a pieced and quilted life

let's catch up...

because, honestly it's been longer than i'd hope since my last post.

i have an awfully good "excuse" this time. we've seemed to have caught the yuckiest of colds...and have just been a quite miserable bunch of jimenezes these past 2 weeks or so...

i think i've come to the conclusion that colds are quite literally the bane of happy healthy people...i'm sure there's worst...but coughing spasms, snotty noses...fevers and things are just rude housemates.

february...what a month...so much to contend with last month..so many life "milestones."

we passed our "official" wedding anniversary...feb. 5...made 10 years! we laid my grandma to rest in a beautiful ceremony fitting of the queen she was...my birthday came and went on the 16th...followed by a wonderful night at staples watching a clipper game...and of course we had to get our not quite 2 year old fridge fixed (apparently appliances aren't built to last these years! so don't skip extended warranties like we did..you may not have a nice repair man who'll write it up so you don't have to pay a wooden nickel)...and yes we rounded it out with a rude, unwelcome guest lingering around our house...a nasty cold!

 

feb. 5 2000 "jumping the broom" 

the kids

me and yali...sooo enjoying ourselves  

the boys having fun, my mom works at staples...so we had amazing seats...thanks mama best b-day gift! 

i'm convinced the worst is over.

i've been keeping sane and busy with a few things...

i read a couple of books...and started some:

finished:

1. the glass castle by jeanette walls

2. twilight: eclipse, book 3 by stephenie meyer

started:

1. harry potter, book 1 (i'm about 24 % in...though e has finished book 1 and is off to book 2)

2. twilight, breaking dawn, book 4 by stephenie meyer

and of course there is a long list of craft/sewing related books...that would have to be another post in and of itself.

wondering about the harry potter selections? well me and e decided that we were going to start being our own little "book club," a husband/wife kinda thing...and read the same books and discuss them...well first on our list was the harry potter series...since we never read them...and yeah...well he's gotten much more into it than me...for my birthday one of my gifts was 2 book 1's one for each of us....to start our little club. funny thing is now the kids are trying to read his finished book. a family book club?

also...i sat out to tackle one of the things on my long list of things i wanted to get accomplish/learn this year...and that was learning how to knit socks.

 

i ♥ this book...and technique...though it was hard to learn.

well let me tell you...teaching yourself to knit socks is not for the faint of heart (or back for that matter). i spent an entire weekend+ in tears, going back and forth to jo'ann's (for needles) and various websites trying to teach myself. i finally figured it out...after my back gave out royally!

 

 i even learned how to read charts...see the post-its? i made my own "chart"

i woke one night/morning around 4 am in absolute pain...apparently my posture in bed was horrible...while knitting (along with the circular needles that i had). so yeah...i had to lay my "circs" to rest...for a short while.

while waiting i had these sent. cannot wait to start using them to knit up my socks...i'm certain they will make all the difference. for anyone wanting to try knitting socks...get the best needles! period! not that u can afford...cause trust me you cannot afford the aggravation of bad needles. unless of course "you just roll like that."

by the way for you sock knitters...i'm knitting mine toe up...on 2 circular needles...

 as u can see i accidentelly snuck in an extra increase...at the wrong place and made a hole..hehe.

and lastly i'm getting started on my next series of art work and other things (that'll go into another post). i'm working on a series of "fabric paintings" about my grandma...i spent a week rounding up all the fabric i want to use...sketching...writing down some ideas...and coffee staining the fabric. she loved coffee...the smell alone makes me long for her.

coffee stained fabric stack... 

but i'm taking my time with this body of work...giving myself time to express myself...i'm not going to rush this work...though i do think i need a deadline over my head...otherwise i will wait entirely too long.

until things start to pour i'm loosing myself entirely in my birthday gift. you gotta read about it here. because "she" really does deserve a post to herself.

wait, that's untrue...i'm not entirely getting lost in her...these twilight books are literally "rocking my world," if you love a good love story...please do yourself a favor and start reading these...the hell with the movie...because the books...ooh...the books are just plain romance. and suspense. and everything that a good book should be.

which leads me to finally saying this.

