little engine that could

in which our plucky heroine finally gets moving...

I've spent a number of hours at the workbench, finished a tiny charm pendant to warm up, and begun the regalia settings that will be in the post ASAP... My mind is filled with ideas for the various aspects of life here at Acorn Cottage that want shifting

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~ souvenir ~

this is what I did to warm up before building the larger regalia setting...  Years ago Bill gave me a tiny disc stamped with the OCF peach, from when he made logo coins for Fair. Of course, I enameled it, and it then sat in my box of oddments for quite a few more years. Now it is a charm I can wear. Who knows, maybe someday in the future I may get to go to Fair again, if the world and my circumstances change...

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I finished the setting for the 1-wire Laurel medallion today, and will be putting that in the post as soon as I know the shipping address, and I will be making the setting for the companion Pelican medallion tomorrow. I rather underestimate how long it takes for the settings, though that may become a bit faster when I am less out of practice. And I really miss sharing a studio space, it was like having a body double, but for work, and made everything just that much easier...

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~ Advent Swap day 19 ~

today there were these tiny mushrooms, with sparkles on their caps, that also glow in the dark!! They will need to have their own autumnal diorama in the advent shadowbox in 2024.

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December SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	7 jars quince	kitchen plumbing	old plumbing
2	dried pears	heat pump installed	old furnace
3	dried persimmons	return vent vanes	high pitched whine
4	linen gauze privacy curtains	bedroom register	-
5	tiny peach charm	bike flat tire	-
6	1-wire Laurel setting	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. muscle memory and tool use memory that remains strong
2. there were a number of years where I got to share studio space with my friend and colleague Bill. I learned so much, and it was such a good thing for my growth as an artisan
3. I've some good ideas for how to do some simple-ish transformations of the bathroom here, so it will be a nicer space, that will begin there once I finish my current work projects

Time of Isolation - Day 1265

Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine attempts forward momentum...

I keep struggling to do more than just self maintenance, though at least I am managing that. I've several different commission works that must needs be done in the next week and mailed out. I have personal creative projects that are all languishing scattered around the house. I need some kind of company to keep me on track, but since that is impossible, let's see what I can get done this week, and with luck I can start the turn of the year with my creative self engaged and enlivened...

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~ surprise! ~

So very unexpected to see a large parcel leaning against the front door here at Acorn Cottage, since I didn't remember ordering anything... inside the big box was a sturdy double thickness rotary cutting mat from my wishlist, sensibly shipped flat rather than rolled up, so it will be immediately useable, and a very good addition to my sewing space. So far none of my assorted cohorts I've asked have admitted to this surprise, so I am still left wondering...

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well dang! Yesterday I finished the first I-cord border around the body of my future stripey sleeve cardigan. Then I tried it on and realised that somewhere in the process I miscalculated, and there is a significant gap, of about 4½" that needs filled in so that the center front will close. The only thing I can think of to do is to frog all the I-cord, and add front border panels. I feel right foolish for not checking the size against other garments I have made from the same pattern.

Still, there is no great hurry for the cardigan to be finished, so I can take some time and decide what will best be a pleasing and complementary texture or pattern for the center front, before finally completing the borders again...

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~ Advent Swap day 16, 17, 18 ~
. .

Three days of tiny gifts: Day 16 - a sparkly winter season charm, Day 17 - a small reminder, and Day 18 - a very small beaded trinket, which will either end up as a stitch marker for my knitting, or a tree decoration for the tinyfolk...

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Friday night I made gravy. I never make gravy, indeed I almost never ingest gravy, but there was all this tasty smelling stuff left in the pan after I roasted the roulade. So I thought "why not". I doubt that what I did was official gravy protocol, but it made quite a bit of something with a good flavor and texture, that will be a savory sauce for roasted veggies

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December SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	7 jars quince	kitchen plumbing	old plumbing
2	dried pears	heat pump installed	old furnace
3	dried persimmons	return vent vanes	high pitched whine
4	linen gauze privacy curtains	bedroom register	-
5	-	bike flat tire	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. gravy for my potatoes... it can be something tasty, unlike school lunch tray gravy...
2. surprise gifts warm my heart, reminding me I am not forgotten
3. Lupa just posted that the shampoo formerly made by Nature's Gate are now available under a different name by a different distributor: "iHerb"... I've sorely missed the Nature's Gate herbal shampoo ever since they went out of business several years ago; nothing else has such a pleasant scent... I am delighted that I may be able to return hair-washing days to something I can enjoy again. It will make an everyday task into a subtle treat again!

Time of Isolation - Day 1264

not on a tuffet...

in which our plucky heroine starts the day with a credible imitation of Miss Muffet ...

Yep... sat down at the computer this morning and the corner of my eye caught movement in my peripheral vision. A medium sized spider on the wall at about shoulder height. Fortunately there was a spider catching cup handy, so after I was done yelping, leaping out of the chair, and catching my breath, I was able to catch and release said arachnid. I know that we are not supposed to put house spiders outdoors, but I figure it is better for them than being smooshed. And there is nowhere inside Acorn Cottage that I would enjoy having spiders cohabitating.

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~ Advent Swap day 15 ~

Day 15 - I'd been hoping that some of the tiny sushi would show up in my Advent Swap! The tinyfolk here will enjoy this as part of their New Year's Eve festivity...

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I have a button basket, rather like a small picnic basket. It contains assorted buttons that I rememeber from my childhood button box (the round tin with three roses on the top) and even more buttons that I have gathered, or salvaged, or purchased over my many years of sewing. It is always my first go-to when fasteners are needed.

I realised, now that I am working the I-cord border around the body of the cardigan, that I can't add the outer two rows without knowing how large to make the loops for the buttons. Hence the dive for the button basket, in which I found a vintage set of turned wooden toggles that seemed just the right thing...

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The very last shopping trip I made in March of 2020, before everything shut down at the beginning of the pandammit, was to a little shop on Hawthorne, to buy myself a cozy pair of "Glerups" slippers (which had been recommended by several online folks I followed at the time) ... The slippers have been worn pretty much every day since then, are still in excellent condition, and still make my feet feel good every time I wear them. Today I noticed that they were among the "best" posted on the NYT Wirecutter page.

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December SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	7 jars quince	kitchen plumbing	old plumbing
2	dried pears	heat pump installed	old furnace
3	dried persimmons	return vent vanes	high pitched whine
4	linen gauze privacy curtains	bedroom register	-
5	-	bike flat tire	-
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. a care package from my friend Ånni, containing a bottle of Lyle's cane syrup, and two organic pomelos. Now I can make some candied pomelo peel...
2. the button basket yielded some vintage wooden toggles that will be perfect fasteners for the cardigan I am knitting
3. almost as soon as I put out the request for a dozen or two lego bricks (to use for building jigs) one of my local pals responded and probably has some I can have!

Time of Isolation - Day 1261