kro designs

I promised myself I'd clean the bathroom before I posted...no such chance, I'm too excited! I've been thinking about how I can use fabric in everyday items. Not to say that Fabric Wall Art doesn't have its place but its not a very useful sort of item is it. Pretty to look at though. Anyway, Liz from Articulture said that my beaded book thongs ( gosh, I hate that word) are not selling. Enter... Fabric bookmark. Here is my first experiment. Took longer than expected, I had to figure out how to use the button hole stitch (again) . Happens every time. Liked it so much I listed it on Etsy.   Entry was originally posted on 12/16/08.

I've been tip toeing through the tulips.  Translation: Going back into the archives and looking at some of my old posts. I thought that every once in a while I'd bring one back for you to enjoy just in case you missed it the first time.  I promise not to edit them at all, not even an incorrectly spelled word or a misplaced comma, 'cause that's how I roll. For a while I've been trying to recreate some of my favorite jewelry pieces in fabric form. The ring having been the hardest is the last in my series of jewelry attempts. Guess what it is made of....?      ...A fabric button cover, a little batting and 1/4 double fold bias tape ! I did add some embroidery floss and a couple of beads for a pizazz factor. Trickiest part was the sizing of the ring. This one is really small, only fitting on my pinkie finger but is so easy to snip it off and add a new one. Groovy! Can't wait to make a billion of these things! This entry was originally posted on 12...

There are points in time I wish I could capture with pictures.  They fade before I realize their passing and life has changed in a second.  I've decided to dedicate every Friday post to one, still, quiet moment from where I sit.

Yes, we've moved on to the next season. Sports Season that is. Football! Today are tryouts and official practices start on Monday. Last week the kids did a football camp to get them geared up. I'm loving the new video feature on my phone.   Be prepared, I'm going to vlog (video blog) when I get up the courage to and when I get around to a daytime shower, with makeup, if your lucky.

My mother is the best combination of new and old school. She e-mails, texts, re-sizes pictures and... Gardens, knits and can's. This is one of their canning shelves in the basement. Mom and Dad live on my grandparents family farm for 6 months of the year.  The good months, they would say.  Winter stinks there but summer gives them a beautiful bounty. This is the email, complete with pictures, I received from Mom the other day, relishing in their harvest!  ~~~~ "Dad pulled two 5 gallon buckets of beets Thurs morning...  and by 9:00 pm we had: 25 pints beet pickles.....mmmmmmm! 26 pints canned beets 1 quart beet pickles brewing in the fridge My nails are still black!!!  Sorry you missed all the fun!!!! ;)" ~~~~ I know she has rubber gloves to peel and dice all those beets but what's the fun in that. It's a good thing everyone else in my house hates beets.  I adore them.  I think...

I believe there is always a kitchen gadget that every household cherishes. Each house is different, but if you took a poll on the street, 90% of people would have a definitive answer. For the baker, a Kitchen Aid stand mixer. For the cook, a Le Creuset Dutch Oven. For the bachelor, maybe it's the microwave. While I love baking, cooking, and all things food, I could come up with a whole lot of answers to the kitchen gadget question.  But right now I have one that is really coming in handy: the Scoop!   I love them so much, I have four different sizes! They all have oz. measurements but I have names for them biggest to smallest. Ice Muff B-Food CCmuff Lope  Yes I'm weird... ~~ Ice Muff? A cross between the Ice Cream scoop and exact muffin batter measurer. ~~~ B-Food?   My Baby Food scoop! Scoops into the ice trays perfectly with no mess. The mess comes later. ~~~~ CCmuff?   I double my chocolat...

There are points in time I wish I could capture with pictures.  They fade before I realize their passing and life has changed in a second.  I've decided to dedicate every Friday post to one, still, quiet moment from where I sit.

