reframing isolation and silence

in which our plucky heroine thinks more long thoughts...

Isolation as a fairy tale experience, in that purposeful or accidental time away from the world can be transformative. Lots of stories, both mythic and fictional bear that stamp. Perhaps now after almost three months mostly apart, I can begin to do more than grieve for what I have lost. What are the gifts within this? I have no idea, yet...

I grew up holding tightly to keeping silent as a way of safety, learning as a very young child that being other was dangerous, even deadly. That has ever been a painful part of who I am, but buried deeply. Any sort of visibility was endangerment. I cannot know what it would be like to have a difference always visible. Now, I wonder if the collective we can create a world where none will need to keep silent, a world where difference either visible or invisible is not just accepted but celebrated. That would be a true renaissance indeed.

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~ 100 day creativity challenge - day 19 ~

Yesterday was Crafternoon-zoom, and it was a long afternoon into evening of online hanging out with assorted friends. I chose to finally return to my long-neglected rubakha embroidery project, and while chatting and listening, I managed to make excellent progress on the elaborate cuff decoration (arched designs in the lower left of photo). While I still have no idea when there will ever be realtime SCA events, and strongly doubt that there will be a 12th Night 2021 to wear fancy garb to, just making something exist that could be worn in an unknown future is a kind of prayer to the possibility of improvement.

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Appletree appletree, three bags full! This week I pruned the apple tree and thinned the fruit sending three big bags into the yard waste bin, though a second glance made it obvious to me yesterday that there were still some areas on the tree that needed a bit more pruning and thinning. I do not want to have a repeat of what happened last year, where a third of the tree cracked and broke off because too many apples! I would rather get smaller numbers of apples but large and tasty ones, and have the tree continue to survive. That poor tree has had so many problems (with grafts dying, assorted apple diseases, my novice pruning attempts, losing a third of its limbs, and a large crack in the trunk) since I planted it fourteen years ago, but it persists, blooms, and fruits nonetheless

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beauty in the time of isolation - day 85:

Seen yesterday while out walking... I keep holding on to a belief that within and beneath all the necessary turmoil and disruption of the former reality is hope for a just and loving world for all. Birthing is painful and messy, but change has got to happen.

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All the bramble fruit from the freezer, which wasn't much, since there are no feral blackberries nearby, turned into bramble syrup. Annoying as it is to strain out the seedy bits, I'd rather not get bramble seeds wedged in my teeth, as a trip to the dentist is somewhat fraught in this time of contagion.

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June SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	5½ pints rhubarb sauce	apple tree pruned	rotten beams
2	20 masks for Tullia	apples thinned	frozen blueberries
3	2¾ pints blueberry sauce	x	yard waste bin
4	3 half-pints bramble syrup	x	-
5	x	x	-
6	x	x	-
7	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 - Terri Windling, of the most excellent blog Myth & Moor, as well as author and artist, has always given me food for thought and delight, as well as time and again had exactly what I need to be brought to my attention

the long weekend of Not-Egils

in which our plucky heroine wishes she was camping...

In over twenty years this is the first Egils weekend that I am not there. None of us are there, and it feels very odd indeed.  Normally right now I would be bundled up in my Norse wool clothing, hanging out around the fire, listening to stories, maybe drinking a bit of athollbrose if Yseult had some to share...  Living in a different reality now, and trying to figure out how... on Saturday, I organised (with help from Michele) a virtual Crafternoon for most of the latter half of the day. Getting to "see" a few of my faraway friends was a treat, got to hear Beth play the harp, and seeing various projects in process helped ameliorate a bit of the isolation

That afternoon I completed more than a third of carving a printing block. The medieval dancing rats and crows motif I drew out earlier for Michele is very Bujold "World of the Five Gods", and I am thinking it will make great trim for a modern pinafore or petticoat.

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beauty in the time of isolation - day 73:

a particularly charming Little Free Library kiosk...
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Did a bit more mask sewing, made two with ear elastics for my dear SIL, and started cutting out a large set for Sharon Rose, for when she will reopen her practice. I also started cutting out the black/turquoise linen blend pinafore, to go with the floral blouse just completed.

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~ 100 day creativity challenge - day 17 ~

to amuse and distract myself, some not quite finished 1/12 scale whimsy. The bed is a free pattern from Ann Wood, the nightstand is a ground score from years ago which I have been told is part of a pizza box, and the quilt is made with 99 patches cut from scraps from my mask making.

Tiny bed has yet to be painted, and it will also get a little tufted mattress. The nightstand will be painted black (faux wrought iron), and will get an eggshell mosaic top. The quilt still needs edge borders and backing fabric.

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May SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	collage	bird netting peas	long grass backyard
2	strawberry rhubarb	harvest pea greens	yard waste bin
3	lemon curd	harvest sunflower greens	recycling bin
4	coin purse	planted tomato starts	apple tree prunings
5	Heather mask	started arugula/cilantro	-
6	Kestrel apron	planted bok choy starts	-
7	floral blouse	harvest more pea greens	-
8	clothespin bed	x	x
9	2 Barb masks	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 gratitudes - Yesterday, the end of what turned out to be a quite long splinter began to emerge from my index finger, and with the use of my extra tiny pointed metalworking tweezers, I was able to remove it. Much repeated soaking in hot water ensued, as did slathering it with Neosporin and fresh bandaids. My phalange is a lot less painful and swollen, and with luck it will continue to improve. If in actuality the inappropriate wood bits are no longer embedded sideways,  I can cancel the appointment to get ultrasound and surgery. I really do NOT want to go to the multistory medical treatment center if I do not have to!

