capitalist pig archives | Main
October 20, 2008
every handful is a whole new snack
file under: meta
I've decided to turn the comment moderation off for a while and risk getting slammed by sp@mmers again, because I don't like not getting e-mail notifications of comments. I miss being able to write back. We'll see how it goes.
*edit: how funny is this, a sp@m comment came in right when I was publishing this. ah well, I'm determined to leave it open for now so that I can start replying to your comments again!)
file under: road food
Everybody please rest assured that I did not eat that nasty lumpish thing I posted a photo of the other day. Cousin Mary got it right: the yellow thing masquerading as a fallen rutabaga on the roadside was actually a filthy blob of yellow insulation foam. I brought it home and threw it in the garbage, and tonight when we go for groceries I'll get myself a nice decent rutabaga that I'm sure will taste wonderful even though it didn't fall off a truck. By the way, the phrase "I dig rutabagas" came from a t-shirt my uncle Ken used to have in the seventies, that he got from the Ontario Rutabaga Producers' Marketing Board. It pictured a tall skinny dude with a shovel standing next to the words I Dig Rutabagas, and if I remember right the shirt was yellow on top fading to purple on the bottom. I've long wanted one of those shirts but am pretty sure they don't exist anymore, and a Google search on the phrase yields only one link: mine. Uncle Ken had a whole bunch of those shirts but had cut them all up for shop rags long before I thought to ask him for one.
file under: shill, baby, shill!
Oh, I slay me sometimes.
Speaking of my cousin Mary, she's been working all summer teaching herself lampworking, and has a new line of stitch markers up in her etsy store using gorgeous handmade glass beads. Y'all should show her some love so she'll keep making them and also so she'll upload all the amazing lampworked earrings I got to see when we visited last week. And remind her that I have a birthday coming up. Heh.
I've been plugging away (sluggishly, due to the chest/head cold I picked up over Thanksgiving) at getting my own shop updated, and finally managed to upload a couple of printed satchels, with more to come later in the week. Now just as soon as I feel I can go back to working under the buzzy studio lights without getting a migraine (a heightened possibility when I'm already compromised by illness), I can print up some more canvas for the next batch. I know, I'm such a delicate flower, it's pathetic.
file under: unwelcome guests
Last Tuesday I was sitting at the sewing machine in the front room with the front door wide open behind me (it was a beautiful warm day and we don't have a screen door on the front). I caught a movement in my peripheral vision and looked up to see a black squirrel standing next to the leg of my ironing board, a good metre and a half at least inside the door (that's about 5 feet, y'all). I said, sharply, "excuse me! get out of my house!". It turned and walked out, seemingly in no great hurry. I followed it to the door and there it was, sauntering down our sidewalk, whistling a happy tune.
I don't know if Cleo was asleep when this little dude slipped past her watch post but I get the sense she's not all that interested in catching things anymore. She used to be quite the efficient hunter in her day, but now that she's reached retirement age she seems quite happy to focus more on her hobbies: shedding fur, throwing up, and lying around in people's way:
file under: more harebrained ideas
I've decided to do the one hundred push ups programme, and today is my first day! I feel I've lost a lot of strength over the last few years, what with ditching the gym entirely during grad school (not that I was ever really able to do any significant amount of push ups). So: new leaf! Starting right now, in fact, as soon as I hit publish. Wish me luck.
Posted by jodi at 03:19 PM | Comments (5) | categories: capitalist pig : crazy cat lady : dumbass
July 09, 2008
license to shill
I know, those titles are only getting lamer. Cut me some slack.
So, in a multitasking effort to figure out what to do with all of the art I've currently got stored in Claire's bedroom, now that she'll need that bedroom full-time for the first time since she's soon going to be moving in with us (have I mentioned that?) and to drag myself out of the WorkFromHome Vacuum (a phrase that I totally stole from Kim Werker, but a phenomenon well known to many of us), I'm listing a whole whackload of older work on etsy at awesomely low prices. I'm ready to say goodbye to all of my undergrad work and much of my grad school work as well. I'm even going to break up the thirteen girls and venus prodigiosa pieces and offer the panels for sale separately, since I'm not likely to be showing that work again. Over the next day or two I'll be adding lots more stuff, just as soon as my camera batteries are recharged (grrr). I'm going to be selling off most of my vintage apron collection as well, so stay tuned!
