a modicum of satisfaction

in which our plucky heroine reaches a goal...

As of today there are 23 folks that have said they want to play along in the Advent Swap this year! (not sure they all will, and there may be folks that haven't yet contacted me...) And today I finished the final 13 things for the *four* sets (one for my own, and three more for "bonus" sets) I committed to do for the Advent Swap.

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Took this photo yesterday before the rain and wind blew in, and probably that will be the last of the morning glories till next year. Remember: look up, look down, look all around, while we still have beauty in the world...

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One minor thing really needed, better clothes peg storage. Tired of trying to wrangle assorted plastic tubs of them into my pinafore pockets when hanging laundry up. When this cross body peg bag from Blue Cat Sewing showed up online, it seemed a much more useful idea than the sort that hangs from the line. When not in use it could be stored hanging up in the laundry area... And goodness knows there's certainly enough random remnants and twill tape around here to create something similar. Time to do some sampling to figure out the best size and strap length for my ownself.

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I've started using various bits of baking equipment to keep handcraft projects contained or set aside as needed. Not just the obvious use of cupcake or muffin tins to organise small items. For example: when block printing the origami pinwheels, the ink needed to dry before being refolded; much better to set them out all on a sheet pan than loose all over the work table, they can then be picked up all in one batch and set aside safely.

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Gah! in the "one damnthing after another" digital graphical chronicles here at Acorn Cottage... the printer does not work as a printer, in that it does not communicate through the magic of wifi to the laptop, or else the laptop has annoyingly lost the ability to recognise that there is a printer just on the other side of the room. (so, if I want a document printed, it involves a journey to the public library) And, for some reason, my very very venerable Photoshop, which has been working quickly and delightfully for years has suddenly today become alarmingly slow to open. In this case I deleted it from the laptop and reinstalled it, since when I turned on the machine this morning it was unable to open Photoshop at all! I'm wondering if I need to "remove" the printer from the laptop and reinstall it as well, along with whatever updated drivers it needs?

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Today I adapted the Kale Bulgar Feta recipe to better suit my tastes and what I keep on hand. Cut the bulgar portion by half. Substituted Chinese Rice Wine (pantry staple) for the white wine. Used 1 Tablespoon of canned green chilies instead of 2 jalpeno peppers. Added a tablespoon of raisins at the end for more of a five flavor effect. (Savory, Sour, Spicy, Salty, Sweet)

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	6 lunaria pod ornaments	wheelbarrow tire	greenwaste bin
2	5 more lunaria ornaments	cardigan cuffs	recycle bin
3	5 golden origami dragons	reattach wheel to wheelbarrow	recycle bin
4	5 mini amanitas	vegetable steamer leg replacement	recycle bin
5	18 penny luck envelopes	-	-
6	10 holly&bells ornaments	x	x
7	more penny luck envelopes	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes - 
- the delight of conversation with Mischa
- enough tiny treats for my contribution for the Advent Swap assembled
- a better (to my taste) version of Kale Bulgar Feta salad
- using baking gear to organise handwork

Time of Isolation - Day 1950

Tuesday twinges and tidbits - day 53 (year 2)

in which our plucky heroine is very worried...

AAAAAAhhhhh! I am so screwed. Called OHSU dental school to get back on track to resume the needed care, now that I am fully vaccinated. Since I have not been seen for over a year (since last March) I am considered a "new patient!?!WTF?? I've been going there for years now

Most crucially I left a message at the periodontal clinic to please call me back. I've needed the surgery since before the pandemic. They did the other, less problematic tooth last March, with the intention of doing the worse one in April. Last April. I am quite worried about the systemic infection that is eating away at the bone, since that kind of infection is a cardiac risk... No way to know yet if Periodontal Clinic has any appointments available.

As far as regular cleaning and exams, they have NO appointments available anytime, though there may be some possible sometime in June? (apparently appointments dropped yesterday for the month of May, and they are all full) Plucky heroine is worried, I've been putting off dental work for the last 13 months while isolated, but now that I'm more protected, this needs to happen soon...