Also, Marian just posted this:

Every year at Egils, in our encampment at night in the firelight, Raven reads her wonderful Seussian poem "Norse of Course", so in that spirit, and from their backyard instead...

well begun is half done

in which our plucky heroine plays catch-up...

Sunday was an impromptu Crafternoon. I'd asked on Friday if anyone wanted to come over this weekend, and four friends responded and we had a splendid time. Despite the well over 90F daytime temp, the fans kept the house almost bearable. There was much snacking and chatting along with assorted handwork. A bit later in the day, I cooked the promised siu mai and pot stickers. The siu mai were a great success, and steaming them was eversomuch easier than the pan fry and boiling water of the pot stickers, which ended up sticking to the pan! No one seemed to mind the less than lovely appearance, though. I vowed to host a Potsticker Potluck for Chinese New Year in 2020.

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I was walking to the Zeeb down a different street than normal, because all over the neighborhood various intersections and streets are being torn up. This car, which obviously hasn't moved in a while, caught my eye...

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I was smart. I rescheduled my routine doctor appointment for an early morning, instead of the middle of the day they initially gave me. I realised when attempting to sleep while it was still much too hot out falling asleep that I did not want to ride my bike at noon in August.

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A very fun thing on the bus, the driver, in conversation with a passenger, mentioned that he had written a song about driving the bus. We encouraged him to sing it to us, which he did!  Afterwards, half the bus applauded. It was charming and kind and it made a tedious journey just a little bit more human and humane.

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I decided to mark the large linoleum block for a new large circular border motif, inspired by the border on this textile fragment. A little design modification to slightly to look a bit more leafy, for a sort of Laurel wreath effect.

The block first needed to be cut to size. Monday my intermittent task was to bit by bit saw through the corners and extra length to shape the 8 x 10 block into an 8" diameter octagon. My trusty japanese pull saw was up to the task. For the next howevermany days, the task for intermittent free time will be gradually carving the block, so that it can be used to print first the blue linen set aside for my navershnik, the Russian style overdress

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Today I rode my bike to the post office, and the library, and the grocery store, since by some blessed chance, we had an entire morning of cool greyness. In fact, the air remained cool enough for long enough that I was able to run the fans for hours, and cooled the house down to 68F.

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The rest of the day was dedicated to my making a good start on the underdress bodice for the new set of SCA clothing I am making for Maeva. The wool outer layer is lined with heavy linen, the seams stitched, and the seam allowances of the wool folded over the linen and basted in place. The whole bodice is then pressed well to set and smooth the edges. All the further work on this part of the underdress is done by hand, and the bodice is small enough to become traveling handwork. Huzzah, I have missed having a handwork project. The lining (another layer of linen) is laid in by hand, and then lacing holes are buttonhole stitched down the front opening. Finally, once the skirt is attached to the bodice, the result will be a robust and warm garment, the inner supportive layer between the linen chemise and the more decorative wool outer gown. The event M is going to in October is held at a summer camp, and there is a fair amount of outdoor activity. She will not be cold.

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	x	popover pockets	plant stand
2	x	x	bag to Goodwill
3	x	x	-
4	x	x	-
5	x	x	-
6	x	x	-
7	x	x	-
8	x	x	-
9	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 - cool grey morning that persisted for hours

another mystery solved

With the help of our stalwart electron pals, our plucky heroine has discovered the name, and a bit of information about, the unusual plant currently in neighbor Carla's front yard....

Edgeworthia chrysantha, which I first noticed back when the flower buds were coated with ice earlier this year, has begun blooming in the last few days (along with the snowdrops in my front yard)...supposedly has very fragrant flowers once they are fully in bloom, and the bark is used in making high quality handmade oriental paper.

:::

Had a pleasant Crafternoon today. Freydis and Lawrence came over early, and worked on various projects. We heat set the silk painting he did at Midwinters, and then I gave him an embroidery needle for additional work on a future "heraldic luggage tag" for his armor bag. She worked on Roman style beaded bracelets interspersed with occasional music interludes on her new tin whistle. My friends keep surprising me with their hidden talents. While I can recognise music, I have no great ability in that realm, and certainly have never been able to simply pull recognisable tunes out of midair!

A bit later on in the day, Tullia and Drusa came by. Tullia dropped off some of the supplies for the pieced quilted wall hangings I will be making for her treatment room, and we went over the details for the first one, a large yin yang in two shades of green. Once that was clear, she then went on to turn a log shaped dog toy into a toy for her young Maine Coon "Felix" who has taken to dragging things out of the pantry to kill. (like a bag of flour for example) The hope is that the larger heavier toy, appropriately catnip scented, will prove a suitable substitute for dry goods. Drusa didn't bring a project, but let us know that we can come over to her workroom and pick out suitable veneer for the future tablet weaving cards she will be making. I let her know that there will be a possible shared merchanting space available at Egils, and that some card sets might be good to try out there...(our plucky heroine will be also putting together an assortment of useful trinkets as well)

:::

As far as SMART goals so far this year, now that we are at the end of January, there has been excellent progress on the things made, less on the things fixed, and nowhere near enough on the things discarded. Fortunately I now have two years experience with the process, so know that over the course of a twelvemonth, the various columns mostly balance out

hypersomnia

... in which our plucky heroine has adventures of the mixed media sort, with a small interlude of unintentional drama...

