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Have you ever heard of it?
Once you start you'll never stop. Or so I have heard.
I have watched some of my friends get hooked and since I am already so hung up on fiber and sewing and quilting I have tried to resist the current obsession shared by so many of you out there.
Like a doodle but dangerously addictive.
Check out Maria and Rick's Website...
don't say I didn't warn you...
I keep thinking what neat quilting patterns they would be...
When given a new idea do you embrace it and see the positive? Or are you one of those people who immediately list the reasons why it isn't viable? Do you see the possibility to use everything around you as inspiration or is a cloud only water vapor in the sky?
Recently I began saving our potato chip bags for some mystery project. You know when the appeal of a certain color or texture or in this case, the matte plastic of these chip bags makes you think- ah, how cool! This could be great in a ______.
Thank goodness my husband is patient and non-judgmental as the collection of cardboard packaging (saved for paper dolls and collage) combines with the Styrofoam meat trays (great for paint trays) and potato chip bags (to be used as material for aprons, totes and book covers?).
I have to admit that I am a passionate recycler.
I rinse and remove labels from jars. I wash out all plastic items and put catalogs and other papers into my bins each day and when I forget my totes I always return to Publix with plastic shopping bags for recycling. I don't buy bottled water but if I did I would recycle them.
I think that it should be mandatory that all states have recycling laws and make bins available for EVERYONE to RECYCLE. It should be the way we dispose of these things- it should be a given without thought required. Everyone should be responsible for their household waste.
OK, I know you don't want to hear it, so I will move on to some great new books I recently found that may give you inspiration for reusing some of household packaging or paraphernalia.
Craft Cycle written by Heidi Boyd is 143 pages of projects that take you from
Spring to Winter.
She details how to make T-Shirt yarn and what to make with it. I love the melted plastic army men bowl (I did that once) and coiled pajama laundry basket.
One of the Summer projects is a snackers bag and it really appeals to me- aside from a way to use my chip bags I have always wanted to make those gum wrapper projects but never knew how or took the time to learn. I like the colors and the woven texture and they would be waterproof which is great for an accident prone calamity girl like me.
I almost squealed with happiness when I saw this cover at the bookstore!
Somerset Studios has done it again- Green Craft is full of their trademark gorgeous photography and interesting projects.
Great sweater ideas and upcycled chic as they call it.
Another way to repurpose T-shirts is described in this scarf pattern.
Why not try combining wool felted sweaters with chip bags to get a cool new tote?
Here's more of my old fashioned favorite- woven magazines make bigger bags that tiny gum wrappers would.
Of course there has to be an apron and this one is cleverly sewn from plastic
bags and T-shirts.
Finally, this book called Re-Bound about creating handmade books from recycled and repurposed materials has me salivating to transform album covers into journals and use my collection of drink stirrers as spines in a handmade book.
There's also a few ideas about those chip bags. This would be great fun to do with your kids- using packaging and junk mail and paper bags to create books or more bags to hold books to color or draw in or as a photo album to send to Grandma...
Priceless inspiration all around if you are open to it.
Open your eyes and your heart to something new today.
Welcome an opportunity for Growth and Change.
Be comfortable Being Different.
Write your County Commissioners and ask them to change your recycling plan if yours isn't easy- or just make it a part of being responsible- find out where your local recycle stations are and go there with your crap if you can't or won't make something new and useful from it.
I know you don't have time. You have to make the time.
I know you don't know how. You have to learn to be creative.
I know it's painful to change but it's going to happen eventually- the recycle part at least because one day there won't be anymore land for filling with garbage.
It will all be used up.
Can you imagine the beauty of a national treasure like the Grand Canyon filled with debris and rotting garbage?
Think about it as you buy products- what kind of container are they packaged in? Or maybe you already do this all this stuff and I am wasting my time.
Maybe you can't affect change in other people.
Maybe I should just go mind my own business and stop giving crafty advice.
Maybe I will just go make something cool with my saved up beautiful potato chip bags...
Maybe I will be back later if I make time to do Bench Monday.
Maybe there is an open door near me to explore.
Love & Blissful Creation,
xo, calamity kim
Please come see my new Blog about Spinning Art Yarns!
You'll see the button is on the right sidebar and just click it to follow along my woolly journey. Or just click this link and check it out.
I hope y'all have a lovely weekend! Today I am making bats (for spinning) and tomorrow is the Surface Design Guild Playday at 1pm.
