sneak

I found a yellow envelope in my car this morning with a note written on it and a photo inside.   I was next instructed to check the mailbox.

its hard to chew a towel

So, if you dont know we have FOUR doggies:

1. Tula (papillion- big ears)

2. Lilu  (hound mix – looks like a doe)

3. Sammy (white mini schnauzer- like a lamb)

4.  Reuben (chocolate lab pit mix- sweet bear)

Anyway, we have a stash of towels that drive me crazy because I know they’ve been used to dry the dogs off, wipe dirty feet, etc.  I dont want to use these towels on my body.  I went and got 3 cozy white human only towels the other day and I was trying to figure out what to do with the retired towels.  Hmmmmmm, “ive been wanting to make some dog beds lately, I have good dye colors, towels would be hard to chew…”  So, there it is.    So far, Sammy and Tula have been good models.

Its on my etsy

my grandmother had a beauty shop

This hair dryer chair still works!!  It blocks out sound around you and  you cant hear much.   Its like your in some kind of time machine or meditation seat.   My grandmother, Mary Ellen, did hair and Ive been told this was her first hair dryer.  Years later she gave it to my other grandmother who is named Francis, so she could dry her hair at home.    I got it from her basement a few years ago.

I just finished this new bag in the seat.  Its in my etsy store.   Im basically building inventory for some trunk shows in the fall.

basalt

Ive never really been a clutch girl, but I really love making them.   two zipper pockets and a stretchy pocket + magnetic closure.

thankful for summer days in the studio.   lots of new stuff.  will keep posting

this one will be on my etsy page

www.amandagary.etsy.com

more coffee

I know enough of people are making useful things with old coffee sacks and its really not that original, but it makes me really happy to work with these bags and combine them with my leather work.     Some people even say that the burlap sheds a little, but I only think its annoying if you are wearing black.  I have four dogs, so I guess I don’t notice a little burlap DNA.

My friend Carolyn had been waiting on me to make her one of these bags for about six months.  She actually held my favorite sunglasses hostage until I finished.  I met her at this great new restaurant in Decatur called Leon’s Full Service Bar the the exchange.    This is definately my favorite new place to eat + drink.  Its actually appropriate that we met there since they serve Counter Culture Coffee, which is the amazing company that I get the bags from.  Hi Byron.

16 paws

I cant understand why someone would clip a schnauzer’s ears and give them funny haircuts.  We love our sammy a little messy.

I spy from the floor of my studio

looking around from the floor of my studio I see these words….book titles not included.  word lists.

AlphaSew

Clutch Motor

Singer

Peachtree Animal Hospital

Alternative

Cafe de Costa

People Driven Coffee

Patagonia

Atlanta, Ga

Paints

Dharma Pigment

Sony

Klipsch

Beaverton, OR

Prepaid

Marshalls

Earth

Bernina

Certified

Grace

Rowenta

Auxillaries

Bingo

Thank You

Hancock Fabrics

Shibori

Vectra

Bag Balm

Markers

Mulit-purpose

Vinegar

I have made many kinds of lists over the years.   My list making was inspired by a fiber artist who kept track of every single thing she ate for a year and stitched the words in red in a spiral formation on a quilt.   I will have to google her name.

creative conduct?

Soulpancake.com is one of my regular check in and look around sites.   I pulled this picture off of there today from a recent post asking us to list five laws of creative conduct that we want to live by.  Im still thinking of mine.    I think I may use a similar version of #5.

coffee driven

My friend Byron Holcomb who is the Atlanta sales rep for Counter Culture Coffee has been bringing me the most beautiful coffee bean sacks I have ever seen.    Many of them are hand painted.  I started by doing my own bags and then ended up doing some projects for the company like using the coffee sacks to make business card holders for all the reps.   I just finished a wall hanging that is a collage of many of my favorite coffee sacks.  I did some hand stitching embellishment in my most favorite places.