This past weekend was a fantastic visit from all of Blue Cedar House including the children. I have been busy for the last several weeks, making these three their first set of Viking Age clothing, and this is the result of my labors. They are intending to start doing SCA activities this year, and I want them to have comfortable clothing that will work well and look good.

Now that I have the basic patterning for them down, the next step is to make up several more sets, so that they can go for an entire camping weekend... which will entail another two sets of clothing and hopefully a woolen cloak and hat for each of them. Their daughter already has a small hooded woolen cloak that I made several years ago for her. It is going to be all kinds of fun to be able to share my favorite recreation with my dear friends!

:::

There was quite a bit of outdoor refurbishment this last weekend, as my March SMART goals chart now shows...

Mindy is absolutely whiz-bang at weeding and making my yard look cared for... The corner near the driveway now looks like this. We decided to transplant the baby rhubarb, that were growing adjacent to the lovage, to a more sunny spot...

The baby rhubarb are now in the bigger planter box out in the parking strip, with an enriched soil mixture including nutritious compost and homegrown worm castings. Hopefully they will like this better and will reward me with nice strong stalks, once they settle in... maybe by next year I can add homegrown rhubarb to my pantry...

The backyard had an expansion of the mulched area... all the darker brown patches are new. We took an evening trip to Ikea to harvest large pieces of cardboard to layer underneath the wood chips; Mindy and Heather both worked on the yard this weekend

The comfrey is waking up this spring, and soon will have a nice crop of leaves. Comfrey leaves make great nutritious "mulch" for things like fruit trees

Mindy also weeded the side yard, since there were returning weedlets since her last visit... she told me that it went about twice as fast as the last time though, so for now, we are winning (just for contrast, here is what it looked like before we started, back in 2013)

In the front yard, the long bed against the ramp was weeded and mulched. The hellebore really likes the springtime light, and the tiny violets have started to bloom, along with the grape hyacinth. The cyclamen looks to be spreading, and there is new growth on the hardy fuschia too!

In the backyard, former owners planted this arborvitae much too close to the house, and it was pressing in on the corner and the eaves. Mr Robertson cut back just the half of it, so now there is air circulation around the house edges instead of moisture being held against the siding and eaves...

There are now trays made to fit the salad table! I have to line them with windowscreening, and then can start my Grand Experiment of growing greenery on the front porch... We made a side trip to Portland Nursery where I acquired more potting soil and some spiffy nutritious compost with things in it like rock dust and kelp for extra micro nutrients.

On an earlier visit Mr Robertson sweetly cut me three pieces of plywood that I intended to mosaic for new front windowsills... neither of us noticed at the time that what I thought was red paint was actually flocking!! I sent the boards home with him last month, so the fuzzy surface could be sanded down... Apparently the red color stained the plywood, but I rather like the effect, and may just leave it as red-stained woodgrain. Once I paint the window trim (indigo/black), and repair the front windowsill edges, this long drawn-out repair will be completed...

:::

In the middle of the long weekend visit we took some time out to celebrate Pi Day/Crafternoon, and who better to celebrate with than the folks with the household motto "Si moriturus es, morere plenus tortae"*... There was a splendid mixture of Portland and Olympia, and good conversation and project progress as well as the requisite refreshments - pie and more pie! For dinner later that night, the entire Crafternoon gang ended up staying, and we had the most delectable and convival suppertime

Young Heather has turned into an excellent piecrust maker... Mindy has been sharing her familial piecrust knowledge and lore, and our plucky heroine introduced them to the joy of lard crust last November, and no one has looked back since...


I made up a few dozen fig jam tartlettes...


... and Heather and Mindy made a blueberry custard pie with streusel topping and a pecan pie (all of these intended for Crafternoon nibbling)


but the real piece de resistance of the day was this fragrant and tasty dinner pie...

Homemade turkey pot pie, the crust so flakey it shattered in crispy shards along the cut edge and the filling was amazingly savory and delicious... we know how to eat well!... Si moriturus es, morere plenus tortae

:::

All in all it was a totally splendid and productive multi-day shindig, up until Sunday afternoon, when I ended up with a wasp sting, after disturbing a piece of roof moss on the shed, which apparently had a wasp queen sleeping inside it. I broke The Blue Cedar House rule about it is all good fun as long as no one ends up needing to go to the ER... I was very grateful to have folks here when this happened. Two days of prescription Benedryl later, my hand is back to normal, but those two days were pretty much a total loss...

:::

March SMART goals

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	ginger candied peel	sill boards sanded	yard waste bin
2	9 tiny enamels	front yard weeded
3	9 brooch settings	close plum pruned
4	Bill SCA pants	more mulch spread	-
5	Mindy undergown	apple tree pruned	-
6	Mindy embroidery	arborvitae pruned	-
7	Mindy aprondress	salad table trays	-
8	Laurel underdress	worm bin renovated	-
9	Laurel aprondress	-	-
10	kawaii coasters	-	-

*"if you are going to die, die full of pie"

Saturday and Sunday snippets

in which our plucky heroine makes assorted progress in a generally forward direction...

Yesterday when I swept off the front porch, saw the most tiny little nigella growing in one of the planter pots. Seriously, the entire plant was miniature, about the size of a normal nigella blossom!

:::

I used “knitters graph paper” to draw out a design for a two color pattern, (since I read that just using regular graph paper would distort the design)well apparently my stitches are not normal! My design which looked so nice on the knitters graph paper, is now really attenuated... after checking my actual gauge, my stitches are a little bit taller than they are wide, which is why I got such unexpected results, the graph paper is meant for the stitch proportions of ordinary knitting, not stranded colorwork.

