Looking Into

I took this picture in St John in 2004.
Doesn't it look yummy!

I am excited about my move to a tropical zone.

It seems appropriate that I investigate the color turquoise.

Although turquoise is a cool color,

it reminds me of warm tropical water,

a color that easily hypnotizes and relaxes me,

and one that I can easily swim in.

Turquoise is a calming feminine color. It is also a very spiritual color, used by many ancient religions. Perhaps this comes from the use of the stone turquoise.
The color turquoise identifies with
love, healing, generosity,
emotion, feeling , the unconscious ,
intuition, individual responsibility, creativity ,
communication, self reliance ,
and independence.

Turquoise is a mix of blue and green.

Turquoise is a hip color for decorators this spring.

I think it is a lot like the color yellow. It can easily go with any other color.

It's compliment is orange.
It also looks fabulous with red.
This combo is very reminds me of Mexican folk art.

We wanted to share some of the Pin Cushions that we've put together with Artgirlz Wool Felt Beads! Using our Big Pin Cushion Monograph as a guide, you will find endless combinations of bead sizes and colors. What a great way to keep your pins together! No pesky magnets to mess up your fancy computer driven sewing machines...for those of you luck enough to have them. The Pin Cushions are so cool, that they will fit right into your living room accessories on those days that your projects are flowing all over the place!!

Lots of options for adding your own special touch with needle felting, embroidery, beads, sequins, found objects. Never too many and great gifts for all of your friends!!!

Stay tuned for the Pea Podz for Pinz!!!

When word went out in our family that we had purchased a house in Cocoa Beach Florida there was no one happier than Tracy's son Don. He was ready to book his plane ticket from California for the shuttle launch for Feb 12. Well it turned out that the lift off didn't happen until March 15th. Midge and I left our family's St Patty's celebration of corn beef and cabbage to hurry up the coast to our new beach to watch the launch. It was spectacular! We missed you Don.

The first International Women's Day was celebrated in 1911. It was planned as a day of demonstration for the rights of women, primarily the right to vote. It was a great success. It still amazing to me that we have had this right for such a short time and I think that we all take it for granted.

This year International Women's Day was officially on March 8 and it's theme was "Women and men united to end violence against women and girls".

http://www.internationalwomensday.com/default.asp

I made the quilt above about 15 years ago. I spelled out around the quilt how women are still beaten, raped and killed everyday for little or no reason, simply because they are women. I asked that it be stopped. I saw it as a way to put it out there, to say it, to break through our denial and remind us all that it goes on everywhere and we are all responsible do something about it. So check out these links and don't forget to spread the word. Thanks

http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/violence_against_women/facts_figures.php

How about this tribe of Artgirlz from Marlayna Telfer! They look like a strong and forward thinking bunch! Thanks for the good work and sending the picture our way! I love the way that you combined all of your materials! They look like they are ready to take off on a wonderful journey!!

Artgirlz Alert!

We are trying to get in touch with Fine (Fina) Gelfand! If you read this Fine, or if someone knows her, we have orange beads for her...but we don't know how to get in touch with her! Thanks!!!!

Sarah Lawrence: Wild Women Stitched Art Brooches

This is who Sarah is in her own words:
"Sarah Lawrence is a well-established contemporary textile artist based in Newark, Nottinghamshire. She combines her innovative approach to felt-making with embroidery, beadwork and gilding to produce rich, textured pieces that are exhibited worldwide."
One look at her website and blog will bring inspiration to anyone interested in beading, felting and embellishing!!
Mix up Sarah's Ideas with Your Ideas, add Artgirlz faces, arms, legs, shoes, and hands and make up your own tribe of Wild Women!!!! Take a minute to look over other little doll samples on the Artgirlz website!
Now, if you need your Creativity Crown plopped on your head before you begin your Wild Women Collection, we have the pattern and directions that will guide you through a perfect project! One side could be the Creativity Queen and the flip side might be the Queen of the Organized Life!!! You will be happy!!!


Keep on Keepin on!

BERNINA 830
SUPER DUPER AMAZING
SEWING AND EMBROIDERY MACHINE

Al and I just came back from three days in Chicago with the Bernina Education staff and 75 Bernina's National Artisans!! Wow is all I have to say! The first night (after a candle light dinner due to no power in the hotel) we did 2 minute introductions of ourselves (we won Bernina Mugs because ours was under 60 seconds) and I have never been in a room where so many women had written so many book and produced so many videos, magazines, websites and produced so much beautiful work etc!! Very impressive!

We spent most of the time working on or learning about the new 830 machine which I have to say is unbelievable! First of all the sewing area is huge! The lights are very bright, the bobbin is big, the engine rocks, and for those of you that are machine embroiderers, it is the best! The good news is that we worked in teams as we dove into stitches, winding bobbins, auto threading, cutting, setting embroidery patterns, switching out feet...all brains working as quickly as possible, imprinting material that was flowing quickly and only scratching the surface...

