I've Lost My Voice

Hello

Photographs taken with my phone

complicated 2

complicated 2, a photo by filamental2011 on Flickr.

complicated life

complicated life, a photo by filamental2011 on Flickr.

Just an EGG in someones else's nest

There are so many things that I notice when I drive through the country side and so many things I say without knowing the true meaning of what I say. I have contemplated being silent.
How do you shut it off?
I think about how much I like to see large black and white polka dots; not really polka dots but dotted areas of color, as in, a dairy cow, or a herd of geese. Or is that a gaggle? I notice that all of the cows are pointing in the very same direction. I try to use common sense to answer the questions which come from my overly sensitive vision. If I must, I Google for the answers. Once in a while, it is more interesting to contemplate many reasons why this may be so or that may be so. . .Fodder for yet another story, perhaps? Maybe, my answer is more interesting even if not true. Maybe, just entertaining?
Well, I talked to my little sis today and my new French Pantaloons came up in our conversation which sparked one of the curious moments that stop me cold. She asked if I really I planned to wear these out in public, I said of course, I will. I think they are wonderful. I might photograph them on myself and put that onto my blog, first, Droopy Drawers and all.

Droopy Drawers: these are the words. . .How many times have you said or thought that? Just what did you mean when you said or thought that? I always think of a baby in diapers. . .full diapers. But, what if the saying comes from an earlier time when pantaloons were the favored wear? They are made so that there is a lot of room in the back to drop them. This whole topic is making me laugh.

This is a story of a little part of the day in my life.

Do you know about cowbird?

Johnathan Harris: Cowbird This is a great thing to do.

What about your day?

xoxoxo

CowBird Sweetheart

I have related a story before about how I would tap dance and sing at 6:00 A.M. "I want to be a cowboys sweetheart." This I told you was when I was about 4 years old.

Well, I am singing a new song and doing a new dance. . .

I want to be a cowbird's sweetheart. Or maybe, I want to be just me, be nobody's sweetheart. Just be the cowbird?

Do you know what I am talking about?

Dusty Trails to you,
until we meet again,

Bobbie

French Couture Vintage

Couture

Isn't that such a pretty word?

Yesterday I spent the day on a quest, a quest to find something

worth keeping, not just another thing, while I tromped up and down

the hills and valleys of Hillsville, Virginia, in sweltering heat all by myself,

at the yearly flea-market that is held on Labor Day Weekend.

A million people were doing the same thing. Well, I am sure they

were on some kind of quest, not necessarily like mine.

I found a wonderful pair of French pantaloons. One of the buttons is worn away

to the point it is noticeable. But that is OK

These are truly beautiful in the way they are styled and stitched;

to perfection.

Even though they ARE darned in a few places with matching linen thread

I will wear these, not as an undergarment but over a ballet leotard along

with a nice camisole top of black knitted fabric with some sort of

great jewelry.

There are even two monogrammed letters which are perfectly

executed,

There are two side plackets which button. The stitching is so perfect.

French seams the way they should be done.

Darts to make them fit about the waist without bulk in the front.

They tie in the back and the seat drops down I suppose as they

were intended.

Beautiful embroidery cutwork going down both sides of the legs which is also

executed with great perfection.

The seams are sewn by machine, which is probably a singer.

I read somewhere recently that the singer sewing machine

was the very most important invention to change the world.

It made it possible for cloth to be sewn into garments so quickly

that it is known as one of the great liberators of human beings.

I also think about the sweatshops where children worked sewing.

Everything has two sides.

These photographs are from  my cell phone, so they are what they are.

A vintage wooden spool of thread that is a mauve color which (the dye

stuff) is derived from Coal.

It was a wonderful day where I saw many interesting things and people.

Have a wonderful LABOR DAY!

Wish you were here!

XOXO

Some Solace With Summer Ending Soon

They say

it is cards

they play

origami

birds

fly

away

at 

sunset

spray

the sea

it comes

at 

thee

this

memory

Of what

you

do

or

don't.