:::

As I gradually put things away and slowly declutter, that I am finding some of the various things that have been misplaced over time. Most recently, the missing Kelly Kettle turned up, for some unknown reason, on the windowsill in the small bedroom?!? The Kelly Kettle is a powerful little hot water generator, and uses just small scraps of dried biomass. It heats water to boiling very very fast...

:::

...just spent a chunk of time looking at photos over on the Portable Antiquities Scheme website (which documents archaeological objects found by members of the public in England and Wales) just found a whole lot more of the little Anglo-Saxon cloisonne enamels I am so currently obsessed with... must make some, soon!! I am collecting the images over on Pinterest

:::

Today was Crafternoon, and though attendance was sparse, that did allow for what turned out to be two very different delightful individual visits. And there was homebaked cake. I am still amused that these vintage jello molds not only work well as cake tins, but that they have my SCA badge on them (rather hard to see here, but it is an acorn between two oak leaves; here is a better picture of a different cake). The recipe* I use makes a pretty plain cake, and while it would definitely be improved with a little jam and whipped cream, it is pretty tasty just as is...

Early in the day, Z came over, which gave us a chance to talk enameling, and also a chance for me to hear about some fascinating travel options on the Oregon Coast. She is eager to do more enamels, interpreting some of her gorgeous photo images in a very different medium. Later in the day, U came over and we worked on some of the sewing for her elevation to the Order of the Laurel next month. Marya and I are making the green silk under-dress, and so today was partially about making certain that the upper bodice and neckline fit well, and starting to sort out the sleeves. I pretty much never wear 12thC clothing, so this is all a bit of a learning experience for me. Fortunately, fabric doesn't scare me, even delicate thin shot silk...

:::

June SMART goal challenge

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	thread-winders	SR silver chain	backyard yardwaste
2	red rose heart pendant	backyard meadow mowed	bag to paper recycling
3	red rose earrings	half craftwall organised	bag to paper recycling
4	2nd sports bra	sleeve bands on green gown	bag to paper recycling
5	duvet cover	SPQR pendant setting	metal scrap to recycling
6	*	*	bag to Goodwill
7	*	*	bag to Goodwill
8	*	*	paper recycling
9	*	*	*
10	----------	*	*
11	----------	*	*
12	----------	*	*
13	----------	*	*
14	----------	----------	*
15	----------	----------	*
16	----------	----------	*
17	----------	----------	*
18	----------	----------	*

:::

* for those who might be interested, here the recipe I use, this time I made the plain cake, but as mentioned it can be lemon poppyseed, or mocha, or pretty much whatever variations are pleasing. Pound cake is useful that way...

montage Monday - week 3

It was a cold week again, and we got a dusting of snow here in the heart of the city...

 
on the bricks and on the trees

This bus ran from north to south of Portland, but with these colors I thought it should go to Ikea instead!

There are food carts near many of the places where you wait for transit, this one has fire inside a converted gas station, and carts around the edges...

On the way home, the grimy grit of Alberta Street is hidden in the color and light of sunset glow...

A pretty hat, an empty head... actually I rather like these glass heads that my pal V has on her windowsill, with or without hats

Saturday was my hysterversary; a year ago I was in hospital, in surgery, and came home to go through a year the likes of which I hope to never repeat. But rather than stay home and dwell on that, our plucky heroine went to a party, along with her dear friends Ulfred and Elfrida, out at the delightful country home of her pal Vandy. The theme was crafternoon-into-evening, and there was much hanging around and working on projects... Meris is particularly good at the knitting whilst hanging around part!

brought to you by the letter C

Yay! Internet tubes full of cats are now flowing freely, and our plucky heroine is cheerful again, not the least because she has G here visiting for the weekend...

This is your one day announcement, Crafternoon is happening here at Acorn Cottage tomorrow. Show up anytime after noon, drink tea, eat tasty snacks, work on projects, meet the mysterious G, enjoy lemon poppyseed cakes, etc etc... (For more information and directions if needed give me a call)

shake-n-bake Crafternoon

in which our plucky heroine brings back a popular activity - Sunday Crafternoon (No, we are not going to be frying chicken) on the 26th of February...

A social afternoon of tea and handicraft is something that has been missing from Acorn Cottage for several months. I can still provide an assortment of tea for folks, but will need your help, since my usual pre-Crafternoon baking frenzy must of necessity be curtailed, some assorted sweet or savory snacks would be an excellent addition to bring. Projects are welcome but not required, (I'll either be knitting or doing beadwork) and the latchstring will be out from noon till five-ish. Drop a line or give a call if you need directions...

Sunday snippets

somehow, this cartoon seems to relate to the current situation here at Acorn Cottage...

~ ~ ~≈:::≈~ ~ ~

from Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology this week, also seemingly quite appropriate...

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

What images would be most helpful for you to fill your imagination up with? What scenes would heal and activate your subconscious mind, inspiring you in just the right ways? I invite you to make a list of at least five of these, and then visualize them often in the coming days. Here are a few possibilities to get you warmed up: peach trees filled with ripe fruit; the planet Jupiter as seen through a powerful telescope; a magnificent suspension bridge at dawn or dusk; a large chorus animatedly singing a song you love; the blissful face of a person you love.

Whether it's your time to ferment in the shadows or sing in the sun, fresh power to transform yourself is on the way. Life always delivers the creative energy you need to change into the new thing you must become.

