Prep, Prep, Prep -- and Knitting, Too

In life and art, there is always preparation...

To whit:  in July 2014 I painted my kitchen cabinet doors.  In July 2015, I'm painting the walls on which those cabinets are mounted.

In between the cabinets and the windows, those walls were covered with wall paper -- typical of mobile homes built in the '70's.  In the case of my kitchen, there are two layers of wall paper.  The plan was to wash with TSP, sand lightly, and prime the heck out of 'em before applying the paint -- likely two coats, too.

Prep #1 - wash, sand, wash
-- and try not to peel wall paper off

My Handy Neighbour, John, and Dave, the fellow who installed my new kitchen counters last fall, both recommended that I not try to peel the wall paper off.  Just wash, sand, prime and paint.

Well, I didn't try.  I didn't have to.  The effect of the TSP wash, the sanding, and the wash-the-dust-off-after-sanding was such that the newest wall paper (likely a good 20 years old) began to lift off by itself, often in swaths.

What to do?  Peel it off, of course, and sand again to be sure what was left was smooth.

My "other" mouse

Did I mention last year how much I loved my mouse?  The sander, that is?  I do.  It's a great gizmo and perfect for both small hands and small spaces!

Prep #2 - painters' tape!

Once the washing-sanding-washing was finished, I taped up what I could with my role of wide painters' tape.  Next up?  Priming...but that's for another day.

Time to get in to the sewdio.

Prep #3 - Materials for MOB II

Some of you who follow my other blog, Mark on the Body, know that I've developed a second part to my initial project -- one in which people can participate.  I've posted about it twice on that blog, and on Facebook and in the SAQA Yahoo Group.  To date I have a baker's dozen volunteers...and I'm hoping the numbers will increase.  Meanwhile, I'm going ahead with this group.  Today I prepped the materials for the project.  All that's left is to assemble the parts into tiny quilt sandwiches, cut lengths of thread, cut out the labels, and package the lot so I can get them in the mail to the volunteers.

I'm very thankful for the people who've agreed to help thus far.  If you're interested, you can find out more information on the MOB blog HERE (first post) and HERE (second post).

On the knitting front, June was a case of "so near, and yet so far" with respect to the Socks From Stash Challenge over on Ravelry.  I made it only to the heel flap of the second sock -- and only half-way through that -- by the end of the day yesterday (June 30).  Still plan on finishing though, as these socks are a gift for a friend.  She's a physics and calculus prof at the junior college level, so I'm hoping that this pattern -- "Angular Velocity" by Rich Ensor from the Spring-Summer 2015 edition of Knitty -- will tickle her fancy.  Here's what the right sock looks like:

Yarn: Arequipa Solids Collection
(discontinued) in colour #228

As today is July 1, it was time to cast on for the July challenge -- using a purchased stash pattern.  I've chosen "Hummingbird" by Sandi Rosner from Clara Parkes' The Knitter's Book of Socks, and stashed yarn I bought eons ago at a Lucy Neatby workshop in Calgary:

Cast-on photo - July 1, 2015
Yarn: Celestial Merino! (discontinued)
from Lucy Neatby - in "Fiesta" colour way

It's so pretty that I worked up the ribbing and first 24 rows while enjoying the early evening in the Outdoor Studio.

And so...to bed!  Before I go, I'm linking this with WIP Wednesday over at The Needle and Thread Network.

All for now!

Up and Down

For the past couple of weeks the temps around here have surpassed their usual, pleasant early July pattern (mid-twenties Celsius) and soared up to 30 C or more (with humidex).  When there's been a breeze, it's been fine for being outdoors.  Work on my kitchen cabinet painting project has progressed.  All nine doors up above the counter have been finished -- and of course, what was taken down had to be put up again:

First Doors Up

Now I am working lower down, below the counter.  You can get a glimpse of before and after all at once:

What a difference between old (L) and new (R)!

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Most of Wednesday was too hot for this project, so I spent hours researching abstract painters for my online class, "Abstract Art for Quilters" with the wonderful Elizabeth Barton through the Academy of Quilting.   I found a gem guaranteed to inspire and buoy me up when I'm down in the doldrums, as I have been much of this summer.  Her name was Agnes Martin (1912 - 2004), born and raised in Saskatchewan, who studied and lived most of her life in the art mecca that is New Mexico.  Some of her wisdom re: art and life:

Do what you were born to do.  That is the way to be happy.

Art is the concrete representation  of our most subtle feelings.

 Music is the highest form of art.  It's completely abstract.

Although I don't believe there's any relation, her paintings remind me of the work of one of my textile art heroes, Judith (Judy) Martin of Ontario. to wit:

The Islands - Agnes Martin
72" b 72" - acrylic and graphite on canvas

paradise is what lies beyond the horizon (one)
 Judith e Martin - 2012
19" x 19" - domestic linen, acrylic paint, thread, paper

You can follow Judy Martin on her blog HERE, and from there follow links to her work.  Agnes Martin's work is still being exhibited by the Pace Gallery.  You can listen to wonderful discussions of her work as related to that of other abstract artists, and to an interview with Agnes herself on You Tube - "Agnes Martin on Not Thinking".

