The red folder is back! This time in my sister’s travel journal. I diligently applied my guerrilla sewing tactics and cobbled together a sturdy book into which smooth vacation thoughts can be written. You darling people that have decided to take the leap into STITCHED & STENCILED…know this: I am NO seamstress. Which is why THIS is my machine.
If, for example, I had to sew up a brand new polyster pant suit. Nope. Wouldn’t happen. Somewhere deep in the sewing brain there are thoughts on how to do this. Flowcharts, diagrams, that sort of thing. But over the years they’ve been replaced. You know. With guerrilla methods.
More messy spraying into the leftover-paint-experimental-calendar- stencily book.
Drinking iced tea. Immersing myself deeply in rigorous leisure. I haven’t had a summer off in years.
Some days I’m more pleased with my efforts than others. But I just keep going.
Laura K says
I blogged about you. I love your style! I would like to sign up for your classes. I wish I was able to sign up for the current one. If you change your mind about who can sign up let me know!! Have fun on your trip!!!
michelle ward says
i can’t even read your text, i’m too google-eyed by the photos of your pages. FAB.
daniela says
damn do you inspire me. now. i. must. learn. to. sew.
and i think we need a line of mary ann quote stamps 🙂
Chris says
this looks so swimmy and fun. can’t wait.
Kelly Snelling says
it is awesome! i am getting ready to begin a circle journal exchange with a friend and need to make a journal. i am not a book maker. so seeing your journal inspires me. i wanted to use a mix of canvas (we’ll mostly be painting in these books) with extra funky papers thrown in. sewing appeals to me on a visual/textural level. but sewing, the actual act of it, almost always results in fits, knots, and swear words that peel back the paint on the house. bleh. perhaps there’s a brother in my future…
mary ann says
The Brother is a real steal for under 100 bucks. If you look under I SEW STUFF in my categories you’ll see why it suits my guerrilla habits just fine. I gotta be able to put the pedal to the metal and ZOOM ZOOM.
anna maria says
“Immersing myself deeply in rigorous leisure” – what a line! That’s a line that will have to be used somewhere! On a wall, in your stencil book on crack? A title of something?
I think that Brother is cheaper than my Singer, but I’m sure my Singer can’t do all that!. Maybe I should read the manual, as i did for my camera. Six years late.
Lisa Hoffman says
I saw a HELLO KITTY sewing machine at TARGET.
Now THAT’S just about my speed.
poised over the paint and needles……ready, set…..
Linda Folkerts says
Love what you are doing in the calendar/stencil book. That blue stencil with the black splotches & green paint…love it!! Makes me want to run, grab the spray paint and start playing. Looking forward to Stitched & Stenciled!!
Tina says
I’d been postponing signing up for the stenciling class, feeling I had quite enough on my plate with project deadlines but the stitched and stenciled class coming up put me over the edge. I love love love thread on paper. I couldn’t pass that up. Seeing I had to have taken the stencil class to sign up for the stitched and stenciling class I clicked through to register in mere seconds.
I’m excited. I’ve wanted to play with stencils for so long. Now I have something to push me to just do it. Yay!!!!!!
On a completely unrelated note, the childen’s art journaling workshops I gave were a hit. I only allowed 4 kids per workshop to sign up but At the last moment I decided to bring as many journals as I could get made with the supplies I had on hand. I think I had about 30 total. I gave every last one of those puppies away. The kids had a blast and I loved to see them diving in. Thanks much for the inspiration.
mary ann says
donna my love,
we aren’t making a journal. it’s a stenciled book on crack type thing. you like crack don’t you? okay then.
ha ha ha ha ha ha
but seriously NO JOURNAL involved.
xo,
m.a.
donna says
The first class was awesome. I want to take the second class. I have a sewing machine, well, it is the Janus kiddie one still in box (blushing). So I am set, right? But, I don’t journal other than my bloggy. I don’t even want to, not my thang, but I LOVE it that other people do, and post them. Still, not my cuppa. Should I enroll anyway for the stencil part? I’m in dilema city, help. 😉
Janet says
Thank goodness! I know how to turn on the sewing machine and I can certainly put the pedal to the metal….been doing that for years in my car!! But fancy sewing is not my forte. I guess I can toss out that pants suit pattern and the yards of polyester and just drag out my box of scraps.
Erin Perry says
I think you should count the fact that you can’t sew up a polyester pants suit as a great blessing,LOL. Ah, those were the days! A cheer for the return of cotton and linen.
Erin in Morro Bay
bkasstle says
Ok, I was feeling a bit intimidated with the sewing part… I get it now… I was forseeing how exactly I was going to persuade my partner into using his $800 sewing machine pride and joy for class… I will be ordering soon… thanks for the reality check there… you had me runnin’ scared there MA…
susan w says
Hey! i just copied that line too! Lynne beat me to posting appreciation for it.So I second the thought!
lynne says
…Some days I’m more pleased with my efforts than others. But I just keep going…
may i quote you?
xo
eb says
Brother indeed!?!
wish my Singer could hit those high notes
but after 30 some years of wild sowing…
well yikes Mary Ann
I am moving in
will happily cuddle the kitties
on the patio
martinis only thrice daily…
xox – eb.
Elizabeth says
Love all of it!!!!!!!!!!!
patty says
oh Brother!!! ha-ha, get it. This class is looking to be sew good!!!