feeling better -thank you

It's frightening. i miss just one Japanese class and i'm absolutely lost,i have to study triple hard to catch up.

In catching up mode i also wanted to get on with this work that was languishing around. It is part of the More Pictures of the Floating World series in where i'm trying to synthesize all those techniques new and old that were floating around in my studio. Plus my new found love for sequins and beads.
Not to mention using a new to me material such as polyester organza and testing its endurance. It will be submitted to abuse later on this week, as i have yet to catch up with a lot of loose ends.
The title is a cross reference to many things, the book by Katzuo Ishiguro An Artist of the Floating World, Ukiyo-e, and by transference my love for things Japanese..

i like what happens with the hand stitching showing through the fabric and adding visual interest,a curator might say. i much prefer the self coined term of restrained neglect.
Still pondering whether i should clip back the two dangling red threads or leave them as they are.

neki desu

twisted satin stitch- TAST 42

Tast 42. This was a deceivingly easy stitch. At first it was more complicated than what it seemed and i wasn't getting it right. Then all of a sudden it all made sense and i started having fun with it. i like the texture it creates and think it would work well for filling large areas. Where satin stitch sags this one soars! :)
It also looks good used for couching ribbons and you can create pretty cool checkerboards.
Check out Elisabeth's variations for a real joy ride.

i used DMC # 10 perle cotton and spun silk and had to use cotton thread for the seed beads and added some sequins too. This could be a border by itself.
Also changed foundation fabric from linen to Aida. i don't know whether it's Aida in general or this particular one but it's not very firm and gets distorted by tension. i'll have to get used to it.

neki desu

what i have been doing

Sneezing, lots of coughing and nose blowing. Apart from that and feeling sorry for myself not much else. i missed Japanese class on Wed. and the first lunch of the semester, that's how awful i've felt. And bored. Occasionally i'd drag out of bed to do some surfing and get a feel of the outside world. That's how i found this very appropriate cartoon by a Duwayne guy God knows where and i hope not to get into problems. Hey! powers that be, computer police, i'm not claiming the cartoon as mine. This would be the only thing missing right now..

Moving on. Thanks to Annica and Karren of Entwinements for linking back.
Then i've been tagged by Marion Barnett
and i'll do it but i won't tag anyone. So i'll just be half a party pooper.

Here we are, 7 facts about me:

1. i have a strong dislike for cutseyness
2. i spend 3 months in Japan traveling on my own
   
3. i speak 5 languages, some Portuguese and some Japanese
4. i make bread every week
   
5. i have bad luck with rose bushes, they all die on me. Good luck with orchids, though.
6. i've been happily married to the same man for 25 years, pretty immoral oi? :) :)
7. i 'm interested in politics
   

Back to the beginning. Been voiceless for 3 days and already on the verge of going ballistic, so bear with me all this rambling. Can you imagine life as a voiceless consonant? Better drag myself back to bed.


neki desu