Counter Culture Coffee

Days of quiet

I love how the days between Christmas a New Year’s feel.  like an ending.  its a kind of quietness.  John has been going climbing pretty much everyday since Christmas.    I love hearing his summary of how the day went.  He was telling me last night how if he starts some kind of PS9000 workouts he can mutate soon and be like an X-men.   Sorry about your tendon Beck.  maybe, PS9000 can work for you.   I enjoyed our chat today about colorful sneakers and hoodies.

This is John Hur happy at the Red.

only a day left

I started wrapping gifts in fabric in college when I realized I was running out of storage space for all the piles I had.

This year I learned that the Japanese mastered this technique long ago and its actually called  Furoshiki.  Well, I have been fabric wrapping, but it wasnt quite Furoshiki.

I found the chart on Natalie Chanin’s blog.   her blog kicks my blogs ass.  I dont even know why I bother with mine.

Anyway, this is the chart:

And another thing,  I would like to see layaway come back.   Somebody told me it was but, they definatley dont have it at the Barney’s Coop.

I want these boots.  I want to wear them for years until they have no sole and the leather feels like a baby’s butt.

I like the taller ones too. they can fold down.   Black probably, but I love the brown too.  These are both by Fiorentini + Baker boots.   Ive been looking online for them to be on sale somewhere, but no luck yet.  I wear a size 38.

Trees, bags, and marshmellows

Atlanta Christmas time with Anh.

we stopped by Whitespace Gallery to the Forever Green tree lot.

I was able to finally satisfied my craving for roasted marshmellows.  Im an excellent roaster.

The gallery was offering all the ingredients for the full out S’more, but

I just stuck to my plain roasted marshmellow.  It was Anh’s FIRST time

to roast!!   I made sure to tell her to keep it near the hot embers and not the flame.

Usually if someone catches their marshmellow

on fire almost always they say “I like it burnt.”  Okay so, whatever.

get that fly.

So, I love this.  man is so simple.    Luckily, John Hur doesn’t have any trouble getting his pee in the bowl (as far as I know), but I do know that lots of guys are letting it spill all over the place ESPECIALLY in public restrooms.   The simple tested solution now referred to as “Fly-in- Urinal Research” has found that if a man sees a fly he aims at it.  The black etchings of flies in the urinals of the Amsterdam airport restrooms have reduced spilage by 80%.  I was telling John this story and I was like, “well, what about the drain? isnt that like a target?”  He said he doesnt even really like to look at the drain, but a fly would be a fun thing it aim for.

I like meat, cheese, and heady stuff

I read Kathy Freston’s book Quantum Wellness recently.  She talks about “leaning” into change a lot in there.  Also becoming vegan, although she doesnt expect us to do this overnight. Thats what she means about leaning.  I admire these vegan people.  I really dont want to do any harm either, but when Im eating on the run in the middle of nowheresville after climbing all day and my choices are just to sit and eat plain tortilla chips to do no harm or a beef and bean burrito to make me feel human again I dont care about leaning into anything.  First of all even the two months I made it not eating meat, dairy or eggs I could hardly call myself a vegan anyway.  I mean, I make leather bags people!  Leather bags + leather shoes= so not vegan.  I hardly have any plans to stop making my bags out of leather.  you know how long that stuff lasts?  I have been leaning into better sources of my leather.  I have always used scraps and working on getting all vegatable dyed without the use of nasty chemicals in the tanning process.   I dont want to do any harm!!!!  If I sit down to a juicy pot roast and bless and give love and thanks to the cow that is helping make my body strong and healthy maybe that helps reverse the bad vibes of doing harm?  I know most vegans dont think so, especially the hard core ones that wont even eat honey cause its rough on the bees taking the honey.  WHAT?  Honeybees make honey.  It is their purpose.  I love to eat honey.  It could be my purpose.

