Sunday snippets

in which our plucky heroine tries to look forward...

Looked around the yard, which desperately needs mowed, but was too damp a day to do that safely. The apple tree, just barely thinking about leafing out, could be pruned, as it is obvious at this point that a lot of the tallest sprouting growth is not going to bloom and make apples. Removing these will let a lot more sunlight into the tree and help keep it "reachable". The quinceling is the only fruit tree with leaves and now showing signs of starting flower buds. There are a few tiny leaves on one of the fig trees. Plums, persimmons, and the elderberry are not fully awake yet.

The forsythia is glorious, the star magnolia is just past it's peak, and Euphorbia wulfenni is decorating the front yard with tall lime green banners. Here and there are a few pink violets just starting, and the small clump of grape hyacinths are in full flower, and the last of the hellebore flowers are a bit droopy but still visible.

There are sprouting leaves that promise lovage* stalks later this year, and I expect to see some growth in the bed of walking onions. Adding chives to the front yard would be a nice addition to "allium self sufficiency". Other perennial seasoning herbs here are rosemary, sage, thyme, and marjoram.

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~ both sides now ~

Final detailing on the new brown linen pinafore... brown chain stitch cloud motif, embroidered on a scrap of the same linen, then appliqued to the bib pocket. It was a little tricky getting the stitching done while making sure to only catch the outer layer of the pocket, and in fact there was one spot where it was necessary to clip a stitch and undo the thread back far enough to knot it off and restitch. Going forward, I'll be sure to add any and all of the pocket decoration before attaching the pocket rather than afterwards!

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Just about finished with the grey Chinese landscape print shirt. By piecing the few remaining scraps it was possible to cut out five of the seven peplum pieces, and some of the linen chambray subbed in for the rest. It felt a bit like some of those online no-waste videos, as all that was left was a literally small handful of tiny scraps. Once button locations are marked, machine buttonholes made, and the shell buttons stitched on, it will be done!

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Tamra mentioned the idea of finding an outdoor space to be social. This brought to mind my former idea of using the carport as outdoor living and crafting space, which would allow for more than one or two visitors at a time... Making that happen requires clearing years of junk from the carport, which is quite a challenge but doable, finding storage space for plywood and lumber (much more difficult), and finding tool storage space for yard tools. While I don't miss the moldy shed in the backyard, I do very much miss having some sort of garage-equivalent storage space. I've just been ignoring the issue for the last ten years, but bringing it back to the front part of my brain will hopefully eventually yield solution(s).

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	ruffle pillow shams	cardigan length	recycle bin
2	clothespin bag	cardigan button bands	recycle bin
3	brown linen pinafore	cardigan ribbon facings	cracked tote
4	grey shirt	planted rhubarb	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- dental care as a child, which has made my adult life less traumatic
- new Charles de Lint story: ICE Out
- figured out that the reason my keyboard was being weird and some keys not functioning was that the batteries were almost dead, freshly charged cured the problem.

Time of Isolation - Day 2089

* it will be worthwhile to try out making "herbal salt" from the lovage leaves, as a way to preserve the flavor for wintertime use. It was originally planted a few years after moving here as a backup celery flavor source in soups and stews. It grows without trouble or fuss and creates a spectacular vertical display, and should supply chain issues arise, having multiple ways to season food is never a bad idea.

March is for mending

in which our plucky heroine is gradually recovering...

My eye is much better than it was a week ago, thanks to the use of multiple antibiotics and the assistance of the digital alarm on my phone. Still not sure what else the wakey wakey every three hours is doing to me other than keeping the level of medication as evenly distributed as possible, reckon that will be more obvious once it isn't necessary to get up and be functional quite that frequently. 

