Saturday, March 31, 2007

Play Ball!

C and I ushered in the 2007 Major League Baseball season today by attending the very last Atlanta Braves' Exhibition game vs. the Chicago White Sox at Turner Field here in Atlanta. Our friends Bob and Sheila, who are consummate White Sox fans, were there with us. The weather couldn't have been finer: low 70s and a bit overcast with a very gentle breeze...and (forgive me Bob and Sheila for shouting) OUR BRAVES WON!!!! This first shot is taken from our seats just before the game began. The grounds crew was out wetting down the baseline and I was busy trying to find my score book from last year. Voila, there it was! Aha!!! But to no avail: I had forgotten that the last game we had attended in 2006 had filled my scorebook. Darn!!! So, there was no scoring for me today. I believe that this was the very first major league baseball game I'd attended in which I had not kept score!! Oh well, there's always room for change!!

However, I think that I will design my own scorecard before we attend our next Braves game on April 11th. As you can read on the big screen below, the Braves wooped up on the White Sox 4-2. I loved being there, seeing Redmon pitch for the Braves at the Ted and also seeing Bob Wickman pitch as closer for the very first time, for me that is!!!

We came back to the condo, had a little nap (C is a habitual napper and my Spring allergies made me do it today!) and then tackled some plumbing challenges. Our kitchen and bathroom faucets both needed replacing. We had purchased the newbies yesterday and decided today was definitely the day. The most difficult task was removing the old fixtures...especially the one in the bathroom. I am pleased to report that after only about three hours we have brand new and fully operational faucets in both our kitchen and bath! No leaks!!! :-)

I thought I'd include a few pics I've taken this past week of pieces I've been working on over the past few days. I blogged about using Nellie Durand's technique of "ortwork" and showed my adaptation of her process. I'm adding a fan made of soy silk fusion. Here is my first attempt:

Please tell me what you think. I haven't affixed the fan or the ribbons (which are silk dyed in a very pale turquoise). My thought is that the fan edges are too predictable and need to be a little more curvey. I can accomplish that with the larger part of the fan, but not with the little "slats". I will probably finish the wall hanging edges with a ruched silk ribbon or a satin stitch in a darker turquoise. Any ideas here?

Here is the totally finished silk fusion clutch/shoulder purse:

I had to relearn the fine art of crochet (my Nana would be proud!!) and do a chain and double crochet for the little shoulder strap. And then it took me a week to relocate my little eyelet applier doohickey! But it is now completed!! WooHoo!!!


Below you will find the first stages of "Standing on HER own Two Feet", which is for my dear friend Bobbie. I've dyed all of the charmeuse, painted the background and this past week I did a bit of thread painting on the background. I hope to complete the thread painting on the bird and hibiscus this next week. I am intending to bead the yellow/gold flower centers next week too! (Mistress Bobbie/Birdey will have a round black button for an eye.)
That's all for today folks!
Cheers and Peace!!!

4 comments:

Eva Hagbjärn said...

At my first look at your "fan" wall haning (before I'd read the text) I thought the fan was a jellyfish. Sorry!
I think, like you, that you should have more curvey edges. Then it will look more like a fan in my opinion =)
I hope that Craig has recovered from his pneumonia. Please say hello from me!

XO XO

Joyce said...

I agree about the edges of the fan. Love the background. The bag is fantastic. I'll be watching the progress on the one with the bird. Very nice.

Nellie's Needles said...

I'm greatly impressed and pleased to have inspired you to create this beautiful piece. Your idea of some kind of dimensional edge applied to the fan is good ... as is the flowing lines of the ribbon adornment. The straight edges of the very regular pattern of the spokes is a wonderful contrast to the background patterning. There's just enough contrast in the patterning of the fan parts to distinquish it from the background giving the whole piece an atmospheric and dreamy feel. Awesome!

Anonymous said...

I heard that the pollen count in Atlanta was some ungodly amount - like 26 times higher than normal. So if your allergies are bothering you, I could understand why.

Could you do a little shading on the fan to show the folds?