mmm.... coffee.....

coffee dori-kawaguchi

hello!  i'm finally recovering from the long, hot, exhausting weekend after two nights of good sleep in my own bed (& several hours on my couch!)  the craft fair was so much fun, although sales were pretty disappointing.  i didn't sell very many creatures, but people were surprisingly interested in my tiny quilts & i wish i had made more.  a woman almost bought the giant rainbow quilt painting for $400 - that would have made up for everything.  i met so many wonderful crafters & saw others again & it was really neat to meet people that read this!  i'm working full time trying to make up for what i took off last week & will be dog-sitting for several days, but hopefully i'll have a chance to tell you more & post some pictures soon!

no. sleep. til

anyone else humming the beastie boys in their head?  i'm still running around the apt trying to pack anything & everything that i might possibly need!  (but probably won't)  i'm super excited & a little scared, i hope it goes really well & isn't too hot.  here's the final inventory:
50 strange creatures
5 vinyl kitty zippurses
5 vinyl skull zippurses
1 20"x44" mulit-colored quilt painting with silk origami flowers
1 16"x22" quilt painting with repro feedsack prints & origami pinwheels
1 16"x22" blue quilt painting with origami silk flowers
5 assorted 6" mini quilt paintings
some various stationery that i might not put out!  i've decided the creatures will be $25 and the zippurses are $30, but i'll be finishing tags & pricing when i get to my sister's tonight.  have a great weekend & hope to see you in NYC!

whiplash! whiplash!

here's the sparkley lime green sign teresa & i made for our table!  we did a mock set-up with our tent & tables so we feel a little more prepared for the sale.  i hope to get a lot more done in the next few days, i still don't feel like i have enough stuff.  i ended up losing most of saturday because i stayed up ridiculously late friday night with my bookstore friends!  we finally went out for all-you-can-eat chicken at this incredibly Rhode Island place called Wright's Chicken Farm.  it's, um, quite an experience.  and then we played Beat Detroit from my collection of 70's board games.  it was really fun, although no one ever wins & most rarely make it around the board once!  i have some fun pictures i ought to post, but i need to stop procrastinating & get back to sewing!

hansel, he's so hot right now

okay, like mypapercrane, here's a photo of all i've got - i am so not ready for next weekend!  i have no new quilts & those large blue ones never sell.  there will be many more creatures sewn in the next few days, but i don't have any skull or kitty pouches made.  where did the time go?  i ordered some cheap business cards, at least i won't have to worry about that, but i need to make more tags.  i'm finally getting more excited than nervous about renegade, teresa & i are going to set up our tent & tables this weekend to see how it looks & make a little banner to hang across the top.  i've taken next week off from work so i won't have to leave my studio for days!  i'd better make sure i've got enough coffee & snacks...

 

steak with peaches?

more more more!  i put up more photos of the creatures i'm bringing to renegade in, ohmygod, less than 2 weeks!  if only it would rain i think i could get a lot more sewn.  some of these guys still need eyes, the last little bit & the most annoying.  i started making a little quilty thing, but it was too hot to use the iron, instead i'm going to try to cut out more creatures while watching Hell's Kitchen...  enjoy the pics!

 

scientific men nonplussed, sceptics convinced, doctors puzzled.

  just a quick post from work to tell you i love my job!  I LOVE MY JOB!  i got my union cards & a big button today so i can initiate fees and apply for membership in the United Service and Allied Workers of Rhode Island.  how cool is that?  and i was here for almost 1 1/2 hours before i remembered to drink my coffee.  that may sound weird, but it's because i was so completely absorbed into my clamshell boxmaking!  a director at the library came by & was admiring my screen-print poster collection that i put up on the walls - he said if i ever chose to part with any they'd be glad to keep & catalogue them.  i was hoping they'd appreciate the posters because one of the books i'm working on is a collection of advertising handbills for shows in providence from 1845 - 1855.  my favorite one is for a Grand Spiritual Seance where a Large Piano Rises Clear from the Floor.  Philosophers Mystified! Scientists Astounded! Clergymen Amazed! Scholars Dumbfounded! 
  i wish you all could have a job like this, especially my poor tired & overworked sister. (hi, lee!)

he's only got one look

i don't use black very often in my creatures, but this gorgeous asian print with the gold & purple needed a subtle background.  i reeeally like this one!  can you tell by all the pictures i took?  they all click open to bigger windows...

i was going to get so much done today, but then teresa & i wandered off to the fabric store (i was forced to buy some kona cottons in electric colors.)  there was a funny older woman there who was facinated by my latest haircut (i think it's awesome when people ask to touch it.)  then i visited my landlady to see how the new skylights look (amazing!) and to complain about the carpenter ants.  the ants must be a fun side-effect of the new roof construction & are of course only found in my studio!  then i got really pissed off at what's been happening to teresa over on lj & gave myself a migraine.  my across-the-street neighbor has a puppy that sounds like someone stepping on a squeaky-toy & that is only making things worse.

i invented the piano key necktie

i'd be complaining about what i got to wake up to every morning for the past week, but i'm just thinking about what i get to go to work to every day for the next 2 years!  yes, the board shear arrived tuesday & it is glorious (& a lot bigger than we all thought).  it took a flatbed truck, a forklift, a specially built wood platform they called "the spider", a pallet jack, some ramps, & eight men!  but they did it in less than 1 hour.

isn't she pretty?  completely rebuilt cast-iron with a new wood top.
it seriously cuts through anything like butter.

  so i'm sorry about my lack of posting, but i got pretty damn sick.  i'm finally feeling better, but still coughing this gross cough.  mmm, sexy.  i was really freaking out about being ready for Renegade because i've barely been able to sew for a week, but then i sat down & counted 31 creatures!  they mostly need eyes & if i finish the batch i started today then i'll have 38 creatures.  sweet!  of course i have nothing else that i wanted to make, but there is still 2 weeks & who knows what will happen...
  the trip to visit the family was amazing.  i had a blast with everyone & sewed quite a lot, but then sold almost all of it while i was there!  i really wanted my relatives to see what i make (the creatures are hard to describe) but i didn't expect them to buy any.  i have to weed through the pictures & post some up.  oh, & i've been updating the photo album of in-stock creatures, check it out & there will be even more soon.  since i've got more than i expected made, i've got to mail some to Plainmabel & ArtStar before they think i've forgotten about them.  sorry to anyone else who's asked for me to consign lately, but i've obviously got more than i can keep up with!  not that i'm complaining...