Textures from Kim Klaussen

layers on layers

of photographs.

I have an old, very old

rubber stamp of someone

folding the Crane

I play with this image all the time.

The photograph above of the doll is one in my collection

Her dress is silk and it is shattering.

Hope you have a very nice Wednesday 

Underneath Everything Is. . .

Duct Tape

Holds up

A

Tree

Ravels

over 

Seasons

and 

Seasons

Underneath everything

you find the fiber

of your life.

Lemon Ice Cream with Shawl and Shibori on top

The shawl I made with Camilla's  Twist and Twine Yarn 

I am wearing as I snap a photo of myself into the mirror over my

kitchen stove. You ask why I have a mirror in my kitchen?

My grandmother told me, when I was about to be married, to always hang a 

mirror in my kitchen to remind me that this is what my husband sees when he

looks at me, and if I want a long marriage. . . be happy with what I see.

I love this shawl. It makes me like a little of what I see.

For a real treat visit Camilla's blog to see her new restaurant

and all of the beauty of Montana at

http://www.freerangechik.blogspot.com/

just because she is really a nice person.

From my garden the above dahlia shines in my kitchen. 

My cup runneth over! The new cup I bought in Asheville.

Remember? This is the photo I showed you before.

Here is another shot of the shawl in progress.

I swatched the yarn so many ways to see what I would do with it.

The color is lovely and it is different with unusual stitches. Here it pools

into larger areas of  color. I like this a lot and will do something with this, soon.

I love the sense of color Camilla chooses to express. I have enjoyed her

Magnolia Handspun for the past couple of years. She is discontinuing this

yarn. I am practically out of stock of this, myself. Sad. It was so much fun to use. 

I made Lemon Ice Cream from the China Moon Cookbook.

It takes 1 1/8 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice,

the zest from all of the lemons (I used a special zester tool)

2 cups sugar and 4 cups of half and half plus

a pinch or two of kosher salt.

You grind the sugar with the zest in a food processor or blender for a few minutes,

then add the juice and blend well. Stir in the cream in a large bowl.

That is all!

It is the most delicious Ice Cream Ever!

I served this in green carnival glass with a Pepperidge Farm

Milano chocolate cookie.

Yum 

Barbara Tropp really knows her stuff.

I love this cookbook 

which was out it 1992.

I visited her bistro China Moon when I lived in SF

The recipes are amazing.

On Indigo Shibori Day:

We had chicken with cranberries and pecan salad 

on lettuce in croissants sandwiches

Caesars Salad

a huge tray of fresh summer Melon

Lemon Ice Cream and Milano Cookies

drinks

and way too much fun

outside under the umbrellas on the deck.

Just before you ad this into the ice cream maker you let it sit and

stir for a little while to mingle the ingredients.

Freezing. . .

Frozen and ready to eat. I like it right away after freezing rather

than containing it and putting it in the regular refrigerator freezer. It gets

too hard and the texture is not as nice.

Shibori Indigo dyeing was the activity of the day.

We had a great time and can you believe this???

I forgot to take pics because I was having so much fun.

Thoughts Become Things?

Thoughts become things?