I get asked a lot if my kids are artists.  I understand the reasoning behind this. Archie Manning's offspring are Payton and Eli.  Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ken Griffy and Ken Griffy Jr. That's just sports figures... what about actors? The Baldwins The Douglas' The Sheens You could throw in musicians Hank Williams and Sons Judy Garland and Liza Minelli Iglesias' But how many offspring of artists can you name? Michelangelo? Picasso? Monet? For one thing I don't even know if these guys had kids.  And if they did, which it doesn't spring to mind for me,  were they good at art too? Although I'm not famous or a great artist (thank GOD), nor do I ever aspire to be, what makes the chance of my kids being artists? Oede9 likes to draw. He also likes to play piano.  Both of which he's good at. Here are some of his drawings that were laying around the other day. He has tittled this one "Battle of Midway 2" -h...

This instant reflex of his sure makes taking video and pictures fun! The Grab-inator strikes again!

I love substituting for classes.  Really!! I don't have to come up with a concept, write a class description or shop for supplies. Sometimes I need to make a sample but that is about the extent of it besides teaching the actual students. Our Lady of Grace, OLG ers to me, stopped by the Textile Center for a tour and a class.  I taught them of my favorites... Monster Mash! Using fabric crayons the students drew their monsters on paper. Then we (thanks Kyle) ironed them onto felt. We cut them out with a backing, stuffed and stitched them together.  ~~~~ I always take away something from my classes.  A new perspective on life, an encounter with new type of  personality or a funny quip. This one little guy was completely unforgetable.  He was concentrating so hard on his sewing his tougne was hanging out of his mouth.   I said, "He buddy, you're drooling?" He very seriously responded, "It's my hobby."

For 12 years my husband and I have been married. As with all good marriages there are some ups and downs... ...just like our golf game. With a new baby, Hubby and I haven't spent much time on the greens.  We decided to go golfing with another couple and dinner at the club house after.   I love me some manicured rolling hills and trees to clock into. On the 8th hole we had a little water hazard called a LAKE.   The guys had to hit over and inlet of the lake.  Us ladies got a freebee an hit our first shot on the other side of it. Then to get over the lake, a helper guy loaded our carts onto a pontoon.  Apparently only a handful of golf courses in the country have a ferry involved in their course. I feel so priviledged.     Perfect time to have a beer, order a sandwich for the turn or enjoy the fading daylight. The perfect cap to a swell day, 'cause we stink at golf!

There are points in time I wish I could capture with pictures.  They fade before I realize their passing and life has changed in a second.  I've decided to dedicate every Friday post to one, still, quiet moment from where I sit.

I haven't been on a girls night out in sometime.  B suggested that we head to the co-op grab some picnic fair and head to the band shell.  What a quintessential Minnesota summer night! Old school trolley station. Didn't get a chance to ride it this time. Can I have one please? They played Big Band.  By then end of the night there were couples dancing in front of the stage.  Especially when they played Glen Millers "In the Mood". The perfect night! (except for the Mn state bird - the mosquito)

I've been teaching a class titled "Journey to Wellness".  All participants have been diagnosed with cancer and are in various stages of treatments and cures. The first week I had them draw their face which I scanned into the computer to print out onto fabric.  Then in the next 3 weeks we dyed our own fabrics to use in our art quilt. Composition begun shortly after that and here are some of our quilts. Mrs. S. had her long awaited reconstructive surgery the day of the last class so I quilted it for her.  She is at the beach enjoying the day in Venezuela! I wish I could have delivered it to her personally but rules, are rules.  Mrs. B is a wonderful woman who is a survivor of pancreatic cancer.  I remember the first few classes where she was so worried about what the final quilt would look like.  Her transformation from controlling the outcome of her art to relaxing and enjoying the process was incredible. Mrs. B has a Masters ...

You hear me talk a lot of baseball but we do function in other sports.  Oede9's big sport is soccer.  I just finished his Spring season and will start his next one in a couple of weeks. We've come quite close as a team as we've been together for over a year. This was against a great competitive team and only one loss for the season. Segway.... (kind of) Instead of waiting around the house for fireworks on the Fourth of July.  This year we treated ourselves to a semi-professional soccer game! The NSC Minnesota Stars were hosting Edmonton.   Just before we scored! We won 2-1!

Last week was the last of of eight that I have spent every Thursday at a hospital doing a fibers art class with pregnant mothers-to-be who have complications with their pregnancy.  I've taken a few pictures along the way to document their great work.  Crayon Resist with Lumiere  My quick Shibori method