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~ cloud spirals~

Rather than drawing, cutting, and stencil-printing a new 3 part cave horse decoration for the pocket of the brown linen pinafore, my eye fell on this cloud motif from one of the 2023 stitchbook pages, and there will be a subtle bas-relief chain stitch embroidery instead. Eventually a new cave horse stencil as well (assuming that the old stencil remains mysteriously missing) to be used on a different pinafore, as the process of refurbishing the closet contents continues

Have been putting together "sewing kits" for garments - grey Chinese landscape shirt, teal floral blouse, 1 pr teal long janes, 2 pr brown long janes, brown/black pinafore overdyed waffle weave, teal pinafore overdyed herringbone, grey chambray linen pinafore, taupe/black shirt overdyed pinstripe. Blue black textured pinafore... This sounds like a lot, but almost all the current pinafores in my closet are wearing out, after anywhere from five to seven+ years of steady use. If I had more clothing, each individual garment would last longer as they wouldn't be worn as frequently. My goal is to have approximately 7 or 8 of my wardrobe basics: pinafores, knit tops, shirt/blouses, long janes, and summertime popover dresses; I don't usually meet that intention. There are also a few everyday dresses, a few popover tops and a nice assortment of handknit wool cardigans and pullovers. 

Managed to talk myself out of this very desirable fabric from Blackbird - brown black gingham linen!! (It is lovely but do not need to spend over $75 on shirt fabric, see above list of many potential new garments that are all using fabric currently on the resource shelves here in the "sewlarium")

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The original plan to use Ariadne's handmade lampwork glass buttons on the Chinese mountain print shirt didn't look great in the light of day. The taupe/black buttons got lost in the fabric rather than being the interesting focal point they really deserve. Instead, they will be used on a shirt made from the micro-stripe linen, which will be overdyed to be taupe/black, and have black pick-stitching along the edges. Just enough remains of that stripey fabric to cut out the shirt.

As part of my planning, have been looking over the assorted yarns on hand and thinking about what knitted accessories get worn the most often. Am always happiest to have various handwork projects set up so can work on things "as the spirit moves". The Murano Squares Bandana is a frequent first choice in cool weather, the pointed cowl shape, and the feel and drape of the Noro Kiri yarn combine to make it so. In June of 2025 I overdyed a skein of grey Noro Kiri to dark chocolate as contrast with vivid turquoise. 

My current thought is that the remainder of the chocolate brown yarn has good contrast with the grey; if knit counterchanged from the Cloud Mountain bandana (grey with dark brown spots instead of dark brown with turquoise spots) it will coordinate nicely with the grey/black/taupe section of my wardrobe. Note: was trying to figure out how much of each color was used the first time, so as to know if there was enough for a second go round... occurred to me to use my kitchen scale! If a whole skein weighs 4 ounces, and the finished scarf weighs less than that, and there are 2 ounces left of the already dyed dark brown, then it will all work out neatly. I am certain there is an algebraic equation that could be written to be more precise, but in the intervening decades, my algebra has all fled.

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~ not dogs-breakfast ~

This just doesn't look as photogenic as the Smitten Kitchen recipe images, probably since I accidentally overcooked the cauliflower.  Nonetheless, it is delicious. Even though I made a half-recipe of the "Cauliflower Tomato Masala with Peas", the greater portion of it is now in freezer cubes after a dinner, a lunch, and even using the last bits in the dish for breakfast, topped with egg and a slice of Havarti; it is quite filling. I did substitute snap peas for the regular peas called for, in order to use what was already here. This is tasty enough that it will be added to my hardcopy recipes as a template.

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this weeks whinges: Went all the way downtown to the Federal Building to the IRS office to pick up forms and instruction manuals for taxes this year... Bah! Despite all that time spent, and having to take off shoes/daypack/phone/charger/wallet/keys/jacket/wooly cardigan, and go through the x ray and wanding to get inside, when finally at the office, there were in fact no tax forms or their specific instructional booklets AT ALL! The paperwork kiosk was empty, and the singular clerk said, nope... no backstock and not getting more. 

