So

Productive? So-so. I finished strip 6. Now the swallowed letters look swallowed again. I'm not sure what to do with them. I was thinking of refusing letters in silver. But I need to reprint them and can't do it from my laptop which isn't compatible with the old printer. And I'm still learning the ins and outs of the new Word version. Somewhat frustrating but not terribly. I will email the Word document to myself at work and print it out there.
I made the paper template for the butterfly which I will photocopy tomorrow. And then I can get started on the buttefly too.
So I guess that's pretty much it for today.

The Best of Intentions

I had plans for the four days of Christmas and Boxing Day. Day three is drawing to an end and let's just say I didn't make all that much progress. Christmas Day I worked on the SAT piece. Finished 5 of the six wavy strips but couldn't figure out strip 6. Set it aside.
Yesterday, I made a tote bag from upholstery fabric someone brought to a FAT meeting over a year ago, some ultrasuede I didn't use in the intended project it was purchased for and some unidentified fabric from a garage sale. The results are not bad considering that I am written instruction challenged. I may have skipped a step or two or done one or two wrong but I'll know what to do (or what not to do) the next time, if there is a next time.
Today, I sat down with the paper piecing instructions, read them over several times and decided it's not for me without actually seeing it. I will try to make a piece doing a freezer paper piecing method I discovered when I was doing crazy quilting. I am going to try to make a butterfly for the 1,500,000 Butterfly Project of the Houston Holocaust Museum. Maybe tomorrow.
This afternoon we went to Michael's to use a gift card I received (thanks, Saul). I bought some silver beads (hopefully I can finish strip 6 now), some letter stamps and some ink pads.
So if I can finish the 6th strip and start on the butterfly tomorrow, I'll be happy.
There's another 3 day weekend coming up so maybe by then my productivity will have returned.

Swallowed lettering

I tried to outline the almost invisible organza with a tiny running stitch. Nyeh. Didn't look good. I was going to remove the wavy strip until I remembered that I had not just sewn it down but fused it. Then I thought to put a darker strip to cover up the one beneath. But that would be bulky. Since the piece seemed pretty much ruined anyways I decided to go over the invisible organza letters with the pearl puffy fabric paint I bought in Israel. That really looked awful so I took a piece of fabric and wiped off the paint. Lo and behold, the lettering is now visible. Go figure. It doesn't have the sparkle effect I wanted but maybe I can remedy that some other way. I also finished my first pass of embellishing but am not sure I don't want to add more. I'm giving it a rest and when I go back to it in a day or two, maybe it will tell me how it feels.

I stopped at around noon because I spoke with Dev and invited her and my Mom for lunch. I assured Devora that we had food, she didn't need to bring anything. I pulled out the leftover soup, leftover majadra, leftover cauliflower & Jamaican pumpkin salad. I quickly made an Israeli salad (tomato, cucumber, green pepper cut into small pieces), opened a few tins of tuna and boiled some pasta. Put out the chumus and the freshly baked pitot, both of which Menachem made. Et voila. Devora still brought bourekas and babka cake. So a full meal.

Did I mention that it's a quarter to four in the afternoon and I'm still in my pj's? It's just one of those days.

What I did this weekend (and it hasn't started yet)

My S.A.T. piece: I finally decided to do the lettering in organza. After failing miserably at printing out the Hebrew letters in mirror image (can't seem to follow written instructions -- need to see a demo) I did the laborious time consuming method of fusing the organza to steam a seam, taping the letters onto the front of the organza, removing the backing paper and cutting the letters out. I'm sure there's an easier way and I'm going to visit Gwen and Nnolika at some point to see in her Silhouette can do it (and what else it can do). I ironed the phrases onto the background wavy strips. One phrase was swallowed by the background fabric (not enough contrast, I guess), the other turned out great. I think I may just do a running stitch in tiny stitches to outline the swallowed letters. Then embellishments. Just tried dyeing the purple duvet cover fabric buttons in three shades of blue. So far, I am not impressed. I guess I should wait until they dry properly before I pass judgment on the results. Now I have to figure out if I can attach the paillettes. I was told that I could adhere them by ironing from the back but since I already have two layers of fabric and batting attached, I'm not sure the ironing will work. I may do a trial but I don't want them falling off at a later date. I'll have to think on that one.

And I have other challenges to contemplate and work on. My FibreArts Toronto group had a meeting while I was away and Christine demonstrated a method of interpreting a photograph into fabric. She's going to send me the instructions and then I have until the January meeting to make a piece employing this technique. Since it is a technique I am hoping to use in some future work, I am itching to get started on it.

And another meeting I missed, this time due to jet lag, was the most recent Pomegranate Guild's. And it was really on a subject I am interested in: embellishing. A challenge was announced for February to make a functional item related to family history, adhering to certain guidelines (eg. no photo transfer, use a recycled item, etc.) The ideas have started percolating. I'm not sure my finished piece will be a functional item but it should be fun figuring out what to do and how. My starting points are geneology and geography and I'm not saying anything else just yet.

So I guess I have my work cut out for me. And I suppose I will be setting some goals for the new year but not just yet.

Jetlag, etc.

Came home Sunday. Unpacked. Put the bits and pieces I purchased in my studio.
Traditionally the Christmas/New Year's season is a good one for me creatively. Lots of uninterrupted time to think and play.
New Year coming up. Resolutions? Goals?
Not sure.
The jet lag is playing havoc with my physical clock and my mental capabilities haven't recovered yet.