The Equinox!

Spring has sprung in Western Washington! Being an Easter Baby, I love the spring! Although the weather is cloudy and brisk, there are trees blossoming right outside my office in the most delicate pinks.

I am still super exhausted from my trip to LA for the Pattern Review LA Weekend. The fashion district in downtown LA is unlike any thing I've ever seen before - streets and streets of fabric, all types and all for rock bottom prices. It beats New York to Hell in terms of price and quantity. I bought 16.5 yards of fabric, many jerseys at $1.00 a yard and spent a total of $54.00 on fabric. More details here. But my proudest acquisition is my Candy Wrapper hand bag:

What Did You Do Today?

I made 6 fairy faces out of sculpey clay for Faith the Fairy art dolls. I used flatbacked Swarovski crystals for the eyes.

Oh Spare Me, Puleeze

While I was finishing up my manuscript for the Micro-Macrame book, I was desperate to come up with an apt blurb for one of my Goth-inspired bracelets. All I could think of at the time was:

"Crisscrossing and meandering in and out of itself, this final bracelet brings forth the unsettling inner weavings of covert gothic passion. Its moody blackened burgundy coloring evokes the disconsolate, swirling dance of those unfortunates forever trapped in the dark dominion of the lands of Faery..."

Really. Huh. My, that's dark. If I put that in the book, noone would want to make that bracelet - they'd be afraid of getting stuck in the dark dominion of the lands of Faery... enough already! I changed tack completely and came up with something much lighter, which for legal reasons, I cannot divulge...

I made up a version of Park Bench pattern company's Chesapeake Bay jacket out of a long piece of flower-laden drapey rayon I found at Goodwill. Of course, since I didn't measure the pattern pieces and make any alterations, it is a tad bit too small for me. But at least I got to see what it will sort of look like once I do the necessary alterations and make it out of some loose woven wool-like grey with teal slubs fabric I bought in Kiel last October.

Bat Binkies!

Who can resist cute tiny fuzzy orphan flying fox bat babies all wrapped up in their bat blankies?

On Rewrites, Rhiannon and the Sewing Expo

Last week the rewrites on the micro-macrame book were finished - finally! Luckily there wasn't that much to rewrite or reshoot. I have been in a state of exhaustion for the last few days because once I was done with that project I was off to the Sewing Expo at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. I went on Friday and Saturday - my brain cells are still suffering from sensory overload - so many beautiful combinations of colors and fabrics. I fell in love with a new pattern from Park Bench Pattern Company called China Town. The way the front comes together in a fold where you would expect the opening of this asymmetrical tunic to be is delightful and once I took a good look at the Chesapeake Bay pattern, I was smitten. I love the way the back hangs together. Last night I had to cut it out with my new Kai scissors.


While I was gallivanting all over Puyallup

Rhiannon received a package from my friend Karin in Sweden the other day. Rosie opened it carefully and placed it on her sleeping sister.
I am still waiting to take some pictures of Rosie wearing the beautiful hoodie that Tini made for her. When she saw the hoodie, she immediately packed it away with her bestest clothes - she and her baby sister and mom were moving into their own apartment the next day and she didn't want it to get lost. Tini also made the cutest hat for Rhiannon - I must get over to Jennifer's new place and get photos taken. And - ha! a magnificent pair of socks for moi! Whoo hoo! My dogs are happy again (despite the lingering pain of surgery)!

Sam's Back!

Years ago I had a teapot I called Sam. It was short for Sam O'Var. He was shaped like a camel. I loved him alot. Then one day his head snapped off! I was horrified. I spent the next few years looking everywhere for a replacement. I even searched eBay at least once a week for four years. And then another Sam came up for auction. And I won! Whoo hoo! Life is good again.
I had to drop one of my humanities classes - one called "the philosophy of communication." The professor wasn't all that good at communicating. How ironic. She couldn't be bothered to answer my emails. To understand the terminology bantered about in the class I had to expand my vocabulary to include bullshit jargon like role schema, double hermeneutics and Attributal Judgments regarding Interpersonal Events. As everyone who knows me knows, I eschew obfuscation. But like medical jargon, I suppose to some extent overly difficult writing is necessary since it is a steadfast way to justify paychecks for many academics and alientate them from everyone else.