Posted by jodi at 06:30 PM | Comments (0) | categories: capitalist pig
May 03, 2008
shill out
Some new prints up in the etsy shop, extras I made while working on a big book project (which I'll show you later in the week when I get better photos). This will be the last shop update before I go home; first up once I've got my sewing machine set up again: bags and aprons!
Posted by jodi at 09:15 PM | Comments (4) | categories: capitalist pig
February 10, 2008
let it slide, yo *
I took yesterday off from working in the studio, but of course my idea of a "day off" isn't really a day OFF, but a day to do things like laundry, drawing, binding books and updating ye olde etsy shop. I didn't tell y'all about the big shop update right away because I don't want this to become one of those blogs where stuff is shilled constantly, and also I wanted to show some knitting first but by the time I'd finished with the shop and then got the knitting to the point at which I wanted to show it, the light for taking photographs wasn't good anymore. So.
Miss Henry now has her sleeves attached and we're in the home stretch, just the yoke and collar to go. This is the point at which I look hard at a sweater and then use all of my mental powers to will it to fit me. But I think it's just the little 3/4 sleeves that make it look so small, and I'm confident that it is, indeed, going to fit me.
It's already warming up enough in the afternoons that I wouldn't be able to wear this a lot, but the mornings are still just above freezing. I think I'm going to have this finished in time to take advantage of those cool mornings before they're gone. Then when I get back to Canada in May it'll be early spring again, two back-to-back lace sweater seasons!
So, here's a peek at what's new in the store. I promise that I am going to keep the update posts to no more than twice a month, which is how often I'm hoping to make a large-ish upload of new things in the shop. And I've got something totally new and exciting planned for next time, so it won't be just all the same stuff! But for now, more blotter notebooks, in lots of new cover designs:
some shirts:
and a few of my special books, the ones I use for my sketchbook project:
*can you guess what vintage CanCon I was listening to in the print shop this morning? I'll give you a hint: it's a showdown. And quite possibly also a throwdown.
Posted by jodi at 02:48 PM | Comments (5) | categories: capitalist pig : sticks and string
January 30, 2008
shop update
I've been working on a new line of notebooks and uploaded the first batch to my etsy shop last night. They're pocket sized pamphlet bindings sewn on the short side, made from recycled newsprint that I use as blotters while I'm printing (so the pages have all sorts of lovely print remnants on them). Right now there are two cover options, with more coming soon. I just squeaked in under the wire to satisfy goal #10 on my überlist, which is to have new things in the shop twice monthly.
Posted by jodi at 10:18 AM | Comments (3) | categories: capitalist pig
December 03, 2007
for your holiday shopping pleasure
Since December is all about shopping and I'm not above shilling for my friends, I'd like to show you a few webshops that some of my talented pals have recently opened. I know a lot of people out there who are signing a pledge to buy handmade this year, and these shops are full of fabulous treasures lovingly handmade by amazing people who deserve your money as much as you deserve their wonderful stuff.
It hasn't been cold enough here in Georgia to wear this yet, but I'm looking forward to my visit home later this month to test out my new felted scarf against what's being advertised as Canada's coldest winter in ten years. The scarf a blend of wool and silk, made by Darilee Nelson, a recent graduate of the fibre arts programme here at UGA, and her colleague Tina Leigh. They make these in shawl sizes as well, but this one is plenty big enough to wrap over my head when I need it, and super soft and very, very warm. Check them out at ChickChick Studio, and on their blog.
Another UGA graduate chum of mine, Ramona Birdsong, has recently undertaken the task of sorting through the belongings of a deceased eccentric relative, and is offering some special treasures from that collection in her new shop, The Radish Cabinet. Read her mysterious story here: Unclosing the Radish Cabinet.
I recently received this lovely necklace in the mail from Yarnageddon Mandy, a thoughtful gift that she made for me knowing that with all of these colours it was bound to look good with almost all of my dresses. Here it is in action, and I got a bunch of compliments when I wore it that day:
Visit Mandy's new store here: Mograh.