if u absolutely...unequivocally love reading...please do yourself a favor and get a kindle. quickly please. i know they aren't cheap...it took a year for e to save up to buy me one for christmas...but *insert dramatic sigh here* they are just amazing....i've been reading so much more...reading is so much more pleasurable. and i was one of the ones who barked at the idea of getting rid of the tactile sensation of holding and smelling a book...but ooh *another dramatic insert* they are so wonderful. my reading has just went through the roof...

even the apple fiend that i am...i'm resisting this. cause i want more time with my kindle.

okay...enough...i've got more post to write....more thoughts to break up and separate into their own little "pages."

luv...ki

contemplating and charting new directions...

i've been a blogging bum. i know. but after a week or two of some heavy html coding...i needed a break! good news? i got an a in my web design class...yipee...and i did get an a on the website i had to create from scratch....what was it called? fromscratch. and yeap it featured my wannabe, one day, maybe, if ever, dream of opening a bakery.

but enough about that..

i'm feeling so inspired lately! so full of hope and ideas...

here's why:

i'm considering charting a new direction (not necessarily different) business wise. i really believe in myself...i believe that i can do something...substantial..feel sort of like i got something wonderful (at least to me) bottled up inside waiting to be thrown out into the world.

and, i believe so much...i want to put my name on it. if i give it my name, i'm giving it all of me. i'm giving it me. i can't abandon me. i have a few ideas of names that i'm pondering...one in particular that i lurve! but i'm going to wait before i share it...make sure i really want to do it.

so what's the new direction?

well...

first- i want to continue with making bags...yeah i get frustrated with it a lot of times...but i always return because i truly love making bags. period.

hand-stitched leather bag, "my art my truth" this is a standard "tooled leather" handbag pattern, so if this goes into production in my studio...i'll have to make it my own. there are some things i'd like to 

change about it, though i think its a cute little classic bag shape.

but, i think since i want to take it up a notch...i'm going to take it up a notch. i think i'm going to stray away from the quilted bags and focus on all leather bags. i love the vegans, heck i want to be one myself one day but, although i hate to admit it (because i am so sensitive now to animal rights) i love working with leather...it is a truly remarkable medium to work with...and i can't get around it.

i rationalize it in my head with the knowledge that the leather i purchase is a by-product of the meat industry. so the leather doesn't come first...the meat does. i feel using it in some way gives more gratitude to the animal that was sacrificed...by me making it into something beautiful. in one of my anthropology classes we studied north american indians and learned how much reverence they had for animals...yet they still used the leather...they saw throwing it away disrespectful...and i guess i take that view too. 

i've been working on some designs...and playing around with ways of coloring the leather that's outside of the norm. i got a ways to go..but that's okay...i've got lots of scraps to play with.

experimenting with painting leather...i want rich color! that i create/blend!

the large dr.'s bag...i'm obsessed with this particular shape of bags..my hands down favorite! i would make one and own one in every size...this is a large size, i'm going to make a small one too.

this is the "taco" bag till i get a proper name...its shaped like a taco..and soo roomy!

*this is a window into my designing process...make "muslins" in automotive vinyl (my f.i.l. is a car upolsterer and loves to give me big, gigantic, oil smelling rolls of vinyl, that are taller than me!...and some times scraps of leather...and heavy duty tools sometimes too!). the vinyl in a lot of ways mimic leather, but just lacks the structure that the veg tanned leather that i work with has...so these have no shape/structure...once made they'll be just like the leather one above...stitching and all! 

second- i've been smitten with shoe-making. true i've only made a pair, but i got as much pleasure out of making those boots as i've gotten from making bags...and painting. since that first pair, i've been looking at shoes in another light...and i've been able to visually see and understand how they're put together...and man does it make my heart skip a beat. like falling in love.

some of my shoe sketches...some for women, some for girls...or heck both! mother/daughter shoes anyone? can you tell i love mary janes, t-straps, flats and such? 

so i'm seriously, well more than that i'm setting out on a journey of making women's shoes and children's shoes. especially shoes for little girls. i'm so excited about the possibilities that i've not been able to sleep through the night...dreaming of was i can soul, protect and decorate feet. funny thing? i hate feet. no foot fetish here...not at all...maybe that's the thing...i want to cover them up.