Rhiannon's family

Rhiannon, at less than one month old, got three pieces of mail addressed to her in the last week! She has taken to smiling up at her mom when she hears the word "kitty kitty kitty" so perhaps that is her nickname. When I hold her, she studies my face with serious intensity then breaks into a smile as if to say "Oh, I recognize you!"

Fly pens, MP3 players, and rotten routers

The extremes of new technology. On one hand, since I'm now having to do a lot of writing for my classes, I indulged in a Fly Fusion Pentop Computer - in other words, a digital pen. It was originally made for high schoolers but I'm not proud. All I need it to do is recognize my handwriting so I don't have to retype my notes. It works. Like a charm. Too kewl.
Rosie wanted an iPod for Christmas but as she's six years old and prone to either losing or breaking one, we got her a bright pink Creative Zen Stone instead. Of course I had to get one too, only mine is blue. As did Jennifer. Hers is white. I even got one for my brother. His is black. Then you get sucked into buying the accessories...you need a "skin" to protect the thing. And that's only the beginning.
I immediately signed up with audible.com (they just got taken over by Amazon) so I could listen to audio books while I drove to and from work. Love it love it love it. So far I've listened to M is for Magic and A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman, about a quarter of some horribly dull alternate history about Atlantis, and Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin.
About two weeks ago the router I use to get on the internet suddenly fell off the window sill and hit my shoulder! Definitely poltergeist activity. Anyway, the router broke a few days later and had to be replaced. What a hassle. It took a few trips to Best Buy and two different routers to get back up and running. I used to be embarassed that Microsoft had such bad customer service. Not anymore. D-Link and Verizon are neck and neck in the "crappy attitude towards customers" hall of fame. The customer service rep at D-Link actually hung up on me after pumping me for address, serial number of unit, telephone number, etc. If it had been a bad connection and she had just gotten cut off she would have called back. Nope.
Well, off to write a bullsh*t paper on the theory of communication - rant on my Philosophy of Communication class to follow.

Sorry I have been incommunicado

I've been ultra-busy with my graduate classes and work and a new baby in the house and physical therapy for my foot so I haven't had much time to write.
I've been going to physical therpay for my foot, which after a session feels great for about a day before it begins to ache again...and I'm back to wearing the Franken-boot for a day or two until the swelling subsides.
I've made two versions of the Textile Studio Brussels skirt in the past week because it is the easiest skirt I've ever made. I'll post pictures soon, but I don't feel like limping around trying to get my friend to take pictures of me tonight.
For the first skirt, I used Textile Studio's
Renfrew Charcoal Corded Knit and a lovely poly? wool? huh? grey plaid with lime highlights for the second. I wore the charcoal skirt 3 days in a row because it is so comfy.
I've had this Mad Hatter's Hat pattern for about a thousand years, oh, okay, maybe only two or three, but until today, I couldn't find an adequate source for straw braid...I was thinking of doing it up in a darkish purply-navy dupioni silk for Marcus, or perhaps dark purple straw braid...hmmm...what do you think?
I'm so looking forward to PR's LA Weekend in March. My tickets are bought and the hotel reservations are made and I am good to go!I'll also be spending two days at the Sew Expo in Puyallup at the end of February; March is the month for fabric fun!
So I leave with a picture from the Japanese Garden in the Arboretum I took for a plein-air watercolor class a few autumns ago...

Rhiannon is Here!

This morning at 9:06 a.m., weighing in at 8 pounds, 5 ounces, and measuring 21 and 1/4 inches, Rhiannon finally made her appearance!

If the shoe fits...

