Thar She Blooms!

One of my favorites.



And since they need ants' help to open and bloom, it does make me appreciate the little buggers a whole lot more! (did you notice the one in the first photo?)
I planted a few more in the front yard, and will have to move this one in the fall, I think she's not getting enough light, there's only this bloom, and no other buds to speak of.

And look what I got this weekend!

Next month, the workshop! Hooray for learning new things! I can't wait to share this new project!

Hooray Hooray Huzzah!

The morning view

As I was driving home last night, the moon was low, large and light orange. I love the moon, I thought to my small self, almost as if I had forgotten how terribly I adore that rock in the sky. And I do. It comforts me somehow, whenever I see it. Especially on the nights she brings out her best dresses. The night I first saw the moon as a red giant, I was on top of a mountain and was totally blow away at the majesty. I feel that way about small rocks sometimes, in a smaller way. I always try to find an interesting rock when I go places like the beach and the mountains, or just somewhere new. They remind me of the place, yes, but also, of being outside. And have you ever seen a prettier stone than agates? Now, I've not found one of those on the ground, but do own some. One in a ring, others from when I was a young rockhound. (Which meant every time we visited my grandparents we went to Old Towne Rock and Gem and I was allowed to choose one or two polished stones to bring home). I need to take their photos, I just rediscovered them unpacking the other week. Seeing old friends is always such a reward.

Here's a glimpse of my morning. This is the table in what was once the dining room in this house. We've turned it into the record& book library with an eating nook. I never have been one to want a formal dining room, so this is perfect. And it's in the heart of the house, so the music goes everywhere when Shawn puts on his DJ hat and plays the records. I love it here. I love my table cloth, and my aqua cup. You've probably seen it before, if you've been reading a while.
I adore it.
You will probably see it again.

I've also made another blog-me-how-to-write-truthfully- decision. I've been writing letters to a dear friend (yes, the kind with stamps) and I've realized how open I am, how easy it is to say whatever it is I wanted to say. And that's how I was trying to write here. But I was feeling blocked and untrue when I was trying to write as myself here... Not sure why I was blocking myself, but hey, when don't we all do that at?? So. I' m going to try my best to pretend I'm writing a real letter. And we'll see how that goes from here. I think it will work. I'm excited.

A bonus photo of Fidge, she had been laying quite relaxed when I brought out the camera... Now she just looks too snooty not to share!

I did retouch this photo, it had come out too blue from my camera, evening light is still tricky for me. But relearning how to use a "real" camera is SO much fun! I uped the saturation and sharpened it a bit, just so you could see what it was I saw when I took the photo.

Now we're getting fancy!

I put the Merci Beaucoup shawl pattern into a pdf format!! I noticed that whatever it was that I had done trying to format it in a a pretty way just wasn't working nicely in the blog post, so here's a polished version! All the bold type in the right place, all the information looking swell. I am quite pleased.

I've loaded it up onto Ravelry.

If you do not have a Ravelry account, check it out, it really is a valuable tool. But if you still don't want it, but need the .pdf, please let me know and I'll be happy to email it to you, it is free after all!!

Let there be Tiles!

Good morning dears!

I will be posting these tiles tonight after the office-work. I have more, but surprises are nice, aren't they? And plus, who knows what I will need to make tonight, so I don't want to promise you too much. I much prefer my home-work. Home work is art, it is craft, it is little pieces of my soul and thoughts coming together to create. Whatever that creating is, I am pleased as punch to be able to make it.

(I love this one, the little black eggs are so snug in their nest... Does anyone know if there are birds who lay black eggs? I think emus lay dark blue ones...)



I hope you have a sweet and tart lemon bar kind of day!



Edit time! I just listed all three of these tiles. Sadly, I must go clean the bathroom floors instead of posting more. But it's only because my mum is coming to visit tomorrow! She deserves clean bathroom floors!

A new experiment

Oof, tried to post these photos this morning before work but the photos would not load up as lickity-splickity as I needed them too. So here's what I was thinking about this morning.

I wish you were here to see the sun on these yourself, it is stunning.


mmmm... green.

More pondering.

I have a few peeks at what I've been working on and squirrling away. There is no way for you to see my work unless I show it to you, I've realized. I have learned that I need to promote my work. It is me, it is what I do it is what I am proud of.

So without further ado, I give you bits of my thoughts and parts of my soul, for that is what all art is, don't you think?

The first two are small sculptures, all wool. The pink one is a pod scultpure I've made a small series of. I'll be sharing the rest of them soon here. The idea is to have a multitude of these pods, hanging from the ceiling. I love things hanging from ceilings, it changes the space in such a cozy, tent-fort kind of way.

This blue one was supposed to be part of that series, and it might still be. It is a big departure from the rest of them, in shape, size and details. While beading this, I could not help but imagine the bluest oceans, fish swimming in and out of this little haven. Rocking in the sway of the waves, with the sunlight dappling through the kelp.
It's funny, how much the ocean can move me to create, when I'd much rather be in the mountains most days. But beauty is everywhere, and I am grateful for the inspiration whenever it comes.

This is a work in progress. I started it a few years ago and it got set aside in the vast shuffle of moving, learning to live in Charlotte, growing, and while moving into my new house, I found it again, and am tickled purple with the strides I've made with it. I can't wait to finish this!!

And so, it is late to be on the computer for me. I will go knit, drink some tea, or maybe read... I'm revisiting the Narnia books again. They are such a childhood comfort, along with the Hobbit and Madeleine L'Engle's works. I've missed reading, and am enjoying books with relish!


Have a lovely night, dear people!

Etsy Etsy Etsy!

I've been working on my photography, of my work mostly. Figuring out how much tissue paper to put over my lamps, how to set the tripod so I don't have to keep wiggling it back and forth every time I take a close up... All those exciting things. Which really is exciting, I'd missed using a real camera, and this is such a great exercise!

One of my main goals this year is to put as much extra time and effort into my etsy page as I can (the widget is on the right in the side bar). My buttons and tiles are not for me to keep.

They are for you, for my friends, for the strangers I just don't know yet.

I hope that if something calls out to you, you are able to bring it into your home.


Here are a few of my buttons being modeled in their favorite medium. Wool.