New Pillows!!

My sis, Allison made me a pillow (seen above) for my birthday. She created some of the pieces while still in Florida, and finished it while she was here at Christmas. The crazed pink young lady was "free -stitched" with her trusty Bernina. The message "Everything was fine until my sister moved to Florida" was transferred onto the fabric. Some of the smaller pieces with the black background were created with screens and silk screen paint/ink. She (the pillow girl) is still very distressed, but feeling better now that she is living in New England.

I was then inspired to make a pillow for Sue who

has been doing ALL tasks around the house in addition to going to her regular job since the beginning of December. I returned from a week in Florida, and have been almost useless...so she has cooked, taken care of chickens, rabbits, snow issues, bills, laundry, on and on and on... I managed to sit at my sewing machine and do a bit of hand sewing. The girl on the pillow was created from a gelatin print on fabric. I used my beloved Bernina Stitch Regulator to draw around the girl and write the message.

Linda was just here and we have been working on the details for our Fabulous Fiber Weekend that is coming up here pretty quickly. Working out details for food, goodies, projects etc. It is coming together!! Better take a rest!

The Holidaze!

 

Well, it has been quite a ride since our very successful and entertaining Studio Sale at the beginning of December. It was off to Florida to surprise the sisters, which by the way was a complete success...the surprise that is!! The weather was of course better than the great north east, but cold...icicles on the palm trees!

Midge, Allison and I took a weekend collage class from Derek Gores. Worth checking out his site. The work is amazing! The room was filled with women madly tearing up magazines and transforming them into portraits.

 The piece on the top above, is Allison's. She had started it at home in fabric, and mixed it up with paper during the class. I used a photo of my son Don to do the piece below. Still have work to do on my piece, but it is coming along. An amazing two days of hard work, squinting and learning.

 

We had a great time guiding sister Beth with a potholder project, did some gel and screen printing! I also got to meet some of the Florida creative friends with back to back luncheons. 

I think i had pizza every day! Watched bad tv, watched Al patiently knit a sock using her ipad as a teacher, did a bit of stitching and more eating! It was somewhere in there that my belly started to feel "full".

I returned home, plopped down on the couch and slept for 4 days, downed a couple of laxatives, had waves of abdominal cramping for the same number of days, no appetite. Finally went to a clinic, more laxatives and set up abdom ultrasound. Two days later...the blessed Solstice...Linda drove me to our new clinic right down the street...the next docs favorite lax, gatoraid, lab work and piece of pizza for Linda. We toasted the Solstice! 

Next day, my blessed B'day, lab work showed something going on and the doc sent me to the ER for an ultrasound. By 9 that evening, i was tucked into my hospital bed very grateful to know that i had a blown appendix that had collected itself in a magical pocket in my belly!

Midge and Al showed up to be on the patient support staff. Midge ended up driving to NYC very early Christmas morning, so we didn't see her until late in the week. By New Years Day the extended family was together here enjoying each other and a wide variety of snacks!! 

 

So now, the "pocket" is drained and i will have the pesky thing removed on the 25th! I consider myself very lucky and grateful to be here!!!!!

Al's New Heads Above!

Back to the Basement to Sew. Pics very soon!