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~ creativity challenge ~

Completed the enamel Laurel medallion and setting for Nicolin's elevation later this month, and mailed it out this morning. Fortunately the weather was cooperative for a bike ride to the post office.

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...just a tiny tip I figured out yesterday. For applying "silver black" liquid to a setting I used a toothpick instead of a paintbrush. Hammered the tip of the toothpick to make it more brush-like. I hate how silver black quickly destroys paintbrushes, and since I usually only need to put a little bit around the edges of bezel decoration before polishing the setting, the toothpick worked better and best of all I don't feel sad about discarding it afterwards.

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beauty in the time of isolation:

This was the pleasant surprise in my mailbox yesterday... a tidy tool roll as a thank you for participating in the StormMaker scribal challenge last month. Hlutwige made this, and chose my favorite colors for the leather. It will be most handy when transporting various tools (like the examples I placed atop it to show the size).

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Finally managed to add the shelf above the long power strip, so I will be moving the laptop over back into the computer tower and reclaiming my dining table at long last.

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May SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	teal knit tee for Nandina	repotted artichokes	-
2	teal knit skirt for Nandina	computer zone shelf	-
3	red/grey top for Nandina	cardboard back gate zone	-
4	red/print skirt for Nandina	-	-
5	setting for red Laurel	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - all the cardboard I've been saving is now laid down over the back gate zone that I had Alan cut away last month. There will likely always be more cardboard, but after looking at the overgrown backyard, getting that area safe from immediate weed encroachment was necessary. I'll be laying some of the chips down over the cardboard soon. Incremental progress, etc...

dry bones - day 35 (year 2)

in which our plucky heroine restarts a project...

in the before times, one of my SCA goals was to create plausible contents of a Viking Age sewing kit*. Since deciding to participate in Athenaeum later this year, I want to make some new artifacts, and get back to doing a bit more research

These are Viking Age style threadwinders, based on finds from Birka (8 - 10th c). The two originals are made from antler slabs; as I do not have antler slabs on hand to work with, these are made of cow bone, but actual dimensions. Bone is easy to work with hand tools, as long as you take careful precautions to not inhale the fine dust created when sawing/filing/drilling etc. Once I did the rough cutting to shape, I switched to using my alundum hand grinding stones used under running water, for my lungs safety sake. While alundum is a modern compostite of aluminum oxide, in the Viking Age, sandstone and other abrasive rocks were available (whetstone pendants have been found) though I do not know if they were used in shaping bone and antler.

Here is an image of the larger of the two threadwinders from Birka:

Links to the museum website pages with the originals: small thread winder and large thread winder

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April SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	wire planter cage	cover smaller sleeve board	yard waste bin
2	prototype mesh wash bag	cover larger sleeve board	recycle bin
3	5 jars blood orange marmalade	baby plants repotted	bag of fabric
4	3 jars Awesome sauce	skirret cage adapted	bag of fabric
5	4 jars strawberry rhubarb sauce	temporary biffy	bag of fabric
6	two large blue planters	remove thumbhole cuffs	bag of fabric
7	two bone Viking threadwinders	x	bag of old fur
8	x	x	yard waste bin
9	x	x	recycle bin
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - Back in 2017, in the Before Times, my friend Drusa made me this exquisite Scandinavian style workbox, which while it isn't exactly the type made in Viking times, is too precious to me to leave sitting on a shelf. Objects of beauty are made to be used...

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To be of use - by Marge Piercy

The people I love the best
jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals
bouncing like half-submerged balls.


I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again.


I want to be with people who submerge
in the task, who go into the fields to harvest
and work in a row and pass the bags along,
who are not parlor generals and field deserters
but move in a common rhythm
when the food must come in or the fire be put out.


The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.

Friday fragments

in which our plucky heroine appreciates small pleasures...

My usual stress relief activity, going for long walks, has failed to assuage my distress. Although rebuilding my stamina is all to the good, almost 4 miles today. Someday it will be an option to walk somewhere other than within a mile radius of Acorn Cottage, and that will be a real treat.

