One Yard Wonders TWO!

Yay! A sequel!
Since my e-mail wouldn't let me upload the photos, here are the project photos I'm submitting.
THIS PROJECT IS SO EASY IT HURT TO EVEN TRY TO WRITE INSTRUCTIONS.

Alabama Chanin Inspired T-shirt

I read Natalie Chanin's first book a while back, and devoured her most recent one just a few days ago at the Book Store, aka my second office. Imagine my surprise to find a contest on Burdastyle.com to win a workshop with her! What to do...what to do!?

The print major in me wants to silkscreen. The stuffed animal maker in me wants to use wool. But the practical side of me knows to start with something small. So I did.

Behold: Old Navy t-shirt plus scraps of Mossimo t-shirt plus favorite stamp plus thread and two nights work =Altered T ala Alabama Chanin!

There are two of these patches, and each one took about 2 hours total from stamping to finishing. My knots are on the back side, hers are usually on the front.

Using this stamp (which I have used for many other projects) tells me I need to go with a pattern that has fewer undercuts and more 'negative' space.

OOTD: walking on sunshine

Today's outfit, as I'm heading to Har Mar Mall to do some walking. Yes, it's sunny out today and all the snow is melting. But I have new walking shoes and I don't want to mess them up! No, I am not a retiree.

*Mossimo t-shirt printed up by Amy Rice Her studio is above I Like You, and Sarah came down with one of her shirts. I ran up the stairs as fast as I could to snap one up for myself. There are a limited number that she is now selling at the store. How cute is that Little Person?
I blew Matthew's little 3.5 year old mind when we were playing Little People in the basement and I was wearing the shirt!

*Old Navy ruffled hoodie. Tag says '07-09/09' so I guess that means I got it this last summer. My fave color of turquoise!

*Jeans (unseen) were a gift from my old boss, they are from Lane Bryant and they are a titch on the tight side, a touch on the mom-jean side, but for walking with the other mall walkers they will be just fine.

*Earrings, homemade! I used components from The Bead Monkey, but these pieces are not online. E-mail me if you're interested in more info!

Crib Notes OOTD

OOTD means outfit of the day. On days when I'm feeling particularly awesome about my fashion choices, I'll start posting my OOTD. you'll also see more fashion blogs popping up on my faves list. I've gotten way into a few that I'd like to share with my loyal readers. So here's the first of many!
Smooches!

Mossimo Little Black Dress dress, from Goodwill but originally Target. Found this girl today for $8.99 and was quite pleased, since I just gave up my two other LBD's as being too big (YAY WEIGHT WATCHERS). Earrings are 'Swell' via Target and the scarf is also Target, from two seasons ago.

Cardi is Relativity via Herberger's which is my mom's favorite word to say. Insanely clearanced, I think it was $9 or something. I love the bright purple/pink shade, very spring-y.

Boots which you can't see are my go-to black boots from J.Crew. They were also very clearanced back when I got them 2 years ago, I think they were originally $150 and I got them for around $40. They have been re-heeled once already and even though they are salt-stained right now, these are my go-to black boots.

Tights, unsure. No label. They are faux-fishnet.

The Old Magic Crept Back

my little submission for the 'foot in the door' exhibit at the MIA. they only do it every 10 years, and they accept ALL Minnesota artists. so it's not like a *huge* deal. but i did grow up going to this museum all the time for school and family trips. and when my mom worked at the MIA in the ed. department, i got to go to work with her during the summer or when i was sick. i spent hours wandering the museum during the days, usually one of only a few people in the place. it was certainly magical. so i decided to bring some magic of my own to this challenge.

the dyed paper flowers came about because i wanted to use up some old dye that didn't work for tye-dyeing anymore, so i used it on the book pages. the crystals and shell centers of the flowers have long been in my stash. the tree limbs were an abandoned attempt at a mobile hanging device. and of course, the mousie was made by moi. the more i look at it and think about it, the more i want to do something to the walls and back of the IKEA frame. i better get it turned in before i change my mind!

