protesting the sweat shop

i have a confession; this is where i worked for much of the day:


i thought of this at about 6:30 this morning, as i lay in bed already feeling the sweltering heat of the day. i had bought the wood last weekend (to become a shelf in the kitchen for my cookbooks) and i had a feeling that it was probably the perfect width and length for a bathtub worktable. i'm glad i was right.


i spent the day getting in and out of the tub. i'd get in, soak a little, stitch a little, and then once i was cooled off, i'd get out and get back to my computing work (i'm working on a very exciting new project, which i'll probably have to wait a while to tell you about!). then, once my bathing suit dried (yes, i wore a bathing suit - i thought it'd be a little weird to be working nude, right?), it was time to get back in for another soak.


it got up to 102 here today, which it still is, but now it feels like that temp is at least thinking of going down. dang! how hot did it get where you are? how'd you manage to beat the heat?
stay cool, friends! (this is the one thing that i do like about this heat wave, that i've been signing all of my emails "stay cool," like i'm sure i wrote in yearbooks and autograph books on the last day of school when i was a kid - pun intended.)

blue, white, red

here's a progress report:


(and then another shot - with shoes)


(i was setting these photos up with godard's rule in mind -- always include blue, white, and red.)
now that i've gotten past those horrible mistakes in starting, i'm sailing through this one! i've got to put it down for a couple of days to focus on other work but i'm hoping to maybe have it finished by the end of the weekend? maybe....
forecast is calling for a high of 101 today. erg.

(this)

is the beginning of my newest and most ambitious project yet.
it's actually the THIRD time i'm beginning this piece. many mistakes have been made, and i've done a whole lot of cursing about it. there's even a mistake in it now, as shown in this photo. the T is messed up. but i'll fix that. it's nothing compared to my first two mistakes; once starting and getting almost a whole word completed to then realize i started it on the wrong color fabric, and then starting it and getting three words done to realize that i'd been following an earlier version of the pattern i had settled on. that was yesterday; dangit i was mad!
but i am determined. if i can get through this (which i can), it's gonna be pretty awesome. 11 x 17 -- that's the biggest size i've done yet.
and it's all for this:


i'm very excited and flattered to have been invited to be a part of this show. my good friends from los angeles who run the gallery THIS are bringing their talents and their peeps together for a show at the ace hotel in nyc in august. i'll be there, will you? (find more info about the upcoming show here and here. and stay tuned, i'll be giving updates on the piece as i get through it.)

an early bumper crop

of pumpkins!
i don't know if i can tell you where these are going quite yet, because it's still a few more months 'til pumpkin season, but i just sent out a whole big crop of pumpkins:


sweet as pie, right?!

here are a few photos of them in the making:



they're stuffed with lavender and sawdust -- makes them smell so good!



et voila! i'll let you know more when they pop up in the fall. happy weekend, all!

(new) favourite places

settling into the new home and the new studio has been wonderful.
the only thing is, i haven't taken many photos yet; i've been so consumed with setting up and happily creating my new systems and routines that i haven't paused long enough to document along the way!
here are two things that i can share right now (though neither of them are stellar photos):
one - my new favourite spot to stitch:


i set this chair up next to one of the windows in my studio; it looks out on a wide open patch of grass. (unfortunately, there's the neighbor's house, too - but i can crop that out of my view.) usually, there's a pretty great breeze that comes through the window. but sometimes, there's not - and with the weather that we've been having here (hot, humid, and still) i'm glad to have this other new favourite spot:


this tub is fantastic! filled with cool water and a lush bath bomb, it's my new happy place. the forecast is calling for some 97 degree days this week --- i'm wondering if i can bring my stitching in here with me?!
keep cool, friends!


(those are flower petals from the bath bomb on the bottom of the tub there -- not dirt!)

breathing

there's still work to be done, but behind this door (not the one with the beautiful clawfoot tub) is the new studio of chez-sucre-chez. i can't wait to share it with you --- but i am... it's so close to ready to show, but there are a few more details that i want to work out first. this is exciting stuff. i feel like i've been holding my breath and living and working way below my potential and desire for well over two years. and now i'm settling into a place that makes me very happy... i'm excited for what's to come and i'm excited to share it with you. thank you for following me and supporting me through this in-between time. let's get ready for the good times ahead!