And in the further enshittification of Walgreens saga: The prescription ordered a week ago (with 7 still left in the container) had still not arrived, and they couldn't say when it would show up. Maybe by the end of next week? They apparently only order things once a week nowadays. It sure would have been be good to know that, so as to request refill several weeks earlier. Am now trying to transfer that scrip to a different pharmacy, further away but still accessibly by bike, that is open 7 days a week instead of 5, and that has what I need in stock (I called and checked first)

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	ruffle pillow shams	cardigan length	recycle bin
2	clothespin bag	cardigan button bands	recycle bin
3	brown linen pinafore	cardigan ribbon facings	-
4	-	planted rhubarb	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- line dried laundry, even in the city it still smells wonderful, plus yesterday was dry and breezy, so laundry chore is just about caught up, save for putting it away
- found two Talenti tubs of pecans stashed in the bottom of the freezer. Breakfast museli will be much nicer now.
- this is the children's book I really enjoyed this week: "The Puppets of Spelhorst" by Kate DiCamillo

Time of Isolation - Day 2087

QID

in which our plucky heroine is still slightly off balance, but improving...

Not sure what waking every three hours does to one "proper" sleep cycles, and I've never timed how often my non-alarm-driven night waking occurs. There were no nightmares last night, though. And most remarkably, in my final dream before getting up today, I dreamed I could skip! Would that it were true, as I've been peculiarly disturbed by the loss of that coordinated ability, and have tried from time to time to re-learn it.

There was also a benign verbal interchange with an analog dreamland person (who was reminiscent in ways to both G and to B) concurrent with my skipping down a woodland pathway similar to but not OCF... (it most certainly wasn't OCF or analog OCF, as it was empty of any other human people)

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~ 3 color stenciling ~

My intent had been to stencil a patch for the pocket of the new brown linen pinafore with a cave horse, just like the one that is "worn to a ravelling" and past re-use. However, apparently my cave horse stencil set has been misplaced, alas... Fortunately I did write up the process used to create the stencil, and posted it to my blog years ago. Making up a new stencil likely guarantees that the missing one will show up soon; it will also be good to have a second stencil, albeit slightly different. Before long, there will be a new cave horse patch for the pocket, just requiring a few additional steps.  

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I put up various foods in shelf stable jars all year long, as a way to have things otherwise unobtainable, or just for the frugal pleasure of storing local bounty. The few apples from the backyard tree, and the quinces from the side yard often end up as "sauce" for pantry storage, and are usually brought out as a special treat for dessert from time to time. This week, however, those jars are a necessity. Antibiotics four times a day ie every six hours, that are best taken with food, but not with dairy. The dairy, in the form of live culture yogurt, is also every six hours, on an alternating schedule. (My phone alarms every three hours 24/7 for the next week, sigh) Other than the doses that line up with mealtimes, food with pills seemed a bit challenging, as string cheese or cottage cheese are my snack of choice. Turns out that a few spoonfuls of applesauce, or in my case quince-apple sauce is both easy to deal with nocturnally, and light on the tummy. 

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Today there was also a midafternoon trip to the store to get some crackers, and Toby's Tofu Pate, which will work well for another speedy middle of the night micro-meal option. I rarely keep crackers in the house, and rarely eat soy products, so ditto for Toby's, and they are spendy for how "easy to eat" they are. I tend to forget though, how delicious they are. Somewhere I have a recipe for DIY tofu pate that is very similar to Toby's, and it is likely time to return to making my own version of "Goddess Dressing", which has completely vanished from the local grocery stores One recipe lasts me for about a week of everyday salad dressing, and is also delicious instead of mayo for use in tuna, egg, or noodle salads:

Tahini Goddess Salad Dressing

⅓ c oil 2¾ T tahini 2½ T cider vinegar 2 t tamari 2¼ t lemon juice ¾ t salt 1 T minced parsley 1 T minced chives 1 minced clove garlic (or ¼ t garlic granules)

Mix together the tahini and the oil first, to allow the tahini to be smoothly incorporated. Then mix in all the other ingredients. You can add some water at the end, if the dressing is thicker than you prefer.