More, around the way....

I need to get a medium-sized order in to the Bibelot tomorrow so I have been focusing on that, but here is another Easter preview for ya.* Look for them in my ETSY shop starting very early on Saturday AM.

I wove these nests while watching the Vikings season crumble like a cracker, and then made the wee birds to fit inside. I will be making an edition of 4 in brown/blue, and a few more different color schemes as the days go on.

I had made a nest with wee birds a few years back, with my older style of long-legged bird and some TINY little baby birds....and sent them out to my first ever out-of-state show in California. I've come a LONG way since then!

















*My facebook friends can get them for 10% off through tomorrow! Go to duckie uglings' facebook fan page for information!

What happened to that stuff you dyed?

Well, I made some cute pins out of them! The pin at center top is wool I had purchased, but the other ones are from my blueberry dyeing experiments. Cool, eh?

If you are interested in purchasing them, they will be going on ETSY on Friday. But before then: if you're my FACEBOOK fan you can get 10% off!!!

Look for Duckie Uglings on Facebook and become my fan, m'kay?

Me and you and a berry named blue....

I got a super sweet white woven wool coat at the thrift store. While debating if I was going to completely cut it up or not, I decided to cut up the sleeves and leave the 'body' whole for now. However, after this experiment, the whole thing may soon become fodder for this exciting process. This is by no means an exhaustive post on dyeing, but just a way to experiment with it.



You need:
Frozen Blueberries (unsweetened)
Glass container with lid that can go into your microwave (VERY IMPORTANT)
100% wool fabric, cut into managable pieces
Water (tap is totally fine)
A fork
Paper towels
Microwave
Air Freshener
Clothes you don't mind getting some spatters on.

OK. So start by making sure your wool pieces fit inside your container, then fill the container with water. Microwave for 1 minute, making sure the wool pieces all get completely soaked. Drain off the excess water, being careful not to burn your hands!

Without wasting much time, dump some frozen berries on to your wool! I used about 3/4 of a cup of berries and frozen water that had accumulated in the bag. They started melting almost immediately in the hot wool, which is totally fine.

If you want to make sure your pieces are all dyed to a uniform color, add water to cover. If you prefer a more random look, do not add more water! Cover your dish, and place in the microwave. Nuke for 1 minute, let rest for 30 seconds, stir the berries and wool with the fork, and repeat. You will hear some of the blueberries exploding and thank yourself for covering the dish.

Be prepared for a funky smell. The wool smells like a wet dog, and then you get the high sweet notes of the blueberries. It's real, real weird.

If you have sensitive family members, spray the air freshener.
Then tell them to buck up, you're making art!!!!

If you want a deeper, more intense color, nuke one more time. Otherwise, you can carefully take your container out of the microwave, and fish out the wool pieces with your fork. Rinse the wool until the water runs clear. The color will change slightly as you rinse, just make sure you squeeze and scrape off all the berry bits.

Don't get rid of those berries in the container, you can dye another set to a more subtle
color using the same process!!!

I even left some flowers overnight in the leftover juice and berries, they gave me the lightest colored flowers you can see in the photo, which represents 3 different 'batches' of dyed wool.

The finished color of the wool gets lighter as the wool dries, but with luck you can get a good range of purples and blues. Don't eat the berries after you've used them for dyeing. They may look tempting, I don't think it'd be a good idea.

I have used vinegar in dyeing yarn before, but I didn't have any in the house so I skipped that step. But I am going to try this again with blueberries and vinegar to see how that affects the color.



I wouldn't recommend trying this with very large pieces, as you really need the wool to boil to really set the colors. If you try this, please link back and let me know how it goes!

Winter Wanderland

Piggies! They are all at the Bibelot Stores, in time for Valentine's day! I doubt that I'll be making any more of these little guys, but you never know, do ya?

January is so. close. to being over.

But somedays I feel like the winter has just begun. It can get so blasted cold here. I usually wear long underwear or tights at all times. And multiple pairs of socks.