~ ~ ~≈:::≈~ ~ ~

Last night in dreamland, the zombie bad guys were outside, in the street and under the windows. I wasn't alone though, and we had armament, and a plan. I thumped awake back into this world, in the middle of o-dark-thirty, as nightmares are wont to do, but was better than times past: scared (but not in terror confused about which world I live in), and comforted, to have an ally in dreamland. A drink of water later, and turning around a few times, I was able to drift back to sleep, and journey to a more peaceful part of the landscape...

~ ~ ~≈:::≈~ ~ ~

My kid sister is coming here to help me the first week after Handfix™; am thinking about a Saturday Crafternoon on the 27th (instead of the usual Sunday) That way folks could meet my sister and she could meet some of my friends. Not sure what kind of shape I will be in after the various kinds of medical-fu (hand and other stuff) scheduled for that week, but seeing my pals is always a cheerful thing.

~ ~ ~≈:::≈~ ~ ~

dog is dreaming - paws twitching and dream barking

a busy day...

'twas a shifted day for my ordinary housekeeping work, since the House of Five Dogs didn't happen on Memorial Day proper, but moved to today instead. After that was done, met with S and B for a very pleasant errand-running afternoon all around the town as it were.

Headed first to Uwajimaya, via the scenic route, across the prettiest bridge in Portland, then up and over Skyline Drive. Stopped at a sweet cemetery overlook, and the finally-springtime sunlight just lit up the mountains...

At Uwajimaya, not only was I able to find a large tin of soy sauce (not in plastic, I do not like to store wet foodstuffs in plastic) for my pantry storage, but they also carried a different line of asian veggie seeds that I've not seen anywhere else around town: Kitazawa Seed Company. Red Shiso, also called Perilla, is a favorite herb, and I'd neglected to save any seed the last time I grew some, had I known how difficult it would be to acquire some more, would have not been so careless. Anyway, there were both red and green shiso seeds available, so all is well; the red shiso leaves can also be used to add a pink color to homemade pickled sushi ginger. Showing admirable self-restraint, I did not purchase a copy of Porco Rosso, though it is on my very short list of desired DVD's; the modest (actually truly minscule) discretionary budget is all allocated for more utilitarian needs.

From Beaverton we curved back to the city, heading to Sellwood and the Dusty Tiger Mall of Collectibles, where my friends have a shop, doing business as Bear and the Raven (Facebook link) They both have an eye for interesting and unusual artifacts, but I was particularly taken with this treadle sewing machine. With only a bit of effort, it could be completely restored to full functionality.

and look at the gorgeous decorative woodwork...


Of course, there are all sorts of other delightful trinkets and treasures in their shop...
~ ~ ~≈:::≈~ ~ ~

After that interlude, we headed back north, making a stop at Andy and Bax, to pick up some paracord for our Sunday projects - resiliency meets the Crafternooon crowd. The plan is for trying out making knotted hatbands/bracelets/etc as a way to add cordage to our EDC.* Should be fun! (or bring along whatever current handwork project you have going, or just come and hang out). So yeah, there is Crafternoon this Sunday, same as always, tea, snacks, chat and crafting; more tasty snacks are welcome but not required, I will have some, and tea... 1 PM to 5-ish this Sunday

*(By the way, after going out to Hillsboro to help with the SCA demo at the middle school medieval fair, it was with great amusement realised that Viking women were superb at EDC, my Viking kit has all sorts of useful tools of everyday life attached to my belt and brooches.)

monday musings - reconnection

in which our plucky heroine finds that conversation is a useful antidote to disequilibrium... An excellent Crafternoon yesterday, wherein much conversation on various topics was the activity of the day, though there was a modest amount of crafting as well, of primarily the textile persuasion.

The evening followed with more conversation when five of us proceeded to Sushi Ichiban for various fishy tidbits. Though not the traditional eating format, my tummy is much happier saving the rice for my hens, and just eating the tasty toppings off various nigiri sushi (thereby turning high carb into low carb) One idea that came out of our conversing was to have days, or even some weekends, for sharing/teaching workshops of various Useful Skills that we have between all of us. This is a great way to increase competency for all of us.

Doing a personal inventory of such useful skills seems like a good place to start:

what do I know how to do?
what do I know well enough to teach?
and probably also
what do I want to learn?
what gaps in my skill/knowledge am I aware of?

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Day seven of MeMadeMarch: Really, there are not that many clothes in my closet and cupboard, so mix and match is how my wardrobe works. Today my favorite embroidered jumper, grey corduroy with a bird on the bodice (no jokes now about "put a bird on it", even if I do live in Portland) works well over the cornflower blue ikat dress. Blue polartec leggings, and my grey hat from last summer. I'll probably wear my intarsia sweater (seen here) when I head outside later today.

That sweater has garnered a lot of comments, and is a proud bit of make do and mend... This is it's second incarnation and is about 11 years old in this form. It was originally knit, by me, in the mid 80's, from a now unavailable Penny Straker pattern, I added the decorative motifs myself. I wore it so much that it wore out, with the yarn becoming thin and even worn away in places. My dear friend B offered to re-spin the yarn and ply it double, if I would take it apart. I was delighted at his offer of help, and the sweater gained a second life, being re-knit after being re-spun. After the additional eleven years of wear, some of the edge bands are starting to look a little worn, but those can be unravelled and re-knit fairly easily.

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this post, on Luann Udell's blog, seemed in a way quite apropos of my own current concerns. Good to read, well... her writings are always clear and thoughtful, and thoughts about moving forward whilst not getting trapped in anxiety are both helpful and necessary. For me, my connection with community (friends and family) is what I count as my true wealth, and renewing my connection reminds me that whatever the future holds, we will be moving into it together and not alone. As I'm so fond of saying "all of us together are waaay smarter than all of us one at a time..." So a grateful shout out of thanks to my pals for helping me stay grounded.