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	ruffle pillow shams	cardigan length	recycle bin
2	clothespin bag	cardigan button bands	-
3	brown linen pinafore	cardigan ribbon facings	-
4	-	planted rhubarb	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- homemade apple-quince sauce
- a useful and useable search box on my blog
- single use bandage scissors turned into kitchen scissors, still going strong ten years later
- the metal lid I found at Goodwill that fits venerable crock pot perfectly  

Time of Isolation - Day 2082

somewhat less than ideal

in which our plucky heroine has eye trouble...

I woke up this morning with my right eye very swollen and painful, burning and gritty feeling, and have booked an express care medical visit. The first available appointment was at 8:40 am... And with my right eye so wonky/painful it means I can't do anything at all as sewing, knitting, embroidery, workshop tasks etc all require binocular vision (Last night it didn't feel quite right, so I used extra of my regular before bedtime eye drops).

There seems to be not only an eyelid infection, but it may be spreading to the eye socket, so the plan is for both antibiotic eye drops and daily pills (for the whole system) for a whole week. Yogurt will be a daily necessity, and my sleep wake will become very wonky indeed as every three hours I will be either medicating, or, alternately ingesting probiotic substances, as the pharmacist said to eat with medicines, but not dairy, and then to eat yogurt after a three hour window. Lather rinse repeat.  

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~ was a sunny day ~

The westside esplanade, where the Willamette River bisects Portland, has a short season of springtime when the cherry trees bloom. Usually I only notice this when riding transit over one of our many bridges, but since today was both not-raining, and not-cold, and since I could do none of my usual preferred activites with only one fully functional eye... it seemed that a local "adventure" was a good plan. It turned out that what seemed like half the city also thought it was a good plan! There were dogs, and kiddos, and young families with babies on blankets, new lovers and old ones, folks on wheels: bicycles, and chairs, and skateboards, and rollerblades. There were buskers, and the venerable Saturday Market handcraft tents. It was far more crowded than our plucky heroine prefers to subject herself to, but in this world of trouble and turmoil, it was actually quite lovely and benign.

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The last week has been a challenge in various ways. Never a good sign when I stop writing here, and stop contacting folks. The nightmares that in the Before Times could more often be left at sleeps door when they awakened me in the wee small hours are now far too similar to current events, and have several times made further sleep that night impossible. Fortunately being semi-retired/work from home means that while it isn't ideal, rearranging the daytime to allow for an afternoon nap is at least possible. Reminders from beloved if faraway friends that my being in their lives is helpful and a treat for them, helps my equilbrium. May the week ahead bring, if not fewer daytime horrors, at least some peaceful dreams.

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Lastly, hand stitching ribbon facings to cover the (slightly wonky) steek edges inside the Icelandic cardigan really added a finished look. This was a technique I had seen in some vintage knitwear, but never tried. I found some chocolate brown 1" wide rayon petersham ribbon on Etsy, and the instructions shared by Hélène Magnússon on her blog made the process really clear. It turned out quite pleasingly tidy, and was not difficult. Should I make another steeked cardigan, this will be good to remember...

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Last year a wee baby Victoria rhubarb came to live here, from the plant store at the end of the street. It survived in a pot on the porch next to the front door, where it was very visible, and hence watered often enough. After winter dormancy, it sent out some pencil thin stalks with leaves smaller than my palm, and surely it needed a bigger home. Earlier this week it moved to the raised bed in the backyard. That bed still needs quite a bit of topping up with good soil, but after shifting some all to one end, and adding a few shovels worth of compost, the rhubarb has a new home, where it will get good sunlight all day, and has good rich soil to send roots into. My hope is that if I can manage to care for it well, and feed it richly with compost and worm castings, in a few years I may have homegrown rhubarb. Fingers crossed and notes made on the calendar to keep it watered.

