Hey there, sorry I have been out of the room for so long. The Fritillary has been displayed in two art exhibits - one with the Mobile Arts Council in their gallery downtown across from Cathedral Square - and another month in West Mobile at the Episcopal Church - Our Redeemer on Cody Rd. The little guy is getting around! Also shown with him was the Swallowtail I did, and the painting of John's pear tree. Maybe I will get those pics up here. This poor computer needs some new RAM and luckily has room for more. Now if the budget will have room for buying more. I have been working at the Mobile Botanical Gardens greenhouse a few days a week and have had many fritillaries as companions as I work, otherwise alone. They are almost all gone for the season. I did see a lovely cardinel hiding in the bottlebrush hedge the other day. I hated to open the car door and scare him away.

Photo of Gardenia Painting

I have been playing with alternative methods of getting a copy of the paintings on the computer. One such is to use the camera to take a picture. It's not an expensive one, and I can't disable the flash. Tried using bright sunlight to take the picture.

New painting

This is the Fritillary painted on June 26, 2010.
The scanner really fades out a lot of color, but over-all I am happy with it.
I am learning a lot about the paint (guache) and how to use it.

And on and on

I got out my F.I.T textbooks on flat pattern design, and studied sleeves, again. I need a fitting partner to measure me! Do I really want to do another fitting sloper? It is more fun to make something I can wear. But, back to the basics. Finished the swirly skirt, and found a cute silk blouse to wear with it - to the wedding in New York. Leaving July 23rd, returning July 26.
So far the job interviews have not yielded results. I rather like having time, but this not having extra money is a real bummer. The white linen jacket/shirt turned out well. Do I want to leave it as is, or paint on it. hmmmm. Blank canvas! Also made the perfect little shell pattern - now to play with putting sleeves in the perfect little shell to cover those wingy things under my upper arms (old age is hell, ladies). But, first - to clean up the mess of the past few days of sewing. Bad feng shui in the studio when I make coffee, and set the pot on the counter instead of in the coffee maker. Good thing no fabric was nearby to be stained. What a mess!

Lots going on!

The stencil arrived from Diane Ericson - a dragonfly is my choice for embellishing a simple summer jacket. I have signed on with Val Webb for a six week course in Botanical Illustration, and have done some studies on my own. I am sewing clothes for work. The past 3 years I have worn either a uniform of khaki pants, blue shirt and navy blazer - or jeans and tops. At last I can wear real clothes. Lately, I have made the jacket, a very chic dress in the style of the 1940's, a 2 piece summer dress, black knit skirt, and a black cowl neck blouse. I have cut out a red challis blouse - simple lines, and a batik vest, mostly black with blues and purples and pinks, and am putting a blue random dyed (not exactly tie dye) collar on it. I made a pattern for a drapy, full skirt that wraps, and bought some great printed crepe done in greens, turquoise and blues. Have almost finished some alterations for a friend. Tomorrow, I will fit her for the hem of her formal gown, to be certain of the pinning. Also, I have a commission to make a bed skirt and pillows for another friend, but she hasn't bought the bed yet, so measurements must wait. Meanwhile, I had a job interview yesterday, and have another on Monday. Must make up the vest tomorrow, or tonight. On Saturday, I am meeting the children of "the perfect man." Must look good.

Time to update and re-activate this blog!

A lot has happened since my last entry here. Now living in Daphne, Alabama - recently laid off from Eastern Shore Toyota. That "recall" nonsense has hurt so many of the 50,000+ people who work for Toyota, USA and their dealerships. But I am enjoying having some time to do the things that have been procrastinated the past year! Am painting with Val Webb's classes: Botanical Illustration, and Butterflies, to date. Will be posting some of the results. It is wonderful to be back in Sweet Home, Alabama.

And knit the toe section

Just a note or two on this aspect of the pattern. Magic Loopers know that you have the two needles facing to the right, and the knitting can ride on the cable of the circular needle, with the cable "loop" at one end separating the "front" needle and the "back needle". But since at the very beginning, the two sides are connected at the center, it can be difficult to visualize front and back needles. This is compounded by the purl side which wants to pop up and be dominant.
So to begin, I saw my needles as upper and lower. The lower (working needle) has the working yard trailing - the upper (holding the next stitches) needle is the one you will knit in to. After a row or two it looks as if you are knitting a flat piece, even though the two ends really are connected. And if anyone knows a better way to describe this, feel free to offer suggestions! After one or two rounds, you can start increasing, according to the directions, and the needles can be more "front" and "back" as they normally are in Magic Loop.