I actually really love Kathy Freston’s books.  She really needs to work on her cover shots though.  Her book The One, is my favorite relationship book even though I had to tear off the cheesy cover before I could read it.  I have also given it several people who agreed that its best to tear.  I guess the cover makes it look like the process will be easy and fun and you will be engaged very soon.   But really the book is much more spiritually sophisticated than that and focuses most on your relationship with yourself. You are really The ONE she is talking about…SEE, heady stuff.  I like heady.

Heady quote that I like:

“just before you break through the sound barrier is when the cock pit shakes the most”

-chuck yeager

pin cushions

kelly ricks gave me this pin cushion for my birthday the last semester we were in school.  I still cant believe she was able to part with it!

note from A.T

the book of the bottom is one of my favorites Hawaiian Quilt Masterpieces.  Its what inspired me to

start making reverse applique quilts in college even though I had just learned how to sew.  A graduate student in the fabric design department named Meredith Re showed how to do some stitches and use the sewing machine.  My method turned more into stitch and slash rather rather than applique.  I wasnt about to turn under all those edges!   The first doll I ever made is one the wall in my studio too.  I refused to ever part with that one even though it was always everyone’s favorite.

I was just looking to see if I had a jpeg of any of my quilts to post, but all my art from those days is on silly slides.  I will have to get those scanned.

john hur

i wouldnt want to sleep in the cold with anyone else.  he has amazing powers to warm my feet.

The gigantic bonfire for Miguels 25th Anniversary was such a treat for us in 19 degree cold.  I love that place.

Indie Craft 2008.

The new location for the Indie Craft Experience was so much better than the last two years Ive done it.  There was heat, light (for most people) and clean bathrooms!   I had fun getting my setup ready with my white wheel barrow, and ladder.   I have been on a white kick after spending time in Natalie Chanin’s alabama universe.  I even painted my buddha white.  It just so happened that Anh keeps a role of pink duct tape handy, so we decorated the floor around our space.   It was a wall crawlers party at the ladder for most of the day.  Sweet Julie on her crutches.  thank you everyone for coming to see me and supporting what I do.  you’re all the best!  Mr. Matt Hanner got up at and helped us at 7:30am, moved our cars, and carried heavy stuff.   John Hur brough me a Baldinos Italian sub and his help loading up plus kisses later. By the way mandy, I got the hug you sent home with John tonight.  I enjoyed it very much.

This is what I did that night.  It feels really good to take some cold medicine and put this warm heater just on your feet.  I was as relaxed as I can be without being totally asleep.  I love that.  That heater is Korean by the way.

Its my mommy’s birthday

I love  you mommy.  I wanted to scan in the article of you palming two basketballs, but it looks like you have that.  I think it was in the red album.  Happy Birthday!

Take me home and love me

Dont worry, dont worry, we arent getting ANOTHER dog, but Please someone sweet please adopt this doggie!  He is so sweet and gentle.    He was wandering Buford Hwy, a really busy road, and John saw him and the dog must of know that he needed to stick with this sucker.  John said the dog layed by his car and wasnt going anywhere, so now he is laying in our carport after getting a warm bath and a new insulated vest.   All the shelters are full that we have called so far.   I dont think we could just drop him at a shelter anyway.   I put up a few postings about him.   He’s playing really good, tail up wagging all the time, lays around a lot.  We are going to most likely get him neutered and all that good stuff before we let him be adopted. He needs a name still.

Here is what we are already dealing with.  Its a pretty great thing to deal with though.

I decided on music today without any news.

After I dont know how many conversations she is finally here.  I picked her up this morning and we went and bought linen and fine tip markers.  At Matt’s studio I found an an old Autograph book with drawings and poems.  I brought it home and scanned my favorite pages.  I will deliver it back safely tonight.  Anh loves her food spicy, but she’s always cold.  A hot car makes me nauseous.  In the studio she works with my heater blowing on her face.  I cant imagine my life without animals in it.

Page 4 of the only book I ever wrote