ruby crowned kinglette

it must feel like all trick and no treat...

from now on i am going to be in the costume making business... that is until georgia decides differently...

this is from martha stewart.  when i cut the template out it was HUGE - and gigi?  not so big.  everytime i adjusted the pattern it still seemed so big... so i kept scaling it down... (haha, pun not intended...)

and now?  it seems she is somewhat jammed up inside the belly of the beast.
she's none too pleased about it either.

happy halloween everyone.  and you too gigi, hope you have fun.

a nice day for a walk

saturday here was gorgeous, and then yesterday?  it rained like a mother, then it was sunny, then it was rainy, then it was hail(y), then rainy again.... a good day to stay inside and work on projects to sell at a couple small shows i am doing this season.  this morning it was beautiful again so i took a walk to the neighborhood bookstore to get my book for book club...

i took my camera with me because, well... look.  it really was too pretty not to take some pictures of my journey.  taking pictures of my journey slowed me down a bit.  no matter.  you can see in the first picture there was even a little 'frost on the pumpkin' this morning.  perfect.

i only trespassed once - it was to get this picture.... 

and, these are what i worked on yesterday while it rained... still lots to do, but i am making progress.  will try and show some more as the week(s) progress. 

happy monday!

lost, not lost, Lost, losing

i lost track of time... lying in bed i realized i hadn't posted in quite a few days - turns out, sometimes those days just speed by.  i have been doing some things...  i had my lines snaked and scoped... sewer lines people, sewer lines!!  so have been doing lots of laundry.  that has taken up a few minutes... and then, life i guess...  getting things done around my house, keeping up with my attempt to find more structure in my days.  it seems to be working but i see that at least for now i am going to live and die by 'the list'. 

the beautiful atc's arrived yesterday! they are fantastic!  it is great to be able to hold them in my hands and see up close what wonderful work everyone put into these beauties.  i love them, and as i said before, i think i will be doing many more of these atc swaps.  clockwise, these lovely creations above are from kristin, lori, lesley, trisha, mimi and jackie.  if you want to see more of what everyone created go here...

i nearly lost my mind working on this flower bunny.  but, i love how it turned out.  and, it is hard to find fault with a french knot when they look so spectacular all bunched together.  474. i counted...  i had to.

a couple of months ago i bought some linen embroidery floss in ecru and finally used it a few nights ago.  I LOVE IT, couldn't stop thinking about it. so yesterday i went back and bought some more, but in a wider range of colors.  there aren't as many colors in linen as are available in cotton; i didn't get them all.  it looks like i did, but i tried to use some restraint - i gotta tell you, it. was. hard.  the luster of the linen is wonderful, and the way it takes colors.... so, so beautiful.  last night, while watching 'lost' i wound the floss around little cards and when i was done i had a nice pile of papers - they look like little chocolate wrappers, don't they?  even the color dmc used on the little paper wrappers is beautiful... 

ok.... {is anyone else confused by 'lost', do you feel like jj abrahms gets a good idea, makes it too complicated and then before seeing it through becomes distracted with another tv show and forgets to tie up loose ends on the one he is committed to at the present?  like in 'alias' - that show suffered under the weight of too much bizarre shit... i am afraid 'lost' is beginning to buckle as well....}

and finally - i have become so stinking tired of being disgusted with myself that i signed up for weight watchers on-line.  seems i have also lost any semblance of structure in that area of my life as well... so let the losing begin.  it's about freaking time...

a girl can change her mind

my friend's hens are starting to lay more eggs than they can eat - so i get some!!!!  this one? well, it won't be eaten since it seems the chickens played a little rough. 

jen and i went downtown today to check out the wonderful things at the plush you show at schmancy.  it was quite fun, entertaining and worth the trip... then we had lunch at serious pie.  also worth the trip.  {it looks like tom douglas is taking over that entire city block... }  we went our separate ways afterward; she on an afternoon date with her husband to the movies, me? to costco... i have run out of laundry detergent.  i don't go through it very quickly; just me + a front load washer = one box every 1.5 years.  turns out, in the last 1.5 years costco quit carrying cheer detergent - so i got the damned heavy (28 pounds) tub of kirkland brand.  i am sure it will be fine... and that i will still be working on it in 2009.

