not just hearts and flowers

in which our plucky heroine scrapes by...

The weekend had its ups and downs. The good parts were I had a number of chances to connect with family and friends online, and on Saturday Baron Michael came by to drop off an envelope of charters to paint, so I had a chance to speak with a human friend outdoors briefly... The weather was crazy warm, well over 60, so there were walkies and bike riding. Riding my bike is the least painful option for my body, though walking is fairly close. Unfortunately, I cannot spend all my time in the saddle! The worst times are when I try and lie down to sleep, for some reason, lying down causes the knee et al to become astoundingly painful, which has been playing hob with my never-very-good sleep schedule.

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time in the tinyworld:

I finished the second of the hearts and flowers aprons, a red embroidered one intended for the prize drawing for those who complete the challenge. It came out so darling that I think I need to make another one, as Nandina and Almandine both like it very much.

I also really wanted to make Almandine a long sleeve knitted dress, like the blue and white stripey one that Nandina has - An unexpected color choice, dusty rose pink turned out to be the best option for a knitted dress. (It turns out that the stripey pattern is much easier to knit with stripes, as they help with counting what row you are on...) I love how springlike the color is, and am considering some flower-gardening accessories: flowerpots from cardstock (or from egg cartons cardboard), plants, watering can, etc?

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slow going all around:
with the sewing... I want to take some time this week to cut out the chore jacket, and maybe also some grey knit leggings as well, since the machines will be threaded with grey.
with the drawings... Four more to go: wolf, serval, reindeer, and otter. Then I can finally more forward. I don't know why I have such a hard time with this project, but I know I will plan on a different type of graphical decoration for 2023, and begin it pretty much as soon as this one is wrapped up and mailed out! The art to start the day is mostly going well, I am not going to fret about the days that get skipped, as the important thing is to congratulate self on the days I do succeed.
with the gardening: I was making good progress on getting the raised bed filled with wood chips (slowly, one or two wheelbarrow loads each day) but then my knee went south. So that will be even slower, but okay... I asked Neighbor Karla if she can help me get a truckload of garden soil mix in a week or two, and she is perfectly willing to help! So yay me for being brave and asking.

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~ creativity challenge ~

Feb 12 - "Diamond Twill Appaloosa": a more detailed sketch of the pincushion(s) I want to make, using the vintage leather buttons for the ponies mane and tail, and various wool twill patterns. Pencil sketch.

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February SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	tiny bedroom stove	vego bed assembled	recycle bin
2	tiny book and bookcase	toile #4	-
3	moar tiny books	some backyard pruning	-
4	mini apron with pockets	-	-
5	pink dress for Almandine	-	-
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 -The city may be awful, but my neighborhood is a neighborhood

Time of Isolation - Day 704

Friday fragments

in which our plucky heroine feels a bit like the Red Queen...

Today was another one of those spend hours on hold days. None of the local offices were answering their phones. Finally gave up after losing most of the morning, and masked and bundled up to head out to the closest Office of Aging in person. Three bus transfers later and I was able to drop off the one piece of paper they needed. Sigh. At that point I was exhausted. Still going to try and maybe get a bit of sewing done tonight before Sewing Nomads meets tomorrow morning...

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~ start with art ~

Day 3 - a pencil sketch, inspired by a photo. I was interested in how the stripes were like contour lines, and how to use the pencil to create texture and depth

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in the tinyworld:

Just when I was beginning to give up hope, the treat I ordered for myself last month finally showed up on my doorstep... The kit contains printed pages and covers for thirty miniature books. Since I haven't a digital printer, this seemed a great way to get tiny books, and to provide myself with hours of fun.

I somehow hadn't remembered that the kit is packaged as a giant book, that opens out into a sort of room box/diorama, and also includes a kit for a miniature bookcase (to store all the tiny books) It felt rather like small scale IKEA flatpack, to assemble a sturdy bit of furniture from woodgrain printed cardboard. My maker-child heart is completely delighted; the packaging design is genius!!

Here is an example of one of the tiny books... They are a bit large for 1:12 scale, being almost 1.5" x 1", but have nicely printed internal pages, endpapers, and cardstock covers with front, back and spine artwork

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February SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	tiny bedroom stove	vego bed assembled	recycle bin
2	tiny book and bookcase	-	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
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 - I seem to be easily amused. A childs toy library will keep me entertained for at least several days. Well actually longer, as I intend to assemble the tiny books one each day, savoring the enjoyment over the course of the month

spring will eventually arrive

in which our plucky heroine is hoping for a dry afternoon...

I need to do some additional pruning in the yard. The feral grape needs cut back, as it has not only extended along the chain link fence, but through it into the neighbors yard. And while I can still see the limb structure of the plum thicket it would be a good time to mark with colored yarn what parts need pruned this summer. The apple and quince need some additional opening up. The apple in particular, since I am adding the large raised bed between it and the other raised planters in the yard.
Seed catalogs have begun arriving in the mailbox and it is time to plan.

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spent some more time last night and today assembling the raised bed pieces... it is getting a bit easier, or perhaps my fingers are accustomed to handling the small hardware bits.

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~ creativity challenge ~

My start-with-art for today is a collage. I realised yesterday that the paper in the blank book I am using for this project is not robust enough for paint on two sides, so I decided to cut scrap paper to apply to the verso side. This will allow me to use whatever media I decide on for either side of the page, without concern.

This morning I noticed the scrap of paper I used yesterday for clearing the excess paint from the waterbrush looked rather like spring flowers, so I cut some simple shapes to play with. The only other "scrap" colored paper handy was the old Vermont Country Store catalog, so I started cutting up some of the pages. (random junkmail catalogs would also work, but those rarely show up in the mailbox)

For some reason I began also cutting out words and phrases from the captions, as a sort of "found poetry" as I went through the pages finding words of a certain size, font, and light background, that somehow connected with the concept and each other. The whole thing was rather playful and random, with my guiding principle being to keep moving and not overthink. I'm calling this one a win!

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I really need to get back on the list for our local Chip Drop... free wood chippings are good mulch, and also good filler for the base of deep raised beds and planters.

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February SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	tiny bedroom stove	-	-
2	-	-	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
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 - Mossworlds. I never get tired of noticing them, and I am so grateful I live in a place where they exist.

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year of the Water Tiger

in which our plucky heroine considers starting with art...

As it is also the start of Lunar Year of the Tiger, I found this ancient artifact posted by the British Museum to start my month off well and fiercely... I've decided that my February challenge will be to do some paper based artwork every day, as my first thing in the morning activity. Start the day with art. It might be drawing, or painting, or collage or ??... If I don't feel a specific inspiration, I have bookmarked an entirely unrelated set of February prompts to set my mind in motion.

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Since I gave the first miniature bedroom stove away to the neighbor girl yesterday, I started making another one today for use by my own tiny friends. I am also thinking of Nandina's mother Kenya Ogidni, if I can find the brown fabric I have set aside...

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February SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	tiny bedroom stove	-	-
2	-	-	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
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 - I'm going to have an Asian inspired supper: homemade pot stickers, some bok choi stir-fried with shrimp, and rice, all with things currently on hand in the house. I am grateful to have both enough and a variety...