Office Buds

Times have changed and I find myself keeping different company.

Years ago (many, many years ago) I worked in offices in various industries and one of the major perks was being in a social environment with my co-workers making up the majority of my daytime - and after hours - friends.

These days I maintain my own office space, a part of my living space that usually has very blurred boundaries. I have have gotten used to working in solitary confinement without the peripheral annoyances of idle chatter, phones ringing, constant interruptions, sharing space, sharing colds, coughs and sneezes.

Well, until a couple of days ago that is what I thought.

I discovered I was... not... alone.....

Unfortunately he doesn't do much except run around skittishly and often spooks me with sudden movement  out of the corner of my eye and of papers rustling when I least expect it.

They say, "You can choose your friends..." I'm beginning to wonder if that is true.

I'm So Excited!

I could BURST!

I am always excited when my designs are realized on fabric and the thrill of seeing them on running yardage post production is simply incredible (we work with a design in repeat and with small fabric test swatches until the production is printed) but it has been a long time since I have felt the ultimate elation of having a new group be so awesome that I can't help myself in holding back until it is released.

I feel this way about my new group BEADWORK.

It was a labor of love. First I created a single bead in Photoshop (this one is a bit fuzzy because I had to blow it up and compromised the resolution in the process).

To make sure that I would be able to print a realistic bead, I first had to confirm with the  mill that I could do so. Next it was important that the bead be as close to a lifelike size - about a quarter of an inch - and this was also confirmed. So armed with the confidence that my idea was possible, I began the design process.

The original bead was recolored in as many colors as I needed to create the pattern. After I had my beads, I began "beading" on the virtual canvas. It was a simple process in theory. Copy the beads as many times as needed and then move them into place. After starting the beading process of the main design from the center of the design out, I calculated I needed 18 beads per square inch. I estimated I was going to end up with a pattern measuring 12" x 27". After doing the math, I thought I might hit myself in the head: 12 x 27 = 324 square inches times 18 beads per square inch = 5,832 beads.

OMG! What had I gotten myself into? Two weeks later I found out.

This.... the computer generated art.

And here is a portion of the design on fabric along with the other two colors we are running.

Multi

Earth 

Jewel

The full collection consisting of five patterns based on the beadwork of the Huichol Indians will debut at the spring International Quilt Market in Portland, Oregon in May.

Not Sure What It Is... Yet

The following was a result of having finished piecing together the top for a quilt I am making for my sister as a belated Christmas and house warming gift. I used the 5 new colors of Siren Song in the design of her quilt. As usual, as I work things are tossed quickly aside and the fabrics were haphazardly layered upon themselves to reveal an ombred rainbow that had been created.

The 5 colors are fussy cut to get the placement where I wanted them to be. I sewed them in this rotation (bottom to top: Wave, Grass, Citrus, Sunset and Twilight)  because what I immediately saw was a Hawaiian sunset... Since the Siren Song stripe runs across or horizontal on the fabric, it can only end up being a maximum 42"- 43" wide, so it's rather small. I'm not sure how this is going to end up being finished but I thought this was a wonderfully simple way of using the new colors.

After I receive fabric for these 5 colors, I'll put together a tutorial on how to construct a small Rainbow Throw similar to the pieced fabric shown. Until then Aloha No Ka Oi!

I received an email this morning from Kathy Miller, design director of Michael Miller Fabrics. It was a link to Sew4Home where a tutorial explains how to make the Jumbo Fabric Tub using my Kimo fabric in color Onyx. The project is sponsored by Fabric.com.

To view the entire article click here:

Re-imagine & Renovate - Put A Gift In It: Jumbo Fabric Tub

I don't know about you but I think this project is ONO! (Hawaiian translation: the best or #1)

A Revisit to 2012

Greetings!

It's been a good year so far with many promising prospects yet I feel obligated to revisit the recent past if only for a short while.

While I was back East for the holidays, there were several events which deserve a blog post but with the clock ticking down to the end of the year, there wasn't enough time to get them in before we welcomed in 2013. Then returning to Maui and getting over jet lag and back on schedule, I only find myself ready to revisit a few select days the last month of 2012 now.

It's become a sort of tradition with our family during the month of December to go to the Warwick Valley region of New York state to visit the Demarest Hill Winery. The master winemaker Francesco Ciummo maintains a vineyard on his property and has wine making capabilities and a distillery.

Dad and I visited the wonderful gentleman and were treated to a private wine and spirit tasting one snowy Friday in December.

Francesco Ciummo pouring a sample of one of the three grappas that he distills. 

A huge bottle of grappa that reminded me of a mirrored gazing ball in a garden. 

A table with the selection of spirits and wines available for purchase at the winery. 

Orangecello and Limoncello. Wonderful colors all from natural ingredients. 

Creme de Menthe - yum!

Mr. Cuimmo's vineyard in hibernation 

A-Lo-Ha 2013!

I know I snuck in a few posts prior to this one, but I just want to extend a Happy New Year to all, filled with beauty, originality, uniqueness, creativity, inspiration, health, happiness and everything good!

The day before I left to return to Maui, we had a small gathering of friends at my parents' house. I decided it would be fun to have an interactive dinner - not one where I cook and we all sit down to eat. Rather the guests participate in creating their own contribution to the meal.

So I decided to have a sushi rolling party.

I prepared all the fillings and the rice, and in turn each guest made their own sushi roll. I'll leave it at that, and allow the photos to tell the rest of the story.

The Menu listing the choices for the sushi fillings.

I used a combo of traditional and nontraditional ingredients

Here my sister Dana and our niece Emma making Peep sushi: Pink peeps with their heads cut off (there is a reason for this which the explanation eludes me at this moment) rolled in Rice Crispy treats and a red (cherry? strawberry? raspberry? snozberry?) fruit leather wrapper

Emmas was the first to roll sushi. I taught her what to do and then stepped aside as she now became the sushi master. Here she is showing the roll my best friend Danette created

Emma's mom Carmen was next, and this shot only shows her hands, but I liked it since it showed the ingredients all laid out on the table

My sister Dana doesn't do seaweed, so she did a reverse rice only roll

Here's my dad doing his roll. We watched several YouTube videos on rolling sushi and he was a pro! His fillings included egg sheet (omelette), cucumber, crab stick, shrimp, carrots and wakami (seaweed) salad 

Here I am

Giving the roll a good, tight squeeze

Getting a helping hand from Danette

My roll containing fresh mozzarella, mango, roasted red pepper amongst other things

All the rolls laid out on the serving board. Some have been finished with a spicy mayo, and here I and squeezing Honey-Coffee-Teriyaki Sauce to decorate the "plate". Frizzled red onions and toasted mac nuts were also added as garnish to the presentation

A final shot of the sushi before we jumped in and enjoyed the fruits of our labors!

Happy 2013

I thought I'd share a quick post. A new year... new beginnings... old, dearly loved friends.

This is what happens when you share the love and allow your friends to see you for the person that you truly are -- extremely tolerant and understanding.

Orange isn't even this year's color!

That tongue even scares me... and it's MINE!