Lemme explain

There was no writing in the last post, mainly because I was so sad at the demise of my trusty Elna sewing machine. It's been with me since the early 80's and saw me through many projects. It was especially useful for all the heirloom sewing I've done these many years.
  Right in the middle of one of the many graduation dresses I'm working on this season, it decided it was too tired to continue. The thread kept breaking. It was very frustrating and I would have panicked, but a several years ago, I ran across another Elna, that was maybe a year or two older than the recently deceased model. I had the intention of using it for replacement parts if my beloved machine ever needed repairs. It was similar to parents having another child for transplant parts for the older child with a serious disease.
   Since there is no time in my schedule to stop for repairs, I plugged in the spare machine and realized it sewed beautifully. And quietly, with no skipped stitches, no balled up thread on the underside of seams!!! YAY!!!
So, all is well in the workroom now, well.....it will be when I get over this awful cold that has had me confined to my bed for the last several days. I had been SOOO careful all winter, avoiding crowds and sick people when the flu was going around, because I knew if I came down with anything it would be BAD!
   Then BOOM I woke up with a scratchy throat last Wednesday, told myself it was spring allergies (which I never have) soldiered on till I went to bed, totally exhausted. Aches and pains kept me from a good night's sleep, then a headache accompanied by rising fever. My temperature reached over 103 and I got out the ice pack.
  Now it's Monday, I'm still fatigued and very disappointed that I had to miss the opening reception of the TNCraft-Southwest Collaborations show yesterday. But so many friends were concerned and offered to bring food and beverage. I'm a lucky person to have such kind caring people in my life...

Sacred Tree

Bug Book

The depths of summer

As usual, it's been hot and humid, like every other Memphis summer since the dawn of time. We got a tiny break this weekend and I took advantage of it and got a lot of work done in the yard. It really needed it too, as I had neglected my yard for two years!!!! I know where all that time went and am too embarrassed to tell anyone.......
  So, it's back on track now. My sewing adventures have been good, maybe not as prolific as years past, but satisfying enough. I hope to spend more time on creative endeavors going forth. I've done a little painting, but realized my true talent doesn't lie with paint and canvas and am happy to leave that to my brother, sister and sister in law! A lot of my sewing has been dedicated to reworking my niece's 1980's wedding dress into a new creation for her daughter. I'm very happy with how it's coming along and she seems pleased when I send her photos. I love texting.....
   The realization that I haven't fully explored living for myself and gaining inner strength is another reason for a change in my creative attitude and giving more time to house and yard obligations. The troubles are in the past and must stay there. The grand adventure is over and done. It's enough to reflect on the positive emotions of both those relationships, but not let myself go down either of those paths again.

    On a more uplifting note, the group show at Crosstown is coming up. I screwed around at the deadline and just couldn't get my shit together to make a proper application. I felt bad about that but sucked it up without too much self abuse. Then, one of the other artists had to drop out and I was offered their space!! So, I got a reprieve. Now I'm making a few new things to present for sale and rerun some older bits. Last August, I took everything I had and now realize what a messy space I had. Maybe a slimmed down presentation will prove more attractive. 

More diversion

I was so enthralled with the first tape bound journal, I wanted to experiment further, which required acquisition of supplies. I found some artists tape that I had painted and stamped last year. (Don't leave tape on freezer paper for long as it peels away the shiny part, boohoo,but some of it worked.)
Office Max has a pretty good variety of washi tape and duck tapes in colors and patterns. The Art Center had some washi tape as well and I had plenty of white artist tape, too. I had run out of gesso so I bought a big jar of that, which is much thicker than what I had before and scrapes nicely onto the pages and is better to use with stencils for added texture.
   There was plenty of cardboard from calendars in my hoard--I mean resource center--to make bigger pages for the second journal. It was much easier to prime and paint the unbound pages, too. When all was dry, I used different tapes, but tried to use sturdier ones on the pages and then covered with the washi tape, as it is not very durable. If it wears out over time, I can slap some more on. I am NOT making a Guttenburg bible, ya know.
  So here's photos of this process.

The newest diversion

After seeing tape bound journals on a blog a long time ago, I finally figured out how to make one. It was so simple I can't believe it took me so long....duh! The "instructions" are in a paragraph in the late Shereen LaPlantz's book, "Cover to Cover", which has been in my library forever.
   So now, I have yet another distraction from the horrors of real life and one more excuse for not vacuuming my bedroom. It's pretty horrible under the bed!
These are photos of the first journal that I made and of course, in my haste to secure the construction steps in my brain, I assembled the pages BEFORE gesso and paint was applied. Grrr...never mind the date/time stamp. I don't know what's going on with my new camera. I sure miss my old one...
  Notice the gesso has been scraped onto the cardboard page with an old plastic card. Gives it great texture. The last picture is texture added to the gesso with a small plastic doily.