The Gypsy on Adventure

Mini Class

Well today I got up early cleaned the house up and took off to be with Loretta and Sharen for the day of teaching silk ribbon embroidery on their almost finished crazy block. They are making book covers out of them! They are turning out REALLY awesome!

They are really quick students...and easy to teach. I don't feel like I am floundering teaching them...they are very generous!  I think we will do the silk ribbon one more time we only got one rose and leaves done today...

Loretta is walking us through how to make one of her fab magazine books! This is so much fun because you take cool pages from magazines and then make a book and collage all over them! Fun fun fun! Clear as mud as far as working on them! I do great when she explains it and then I get lost! LOL

Day of teaching and friendship

What a fantastic day! Seriously fantastic! I got out of the house on time despite the fact that I woke up with a bladder infection that I tried to ignore ALL day! 

(Note: When I called the on duty doctor, she got mad at ME because I didn't know what antibiotic I COULD take...sigh...so I worked with the pharmacist and we finally found the one I could take! I have now at this late hour FINALLY received the meds and started to take it! I hope it kicks in soon! I guess I have to get TWO more med bracelets in order to put ALL my allergies and now WHAT I can take! Sigh)

Any way, I left on time and got to Loretta's house...all excited about the day! We had a great convo about thyroid issues! I love talking to more people that live with this too! And we got lost going to Sharen's house even though we had been there before! Giggle

So we got there around 11 even though we left an hour earlier! Sigh!  Giggle Snort!

We started to eat a little bit and then started right to work, and we made some great progress! They are doing great! For never having done crazy quilting before they are going lightening fast! We got to some beading today...and next time we are going to do some silk ribbon! 

Teaching and Friends

Oh! Today was a good day! I got off work an hour early, and drove to my friend Loretta's house so I could do the second phaze of crazy quilting teaching...ah, the embellishment! The part I LOVE to do!

So tonight I tought them 4 basic stitches and I thought that was moving! from about 6-8:30 so that was good I thought! I left them with their goodie bags and another meeting scheduled for next month to work on more skills and add the beading and charms! This is so much fun!

I haven't played in fabric in a long time or embroidered...so this is great for me!  And I really enjoy their company! This is a lot of fun sharing each others talents! I was also able to give Sharen her AB book back with my contribution, and she liked it!! Whew!

Mini Art Party

Ah...today was MY turn to teach...

Well it WORE me out...I am exhausted...but it was nice to do...I have to have some good stuff along with the bad! I am invigerated in one way and tired in another.

This was different because "I" was the teacher! Giggle... I was teaching crazy quilting...and they BOTH finished their "pieceing"...so next time we get together I can teach them the stitches!!! I was pleased...we started at 11:30 and they finished at 4:30...so not bad! I was expecting two days of pieceing! this was wonderful... The hard part is always deciding how big to make it! So that took some time. They were quick learners and by 4:30 pm they had their first crazy quilt pieced AND ready for embellishment!

Scoping Crazies

Who knew you were so talented, Gypsy? Creations done long ago suddenly take on a life of their own. A short story, written and submitted long ago, is pulled from the bottom of the slush pile. Or a portrait you painted gets a second admiring look. Whatever the circumstances, you will enjoy the recognition. Your work is not the only thing receiving admiring glances. Your partner appreciates you, and not just for your talent!

Excited!

I received an email from Pallie, the woman I adopted as my mom over 10 years ago...I just LOVE her and wished she was my mom! Well she may not have given birth to me, but I still give her grey hair! Giggle*snicker*Snort  She calls me Greedy because I want EVERY THING!  I made her a Crazy Quilted piece to make into a sewing garbage bag!  I just can't tell you how wonderful I feel knowing that she loves something I made! AND that it is something she will use almost every day! : )

Greedy,
Tell Michael the only way I want my picture to be taken from now on is with someone standing on a ladder looking down at me.  Last night I finished my garbage bag.  I just winged it.  I didn't have too much trouble doing the bag but got a little tricky putting the velcro on the material on the tile.  Finally got it done, it looks grrrrrrrrrreat and I Loooooooove it. Thank you again for all your time a love you put into it.  Read most of your blog and looked at pictures, you are just toooooooooo smart for your britches.  I'm going to show off my garbage bag at Bernina club next month.  Love ya, Mom

Glorious Day!