and third- i'm realizing that it's nothing wrong with being an artist (painter/fabric artist) and artisan (shoemaker and bag designer). in fact i believe its just awesome. and while i'm at it...i may make some clothes too. i've come to the point that i see myself as my own one-woman boutique! if you walk into a boutique wouldn't it be awesome to see  many different "notes," many different things to ponder and consider...to appreciate?

golden paints...the bees knees of acrylic paints if you ask me. i've gotta do a post on this for all you acrylic painters out there...

the daniel smith 8-color quinacridone set...these colors will rock your world, i highly recommend them for your palette!

my collection of paints, cheap and expensive organized in this buffet drawer (which lives in my room). i use the "cheaper basic" paints for my gesso...i paint on all wood hand made panels...made by me!

a lot of you beautiful women (you know who you are!) that i've gotten to know love, here through blogging have got many different talents too, and you know what? i'm calling you out! your a walking boutique too! drop the fear, and do it all! it doesn't matter if it sells, if your not an etsy top seller, if you struggle getting it off the ground...none of that matters!

do it and do it all!

do you love it? do it!

does it make you feel good? do it!

does it make your heart sing? do it!

are you scared? do it!

are you unsure? do it!

just do it!

me and my sis, have been talking and as we always do...we've been pumping each other up...supporting and encouraging each other...and we've got an idea. we're holding each other accountable, we're keeping ourselves honest, we're making sure we stay focused, we're going to support, encourage, and promote each other...and guess what?

we want you!

we want you to join us, what are you trying to do? what's your dream? what's your goal? what's knocking in your heart trying to get out? well...now is your time to get support...to get held accountable, to be supported, encouraged...and promoted! 

all you beautiful women trying to reach a goal...join us!

what ever your goal...

school, home, work, entrepreneur, life, religion...whatever! what every you need support with we want to be there...we're thinking about creating a *small blog group sort of thing...where we check in to share our progress, get support, encourage each other, hold each other accountable, and encourage each other. a weekly or bi-weekly post that expresses where your at, what you need and how we can help. something simple. just a way where we can network, support and encourage each other. nothing to stress about, just a way to surround ourselves with the abundance of beautiful women out there believing in themselves.

so let's talk about it...let's discuss it...and let's get going ladies. we can do it!

(i know i'm corny)

but really, let's make it happen!

paz,

ki

(grey's anatomy is on...i gots to go!)

learning to grow....veggies, art, me and more

lil-me school:
so i have exactly 27 minutes before my first homescholing "web-inar" starts for the day...followed an hour later with another one.

growing me school:
after the two "web-inars" me and the kids need to trudge down to "mommy's big school" for me to get everthing i need in order for this upcoming year. i'm finally going to declare my purpose for attending, and a major.

purpose: associate's
major: business (& maybe a minor in art)

i don't feel like i need to major in art...i learn from the best....my artist community. now business on the other hand...well yeah, i need classes for that, because despite the fact that my wonderfully smart and talented husband has a b.s. in business administration...his major is accounting...he is an accountant. the technical side of business, which he has informed me has almost nothing to do with the creative side of business...marketing, selling....etc. so that's what i'm going to learn.

what a powerful team we will be!

last night we got some progress on the school room. getting new curtains up...and going and getting our huge cork board...but it is still a work in progress. i went to take pictures this morning, only to realize that there isn't really much to take pictures of. hopefully tomorrow there will be more.

but for today, i do have some pics, from the garden and of a work in progress. but before you look, you have to promise not to make fun of my overalls, i was dyeing and working in the garden...and overalls fits both tasks well. as well as for the braces (which are coming off august 25th, my late dad's b-day), and my overgrowing locks (which are growing just as fast as the garden...has it been 7 month's already? wow!).

me and my corn. yeap some of the stalks are as tall as me 5'2". we got about 10 ears growing.

me and my slow to fruit tomato plants (2 of 3). and yes...these are almost as tall as me too.

in the middle of the garden.

