Apr 14
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

I read in Quilting Arts about a transfer process that used paint and ink-jet transparencies. I gave it several tries, and feel like I am still refining my techniques. The first one, the background, wasn’t inkjet compatible, and the ink beaded up on it. When I put in face down on the paint, it smeared and bled like crazy. I liked the back better, so I used it upside down. The smaller piece had the ink settle on it properly, but the image didn’t pull off as cleanly as I hoped it might. I might need more paint.

It looked so empty, I just went mad with the stitching in the back ground. That was fun.

Apr 13
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

I think this one post dates decimalization (?) although I have a two shilling piece that I am pretty sure pre-dates it. Having read far too many books from England as a child, I’m ashamed to admit I always skipped blythly past the financial considerations and straight on to additional plot. I know there were smaller and larger amounts of money in coin, and that a little bit went a long way. I can remember a little bit of my own money going for three (3!!) candy bars. I can remember eating them all at once, all by myself too.

Send me pictures of your currency. Once you really look at it, it gets much more interesting. I think I’m going after an american 10 dollar bill soon.

Apr 12
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

More colored fabric experiments. I separated the different coins and printed them in black ink on colored fabric. Using Shula‘s advice (who got it from Nellienell) and (gasp) the recommendations on the giant stand where they sell the thread, I used a much bigger needle and got the wrapped mettalic thread to work nicely.

I found these charming people, through following a bunch of blogs (Davernator to feffakookan who made the clothes to kamenendo who made the people)  made from porcelain I think. I love that they are nothing but gesture and posture, even after they have had clothes added.

I was so enchanted that I made my own person, from paper mache. She has a certain charm. I am thinking of leaving her plain white, although I really like the decals/clothes on the clay people. I could just shelack some cloth onto her in strategic places. I think I may try again with something a little smoother, and with slightly more tensile strength.

addenda: There was also a pointer to here making me think of more  potential uses for small hand sized figures. This was after a picture of these gentlemen made her think of it. Hand sized is my preferred size for making dolls – the body fits in my hand and the head and arms stick out the top, the legs dangle, and I can up-end them and check to see if they have underwear on. I’ll post a picture of Jenny and her sisters soon, you’ll see.

Apr 11
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

I forgot I could print on colored fabric – thanks to Jude at Spirit Cloth for reminding me. Although they are too small. I’ll try again tomorrow, when I am less exhausted.

I clipped Tiger Eye today, so he could cool off – he was still carrying a luxurious winter coat, with long fluffy guard hairs over the top. He looks much trimmer now, but also slightly chagrined, that funny look animals get when they feel their dignity has been impinged on. He also reminds me of Sword Dancer, one of the Welsh cobs I loved when I was working at Grazing Fields Farm. I rode Christmas Ball, who was shorter, kinder and funnier. But I worshipped Swordy.

Apr 10
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

And the most important thing money has to do is coordinate with itself:

If I designed money
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

I liked making these, but I am done now. The weaving was a great idea, but ten each way was fiddly and painstaking, and I’m definitely not going higher than 10. I love the numbers, and making them overlap slightly, I’ll miss doing other two digit numbers. The stuff on this one feels like it all fits better than yesterday’s. There are 10 concentric circles in the weaving, 10 strips each direction – all I need the the Count (from Sesame Street) saying "ten, ten lovely curliques" with a flash of lightning at the end and his great cackle.

I was thinking about different denominations, and how we gravitate so easily to the one/five/ten series we know already. I was thinking about twos and threes and 12s, and the old joke about the conterfeiter who asked the mark if he had change for a thirty dollar bill and the mark said Sure – you want 5 sixes, or two fifteens?

I got a picture of Cody in her finished costume:

Isn’t she cute? She’s our teacher for Family Circus, and sometimes Alice and I get her for our lesson on Tuesdays. She has amazing shoulders. She can do amazing stuff.

Apr 9
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

Two shrooms, two moons, two strips each way, and lots of golden thread on the feathers. Because the mushrooms are not gold today. It gets a bit lumpy and overwrought in the middle there – I hadn’t realized it would ALL wind up in the center.

I was using a different mettalic thread. I have two different ones, both from Sulky (and probably others make it as well) one is metallic filament wound around a cotton or polyester core (I haven’t burn tested it) the other is a single strand of colored mylar filament. I go back and forth on which one I hate more. The wound stuff gets unwound and strips itself going through the needle, but the tension tends to work better and I think it takes more effort to break it. The filament makes for a smoother sparkle, but the tension is hideously wonky and it breaks very easily. Shula pointed out there are needles for metallics; Schmetz makes Metallica needles that ease the filament stuff. There are also Sticknadel and Stepnadel which I think are, respectively, embroidery and quilting needles.

These bills are still making me absurdly happy. I need to think about what I’m going to put on coins too. And how I am going to make them. And then embroider them. Besides designing holes so they can be strung for carrying.

Apr 8
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

One hundred postcards. I was going to do something cute with 100 pennies or images of dollars or something, but I am really quite entranced with designing my own money. Note the moon on this one. I still haven’t found shiny things I want to add yet.

I call the smallest unit a bean. Ten beans is one pod. Fifty beans is an egg. Two eggs, or 100 beans is a mushroom. I think I need a two mushroom bill, and a ten mushroom bill. Maybe more if the spirit moves me.

Happy Easter.

Apr 7
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

Instead of continuing moaning about the lack of interesting things and colors on the currency I am forced to use, I started to design my own. Here you see a five mushroom bill containing almost all the elements I think are important to incorporate in money.

• food
• bright colors
• embroidery (I was thinking of Shula’s embroidered world)
• batik
• curliques
• weaving

Things not on this note that should be:

• beads
• buttons
• sequins
• something else that glitters (although there IS gold paint on the mushroom prints)

However, I still have a couple more denominations to go.

Apr 6
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

A ship’s prow, a demented bull, a viking (possibly Odin, maybe just my brother) and (not seen here, but available on the flip side of the postcard) a dyspeptic looking eagle.

I love this stuff. I wish my coins had cool things on them. Although I do like the new state quarters. And there are some interesting looking nickels coming out. But really – a ship’s prow? We could have figure heads, I suppose, except we don’t.

Postcard #98 – I am astounded with myself.

Apr 5
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

I liked the cutout as well as I liked the fish, so I figured out how to embroider him from the back, and THAT looked so cool I took a picture of the back to show you too. See?

In other news: Paint. More paint. Another coat of paint. Janet has painted. Red Kate is painting now.  Eventually, the couch will come home, and we’ll have to be done. It’ll look good, regardless.