Five-fold Lucky Robot

in which our plucky heroine is feeling satisfied...

So far, there have been a number of posts online of folks being pleased with their tiny Advent Swap treats, which makes me happy. I've done another admin task today, and a number of necessary cooking tasks: the quinces are all par-baked enough to cut up tomorrow for processing, and all the sweet potatoes have been oven roasted for future meals. Having soup cubes in the freezer has become a vital part of my everyday meal plans, and since there was one more leek hiding in the fridge, some more lentil barley leek soup will also be on the hob tomorrow... (I could put the lentils to soak tonight and start the day with kitchen tasks) 

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~ day 3 ~

Today my day started with this wonderfully personable tiny robot pendant as my advent treat! With a wishbone antenna, lucky elephant arms and maneki neko legs, they are a five-fold good luck charm, and I am pretty sure that someone had a lot of fun putting all the pieces together... 

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When it was obvious from the solar sign at the bus stop that there was a delay further up the line, a short visit to the art store filled the time nicely, and I was able to pick up a very tiny Rhodia graph paper notepad, and a really inexpensive pen, both of which will be good for EDC. Taking my regular Bujo with me is heavier than I want to carry, and a tiny pad to do things like write down transit routes, shopping lists, or note topics for next blog will be perfect. And supporting local shops is the best way I know to keep them in existence, at least the best possible for individual effort.

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Last week's produce box had a half dozen very green Bartlett pears, which are now at that just perfect stage... which usually lasts a day or two at most. Some were today's snacks, and one went into the faux cheescake. I might have to make a pear tart.

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December SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	-	vegetable steamer legs	fridge science experiments
2	-	-	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- new Pentel pen has a pleasing somewhat triangular shape
- managed to get the remaining quinces par-baked tonight
- the delightful tiny flower vase (day 2) was made by dear Ariadne
- Bartlett pears

Time of Isolation - Day 1985

something like fringe benefits

in which our plucky heroine eschews pompoms...

...in favor of tiny tassels, which are much easier and quicker to make! A while back I fell in love with the concept of a scarf with multicolor "bobble" trimmings. It all started when I saw this designer scarf which reminded me of my pom pom cowl, that whimsical and useful accessory made in 2012, but sadly no one makes multicolor pom pom trim in any kind of appealing colors. (I assume that the designer scarf has handmade pom poms attached individually) So, that concept went to the back burner, until one day this Tiny Tassel Tutorial turned up... It occurred to me that another linen gauze cowl would be a perfect accessory to coordinate with my 2018/19 sewing challenge garments as well as the rest of the wardrobe, and would pay homage to the inspiration without slavishly copying it.

Whilst out and about today, I had cleverly packed up this project as transit handwork, but somehow forgot to include the 5mm knitting needles that are the suggested spacers. A handy fallen twig, and a bit of whittling made shorter spacers which are actually easier to use than the long double pointed knitting needles. EDC for the win! (what do folks do that don't have a pocket knife, or multitool, or stuff like that?)

it's my bag...

In which our plucky heroine joins her online pals around the world, over at Stitcher's Guild, in the "bag making virtual event"

However, since my somewhat grandiose idea of making either a travel bag or a purse/tote bag set would require more time, and since I spent half the weekend away at the AnTir Heraldic Symposium yesterday, my plans needed to be scaled back considerably. Yesterday involved no sewing at all, but did include a chance to play with egg tempera*, visiting old friends rarely seen, and a truly delicious medieval feast... Today's sewing: two rather small zippered bags, suitable for keeping EDC more organised and prettier... The cylindrical one is for assorted writing sticks and suchlike, and the triangular one is for my epi-pen, inhaler, and first aid kit

Supplies for the triangular bag: cut out pieces, and a little "red cross" applique.The larger cylindrical bag (intended to hold pens, pencils, and suchlike) was made following this tutorial, and I used various indigo scraps, including the sashiko acorn motif from a top in my very first SWAP. It has piping inserted around the circular ends of the bag. The smaller triangular bag (to hold my epi-pen, inhaler, and first aid kit) was made following this tutorial.  I used some rather heavy-duty zippers, but that rather adds to their funky look...

Both were quilted down to either fleece or flannel to add substance, since I didn't have an fusible interfacing handy. The quilting and inner layer help make the outer fabric a little more substantial.

On the triangular bag, once the inner and outer shells were assembled, the bag is turned inside out and the inner lining is handstitched to the bitsy seam allowance of the zipper. The cylindrical bag is assembled entirely by machine stitching, with the zipper being sandwiched between the lining and outer layer, pinned, basted and stitched...

