Thursday thoughts

in which our plucky heroine embodies incremental progress...

which sometimes is expressed with multiple projects. Sewing for refurbishing my own wardrobe, and sewing pillow shams on commission. Finishing up some heraldic metalwork and enamel regalia orders. Planning to work in February on an abalone inlay horse brooch for Year of the Fire Horse (and meant to replace my beloved brooch that was lost) Adding knitwear storage shelves to the bedroom. Yes, I am polycraftual...

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~ slow and steady ~

The neckline of the flannel shirt is completed.The shoulder yoke lining is Liberty lawn, as is the bias binding that finishes the inner edge of the collar seam. The symmetry in this shirt front pleases me greatly, including the unintentional very fortuitous location of the plaid stripes in the button bands.

Once I made the button bands and attached them to the bias fronts of the shirt, my next step was to cut out a bias strip from the Liberty lawn long enough to finish the inner neck edge. It occurs to me that the way I sew my collars in place is not standard and rather peculiar. I don't know where I first got the idea but I have been finishing inner collar edges this way for quite a few years. Depending on what fabric is used for the bias strip it can either blend in or be an accent. I find it easier to get a result I like with this technique rather than the more common turned facing.

The one remaining "challenge" for this project is the next step, the tower placket. Last night I re-read the directions, and think that making a sample later today before tackling the actual sleeves is a very good idea. The notes for the placket suggest that once one is familiar with the process it goes very quickly. 

Yet to do: plackets, armscye seams, cuffs, side seams, waist seam (attaching peplum). Oh, and buttons and buttonholes. Need to decide which of the two sets of dark teal buttons is for the flannel shirt and which for the print blouse. Just might also prepare the peplum for the print blouse as well, while the serger is threaded with teal thread... 

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Throwback Thursday - one of my blog posts from January 2019, that still rings true today:

"Some friends and I were having an online discussion earlier today, about the inevitable planetary disaster that we are all in the middle of. My own ending comment was "I feel helpless to shift anything on a macro scale, and soaking in that feeling doesn't activate anything for me save a desire to die sooner. Instead, I do what I can to live lightly and thoughtfully, and bring tiny modicums of brightness and beauty where I am able. Will that turn around the train wreck we are living inside of... surely not. Will that help me to be able to lie down at the end of my life and say I did what I could, the best I could manage... hopefully just a bit."

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~ day 20 and 21 ~

This is one of my two favorite little ceramic cups. This one is unglazed red clay, with the decoration created by painting the background of the Laurel wreath design with the same black glaze that lines the cup. It was made by my pottery pals at Reannag Teine, and is often my choice for starting the day, as filled with homemade kombucha it is the right size for taking my vitamins.

I wear hats. Almost all the time, especially when outdoors. If it is sunny summertime, keeping the sun from my eyes and scalp, and if it is cold winter, keeping the sun from my eyes and keeping me warm. (well, and if it is raining, doing the obvious and keeping the water from my spex and off my head) 

This wide brimmed shape is my preference, and I have two almost identical, this dark denim hat, and one in some grey canvas that matches my chore jacket. They only differ in the assortment of brooches pinned to their hatbands, which offer a significant "canvas" for decorations, and an optional home for various small handwork projects. 

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This afternoon seemed like a good time to bike to the hardware store and see about picking up some shelf brackets, now that I've the appropriate shelving to create storage for my handknit pullovers and cardigans. Alas, their inventory has been sadly diminished in the last few years, and the only "intermediate" size of shelf brackets they have any more are fancy ones, not the basic (and therefore inexpensive) style. I shouldn't complain too much as at least there is still a hardware store within biking distance. Wishing I had checked the brackets at the lumberyard, or else thought to measure the board purchased; should have remembered that of course a 1 x 10 is not actually 10" wide (and hence my 10" shelf brackets overhang by about an inch) 

There may be some clever solution to this dilemma, will continue to give it some thought. As I began mulling over while riding my bike home, after dropping the bills at the post office and picking up two lemons to add to the blood oranges for marmalade making. The sun was going down, and the temperature dropping, when tapping on my helmet and sleeves was not rain, but tiny lumps of sleet! There hadn't been any such thing in the forecast for today...

