Some images other than Mail Art, just to share

 My little neighbor friends gave me a huge egg that their little white hen laid. It had a double yolk.

 I snapped this while stopped at a stop light. The clouds were so nice. I discovered that the update on my camera gave me filters! So I tried one on this. 

I checked on my neighbors kitties the other day. This is groucho, who I usually see when she's out and about, and comes into my yard. She's tiny and sweet, mottle peach and gray with a peach mustache. So cute. She didn't hold still so the photo is a bit blurry. 

I went on a day trip to Ikea, with a friend, to buy some storage boxes for the studio. This view of the building really pleased me. It was a terrific composition just waiting for me to take the photo.

Here's Bizoo interrupting my letter writing. 

Here's our baby at the pumpkin patch this past weekend. She's sitting up, she's crawling, she's sitting in a high chair, she's eating tiny bits of food, and slurping soup, and recognizing ME! Yay!

My #250 series, the JonnyZFest & a new purse/tote

Playing in the waves?

I'm really enjoying using my 9B graphite stick. I worked on a large sheet of watercolor paper again, then went over the lines with a brush and water. The color circles are from old silk screen colored paper. I wanted a feeling of the sun today and when I was finished, I felt like the sun was up, or in one case, coming out from some clouds,  and it all felt like playing in the waves.

More playing in the waves

 These cards are all being sent out to new members of the International Union of Mail Artists Hopefully, they'll all be happily surprised to find then in their mail boxes all around the world.

 This is the postcard that came last week, announcing the JonnyZ Festival, which I'll be participating in, vending my sewn creations. My Etsy shop, Fritzi, has only four items in it, but my house has LOTS in preparation for the festival.

This is one of the new bags I've made. It's roughly 15" x 15" (38 x 38 cm) with straps that go over the shoulder.  The fabric is a really sturdy Ikea cotton dated 2005. A big red acrylic button is the closure. These new bags have a small pocket inside for a cell phone or your keys. They're an upgrade of my totes, in that I've added the pocket and a strap closure. I'd like a new name for these, cause they're more than a tote, but not quite a purse. Hopefully, I'll come up with something soon. I plan to start working on my display and signage on Wednesday. Any ideas? I'll take suggestions.

A little birdie Pocket

 This is a Pocket that I named "Henny" for some reason. I can't remember why! It used to be in my Etsy shop but now it'll be in the Bizarre Market Holiday shop, which I'm excited about. The shop is going to be in the little room upstairs of our wonderful Indie Bookstore, Chop Suey. It'll open up 26 November, which is the day after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, and will stay open until 24 Dec. I've been busy making lots of Pockets out of Ikea cotton and vintage fabrics, including tea towels. It's fun for me to do this but I hope I sell some stuff so I can make more stuff. There's just so much storage space, if you get my drift.   If you're in the neighborhood, stop into the shop.

These are two of the many Purses for Change that'll be in the BZM Holiday Shop.

More Ikea Fabric and some whine.

I couldn't resist buying more fabric while at Ikea. Oh, I forgot! I have to pack it and carry it back to the east coast in my nylon duffle carry-on. (I check nothing.) I used up all of the orange bird fabric and all of the black and white butterfly fabric so am happy to have more of it. The graphic design one was on sale for only $1.99 a yard (0.914 m) which is a very good deal. My older sister came by today and brought me a bag of buttons (heavy!) and some knitted stuff that she wants me to make into bags for her. Yikes! (more weight for me to haul home) whine whine whine. I brought books and some other items to be left here so my duffle probably won't be too heavy. I'll stop my whining now. I'm happy to get more buttons and happy to be able to make something for my sister.

What happened?

 I forgot to put these images on yesterday's post! I mentioned them in the title, but then forgot about them. I was so taken by the little "Oh, No" face, I guess.



I've been enjoying my tuned-up sewing machine sooo much. I can't stop making Pockets! Here are 2 more from the Panda fabric, the last of it. One of these is going to L.A. for one of my nieces.



These black and white Pockets are made from a heavy weight Ikea fabric. One of these will make the trip to L.A. for another of my nieces. I have more of this fabric, which is fun to work with because of the way the print is laid out. I get different placement on each pocket so no two are alike. I like it that way!