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	ruffle pillow shams	cardigan length	recycle bin
2	clothespin bag	cardigan button bands	-
3	-	cardigan ribbon facings	-
4	-	planted rhubarb	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- I walked five miles today
- cherry blossoms along the esplanade
- being able to get medical attention for my eye, and having the medicine needed be available
- zoom with Jen and a bit of Cathy
- baby rhubarb remains alive and well
- making it back from my doctor visit in time to have some Sewing Nomads zoom this morning

Time of Isolation - Day 2081

Pi Day

in which our plucky heroine remembers to celebrate...

I always mean to, each year, but rarely remember in time to cook something special. This year I managed to. Dinner was shepherd's pie, made half from leftovers, some diced up frozen lamb slices from when Beth and Karen visited a while back, and some of yesterdays cooked carrots, added to some sauteed onion, and sugar snap peas. I made gravy in the same pan as the onions, seasoned with homegrown thyme and some of Penzey's Justice herbs, and a splash of tamari. I never make gravy, but pie needs it. While doing all this, was also steaming two little yellow potatoes, so the 6" oval dish was topped with some golden mashed taters and stuck in the convection oven to brown. Made enough for a meal tomorrow as well.

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~ pies for today ~

Once the improvisational shepherd's pie was in the little convection oven, I started working on the tiny pecan pie(s). It turned out that there was no pan of a suitable size that the recipe called for; switching to using silicone cupcake liners made a half dozen tiny "pie-lets". The only change I made was to use Lyle's Golden Syrup instead of maple syrup. The recipe was not at all difficult, other than dividing the shortcrust, and later on the pie filling, into six individual compartments. OTOH, it is as easy as pie to peel the liner from one of the rather sticky baked miniature pies, and the (⅙/recipe) small thin confection is just the right amount for dessert.

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There are two green eggs in the remaining egg carton from Drusa. I shall save the shells, once the insides are used for cooking, with the intention of making some sort of eggshell mosaic for the tinyworld.  I did that ages ago, back in May 2020, with an excellent result.  

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The Icelandic cardigan remodel has been quite successful! It is currently already wearable, as proven this morning while out and about. The length is just right, and the new front button bands look like they have always been there. The too long ribbed cuffs will be removed in favor of the narrower double row of matching dark I-cord, and might add a neckline edge row of the lightest color. Maybe.

It is being fun sorting through not yet stitched up fabrics and current wardrobe to pick out all the various possibile options, and I've devoted an entire page in my journal for the notes. There are plenty of knit tops, and several print blouses already in the closet; enough lycra cotton jersey for two pair of fresh long janes, and the already dedicated brown linen for a new pinafore. A second pinafore would not be amiss, maybe using the brown ikat wrap that was originally a gift from Marian? I'm much of a mind to turn things currently stored on the resource shelves into garments to actually wear. You can't take it with you after all...

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I've been enjoying Brenda Dayne's textile and knitting podcasts for many many years now, and wondered why her posts had stopped. Her story is fascinating and horrifying at the same time: a routine antibiotic treatment causes unexpected and anomalous long-lasting neurological effects.

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	ruffle pillow shams	cardigan length	recycle bin
2	clothespin bag	cardigan button bands	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- there has been enough of the various colors of Lopi yarn
- years of cooking has me able to improvise. 
- no howling wind last night, so sleep was easier

Time of Isolation - Day 2074

Discontinuity

in which our plucky heroine is reminded that we live on a planet...

and not every place has the same time simultaneously.

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~ signs of hope ~

In the side yard, there are buds on the Quinceling, that will eventually turn into beautiful flowers and then with luck into large golden (lumpy) spheres of fragrant fruit. And in the parking strip, forsythia is showing signs that spring is on the way. It was planted there twenty-one years ago, from an alleyway sprig from behind a house that was being torn down. Sometimes what can be salvaged finds a second life...