Love & Stitches,
calamity kim
when you park and step in a puddle with your brand new sandals as you exit the car?
when you go to the grocery store because you have been out of paper towels all week because the last 2 times you went to the store you forgot
and you get home and realize you have forgotten them again?
when you get one too many phone calls from Crazy Town and you just can't take any more insanity?
when your brand new spinning wheel breaks and you can't believe this is happening to you?
when you drop your most expensive, nicest, best scissors you've ever owned in your life and now the blades are rubbing together and you just want to cry?
when you find the garbage cans knocked over by hungry : raccoons, dogs, possums? and the leftovers from the fridge are now on your back porch and the flies are digging free lunch?
ever have one of those days?
days like this require cake.
any cake.
frozen cake is fine.
for dinner.
yes, my name is Calamity and I am an emotional eater.
welcome to my world.
That is the question that elicits the most amount of laughter and/or doubtful looks from people who don't really know me.
What would you say if I told you I spent 4 hours stuffing bits of wool fiber into the legs of new stockings, tying knots between each ball and then tossed all 10 into the washer to felt them?
After removing them and cutting them apart and pulling the hose off I needle felted the iris and pupil to make them look like eyeballs.
Does that sound crazy?
Do you think me mad?
Slightly daft?
No, I just want to be Jacey Boggs and make some of her hysterically funny "vitreous humor" art yarns.
After making two wool beads by hand I decided to try the washing machine method and it did save time but getting them out of the hose is no picnic either. 
The ones that look like tiny buts formed that way because of the hose- the legs were too big and next time I am going to try some made for girls or I guess I could sew a seam and make a smaller tube. They can be dunked in hot water and rolled in the palms with a drop of soap and they will smooth out into a round ball. That's the beauty of felt- it can be felted really dense or somewhat soft- whatever you need for your project. No matter how you attempt it- making felt is work!
The end result is worth it, though, because where else are you gonna find eyeballs to spin with your wool to make killer zombie art yarn to knit an awesome hat or bag from?
With the Zombieland movie coming in October I really need to get busy so I'll have something funky to wear to celebrate my inner zombie killer love.
Woody Harrelson is perfect as a guy killing zombies and looking for the last twinkie on earth and even Bill Murray is a zombie! You know I love Bill Murray, right? That's one of the little known facts about Calamity Kim- I love Bill Murray movies and have just about all of them- I could watch Groundhog Day over and over and over again!
I also loved Shawn of the Dead (sadly, without Bill Murray) and think that Zombies are pretty funny for the most part, unless of course you don't outrun one and then there's nothing funny about having your brain eaten or turning into a zombie yourself!
What can I say? I watched The Werewolf and Frankenstein and Dracula movies as a kid and this is how I progressed. I know its not real and so it doesn't scare me.
Anyway, I have a big bowl full of white orbs that aren't gonna turn into eyes all by themselves so I better get back to it.
Y'all have a great day!
Have a Creative Day,
calamity kim
I started this so long ago, I can't even remember!
I just didn't feel it- ya know? Every time I would start adding yoyo's and buttons around the center image I would feel unsure of what to do and what color should be next and it didn't flow.
My original intent was to just have 3 red yoyo's at the top and bottom of the oval and a few leaves but this is what it finally became.
I am used to "feeling" my way through projects and if I hit a snag I just stop and set it aside until it comes to me. That probably isn't the best way to work, but when I force a project it often doesn't turn out well at all.
What's a girl to do?
So, here after many, many days is the front of the mermaid bag finished.
Next comes the lining and getting the handle made and all the finishing touches.
It feels good to be almost finished with her.
Almost as good as a day at the beach!
xo, Happy Monday!
I hope I can get in a bench picture before sunset...
we'll see...
xo, calamity kim
Imagine wandering through Wonderland with Alice.
What would it look like?
Would you be frightened?
Would you be curious and filled with excitement?
Surely there are quite a few odd fellows lurking about in the garden.
With every creature talking and walking about dressed for tea, it would seem to be a dream.
Imagine everything come to life- even your needle and thread would speak to you as you stitched! Would the cloth cry out as you stuck the needle in the face of it and pulled thread through to make a tattoo of cotton color?
Would you stop and look up at the sky as the ever present Aurora Borealis danced across your eyes?
Tea with talking rabbits, mice and hatters gone mad,
would not seem so strange after all.
If flowers have faces and Humpty Dumpty lives there, then maybe more nursery rhyme characters could be found if you searched more of the countryside.
I am sure Alice wouldn't mind if you wanted to stay with her a while and explore the unknown regions of Wonderland.
I have a map...a map I've been making of all the delightful spots.
Come with me and see...
be amazed...