And while I'm on a roll with the shameless commerce, here's an oldie but goodie that's worth visiting again, my dear friend Pixiefashions (now moved over to Etsy.com, since they make it all so darned easy). This is where I got my silver puffy skull and bones hair clips made famous on Knitty.com:
Posted by jodi at 11:29 PM | Comments (2) | categories: capitalist pig
September 03, 2007
printing weekend
Yesterday I printed another layer of woodcut over three of the skirts I've been wearing:
My goal is to make a change to each garment in between each wearing. The ink on these is already dry, so I'll be wearing one tomorrow.
I also printed up a small batch of shirts for the shop:
Tonight is my last night of dogsitting, so tomorrow I'll be back on the sewing machine and hope to make some progress on a few more new dresses. This week I'm also going to get the knitting machine set up and start working on the knit portion of my thesis project. Although the days are still hot, these last few mornings have been cooler, giving me hope that I may actually need the sweaters sometime soon (but not too soon).
Posted by jodi at 07:28 PM | Comments (4) | categories: capitalist pig : in the studio : wardrobe project
September 01, 2007
shop updates (go dawgs, or whatever)
Today was game day madness here in living-on-campus land, the first game day of the season. For some reason parking services didn't block access to the parking lot behind our studio like they usually do, so I got to wade through tailgate parties on our loading dock to get in and out of the building. After two years here I'm still rather baffled at the football culture; I don't give a rat's ass about football, and where I come from most others don't either. Here the stadium seats nine times the student population and they fill it, every time. From early morning the air is thick with the stench of lighter fluid, charcoal briquettes, and charred flesh. All day long red-flag-bedecked cars whip up and down the streets, hordes of drunken teenagers squeeze into and flop out of the backs of speeding pickup trucks, young women in red and black dresses hobble up and down the sidewalks in spiked heels, and there are people older than my parents out on the loading dock at nine o'clock in the morning setting up a television and satellite dish so that they can watch football-related programming all day long while they wait for the real game to start, and they are all wearing red, their tents are red, their folding chairs are red. And they are everywhere and they are in the way and they will follow you and try to force you to shout "go dawgs" at them and THEY ARE WATCHING SATELLITE TV OUTSIDE, PEOPLE. And drinking beer on campus. I want to take pictures of them but something always stops me. They're too easy to make fun of, maybe.
I've been working away on some new items for ye olde etsy shop, because y'all know I had almost enough saved up for that Lendrum wheel and then spent it on other things. Fabric and living expense-type things, but still.
There are five different style of wee notebooks, with more to come just as soon as I get the edges trimmed on the next stack:
Today I printed up a batch of brand-new shirts, crazy multicoloured ones using some of the motifs that show up so often in my sketchbooks. I'm hoping to photograph and upload the new line to the shop tomorrow night, and in the meantime have knocked a third off the few remaining of my older designs in order to clear up some space. Here's a sneak peek of some of the new shirts in progress:
These are some crazy-ass shirts. I will be wearing one tomorrow (isn't it a nice surprise when the one whose shoulder you blob ink all over is one that's your size?), so if you're so inclined you'll be able to see a picture of that over on my other blog.
Posted by jodi at 10:39 PM | Comments (11) | categories: athens : capitalist pig : dumbass : school
June 12, 2007
hang on, i need something to write that down on
Small shop update today with some sets of wee notebooks that fold up like matches:
Posted by jodi at 03:11 PM | Comments (2) | categories: capitalist pig
May 31, 2007
watch me go from performance art to knitting to project spectrum to shameless commerce all in one long-winded post. also, I will attempt to distract from the fact that I've been silent for weeks on end with lots of pictures.
I helped out my old chum Kelly last weekend with a knitting performance she was doing in conjunction with Artcite's 25th anniversary bash. It was great fun, both to have a long overdue visit with Kelly and to spend some (again, long overdue) time at Artcite, hanging out with Windsor people and soaking up some local art scene. Check out Kelly's post on the event for the full scoop. She was making a big Round Thing which many people could knit on at the same time; by the time we bound the Thing off on Saturday afternoon it was this big (bike for scale):
I promised some real knitting, friends, and I am not here to disappoint. My arse has been practically glued to the porch chair for two weeks, hands flying, and I've got plenty to show for it. I've even been working on some green things for Project Spectrum (in typical fashion, these are getting trotted out on the last day before a colour change. Because I'm a lazy slag that way).
