you be grumpy
when the sun shines out your bum?!

Ow.
Grump grump.
What is the use of two weeks off work, when I can't do the thing I MOST want to do whenever I'm off???

Tri-Nations Challenge

With a prod from a friend, (thanks, Mariss) I have enetered the Tri-Nations Challenge.
O help! I have NO IDEA what I am going to make. The entry form had to be in by 31 Jan, so I just sent it in, without any clue as to what I would do. It has to be 50x50cm with theme "My Place".
No doubt something will occur to me...

South Africa's National Quilt Festival, held every two years, is coming up in September this year in Johannesburg. I have to decide a) whether I am going and b) whether I am going to try and enter something. I also have to decide about my entry for Innovative Threads, which has a THEME this year, much to my dismay (it's usually open-themed). I'm dismayed because I recently finished what was going to be my Inno entry for this year (been working on it 2 years and haven't shown it here yet), but I dont think I am going to be able to squeeze it into the theme :( And I'm SO proud of it.

And to go with this dismay, I lost a filling in a tooth, that I just had done last week and I have to go for the Carpal Tunnel op on my hand next week. Lovely day. Why is the general trend just always south, I wonder. oh well, just have to get on with it, I guess...

Tatty edges rule :)

Just before making the piece I posted about a few days ago, I cut the raw edges off all the fabrics. They had a lovely frayed look to them. I sewed them all onto a piece of black fabric and don't they look great all lined up together :)
I will probably make a fabric journal cover from this. Any other suggestions?

Hand Trouble

Two years ago, I had an operation to repair the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in my left hand. At the time, I had it in both hands, but much worse in the left, so I only got the left done. Now I fear it is time to do the right hand.

I'm really anxious about this! Much more so than last time around. My right hand is so instrumental in all the things that are really important to me, that the thought of laying it under a surgeon's scalpel just doesn't appeal to me. I know it will help; it won't be so sore, tingling, numb etc. but... but... I also know I won't be able to use it for 2 weeks, during which time I will be off work and thus ACHING to make stuff and thus frustrated out of my tree!

My appointment with the orthopaedic surgeon is on Monday 4 Feb. Sigh. I also remember it was about 6 months before I could say my hand had fully recovered. I'll have to learn to use a mouse with my left hand and perhaps I should take out a DVD contract... ugh, I don't want this.