Be filled with wonder
Imagine the Possibilities.
xo, calamity kim
This is an early yarn.
One of the first tries.
It looks clunky and chunky to me now.
I like thick and thin.
But this is not that.
This is learning.
This is two different skeins of yarn that are just on the stretcher drying together.
I love pink and green together and the flower yarn turned out really nice.
Still kinda fat but consistently fat (like me!) and I'm getting better at controlling it.
I love the feel of it gliding through my fingers as it spins.
Sometimes I think its too small and it's going to break, but it doesn't and I am learning to relax into it.
Sailing away on a cloud of wool...
Just like everything else I have ever tried to do, this is about learning to do it the right way before you go off into the art part.
When I learned to weave baskets, it was traditional first then sculptural.
Same with sewing and quilting.
Then you have a strong foundation from which to build..
This is being stretched a little prior to being soaked.
I showed it to my husband last night and he said it looked like Yeti hair.
So, after much giggling, I decided to name my yarns "Yeti Spaghetti".
I think each time I spin the consistency and diameter is improving.
Learning new skillz, man!
The sparkle is from adding in some firestar and this also has bamboo and silk fibers.
It isn't really pretty like the pink and yellow but it speaks to the prairie girl in me.
Natural with a hint of spark.
My little friend just wandered by and reminded me I have to get back over to Picasso Moon today and make some felted eyeballs and beads to use in more yarn...I guess I'd better go.
Have a happy Wednesday people!
xo, love and yeti spaghetti for everybody!
calamity kim
ps.
Happy Birthday Troy!
How is it possible that you are 28?
You are the best thing I ever made.
Thank you for being such a wonderful son.
I love you with all my heart.
moma
sewed all day today.
used the accuquilt die cutter to cut squares in about an hour- simply awesome!
working on new aprons...do you see a theme? added teacup fabric and some cupcakes.
it rained and cooled off a little bit more.
no bench monday or mini quilt...no time for goofing off- need to stay on track and get some things done...
haven't i said that before?
have a good night
and sister if you are reading this i will call you tomorrow afternoon...
love & rainbows,
calamity kim
Learning to spin is like being suddenly transported to a new and foreign country where you aren't really sure of the customs or traditions and you damn sure don't speak the same language.
At first it was totally uncomfortable and I wasn't sure I was going to be able to do it.
You do realize that a girl nicknamed "calamity" probably isn't going to have the coordination required to march her feet and waltz her hands while holding wool and making it resemble something other than cat vomit, don't you?
It took me more than a few hours and lbs of wool roving to get the hang of it. Learning the language and obtaining the skillz may take even more time.
It can't be rushed.
Now, I am in love.
Smitten.
It's all I want to do.
Just like when it was stamping paper dolls or playing with the cuttlebug.
Always something new and exciting to get involved with isn't there?
Getting good requires some time.
No matter how many hours I spend searching the internet for fiber sources, spinning videos or looking at batts it comes down to actually doing it myself and putting in the time.
Why do I want to learn to spin?
Because when I was small, I remember my Aunt had my Great-Grandmothers spinning wheel and I was drawn to it. I would stand and look, fascinated by the large wheel and the mystery it held for me. I only knew about Rumpelstiltskin and Sleeping Beauty's association with spinning and of course I thought about spinning gold and lethal spindles that might kill me or put me to sleep for 100 years.
At this stage of my life I have dabbled in most every kind of fiber art. Basketry, Felting, Beading, Papermaking, Bookbinding, Doll making, Teddy Bears, Quilting, Sewing, Painting, Crochet and now spinning.
The final frontier.
Very pioneer womanish and somehow fitting for an old fashioned, wanna be farm girl like me.
Of course this is modern spinning so it isn't making plain old yarn.
I want to make the fun stuff.
Indie yarn.
Original one of a kind handspun that will be a conversation starter.
With a twist I can add in silk flowers, glow in the dark butterflies and stars, pompoms, clothing tags, even yoyo's.
Anything small enough to get through the opening in the wheel can be spun with the fiber to create art yarn.
Of course my yarn will be art yarn- funky, chunky, colorful and full of diversity. Shiny stuff like angelina and firestar and silk and maybe even recycled soda bottle fiber can be blended on the drum carder with wool, cotton, linen, milk protein fiber, alpaca, mohair- you name it and they probably make a fiber from it!
Your Uncle JimBob's flannel shirts can be torn and shredded to make a fabulous tribute yarn to knit him a cap that will certainly be unique and functional all at the same time!
It's growing in popularity and there are lots of conferences and Fiber fairs, books and teachers out there if you are interested.