I have discovered, though, that working with seed beads requires so much focus that while I am counting and stitching that there is no room in my brain for other thoughts, and so it is restful. I wanted to try making these tiny 3-D star earrings, and spent several hours, in fits and starts between other housey chores, getting one star stitched. I'll make a second one, and take some photos tomorrow, probably. I need to remind myself that the scribal arts of calligraphy and illumination also hold my attention in a useful way, and I want to get back into that. Maybe take a planned break time every day for "absorbing arts" to let my mind and spirit rest

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beauty in the time of isolation - day 299:

seed head of Clematis vitalba aka "Old Man's Beard" or "Traveler's Joy"

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~ 100 day creativity challenge - day 82 ~

Mysterious and delightful tiny gift in my mailbox this morning...The return address on the package was from Jamaica NY??

An Unknown Someone My friend Eva (who doesn't live in Jamaica NY) sent me the most wee little sewing box! not even an inch tall, with a lid that opens, a tiny working drawer in the bottom and filled with minature spools of thread, hanks of floss and even a tiny tape measure! I think Nandina needs me to get going on building her a craft workroom...

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	postcard for Mom	cardigan mended	excess dust rhinos
2	candied grapefruit peel	replace nose pads	recycle bin
3	beaded stars	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude  - did I mention my chest freezer, which not only magically stores food until needed but also provides the largest counter space in the small kitchen here...

Sunday snippets

in which our plucky heroine gets off to a slow start...

...but gets somewhere nonetheless.  During CraftyEvening, while zoomchatting with Riia in Sweden, Raven in Eugene, and Ursel over in SE PDX, I was able to finish mending my most venerable cardigan, which was showing a few threadbare patches from the reknit/refurbishment it underwent in 2000. (originally it was made back in the early 80's, and almost twenty years after that, I unraveled the very worn yarn and Mr Dawson respun and plied it so I could use it again) With care, it will see me out...

SWAP 2021 - Yesterday I decided to cut out another winter turtleneck, and use the other mushroom print cotton lycra. It will be more fun to have clothes to wear than to simply have shelves of full of decorative stashed fabric, and I'm currently feeling a lot of love for teal/turquoise. Since there isn't much any more fabric on hand in those colors, I may have to indulge myself with finally making up a pair of turquoise earrings instead.

Today also was complete the belated holiday rum balls, and move the grapefruit peelings from the blanch stage to the simmer in sugar syrup stage. Hopefully by the time the post office delivers my shipping boxes, I will be able to mail a (somewhat late) birthday package to my father...

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~ 100 day creativity challenge - day 81 ~

Instead of breakfast to begin my day, I wanted to create a decorative postcard to send my mom (before the postman arrived)... Friday I had found some papercuts I made last year prior to isolation, and with a bit of marker magic for the background, and some packing tape to laminate the surface, hopefully this little blue bird of happiness will wing its way to her so many thousands of miles away...

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beauty in the time of isolation - day 294:

  never get tired of mossworlds

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	postcard for Mom	cardigan mended	excess dust rhinos
2	-	-	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - a bit of sunshine and moderate temperature (48F) meant that my sanity stroll was rather pleasant, and coming home to the French onion soup for my lunch (that had been simmering in the crock pot for a day and a half) was a treat. The oxtails bought at the farmer's market a year ago turned into stew last week, the drippings cooked the onions for the soup, and the leftover broth from that one small package of locally grown beef has given savor to another three meals at least.

daily resolution - mend heraldic cardigan

join hands and twirl

in which our plucky heroine remembers things...

beauty in the time of isolation - day 263:

while out on my attempting-sanity stroll, I realised that there are still a lot of flowers out there, not in the profusion of summer, but welcome none the less for their persistence...

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when I was a child, my favorite PE activity was the rare times in 5th and 6th grade when we did square dancing. Rather like the year Bill and I went contra dancing almost every week. There is something, some kind of neural vitamin, that I have only ever found available in that specific kind of patterned physical/musical/rhythmic interchange. For some reason, this floated to the top of my mind as I consider that it feels like the year is swinging round towards midwinter and the eventual springtime, when last year the pandemic forced unwanted changes on us all.

I woke up sobbing today. Thinking that all I have learned in the last nine months is a doubling down on my stubborness, which has so far allowed me maintain isolation. I am direly envious of people who have been able to form quaranteam pods. I miss contact with other humans.