• What I like about these is that they are a nice extension of my style, and remind me of some of the small bags I've seen in Japanese crafting books.
• What I dislike is that I feel as if I could have done a better looking job if I had hand stitched these, and not tried to make these on the sewing machine... I'm not sure it was actually faster, since these two small bags pretty much took me all day.
• What I learned is that neither of these two different methods* give me a tidy looking zipper insertion. I am wondering if the method where you insert the zipper into the body of the bag first, then stitch in the ends and bind that inner seam at the last, rather than having the inside be clean finished with a funky zipper? I shall have to try one more time, and see if I like that better. (or, of course, one could sew all the seams to the outside and bind them, that would work also... so many variables)
• I also learned that small scale piping is not easy to have look well. I fought with it all the way. I was very very careful not to stitch my fingers whilst wrestling with the zipper foot and the circular ends of the larger bag. I don't know if this would get easier with practice, one can hope, since piped edges really add both style and structure to bags...

I still intend to make both a purse and a tote bag, but need to do a bit more research and design work first.


* oh, and in case you wonder... Egg tempera is really fun to play with! Yesterday at the Heraldic Symposium I took a short class in the morning: Historiated Initials in Tempera, (taught by Antonia Crivell). She gave a short talk and demo, then let us try out the medium ourselves; each person was given a page with "coloring book" outlines of period initials to paint.

Though this was as far as I got in the time allotted, with the beginnings of shading and none of the whitework detailing, it was so much fun! Girl just loves making tiny detailed artifacts. Not sure how to include yet another art form in my busy life, but just might have to figure it out.

Saturday snippets

For a short chunk of time this afternoon, it felt like just being where I was, was okay. My heart was peaceful and happy, while not ignoring the trauma just passed or the unknown future, the now was warm and blue sky and sun heading towards the horizon, and the wheels under me carrying me home...

Yes indeed, today our plucky heroine took to the streets on her bicycle, for the first time this year, the first time since my surgery! Was a bit wobbly, but made it the entire way to New Seasons and back. Heading over there with the afternoon sun warming my back, chasing my shadow all the way down Rosa Parks, like some large toddler cut loose from her trike. Despite my age, I feel so childlike on the bike, a kind of pleasurable glee at the freedom. Perhaps exacerbated by my usual attire, a mid-calf loose dress (sometimes with a pinafore), my grey hair streaming under that concession to the modern streets, the bike helmet. I am not a fast rider, and in the bike lane am often passed by lithe grown-up people covered in spandex. I am not in a hurry, I pay attention to to the bright world all round me...

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first one seen this season, hanging out on a strawberry leaf beside Trillium School... Turns out, courtesy of my friend J for sharing the info, that there is a "Lost Ladybug Project" tracking ladybug sightings all over, since:

... populations of ladybugs around the world are inexplicably disappearing, and these once-ubiquitous little beetles also perform an important service in the natural world: controlling the population of harmful crop-destroying insects...

including this type, the "Two Spot" Ladybug or Adalia bipunctata. It was very satisfying to fill in all the blanks on the submission form, to look up the latitude and longitude and altitude of the place, to transform my observation in a way that turned it from not only a pretty picture but also helped with actually doing real science!

Not sure exactly when I shifted primary interest to making rather than observing... As a girl I loved science class in school just as much as I loved art class, learning about the natural world fascinated me; there were geology trips to find fossils in road cuts, afterschool programs on marine biology; as a child, lived in an educationally rich environment the likes of which shall probably not be seen again for ordinary folks...

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My carbon steel #6 Opinel, pocket companion for over twenty years, has gone walkabout again, nowhere to be seen, alas. There are a lot of knives here at Acorn Cottage: a decent assortment of kitchen knives, including two I made myself, and a number of Norse womens belt knives that are part of my SCA kit. Though there is a bitsy knifeblade on my Leatherman, I want something a bit larger for my EDC. L came by to hang out after work with S and I earlier this week, and in response to my no-knife whinging, let me have a look at his pocketknife... OoooOh, shiney! His Gerber Magnum Junior fit my tiny paws perfectly; had never had a chance to try a knife with a thumbhole before. The size, shape, and weight of the knife was just right, and the ease of one handed opening felt really intuitive. What has it got in it's pocketses indeed?? Encouraged by my beloved G, a new knife is on order, (since L was understandably not interested in donating his to the cause...)

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I have no idea why I am suddenly drawn to the idea of a new party dress, I have less than no need for such a garment, but am finding the idea of partial layers of transparency interspersed with layers of opacity drawing my interest. The Ava (Liberty Patterns), and this more local Macaron, (Colette Pattens) seem very appealing, even though the patterns are not at all drafted to fit the body I live in or the life that I live. I shall simply let these ideas float entertainingly through my head, while I busy myself with safety yellow cordura, and reflectorised webbing, and bits of polartec to pad the edges of the custom safety vests. There is no place for multiple dresses of lace and silk and velvet in my closet, but for some reason, that is what is dancing in my head...

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My Grandpa's Weeder has disappeared, which means that the dandelions and the tansy will soon overtake the crabgrass. How it could get legs, or why someone would take that from out of the pile of garden tools is unknown. There needs to be another one acquired, it is a tool in steady use, and one that will not be too strenuous for me as I continue to heal from surgery. Turns out that the company is also local, so there will be a field trip to Lake Oswego in the near future. K is interested in how well/if the tool will grub out scotch broom.

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hurry and worry, drama and trauma
keep both sets of siblings far from my door...