Thinking cool thoughts!

I'm thinking cool thoughts! What are those, you may ask? Ice cream, the pool (even though the water is tepid,) ice skating, how I used to sit by Lake Michigan and enjoy the breeze, last winter's snow storms, thoughts like that. Is it helping? NO! Nope, no, not at all! 37.7C It feels cooler when I write the lower number. Enough about the temperature.

SO my fingernail polish matched the floaty noodle thing at the pool the other day. How cute is that? And the flowers are doing wonderfully around the outside of the fence. They are well cared for by a pool member.

While driving our son back to his home from a pool morning, I grabbed this image of the tennis courts near his house. This is the place, though these courts are all new since the BIG flood, that Arthur Ashe learned to play tennis on. No one was playing the other morning, and I doubt they are playing today. Did I mention that is was 100F? There are lots of courts and in good weather, they are well used.

I am still busy with sewing. Yesterday afternoon I spent a few hours cutting out items from my new fabric, having sewn up all the ones I'd cut out before. I made one item already, wanting to see how the new fabric looks as a Sunglasses Pocket. I'm pleased with the results. I think I'll do some more sewing now as it's just toooo hot to go outside for any reason. (Did I mention how hot it is?) I'm sooo grateful for A/C and the electricity to run it.  Doesn't this look like a black and white image? The fabric is actually beige with white and black. I used my cell phone and got this. Kind of old-timey quality to it.

Okay, F & F (family and friends) I'm off to my studio to sew.

Sewing, lots of sewing.

I'm getting ready for my participation in the 3rd Annual Johnny Z festival on 7 August. (I've linked to an old bit of info about the festival.) I've got 10 Pockets, 17 Purses for Change, and 9 sunglasses Pockets ready. Whew. I sewed up everything I had cut out so my next task is cutting our more pieces. I have new fabric (from Ikea) and new buttons. It's the first time I've purchased buttons since 3 years ago in Paris. I've been using buttons from Mom's collection mainly, but really wanted some bigger ones and some colors that I didn't have, especially for the Vintage Tea Towel Pockets.  I'm really enjoying this. Since it's still quite hot here, staying indoors is preferable and having something to make is delightful.

Smitty, the Market, and some more sewing.

Here is Smitty contemplating going down the stairs. I think it must look like something really scary for him with his bad eyesight. We actually carry him into the yard. He's so cute still, and sooo old for a dog. We walked around the block a couple days ago and he had to lie down a few times and my honey carried at the end of the trip.

The heat is so hard on the veggies. These are photos from last Saturday when it wasn't so hot. What will be this week, oh boy, we may not even have Market on Saturday as BIG storms are predicted. Did I mention the temperature? It's now 98F/36.6C, yes, hace calor!! 

Yesterday, I had such a fun time making more Purses for Change. Really, I have so much fun doing this. Today, my honey helped me choose names for the ones that I put in my Etsy shop, Fritzi. I've decided that I'll name them all (a la Ikea.) Here's one that has a butterfly on the back of it. I call this PfC (Purse for Change) Lara. Got any cool short names that might work for PfC's or for Pockets? Send them to me.

Totes and Pockets

I'm having the best time sewing these days. Staying indoors, out of the heat, playing with fabric, is such fun. I used more of my Ikea fabric to make a new tote, which will eventually go into Fritzi, my Etsy shop.

       I have been making small bags, which I'm calling Pockets, because most of my clothing doesn't have a pocket for me to carry around my cell phone or iPod while I'm in my house going upstairs and down, and out in the garden, and in from the garden, or at the gym. You get the picture (I'm needing to be attached to my stuff.) I'm always putting the phone somewhere and forgetting it, thus a pocket is needed. I made one for myself, one for one of my sisters, and several from the remaining Decorative Skull fabric from Skull-a-Day. I'm pretty excited about them. I've also started to make my Purses for Change again, to help me raise a bit of change for Art180. Their slogan is "Change through Art," which I whole-heartedly agree with.  This is all so satisfying. Lucky, lucky, grateful me!