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Trying to jump start my creative self, which seems to be curled into a little sad ball under the bed right now, and scattered throughout Acorn Cottage are all manner of only partially worked on projects: Caer Cardboard along with many neatly cut sheets of the good parts of cardboard boxes, the remains of a pile of half sewn masks, a well coordinated stack of blue/indigo fabric for a future SWAP sewing, bags of yarn and a bin of knitting patterns, and the standing workbench is rather covered with loose paper, bits of wood, and the remnants of a partially carved lino block print... I have bribed myself with an order of a shiny new knitting cardigan pattern "Mandelbrot" and some cozy Lettlopi yarn.

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I keep reminding myself to hold on to hope, to remember that in time we will have vaccine helpers, and that life will resume a new and less awful configuration. What is unclear, and the other thing that brings me to tears, is all that we will have lost in the interim, not only all our beloved dead, and all the folks living with permanent changes from the pandemic, but the web of culture is being broken, in a way that may be as irreparable as dredging a seafloor or bulldozing a marshland .

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December SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	x	x	recycle bin
2	x	x	-
3	x	x	-
4	x	x	-
5	x	x	-
6	x	x	-
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - I have stashed supplies that allow me to do creative projects, to cook meals, and to keep myself in warm wooly bits and pieces.

Sunday snippets

in which our plucky heroine maintains a modicum of forward momentum...

This time of year is, in part, all about pruning. There are dry days interspersed with (hopefully) the coming rains of wintertime. I have done a bit more apple tree pruning, and am thinking that acquiring a pruning saw might be a good idea, there is only so much that can be done with my loppers, and my trusty Felco. It is always necessary to cut back euphorbia, that one four inch plant fifteen years ago has done well for itself, and scattered offspring all over the landscape.

I noticed after the first rainy day that the side yard ferns, volunteers all, had greatly overgrown the walkway and would prove to soak my legs all winter long if I did not Do Something. There was much cutting back, and I discovered that the scratchy bracken? left my hands and arms very itchy indeed. Time to get started on my DIY work gloves project!

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~ 100 day creativity challenge - day 64 ~

So, this weeks Tiny Rag Doll Nation challenge was "accessory", and after much thought, I decided that my little friends needed some tiny tote bags...

I was inspired by this exquisitely beaded 19th C Seneca figurine from the Metropolitan Museum. Years ago I did a lot of bead embroidery, and I still have a lot of supplies. Some faceted black seed beads were stitched as a decorative border around all the edges of a little felt tote bag; I modified the size and shape of the Ann Wood satchel pattern to add a flap, making it more like a messenger bag.

It took most of two evenings of peaceful sewing to stitch the beadwork, and when I was done, I decided to add a little metal lotus blossom to help weigh down the outer flap, so it would stay closed. While rootling around in the bead bucket I found some vintage hooks and eyes, and it occurred to me that they would make a very suitable closure for Xanthy's waistcoat:

I think that Xanthy looks ready for whatever they may find out there, and since they are not wanting to give the black boots back to Nandina I had best be busy about making some new boots for her, and a tote bag for her as well!

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I've been reading up about figs and persimmons, how to prune them properly for better fruit set and a healthier tree. One thing at a time, but the tasks, and the learning, never end... Am considering starting a hard copy notebook of yard/garden/food plant info for reference.

• how to prune figs (video)
  
• pruning tips for figs and persimmons 
• pruning persimmon trees
• about persimmons
  

The squirrels this year are becoming truly pesty, going bonkers digging holes in any soft dirt they can find. This week I built a new taller barrier for the salad table, using the long straight shoots from pruning the apple tree, and once I get the bird netting properly stapled in place it should serve all winter. I planted the greens that were sent to me, mostly kales with a few lettuces, and the determined purple shiso, which I have been using to flavor a jar of vinegar.