We made new best friends, found inspiration everywhere, had a lot of laughs, shared information and came home exhausted!

Yesterday was spent napping, catching up on bad tv, napping and preparing mentally for this week. Al had the power to even start needle painting last night!!

Thanks to Bernina, the bright, focused and loving teaching staff, brilliant sr. management, and all of the folks that spent time putting the event together! We both felt very grateful to be a part of the team!! Oh, the machine is seen here in Artgirlz fantasy colors...

We were very excited to find five boxes at our door containing our little project booklets lovingly referred to as our Monographs! They were a collaborative project with Brewer Quilting and Sewing Supplies and we are very grateful and happy with the results!
Now they are available to you and yours. They include directions and great illustrations that will guide you through the projects. Then there is the option of taking them all in your own directions!!

We will be coming up with kits to go along with them very soon...stay tuned!

In the mean time, we have just put our big wool bags, roving and felting needles on sale!!!

Al and I are off to Chicago tomorrow morning to attend a Bernina Teachers Event! Sure to be a lot of laughs and learning. Always fun to see the most energetic and knowledgeable teaching crew. They taught me that one should change sewing machine needles more than once a decade!
On that note, I am sending out our newsletter, packing my suitcase, adding a bit of purple to my hair and having a bit of dinner!

My new favorite thing
I love to do here at Artgirlz south
is ride my new bike.

Midge and I try to take time each day for a ride.
Sometimes on the weekend it is a ride to the farmers market or the library.
But usually it is just a spin around our little neighborhood.
Like two little kids,
we pedal through the warm breezes
looking for new landscaping ideas,
checking out the sights on the river or
watching the young osprey trying to build a nest on a light pole.

Wow Florida is a place full of big birds.

I miss the small ones that we always have
at the feeders in Rhode Island.

Although up north we do have the visits from the turkey family,

here in Florida the big birds are everywhere.

Pelicans,
Osprey,
Great Blue Heron,
Egrets of all sorts,
Cranes,
Ibis,
and Vultures.

Yet it was still shocking when I found this
strange red bird slinking
around our yard.


Oh, on closer inspection I saw it was
the Artgirlz LOVE BIRD!!

Happy Valentines Day !

Don't you hate it when your sis calls from Florida and says "I called to tell you about my accident"? Turns out that she tripped (don't we all?) carrying two dishes and had one go into her right hand...good news she said that all of her fingers work, it didn't get an artery or tendon...

whew!! good news for the other half of this enterprise!!
take it easy sis! the bees are going crazy today...the temp is a balmy 56 degrees...
we will be off to a Bernina extravaganza next week...

WOW this is my first blog post.

Tracy has always done them before.
Late last fall Midge and I bought a house in Cocoa Beach, Florida
so the Artgirlz won't be creating in one spot but two.
This has been a big change for us and at times painful.
But we pick up our life tools,
try to use them well
and blast off on a new adventure.

We arrived in Florida in time to surprise Midge's family for Christmas.
We have spent the past 8 weeks updating our mid century modern pad.
Having brought only what would fit in our car,
we are managing with yard sale bargains
and borrowed beach chairs.
We have spent a lot of them time painting, painting and painting,
ripping up floors
and making way too many decisions in a short amount of time.

We have so much to learn and experience here in Florida

.

We need to relearn gardening,
because
house plants can live outside,
Veggies are planted in the fall and winter
and what the hell is that grass they have on their lawns.

And we can grow bananas here!


From flowers to fruit

We are also finding eating locally a bit challenging.


One of the nicest things about our move
is that Midge has the chance to be with her family.
Last weekend her Italian cousins
were visiting her brother Michael in near by Indialantic
and on Sunday we all gathered to cook.


As the kitchen filled with yummy smells,
Philomena patiently taught us how to make pasta
with a shake of the head or a nod
because she didn't speak English
and our Italian was nil.



We made made little pasta caps called Priest's Caps or Agnolotti.
The results were MAGNIFICO.


It was a heart warming time
hanging out with Maria, Philamena and Franko.

So now Tracy and I are learning how to telecommute.
I am trying to set up a studio in our house that is still in transition,


Midge keeps painting


and Maxine watches over us,
happy to be back in Florida after leaving when we lost Margaret.

TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEART!

While I am in the RED zone I wanted to share some info and links for Women's Heart Health!
Heart disease is the numero uno killer of women and we have to spread the word and encourage each other to take care of ourselves!! Here are some things to look out for:

There is a lot of information online for women looking for support, facts, ways to help each other. Here are just a few.

The National Coalition of Women with Heart Disease
American Heart Association
Go Red For Women
Heart Healthy Women
Sister to Sister

And some thoughts that might help our daily situations!