Today is the first day I have been able to wear a pair of shoes since the middle of November when I had foot surgery. I am limited to a pair of tweed sneakers that are a little too large because nothing else fits my swollen left footsie. I was getting SO TIRED of wearing the Franken-boot and tripping over everything! I saw my foot doctor yesterday and had some xrays taken. Everything looks good according to him, but I am still freaked out by seeing the two metal screws in my metatarsal in the xrays! I actually took several pix of my foot progressing after surgery, some with bandaging, some without, but decided against grossing everyone out by posting them to this blog; I value my friends!
I had to take Gato to the vet's this morning for a check up. Gato was thoroughly unamused by the trip, and gave me an earful of hisses and yowls, but he had been losing weight and yesterday he had blood in his stool, which is quite worrisome. The vet gave him a shot of anti-imflammatory and said the problem wasn't all that uncommon, especially in cats that were under alot of stress..."Hmmm...you mean stress like a woman in the house about to have a baby any minute?" I asked. "And a rambunctious six year old running hither and thither, poking at cats?" Yup. Poor Gato is in love with Jennifer (pictures to follow) and must be worried about the impending birth of her baby.

Nothing much to report...

This coming month I will be starting on my master's degree in Humanities - I bought the cheapest text books at the university's bookstore and the rest on half.com, saving about $50, even including shipping. I'm excited to finally do something I've waited over 20 years to do; I always wanted to keep going in school past my bachelor's but never had the time or money to do so until now.

I am currently working on Loes Hinse's Tuxedo jacket for the Stitch and Flip Jacket class on Pattern Review. I am almost afraid to even declare that since I have so many unfinished projects lurking around in various closets. I have some lovely blue houndstooth lightweight wool silk suiting for it and just need to hunker down and make the silly thing.
Today I rummaged around in the costume cave and found four big garbage bags full of clothes and cloth to donate...yippee! Tomorrow Jennifer and I are hitting IKEA in the morning to check out storage solutions. Sort of low-key mundane things going on this weekend, but that's okay. Here's the highlight - a budding rock star is in our midst!

If only it were that easy...

The solstice is upon us and there's a tiny girl wanting to come into the world very soon. Her big sister Rosie showed us how it is going to happen. If only it were that easy, we'd all have babies. No one in the house got much sleep last night we're all so excited.

Holiday Hijinx Aplenty

Rosie's class had a Holiday performance tonight. All the first and second graders got up on stage and sang several fun songs; one about a turkey that liked to tango, and another about a penguin named Polka Dot who liked to polka. Everyone was very well behaved!











Of course, for a parting shot, I leave you with this eye opener:
I just knew it!!!

Oh Suzani, Oh Don't You Cry for Me...

I found another suzani I had to have...I'm waiting for it to be shipped to me from Uzbekistan...Last time I got something from Uzbekistan my postman, who is from the Ukraine, looked at the package when he delivered it to me and wanted me to open it right away so he could see what it was.


Today has been a lazy Sunday for me. It snowed, then it rained, then snowed, then the rain won the fight for good. I hate it when the weather is on that cusp between the snow and rain; a few degrees on either side of the freezing point determines which will happen, I suppose. Hate that. Harumph!
Rosie came downstairs for while this morning, got out her camera and took a picture or two of Jynx, who is a total photo hog.

The End of Phase One

I sent my manuscript off to the publisher's today. In the midst of a snowstorm. Just as I was printing out the final chapters, I suddenly realized I couldn't drive myself to the Fedex drop off because I had foot surgery only two weeks ago and still can't drive my Mini Cooper (it's a stick shift)!!! So Linda graciously drove me around and around an industrial park a few miles down the road looking for the Fedex building. In a snow storm. It didn't help that snow had covered all the street signs in that area. We came home and celebrated by having fondue for dinner (which Rosie thought was disgusting). I so wish I could take a bath, but because of my foot I'm not allowed a good long soak for another two weeks or so, so a hot shower will have to suffice.
Now I can have a social life for a few weeks and enjoy the holidays. First I have to clean my art space - it's a hovel right now.
A parting shot of my most favorite flower - the Lotus Maculatus

Me Now

Here's what I look like tonight with my new haircut. Sans makeup. Crooked smile. C'est moi.

What Mythological Creature Are You?

You Are a Mermaid

You are a total daydreamer, and people tend to think you're flakier than you actually are. While your head is often in the clouds, you'll always come back to earth to help someone in need. Beyond being a caring person, you are also very intelligent and rational. You understand the connections of the universe better than almost anyone else.