That new banner up there shows you a beautiful morning when the hoarfrost covered all the branches with a layer of frosted ice. The photo doesn't really capture the quality of light. It was a hazy, dreamy blue. The light out here in the country is really spectacular, all throughout the day and night. If it wasn't so cold, I would be spending more time outside in the moonlight this week. It is bright enough to read by, I swear.

In other exciting news, I hit the official 25 lb mark at Weight Watchers on Monday. I had to take off my glasses and socks to make it, but I did it!!!!

I am trying to only have items in my closet that fit, flatter, and are in top condition. Everything else has gotten donated or turned into rags or PJ's. Which means I have very few cold weather options right now!!!!

I know there aren't many pictures of me on this blog, since in the past I haven't liked having my photo taken, but as the winter ends, I will try to focus the camera on myself from time to time. This butterfly shall emerge from the cocoon of waffle-knit leggings and polarfleece zip-ups!!!!

for keeps

i had to keep this little guy.

something about his face.

his super long tail.

that little pout.........

i heard a story (perhaps it's an urban legend) that rivers cuomo (of weezer fame) has a notebook that he fills with data, analyzing successful pop songs of the last 40 years.

he looks at every aspect of a song, from the repetition of the lyrics, to the chord progression, to figure out what made a successful song. he uses the formulas to write hit songs.

i will use this monster for the same purpose. i wuv him so.....

And the winner is......

Deena from Minneapolis generously bid $100 on Henny LaRue. I will match that $100 and so we will send $200 to Haitian Earthquake relief. Look for another auction in 6 months and 1 year, also to benefit the victims of the earthquake.

AUCTION!!!

UPDATE: This auction is not through ETSY. You leave a comment with your bid price below, and I will contact the winner with the final total. Please be sure your comment allows me to contact you! If you have a hidden profile, I can't send you your confirmation! You can always reach me at duckie (at) duckieuglings.com .

You can pay through PayPal or a check. I will match the funds up to $100 with my own donation.

Also, here's a great article on the waste stream for clothing items. I know it's ironic that I used clothing to create this animal (as I do with about 90% of my creatures) but they are heavy woolen items, and have already been used by one or more folks before I get my hands on them!!!

To benefit the victims of the Haitian earthquake, I'm offering this one-of-a-kind chicken Duckie Ugling named Henny LaRue for donation! I will donate half the proceeds to the Red Cross, and the other half to Doctors Without Borders. In addition, I will match the proceeds (up to $100) with my own donation to the two organizations. And shipping on this girl will be free (within the US).

Ms. LaRue is 12 inches high, and made from a variety of materials including yarn, recycled sweater felt, upholstery scraps, and several different wool skirts. Her stuffing is from recylced sources (mostly other sweater bits) and she comes from a non-smoking home. She is not meant as a toy but rather as a collectors item.

If you wish to bid on Henny, please leave a comment with your price. If no-one decides they must have her, I will still make a donation to the RC and MSF. The bidding will end on Thursday, Jan. 21st at noon Central time so I can contact the winner and get Henny LaRue in the mail.

Bid away!!!

Wrap up..and an auction!!!!

this week has been a whirlwind, and so I'll just give the high- and low-lights.

*food poisioning over (i think) but man do i hate being sick. especially when i'm home alone.

*electric fetus event a total win! they will continue to carry my stuff at the store, and through the end of the month it's all 10% off!

*super excited about my employee, Katy. She's been an absolute dream, and has helped boost my output by about 50%. i no longer need to work from 9am to 11pm to get my orders out the door. whew!

*am home alone while my folks visit the grandkids. my dad's birthday is today, we celebrated before they left so i forgot today was *the* day. sorry pop!

*found a page that lists the points in girl scout cookies. ugh.

*am once again so thankful for the safe, clean, and warm housing i enjoy based on my parents extreme generosity, support, and love for their 34-year-old artist daughter.



