More Tools.

Trouble in blog land is making this post a day late I apologize.

I work in another artist studio as an assistant one day a week. Yesterday after posting the blog for the day I went to her studio to work, I always grab my own sewing bag, I realized that my scissors are a very important tool. I am attached to these simple embroidery scissors they have been used for years, the tiny screw sometimes loosens and I have to retighten it but then they are perfect again.

And today in my studio I realized that I have a mug that I am attached to, I actually have many mugs I am attached to, this is one of a few that are manufactured. I typically use a hand thrown or hand built clay mug. This manufactured mug is special, it was given to me as a birthday gift by a dear friend. I am a sentimental person about objects and their connection to people. She and I are great knitting friends we became friends through knitting, we have both moved away from where we met. I am in Missouri and she is in South Carolina, so some how this beautiful mug makes me feel closer to her. My morning coffee at the studio is always in this mug, the morning feels better with this mug and my coffee.

Today I spent part of my day helping a friend put bookcases together and moving furniture around at her house and the rest of the day weaving and getting some more work prepared for hand stitching at home. But I think that tonight I will spin some at home tonight, feeling like I need some time at the wheel. 

Tools

So while working yesterday I began to reflect as all artist do on my tools and materials. Yesterday I was ironing cloth for a project, and I thought about the new ironing board cover that I have it was new when it came to the studio and I do enjoy it, it is bright and cheerful, but it is the actual ironing board that I use that is under all the layers of covers and to most people looks like a plain old ironing board. The ironing board was my grandmothers, and the idea of having her ironing board that saw hours and hours of ironing now in me studio getting the same daily use, it made me smile and think about the new and old in the tools I have. I for instance could not live without my new iron, it shuts itself off, which is a good thing for me the sometimes forgetful one. I can lose track of time and all of my responsibilities while in the studio. So an iron that shuts itself off is a good thing. So here are some of the photos I took while ironing yesterday, I am constantly taking photos while I work. 

I am also someone who wants to see my materials. I am including some photos of my yarns and threads in my space. It makes me happy every morning to come into my space and see all of the colors and textures of yarn. I can dream up my next project while weaving as the loom is right next to the yarn.

So do you have a favorite tool that you use everyday? An object that you appreciate and use everyday, I am trying to slow down and appreciate these things and notice them I encourage you to do so as well. I will continue to share objects and tools with you that I use and appreciate daily. 

So it has been a while but I have been a busy girl. I have been trying to better understand the process of posting a blog and of how I want to construct the post. I am going to try to post at least one image with a bit of text every day.

I learned to crochet a few months ago, I am in the still learning phase but I am understanding it more and more. So for the first project I grabbed some yarn from the stash shelf, yarn that had been there only a short time. One of my best friends and former boss, Andy, gave it to me as a bouquet for my thesis show in November of last year. It is Cascade Yarn Pima Tencel 50% Pima cotton 50% Tencel. So there were many beautiful colors and I made a bunch of circles out of it. 

So I went to the same store she purchased the yarn from, it is not my usual knitting store, and they were discontinuing the yarn, so I got several skeins of the same brand in a wonderful green color at a great price $2.10 each. I am now crocheting around each circle with green to attach them to each other. I am quite happy with how this is working out. And some day I will have a scarf to remember this both Andy’s motherly love for me and the wonderful exhibition reception that she shared with me.

I am still weaving away as well. I have completed two of the three towels that I have been working on at the loom. I am dreaming of what will go on the loom next. It could be one of a million things but I am thinking organically colored cotton scarves as transition pieces into the fall. 

So off to the studio now, I have a full day ahead of me.