My gawd it is ALWAYS a glorious day when friends come to visit! And expecially when we are all baring gifts! Wow...what a fun and fast day of it! This made me happy...and sad...because I miss Pallie so much when she leaves after our holiday festivities! I just want her to move in next door...so I can see her all the time! Look at that angelic face (the one in the middle) you would NEVER know that she W H I N E S !!!! Giggle

Nice People

One of my friends, a retiree's wife, Julee, put me in touch with one of her friends. Her friend's mom passed away and she was a seamstress for a living. She was kind enough to let me take some fabric, thread and a Bernina serger, and an industrial iron! Maria was very nice, and felt better that some one that sewed was taking some of her mom's items. Which made me feel good too. I am hoping that one of my friends will help me take the rest to Raft.

With Linda passing some of her treasure to me yesterday, and Maria passing down her mom's stuff to me today, I have decided that I better figure out what goes to who if I should pass without warning. That is going to be a large task...like Maria and I were talking about our animals as well...to make sure we provide for them as well.

Today I spent most of it looking for images for my next round of altered books...Hands...so I have been trying to come up with a design. Or at least an idea...

A Vendor Returns!

Call me indecisive but I know you will be happy to know that I am reopening my embellishment website http://www.maureengreeson.com/

Ah! A favorite site is coming BACK!!! Maureen had closed shop in January of this year, and due to demand she is coming back! Yippee for Crazy Quilt Artists, because she has awesome stuff!

And a nice thing with her newsletter this month, was a link to Betty! I had lost track of her while she was redoing her website, I have put her in my must have links too! My girl friend Linda introduced me to Betty at a class held at a friends house, and then again I got to meet up with her through the San Francisco Embroidery Guild! She is a lot of fun!

Friends help with Addiction!

I LOVE my friends! They help me with my addictions. Yesterday Lana came to me, after I settled down, Thursday Mornings are funny because I am still amped up from Art Class night! Anyway, she brought me GOODIES! Hankies! Glorious Hankies! Gloves glorious Gloves! Also some raw silk that her MIL bought YEARS ago in China! AAHHHH...I will scan some later! Just yummy!

In their she showed me a wonderful little somethin somethin that Tupperware used to give out...it still has the phone numbers listed as EMpire 2-4071!!!  How fun! I am going to use it some how in a shadow box or in a shrine!!!!! LOVE it!

Mail Goodies!

I received my order from Carma Biz today! Oh my!  More stuff for my fabric book! I just tried to scan and save and it blew up...I will upload and talk about it later.

You have to go over to CarmaBiz and see how wonderful their stuff is! This week through cleaning and getting ready for my art party...I will have to put my book together! I love the supplies! I think it is going to make all the difference in what I see in my head...I just hope it comes out!

Fun Fun Fun!

Ah...breathe of fresh air tonight with my Booking Making Class! Sigh

These are some of the fun women that come to the class each week! This is the best part of the week for me, and the time goes by way to fast when we are in class! Tonight I sat back and engaged in conversation with the Teacher Traci and with the students! I wanted those that don't have a sewing machine be able to use it I can do that at home since I have one!

One of the Artists, Flo, has been showing her work for 26 years! How awesome, and she shared the book she wrote about her family leaving China and coming to America and the way that they had to have a "family secret"...and the pain of leaving their grandmother. It truly touched me deeply reminding me of my own grandmother and the loss of not having her anymore. The book was awesome and moving and if I had time to sit and soak it in more I would have cried like my soul ached to do reading it while asking her questions. She has it in a box filled with red colored rice, her husband dyed the rice red for her during another project, and the cover of the wooden box has photos with a red sheer fabric over it. I should have been thinking and photographed it but I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I didn't. The book was like a collage...awesome! I tried to encourage her to seek publication for it...she is having a photographer take slides of it and it may be going to New York for her next exhibition! Just awesome work!

I did however, photograph Christie's Idea book!

I will tell you I get so excited at this class it is hard to remain calm and collected and rational while all the energy is happening in the room! Traci had some cool little beads and bells to share and I grabbed some of those to be able to use on the binding of my other books...and a few fabric strips for the binding too...more for memory so I can cut more from my fabric!  I am on overload with this! It is very exciting!

Oh and I got the journal back from Traci that I bought from her! She signed it for me! What a sweetie! I loved that she put one of her Glam Girls in there too! What a treat for me!  I am going to have fun writing in this journal! I am so happy about it!

Book Making Class

Oh tonight was fun...I was glad I brought my little Jem Jenome sewing machine...I didn't get much sewing done but I had a lot of fun talkign AND planning my pages! I am going to work on the rest of this week!

I sewed 1 page, with the stuff that was surrounding my fleurs when I bought them, some funky woody kinda stuff and the "C" that I bought from Traci! FUN!  And I found a couple of pieces of wall paper tonight, and I think they are going to make great pages!

