Sa got the uploads working for me so I could finally show these photos of the new garden/parking area design.

Mood Board Garden Design

Here the some details from the garden design for the Beach House.
Ornamental Grass and Bamboo.

Recycled T-shirt Neck Wrap

It has always been important to me to reuse and recycle.  Since my main interest is textiles, quilting was the initial start for using old clothing, curtains and other materials for creating and using what you have.  I grew up in a rural part of Appalacian Kentucky, we were very poor, but I had a love for fashion and fabrics from early on. There was limited places to shop, and I hated the fact of wearing things that looked like everyone else, so I would just cut up the curtains or whatever I could find and make stuff. My grandmother did some quilting and sewing,  my mom had a few old coats and dresses that I would remake to wear.  
One of my signatures pieces for the business Armstrong Industry is the neck piece-scarf, wrap, shawl.  It is so easy for fall/winter with all the fabric options available.  I wanted to do something for the spring/summer that was a little lighter is fabric weight as well as style.  This is what I came up with.

Neck Wraps  Recycled T-Shirts and trims.

Shop Opening Anouncement

The Armstrong Industry Shop will open the week of July 23.
Here is a sneak peek.

Details

Shop Products Announcement

I am so busy getting ready for the new online shop. I have decided to open in stages-adding new products over the weeks. The totes, tool bags, neck wraps and scarves will be first, followed by limited production hand dyed and printed fabric, clothing and interior design items. The first month will be only fabric designs. The mixed wood/collage/fabric-art and small furniture will be coming in the near future. Here is a sample of silk neck wraps for the shop and a mixed media collage.  Watch for the opening next week.

Hand painted/Quilted Fabrics                   Mixed Media on Canvas

Whatever Will We Do Now?

Yes, dear reader, I am as saddened as you are.

Found the above during an adventure in Seattle tonight. Couldn’t help but share.

My apologies for the lack of content the last couple days. Too much heat and summer doldrums are causing blahs.

Tomorrow’s FIGHT NIGHT! Everyone loves Fight Night, even if Wicked Juan is bad about blogging.

Friday Night Fights! Uppercut! Round 4! Black Panther!

 

Even when throwing down, T’Challa lays on some respect. That’s class. Long live the king!

Bahlactus knows all about class!

Simpsons Avatar Creator!

If you go to the Simpsons movie site, you can create an avatar that looks like you, or a close approximation thereof!

 

Kick ass!

Random Musings: 19 July 2007

Ever feel guilty about not blogging? If there’s anything I’m good at, it’s blogging with inconsistency. 

Comics!

A big, fat, huge stack of comics followed me home today… which really makes me happy beause I think I walked away with about four last week. Of the highlights from last week, I really enjoyed Justice Society of America #7 and Green Arrow: Year One #1. I haven’t been really high on the DC stuff lately, but JSA is generally good and Green Arrow Year One got off to a rocking start. But then that’s what you get when you mix Andy Diggle and Jock with Green Arrow.

Harry Potter is eating my brain… in a good way

I’ve seen Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix twice now, once in the regular theater, once at the IMAX in 3D (the entire movie wasn’t in 3D… but it was huge). I’ll be first to admit that I got on a very late bus to Harry Potter, even though I was given the opportunity very early when my mom got me a copy of the first book, well before it became a phenomenon. I was pretty dismissive of it at the time, thinking it was a kids book and I wasn’t all that into magic anyway. The book eventually grew into the cultural phenomenon it is today, which made me even more dismissive. The first couple movies didn’t move me, I think I may have even dozed off during the first one…. I just wasn’t getting what all the fuss was about. Most of my friends and associates that read the books thought I’m a crazy man because I hadn’t jumped on board… I was a pariah in that sense. I just wasn’t into it. I’ve always been a bit more into history and what’s gone on in the real world to really jump into the full fantasy stuff, even if I do love guys in tights beating the crap out of each other. Anyone who knows me knows my tastes go toward the non-super powered set as opposed to ultra powerful or magical beings. I guess I like some element of reality to my fantasy.

While I don’t think my sensibilities have changed that much, I really like how magic is really dealt with in the Harry Potter universe. Things seem very matter of fact and all the characters, even the most fantastic, have a very human quality. In some ways, I think the humanity of the characters is what is really sucking me into the HP universe. The magic and fantasy seems secondary to the characters and their struggle and their situation. Plus Harry is a really, really gripping protagonist, you can’t help but empathize with all that he’s gone through. Watching the transition from kids to young adults has also been interesting and I like how the series seems to get darker and darker as it goes forward. 

Needless to say, I finally broke on this, the biggest of Harry Potter weeks, and am reading the first book. I’m finally getting on the bus and enjoying the ride so far. And I cannot wait to see what happens next.

New Game!

Picked up All-Pro Football 2k8 today, which I’m looking forward to playing. I’ve always enjoyed the 2k football series and was saddened that it got canned due to the NFL/EA exclusivity deal. I’m super stoked about this game because it allows you to draft legendary players from years gone by and build dream teams to play with. My interest in football the last couple years has waned, mostly because I got tired of hearing about all the off field incidents than the actual sport. I’m hoping this hearkens back to a better time.

I’m looking forward to collecting as many of my 80s-era San Francisco 49ers and kicking some butt. 

Errata

Tomorrow is FIGHT NIGHT! Everyone, especially me, loves FIGHT NIGHT!

Friday Night Fights! Uppercut! Round 5! Batgirl!

Think Clayface has what it takes to knock out Batgirl?

Yes. Batgirl.

This public service announcement is brought to you courtesy of Blah-g de Wicked Juan, reminding you to: Always Bet on Bahlactus!