and today,  before i got on the freeway home i remembered to stop at goodwill... and, fyi, it doesn't stink nearly as badly as value village.  i found a tiny yellow crocheted baby blanket that someone had already graciously felted for me.  {now, let this be a lesson. don't spend all that time and money making a wool - WOOL - baby blanket, it will get felted right quick i would think.}

then i went to the book section... i was looking for our next book club book, interpreter of maladies by jhumpa lahiri - didn't find it.  but, i did find this very cool chitty chitty bang bang.

also got the secret life of bees by sue monk kidd and a dog breed book and the wizard of oz by l. frank baum...  jen and i were talking about it at lunch because i had recently finished wicked by gregory maguire and i said i hadn't read the w of o... now i can.

so, there you have it. two thrift stores in the span of 8 days???  something kinda strange is happening...

thursday from another angle

spiders can't be so bad if this is what can result...

the same could be said of rain.

thursday

this doesn't quite capture the light this morning quickly brightening through my east facing windows... but it was lovely.  the green japanese maple and the red of the serviceberry are quite beautiful, even when it is raining...

a little something extra

while packaging a birthday gift i realized i hadn't made anything, just bought... the horror!  so, these were born... six drink coasters with a randomly placed oak leaf outline ... i hope she will enjoy them.

my journey begins

this week will be posts of photos most, things that i find interesting along the way.
i am attempting to find my better self through accomplishment and list making, phone calls and completed tasks, commitments made and followed through on.  why this should be a struggle is beyond me, that it is, is something i am coming to terms with - very, very slowly.

my footprint, after a walk this morning with chet.

a little bit of this and that

on  my way home after meeting a friend for tea - and leaving her with pillows for her living room - i stopped at value village.  i don't like it much, it stinks really.  kinda like a stale old man.  it isn't the best thrift place in town, but i have found a thing or two on occasion.  i am not a good thrifter, i don't go often enough to ever have a plan. i am usually within a block or two of goodwill and on the freeway ramp to home when i remember that i could have stopped.  a recurring theme in my life is that i don't like to do something unless i KNOW how to do it... that includes thrifting. i always feel like i am a thrift shop neophyte, aimlessly wandering by everything with value while little sneaky folks are creeping up behind me to snatch the good stuff from the shelf while i stand there and wonder....'what is that smell?'

when i do go, i pretty much stick to the fabric, blanket, and craft sections...  mostly i am looking for wool blankets. truth be told, second hand sheets give me the creeps, so i have only ever managed to pick up a pillowcase or two.  i had two in my hands yesterday, but ended up putting them back...  they looked just a little too familiar and i was not sure i could ever 'see' them as anything but a cast off from the 70's. now, if i came across some linen sheets in white or ivory - well that would be a whole different story.

this wool blanket is what i came home with - and 23 zippers of varying lengths and colors.  i love the fall colors in the blanket and am thinking i should felt it.  also, that will help to wash the stink out.   the other photos are of pretty things in my tiny yard.  when i went out to take some pictures i didn't really intend that they would be the same colors as the blankie, but look... they are!

and...i had a very nice surprise this morning when i checked maria's blog, port2port.  she linked to my etsy shop!  and i will return the favor here.  maria creates beautiful letterpressed cards and sells them via links on her site and in her etsy shop.  she is a generous, smart, thoughtful and imaginative soul.  visit her blog and you will see what i mean.  thanks again mav.

have a wonderful weekend everyone.

my first atc

arc: artist trading card -  "also known as atcs, are 2 ½ x 3 ½ inch (64 x 89 mm) miniature works of art which artists trade with one another, similar to the way people trade sports cards."  (from wikipedia)

this  is a nice place to learn about them, here too.  you can find out how other people interpret the concept and just about anything else you might be wondering... except maybe why i decided to make some.

kristin offered up the idea of a bird themed atc swap, and since i can not pass up a bird related anything i joined.  at first not deterred - then.... deterred.  i have never done an artist trading card.  really, had to do a little bit of research to find out what i got myself into...i was feeling a bit like i didn't know what i was doing and wouldn't make something someone else would want... i am over that - a little bit.  since i pretty much love to collect anything that looks the least bit interesting (like rocks, rocks are especially high on that list) i think continuing to participate in these swaps will be pretty fun.

ok, so these babies are finished and going in the mail this morning....  i am very excited to see what treasures i get in return... everyone makes six and then get six in return - each one made by a different artist.  {an aside:  even typing that word as it might relate to me seems so wrong - i do not think i am an artist... crafter with quiet ambitions of being considered an artist one day..., but cripes! not yet!!!}  there are some individual shots of these here.  i will absolutely post pictures of the ones i get in return. can't wait.