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Favorite, and unexpectedly now-ist...

Dust In The Wind - Kansas


Life Gets Away - Clint Black

crafternoon's a-comin'

It is, indeed, that time again... this Sunday will be my monthly Crafternoon, so all and sundry are welcome to drop in and enjoy talk and teatime from 1PM on. Handwork projects are encouraged but certainly not required. I'll have assorted tea and sweet and savory tea-snacks out, additional fingerfood potluck snack contributions are welcome. Directions to Acorn Cottage are available on request

As usual, in the later evening there will most probably be an excursion to Sushi Ichiban as well, for tasty Japanese treats

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just to keep a bit of perspective...

sunday snippets

...in which our plucky heroine gets high - on a ladder that is...

Yesterdays task was dealing with the hidden gutter (the one between the workroom roof and the carport roof) Until this year it had no issues, but suddenly in the last rainstorms, there was water dripping from the join between the roofs, and not much from the downspout; obviously it was clogged. A borrowed extension ladder gave me the height needed, but how to remove the debris? The carport roof is nowhere near sturdy enough to carry the weight of a person, and the gutter is around twenty feet long.

My first attempt, with a swively mop head, was useless (too short and wobbly). The next idea was to acquire an extendible pole, and some kind of implements to attach to the end, but that would be both spendy, and take up a big chunk of the sunshiney day that made ladder work relatively safe. Then my eye noticed the can full of framework poles from the dayshade that broke (saved because metal poles are garden-useful)...

Since the dayshade poles fit together to form longer lengths, it was possible to kludge together an almost ten feet long span. What to attach to the end was more challenging, as the small diameter and somewhat flimsy jointing made using something like a garden fork (my first idea) too large and heavy. Finally, one of my two pairs of forked kitchen tongs gave their life for the cause; the sheet metal was thin enough to bend into a contorted shape that would serve.

A truly yucky task nonetheless, scooping cold partially composted leaf goo from the gutter, one handfull at a time, and dropping it to the ground below. Curses on the head of whichever former owner put up the carport without dealing with removing the gutter first, and creating a proper water overhang from the roof. Ah well, 'tis done for now...

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My creative self, always a wayward beast, has decided that rather than the drawing that I'd like to be doing, it will write poems instead. Four new written bits in the last two weeks, more than in the last several years...

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Two weeks 'till the next Artisan Crafternoon (February 6th), as that is quite near Chinese New Year, I'm thinking that would be a great theme to riff on. Asian snacks, red things maybe, and since it is the year of the rabbit that gives an additional option. I just noticed that New Seasons has Cheddar Bunnies crackers on sale, I'll pick up some in my next shopping trip, just to be prepared...

Was a naughty girl and skipped out on this afternoons chores to go see My Dog Tulip. It was definitely worth seeing. The animation was very well done, I loved the watercolor style, and found it fascinating that it was "the first animated feature to be entirely hand-drawn and painted utilizing paperless computer technology." An interesting blend of the old technology and the new. I'd not read anything by J.R. Ackerley, and it certainly is a quirky tale of the love between man and dog.

brought to you by the letter "S"

It was the last of the "last Sunday" Crafternoons... but no fear, the current plan is to switch to "first Sundays" instead, particularly since several folks who would have wanted to attend were not able to, due to holiday weekend commitments. So - same fun format, starting next weekend Sunday January 2nd, 1 to 5 PM, with an option of Sushi Ichiban afterwards, if that sounds good. Crafting and chat, snacks and teatime.

There was some entirely unexpected birthday present giving, and an entirely planned small gift swap as well. The biggest surprise of all was being gifted with this vast amount of yarn, a vivid assortment, over 20 gallons of sudden stash enhancement. Now there is plenty of yarn for giftmaking and yarn swapping, as well as the additional grocery sack of acrylic/wool blends that are earmarked for one of my 2011 goals: to knit at least one hat a month as a giveaway for homeless folks. In the last few days, I've been thinking about goals and ideas for next year, and that one felt right, but I was wondering about affording the yarn... and before the day was over - the supplies appeared!

There were no bite-sized quincemeat tarts made. My mind's eye saw them, but since the cupboards here have had only a few pattypans, and no mini-mufin tins, the tarts remained imaginary. On my way home from kitty food and meds duty over at Hotel Drachenwald, Goodwill beckoned, and in another bit of synchronicity, two mini-muffin tins were waiting to come home with me. Perhaps there will be quincemeat tarts for next Sunday's Crafternoon...

This morning, my party preparations were slowed by the surprise of a phone call from my friend T, and we ended up talking for almost an hour, not just catching up on how we are managing to survive/get by as independent artists, but in bits and fragments being able to go a bit deeper. My heart is brightened at each glimpse of common ground; he and I have some places where the spirit that underlies the work of our hands is very congruent. (I suspect this to be true for other friends as well, but it is hard, so hard most of the time, for me to get to where those aspects can be verbalised)

Picking up the house, putting the leftovers away, washing the dishes, planning the weeks work - I am smiling...

something cheerful to watch on a dark and stormy day...

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Sunday after next, the 26th, last Crafternoon of the year here at Acorn Cottage.  I'll have tea and snackage, and was thinking about a post-holiday gift exchange as an activity in addition to the usual chatting and crafting. Bring along something that would be a treat to get, nothing too fancy, just a wrapped gift (homemade, thrifted or re-gifted is all good) and we can do a bit of round robin swapping. Sounds like fun?