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beauty in the time of isolation - day 219:

very seasonal, and these are Xanthy's namesake - chrysanthemums!
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October SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	6 jars dilly beans	wheelie bin scrubbed	yard waste bin
2	3 jars vanilla port pears	east window repaired	old window trim
3	Xanthy	replace screen handles	yard waste bin
4	3 japanese books	washed two screens	recycle bin
5	Xanthy hat	moar apple pruning	yard waste bin
6	Xanthy flower skirt	reattached phone cable	recycle bin
7	6 jars St Clements marmalade	repair kitchen shade pull	x
8	6+ jars Awesome Sauce	taller salad table barrier	x
9	8 jars tomato sauce	x	x
10	Xanthy beaded bag	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - a surprise watercolor paintbox tin showed up here from Amazon, with no indication as to who had sent it... further queries eventually turned up that my artist pal Marya was the generous source of this new inspiration... I shall have to clear away enough space on one table or t'other to do some painting!

Friday fragments and folderol

in which our plucky heroine rides a bicycle six miles...

to a destination and home again - contactless pickup at the hardware store. There is now more caulk, and a roll of spare windowscreen, and some spackle, and little insulated wire staples. The lattermost was immediately put to work reattaching the loose wiring along the east wall under the repaired window trim. It was easy, since the correct bit of hardware had been acquired! Now if only the hardware store also had the right window screen pull handles, but alas, those must (hopefully) be acquired via Amazon, based on a guess made by looking at a fuzzy and pixelated image... fingers crossed that they will prove the Right Thing!

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~ 100 day creativity challenge - day 61 ~

The week six challenge in Tiny Rag Doll Nation is "embroidered" I knew that Xanthy wanted a hat like the one Nandina had, the wonderful pointy Ann Wood hat. And a few rows of embroidery seemed just right. Now I am wondering about also making a little embroidered felt waistcoat… their goth outfit seems like it could use another layer?

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This brought tears to my eyes, and also gave me an idea of how to make the tinyworld folk another animal companion...

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	6 jars dilly beans	wheelie bin scrubbed	yard waste bin
2	3 jars vanilla port pears	east window repaired	old window trim
3	Xanthy	replace screen handles	yard waste bin
4	3 japanese books	washed two screens	recycle bin
5	Xanthy hat	moar apple pruning	x
6	Xanthy flower skirt	reattached phone cable	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - I have the best friends

when the going gets wierd... the wierd turn pro

in which our plucky heroine continues resolute, moment to moment...

not even day to day, as each day seems wierder than the previous one. Although Sunday just involved cleaning up the broken glass, which was tiring, but not peculiar. Monday was started fairly pleasantly (see below) and after the class ended, I went outside to pick some of the plums before the forecast windstorms arrived. I filled two tote bags as the wind picked up speed, and noticed that my throat was feeling raw, and the sky was an odd shade of yellow-grey. Went inside to check the AQI websites, but they all said that air quality was "green = good (20 AQI)" which wasn't true. Some kind of time lag in the updates, or a glitch, since the next time I checked it was "red = unhealthy (180 AQI)". In the interim, I shut down the house fans and closed all the windows, as well as preparing the candle lanterns and matches in an easily accessed space, and clipped the mini flashlight as a necklace.

As the winds increased, and news reports began coming in about trees coming down, I decided that I would set up my camping bed in the kitchen, that being the spot furthest from the big tree next door, and the big trees in my front yard. Might be overkill, but better safe than sorry. Aside from the howling of the wind, I slept fairly well. The magnetic towel racks made a useful spot to hang my glasses and the flashlight above the head of my cot...

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~ 100 day creativity challenge - day 50 ~

Monday I took a six-hour online SCA Ithra class on making your own gloves, and my (successful) goal was to fit a pattern, so that I can actually make work gloves etc that will match the shape and size of my hands, which have very short fingers, but are otherwise an ordinary women's medium/large. I have never had gloves that fit me aside from handknit homemade ones; inch long floppy empty ends of fingers rather reduce the functionality of work gloves for yardwork or handling rough objects. I am eagerly looking forward to trying this pattern out in suitable leather in the future (once I manage to acquire some deerskin, or goatskin leather)

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Jesmyn Ward's essay articulates a personal connection between tragedy, COVID and BLM in an intensely beautiful and heartbreaking way. I read it and wept, and remain determined to do what little I can to work for change...