So, put on your red dress and your red walking shoes, take a walk, breathe in some fresh air and be grateful, and share the information!! Do you have your own heart stories?

F.A.T. Girlzzzzzzzzzz Part II

I decided to play with some of our wool roving, felting machine, and misc goodies around the studio to make and embellish a postcard. I have been working the the color Red this month making Valentine samples and pulling red info and pics together. Al is working on Turquoise for next month, so I put them together for this project.

The embellishing machines are so great! They look just like a sewing machine, but No thread, no bobbins to fill...just a bunch of needles punching materials together in a very interesting way. If you don't have one yet, you can put this together with a piece of foam for a base and hand felting needles. It would take a bit longer of course, but you would benefit from some stress reduction!

Criss-cross three layers of roving on a flat surface a bit bigger than your finished project. You can always add to the edges if it is too small or fold over bits that are too big.
Place roving "sandwich" onto the machine (or your piece of foam) and go over the surface of the layers until they become one piece. Shape the edges as you go along by folding over or adding as needed.
For stripes, add another layer of roving in the direction and width that you want. Place in machine and "stitch" in place. As you work with the roving, you get the feel for how much it reduces in size as it is worked into the base. You don't loose much, but it is a factor.
You can continue to embellish the surface by shading the edge of strips with darker roving. Make polka dots by placing little circles of roving onto the base and working them in. By adding bits of gauze, silk, felt, open weave scraps of silk, netting or yarns to the surface you will start getting a more interesting and complex look and feel going.
Then come the beads, buttons, sequins, hand embroidery, ribbons, do-dads...endless possibilities with the treasures tucked into the studios around the world!

I tore a piece of painted watercolor paper to fit the shape of the felted piece.
Tearing gives you that nice uneven edge that is perfect for taking on inks.
Place the felted, embellished piece onto the torn paper and zig-zag in place. I made the paper a little bit bigger than the felt to give it another border.


Combine Stamps, Inks, Pens, Collage to add your message on the Back!

Wouldn't someone you love like to get something like this mixed in with the the Bills!!

Now if you are feeling very inspired and just can't stand it, just go to Artgirlz.com and add some new and unique items to your ever growing fabulous stash!!!
Have fun and Spread the Word!!

Welcome Fiber Art Traders!!! F.A.T. Girlzzzz Rock!

We were invited to participate in this Yahoo Group and their yearly online Flea Market by fiber artist, Normajean Brevik who is a writer, designer, teacher of fiber arts and "owner" of the group. In the warmer weather we are especially lucky here at Artgirlz World Headquarters to have a live and in person Flea Market a mile down the road. Since it is closed for the winter, this is a great opportunity for us to share our world with you!

If you are new to Artgirlz, we have a Rubber Stamps, Lead Free Pewter Charms, Wool Felt Shapes, Roving, Needles, Kits and Special Collections every now and then. Our charms were designed by us are made here right in Little Rhody and our wool is imported from Nepal. The Rubber Stamp collection is manufactured in California. All of our components would be perfect additions to mail, ATC, pin and doll making projects. There are lots of images on our website and in the past posts on this blog!

Since you are a Mail Art Group, I pulled together and added to some some samples and put a new piece together just for you!!!

This is an inch square colored with acrylic paints and pencils then wrapped with copper. The "A" is one of our rubber stamps. The charms and a bit of yarn for hair make up the rest of this charmer.

This is an ATC sized piece of "patchy" fabric layered and stitched together on the machine. Charms tell the metal story with red yarns for hair. The edges are finished with multi-colored beads.

On the left an orange and blue patchy ATC with a wool felt flower, beads, charms...

Another ATC with Ranger Crackle Paint on top of wool and rayon blend felt. I like the look of it with more paint rather than less. Usually needs to dry overnight. Another use of charms and yarn to create an ATC and a doll!! Good Button added too!

Layers of stitched felt, hand made paper, charms and rubber stamps combine to make up the front and back of the ATC shown above

A pelmet Vilene postcard from a Tentakulum Painter Potpouri Pack was the beginning of this piece. My sis needle felted our little wool felt 9 patch pieces and hand stitched them onto the base.

The back is a piece of painted water color paper, cut to size and attached to the back of the card with with gel medium. I used clamps to hold the edges together, and some books to flatten it out!





This is another pelmet Vilene postcard. It is embellished with a silk hankie, pewter charms, mini wool felt beads, mixed plastic and glass beads, hand made paper beads, yarn for hair and a piece of water color paper for the back.

I used the Bernina Stitch Regulator to stitch doodle on the base of the card. You could just do free motion stitching, decorative machine stitching, hand embroidery or additional beading and stamping.
Then stitched the backing paper to the card.

Artgirlz Rubber Stamps and Doodles!

Front Bead Detail

Off to have some Roasted Potatoes and Work on Section 2...Dry Felted Postcard!!
F.A.T. Members check your Mother Ship Posting Board!!!