Monday maunderings

Called to have the furnace looked at, they can come out today, which means an unexpected day off from housecleaning work, hopefully to be re-scheduled for later this week. Truly hoping that whatever is wrong with the furnace will not be too major, Furnace is dusty dirty and cranky, but basically okay. Will need a new safety blower motor at some point, but not just yet, as it is still working. Cost for service $190, furnace working now, priceless...

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Started in on another attempt at this mini-poncho. The previous attempt was with coned yarn from Yarnia, and that was a disaster; the various materials, (wool threads and rayon chenille), being not actually plied, stretched at differing rates and developed annoying yarn loops constantly. My intention is to use what I have, and since there is not a nice bundle of bulky yarn in my teensy stash, I will be using a mixture of various thinner yarns all knitted together, but since they are all wool, it should work a bit better than the Yarnia disaster.

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Several brave and hardy souls were here for Crafternoon yesterday, and textile-geekery was the mode of the day. I was very happy, as I was able to help S sort out a troublesome knitting pattern. The next Crafternoon will be on Boxing Day (December 26) and will have a theme: "swapbox". Bring a gift, in a box, and we will have a swaparound, in the style of a white elephant swap. Don't spend any more than $10, homemade,re-gifted, or thrifted goodies are great, just choose something that would be a treat to get. Sound like fun??

samhain sunday + SWAP 2011

Crafternoon was well attended, and it was wonderful to see some of my friends again. C and L arrived first, and found me still hanging out laundry and washing up the prep dishes; their gift of some frozen homegrown quince will become part of the November Canjam. E arrived a bit later, and brought V's repaired Navajo hand spindle, and a thrifted vintage ball-winder for me, as well as frozen blackberries from her yard. My thrifted swift has found it's soul-mate. Truly I am blessed with wonderful friends! Next to show up was A, who had just bought a new serger; we spent a fair bit of time sorting out the threading. I hope that she is as happy with it as I with mine. She also brought the fabric and pattern for her adaptation of this lovely skirt; I much prefer the flannel that she chose. M brought some of the fabrics that she was working on for her OryCon garb. By midafternoon there was much happy talking, and nibbling of various sweet and savory tidbits. S, and her sweetie B, showed up after their trip to the giant antique show, with nifty relics they had found. The Chinese opera coat and vest were beautifully made, and the coat fits her so well, though I rather covet the empty pocket watch case more than the clothing. (If I'd found such a thing, I'd make a miniature diorama inside.) B had found a pocketwatch with all the insides functional, and a straight razor with the most beautiful iridescent green celluloid handle, and a handful of vintage cufflinks... All too soon everyone had to leave and Acorn Cottage had a moment of quiet before the Halloween hordes ( not as many as last year, seemed like) arrived.

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Trick-or-treaters are done for the evening. The rain held off till later at night, so the little ones had a lovely soft evening to gad about in, and only the bigger ones were dampened. The highlights of the evening: One, my former neighbors came by with their child, they had moved away to find a bigger house when they were pregnant, and now have a sweet little boy, dressed for the night in a Star Trek outfit, but still too young to talk. He was more interested in the crinkly wrapping than in the candy inside. Two: the dreadlocked papa who was fascinated by noticed the large spider that lives next to the front walkway, there is a magnificent new web, after having it all blown down in the windy weather last week, and made sure to point it out the the children with him who seemed equally fascinated. Real webs are better than draping the yard with wisps of plastic fluff... Three: the brother and sister who came by mid evening, dressed as some sort of anime, who saw the maneki-neko noren hanging in the living room and admired it so, telling me of their dream of someday go to Japan. I sighed and said "me too..."

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The guidelines for the 2011 SWAP are up, and I'm trying to decide if I want to participate:

Option # 3

5 dresses -single pieces consisting of top and bottom that can be worn alone.
4 tops - t-shirts, shirts, blouses, or camisoles
1 bottom - jeans, pants, shorts, skirt or kilt.
1 your choice (not an accesory)

3 garments may be purchased or previously sewn.
1 may be knitted or crocheted.

Now here's your twist:
Every garment should be made with a technique or feature that you haven't tried, or haven't mastered

Sewing will begin December 26th, and all garments must be finished by April 30th, 2010.

I can think of any number of sewing techniques that I have not really attempted, or that I have tried but done poorly, the challenge would be to come up with at least seven unfamiliar techniques that would work with the clothing that I like to wear.

The techniques that are my favorites get used over and over again. I love bias bound edges, and patch pockets, and simple embroidery, and rarely if ever use facings, or zippers. Reminds me of when taking the behind the wheel test in WA, (I'd been driving at that point for more than twenty years) and I flunked parallel parking. The testing officer was not amused by my comment that I normally simply drove further away to find an easier place to park, as walking was simpler than parallel parking GreenTiger, my old VW microbus. It is simpler to bind edges than to hem them, simpler to make patch pockets, simpler to get dressed when clothing can just drop over your head than needing zipped or buttoned...

Have been mulling this one over for the last two days, and will continue mulling for the next month or so. Some possibilities are:

zipper insertion, such as lapped zippers, invisible zippers, hand-picked zippers...
welt pockets, double and/or single
proper use of stay tape, on knits and for shoulders
rouleaux, as decoration
bound buttonholes
inset applique
lining/underlining
Alabama Chanin style applique/embellishment/construction
reverse-facings

Not sure what will be realistic, useful, and appropriate.

