how a collaboration is born....

alice was in a funk, i was uninspired and i was also a little bit jealous of the exchanges she was participating in with others {read: not me}.   so i did something about it...

alice!!!

how about this... thought of it while in the shower.

once a week we have a word or idea we have to interpret in our own way.... but.

it has to be done during our lunch hours, while at work.
it might take only one, or all five, hours a week.
and, it has to be 6" by 6".
in fabric or felt.
and embroidery floss.
and anything we might find in our lunch room... or desk, or wherever we eat lunch.

ok, so there is a reason i like this too... it will give your new fellow employees a reason to approach you and you a reason to tell them how freaking wonderful you are....

what do you think of this one?

-s

 

Stephanie,

I totally love this idea, especially the part where I have to reveal myself to my co-workers.  You are an evil genius.  But ... I don't take a lunch.

...I love the size and material constraints.  6" x 6" is super portable, as are needle, floss, fabric, and felt.  I was thinking that it would be interesting if we only stitched half our block and the other person stitched the other half (or just filled part of it ... not necessarily splitting the block along a straight line). 

... might need two weeks per block, though.

...How should we pick the words?  Maybe they should be related to the subject of time, work, play, crafting, creating, stress, balance, etc.?

...Do you have any idea how much I would love a pillow we hand embroider together?  I can barely imagine it.  It would be the pillow I grab when I want to cry myself to sleep.  It would be the pillow I grab when I'm going to sit on the couch and watch a good movie with a glass of wine.  It would be the pillow I whisper my secrets to.  It would be my favoritest pillow.

xo,

Alice

 

alice

oh my god... i love you...

i was thinking of combining our efforts on the piece too so i would totally be excited to do that...  and, frankly, i don't care where it gets done but i do like the evil genius angle.  so, since this will be an on-going effort you will have time to lure them in... and me too, i haven't don't any crafting at the work place yet.

now, i remembered after emailing you that i have a shit-ton of linen in almost 4x4 squares...   you could have yourself a queen size quilt for your bed if you want... but, let's start smaller, shall we?  colors are good, but limited.  and, i know you are allergic to wool, and me (in kind of a snotty way) to acrylic.... and two weeks per block... perfectly fine.  i was also thinking about that and although i like the idea of one a week i think it would kill us. this way we still have our 52, and that is certainly enough for a gallery show....

...i was wondering if we shouldn't have a third party pick the words for us....?  maybe andrew?  ...he might pick some goodies for us. think he would be interested?

and... the idea of you whispering to our pillow is the sweetest thing in the world....  so i am going to have to make it good.

love,

-s

 

Stephanie,

I would *love* to use your linen bits.  Limited fabric colors are a-ok with me...

...How sweet of you to think of Andrew.  I'll ask him.  It seems like the kind of fun challenge he'd enjoy.

Gallery.  Wouldn't that be grand?  Not too much pressure ...

xo,

Alice

 

alice!!!!
excellent!!!

ok, after dancing with the stars (!) is over, i am going to root through the bag and get a package together to send to you....
brb... my show is on...

ok.... back

...i will send some of what i think will work together best and then we can use whatever we want in each square, whatever color we want... at the end, they will all coordinate but there won't be a designated color for each square so it will be a bit random... and then of course the color floss we use is WIDE OPEN...

...and, then as far as andrew goes... i am game if he wants to.  and he can be as abstract as he wants to be, the more esoteric the better - i think we are up for that, don't you???

so fun!

-s

 

...I was thinking we should do a limited number of collaborative squares....Also, although we'll get our word on a certain day every other week, can we be a little fluid about end times...

honk shew (that's the sound of a Merlino snoring, in case you didn't know),

Alice

 

alice

oh my god... fluid.  i am shit at deadlines.

...give a little 'hey there' tap to the snorer...

-s

 

stephanie,

yay for fluid deadlines!!

...andrew has already started the list of words.  i told him to avoid concrete things like "bunny" and "sunshine" and focus on more esoteric and conceptual words.  after I told him he couldn't tell me the words up front, he wouldn't even discuss examples with me.  he just pulled out his notebook and started thinking. :)...

xo,

alice

ps.  suddenly 2007 stinks much less

 

first, i am going to assume you mean 2008....

and, i am so excited for andrew to be so secretive... that is excellent...

-s

 

s -

...um, yes, i guess it *is* 2008 ... there is no hope for poor 2007 ... oh well

...don't let the bitches get you down.

xo,

alice

the fabrics will be in the mail to alice tomorrow... you can see what we are up to here, but don't hurry, we are not up to anything yet.

Comments

[futuregirl]

You totally make me sound 500% cooler than I really am. We are going to rock the house with this one. :)

[Michelle]

Wow! I'm totally jealous, but in a good way. I'm so excited for you guys. Can't wait to see the process, the words, the coming together.

[Laurie]

Oh, I am so jealous!! Two of my favorite people in the world. Alice, you are absolutely as cool as Stephanie made you out to be...absolutely.

[Jen]

OK, I was loving this exchange all the way through, but then when it was revealed that 2007 is, in fact, over, I almost died from laughing. Can't wait to see what you two cook up!

[ambika]

I can't wait to see what you guys do! I love Alice's blog and you guys are both so talented.

[Jeannie]

I feel like I picked up the phone and someone was on the "party line". OK, showing my age, but really this is such a wonderful idea. I loved the part about whispering to the pillow - adult teddy bears! Cheers.

[Sonya]

Can I just say that the two of you are adorable and I am ever so eager to see the collaboration and schemes and pillows that you hatch together.

[bitterbetty]

jeez...that is so damn cool.I am speechless. I can't wait to see every step.

[kristin]

you completely won me over with the linen squares...your conversation was just bonus. this will be fun to watch come to fruition, and yes, i have to admit some jealously here too.

[amisha]

so excited to see what you two do. this project sounds like it is going to be fun!!
xox

[Michelle]

Wow, I don't even know what to say, this is such a fantastic venture. The two of you are genius, and so talented, this is going to be one for the history books, I tell you! Yes, and I'm joining in with the slight green tinge, too... just the eensiest little bit jealous. :0)

[Elizabeth]

What a fun idea and what lovely photos of the linen squares. I can't wait to see what you guys do.

[hovawart]

Can you please continue this dialogue all year along with your embroidery projects as if we aren't listening?

I'm way too inhibited to either cry or whisper into a pillow but it's lovely to read about it! I think it may be a generation thing...Baby Boomers are meant to put up a brave front (yes, it's just a front).

[Amy (sew~amy)]

I LOVE this idea!!! this is great. Please cont. to show the blocks and dialogue. What fun I will have watching ya'lls progress .

[Alex]

:)
Loved reading your mails.
So cool. Looking forward to bunnies in the sunshine and all the rest.
Have fun!