are garden is currently overflowing with growth and fruit (except for them slow growing tomatoes!) we have squash coming out of our eyeballs, along with some pumpkins growing (yeah!) and black eye peas.

we had two very willing participants in picking the evenings dinner.

three of our 4 squash varieties. the butternut has just started to grow.

baby butternut squash...aren't they cute?

baby pumpkins...cute too.

i was just telling e...i think i'll never grow a pumpkin, then started re-positioning the vine which is huge! and found 4 nice sized baby pumpkins. i'm going to baby the heck out of them!

my concords....i think they are about ready to eat. they just started turning purple a couple of weeks ago.

my blk i peas....finally growing some beans. and getting quite tall i might add.

my garden sunday morning, july 20th.

everything around here is growing.

the kids are growing, i'm growing, e, the garden....lots of growth around us. and learning!

speaking of learning...i did promise a work in progress didn't i?

batiking my way.

i'm calling the above work in progress sankofa for now, but i'm sure the end title will not be. i'm still dyeing and working on creating a way of batiking that makes sense to me. by the way things are going on the above piece, i think i've found my way.

i am so excited and thrilled about the work that i am doing now. nothing feels better than finding your own way of expression, and seeing it into creation, the way your mind sees it. i'm on my way!

now all i gotta do, is find the best way of removing the wax, and then its t shirts and purses!

i have to thank my mom here, i gave her one of my bags for her birthday, and she has been a non-stop advertising machine for me. she calls me every week if not three times a week with someone else who wants a bag. she's got me back to work. but it feels good to have someone in your corner. thanks mom! thanks for having my back!

so its back to work...if you wanna call it that. i'm having so much fun getting things around the house in order and learning...to garden, dye and batik.

we're having a good, albeit busy summer...what's everyone else up too?

loving life....

paz,

ki

dye session #2: peacock feathers

so let's see tuesday was my first "official" dye session, at least i'm calling it that because i was concerned with dyeing only, creating color and not concerning my session with batiking. so for all intents and purposes tuesday was session #1.

dye session (ds) #2

for my second session i felt armed with a bit of bravery and wanted to tackle greens...particularly aquas and other elusive colors. you know what this means don't you? yeap nothing but mixing colors. you see green is a secondary color, and that means lots of possibilities. yay!

after having to stay up till 3 a.m. the previous night, i knew that i needed to get cracking on dyeing as soon as e came home...of course that didn't happen because i had to tend to my garden. i'd bought an all natural sea food, which needed to be mixed into a concentrate and it was time to spray my fruiting flowers again. thankfully e has taken on the responsibility of snail and slug checking so i happily skipped this part and figured what few weeds were cropping up in the mulch could wait till the weekend.

so about an hour later...i was most ready.

thankfully, most of my dye concentrates were mixed up from tuesday, i had two to mix up and i was off and running.

this time i decided to do things a bit different. first, i only was mixing 5 colors, mainly because i didn't have enough scoured fabric prepared, and because i also knew that lots of colors means lots of stirring and time. the other thing i did differently this time is figure out and write out the formulas first, numbered them and just followed the recipes.

one thing that i learned from ds#1 is that you need to keep things numbered and don't mix them up...otherwise you end up with a beautiful color and five possible recipes to get it. not exactly the worst case scenario...but surely not a good one. one of the things i'm learning is that by looking at previous recipes/formulas you can build up your knowledge and create new ones...you learn about the dye colors and what they do.

okay, so let's get to the colors!

five unique greens

this session was filled with a lot of lesson learning. for example when a color contains that turquoise color they warn you about, it really is hard to get the water to run clear. another lesson learned is that the soda ash solution does change the dye bath color and the color of the fabric, but! like they say it doesn't effect the final color of the fabric...even if it seems like it will.

i started this session at 6:30 p.m. and was done at 12 a.m. the reason? rinsing out the turquoise. it took me about 2 hours + to wash and rinse the fabric. no joke. bent over the tub washing fabric for hours. i ain't going to lie, the unexpected work of rinsing and rinsing and rinsing and washing and washing for hours took some of the fun out of it. it was hot and humid and my back was not a willing participant.