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Successfully started the I-cord borders on Icelandic cardigan; multiple rows will take some time to complete. Chocolate brown petersham ribbon has been ordered for steek facings. The sleeve cuff ribbing will be removed and a single row of I-cord replace it to coordinate. This alteration/mending project is very satisfying, and will be a constant Dad hug from the past once completed. There are other current and future garments to be friends with it, like the brown chambray blouse, and the next to be made brown linen pinafore and brown ribbed cotton long janes.

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Further enshittification: my local pharmacy is now closed on weekends, as of middle of February. Since I mostly only use them for prescription refills, it was a surprise and not a treat to find this out only after riding my bike over there on Sunday to try and request a refill... on Monday, dreadfully long lines, 14 people ahead of me. Might have been better had I managed to get there right when they opened. Returned to pick up prescriptions midafternoon Tuesday, when in the past there might be only a few folks waiting, and instead, there were even more... I commiserated with the pharmacy clerk about how changes she hadn't asked for had made her job more difficult; she seemed grateful I was sympathetic rather than grouchy..

And a number of TriMet bus routes are being either reduced or discontinued. Two that will specifically affect how I use them are 75 and 19. Line 75 reduced after 6 pm, is a route that extends far across the metropolitan area. And line 19 is being entirely removed, since there are other lines between a quarter and a half mile away. The fact that line 19 also directly serves a major area hospital and other associated medical facilities is irrelevant.  After all folks that need hospital services all have cars, or can easily walk there. If they are going to remove that line, at least they ought re-route the 20 to cover hospital access. Sigh... grrr...

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	ruffle pillow shams	cardigan length	recycle bin
2	clothespin bag	-	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- made it to the bank before they closed at 5... managed to walk to the bus stop, then bus, then Yellow Line, then Red Line, then walking more.
- payment for pillow shams, and then later a photo text (with heart emojis) of them in situ. My various sorts of work are for making specific things that folks cannot purchase ready-made in shops
- naps...
- the gradation of yarn colors of the I-cord center front cardigan bands looks quite purposeful, in a good way  
- Krups little electric grinder, intended for coffee, but I use it for flaxseed and for spices

Time of Isolation - Day 2071

Saturday snippets

in which our plucky heroine desperately needs a more regular sleep wake cycle...

...though unsure that Time Change Day tomorrow will help the situation.  Since there was much tiredness today and no napping, perhaps an early bedtime will ease dealing with the "lost" hour? Worth an attempt anyway...

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~ alteration ~

After removing both the crocheted button bands and a bit more than 4" of length from the middle of the body, the next step in reconfiguring the Icelandic cardigan will be grafting together the patterned lower edge to the now shorter upper body. In order to level the hemline, there needs to be about 1½" more length along the back than in the front, which necessitates creating "darts" on either side in more or less the underarm zone. Once grafted in place and the various yarn ends woven in they will be virtually invisible. 

When knitting cardigans or pullovers one often does this needful shaping (as the anatomical fact is that our necks are not centered on our bodies, but extend further forward than back) by knitting short rows much closer to the neckline. Once this section is dealt with, what remains will be replacing the button bands. In the past, it has worked very well to use multiple rows of I-cord, so I'll just park these two YouTube links here that have Useful Tutorials... This one is particularly good for turning corners... This one is also very clear. The last step, aside from sewing on the buttons, will be deciding what to do about the messy edges of the steek. Here are Kate Davies suggestions for various ways to finish them off. Here is some specific instruction for using ribbon on the steeked edges of an Icelandic cardigan from Hélène Magnússon

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There is a rabbit hole easy to fall into, of beautiful jacquard woven ribbons from Europe particularly the ones from KAFKA, some are pictorial, and some even organic as well. It is being difficult to pick favorites, and so very tempting to choose something compatible to finish the steek edges on the refurbished Icelandic cardigan. 

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	ruffle pillow shams	cardigan length	-
2	-	-	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- unexpected tiny porch visit from Meagn
- the first singlar forsythia flower
- alterations on the Icelandic cardigan proceed apace and well

Time of Isolation - Day 2067

Friday fragments

in which our plucky heroine reaches for bootstraps...