I am doing the Beyond Layers exercises, the funny thing is that I thought it was going to be about using layer in photographs and textures and hints and that sort of thing. It is, but it is much much more. It is turning out for me to be a vehicle for change for one thing. . .
Sometimes, my goals are so high, for me, that it is already set up to be way too difficult to achieve anything even close. I set goals. Do you?
The past couple of years have been tough going staying on the paths I set for myself. Not really because of circumstances but because of the way I choose to think about life. I get caught in a trap that I set for myself when I was about 4 years old. Now that is really silly, I know.
I have some sorrows that I can not change. Those things I try not to think about because they are problems that I can do nothing about. When I was four I decided to be the fixer of the family. Can you imagine a four year old being equipped to deal with helping grown-ups feel better? I thought if I thought a thought it would happen. So I went around holding my breath trying so hard not to think some thoughts. Can you imagine? Magical Thinking is what that is. I know better, now. I know that I was a really smart kid and critically observing of everything and everyone surrounding me. So I thought that if I tried really really hard that I could do something about these things. Ha,
It has taken my whole life to finally realize that that is a waste of time. It just isn't going to happen.
I am back into where I left off more years than I care to tell.
I am listening to Laurie Anderson, again. I am listening to the Dalai Lama, again. I am planted firmly in my traditional beliefs, as I always have been, but, I am opening doors, again.
My dad used to always say that all steeples point up. I believe that is true. But, I am very open to being a spiritual kinda person. I am a very spiritual person. A place of worship does not even need to have a steeple, either. For me anyway. I am open to respect for what others believe. We are all human beings after all. I say just let it be.
I do not believe in coincidences at all. When you are ready the teacher will appear. I learn so much from the kids I teach. I am learning from a lot of gals and guys in cyberspace. It is really funny to me that that is even possible. This keyboard is an avenue to a world out there. It is an avenue to find the things I must need to hear.
I appreciate what is going on on the internet. It is something to think a lot about. And I do!
I feel more like a philosopher sometimes than a visual kinda person trying to create something worth while. I have to laugh how open I have become with telling anyone who reads this blog exactly what is on my mind.
Lately, I have not had as much time as I would like to do those sort of things. But, summer is like that when you get slammed by mother nature over and over. This weather thing is something to recon with, for sure, I have strong thoughts about that, too, but later.
I want to have many friends, no, I have many friends. I share what I know. I have so very much already, material things. I want to know what makes people tick. I am doing art about that.
I think about Yoko Ono and how I tried to sing along with her. My sister thought I was crazy when we were in Amsterdam. She wanted to catch the next plane home. I think about how some artist just keep on going and going. I am going and going.
Now, these thoughts are all things, right?
No pics today, though.

Life Joy

In preparation for the indigo day at my house on Wednesday: Joy for sure is in my heart. It is always the little things that make me smile. I am sharing this experience that I have watching green and yellow turn into blue upon the fabric that has been manipulated by stitching and folding, Shibori.
The magic happens when the air hits the fibers. Blue Blue Blue
I love blue, like the sky, like my fences, like the reflection in water of a clear blue day.
Lunch under the umbrella at the table with good food and friends, like I say, it is always the little things that make me smile.
I will share some photographs after the event.
Yoshika Wada is the person who sparked my interest in this technique a few years ago at Arrowmont.
T. May was there and she inspired me to be loose in working with fiber. Nancy Crow was by my side when I was stung by a yellow jacket on the courtyard outside the classrooms. I saw her later in NYC
when I was visiting my good friend Sue Wall and Rhoda Lenvinson was there, as well.
That period of time was full of life changing moments for me. I was building a foundation for my life as I know it now. The Dalai Lama talks about what happens if you build a foundation on ice and what happens when it melts. That year I was surrounded by rocks.Am I happy about that!
I count the blessings in my life, everything I need, I have. How fortunate to be able to share it all.

School starts next week, I am looking forward to setting a few hearts on fire for the creative experiences that can be ours.

I am still working on my new blog, I fit the time into this crazy schedule of mine.

I wish for you a beautiful day!

xoxoxo

Make it happen

One day, in Paris, I watched a little lady let pigeons land all over herself. That has never happened to me!
I watched a little girl with a straw hat run through a playground with nothing else on herself. That has never happened to me!
I walked fifth Avenue in NYC with Sigourney Weaver stopping in one shop after another. It was fall, it was dark outside and no one ever bothered us. She bought a Norma Kamali silk dress with shoulder pads. Now I see her on a current TV show where she is probably running for President. That has never happened to me.
I am in the mood to make something interesting happen, how about you?