If you came here for quilts...I can only say maybe later today or this week. I have to get up from the spinning wheel and go sit in front of the sewing machine.
Time.
It's all about making time for what you want to create.
Yesterday I made batts with a drum carder and cannot wait to see how it spins.
Its like a mystery each time and that in itself is very intriguing.
Like making up a recipe and anxiously waiting to take that first taste.
What will your yarn look like if you add this to the batt?
Can't wait to see.
Have a lovely day- it's Monday!
I'll be back later with a bench picture...
Love & stitches,
calamity kim
all photos taken at Picasso Moon Yarn Shop, Sarasota.
Making batts for another spinning class this weekend...stringing silk flowers on lace weight yarn to spin into yarn...rocking out with the funky art yarns...loving that it's Friday and District 9 opens in theaters today...working on more mermaids, quilted journals, quilts and aprons...so much to do and so little time to do it...have a happy day!
xo, calamity kim
it's raining and the sound of thunder in the distance is like a soothing lullaby...take a nap, sweet kim, this will wait...
the mermaids stay deep in their underwater castles when it rains, rocked to sleep by the waves to dream mermaid dreams of pearls and dancing slippers...
Precious pieces of vintage tatting becomes honored in its placement on a new quilted journal.
Layering fabrics and stitching in texture gives the light a landscape on
which to dance.
I see kindness in her face.
Honesty.
Devotion to her craft.
The back is serviceable. Machine stitched.
A moleskin journal to hold thoughts, samples, ephemera of my spinning journey.
My friend and teacher Shawn suggested this and I agreed it would be wise to begin at this new start to contain as much information as I can in a journal to help
me remember.
So that when they ask me- what were you doing?
I can always know, even though I was just lost...spinning out of control.
Thought for today:
The only place where housework comes before needlework is in the dictionary.
~Mary Kurtz
have a creative day...just go make something!
xo, calamity kim
“I'm still the little southern girl from the wrong side of the tracks who really didn't feel like she belonged.”
Faye Dunaway
First of all, I would like to thank Sara for keeping you all busy and entertained while I have been on vacation. She has a delightful way with words and always makes me think about why I am doing what I do and the spiritual connection to my soul seems stronger after one of her introspective posts. Sometimes it is uncomfortable to examine our process as closely as she asks us to but the resulting clarity is worth the pain involved.
Those flowers are for you.
Second, I would like to say Thank You to all of you who come here to be inspired or see what new project is being made. I appreciate all of you who link to my Blog or take a moment to comment. That is what this is all about. Connecting with other creative folks who want to live artistic lives- even if the only thing you paint is your toenails, you are still playing with color. It's all in your perspective.
That flower is for you!
So, what have I been doing for the last 2 weeks?
Well, one of the things I have spent a lot of time obsessing, er, learning about is spinning.
Yes, that's right, spinning wool into yarn.
I purchased a Lendrum Spinning wheel from Picasso Moon Yarn Shop (the best yarn shop in Sarasota, Fl)
Mr Lendrum lives in Canada and makes these fine wheels with maple that is so pretty! I decided to name her Luna. Well, actually, Bella Luna because she is like a beautiful moon, spinning in my twilight sky.
We went to see Harry Potter (6) and then went back and watched #1-5 again because there were some we had missed or forgotten and the character Luna (with the white blonde hair and lilting whimsical way) is one of my favorites. Remember her?
Maybe this jogs your memory?
See how her hair is almost the same shade as my new wheel?
Bella Luna Lendrum has a very nice ring to it, don't ya think?
I need to find a few moon charms to tie on to front of the wheel so that I won't ever lose her in a crowd!
I don't have pictures yet of any of the yarn I have spun because I still need to soak it and dry it. I am gradually learning control of the diameter of the yarn but all I really want to spin is funky art yarn.
I know that I need to learn to spin right before I spin funky but it's not nearly as fun!
Debra of Picasso Moon Yarns is having Jacey Boggs of Insubordinknit come and do a Spinning Workshop on May 1st and 2nd of next year at the Sarasota Wellness Center. (part of the proceeds from this event will go towards Breast Cancer support ) I recently purchased Jacey's DVD "Sit and Spin" and was amazed and thrilled to watch her teach coils, cocoons, beehives, core spinning and trapping foreign objects among other spinning techniques. I love thick and thin and funky fibers added into wool and hope that I can get good enough to eventually sell some of my art yarns.
I realize that the time I spend doing this takes away from my quilting and sewing time but I am just going to start getting up earlier and sleeping less- like maybe 6 hours instead of 8 and I'll be tired, but happy and productive!
