things gathered

i am always intrigued by the things we collect. be they for inspiration, function, or simply because we feel an emotional attachment to them. even more interesting is how we display, use and alter them. it can be something as simple as arranging them on a straw sushi mat. wrapping it in rubber bands. or simply allowing it to dry out and crack and then see what interesting re-imaginings result.

sometimes function and form come together to beautiful effect. these hand-carved indonesian printing blocks are a perfect example. they create wondrous markings on cloth. yes. but they are beautiful in their own right, simply gathered together. displayed. admired. i can't get enough of these delightful little gems...whether or not i actually find time to use them as they were intended or to simply admire them.

still other collections offer vignettes of simple charm, like these dishes. gathered together with beautifully bound books filled with words that are meant to inspire. to instruct. to mark thoughts. for me, one of the small pleasures that rivals the tactile quality of aged fabric is the sent and sound of an old book. it doesn't really even matter what the volume is about...or even if it is in a language that i understand. just the feel of the leather cover. the slightly musty smell of the yellowed papers. the dry, age-ridden sound of the pages. the memories whispered quietly in the text of bygone eras and long dead authors. there is such a romantic cloud that hovers when enjoying an old book!

whatever it is that inspires you in your collecting habits, there is a decided pleasure that things gathered provide for us... i don't believe i will ever grow weary of reacquainting myself with my collections.

namaste'

a day of shopping

 with the heat finally abating for a few days, it seemed the perfect day to hop on the old kawasaki and get in a little exploratory shopping... there is nothing quite like a partially cloudy day in the mid 70's for a spontaneous bike trip into town.

at my first stop, the montana rescue mission thrift shop, i found some wonderful men's shirts that were just begging to be de-constructed and re-imagined!

also hiding in a little corner was a box of old thread spools filled with wonderfully neutral colored threads! a quick burn test revealed them to be cotton so they will be perfect for over-dyeing...

stopping next at st. vincent de paul's yielded a large bag of wine corks. several years ago, a friend of mine and i embarked upon a carving odyssey for stamping in art journals. i don't know whatever happened to all those wonderful stamps....but i'm thinking these will be perfect for carving new ones to experiment with mark making on cloth!

the a quick trip out to the red barn antique shop on the outskirts of laurel brought me to this little treasure. at first i was excited to find such a wonderful little tin box (given my passion for collecting boxes of all sorts). imagine my joy to find a full set of round tin cookie cutters! of course, these will never cut cookie dough in my house since they are destined for the rust pots for making moons and suns on cloth.

a small tin box (!) full of rusty little tools were also to be had...including an old working padlock and key. these will be happily joining the cookie cutters in the rust pots.

then a quick jaunt into laurel proper to the good shepherd antique and thrift shop brought me to this marvelous stack of old 78's.  i had such a difficult time deciding which to buy for my victrola. there were big bands, blues, classical, and even a few crazy old doris day cuts!  of course, the blues won out and i now have 12 new blues albums to listen to... i'm thinking, however, that i may have to make another trip out there for some of those big bands albums!

most intriguing, however, was this large crate of rusted old door knobs. my soul ached when i decided to pass on them...mostly because i was still on the kawasaki and could only purchase what my old leather back pack could hold and it was already at capacity (if not slightly beyond). i would love to have had the entire box...but may have to settle for picking up a knob or two when i go back out there for more of the 78's.

meanwhile, it's time to settle in and get some needle chanting done tonight. i've pulled out a couple of my "mindless" projects to keep my hands busy while my elders sleep.

namaste'

an amazing gift

my parents presented me with this most wonderful gift today! it was a custom, hand-built fly tying cabinet that my dad had bought some years ago from an elderly fisherman in washington on one of our trips. i believe he had the thought of using it for pursuing fly tying of his own. or perhaps to house his extensive vintage fishing lure collection. mom and i both fell in love with it. she thought to use it for organizing her art supplies on top of her table, but found it to be much too large for her use. as you can see, i am only too pleased to see it next offered to me!

as you can see, i've wasted no time whatsoever in putting it to use! of course, i only have a small amount of my stitching supplies along with me...but they've all found a drawer, ledge or nook to tuck themselves into and have left plenty of room for their cousins to come join in the fun when i get back home next week.

this is going to be awesome on my design table in the studio and will be extremely useful on trips and treks where my cloth-making projects tag along...