What Mythological Creature Are You?

Great Heavenly Days

I am FINALLY finished with shooting the step-by-step photos of my projects for the micro-macrame book. Here are three projects that didn't make it into the book.

This knotted cell phone bag isn't exactly micro-macrame; it's a nice piece of macrame, but it isn't the same scale as the projects in the book need to be. It was nixed.


I studied this pretty Celtic piece long and hard and determined that it was really too difficult to create; too many steps and permutations for readers of the book, so I came up with something else.

Good Hair Cuts, Bad Pedicures

Amidst my frenetic busy-ness, I managed to get a lovely short haircut (picture to follow soon) last week from my favorite hair stylist Zary. She just knows how to cut my hair - a rarity for me.
And today I had a terrible terrible pedicure: Okay, okay, it wasn't exactly a pedicure, it was foot surgery for a painful bunion. I'm still twirly-minded from the meds, so life is splendid.

Cinderella visits us for Halloween

We found the prettiest dress at the Disney Store and as the supremely giddy spinsters we are, we couldn't resist getting it for Rosie...

Bad Bad Colds, Cabin Fever, Missed Pedicures

So I have been laid low by a severe cold, that's left my rib muscles really sore from so much coughing. I was supposed to go to Olympus Spa this weekend and bask in the earth energy rooms...no such luck. So I've been stuck at home, sleeping, coughing, sneezing, blowing my nose, taking hot baths, soaking my feet, inhaling steam wiith Olbas oil, etc.

You Should Be a Doctor

You are practical, sharp, and very intuitive. Optimistic and energetic, you are a problem solver who doesn't get discouraged easily. You are also quite compassionate and caring. You make people feel hopeful. You're highly adaptable and capable. You do well with almost any curve ball life throws at you. You do best when you: - Are always learning new subjects - Use your knowledge to solve problems You would also be a good therapist or detective.

What Should You Be When You Grow Up?

PR Weekend in Kiel - hanging out in Oslo

I got back from the European Pattern Review Weekend in Kiel a week ago - also spent some time in Oslo with my friend Vibeke.

I've been so busy with the book project that I haven't had any spare time for anything lately - I've had to cancel all social appointments until December.

The World's Best Socks!

Today I received a package from my friend Tini who lives in Kiel!! Whoo hoo! I was eager to tear into it since I knew there were a pair of hand-made socks in the package. Tini is a marvelously talented knitter who also dyes her own yarn. She had also put some extras in with these gorgeous socks - some extremely yummy chocolates and some milk chocolate Kieler Sprotten! I laughed out loud when I saw the Kieler Sprotten - we had had a discussion on a message board on Pattern Review about souvenirs for the European Pattern Review weekend in October this year and I'd asked what Kieler Sprotten were and Tini said (and I paraphrase) that they were yucky little smoked fish that weren't even made in Kiel anymore...

Here are my happy feet in my beautiful socks! Wow! Socks that fit my size E for Enormous footsies! Me dogs ain't barkin' no more!

Nifty Snooters - Neat-o!

I saw this article on the BBC's website:

Double-nosed dog not to be sniffed at

Xingu, son of Bella
Bella


They're both probably thinking "What's the big damn deal? I got two eyes, two ears and two noses! So why dontcha keep your malformed single nose outta my business???"




Well, don't get too snooty about it, my smellicious pals...

My New Toy Car

Yesterday I finally got my new Mini Cooper - I ordered it a couple of months ago and it came in last week. I am soooo excited!




It has a very compact engine







Here is the salesman Jay explaining things like variable ambient lighting, and how to work the air co
I've waited 14 years for this! I know most people in the States buy cars more frequently than that, but I only buy one when I absolutely cannot stand driving my old beat up jalopies any more! In the case of my old Jeep, I was tired of getting soaked every time it rained. It rains alot in Seattle. Many years ago I had an Austin America, which was even tinier than this Mini. I loved that car and named it Larry O, short for Lawrence Olivier. Hmmm, what should I name the new baby?