The warm weather on Monday was a fluke, as going forward throughout the week the weather returns to the more usual for this time of year. It has been grey, and drizzly and not particularly warm. Which is fine. 

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~ not buttons but tiny shelves? ~

There are many tutorials online about turning avocado pits into buttons, and how sturdy the inner seed becomes as it dries. Out of curiosity, decided to slice up the most recent one... These little semi-circular slices, while they could be trimmed into small discs and drilled with holes, rather call to mind miniature wall brackets, and could without much difficulty be repurposed into 1:12 scale rustic decor for the tinyworld. Hmmmm....

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With my focusing on completing unfinished projects, the ruffle-edged pillow shams have been completed, and hopefully soon be on their way to their new home, and the bank account a bit more pleasantly enlarged.

The Icelandic cardigan has been ungrafted into pieces, and is getting marked center back and either side in order to better line up the upper and lower sections. Sister made the sweetest interpretation, that once it is altered to fit me, 'twill be like "a warm hug from Dad".

While there are more of my own personal wardrobe projects eagerly awaited, my immediate next effort is to finish Bab's heraldic brooch. Maybe the experimental abalone inlay project will get its turn not too long after that (to replace the lost Mexican silver horse brooch), that is, once I finish with the small enamel award pendants for John. Those enamels are the last thing in the workshop line, my queue is almost empty.

Time to experiment as well with what sorts of enameling I can do without using silver. I switched to a fine silver ground over four decades ago, for technical reasons. Copper has always been less spendy, but much trickier for cloisonne. Now that silver (never inexpensive) has more than tripled in price, it is really affecting the choices artists must make, and it is probably time to switch back to copper... I'm considering moving away from  my beloved cloisonne to limoges style enamel for regalia, as one example.

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The last week or so have been particularly rough. Aside from the multiplicitous dumpster fires that are our current timeline, which are more than enough for anyone who is paying attention, there is no obviously immediate personal reason. Doing my best to seek and pay attention to small joys and bits of goodness is sometimes enough to contradict the brain weasels. But not always; recently the weasels are winning. Plucky heroine is Very Stubborn about not giving up, though. I seem to remember an idea of making an actual ARTifact of anti-brain-weasel serum, maybe time to revisit that idea. I think Acantha had some relevant ideas...

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It is always a small thrill when my internal database tosses out a word that fits my writing perzactly, and the spell check says nope, but double checking several online real dictionaries says yes, and then that dopamine moment of clicking "add to dictionary"

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Month SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	ruffle pillow shams	-	-
2	-	-	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- Super Supportive - Chapter 274 !!!
- using chevre as a feta substitute (not quite the same flavor profile, but an improvement on a bike ride in the cold rain)
- quince rosewater applesauce
- that dopamine moment of clicking "add to dictionary"

Time of Isolation - Day 2066

Monday microclimates

in which our plucky heroine sees signs of spring...

It might be a bit early, though winter has been greatly remiss in sending us cold, rain, (or even snow) Today the temperature on the front porch was 72°F (22°C), warm enough to be out riding my bike without cardigan or jacket... scattered here and there were cherry blossoms, even saw a star magnolia in full flower, as well as daffodils, crocus, and anemone. Here at Acorn Cottage, the snowdrops are mostly done, but aside from rosemary and the long lasting hellebore, the only things almost flowering is euphorbia. There are tiny tiny leaf buds on the quince, and before too long, it will be necessary to take the string trimmer to the grass, which has been gradually becoming more and more shaggy all winter.