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big cat pumpkin fun

Friday fragments

My friend N (the same N who brought me back a tiny turned wood box from Bhutan with bits and bobs of trailside rocks and stuff) brought me more rocks, pumice from Mt. Lassen and Mt. Shasta, and a strange bit of wood that looks like a kind of root-burl. Also the waveworn center of a conch from Mexico. My heart is brightened knowing that friends think of me whilst in faraway places, places I've not been, on mountaintops and ocean beaches...

The Canjam food for November has been announced, and it is (a bit more variety than I'd guessed) apples-and-pears-and-quinces oh my! Can you say pome fruit? I knew you could. Hmmm that covers a fair bit of possibility for preserving, while applesauce is always good, there are still Seckel pears at the grocery. Anyone local have quinces to spare?

Last weekend when my friend K came to visit with her pal D, they brought me a bunch of sunflowers. One of the benefits of not yet turning on the heat is that flowers last a loooong time, they've been cheery company on the dining table all week. Maybe next year it will be necessary to grow some, as long-lasting cut flowers are a happy thing, since there are no windows here with enough light for house plants to do well indoors.

Gravity is a harsh mistress, and when you are distracted, she reminds you to pay attention. Sometimes it seems that my adolescent clumsiness has returned, but really it is just dusk, and thinking of other things. Fortunately it was not as bad a fall as the times last year, I'll feel it tomorrow, definitely, but hopefully aspirin and ice will do their magic.

Tomorrow will be a housey day - cleaning and cooking and crafting. The floors could use a good vacuuming before Crafternoon on Sunday, and methinks a spice cake would be a good idea for Sunday as well, or maybe little spicey acorn cakelets. And somewhere in there needs to be a trip to get supplies for the trick-or-treaters that will be showing up on Sunday night...

somewhat of an update + Sunday crafternoon

Overall, life here is improving, my back continues to calm down, and the PT exercises seem to be helping. Today they gave me new exciting ones, (that include my arms), with the giant orange rubber band. The pain level is finally down enough that I can focus brain-hands-eyes in a way that feels like me again. Really, though it might have sounded like that was already happening, cooking and sewing are much closer to things that can be done on my automatic pilot, but coming up with new imagery, and complex pattern alterations require more synaptic efforts...

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sewing: current and planned for the future...

The new rain hat is working splendidly, given the current weather patterns of completely dumping rain, that is saying a lot. To make progress on a new raincoat is needful, but fitting that will entail multiple pattern alterations with the attendant multiple muslins, so that project is on the back burner, simmering 'till the design details are fully cooked.

This weekend's project was a denim "overall-style" pinafore, morphing the TNT pattern by adding an overall back and straps, and a different pocket style as well. Used up a good bit of salvaged duvet fabric, a nice soft lightweight medium blue denim, and scraps of darker blue for the edge binding. Thought about edge binding the pockets as well, but decided that eye-catching detail at hip level was not necessary. There might eventually be a decorative center bodice pocket, as this graphic is calling me to do something similar, possibly freezer paper stenciled.

I'm loving how the clothes that I've been sewing all this year all work together in layers to mix and match. While it might be "boring" to stick with a limited color range, it sure makes getting dressed in the morning a snap. And it must not look too dull, because twice in the last week I've had total strangers come up to me and tell me how they love my style... (Once while I was window shopping in Anthropologie downtown!)

One of many sites on my visit regularly list is the Stitcher's Guild message board; the seasonal sewing collection challenge has been helpful and inspiring. Though I've not managed to do as much sewing this autumn as I'd hoped, there has been progress made. My initial plan was to do 2 pinafore-jumpers, a blouse, a tunic, a pair of pants and a raincoat between the beginning of August and the end of October...

What has been completed are three pinafore-jumpers: one pinwale grey corduroy with embroidery, one widewale grey corduroy, one blue denim with decorative edgebinding, and a waterproof Gore-tex rainhat.

The grey widewale corduroy ended up with the patchwork trim along the hem edge; while it started out on the navy corduroy, it was intended all along for this pinafore instead. The navy one got its own hem trim, spirally vine-y embroidery on more of the navy corduroy, and an inset band of light grey jacquard. The light grey is actually a bit too light, and might look well darkened somehow, possibly with fabric painted spots in indigo blue...

The next quarter (beginning of November to end of February), the collection looks like this:

WINTER
Trousers/skirt (dark neutral)
2 Tops (1 to match, 1 to complement)
2 layering tops/cardigans/jackets (1 to match, 1 to complement)
Coat (dark netural)

which shall be adapted to my wardrobe by making:
pinafore jumper (black)
textured rayon tunic top (black)
Teagarden T (blue)
handknit stripey sleeve cardigan sweater (blue)
raincoat (black)
(and possibly something additional in black,
maybe this button-up-the-front semi-steampunk cowl)

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Eating up the last of the summertime, there were a few eggplants on the now battered driveway plants, and actually a few cherry tomatoes, combined with the new eggs that are showing up in the henhouse, it looks a lot like Mediterranean quiche to me, add a little feta and call it good!

Am considering making a 2011 calender. Haven't yet looked on Etsy, but there is nothing in the local shops currently that appeals. Perhaps it is time to return to alphasketch, and the second half of the alphabet...

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Sunday crafternoon this weekend. Yes, it is Samhain/Halloween, but if you are free in the afternoon come on over to Acorn Cottage, noon to five-ish. No sushi dinner downtown afterwards, as it will be handing out candy to the neighborhood youngsters time instead.