in which our plucky heroine makes use of every bit...
Very little goes to waste here at Acorn Cottage. Indeed, that can be challenging, as the temptation is to look at anything before discarding it with the "I could make something from that" lens. This makes decluttering a bit problematic, though I am trying to also use the "swedish death cleaning" lens as well... I thought it would be interesting to look at both a brand new and a slightly older tiny re-use today...
※※※
I brought two "mandarinquat" citrus home from the store last week, out of curiousity, as some of my friends adore them, and I'd never seen them before at my grocery. The first one I tried was not
especially a treat for our plucky heroine, so when I looked at the second one, I thought "I might be able to use the skin for something" if I carefully removed the inner fruit leaving the skin mostly whole...
In some of the online videos folks dry citrus peel either cut into flat shapes for ornaments, or in various configurations for small containers, so I knew that it could be dried to a harder solid form. I slid the mandarinquat skin over the end of a small dropper bottle as a cylindrical form. With it on the countertop near the heat vent to dry, I could gently twist it from time to time to keep it from sticking. I did wrap a hair elastic around the top edge to hold it in place, which is how the grooves at the top of the little pot were created.
After a few days, it was firm enough that I was able to remove the elastic and slip the bottle out, and after about another week, I have this unusual container for my tinyworld...
※※※
back in 2020, before the birth of Nandina and other denizens of the tinyworld, back when the pandammit was new and we were trying to cope as best we could, I began to revisit making miniature things, which had been one of my beloved childhood hobbies... made a miniature bed from clothespins and wood scraps, from
Ann Wood's intstructions, and made a tiny quilt to go with it; ninety-nine 1" squares (cut from the scraps leftover from making cloth masks) turned into this colorful souvenir...
Since my denim floral jacquard pinafore is too worn to mend, instead after taking all the relevant measurements, the new teal linen pinafore will be made in the same style, which is slightly different than my other two TNT pinafore patterns.
Starting with more or less the basic Viking Age apron dress (zero waste) layout, then adding integral shoulder straps, front yoke pleats,and some curved shaping of the underarm and front neckline. The remaining linen will be used for pockets and edge binding...
※※※
While walking home from checking out the new fabric store, I popped into the Goodwill for a minute or two. All I ever look at is the housewares section, to see if they have any of the old Pyrex small refrigerator boxes with lids, or any medium size steel bowls, so it never been more than a minute or so. I'd not been in there in months, and in the interim, all their prices are more than doubled! When I was about half a block away when I got a text from Gersvinda! She had seen me in the store!! so I texted her that I would walk back so we could chat...
It was like a breath of the Before Times (if you ignored that we were both wearing masks) in how I would connect randomly and unexpectedly with friends while out in our everyday lives. I called Portland the "biggest small town ever" back then, before so many folks moved away, and then the pandammit broke over us like a wave...
It was such a treat to see her in person; her work life means that our free times IRL rarely overlap. We chatted, while standing outside the store, until imminent rain sent her back to her car, and me back on shank's mare to head for home.
※※※
February SMART goals (x=extra)
| # | THINGS MADE | THINGS FIXED | THINGS GONE |
| 1 | Jedi tabard
| wall storage bathroom
| recycle bin
|
| 2 | 5 jars marmalade | wall storage utility
| - |
| 3 | tiny camel print
| dark of night neckline
| - |
| 4 | - | - | - |
| 5 | - | - | - |
| 6 | x | x
| x |
| 7 | x | x | x |
| 8 | x | x | x |
| 9 | x | x | x |
today's gratitudes -
1. the
only way I like kale is, on rare occasions, in this
cooked "bulgar salad with kale and feta" but every so often I find myself craving it. So I made some for lunch today...
2. getting to see my pal Gersvinda unexpectedly!!
3. We have a new fabric store close enough that I can walk there. I visited "The Sewlarium" today, and while they are still acquiring the supplies and stock they've ordered, even so there are already items that I will be most pleased to have so close at hand. The specialty interfacings I use for reinforcing hat brims and bag structure, for one thing... and once their sewing thread display and spools arrive, that will save me hours of transit time. They are mostly aimed towards the quiltmaking folks, but Zachariah, the owner, intends to carry a small selection of garment fabrics as well, later on in the springtime...
Time of Isolation - Day 1316