And now for the auction.....the situation in Haiti is so unimaginably bad, and inspired by the amazing Nina at Ornamental I am going to create a one-of-a-kind piece to auction off here, with 100% of the proceeds of the auction item going to Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. I will match the first $50 with a donation to the Red Cross and the second $50 (or portion of $50) to Doctors Without Borders.

Look for the auction tomorrow evening, I do need some time to make something fabulous and amazing for you all to bid on. I'm thinking a big chicken, like this one, with some baby chicks in a flock around it.

Me HAT!

AWESOME!!! Finny Knits honored the Good Hat Day Hat with a sew-along this month!

So. Freaking. COOL!!!!

I love her fabric choice, her tips on the pattern, and her whole blog in general! She also loves to cook and experiment with the crafty side of life. Right on! She does swear a titch so be warned, fair readers!!!

I am thinking of whipping up my GHDH in wool for my deal at the Electric Fetus on Thursday. Got a super cute ruffley top and some super awesome Newsies-esque pants to go with them, so I don't want to get too costumey , so maybe the hat will have to wait for a different event.

Okay, Seriously? This is awesome....

ROCKIN'!!!!

If you are in Minneapolis next Thursday, come check me out!

I'm so excited to be the Featured Artist at the Electric Fetus, a Minnesota institution!

Things are happening so quickly these last few months, I will promise to keep up better with this blog in 2010. I thank you for bearing with me as my business and life continue to grow and change.....

the ABC's of 2009

It's 9:53 PM as I start to write this post. We'll see how far I get into the alphabet before the year goes BOOM!

A is for Asparagus. It's gonna be ready next spring, and I'm SO excited! Spent a lot of time in the garden plot this spring, summer, and fall. It is so fun to grow ur own food, and fry it up in a pan! Makes me feel like a pioneer.

B is for Bryant Lake Bowl. I got onstage again this past year, thanks to my friend Jason and his desire to do a sketch comedy show. We did 4 rounds of show this year, and while it was a ton of fun to write, act, and direct again, I think I've gotten it out of my system for the time being.

C is for Cat. My sister's cat, Raja, who has been my foster cat off and on over the years, ran away from their brand new house in Chicago, and was found safe (a little dirtier than normal) a week later! She and her husband met all their neighbors handing out flyers and everyone was lookin' out for the Raj. They are SO lucky, she is 15 years old and is on her 8th life, for SURE. She ran away a few times while living with me, but never in the 'big city'. Oh, how I wish we'd attached a camera to her during her travels.

D is for don't have any clue what D is for.

E is for Elegance, my buzzword for 2010 (is this cheating to already be on to the next year?). I felt like I was coming out of a cocoon this year, in many ways. And moving forward, I will be looking to create my most elegant self. This will affect the way I dress, express myself, and treat myself and others. Eee!

F is for Flowers, again, I did some really fantastic weddings for some super-fabulous couples. Each wedding I do, I think to myself, "I could do this for a living!". And the next day, when my back is killing me and I'm nursing stuck fingers from pinning corsages, I think, "Whew, I'm glad I don't do this for a living!".

G is for Guthrie Theater. Once again this year I got to work in the Prop Shop, on several shows including a brand-new work by Tony Kushner, a hero of mine. As a writer myself it was fascinating to be on the fringes of something so epic being worked out before our very eyes. And when I say fringes, I mean it. I didn't see any of the hundreds of drafts or re-writes, I just heard about them being trickled down to my level of responsibility. Which was to gather props, furniture, and other items called for in the script. But in a work that's constantly in flux, those things can change in an instant. And they often times would be superfluous by the time I got them back to the shop. But that's what makes it such a cool job.

H is for HAT PATTERN in One-Yard Wonders!!! Yes I know, the last two were ALSO in last year's ABC's, but hey, they're both still exciting!