I am REALLY going to miss this class when it is over...I am hoping that some of the women and I will remain friendly and still get together. I floated out an idea tonight, that I have a pot luck at my house after the class ends...it was received well, so I will definately invite them all for a little time together!

Oh! I wore my Retro Paris shoes and they ALL LOVED them! Clapping hands! I know it was such a great find, and I am so glad other people love them too!

Supplies!

I forgot! Today was a good snail mail day! I received some of my supplies that I ordered! Tomorrow I will show you! Some very fun stuff!

Bottles...mini starfish and stuff...Just time for bed...so have to run

French Post Cards

Oh it was an exciting find day!

Today in the mail came my new (old) French Postcards...here is a scan of just a few of them! I am so excited about them!

The first one is my favorate...I don't know if you can tell the dress detail from this scan but man...it is like a crazy quilt in a dress! I want that dress! Drooling!

I bought them from  www.VintageCharmings.com the same place I got the gypsy postcard for my Rosarie that was made for me! Love them! I even got some French Tarot cards (just a handfull...and they are unique) when I have time I will scan them! They are fun!

Yum!

Yum! The little package from Carma Biz came today...and they are faboo colors and textures! See what I mean? Everything I am attracted to lately is Orange! What is going on with me!

The first is Creamcicle and the 2nd is Sizzlin!

I have absolutely no idea what I am going to do with this! But I love it!

Ah Goodies!

Ah I just had this feeling since I have not been to work since Wednesday morning, that the Mail goodies arrived! They did they did arrive!

I was so excited to get the pin/necklace Diva that I bought from Angie! She is wonderful in person!

I love the little mixed media diva! I am wearing her to work tomorrow along with my leopard bra, shh no one has to know but me that I am matching my diva supreme!

I love the quote too...Angie is so creative! I so love her art! I can't help but to buy some when I can!

And speaking of which I don't know what I am going to do with these wonderful things that I bought from Carma Biz! But they are just fabulous!

They are silk things and bits as well as some silk cocoons! died in the most yummiest of colors!

The fabric has not come yet, it is still on its way, but it matchs that orange that I am so attracted to lately. I have to do something ... maybe with one of the books I am making, or in some crazy quilt...yum these colors are divine! They don't show up well under the scan...in person you could eat them up!

Pacific Quilt International Festival

We had a couple of contraversial quilts on display, Vagina's, spurred from the Vagina Monologs and quite frankly made me nervous it was HUGE! LOL ...and the Art Bra Challenge, that is my friend Linda S standing next to her Star Bra!

There was only 3 frog quilts I saw, and I loved the Lizard quilt made by a man, the lizards were beaded, in fact the quilt was heavily beaded, and done very well! I loved it. The more you stared at it the more you saw in it...I found 4 lizards, and I am not sure I saw them all!

I only lasted at the show about an hour and 1/2, and thankfully my boyfriend drove me and picked me up. I was still feeling weak and cold head! I did get some shiny things for my shrine that I am working on! Score!

Cleaning Sucks!

You know, its Monday. I worked ALL day...and then when I got home, I worked my boney fingers more! I cleaned up my studio art area...and Eeeeuuuu I sucked up a "BLACK WIDOW SPIDER" into the vacuum cleaner!!!! Eeeeuuuu! She was nesting behind one of my plastic totes! Shudder

I really have to learn to purge! Why do I keep all forms of paper crap??? I have no reason to. I should just learn to throw it away when I first touch it! But no, for some reason I have to stack it for a time, re-read everything and then MAYBE throw it out! Or move it to a new stack! It is a sickness!

The reason for the sudden cleaning you ask? Ah...the dreaded thought of embarrassement as my Crazy Ladies are coming for a visit on Saturday. The Crazy Ladies started off being a group of women who got together to do crazy quilting, but now I am the only one doing it still...and health issues with members, we have offically disbanded the group, but we some times get together to see each other. And I invited them to my place!

So I have this whole week to get my house clean! Can I demolish it and reassemble it in time? Most likely not! Do I really care? No, not really...or I would have hired Maids! Its not filthy...its just a clutter bug mess! I clutter. I like stuff. I have TOO MUCH stuff! I am starting to understand that I just have to rotate my stock! LOL That is when you really know you have to much!

But I do have my Halloween stuff out! Well most of it! : )

To be commissioned or Not to be commissioned?

To be commissioned or Not to be commissioned that is the question!

Not as deep as Shakespear but deep for my life! Life can get complicated fast, ever notice that? Here I am whining about how I haven't put my art work as a priority in my life, my real job has taken over my life, real life has taken over my life with menial tasks, my own complacency has taken over my life!