e was there willing to help, but i was trying to do it on my own...he'd cut a big chunk out of his finger earlier in the evening putting together the lil guy's tri-cycle. and no matter how much pressure and betadine i'd used it kept bleeding and he kept going through band-aids. i didn't think it'd be comfortable or smart to stick a bandaged open wound in dye/chemical solutions of 135 degrees. ouch. so he tried to help with one hand...but it was just about all me.

the thing about this ds that was really cool was watching the colors emerge, morph, only to re-emerge and change again. when i added the soda ash solution to one of the dyebaths it turned into watery mud. i was on the verge of tears and wanted to walk away 'cause the color that i had up until that point was so pretty. but i figured quitting wasn't an option and trudged ahead.

again, i thought it was fascinating how the colors changed from wet to dry:

wet...

dry...

nicely pressed

fabric from ds #'s 1 & 2

i haven't named this last batch of greens, they remind me of the colors in peacock feathers. i had some names pop up while i was dyeing them, but a day later i've forgotten and when i see them and the shimmer in the cotton (its mercerized) i think of peacocks.

well..i'm signing off for the day (at least i think i am) i've got family coming for the holiday and i want to do some baking and cooking and...

drumroll...

e's going to be on vacation all next week (starting the 4th) and this is the first true summer vacation we've had in about 8 years i imagine (year end closing starts the end of june...busy time for accountants). so i'm going to soak him up like a sponge on a wet counter. i plan on being his shadow, his right hip and his late night movie buddy. so in all honesty i don't know how much creating i'll be doing. maybe it'll be good to give my mind's eye a rest.

either way...i'll be poking in with holiday goodness from around my camp.

...on the verge of too much excitement!

i hope you all have a wonderful 4th (if i don't poke in tomorrow).

good times!

paz,

ki

an affinity for color...

all colors.

recently i've fallen in love with the color blue. funny thing is i always said i was not a blue girl, but aqua and other beautiful hues have been romancing my eyes lately and i find myself admiring blue.

dyeing buckets on my bathroom vanity following a dyeing session

but, that leads me to a discussion on color.

i don't think i have any one particular favorite color. i love all shades of yellow the most currently, previously it was pink...and of course green and browns and whites have long been favorites of mine. but as i allow blue to color my world i realize something.

i love color.

color makes my heart beat fast...sometimes i find myself holding my breath when i stumble upon a color or combination of beautiful colors.

what about you? do you favor a color or are you like me and find yourself saying "yeah i like that color" to every color of the crayon box your little one holds up to you while coloring and asking "do you like this color mommy?" i guess i can attributed this newly found self-knowledge to my soon to be 4-yr. old. it never fails that while coloring, drawing, painting or doodling on his leapster he'll ask my opinion for a color...and like him i seem to like them all.

i appreciate color.

with that said...i've got some dyeing progress.

seems to run in the family, 'cause like my sis nina i stayed up last night till about 3 am...dyeing fabric. how wonderful of super husband e to help me out...he was awesome (thanks babe!)

i don't know what time i started...just that i didn't eat dinner until 12 am (a very skimpy 1 slice sandwich) and that i was done around 2:30 not including taking a few pics and making sure i washed any dye splashes off me before jumping in the bed.

i think i'm holding off with batiking for a bit...i really wanna know that i can mix and combine colors...and then, when the time is right i'll go back and batik that which i dye. seems like a plan. i hope so, i have 30 yards to play with...

so here is what i dyed up:

7 swatches of hand dyed fabric. each 1/2 yard 100% mercerized cotton

the colors from left to right:

1. bubblegum (personal mix)
2. dough (personal mix)
3. ripe papaya (personal mix)
4. heart (dharma mix ox-blood red)
5. squash blossom (dharma mix palomino gold)
6. ecru (dharma mix ecru)
7. vanilla (dharma mix ivory)

some of the colors were ready made blends available from dharma trading co. and a few of them were my own color experiments. i don't really have any formulas, and not much know-how as mixing colors from dyes with cyan, magenta and yellow are very different from mixing colors with paint primaries blue, red and yellow. for one the dyes are transparent which means you lighten with water or less dye, and two there is a huge difference from cyan and ultramarine blue and red and basically fushia/magenta. either way, i'm enjoying the process and hope to be able to really create some pretty colors by the end of the summer.