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beauty in the time of isolation - day 167:

so, Friday my young neighbor brought this over to my front porch, they have been working on this surprise for Nandina: a little pup tent complete with zip up sleeping bag, pillow, and plenty of cushiony camping pad! I am not sure who is more charmed, me or my tiny housemate...

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The Kitchen Saga: Removed the oven door yesterday, as suggested by a friend; turns out that lifting the door straight up slides it off the brackets that hold it to the internal door springs, who knew? Now it is in the carport waiting for a trip to the transfer station. Been trying to get through to the gas company to find out what might be needed to convert the cooking appliance here back to a gas appliance, (which is the first step in the process of gathering information) but having real difficulty getting through to the customer service department. Persistence is needed.

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lyrics here
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September SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Gwen sunhat	removed oven door	old underwindow
2	dozen EQUITY prints	x	dead cold-packs
3	tiny deer hat	x	yard waste bin
4	x	x	recycle bin
5	x	x	favorite saucepan
6	x	x	oven door glass
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - no trees fell on Acorn Cottage last night

Assorted Art Activities

in which our plucky heroine...

well it was too good to last, and now am stuck in New Version Blogger hell. So  many of the functions I used all the time are gone. Hopefully I can still put a post together, but everything takes twice as long, as I need to constantly toggle into the HTML, and the whole process is pretty buggy.

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~ 100 day creativity challenge - day 48 ~

I remembered, years ago, seeing Tiny Owl Knits "Deer With Tiny Antlers" hat on Ravelry, which seemed to fit both with the overarching theme of the "New Adventure Challenge" in Tiny Rag Doll World as well as with this week's theme "hat or headgear"... but I have no desire to handknit any more than necessary at a 1:12 scale. I am no Althea Crome. It did occur to me that creating a variation on the free hat pattern from Ann Wood, and combining it with some Sally Mavor techniques, would be a fun approach. First off I needed to make some tiny antlers, as that would affect the shape and fit of any little hat that included them:

Well, it all looks a lot easier when the expert does it, but I was able to get the basic effect I hoped for, and the next part will be figuring out how to attach the little wire rack of antlers to a felt hat, and create all the other details (like ears)... stay tuned!

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I may have solved the blockprinting issues, by changing back to the former ink. Before Tamra gave me some actual block printing ink, I was using my fabric ink, which is oil based (but water cleanup) and was getting good results. The water based ink behaved poorly, and switching back gave me a dozen good prints. They need to cure for a few days, and then hopefully a few will find new homes. Must needs do some research to find out if there are other oil-based water-clean-up block printing inks, as apparently oil based ink just plain works better...

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September SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Gwen sunhat	x	old underwindow
2	dozen EQUITY prints	x	dead cold-packs
3	x	x	-
4	x	x	-
5	x	x	-
6	x	x	-
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - Zoom however frustrating, is better than never seeing family members again...

foraged fiber and other foldreol

in which our plucky heroine spends another day hiding indoors...

another scorcher on the way today... will probably go over 100 again. I will not plan on anything that requires elaborate brain function today, yesterday I was so dull with discomfort that we shut down Crafternoon early, everyone was not particularly functional or really conversational. My plan for today involve some of the neverending indoor chores, running some extra water out to the tomato plants, and an assortment of small, pleasant craft activities (making a tiny rag doll for the neighbor child, beginning color experiments with my new paints, laminating some more cardboard, etc), all interspersed with short cold showers, and tzatziki salad. If there is bacon in the freezer, there will be another BLT for lunch.

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~ 100 day creativity challenge - day 40 ~

I have been foraging/gathering discarded plant materials found in the neighborhood... it has been many long years since I did any basket weaving, but the theme for this month's challenge over in Tiny Rag Doll World, is "try something new", and I decided that Nandina needs assorted containers for her future abode. I already made her some tote bags, and baskets are always useful!

plaited basket base, made with false dandelion (aka "cats-ears") stems. I had not planned on using this, but noticed the long dry stems laying on the ground in the backyard where I had forgotten to pick them up after my last bout of weeding, and figured it was worth trying... My understanding is that it is always better to dry stuff first and rehydrate as that way materials do not shrink (as much)

twining sides, with split bearded iris leaf weavers. I had found a big pile of discarded iris leaves, and brought them home last month, and pinned them to the clothesline to dry. That took weeks! It was worth it though, as the leaves have a wonderful smooth texture, and feel quite strong. In fact I was also able to use the leftover rehydrated leaves to make a fine yet sturdy cordage...

