ruby crowned kinglette

everything i do takes longer than it should...

and the reason?

i never put away my tools, my papers, my fabrics, and last time... my bias tape maker.  at least that is what i thought.  i stood there, at my work table, in my pit studio and wondered, almost aloud, where would i have put that thing the last time i used it? when did i last use it? is it in a project box? is it in one of the several bags lying about with stuff in them because i was too lazy to put that stuff back? is it tucked under several inches of other projects? is it 'kind of' put away in a box of like things? i don't have any other like things, so.... would it be in a box of sewing supplyee kinds of things? what the hell box would that be? and where???

it was on the wall, hanging on a hook, in the only place it ever has been since i bought it... but the problem with it being there is that is where it belongs and since i am a person that never puts things back where they belong it never occurs to me that i should look there first.

same thing goes for all my tea cups that go missing.  they always turn up in the microwave, always. i never look there first - or ever - and instead just get a new cup. i only discover the old cup in the microwave at the moment i open it to re-heat the tea in the new cup... and then? it begins again.

i just went to test myself.... this time i passed. there wasn't a teacup in the microwave, but... i know for a fact that the bias tape maker is not where it belongs. it is on the work table with all the other little bits of stuff strewn about waiting for the creating to begin.

liberty, flat pigs and another in the series

bought some liberty fabric on ebay... with our crap exchange rate i am not sure it was any more frugal that going to liberty itself {well, except for all the other expenses} or even clicking to purl soho.  i don't care, touching these makes it all better. i do have plans for them, but not firm ones.  it involves garment sewing, and that makes me nervous - so they may be hoarded with the rest of my stash.

hidden in there are 7 pigs - heh heh.

and then this, today's contribution to the plate & fork extravaganza.  it held a soft boiled egg on toast before it hit the sink.  i am an egg lover, no doubt about that.

it was my blog's birthday and i missed it....

seems kind of apropos really.  and i was even giving myself a little hedge because it's official birthday was the 18th... but that was a test, then the next two posts were kind of a test too, but the official post, for reals, was march 25th, 2006. i posted twice, which i don't really remember doing; seems quite ambitious looking back now. as you know, it is difficult for me to even get a post in two times a month....

no matter...

this is what i had for breakfast in celebration of the event.  well, i had it yesterday and the day before too, but today's was necessary in order to commemorate the anniversary.  i always, always, grind a generous amount of pepper onto one side before cooking. cooking the pepper is necessary to release the essential oils and then, when combined with sweet maple syrup, it is fan-freakin-tastic.  so that made me happy.

so did all this thread.  it came with seven shopping bags and one huge plastic tote of fabrics.  mostly wool knits of assorted sizes and countries of origin - italy and france mostly.  i am one lucky girl but don't yet know what i am going to do with it all, hopefully not hoard it like i usually do, but i can make no promises.

this was also part of the motherlode.  don't know yet where this will go, maybe around the bottom of a skirt hem? in my dreams it will be wool, italian wool, and sized differently than i am at the moment.  then, paired with (yet to be purchased) black leather boots.  luckily i have some time to see that dream into reality as it is not that kind of weather anymore {ha}.

so then, this windfall and a project in the works with a wonderful friend has gotten me inspired - finally. 

watch this spot. 

happy spring too, it is spring and i am thrilled.

a scolding from my sisters

that is what i got on saturday night at family dinner.  they seemed to think i wasn't updating my blog often enough... of course, i agree with them, but cripes... i've been lazy and don't have much to add.
i know i said pigs were on the horizon, still are, but not any closer than a month ago. however, i did fall into a whole ton of 4" linen squares so spent some time embroidering some of them...

and.... i have some ideas of creating flowers and things of linen and stuff... i don't know how it will all work but this is what i came up with today.  some modification is needed but i think i could like it.  for what end, i have yet to determine...

the outside....

the inside....

and then.... experimenting with linen and beeswax, it might just have some possibilities too.

were you under the impression that this was a craft blog?

at least it is something....

a germ of an idea that if followed through on might turn into something kind of interesting, at least if i can translate what i am imagining into something that i can hold... who knows.  i long for full days where i can sit, undisturbed by guilty feelings, and get those creative juices flowing.  toward that end i am getting some of the things that should be getting done done... so that big dark cloud of guilt can lift and i might see some light, become inspired and enjoy the satisfaction of completing something i am proud of...

so this wire form? i don't think that this iteration is going to work, but like i said...

at least it is something.

inspiration at the book store

i went to the bookstore looking for bust magazine and inspiration.... i found both, but decidedly not in the same place.

the magazine has a little bit of me in it this month, my gocco'd celebrity sighting book, but it looks wrong - mostly because my book does not have breasts drawn on the front with what looks to me like eyelashes too... i don't understand, and didn't have a magnifying glass and then i stopped caring.  not that breasts are bad - they are not, but they ain't what i had in mind for the cover of my little book.  no matter, hardly.... anyway.

inspiration came at me from a different area in the store.  it also came home with me.  i see comings and goings and routes and colors and all sorts of ideas in my future. because, if i can't travel in my real life i am going to do it in my creative life....

don't forget...

the one in ten auction is now taking place on ebay.  my contribution can be found here, but make certain you check here for all the other wonderful things to be had.  it is for a lovely cause and ends friday morning so don't delay.....

one in ten

the one in ten auction will begin august 19th, on ebay, offering wonderful items, created by a wonderful community.  contributing my 'felt and floss' quilt to the effort feels good.

the following is why...    written by erieann lorsung of her mother's struggle.

    On June 4, an aneurysm on an arteriovenous malformation in my mother's cerebellum ruptured, causing a subarachnoid hemorrhage (bleeding between the brain and skull). Blood also collected in the center of her brain and caused a stroke. She was in the ICU for 3.5 weeks, then in physical and occupational therapy (inpatient) for 1.5 weeks.

We were told by the doctors only a week ago that one in ten people survive this. Very few people are expected to recover. My mom has astounded her doctors and therapists with her tenacity, her strength, and the progress she has already made and continues to make. She has diminished function in her left side and has lost her hearing in her left ear. She is expected to make a complete recovery within a year, for which we are unspeakably grateful.

Although my mother does have some health insurance, a pre-existing condition makes it such that the insurance she does have will not cover things like this. My dear friend Shana suggested an auction of handmade things to help cover my mom's medical bills.

The making community is incredibly supportive, kind, loving. I've been borne up by your comments and prayers over the past 5 weeks. My family and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

summertime

Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high

Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry

One of these mornings
You're going to rise up singing
Then you'll spread your wings
And you'll take to the sky

But till that morning
There's a'nothing can harm you
With daddy and mamma standing by

Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high

Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry

13 postcards for a summer postcard swap.... and a little gershwin, because everything goes better with a little gershwin.

happy birthday summer, it's nice to see you.

making amends, and horses

you may recall the very mad bee in my house a couple of weeks ago... well, i think i have been able to make amends, if not with him then at least his kin folk.  my dortmund rose is nearly in full bloom and there seems to be lots of pollen - and lots of pollen is making lots of bees very, very happy... and heavy. 

so then, mr. bee, please accept my apology, i think you are going to be(e) quite content now.

and... two new horses. one for a young friend to give to her sister. i am leaving it up to her to give her a name...

and a second one whose name is honey - because.... well, she is sweet as honey.