What part of "Do Not Block Garage" were you unable to read?

Dear Everyone pulling into the parking lot.
To my horror and dismay I have developed a deep psychic connection with Tiger Woods wife. Her presence comes forth commandeering body and soul when faced with problematic automotive situations.
A good example of this would be me rushing to the garage only to find that some one has parked directly in front of it despite the fact that there is a large number of empty parking spaces available that don't involve keeping a tenant from getting to work.
I have taken the necessary precautions. I have removed all the golf clubs from the house. I am trying to arrange an exorcism but exorcists are hard to find and the good ones are really expensive.
Until I can find the means to remove this unwanted visitor who is currently channeling through me, perhaps everyone can help me from getting all Tiger Woods Wifey on random vehicles by inconveniencing a tenant other than myself.
I have placed a sign on my garage saying "Do Not Block Garage. Tenant Parking Only". Of course this does not apply to you but to be on the safe side, just pretend it does.

Thanking you in advance for your cooperation during this difficult and confusing episode of psychic woe.

Plus size pagan pirate coat

Plus size pagan pirate coat, originally uploaded by Kristi Smart AKA ManicManx.

Since I have been making this silhouette for so many years, I can adapt it to fit any one. I am guilty of looking at people and not seeing a person but a pattern project. Its a puzzle to solve. Its an obsession. Its a love and its my job.
I have a passion for making plus size coats. A woman with some meat on her bones looks like a queen. They have a rump to show off and thats my job. To make things that drape off of it and frame it like the picture it is.

Its why I have Manx cats. Its all about the cute round butt.

TotusMel's Wunderkammer

TotusMel's Wunderkammer
I found this really nice blog featuring steampunk art.
They have featured richly layered imagery from Indigo Lights. The artist is Brian Giberson who works in all mediums.
Nice stuff!!!!!

I thought it was an oyster.

Fried mystery meat., originally uploaded by Kristi Smart AKA ManicManx.

Wrong.

chitsaron bulaklak

What did I just eat? , originally uploaded by Kristi Smart AKA ManicManx.

The other day I walked into a Filipino grocery store and walked out with two fried lumps of mystery meat. I asked the woman what it was.
She said. "something from the pork"
"What part of the pork?"
"Hmmm. Something from the stomach." And she carefully cradled her hands under her abdomen. I thought perhaps it might be ovaries.
I ate the first one in the car. On the second one I realized I was eating almost solid fat. Nothing like fried fat with a side of fat.
When I bit into the chewy stringy parts I stopped eating and got out the camera.
Because of the stringy veined bits I now thought I was eating a testicle.
Pinupchick on etsy identified it as chitsaron bulaklak.

Im sure my cholesterol went through the roof. But it was fun and soooo tasty. So much for eating healthy this week.....

More fabric.

More fabric. , originally uploaded by Kristi Smart AKA ManicManx.

Once a year or so I pull all of my fabrics off the shelves. Its amazing how many pieces get stuffed behind something. I unearth forgotten treasures. Silks and velvets, Fabrics rich in texture and color. I sort and refold. I pile things according to color and potential projects. I place the accompanying trims on tops of bundles of inspiration and neatly tie them up with a selvage edge of something.
This year I got an email. "I need a coat in shades of gray that looks like a drowned pirate". I had been wanting to make a drowned pirate coat for a long time and could not convince those who want to look like the robber of the rich to go that route.
I had my bundle of gray with the ancient tattered lace waiting to be sewn up.
Perfect.

I love it when my dreams come true.

Organizing can be bad for your health.

I don't know whats going on with me. I have been organizing to the point where I feel its taking time away from actually making coats.
It has to do with my work environment. Everywhere I look I see things that need to be folded better, sticky noted or pinned to a wall.
I had spent two days pulling all my fabrics off the shelves, folding them and arranging them according to color, coordinates and possible projects. I found a box of unused plastic fruit containers. All my cones of thread went into them arranged by color. Today I pulled all my bags of cut out coats and vests. Every bag of cut garments has a sticky note pasted to the inside of the proper folder.
I guess this all needs to be done in order to work more efficiently. Its all part of having a business. Its just not really part of an artists brain.

