Today was a detour day. By that I mean, all that I had planned to do in the studio got pushed aside for other more important things that life has a way of throwing you. I started the morning by having a colonoscopy. What, you may ask has this to do with weaving? As a breast cancer survivor, diagnosed at age 46, and having just buried a close friend in her 50's with colon cancer, I am a firm believer that everything in your studio will wait while you do the important screenings that can make the difference between another day in the studio and, well, lets just say for now, I will have more days in the studio. Last month the oncologist gave me a clean bill of health, and my colon is perfect and good for another 5 years. So if you are putting off getting a routine exam, as annoying and cumbersome as they can be, think of all the things you might never get to in the studio... Make it your New Year's Resolution.

All was not lost, I did manage to do a prototype for a couple of Christmas gifts I have to make for some good friends. I've done this technique with scraps of handwoven fabric. There are a number of books out, many by Linda Johansen, on making fabric vases, bowls, boxes, etc. They were the technique du jour in the quilting circles a few years ago.

Last spring, I had done a series of papers, folded and dip dyed, so they came out sort of shibori looking. I wanted to do something special with them. So I dug out my Flexi Firm non fusible thick stiff interfacing, and some Wonder Under, and traced a pattern for a ginger jar from one of Linda Johansen's books. I fused the paper to the Flexi Firm, with Wonder Under, and then started stitching around all the pieces with a zig-zag, catching in a satin cord on the edges. Once they were all stitched, I assembled them into a star sort of shape, and then hand sewed them into the form of the jar. I'm not completely happy with the top edge, I may try to add beads or something, I'll see what I have in my stash.