the colors dyed pretty evenly not really a noticeable blotch in site, which is pretty good considering i was trying to dye all seven baths at the same time. you need to stir constantly for the first 15 minutes, and then every five minutes thereafter. this teaches me a lesson on being so ambitious, i think i'll stick to two or three dye baths at a time (having e there to stir made it all possible).

the other thing i learned during this session is leaving the colors to sit in the dye bath longer creates much more deeper hues. this is something to note as some of the colors i didn't necessarily want so bold deep. for example with the #3 i was trying to create an apricot color...close...but way to bold and deep.

i have to say that i am happy that i did buy the mixes for #'s 6 & 7 as i would imagine it hard to dye such wonderful light colors. these would be excellent starting points for batik. i find myself not really wanting to keep the white in the fabric "white" these two would be excellent for batik "whites."

this process of mixing colors and dyeing just "off the cuff" is really exciting and liberating...not knowing what shade is going to appear...and then watching it develop...kind of the same feeling i used to get in the darkroom developing film when i took photography. there is something so exciting about watching colors appear. to even take it one step further, once the fabric is rinsed, washed and rinsed again...the colors are so dark, but hold on 'cause when they dry yet another surprise as they lighten up when dry. think wet jeans vs. dry jeans.

wet fabric

dried fabric

may not be as noticeable in the photographs but the wet fabric was more bold almost neon-like, while the dried fabric had a bit of a more softer value to it which took away that neon bold look. the colors are definitely still bold though.

do i like the colors?

i have to be honest as the colors deepened and turned more neon looking as they sat in the dye bath i felt a bit discouraged as i liked them when they were a bit lighter, however now, once dried i do like them and find their boldness kinda refreshing. i'm imagining what i can do with them and how they'll make other colors sing.

that's the thing about color...the melodies that they create together. some colors are soloist...some make others shine brighter. i guess that's why i find myself liking all the colors in the crayon box, because i can see it for its potential and i can imagine all the other colors it'll make shine. or, with some of the exceptions it just shines alone.

dyeing today

so today, again i'm obsessed with dyeing. i want another go at it. i plan on focusing on blues and greens and plan on starting much earlier, especially since i already have my dye concentrates mixed. soon as e gets home, i'll throw on my overalls and get to whipping up some color....until then? i got about 45 minutes to give the kids a snack, rinse all of my dye stuff and do a little bit of gardening (checking for snails, damage, disease, weeds, pest and veggies ready to pick). i am happy to report that we will have our first harvest soon, maybe even tonight. we have some really nice sized peppers, lots of baby squash (which i want to eat young, but i want them big too), and one green roma tomato. in addition our concord grapes are turning purple (me and e thought they were dyeing dying for a day) and we have tons of lemon buds. the blackberry is hanging in there as it had a rough couple of weeks with that last severe heat wave we had that accidentally coincided with our planting them, wish i could say the same for the edamame..its on it last legs it seems. ooh...and looks like the corn is starting to come in too!

okay enough blabbing i've got 40 minutes now! gotta go!

hope your having a colorful day! lots of love...

paz,

ki

15 minutes of fame

last week i announced that something great was happening to me and to come back on 6/30 for more...

well:

read the article here!

the article...

so this morning, in between finishing up my baking and feeding the kids breakfast we headed off to ralphs to get a copy or two six. i got there and took all they had, and of course had to get the kids a special "treat" which ended up being scooby doo applesauce. i tried to resist but i did let the clerk know why i was buying all their papers...and showed her. we both said yay! together.

and all and all with me excited as all get out...the kids were true kids and were as excited about seeing an advertisement for the new panda movie as they were seeing their mommies face and work...which they did recognize in the newspaper...i got some yay mommies...and then it was look mommie, look they have the panda movie in here can we get it. of course we can get the paper...

the beauty of that is that all in all i'm still a mother, a housewife...a stay at home mom taking care of my lil people. my days are filled with baking, cleaning, gardening, homeschooling...and as often as i can quilting and art making. i love my life! i wouldn't have it any other way.

