Hardware, models and testing

Extruded aluminum channel: 16 feet

I am beginning to accumulate the hardware and random tools necessary for assembly  of the Habitat for Humanity project.  The assembly schedule starts roughly February 1.  Of course there is much work to do before then.  Not only do I need to finish the modules (roughly 100 more of them), I do need to experiment with composition and with assembly materials and practices.

Dale is starting to work with me today.  Our first job is to build a pin-wall so I can begin to work out the composition.

Because I could not fit 4' x8' sheets in my car, I decided to buy styrofoam panels and lots of velcro to attach the panels to my wall.

 

The experimental crimps will arrive over the weekend.  Dale and I plan to make  matboard models to test and perfect the grommeting and wiring process.

I bolts and lock washers to hold EVERYTHING

Baby steps for Habitat

In the breezy studio, it's pretty darn cold and the color references are equally cool.  Not frigid, mind you, but cool, calm and collected.

While I still need to purchase more cloth, more interfacing and probably other un-imagined things, there is enough thinking done to START.  In January there will be 2 workshops with Habitat clients that may shift things. Meanwhile, with holidays and more renovation work on the studio, I will try to be productive.  My contractor will soon slay the breezes that come through ALL the doors in this old building!

Before Thanksgiving, my assistant Dale and I  donned attractive hard hats and visited the new Habitat for Humanity offices.The office accent colors are already a cool, calm, blue-grey with feature walls of natural wood.  

 The hanging I will fabricate will hang across somewhere around the column in this photo, forming a permeable wall between the cubicles and a gathering area.

Surfaced design: procion dye, Dynaflow paint, paint sticks, Lumiere fabric paint, stencils and rubbling

Earlier this week, I got the serger back from the Bobbin Doctor and began the experiments with that.  I determined that the heavy Peltex will got through and will cut!  Hooray!  Determining the tension was not too hard.  From there I went on to do more work on the embroidery machine, learning a couple of small software packages that may allow me to input text with the computer keyboard.  In the next few days I will be working with Airstash to transmit designs to the machine from either  the computer or the iPad or iPhone.  Believe it or not, one of  the text packages is optimized for the iPhone rather than the computer.

So, although only 5 measly "squares" have been fabricated, a lot has been happening around here.