Then BOOM - my art life explodes! I committed myself to a fabric swap! Scary and facinating! I committed myself to creating a Tarot Deck and I have no idea why! or what these cards are all about...just to create art!

Now here is the 3rd fascinating irratant with my art life exploding! My boss approaches me yesterday about being commissioned to do a Crazy Quilt for his Rotary Club! They are turning 80 as a Service Club and he brought me in this year as a speaker and presenter on Crazy Quilting and Freeing Yourself for your Real Life! And he would like to have me use their various banners in a Crazy Quilt to represent their Chapter!

Egads!
FEAR ... Compliment ... FEAR ... Compliment ... FEAR ... Compliment ... FEAR ... Compliment ... around my head it goes!

He thinks I am too generous because I offered to do it for supplies...but they could NOT afford to have to pay for it. One small, 12x12 art quilt I did cost me $300 to make! How do you put a price on your work? I am not a professional artists who charges for her work! I only have less than a 3rd of what I have EVER made...I have given it all away!

Plus if they paid me I would have to add that to my taxes! UGH... I also told him that if they paid a Professional Artist for art...usually it is the cookie cutter way of doing things for a profit...no passion. I am a LOCAL artist and how cool would it be to have one of my pieces hanging at a Rotary Club???!!!! Pretty cool I think! The club actually LOVED my Shoreline Park Quilt...that is what is pictured in this entry.

I don't know...have to contemplate some more...

Maybe I am truly frightened of making a success out of my ART...I have to look deeper into this fear. Eventually when I retire from my job in 9 years, I have to be ready for my art life! A little of dabbling with presentation speaking like I have been doing, teaching classes...sporatically...and getting commissioned is my goal ... why the fuck am I hesitating except for PURE FEAR...like not publishing my books...FEAR ... FEAR... FEAR... get over it already who cares if "people" don't accept your art or voice!

Sigh Fucking Inner-Critic needs to be killed!

Finally a little creativity!

This is the block I am working on right now, it has been a tough couple of weeks, and I am finally starting to feel more creative again. I was going to do this block all in different yellows, trying to stay in the box. I am always creating out of the box, and thought it would be a challenge! Ha! However, it just made me frustrated and you could not really see all the hand work I was doing, so I decided I had to spring in color! I just couldn't stand it anymore!

This is a quilt that I am working on for my foster mother...And at least is starting to take my mind off of other stuff. Some times when I am in a really creative mood, like it struck tonight, then I resent having to work at all...when I could be doing fun work at home surrounded by things that I love!

She wanted a more Victorian quilt...so I can't wait to see this one finished and hanging in her home!

A good goal is like strenuous exercise. It makes you stretch.
-Mary Kay Ash

Welcoming Thoughts

Well, this is a first for me...
I just starting seeing these blogs...I know talk about a late bloomer! LOL
But some thing about this appeals to me. So I signed up not knowing what the hell I am doing!

Call me crazy! I am used to that label anyway!

I am a Crazy Quilt Artist who is also addicted to embroidery, silk ribbon and beading. I try to remain focused in order to FINISH anything! LOL But alas I have several projects at the same time occurring, and I resent the fact that I have to work full time! Know the feeling? Who on the side loves to write and journal. I have been getting into ATC's and Altered Books. I just don't have enough time during the day to do everything that I want to accomplish.

I guess I am hoping I can use this blog to document the ramblings of my mind and find some common themes running through it all. A sounding board to my own mind...and a place to vent! We all need a place to vent!

Although I can't really complain about my life, I have nothing to complain about! Life is pretty good even on a bad day. That is what happens when you take charge of your own life, and don't let anyone else influence you as to what decisions to make and what you should be doing.

For years (literally YEARS) I allowed other people and what I thought "society" thought - to dictate to me, and to influence my decisions. Not anymore! I knew as the year 2000 approached that my life was going to take on a different direction, not so popular with my family, but very supported by my friends! So I knew I was on the right track! LOL

Now I am not a crisis junkie, I have NO drama in my life...and it is so good! But the only draw back to all this good vibe...is that my artistic side has suffered a lot. Now that is really sick! On some primal level I was more creative with all the crisis and drama in my life. I think mainly because I was trying to escape my life and I was able to do that in making some thing beautiful in the midst of all of life's ugliness.

Now I have more un-finished projects hanging around my studio than I want to admit to people...

Ah, but if I think about it, I have been LIVING life more...getting out of my house and actually living! Doing things that I enjoy...so that in turn gives me more creative idea's to put in my art journal for future
projects...maybe when I am retired some day I will have the time to do all the things in my journal!

Any one out there experience the same thing?
I can't be the only one! LOL