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	final alphabeast drawing	painted mini tree	recycle bin
2	calendar master pages	new bin for  cedar shakes	orangeflower water
3	5+ jars fig mostarda	drawstring cords	large broken bin
4	page 2 resipei	workbench tidy	2 bags paper
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -  
- my neighbors bird feeders, in the side yard between our houses
- I rethreaded the serger with no difficulty, and reset the tension to a smoother result for the next sewing project. 
- an assortment of soup cubes in the freezer... today's choice was carrot coriander, along with some leftover lamb roast and some of the new kasha, it made a good dinner.

Time of Isolation - Day 2033

throwback Thursday

in which our plucky heroine has a long memory...

I couldn't have been more than six when we went camping at Fundy National Park in Canada, so these are some of my pretty early memories. I remember craft classes; while I had my first experience with basketry, my mother took a class on enameling, and my father took woodturning. I remember the magical feeling of sitting outdoors under trees, soaking basketry reed in water and learning how to interlace the flexible sticks to create a container. This is part of why I am the sort of person I am...

The birdseye maple platter and bowl he made stood on our mantelpiece for decades and has been here with me at Acorn Cottage for years now. (though the little basket, and the enamels my mom made: a horse for me and an ice cream cone for sister are long lost, victims of our many moves over the years) I decided that using the bowl as part of my sewing kit was a way to enjoy it as part of my everyday life, holding my pins and bobbins... It brings me joyful memories whenever I see it, even moreso now that my dear father is gone...

snow day

in which our plucky heroine toddles through a snow day...

The good thing today was I took time to phone a number of friends and family, and even got an unexpected phone call from a friend. The most difficult thing is that I cannot go out for a sanity stroll, it is much too cold, and blowy, so pacing up and down the hall must suffice. The clouds of yesterday and this morning have all blown away, and the light outside was dazzling on the expanse of white snowdrifts; tomorrow will be much the same, but much colder.

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The tinyworld forsythia project completed:  once the glue is dry, the forsythia blossoms are securely attached to the branches, and they are arranged in the porcelain vase; a promise of springtime to come on this cold and snowy day...

I'm amused at the contents of the shelf, the books I can see are Tolkien, a heraldry tome, "On The Road", an archaeological treatise, and J D Salinger....(only the smallest of my tiny books fit there) Maybe I need to make some more Very Tiny under 1"tall books?

I'm also going to take this as a reminder to finish the decorative wall shelf, which means I need to decide what color to paint it, and also to put the drawer knobs in place, a good use for two of my wee Japanese glass headed sewing pins. My current idea is creamy white, picked out with blue trim.

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It snowed and snowed. We got over 10" of snow by the time it was done. I grew up with snow, and there is a reason I live in a place where it normally rains in the winter. PDX doesn't have good snow infrastructure, while eventually the main arterials get plowed, none of the side streets or sidewalks get cleared, so there is a lot of lumpy ice to traverse, sometimes for days. Now that the snow is (temporarily) over, the temperature is dropping.

Tomorrow is supposed to barely reach freezing (0°C)by midday, with the lows in the high teens. I rescheduled my doctor appointment,from tomorrow to later this month, I don't want to try making my way there while there is a wind chill advisory in place, and trying to clamber over the icy streets and sidewalks.

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~ 100 day stitch book project - day 35 ~

Day 35/100 - (page 7) Layered running stitches remind me of boro stitchery. In order to further visually separate the bird from the background I added counterchanged thin lines of outline stitches, of white and dark blue, in addition to my initial outline in medium brown.

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Thursday throwback is a look at the process of creating a custom enamel pendant, to meet the requirements of a particular client as far as imagery and colors. For this one, I used the limoges enamel technique, painting with a mixture of powdered enamel glass and lavender oil allowed for really fine detail at the very small scale needed.

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February SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	2 tiny bird books	soy sauce cruet base	recycle bin
2	semicircular bathmat	reconfigure neckline	yard waste bin
3	rice paper packets	rose kerchief mended	recycle bin
4	3 100 day pages	SR leather re-dyed	recycle bin
5	tiny forsythia	-	old cassettes
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 gratitudes -
1. power stayed on (so far) with only a few small flickers from time to time
2. I was tired. I took a nap. Then my pal Wanda called, who I'd not talked to in weeks, as we kept missing each other on the phone, and woke me up. This was good, as otherwise my sleep wake cycle would become even more deranged than it already is.
3. I just received another regalia inquiry, for a medallion later in the year. Plucky heroine is gone but apparently not forgotten. Yay for more work!