That green bit on top of the pile is Carrie Bostick Hoge's lace nightie (pdf link) from Interweave Knits. I worked on it a lot in the car on the way home from Athens, but pooped out when I got to the part where I had to do math in order to make the back higher than the pattern calls for. It's currently resting quietly in the project bag. The rust-and-Noro sweater is also resting, as it's too hot to think about a sweater like this, never mind knit on it. The blue is Zephyr Style's Wicked, cardiganized and minus the pocket: this has been two unwoven ends, some buttons and a good blocking away from finished for MONTHS, sitting unnoticed in a pile somewhere. It's currently blocking on a mattress upstairs, which under our current weather conditions should take a mere month or two. I might add the pockets later if, when I get back to Athens, I find the Calorimetry headband I also made from this yarn and wore all winter, but I have a feeling I might have already unraveled it for the sleeves.
More Project Spectrum knitty goodness:
Stefanie Japel's Orangina. Again and still. I pooped out on this last year because I thought the ribbing was too tight and ooky-looking on my belly flab. I ripped it and was doing the bottom in stockinette instead until I realized that looked stupid, so now I'm reknitting the ribbing (on the same size needle as I did the lace, can't remember if I went down a size last time or not; guess that's why one should take notes). And if it makes me look a little frumpy, well then I'm frumpy. Gotta embrace it, I guess. (a small aside, private to Ancient Stainless Steel Circular Needles: hate you. Loathe you, in fact. Loathe you even more than Shitty Splitty Recycled Cotton, but especially hate the two of you together)
And because apparently it's all Stefanie all the time around here of late, here are two more projects currently in heavy rotation in the front porch knitting pile:
The cropped cardigan with leaf ties from Fitted Knits. I acquired Stefanie's book a while ago and have been meaning to tell y'all how much I love it: I'm currently making two sweaters from this book and am just waiting to buy dye to get my yarn ready for a third, and I won't be stopping there. I love these designs, love the myriad of beautiful, flattering sweater shapes that can come out of one basic construction technique; love love love the no-sew try-it-on top down raglan construction and the fact that all of the designs are wearable and I can easily picture them blending into my wardrobe (yes, pretty much all of them). The incredible intense blue yarn is from Rabbitch, who apparently is trying to kill me with colour; the eerie blue glow could be seen right through the package, and the mailman didn't even want to touch the thing. I'd hoped to use this yarn to make this sweater, and when it arrived it turned out to be perfect (I love it when that happens). And a sweater with minimal coverage on the front is definitely needed to keep this colour from coming up and strangling me. I plan to wear this with my favourite and most awesome dress, and it is going to kick some serious ass.
This lovely, sproingy red merino wool started as an ill-fitting Goodwill sweater, and first became this, then this, and then this. The Forecast sweater was finished by the time I realized that all that garter stitch made me look lumpy (are you detecting a theme here?). This will be its final incarnation, I'm sure of it.
Project Spectrum turns to red and black tomorrow, and I plan to start designing and swatching for a project using these yarns I spun this spring. It's for a piece that may (or may not) be part of my final thesis show next year, and will be a lace sweater with super long sleeves that hit the floor and then pool out wide, with text knitted into the lace. In UGA colours. Of course I don't have nearly enough yarn spun yet but I've got enough to get started with the pattern drafting.
And finally, because I'm really just a capitalist pig at heart, here's a new drawing (worked on top of a print that didn't quite make the cut for the edition) that I just listed in my etsy shop, along with some more of my older prints at super-duper cheap prices. I'm about halfway to getting that Lendrum I need to finish the above project, and this project.
Also, I'm doing a little outdoor show in beautiful Londonontario on June 9th, with a whole bunch of other artists down in Wortley Village. If you're in the area I'd love it if you'd come down and knit with me for a while and shoot the breeze. London has never really supported me all that well art-buying-wise, but it's been a long time since I did an outdoor show, so I think it'll be a lot of fun. There's nothing I love better than roasting in the sun with needles in my hands while watching the wind send all of my art flying.
Posted by jodi at 03:59 PM | Comments (11) | categories: art stuff : capitalist pig : project spectrum : sticks and string : windsor
May 22, 2007
the things i do for money
New shirts up in my etsy shop:
There will be a real entry soon, about a new hobby I've discovered: knitting! Soon, but I've been photographing and uploading shirts all afternoon and now it's time for supper.
Posted by jodi at 05:48 PM | Comments (3) | categories: capitalist pig