Because it has been years since I did any basketry, and that was not particularly elaborate, I had no idea how I was going to finish off this tiny basket. I chose this first example to follow. It worked okay, but was difficult to do at the small scale of my border. I was also not particularly pleased that I could not trim the ends neatly inside the basket, partially due to scale, and partially because trimming the ends close would cause the border to fail. I intend to do further searching online to find other border weaves for future baskets!

the finished basket is just over an inch tall, not including the handle. Yes that is an actual normal size push pin it is hanging from... and another indicator of scale is that the basket fits tidily on the top of an ordinary thread spool:

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beauty in the time of isolation - day 143:

this beautiful collage is another local memorial to lives lost

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I was quite alarmed this morning when I saw that our local ballot drop box had disappeared! Once I returned home from my sanity stroll, I was able to find out that according to the county, a replacement will hopefully be placed not too far away, and hopefully in plenty of time before the election...

Please note, the North Lombard Goodwill Drop box will be relocated to a new location for the November 3, General Election. The Goodwill store is undergoing renovation and the Drop Box was removed to prevent damage. The temporary location will be near the Goodwill store. All libraries are now 24-drop sites including the nearby Kenton Library.

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	scribal sketchbook	light bulbs replaced	-
2	scroll for Countess E	box fan cleaned	-
3	tiny knitting bag	box fan cleaned	-
4	tiny tote bag	rosemary pruned	-
5	Nandina handknit	x	-
6	Nandina sunhat	x	-
7	tiny knitting book	x	x
8	Nandina clothing	x	x
9	tiny basket	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - electricity, which allows for such amelioration as box fans, ice cubes, and a refrigerator full of cold food.

summertime stitchery

in which our plucky heroine learns some new twists to a former handcraft long neglected...

I'm rather pleased with my new sketchbook, made in the Medieval Islamic Style bookbinding class that just finished. I combined several different papers in the text block, including graph paper, as my intention was to use it as a kind of scribal commonplace book. If I have notes of various options for detailing marginalia and suchlike, it will be very useful when I don't want to be tethered to the assorted screens...

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~ 100 day creativity challenge - day 35 ~

when last we left the bindery, the primary end bands had just been stitched, and the next step was to stitch the secondary end bands, here begun in two colors of blue, and the stitching forms tiny herringbone stripes...

the headbands help protect the spine of the book, and in this style of binding, the covers are basically the same dimensions as the text block, unlike in European style binding, where they extend outward slightly

the foreedge is lined with a scrap of silk ikat fabric... and the inclusion of graph paper is visible

the fore-edge flap folds to the inside, thereby further enclosing the text block

This shows how the cover flap lies neatly underneath the front cover

the completed book is a good size for pocket or satchel, being large enough to be useful and small enough to be easy to carry...

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I was there
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beauty in the time of isolation - day 131:

blossoming passionflower

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I've been continuing to tote Nandina along on my morning sanity strolls, as long as the online floral challenge continues, and today we found some pokeberry growing in a nearby alley (actually not far from where the passionflower that also caught my eye. A few years ago I dyed some wool yarn using poke berries, and it came out a vivid burgundy red color, very beautiful. If I can find enough berries this year, I may try again. It would be really fun to make Nandina a tiny cardigan using naturally dyed yarn

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	scribal sketchbook	light bulbs replaced	-
2	x	x	-
3	x	x	-
4	x	x	-
5	x	x	-
6	x	x	-
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - Last night a FB message from Duke James prompted me to go outside and look at the moon... it was in a rare alignment forming a triangle, with Saturn and Jupiter the other two points, very vivid and beautiful, and the night was clear enough that I was able to see it above the neighbors house roof.