Yesterday I found an image of an old Irish woman and her spinning wheel and after printing it on fabric (Hp 8250 Inkjet printer on June Taylor Colorfast fabric sheets) I stitched it up and started a moleskin journal cover to keep all my spinning notes and sources in.
It still needs a few more stitches and then a binding.
I just am in love with textiles and fibers and find spinning to be relaxing and soothing to the spirit. As long as you learn to "let it go", that is! I was holding on so tight and my yarn was twisted and coiling up on itself like a phone cord!
Isn't that always the way it is?
Ya just gotta let some things go in order to have peace and tranquility in your soul.
Here's wishing you a wonderfully, magical and creative day.
Happy Back from Vacation Day!
xo,
calamity kim
One day, I was sitting alone in a bar-and-grill with a grueling headache. The hotel I had been staying in didn't have room service and it was the only restaurant within walking distance. Numerous televisions were blaring. Alcohol-enhanced diners were speaking with ridiculously high-pitched voices punctuated with sudden bursts of laughter. My non-smoking oasis was under attack from billows of nicotine fog. I felt completely out of place and my waitress kept looking at me like she agreed.
I tried to do some list-making in the notebook I had brought along, but it hurt to think. Everything seemed miserable until I reached for my coffee and saw this.
I thought it was so beautiful the way the stained-glass ceiling lights were captured in my cup. So, like any artist with the least bit of blogging experience, I whipped out my digital camera to capture it.
Can I just say that taking a good picture of a rounded light reflected in murky coffee in a dim room at close range with an impending migraine is really hard? I kept adjusting the mug, scooting back and forth in my seat, rearranging my silverware and napkin to have them appropriately in or out of the picture...
I became so immersed in what I was doing (and attempting to block out my surroundings) that I completely missed the advance of my waitress. She held my fish taco platter high in the air and peered down at my camera screen, trying to see the most recent shot. I was so embarrassed! But before I could try to make up a lame excuse, she grinned and said, "Oh! I was just doing that exact same thing the other day!" She carefully set down my meal and began to tell me about the beautiful meal she had photographed- how the food had been arranged on the plate and how her lemonade had sparkled in its glass.
Finally, with completely different attitudes toward one another, we finished talking and she left to wait on other tables. And I couldn't help marveling.
How easily I could have grabbed my coffee and slurped it down in an effort to combat my headache, never noticing the unexpected beauty it held. Then, I was so grateful to have witnessed it that I had made an effort to capture it, document it, remember it share it.
More importantly, how quickly I had dismissed my waitress as being more ordinary than I! Granted, sometimes life as a creative person can feel like being an ostrich in a room full of squirrels. But I wonder how often I feel isolated or misunderstood (or overwhelmed!) needlessly? How often am I so distracted by what's going on in my own head that I fail to see the art... artistry.... artists.... around me?
I split the rest of my time between eating and creating an elaborate piece of art on my napkin as my own little unexpected gift to the lady who reminded me to stop and look more carefully.
Your turn: What people or situations in your life strike you as contrary to your "artistic sensibilities?" Is there a way to shift your own perspective to discover something worth lingering upon? Tell me about it!
"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly." Buckminster Fuller
Shhhhh....don't say anything!
I am just sneaking on here to say I still have another week of vacation and will be back soon with my own Bench Monday and maybe a mini quilt Monday. In the mean time check out this chick named Karen who has a wonderful Blog titled Beelieve and fabulous Bench Monday pictures.
I am worn out from driving up to Dunedin to visit the Rainbow's End Quilt Shop and the AQS Quilt Show at the Dunedin Fine Art Center.
Maybe I should rephrase that to say riding because Fred was doing the driving (sometimes on two wheels it seemed) and I was just co-pilot.
Going over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge has never been my favorite thing to do.
It's only 699 feet above the sea.
It was easier taking pictures than shutting my eyes and holding on to the seat belt and door handle for dear life!
My little wire angel protects us from harm.
Looking up is much better than down.
Of course it's easier on the downside too.
And worth it to be in fabric heaven again!
I wrote about my trip to Rainbow's End (Florida's Largest Quilt Fabric Shop) on our Surface Design Guild Website.
Here is the link to the slideshow from the pictures I took (with permission) at the AQS Sawtooth Show at the Dunedin Fine Art Center if you'd like a look.
have a great morning and I'll see ya later.
xo, calamity kim
***Here's my Bench Monday- I forgot to blog it after adding it to the Flickr Group.
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