I is for Injuries. 2009 started with my sis breaking (ok, shattering) her wrist the day after New Year's. And then, just a few days after Christmas this year, my nephews and sister-in-law and I were sledding on the craptastic snow/rain/slush mix that we had gotten on Christmas, and my 3.75-year old nephew Matthew broke his leg! He was such a trooper. I think I have complained more about the cuts I got on my arm earlier in the day than he has with his broken tibia! He got a super sweet cast though, purple with a band of glow-in-the-dark wrapped around it.

J is for Jokes. I started to write a lot more Jokes this year, to give to my comic friends. Some of them were hits, some of them were misses, some of them are yet to be appreciated for the genius they are. I'm sure future generations will look at my work and say, AHA, so THAT's what that meant. Just like Wyld Stallyns, I guess.

K is for...uh....that's a tough one! Last year it was 'Kitchen', and I guess I'll say this year I spent even MORE time in the kitchen than last year.

L is for Learning to Crochet! Thanks to my friends Sarah and Hunter, I finally picked up the hook and got busy crocheting. I LOVES IT. Many more possibilites for structural work than knitting offers. Why was I so afraid to learn?

M is for Mahtomedi Class of 1994 15-year High School Reunion. Wow. 15 years. I helped plan the festivites, but couldn't come to the shindig at a bar in Stillwater until about 10:30 because I was flowering a wedding, but HOO BOY that didn't mean that I missed out on all the drama! A good time was had by all, and it was fun to see who had changed and who hadn't changed a bit.

N is for New Stores for Duckie Uglings! This year, I tripled the number of places that carry Duckie Uglings, and just at the end of the year I picked up yet another! In addition to i like you, and various art workshops that I do through Art Scraps, these new stores have given me enough income so that I'm working FULL TIME as an artist now! YAY!

O is for Octopi, which I've perfected the pattern for, and now love to make! I just took some to the Electric Fetus, where I will be the featured artist for January.

P is for Purple Coat. I got this bitchin' purple coat at Old Navy, 50% off, then I also had a 30% off coupon. They might as well have given it to me! I love it. I get awesome compliments on it when I wear it.

Q is for QUIET DOWN! Sometimes when I'm on the phone, like, just this moment, my mom comes down and tells me to pipe down because they're trying to sleep. Sigh.

R is for recycling. I am going to recommit to recycling plastic bags and paper this year. It's ridiculous how many plastic shopping bags I have collected this year, when it was a goal last year to always use re-usable shoppers. I know a lot of places collect those bags to recycle, but that just creates more waste and pollution if they're doing it to newish bags! I'm gonna wear out the ones I have, and remember to bring my own when I go shopping.

S is for soda, as in Baking Soda. I learned you can use baking soda to wash your hair, so this summer for about 2 months I gave it a try. I LOVED it, made my hair very soft and gave it great texture, until I got my hair colored, and I realized it would strip out the color way too fast. I may go back to it next summer when my hair gets too oily, but for now, I'm back to using the Whole Foods Lavender stuff which is to die for. (Can't find that one, so here's the mint one)

T is for trainwrecks. I realized I am a sucker for gossip websites, magazines, E news daily, Jersey Shore, Real Housewives, Rachel Zoe, pretty much anything or anyone who has a self-destructive thing going on. If I had a therapist (another T word) we'd probably have to talk about my own self-destructive behaviors, and how it probably makes me feel better to see others screw up their lives, too.

U is for unemployed, again, which I am SO happy to be. I was able to do things and be places that I would not have been if I were employed in a job where I had to show up and punch a clock for a certain number of hours per day. I am so incredibly lucky to live with my parents and not have to make a mortgage or even a rent payment, and I understand that this arrangement can't last forever (and probably shouldn't, since I'm neither an Italian man nor an elephant). But for several reasons this year, I am so thankful that I had the freedom and flexibility to be there for those who I felt could use my help.

V is for VALENTINE'S DAY! No, I didn't have a Valentine of my own, but it was my G-ma's 90th birthday this year. Born on Valentine's day, delivered by a Dr. Valentine in Tracy, MN, my Gram is a very big part of my life. Here she is in the Halloween Costume my mom and I made her, since her name is Dorothy we thought it appropriate!

