slow and unsteady, but progress nonetheless

a very small lion - March did indeed come in like a lion: after the most soft and warm of northwest winters, several days of cold wind and this morning there was a dusting of snow all round the yard...

a morning walk to the backyard...


snow adds sweetness to kale...


hens are not thrilled by the snow-covered ground...


Hmmmm, dunno if it is okay out there...
...definitely strange, no matter how you look at it...


go out in that white stuff... you have to be kidding!...

a tiny simple repair - the double hook on the back of the bathroom door, waaay up at the top edge, not easy to reach, (and there is already a shaker-peg-rack across the back that holds towels-n-such) has been transferred to the bathroom wall. I'd been thinking about this switch for at least a year and a half, having a handy spot to hang a robe and a towel seems very civilised. Given that I am cleared to attempt daily activity, this seemed like a small enough project to not cause too much pain. About fifteen minutes with the drill, the racheting screwdriver, and the step-stool, et voila! Showering will be much improved.

At some point, once the year is farther along and the air warms, the bathroom just might get painted (have had paint for all the rooms in the house for several years), and the door will need to have the empty spots where other hardware once lived primed before turning some other color than landlord white. I am so very tired of having all the rooms in the house white.

an unexpected treat - got a call from my pal L, who was gifted with two tickets to the Portland Symphony from one of her church friends, did I want to go with her... why sure! Last night we made our way downtown for an evening of music. Was just delightful to spend time just sitting quietly and letting the music make pictures in my head. Felt a little odd to find myself at the "donor appreciation concert", but I surely do appreciate that someone who was a donor felt like sharing the joy. On the way home, I remembered that through Arts for All, I can get a pair of discounted tickets for various kinds of performances (once I am back working and have extra dosh for suchlike) and that some of my pals, like L, would be happy to join me in such adventures...

leaping about going nowhere and sleeping a lot

night clouds moving fast - what once was normal activity, while increasingly possible, is overwhelmingly still exhausting. I require naps, and not just quick half hour long lie-downs. Slept on and off all afternoon and evening, and forgot to put the hens to bed 'til the wee small hours...

As always, not just looking around in awake/alert mode, but also looking up at the sky - a very low layer of clouds moving FAST, windbreath speeding the patches of light and dark so quickly it looked like time-lapse rather than realtime, and the very odd illusion that the fixed stars were moving lights. I actually did a double-take once I realised that what I had first seen as too many airplanes in the night sky were actually the clear patches through to constellation fragments. No photos would do justice to the moving reality...

≈ : ♥ : ≈

eventually the holiday ornaments will need to be packed away till next winter, but not just yet...
• • •

more knitting - enjoyed making heart of gold so much that it seemed a good idea to make another one... Used some bluegreen yarn (of unknown content) from the stash basket, is very un-scratchy, soft and light, maybe an alpaca blend? Vintage buttons, courtesy of B & K. Decided that a decorative baby crow design, from Hexipuff Charts: Birds, would be a fun addition. I sure hope that it is not unkind to give parents-to-be baby things made from wool, (not machine washable, but not plastic...)

vest, and detail...

more pictures - On Saturday, while G was visiting, we took a very short walkabout the neighborhood, so as to have an opportunity for me to try out some of the features on the Canon (his old camera). Is far more complex, with many more options for adjusting variables than my Coolpix. I must remember that it took me months to become familiar with even the simple interface, and shall persevere. I suspect that the more adaptable interface will be particularly useful for composed photographs. Even so, a few images from our truncated walk were worth saving...

Mossy landscapes continue to be very appealing to me -
am considering a tiny worlds of moss calendar next year

A nearby holly tree, pruned to a single trunk with high branches.
Stand inside - the sunlight illuminates the leaves and berries...

med fu update - had six week post-surgery followup, body is healing well, continuing symptoms are within normal range. May begin resuming daily life activities as pain and stamina allow. Have another month before required to decide about internal radiation. Met with radiation doc - recurrence odds shift from 1 in 10 to 1 or 2 in 100. No guarantees. I plumb hate this shit...

random internet treats - stashed here for easy recovery if desired:

a vintage diagram of dart-moving for patternmaking
lovely china pattern from Emma Bridgewater
dairy-free creme brûlée recipe, must try this for G
adorable felt dolls from Kyrgyzstan by way of Australia

multicolor stencil technique

As I work my way through the various projects for the baby gift box, I keep getting ideas... I found a new/used cotton onesie at the Goodwill up the street, a nice peach color, but very plain. It calls out for some decorative fabric paint to tie it in to the whole color theme...

While I could use freezer paper stenciling to come up with a motif, I am inclined to do a multicolor cave horse instead, since I already have the stencils cut. The nice thing about freezer paper stencils is that you make a unique design each time, but it requires cutting a new stencil each time. The nice thing about a reuseable stencil is that, depending on the substrate, you can have it available to decorate objects for years to come, without having to re-cut your design.

Stencil decoration is one of my very favorite ways to add original embellishment. A one part stencil is basically the same as the kind you can buy at a craft store, but by making your own you are not limited to any particular style or aesthetic... A multiple color stencil, while more complex, is still a relatively low-tech process.

This three color stencil patch decorates a black linen summer jacket

A multiple color stencil is a little more complicated to do than a single color. What I use is the clear acetate that you can get at a copy shop, used for report covers, a finepoint "sharpie" waterproof marker pen, and an exacto knife. I choose a design that I want to copy, making sure that it is either one of my own artworks, or copyright free.

1. First I trace onto a piece of acetate the overall design, then mark a few dots at various places around the edges, not covered by the design. (these dots are used to line up the different colors of the stencil) cut out the dots only on this piece. Then put the acetate back on top of your design.

2. On another piece of acetate, trace the parts of the design that you want to be in color #1, and trace the location of the dots as well. Cut out the color #1 parts, but do not cut out the dots, just leave them marked on your sheet. then tape the color #1 sheet on top of your design outline and original design.

3. Take another piece of acetate and do the same thing with where you want color #2, and so forth. (five colors is as many as I have done) what you should end up with is a stack of stencil acetates that combine to form your total design, all marked with "dots" in the same place, and one acetate with the "whole" design, which has the dots cut out.

Then comes the messy part... painting! First I use the whole design acetate to locate where on my fabric or garment I want the design to go, then rub chalk through the "dots" to leave locator marks on my project. Then I carefully line up the stencil #1 with those marks, and dab the appropriate color fabric paint through the stencil. Let that color dry, then repeat the process as many times as needed to complete your design. Then I brush away the chalk locator marks, and heat-set the fabric paint.