Time of Isolation - Day 1082

throwback Thursday

in which our plucky heroine is retrospective...

In a conversation with my friend Kareina, she posed the challenge that I revisit former enameling projects or whatever else of my artistry I felt inclined to share. I have taken up the gauntlet, and present for my first throwback Thursday... the first cloisonne enamel I ever made...

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Long ago, before the internet, and before I began keeping any sort of journal, and long before my immersion in the SCA, I was living in southern California, in a trailer in my parents backyard, and working washing dishes in a natural food restaurant. Some of the other workers there were involved in the renaissance fair/SCA scene and Marie invited me to a few events, including a "Collegium Caidus" weekend down near San Diego that had all kinds of classes. When I saw a whole day class offered on enameling I jumped at the chance. (I had been fascinated by enamel ever since as a little tot I saw the colorful emblem on the front hood of my fathers VW)

Everyone that took that class successfully completed a piece of cloisonne in the 8 hours, a feat I am still impressed by after my own years as a teacher.  The running horse motif on the enamel was one I have been using and drawing for years, which is why it immediately came to mind when choosing what to enamel, and eventually it became the main charge in my SCA heraldry. I like to think of the design symbolising among other things, moving forward but also with an eye on the past

I didn't really continue my SCA involvement after moving away from SoCal, being both painfully shy back then, and remember, without the internet, finding out about organisations and activities was much more difficult. Several decades after that, I met some quirky artisans while working Main Gate security at OCF, and my life took a definitely turn that has never turned back, which included spending time in the SCA as a major activity and indeed eventually earning a good part of my livelihood as an artist, creating enameled regalia for other participants.

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	striped tabletweaving	drawings for Vikki	recycle bin
2	-	-	yard waste bin
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 gratitudes -
1. an amazing advent box full of gifts from Acantha
2. today is dry enough that walking is enjoyable
3. I was able to begin making candied citrus peel without crying... it was always a thing I made as a holiday/birthday gift for my father, who died in the middle of last year. Grief is lumpy.

Time of Isolation - Day 1036

throwback Thursday - the patient faithfulness of inanimate objects

in which our plucky heroine revisits thoughts of mortality ...

(originally posted July 31, 2010 as "for C who asked")

Acorn Cottage is full of salvage, a testament to the patient faithfulness of inanimate objects. The work of our hands, (which includes the work of our machines, built by our hands), which most of all are the things that last. We come here, we do things, if we are lucky we touch others and are touched by them, and then we go away. Our things remain behind. There are tales I've read, about actually reading the record left behind, but that seems to me as much a fiction as the memories I find in discarded or gifted relicts. A kind of archaeology of everyday life.

Sometimes it comes as an echo. I carved a comb-edged pendant from wax, a design popular in prehistoric Finland, and under my knife I saw the same shadowed shapes so very subtly arising, the same thin gouges under the corners of the triangles as the unknown maker had left a thousand years ago. This makes my heart leap, to feel the hand/eye movement that passes through time. There once was someone who was a people too and now is dust, just as I am and will be.

On a journey, stopped for hours in a foggy coastal city, in the museum were, and probably still are, myriads of Buddhist statues... the galleries were mostly empty of people, footsteps echo while inside. They were not made to be art, but to be signposts. The rooms so quiet, no flickering lamps, no color, no people, no recognition/connection. Waiting, to be of use.

Once upon a time, a century or so ago, a little girl hidden away. Did she feel the ground shake under their hooves, see through a crack the soldiers riding, horses trampling? I'll never know. I think that she came here not long after, and grew up beautiful.

Was she happy? Twice a bride, once a mother, did some of her dreams come true, at least for a time, in her life that I only know scraps from? I know that she was stronghearted and determined, and that she could talk to anyone at all.

I have a box, mauve and cracked and lined with velveteen, and a smattering of the cutlery that once lived inside. Some of the forks, the tines are a little twisted, a few of the knives, rust spots speckle, though emery paper and my hands will soon put that right, there is a spoon that obviously was caught in something large and grinder-ish. There are layers and layers of lives in those spoons. Not anything like a Complete Set any more, but each piece takes me back to a childs chair, a cup of fresh squeezed orange juice, and the barely seen shapes of a kitchen long gone.

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the patient objects stay, and speak silently

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today's gratitude - while writing isn't my primary art form, I am intending to revisit the writings I have done over the last fourteen years, and pull out the bits that seem particularly resonant, and gather them together...