After the absence

Hello everyone.  So many things have needed fixing and it seems to go on and on but cautiously I want to say I'm back! Trying to get used to new equipment, like resizing pictures without my nifty resizer gadget that won't work with this system, but here goes anyway...just a few highlights.

I've decided to make 20 small brooches for the holidays...maybe a sale...the style is slowly evolving.  Maybe I'll put some in the shop, which I'm not sure is working so well.  Don't know what to do about it yet. 

The raccoons are now very delighted with the ripening persimmons out front...when they gallop across the roof in the middle of the night they sound like elephants...Gilly wakes up and starts barking but I daren't let her out because at just 10 pounds she's too Small for that sort of encounter.  In honor of the situation, I made this little embroidery on felt brooch:

Here's another one that I'm calling Moon Biscuit:

There was the most spectacular arrangement of 2 spiderwebs in my backyard...the way they overlapped made a sort of tunnel effect...

Every September, there's a Stroll on the big street nearby...no traffic, just lots and lots of people, parades, food and craft booths etc.  I loved this horse by the fire truck:

And here's Gilly getting ready to sing "Take another little piece of my heart".

So I hope these pictures come out ok on your screen...let me know if there are problems.  I've been trying to keep up with my dear bloggy friends, but just not making many comments.  That's all for now!

More moons!

Hello everyone!  Happy blue moon.

The family visit (why are these posts so infrequent?) included a trip to the Monterey Aquarium and the Jellies Exhibits. I wish this photo could show their pulsing grace as they move through the water, living their unusual lives.

Last year I lost all my sunflowers to a mysterious backyard beast.  A week ago, as Gilly and I were strolling down the street I saw the culprit crossing the street with one of my neighbors' sunflowers in its mouth.  We galloped home for the camera...and caught this:

I do not detect any remorse or embarrassment.

Here are a couple of new felted pieces...the first is of a persimmon flower...they are very odd, woody structures:

And this one is called Relatively Connected...it has some 3-D effects that the photo doesn't fully show:

For my grandson's quilt, I've begun embroidering my memories of the significant houses in my life...this one was my Great Aunt Katy's house by the sea-shore.  I've been opting for the right feeling rather than accuracy of detail.  I'm using fabric lightly dyed in my indigo vat.

During our wonderful visit we visited our friends at the farm...the boys went for horse-back rides and fed carrots to the donkeys, who were undone by happiness and took a nap in the sun (after a dust bath).

That's all for now.  May the blue moon bring you beauty, bounty and Balance.

How full is the moon?

...here comes August...how did this happen so fast? June seemed slow and July flew by.  Tomorrow I'll start working on my grandson's quilt again because he and his family are coming to visit soon.  But meanwhile...

My apple tree has been Very Productive.  It's hard to keep up...so far one apple pie and several containers of apple sauce.  Here are apples on the tree:

And here they are on the ground:

This year I've been taking the windfalls to the Community Swap...trading apples for plums and lemons and cucumbers and exchanging kale for collard greens and beans.  I'm trying to make use of the limited space in my yard, and I have a LOT to learn about it all.  Here's a photo of one of the Swap tables...things don't stay on them very long...it only lasts one half hour...people keep arriving with new offerings...I really like meeting my fellow town-dwellers this way.

Also I wanted to show you how the Edgar Memorial Portrait is coming:

And here is his mom, Molly, in real life...she has started to sing again, and participate in games with Gilly.  More on that at another time.

I added some unintelligible grief markings to this one, which has to do with my experiences of wishing things had turned out differently regarding Edgar's lifespan, but finally accepting that it was what it was and I'm so very glad to have known him:

And here is the start of my first portrait of dear rambunctious Gilly, who right now is having a little time-out.  She gets a little crazy at night, ( I think the full moon is making a contribution), but often settles down in the crate.  We're learning together about harmonious living.

This is the news from here...sending you love and wishing all of us the beginning of a good August and the fullness of your heart and times this full Moon.

Sigh...