I am randomly picking images from my hard drive. I do not know what is coming up. I wonder will it make any sense or relate to anything I might say?

Nope!

xoxox to you

It is here?

 

Unraveling

A few weeks ago, we had that big storm that left us without power for a week.

Lightening struck so close it shook everything. The power went in and out for a few minutes.

Well, I discovered when it came back on that it played with electronic items in my home and studio.

It didn't exactly kill everything, it just messed around with it. That is even harder to deal with, I think.

It took a while to realize why my e-mail wouldn't work and other programs. It has taken me time to unravel and fix everything. Our television is like this too. I am afraid to find anything else.

So, I took some time to think.. . .

I realize that I need a change. . .but one of my own choice.

I am in the process of starting a new blog.

Without Residue inspired by Rilke.

It will take a while to set it up the way I want it to be

So, please bear with me 

We have had a bear here again, and I cant't help but be confused. How DO you spell bare or bear?

as in bear with me? just kidding.

I have so much to tell you that has happened in the past few weeks.

I am sure it will all come out, eventually

I have not been able to visit anyone of my friends online for all this time.

I will play catch up and that will be fun.

This is before blocking when I had just a few stitches to go.

And so it went like this. . .

while technology was busy driving me crazy

I worked on this shawl

in the evening.

I wore it in Asheville NC

last weekend over a sun dress.

Yes, it was a little chilly.

I love the yarn, it goes so well with

my pastel colored sundresses.

I wonder how many stitches there are?

So, Hello to everyone, again.

I have missed you all.

xoxoxo

What is done is done

This is where you can find me:  http://withoutresidue.blogspot.com/

This blog is being retired soon.

xoxo hugs to all.

Soon I will be having a picnic here at my home for quite a few children that they might

see what I do here, in this place.

My home is my happy spot, my King's X, my sanctuary.

This is where my studio lives.

Later, this summer, I am hosting an indigo dye day for a group of adults. We will explore

shibori techniques utilizing PVC poles and pleating.

I met a wonderful woman in Floyd, Virginia, the day after the big storm.

Sometimes I believe in fate. She was playing music in the dress shop of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with Taj Mahal. "Gone Fishing" was the song. She teaches Appalachian studies at the college there.

Listening to her tell it, I found anew an interest in this region where I live.

It was a very GOOD thing.

I am all into embracing the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

The mayor of my town

made me think about the fact that this is what it is,

this town, I mean.

There have been three filming crews here lately doing documentary videos which will be seen on

television, soon. 

On to my other

items. . .

This is a visual portrait of me.

Beyond Basics assignment.

This is how I see me.

Using Kim Klassen's epiphany texture

As I see it. . .

what I do is who I am

Is how I look. . .

Have a day to remember!

xoxox

Look What Happens

Just when you think you have it all figured out. . .

this will work for this class

and

that will work for that class

and

don't even think about wasting time. . .

your are prepared,

right?

this is when the xxxx hits the fan. . .

You know. . . I AM a trouper!

for sure. . .

then

the wind blows

this wind blows like no other wind blows

no power

no lights 

no water

no phone

no nothing

for a week

it is high high humidity

and high high temperatures

but

I find beauty, anyway.

I took pictures of the damages

on the blue ridge trail

came home and the road. . .

our driveway

covered in huge trees.

Have you ever had to dig your way out of a hole?

My great aunty M used to say

that a house will die

if no one lives in it.

My great aunty Elsie

used to tell me that when I see the leaves on a tree

flip upside down

that rain will surely come

soon.

It will 

it did.

10 days later. . .

I stuck this linen fabric (above) upon the wall with stick pins

of an abandoned home.

It is dead, for sure.

But, to me, it is beautiful.

I printed a photo I took onto the linen.

A beginning for a work.

We shall see?

Hugs to all of you!

Now I have to play catch-up!!!