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.

wishful Wednesday - more tinyworld time

in which our plucky heroine took some time off...

...in times of isolation, a tiny world can be a place to rest and recover equanimity. And so, I made a new little housemate for Acorn Cottage, because the little bed I made was asking for someone to sleep there.

I'd made a few of these tiny rag dolls earlier, Hazel and Zinnia, who ended up going to Olympia to live with little Kestrel's other dollhouse people... Ann Wood creates wonderful and whimsical well-written patterns that are a joy to use.

"

I decided that stripey stockings would be a fun change from my previous attempts, primarily because some micro-stripe fabric turned up

Her name is Nandina, and since her older sister Zinnia left behind her SCA clothing when she moved North, I was able to dress her right away...

Her SCA clothing still needs a bit of detailing (tiny brooches, and some other bling) and she really needs shoes, too...

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I miss and wish for a time when touch is possible, when a strong and gentle hug can go on and on, soothing and enlivening to all involved, when a passionate kiss between dearloves is not potentially deadly, when something as simple as sitting close and holding another's hand as support during an emotional time was/is not fraught with unintended consequence. May those days come again.

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~ 100 day creativity challenge - day 21 ~

Nandina may be only just over 5" tall, but she still has something to say! She needs her own face mask, and some modern clothing... I think she is getting a pair of tiny overalls next.

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a wonderful take on a favorite song...

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beauty in the time of isolation - day 88:

an amazing allium, about as big as both my hands outstretched...

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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	aphids soaped	yard waste bin
4	3 half-pints bramble syrup	peas harvested	yard waste bin
5	turquoise linen pinafore	x	-
6	2 more masks	x	-
7	tiny Nandina	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 - so many kindhearted gifts this last week... a multicolor set of Sharpie pens, some cut-to-size lino blocks and lino ink, a delivery of produce, and a USB webcam so I can use the laptop instead of squinting into the cell phone for zoom-time!

arachnophobia in the morning

... in which the day can only get better from there...

Despite ongoing difficulty the last week or so with managing to stay awake (seriously WTF?) our plucky if somewhat groggy heroine was REALLY brave yesterday. When I found a spider in the bathtub, 2" across... after I stopped shrieking, instead of either squishing it or washing it down the drain, I carefully trapped it under a container, slid a sturdy plastic cover across, and then set it free out in the yard... I am a nice person because I didn't set it free in the chicken habitat.

Given how arachnophobic I am, I am rather pleased with myself! I will say that my attempts to change my behavior in this respect was inspired by interactions with other people that I feel close to, who were horrified when one time they saw me squash a spider in my kitchen, and told me "if you had asked, we would have taken it outside for you"... I try and bear that in mind, when the only actual danger is in my imagination

:::

+

OH look! It's an artifact! This tiny (bronze?) cast acorn mount was a surprise un-birthday gift from my friend Wanda!! The piece is only about 40mm x 22mm; the reverse side has integral pins intended to secure said mount to a strap of some sort. While the provenance is unknown, it appears similar to various other acorn mount finds* dated to somewhere between 1500 and 1700.

:::

* Post-medieval copper alloy acorn mount, another Post-medieval copper alloy acorn mount, and an assortment of acorn mounts.

new little friends

... in which our plucky heroine completes the whole set of sewing box accessories that Kateline asked for...

this maneki neko is just right...

In which our plucky heroine is charmed by a small gift...

Though my home will never be a beacon of minimialism, I try hard not to become a "collector" of any one thing in particular. I do not, for example, "collect" acorn things in general, or dala horses, or even my beloved maneki neko. Which is not to say that there are not quite a few objects all over the house that fit those categories, but all of them are carefully curated to please my peculiar aesthetic sense.

The one exception to my not collecting things, is that I do collect maneki neko that are under 1" tall. In this way I can indulge my childhood passion for miniature things, and never fear that Acorn Cottage will be overrrun with beckoning oriental cats. Until now my "collection" has resided in a small wasabi dish on the far nightstand, right next to the box of marbles (if you know where your marbles are then you haven't lost them 0_o) Yesterday my pal luz clara brought me some trinkets and treasures, including a new to me tiny triple maneki neko! The two little ones are only a half inch tall. I shall need to seek out a new home for all of them, as the wasabi dish is getting a bit crowded...

The central cat is holding something none of the others in my collection have, and thanks to the internets I have determined that the small object, which I originally thought was some sort of barrel, is actually a hammer/mallet, known as the Uchide no Kozuchi (打ち出の小槌). The traditional folklore is that the hammer is very small, and that swinging it will grant your wishes... what an appropriate detail for this gift from one artisan to another!

some custom gift orders...

After sharing the pictures of my kittyface needlebooks, I had two requests for custom felt designs:

One request was for a sewing/knitting retractable tape measure, featuring a squirrel...

the original sketch...

...and this is the finished result

the finished tape measure case - squirrel design in layered applique and embroidered wool felt,
complete with extra acorn as the tape measure pull!
≈:::≈

The other custom felt design is a pet portrait, and the interesting part of that project (so far) is that I get to attempt to make felt look like brindle fur... there will be needlefelting involved...