(NOTE: the clip is preceded by an advertisement.)

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Art making -- doing anything with my hands, really -- anything rhythmic and colourful -- is soothing.  It lifts me up out of the world, up out of the griefs and sorrows -- the 'slings and arrows of outrageous fortune' (Shakespeare - Hamlet) -- that conspire to keep our spirits down.  Like Agnes Martin, I'd like to train myself to stop thinking...to have "...a clear mind, so that when something comes into it, you can see it" and take it from there.

(For SAQA members, there are a couple of recent conversations underway on the  SAQA Yahoo Group about art making while living as we do in the midst of personal and global tragedy, violence and unrest...)

And that's whats off my wall today, so I might as well link this up to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday...and see what the others think (and what they're up to)!

Of TDF, TSP and Toothbrushes

I was going to quilt yesterday -- really I was.  I have the facing strips for my 15 x 15 piece cut, as well as the pieces for July's "4 x 4" Block of the Month.   After spending the cool, cloudy morning washing 9 kitchen cabinet doors, and scrubbing their "retro" handles, I found the weather had turned sunny and pleasant (not too hot) with just a light breeze -- perfect for sanding said doors as Step Two in my Kitchen Reno Project.

Formerly grimy knobs, soaked in TSP and scrubbed with an old toothbrush

Sanding with my Black & Decker "Mouse" hand-held sander
Isn't it cute?!

The sanding took the better part of the afternoon.  After I changed my clothes and cooled off, I was ready for something different.  I caught up on my daily stitching of "MOB" and then turned my attention to the spinning I want to get done during Ravelry's annual 'Tour de Fleece'.  Faithful readers will recall that I participated in this bout of spinning craziness in 2012 -- and actually got quite a lot of batting spun up into usable yarn (which I have yet to use!).

Well.

I have more to use up, and I've decided I don't want to save it all for needle felting.

Quite a bit of it is labelled 'Shetland' -- one purchased package of roving (far left) two bags of batting that I prepared myself from a Shetland fleece I bought a few years ago (centre two bags) and some off-white batting of unidentified breed (right side of photo) that I was given by my friend B in Calgary.  (She's a wet felter but didn't have time, space or opportunity to use it.)  I've begun with the Shetland and will spin it all up before turning to the Unidentified Breed.

Today after church I went weeding again at my sister's cottage garden, as she can't get up there till after the Calgary Stampede is over (she's working double and triple hours as Marketing Director of the Ranchmans Cookhouse and Dance Hall, Calgary's only genuine western night-spot)...

Sis grows the finest chickweed this side of the Rocky Mountains! LOL!  In two sessions -- 4 hours on Monday and 2 more today, I've managed to locate her veggies at last.  :-)

Before

After

Now it's time to enjoy the evening -- a little supper, a sip or two of wine, and some spinning in the Outdoor Studio!  Have a great week, everyone!

(P.S. Because I still can, I'm squeaking this into Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday for July 4!)

Warm Weather WIPs

July...at last!  We're into some Very Warm Weather here right now (with apologies to my friends and/or colleagues in places farther south) -- currently sitting at 25 C (without the breeze, though, it would, according to the Weather Network, feel like 29 C) and forecast to actually reach 30 C (and feel like 34 C) by late tomorrow afternoon.

The Red Door
by Elizabeth Foster

Last winter was so darned long, I'm determined to enjoy it, so got up early for a jog, ate brekky outside, and spent some time there with my coffee and cross-stitch.  Each summer I like to work on a small piece of embroidery that I can finish reasonably quickly and pass on as a wee gift when an occasion arises.  This year it's "The Red Door", one of the "Little Leaf" designs by Elizabeth Foster.  It will finish at about 3" square.  Isn't it sweet?  Being a Certified Cat Person, I couldn't resist...and I will likely pass it on to another CCP.  :-)

"Blessings" Runner - quilted

When it started to get warm, I moved indoors to the sewdio for some quilting.

Having finished and bound the "Blessings" table runner yesterday, I decided to quilt my latest 15 x 15 piece.  It's now ready for its facing, label and sleeve.

This is the first of the three ideas I had for the current theme, "Memories", and is inspired by my faith practice.  As the 'Reveal' is not till July 31/August 1, I'll just give you this wee taste of a quilting detail or two:

After a walk to the Post Office and a light lunch, it was time to tackle what will be my Major WIP of the Summer: painting my kitchen cabinet doors, 2 of my kitchen walls, and having a new counter top installed (flooring later, too, if the budget can handle it!)

Today's First Step?  Removing the first 9 doors for washing with TSP, sanding, priming (outside) and painting.  These will be followed by the 6 below-the-counter doors, but I'm leaving those for as long as possible because those cupboards are at cat's eye level...if you get my drift...

Who knew you  could work up a sweat taking down kitchen cabinet doors?

Posting this to WIP Wednesday over at The Needle and Thread Network...and then...maybe a nap!

P.S. If you follow "Mark on the Body"...it was up-dated this morning...