so once home, i called e and let him know i got a "few" and then i was quick to call my mommy. how wonderful to hear the pride in her voice, it even foreshadowed the disappointment that they didn't "mention" her...she says "its all about you baby, and it should be." see my mom is a lot of why i began quilting too...maybe not directly...she doesn't sew or quilt...but she's my number one supporter along with e, and makes me stick to my art.

all and all i'm most happy with the article because it mentions the most important things about me as an artist...the role being a housewife and stay at home mom plays within my art...and my legacy as an african american quilter. its all me.

so yeah my work evolves...it doesn't stay the same, i incorporate and take away a lot of things...but one thing still remains...the drive to quilt and work with textiles, fabrics...to carry on that which my grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great grandmother did. its in my blood...it makes my heart race. and sometimes, if i'm lucky....i'm really reminded of the textiles of my youth. the "pallets" my grandma used to make for us on the floor...that we preferred over sleeping in the bed. my grandma's linen closet filled with towels, and cleaned, ironed sheets and pillowcases. the quilt she made and stitched with black thread that i was once afraid of because i though it had "stitches." the weekly trips on saturday's with my grandma to the laundromat where she'd wash all the families' clothes...even those not living with her. i hated and loved the trips to the laundromat...it was small and always hot and humid, we'd always stay for hours with me ending up napping in the back seat of her car...yet she always taught me something, how to fold a towel, a sheet, my underwear in a way "to keep my business private." i still fold everything the same way, and i can still feel the love and freshness in those sheets and pillowcases.

the women in my life is why i love being a housewife...i clean my floors like my grandma...on my hands and knees (a weird preference as i don't like mops), i cook like my mama and grandma, and i nurture my kids the way my mom, grandma and auntie did me...with hot cereal in the winter, cozy quilts and lots of lessons about life.

this grace and strength, beauty and realness...this femininity and happiness is what i try to capture with my hands...with all the art that i make...the sweets that i bake.

i can't say it enough i love my life...i am who i want to be.

with that said...i took some pictures today...self portraits to remember who i am...in the years that pass.

self portrait with son

self portrait

self portrait with husband

lastly...i'm sending special thoughts to my grandma...she's only been gone a few months...but i'm wishing she's up there and seeing it all...she'd be proud..."i'll say" that's what she'd say. i miss her...

i've had a wonderful day...tomorrow its back to the drawing board literally, my beeswax came today...i'm looking forward to making some fabric of my own.

3lbs of batik gold...natural beeswax.
smells heavenly.

lots of love....

paz,

ki

vulnerable

i'm going to try and not talk so much...but do more showing.

i've been trying...to wrap my brain around this whole idea of batiking...and dyeing. i can't lie. i still only partially get it. it feels as though there is some glass ceiling i'm trying to get through...and once through i'll be able to fully grasp the techiques. as soon as i feel its in my hands and i get it...it slips out like silly putty. solid yet liquid.

so i'm sharing what's been created thus far. i hate being so honest with my work, meaning sharing the sucky stuff...the stuff i'm not sure of, don't like...or just sucks. i feel vulnerable. if your going to be vulnerable...might as well share it all...so i'm sharing snippets of my sketch book also...my favorite sketchbook...that's about 2 years old. it holds sketches of a lot of my recent work. i tend to sketch thumbnails a lot...i like to know what the overall composition is...and then i just go straight to the big piece....the real piece. weird, i know. either way...it works for me. i also tend to write in my sketch book...i hope that the things that i write i only understand...its my poetry...for me. not for anyone else...and only meant for me to understand. but yet...i'm not that deep so i'm sure you'll understand...

a recent sketch which was the jump off for my first batik...which failed in my eyes

the first batik...as you can see its not good at all. i haven't even bothered to rinse the dye and wash it. the wax is still on it...and it still sucks. the colors ran all over the place. and they didn't mix well. all i could think about as i was failing miserable with this piece of fabric....why don't i just build me a canvas and paint the damn image. i can paint...i don't know about dye.