namaste'

a new obsession

imagine my unexpected joy at finding such a treasure at the local thrift shop on my way home from work this morning...and for only $25 no less! except for the small broken bit on the back rest, the wood is in amazingly perfect shape, right down to the wood wheels. the cushion springs are also in incredible condition.  obviously, the upholstery needs a total redo, though there is a wondrous, faded vintage floral on the bottom that i believe i shall salvage for my clothwork (i know...pics, please!...i will get to them later...for the moment, the batteries in my camera have died). whomever owned this lovely before it found its unfortunate way to the thrift shop obviously loved and cherished it for many years!

this will be one of my favorite new obsessions, of course! some years ago, my folks bought me a luxurious scroll saw for xmas (that i simply *had* to have or i was gonna *die*!) that still hasn't been out of the box. i do believe, however, that i now have an unprecedented reason to get it out and set up! that little panel on the back should be a breeze to duplicate with the scroll saw and a little hand carving.

then i'll want to tighten up the support bands under the springs, check to make sure none of them need to be re-wrapped, and then decide on the cushion materials. of course, at the moment, i'm thinking kantha stitched vintage sari scraps! or perhaps she'll want something a little more stately and subdued? japanese boro stitched fabrics maybe? i've have a delightful stash of vintage silk kimono bits that would be absolutely exotic and lovely on this chair!

oh, the possibilities!!! but where to start?!? wood? cloth? well, either way will have to wait until tomorrow in any case as i'm working a night shift again tonight for someone who couldn't get out of their driveway through the snow...

namaste'

a bit of winter bundling...

been doing a bit of winter rust bundling this morning. playing with my new rusty treasures in an attempt to rust some suns, and maybe the odd moon or two, into a selection of salvaged cloth. it will be a two part project. first rust the suns, then play around with some hybridized shibori techniques using some old scrapbooking fabric dyes that i found tucked away. forgotten, in the oubliette. don't even know of they make these dyes anymore. but i've got some, so i guess it doesn't really matter. it's amazing what i can find in the oubliette when i really start digging! i think i may even have spotted my new airbrush. now old. but still new, in the package, as i've never used it!

now, i can already hear some of you saying, "rust dyeing?! in the middle of winter?! but you need sunshine and heat to encourage the rust to flourish! those are gonna take forever!" but, being somewhat tricksy myself, i have a solution to this issue! sunny windowsills and extra thick zip lock bags. "wha-?!?" you say. yuppers! mini-makeshift hot houses for rust cultivation! who could ask for anything better?

as you can see, these bundles have only been in the mini-makeshift hot houses for a few hours before i got a chance to snap some pictures and a few of them are already taking off like bandits! some of these little buggers might be ready for stage two before you know it!

as you can see, we are finally seeing a little bit of winter. so strange for us to be half way through january and only now getting a taste of winter. i have a feeling spring may be a long way off this year... maybe, if i can kick this dastardly cold, i might even get some snowboarding in this year?!

namaste'

a few treasures

"heroes take journeys,

confront dragons,

and discover the treasure

of their true selves."

-carol lynn pearson

my journeys of late have been from the arm of my chair, traveling the hidden causeways of the world wide web, and the only dragon that i've confronted is this beautiful bit of vintage silk wool kimono dragon! it journeyed to me all the way from japan and is one of my newest treasures. it has not whispered its intent in my ear as yet, but for the moment is resting from its long journey up on the wall of my studio. i hear the wind blowing...and listen quietly for the dragon to begin its tale...

along with the wondrous dragon came this lovely bit of vintage silk kimono in soft brown check and weave. it has already sought the company of a few other bits of vintage silk kimono in my collection and begun whispering amongst themselves. perhaps, soon, they will share their whispers with me?

and finally, along with the dragon came this beautiful bit of vintage silk kimono filled with birdsong and the fragrance of delicate flowers! this is whispering louder...but my japanese is a bit rusty. i shall have to brush up on it a bit...

and last, for today, came this marvelous miniature steel skeleton key...complete with a passing resemblance to its namesake. this came to me all the way from latvia and hasn't stopped whispering since he arrived! already there is a silver jump ring and chain dancing out of my jeweler's bench to offer him a quiet home around my neck where he can whisper his stories peacefully all day and all night long...

i think he is foretelling the nature of my next post!

meanwhile, i have so many other treasures to share...but they will have to wait a day or two as there are some noisy whisperers calling to me from the studio...

namaste'