W is for Weight Watchers. My mom and I joined at the beginning of October, and I've lost 20.2 lbs so far on the program. I am proud to say that I had lost 10 before starting, so I am down 30 lbs from my heaviest. That means I have another 70 to go and I will be down 100 lbs, which is what I have gained since High School. It's going to be a struggle, I have no doubt. But Weight Watchers has been an amazing tool to help me fix some very bad habits that were creating a very unhealthy lifestyle. Sure, I have bad knees, but they're not going to get better with 100 extra pounds on them! With these first 30 lbs gone, I have seen a huge difference. What excites me the most is the thought of doing a total overhaul to my wardrobe this spring. Vapid? Shallow? Perhaps, but I'll be making some better choices as far as style and fit go, rather than buying whatever fits. And taking my 'What Not To Wear' book along for guidance.
Doing the program with my Mom has been really amazing, we are able to support and cheer each other on.

X is for size 3X, the largest clothes I had, and now I'm fitting comfortably into some things that are just good old XL (though a lot of things are XXL). I know that's not as accurate as numerical sizing, but to me, it's pretty awesome. After I've reached my goal, the X will be a thing of the past.

Y is for younger than 34, which I feel that I am most days. But I'm not, and I still sometimes answer 31 when someone asks me my age, not out of vanity, but out of forgetfulness.

Z is for it's time for some ZZZ's, I have a long weekend of sewing ahead of me, so even though the ball is dropping at this very moment in Times Square (it's 11:00 CST), I'm signing off and hitting the hay.

Smooches to you all, please post your very own ABC's of 2009, and link back to this post!

hurry! hurry!

in my haste to get the pattern up for the owl ornaments, i left out a few key steps. ah...perhaps a full tutorial would have been better. in any case...

the updates are in blue in the instructions. and here as a PDF please refresh the jpg and pdf, if you need to, to get the corrected version of the instructions.

happy owling!

At Long Last....

OWL ORNIE INSTRUCTIONS!!!
and here as a PDF.

I didn't do a proper tutorial with photos and what have you, because these guys really are very simple to make. Covering the back with pretty paper covers a multitude of bad crafting sins, so don't worry about making them too exact.

One step I did skip, is that if you use animal eyes, you have to cut the backs off the plastic pegs of the eyes. Whoops!

And I will post some photos from Betsy's baby quilt and pillow when I get a chance. In the mean time, I am trying to get everyone's gifts done before a quick trip to Chicago to celebrate in her new house, with her newly rescued cat :) (raja had been found by a neighbor! yay!0

creating space....

i promise...i haven't forgotten about this....but it's just gonna take me a few more days.....

wondering what that button over there on the right hand side of my blog is for?
check out this awesome website, and perhaps win a wonderful christmas present (to keep of course) while you're at it!

i have both of the 'where women create' books, and devour the magazines as well.

though it's well documented on this site, i have a constant battle with organization and decoration in my studio. some day, it would be my dream to have it into good enough shape to be shown in the magazine. but at this point, it seriously looks like an elf exploded in there.

the last of the giant beeb orders is out the door, but thursday (i.e. tomorrow) we have our valentine's day meeting. and the W7 collective opens tomorrow and i have given them...like...almost nothing. AND betsy's shower is this weekend. so the studio won't be getting cleaned up any time soon, the making of messes will continue, at least through the weekend.

28 hours per day needed

because then i could get in 20 hours of work/sketch comedy/star manufacturing/driving and 8 hours of sleep.

i have to pull out of the ginkgo coffee house show this weekend due to the fact i have not had time to make anything, ANYTHING except stuff for my bibelot order, and get stuff ready for my sketch comedy show (which opened last night and was HILARIOUS). so it's with regret i have decided not to do that show.

however, lauren and whitney will be there with their beautiful scarves, wraps, and jewelry, so check them out if you are in the neighborhood!
that is all....