the second batik...i can't say i know what this will end up as...a "painting" or a piece of fabric to work with. the pattern is based on the african adrinka symbol sunsum...hopefully today it will get dipped in a darker yellow...and some sort of idea will hit me as to what direction to go with it.

the darker yellow

my "eddie" blue...named for my blue loving husband

"eddie" blue...the lighter version

seems as though we forgot to take a picture of the mint green...you can see it above behind some of the other strips of fabric.

from my sketchbook...all of these became art quilts...they look exactly (except one which had to be edited) like the sketch

some of my poetry...a piece of my heart

my waxing tools

what a mess...all the buckets, containers, and stuff needed

paintings waiting to go up...

a collection of brushes

a collection of books

a recipe or two...jotted down

so that's my little snippet of the day...i'm back to work.

paz,
ki

what are u doing kiandra?

self portrait

so i surface...

it seems lately that my entries here are coming in a flurry in the beginning of the week...and dwindling or lets just be real...disappearing as the week continues.

hmm...what shall i blame it on? the sweltering heat we're experiencing here in the i.e. (inland empire) and the resulting hot temp. of my sewing room (the hottest room in the house). it is already 80 degrees...and its not 10 am yet! or the poor internet connection i've had the last 2 weeks as the yucky verizon installs dsl in the neighborhood (four years of waiting).

the truth is...

dye

i've become consumed with dye. absolutely consumed.

yesterday i finally got my feet hands wet...and started my first batik. i wish i could boast that it turned out great and i'm well on my road...but no lies....it sucks.

so much so that i don't have a picture...i know not fair, not right..but in all honesty i can't show you something sucky until i can show you something worthy. i know, i know...all things can be beautiful...and e did say it isn't that bad...

but!

i'm a perfectionist...and i love my art passionately...and when i create an image in my head...it is terribly hard to accept seeing it mutilated (in my eyes) in the physical...

good thing is that i have tons of images and ideas in my head...subjects...muses if you will, so i don't feel a rut coming on...that's comforting.

i have to say that after waking up at 5:30 am with shear excitement sunday morning to do my first batik...and then being fairly unsuccessful and ready to take a nap by 1 p.m....swearing off anything dye related for a day...only to wake up in a couple of hours with more passion and zeal than i had at 5:30 (i think.)...

i've learned a lot...and it can all be summed up in one very important word:

patience.

i'm so yucky with that word...that we are just going to jump right over a discussion about it.

back to dyeing...

i hope...hope, hope, hope...that the 2 yards of fabric that i have "baking" in the garage are going to be photo worthy and ready by the end of the day or at least tomorrow morning.

if all goes well...i'll be able to talk a little about the dyeing process that i am using. i want to wait and make sure it works...before i go blabbing on about it.

on another few hot notes...i must admit that baking has not been a big thing around her lately... can you blame me? my house is probably 80 degrees are hotter and it's now...only 10:10am...e said it best saturday morning when he woke up early and stated:

" i wanna sleep...but its too hot to sleep."

i did manage to bake some beautiful lemon cupcakes, to go with some refreshing lemonade (i can't believe e thought i needed a recipe for lemonade...is he serious..i've been making it since i could stir and pour).

lemon cupcakes (vegan)

and, my garden...i'm officially on nurse duty...nursing tons of veggies through all this heat while their roots are getting established. and in an act of true unselfish and caring behavior...while at the nursery to pick up some "bloom food" i felt really, really sorry for some yellow squash hanging around in the heat waiting to be placed in dirt and loved to fruition. so in an act of unselfishness...i brought a 6 pack of the last of the squashes...

aren't i caring?

zuchinni blossoms

hopefully...they'll continue to blossom like the other squashes in the garden...that are doing quite well...i guess they love the heat.

finally...mark your calendars...a week from today. fingers crossed...something else exciting happened to me last week, which prompted taking self portrait shots (as seen above) if all goes well...next monday will be pretty exciting around the jimenez household...and my mother's and grandmother's too! come back to see what.

lots of love...and creative energy your way!

paz,

ki

p.s. i don't look that ashy in person...the light was behind me when i took the picture so i had to try and correct it in p.s. as you can see....my photoshop abilities are very limited...as is my ability to take a self portrait...