Today was all about making some progress on quite a few various projects, but nothing is yet completed. Icelandic cardigan pieces pinned together, another few letters on the resepei embroidery, pillow sham pieces laid out and cut to size, found the right size drill bits for the heraldic brooch rivets, 

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~ day 61 ~

Standing in my kitchen making breakfast, and realised that I'd not yet drawn my beloved hand forged iron pot rack! It was made by my friend Heidi in exchange for my stepping in at the last minute to sew her Viking era wedding dress when her seamstress bailed. My dear friend Bill made the set of hanging hooks, and helped me attach the rack to the wall framing above the stove. (yes, I know more than one blacksmith, and in fact know at least four more in addition to the two mentioned above, including one who was a winner on the early "Forged In Fire" show...)

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the BIG herringbone fabric (Ikea curtains from Beth and Karen)... it was a pleasant surprise today when I held it up against my shirts and dresses in natural daylight, it is a significantly better color than it looked under artificial light... still a bit more pale than my usual preference, but definitely in the right indigo color family; a pinafore made from it will have many friends in my wardrobe

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I participate in a weekend online group where one of the members gives a short talk  and then we discuss the topic presented. If no one volunteers, the other option is to watch a short video. As yours truly really does not prefer video as a mode of learning, I have been trying to volunteer at least once each quarter. The first time was really scary, but as I have been doing this on and off for some time now, it has become challenging but not too difficult. Now I mostly struggle to figure out some topic on which I have both experience and enthusiasm, that would also be of interest to folks who are distant from my various venn diagram demographics. This one seemed to be appealing, since it got quite a few votes when we were selecting topics for the coming quarter. I will be presenting it in May, and by then my current actual 100 day drawing challenge will have been completed...

Objects of Affection - a 100 day drawing challenge

100 day challenges are a useful way to explore activities and/or to develop new habits. This particular challenge combines noticing various things that we appreciate in our surroundings, and taking a short time each day to draw them. This is not a challenge about being a "good artist" but rather a way to encourage the hand eye connection, a type of human interface that is often neglected in our education and lives. This challenge requires only curiousity, functional hands, fifteen or less minutes a day, and extremely minimal supplies (index cards and a pencil). The small size and simple materials make the project less "precious", making it more accessible. Needing to find a new "object of affection" each day turns this challenge into a different form of gratitude meditation, which is one of the ways I have found it very valuable.

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~ alteration and repair ~

After chatting with Beth and Karen about various ways to refurbish handknits, the old Icelandic cardigan sitting in the closet called out to return to service. It was Dad's, I think a souvenir of one of their many trips while he was in Germany working for Erno on the European branch of the space shuttle. It has always been much too long in the torso for me, so my current plan is to remove quite a bit of the center of the body, then graft the upper and lower parts together .

Before that could begin, it was necessary to remove the crocheted button bands; fortunately the center front steek had been reinforced with machine sewing. Once I marked the upper and lower future edges to graft using cotton yarn as a sort of lifeline, I first unraveled the lower edge from the cardigan. I tried pinning it in place where measurements would likely place it, but for some reason it wasn't as level as would be ideal. I shall need to lower the back edge somewhat, curving the grafted edge to create the equivalent of short rows. It will be a challenge. Once the body of the cardigan is better fitted to my short round self, I will add new button bands, probably with multiple rows of I-cord, and reuse the original cast pewter buttons. 

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	-	-	-
2	-	-	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- warm enough to be out without a jacket
- the three holes in the icelandic cardigan I am refurbishing were not moth holes, but rather spots where the color change of the yarn had come undone and therefore let the stitches drop
- simple tasty steamed veggies for dinner 

Time of Isolation - Day 2062

a rare remembering from the dreamlands when awakening... moving into still green water pond edges swimming with a man and a dog companions newly met across to open maze edges waterweed rough coated dog like a deerhound and man hair all spikey no fear explore?? woke up thinking that was Very Odd indeed. Water in the dreamlands is usually both active and dangerous, and this reminded me more of the pond out past DeCordova decades ago where John and I went skinny dipping, the whole being equally weedy and nowhere deeper than my shoulders. Also dreamland folks are rarely so benign. 'Twas much better than waking up from a nightmare...