Tuesday tidbits

in which our plucky heroine bundles up to keep warm...

on a cold if dry day, it seemed a good plan to put on my Keen boots to ride down to the post office this afternoon. The almost knee high leather makes a definite difference in comfort. I was able to bail out the postage due envelope, which contained the first set of items for the springtime art exchange

(I must make sure folks know that anything (even if it fits in an ordinary envelope) other than a few totally flat pieces of artwork on paper will be deemed a "parcel" by USPS. Parcels have different and more expensive postage, depending on both size and destination.

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~ quick and easy ~

Checked out "Making Things: Finding Use, Meaning, and Satisfaction in Crafting Everyday Objects" from the library, because it was very pretty, and also new-to-me... while there wasn't tons of skillset info I didn't already have, this origami box (inspired by Sok Song's "magazine box") delighted me. It uses rectangular pieces of paper, is easy to fold up when a small temporary container is needed, and the folding sequence is easy to memorise.

(I disagree however with their avowal that two folded the same size will work well for bottom and lid; yes you can squoosh them together that way, and again would be just fine for very temporary, but a lid just slightly larger will work better)

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The venerable set of tiny (smallest about the size of sewing needles) pentagonal broaches that I use for enlarging the holes in pearls (among other things) are probably at least 30 years old. Their plastic "handles" are starting to shatter, which renders them almost unuseable, since without the handles the angular sharp steel shafts are exposed.

After much research, I found "Milliput" a specific epoxy putty that seems an ideal substance to form new handles from. But said putty is not available anywhere I called in the city, indeed most of the places I found to purchase it were not in the US. As I've mentioned, I prefer to not patronise the behemoth that begins with "A"; fortunately I did find Atlas Preservation, who sell supplies for gravestone restoration! and they had several different colors and grades of Milliput. An order has been placed, and there will be future experiments. (Also ordered some terra cotta color, thinking that some wee little 1:12 planter pots may be possible? worth at try...)

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Very incremental progress on my stripey cardigan sleeves... I need more practice on the jogless join, as I don't seem to be able to remember it from one round to the next. Must needs sit with the photo tutorial open in front of me each gorram time, or tink backwards to try again... Still, the eventual results will be a wooly bit of whimsy. At least that is my hope, since it looks nothing like my inspiration, and nothing like my sketch.

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	blood orange marmalade	bike headlamp	yard waste bin
2	heraldic enamel	passport photo	recycle bin
3	crayon roll	crystal necklace	recycle bin
4	xp2 undies	pattern longjanes	-
5	pot lid rack	passport applied for	-
6	x	pear tree planted	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. the amount of delicious food I get from my plum thicket
2. figured out a way to use two circular needles instead of my preferred double points (which I don't have) and instead of "magic loop" (which I really dislike)
3. found a domestic and non behemoth source for Milliput

Time of Isolation - Day 1650