Return to Normal

This week I've returned to reality and in earnest started planning the courses I'm going to teach for the next eight or nine months. And I'm glad to say that I'm enjoying it! Getting up earlier in the morning, having meals at regular hours, working, feeling useful and purposeful. It suits me.

I finished the Alabama Chanin fitted top that I prepared the fabric for earlier in this post. With a few changes to the pattern it fits me well, and I'm all set for something more decorative next time. Appliqué, reverse appliqué, dimensional appliqué, couched... I haven't yet decided what to do for my next A.C. project, but I know it's going to be fun. Here's the finished top:

I've also done a little drawing and painting for Melanie Testa's workshop Dream Journals (you can still register). Head over to Flickr, if you're curious. Here's another fun little project I did this evening. I've been trying to find a brush stand like the one Melanie uses in her teaching videos, but without success. Then a friend told me that I could probably make one myself easily with oven-bake clay. Duh, why didn't I think of that? So here it is, my brand new brush stand in one of my favourite colours:

It's very simply constructed of seven rolls of clay that are stacked. I baked it upside down with kebeb skewers as support, to make sure it wouldn't sag in the oven:

That was a great little project. Brought out the inner kindergartener in me, and that's always satisfying.

Thanks for visiting and see you again soon I hope! - Annika