Wednesday, December 31, 2008

...sleet nor hail or is that sleet or hail...

Audition for USPS delivery position...



I had a mission to fulfill this morning and if I had opened the shades at 6:30 this morning I probably wouldn't have baked "gift" scones for delivery today. But I didn't open the shades and I did bake scones and there was a snowstorm brewing. I managed delivery----

Happy New Year!

Saturday, December 20, 2008

perfect weather

Felled by tendonitis at the most inopportune time ...the weather is perfect for doing tendon-inflaming things like knitting (any weight yarn with any size needle), sewing (on the sewing machine) and finishing all those fiber gifts (YIKES!)!

But I can work the oven and the camera, so all is not lost. Behold winter wonderland.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Scarfarama WIP's

Santa's helper is working hard to get the scarfarama segment of the Christmas gifts knit, but her wrists and thumbs started to hurt, so she decided to practice "picturing" for awhile to change the thumb and wrist action. Noticing that typing is not helping the wrist and thumb situation, maybe I'll have to move to the kitchen segment next...

Two done---
This one is Lorna's Laces, wool and silk.

This yarn is from Fabulosity on etsy, one of my first purchases there.



Two to go---
Vintage Icelandic wool that I dyed with leftover acid dyes to put my outdoor dyeing studio in hibernation.



Don't know if I can give this one up though---liking the results. Hmmm.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Faux for the holidays!

I've started this post three times, until today I haven't gotten anywhere with it. I read other blogs sporadically and realize that they post every day or almost, which astounds me. I'm happy to know that these creative people make things and write about their process too, all on a daily basis. I aspire to that ability. Maybe it's the writing thing? Maybe I should "picture" each day, maybe that's the solution?

I wasn't when I started writing this post, but I am now....deep into Santa's workshop mode. Trust me, no one needs a sweeping view of every surface filled with something in the process, perhaps just a slice of the overflow...

It just doesn't look like a Martha Stewart environment. Who wouldn't love a dedicated room to wrap presents? Oh, just me? Well, in my parallel universe I have a Martha Stewart room set aside for just that task! Drawers, cubbies, scissors, a variety of adhesives, plenty of tables, nice flooring, good lighting, plenty of ribbon dispensers, shipping dept, regular UPS pick-up. As long as we're talking parallel universe, I'm adding a Martha Stewart kitchen equipped to make all those tasty holiday treats with an assistant who has just returned from the grocery store with the ingredients I forgot...ahhh!

Anyway. Have my knitting and dyeing mojo back! Yesss! Won't my brother and his family in New Mexico be happy (I'm sure they don't read this) when they open their box this year and find that each one has received a knitted ______ in my hand-dyed yarn? I'm knitting with each in mind, but it just occurred to me to put their four items in the box, wrapped and unmarked and let them decide who gets what! We'll be i-chatting on Christmas day and responses will be noted. (Aunt Susan is pretty scarey.)

On top of Santa's workshop activities, I'm slowly rolling out another store on etsy, "sewfaux", just for my chenille textiles---my studio samples, my prototypes! I won't imagine going into production on any one chenille item but there are on-going themes. Finishing and photographing these pieces for this new shop has been great for collecting my thoughts on this years work and clearing the slate for 2009.


Surely there will be plenty of whimsically-minded people out there in this economy needing cotton Buche Noel Logs this holiday! No matter that timing is everything. Gotta have a sense of humor these days or you're in trouble. Hoping to get it all online this week just Faux the holidays!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

local talent

Had to put away the knitting needles or at least tuck them under the table to turn on the sewing machine and finish up a group of chenille pillows, log bolsters, rugs and a stool for a local Holiday craft sale. Tucked in a few lavender sachets and delivered them.









Take a break from Black Friday at the big chains this Friday! Come out to the vineyard and farmlands at the East End of Long Island for a charming collection of artisan and craftspeoples creations for the holidays:

The 17th Annual Country Parlor Holiday Sale
The Grange Hall
Sound Ave at Church Lane
Riverhead,NY

Nov 28 Fri- 9-3,
Nov 29 Sat 9-3,
Nov 30 Sun 10-2

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

November 4, 2008

Vote. Vote now!

Monday, November 3, 2008

re: Pumpkin altar

The pumpkin altar worked its magic yesterday!

There is a lot of crown moulding and trim that needs to be painted in our house. I had primed the bedroom trim on Saturday. Everything was going relatively white yesterday morning until I finished a coat of white paint on the kitchen/dining area trim and realized that the Master Sander had not sanded the doorway to the bedroom where I needed to go next with my white paint brush. So I started looking for the rosey brown paint I bought a couple of years ago for my kitchen counter/table top. It was nowhere to be found. The Master Sander must have thrown it out during one of his purges of what he thinks are too many cans of paint. (Thanks dear.)

I looked through my paint swatch file for the original rosey brown color but was overcome with the impulse to paint it Benjamin Moore's Jack-o-Lantern orange! The table top in it's new cheeto-cheese puff-cheezit- glowing orange incarnation last night.



Explain that! Pretty sure it was the pumpkin altar that caused this!