Another nice coat

Another nice coat, originally uploaded by danregal.

From Baycon. Miss Kim! A wicked woman with a great laugh came who tried on this coat. It looked like it was made for her.
Too funny to see it on Flickr.

Its hard to see but the rest of her outfit was great. Wonderful boyboots, great fitting pants. She was dressed the way I would like to dress everyday. Anyway, I remember her as being very entertaining and quick to laugh. Very fun.

A pirate chest would be more appropriate of a container for these treasures. RIght now they are in a shoe box in my studio. Im obsessed with embellishments and medallions. I've been stockpiling these goodies. When I am looking for the crowning jewel at the center of an applique I get to paw through the pile pull out the perfect piece.
Phuuh phuuh. Okay.. Too many pees in that one.

Ive updated my etsy store

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade ManicManx.etsy.com

Im really happy with the way this coat came out. This one is dedicated to my grandmother. Grossie. She was a milliner for Mr Blackwell. I don’t know which years she worked for him. I think in the fifties and sixties. She ended up with a lot of very fun trim from Blackwell. Then I ended up with a lot of very fun trim from Grossie.
I am finally starting to incorporate her trims into my coats. On this coat, the beautiful bright green fabric is hers along with some of the black braiding.
My grandmother use to make a lot of our clothing when we were kids. She dressed me in the more pastel colors and my sister in the richer darker colors. So funny. I always remember her long fingernails pinching my skin as she was fitting our clothing. It hurt like the dickens. Her response was always a “Well, if you stood still, I wouldn’t stick you with pins.” Funny, she never stuck us with pins, but those long nails….. man… they were something to be feared.
She taught me to knit and to do hand sewing. I think it was my mother that taught me to sew with a machine. We had an antique Adler that my father had bought her years ago. My Mom made the best Braidy Bunch outfits for us. Does any one remember poorboys? The early girlie version of wife beaters? And why these awful names for them? My Mom found us colorful striped poorboy tank tops and sewed coordinating a-line skirts. They had wide stripes in fushia, mustard, blue and orange. All the good colors of the day. Wish I had photos of my sister and I decked out. We must have looked fab.

DingleBerry of Death! Oh the horror..........

My cat is racing in and out of the cat door with a dingle berry attached to his ass. I cant catch him and he is going to have a heart attack if I don't get it off him.
I dont know why he is so terrified of them. The last time this happened I managed to corner him, get a kitty valium down his screaming gullet and waited twenty minutes. He calmed down enough and I was able to remove the offending piece of decorative fecal matter.
What a nut.
This time he is in hysterics and spinning around the courtyard like a crazed banshie. I can hear him whipping through the bushes out side my window.
I have no clue as to what is going on in his fuzzy little head. I suppose he thinks some thing is chasing him and trying to crawl up his ass. Its attached by a piece of grass or something. Its swinging back and forth slapping his ass cheeks like a set of nineteen seventies Klick-Klaks.
I wish he would take a lighter view of this. He could do yo-yo tricks with it and impress the other cats.
Oh well. I cant catch him. Its either going to fall of or he is going to die. I hope he catches it on a branch the next time he makes a pass through the bushes.
What a dope. I hope we all get some sleep tonight.

Retro Pillows.

I remember making pillows for a craft sale back in the seventies when I was teenager attending Area H Alternative school. I had made a batch of rainbow pillows. A popular theme in 1974. Here I am in 2009 using similar themes but better techniques and talents. The fun part is in the designing and applique. As you can see I have yet to actually finish them. All fun projects have to be set aside for coat production.
This batch was started three years ago with the best of intentions. My new years resolution is to get them finished up and on my couch where people can see them and cats can lay on them.
I love the whole retro sixties seventies look for home furnishings. Cost Plus is selling those thin capiz shell curtains in Like Totally Cool Turquoise. It all reeks of Akron. That wonderful store that was hipper than hip way back when.