Hello everyone,

I'm sad to say that my dear little dove Edgar didn't regain his health and died, which is probably a blessing because he was quite miserable.  I was a very awkward nurse for him, but he seemed to appreciate my clumsy efforts to help. He was such a beautiful bird and a glorious singer...here's a picture of him as a very young fellow with his mother, Molly...well, perhaps it's his father, Earnest.  I could never tell them apart:

So it's quieter here.

I've started work on my boro jacket, from Jude's Contemporary Boro 2 class.  I'm just copying her plan, because it seems a good one.  I really love handling the fabric strips that I'm placing on the backing, which is Batiste.  I decided that all the cloth of this top layer would be pieces I dyed in my indigo fermentation vat, that I learned about in Glennis' class.  My vat still has problems because there is some rust in it, but the very silvery blue of some of the pieces seems magical.  I'm going to start over with a new stainless steel vat in a while but this one is fine for now.  This is the basic design on me; below is the first strip pinned on.  I LOVE this process...

Finally, Gilly has recently been barking at her night-time reflection in the window...I decided to try to demonstrate how it's just a reflection and carried her outside...she immediately looked at the back of the glass, saw there was no doggy there and then buried her head in my neck as if she was embarrassed to have thought such a thing!

That's all for now...good health to you all and Happy early July...xoxo, S.

This has been...

quite a month!  The washer/dryer (one unit) died.  Because space is very limited here, all sorts of adjustments have to be made for something that will work better.  Slowly the project comes together, needing only some more electricity (Tues.) and then INSTALLATION! I will be very happy to not have to go to the Laudromat.  Then the computer died, but that project is  almost completely fixed.  And then poor Edgar, my beautiful white dove, became very sick.  He might not make it, but in hopes that he will I've started a felt cloth:

Then here's "Nursing the bird with a broken wing" (he doesn't have a broken wing, but he's quite lame and can't walk, let alone fly...)

This one's name is "I wish I hadn't said that":

And lastly,  "Connection with a will-o-the-wisp"

They're all projects I've started...apologies for the crummy photos but improving them is for the future.

This year I've been growing kale and a wonderful North Carolina squash...my dear friend Catharine sent me 2 seeds and look! They're growing in something called an Earth Box, a gift from my son and his family last year.

Also some lettuce:

and here is dear Gilly, on her 6 month birthday! (today)  We are both learning so much in Manners Class.  We go over and over the basic concepts...building trust and staying in harmony/love with each other. 

Well, that's sort of a catch up.  Love to you all and best wishes over Independence Day. 

Reservations

Hello everyone, well, more time has gone by, and faster, than I had planned, in between posts, and here is one reason:

This is Gilly, waiting for the next exciting thing to happen around here.  I'm learning in Puppy School how to encourage her to find entertainment without nibbling on me or pulling at my clothes.  Raising a puppy is rather time consuming, in a nice way, but still I'm glad I don't have 5 of them which her (birth) mother might have done.

But luckily there's time for making things:

That's the "asymmetry of independence".

"Heaven's Radio", named after an old song.

"Nine Patch Horse"

Here's one of my favorite horse inspirations, from the Art Institute in Chicago:

"Re: productive thinking"

Now as to the title of this post, "reservations".  I've been thinking how it can mean making a nice time- space for something, like reservations for dinner.  Then again if one has reservations ABOUT something, it's likely to forecast a change of direction, one of which I've just had.  I was thinking of having a little show/sale at my house, but then I began to "have reservations" and changed my mind!  It's a big relief.  Perhaps another time.  Meanwhile I hope you are enjoying plentiful reserves and moving forward contentedly.  xoxo, s.

Moon Shine

We were lucky to have clear skies for the big moon...what a beauty it was, is...peeping through the roses.

and here is a piece I began at the new moon...experimenting with combining embroidery and felt...

The other day there was a lovely shower of rose petals that Gilly pondered in wonderment:

I wasn't fast enough to capture them falling.  Now she has had her shots so we've been taking walks each day.  Today wasn't too successful down at the waterfront due to some aggressive dogs...we have to figure out when is best to go, and I need to get her a harness so I can lift her out of danger safely.  She weighs 7 pounds now and was complimented in Puppy School for her increased confidence and good Sit and Down.  Wow!!  That's all for now.  Happy Moon!