The Bella Sinclair Award

My friend, Anne over at El Milagro Studio is way too generous with her praise and has kindly gifted me with another award for this blog.

Here is the link to Bella Sinclair who's award this is. Through the Renee Award previously given to me and created by Bella and Ces in honour of their friend, Renee, I have come to know some of these wonderful artistes in Blog World through blogging myself. There is Anne, Tristan, Gypsy, Diana, Kay, Bella, and Ces of course. Not the least is my daughter, Erin and then there is Leah, Frewen and Rebecca.




So, in the spirit, I pass along this award to Erin, Leah, Frewen, Rebecca and Diana. Thanks so much for the inspiration in my life.

Creative Every Day - Nature

Here's a sketch for the current CED project I am working on... It happens to be done as a sketch in someone else's Moleskine. However, it does give me a feel for the subject. I am sure that the owner of the Moleskine will be happy with having a preview sketch.

Ravens are an ongoing fascination with their tricksters selves born from an encounter in a reservation in the 4 Corners area back in 2002. As I was driving through north of Yuba City, I saw a raven harassing a Native American long distance runner. It was trying to pull hair from her pony tail. My fascination continues today with the 200th anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe's birthday this year. I did a postcard challenge earlier this year for Quilt Art about the poem the Raven.

BTW: Anne, this is all your fault. Here's the study for that 12 x 12 canvas we talked about earlier. The right side raven will have a shiny object in it's beak when all is said and done..

25 April - Today is World Wide Pinhole Camera Day

I was cruising the interwebs yesterday and ran across this link. http://www.pinholeday.org/org/. It was a "oh cool, I remember those" moment for me.

Here's my Creative Every Day thing, as I will make a fabulously decorated pinhole camera. I shall start with one of these.



My Da used to make me and my sister Diana, any number of these cameras when we were growing up. He had a dark room a lot of the time when I was a kid. Therefore, we used to play around with film and cameras a lot. He even turned an old box camera into a Polaroid. He was the one that also taught me how to safely observe a solar eclipse with a pinhole camera. It was a lesson well learned. Funny story, this AA taught the Lockheed engineers she worked with that trick of observing an eclipse as none of them knew it. I also showed them the trick of a piece of paper with a pinhole in it held above another piece of paper, they didn't know that one either. I was shocked, shocked, I tell you...

I have printed out the instructions for building one of these cameras and will relive my childhood for a little while whilst building it. I will let you all know how it goes and try to remember to take pictures of the building process along the way.

On another note: 24 April



I really have been missing having a space to garden in. Not having a space is largely the reason that I have volunteered for the Grace and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church's new garden crew. Although, I don't really have the time with the festival season fast bearing down upon me. I just want to get my hands back into the soil for awhile, if just for the pleasure of seeing the efforts on a Sunday morning.

Here's a quote I found that expresses my current state of mind about it. I do have house plants and plan a few potted garden things like growing my own garlic.

“Just because you've only got houseplants doesn't mean you don't have
the gardening spirit - I look upon myself as an indoor gardener.”

Sara Moss-Wolfe



Arbor Day, here's the linky to the Arbor Day site: http://www.arborday.org/

Arbor Day was yesterday. It kinda slipped by me and I didn't do anything other than look at my aspen with it's cozy on (see post of 22 April). Today we are suppose to be planting a tree in the church garden. I shall count that towards making up for the lack of planting a tree on the actual day of Arbor. Of course, it is all contingent upon the weather, yet again. Last weekend, we were suppose to start on the gardens and we had two days of snow. So work was postponed until today. Of course, we are suppose to have thunder storms all the day long. I shall take my wellies and my sun hat..

Creative Every Day - Altered Book for Dreams

Here's is the current Creative Every Day effort. We are still on the suggested theme for March of Dream. It's a wee paper covered book to keep by my bed in hopes of remembering the things that wake me up in the night. By a wee book, I mean it's small, it's only 3 x 5 inches...

I am a big fan of Tinkerbell. I fell in love with the little 3-D stickers of her and some fantastic plants and the colours contained therein. Then I found the papers on sale at the store to match the colours and a vision was born.

To cover the book, I use a glue stick to attach the torn bits of two of the papers. I really like polka dots and these were pretty irresistible. I cut the words Dream, Create and Inspire from a third piece of coordinating paper. I then glued on the 3-D stickers of Tink and the dandelion. I know what you are thinking, why did she use more glue on the stickers? I have discovered that most 3-D stickers don't adhere as well as some others, so I err on the side of caution.

I also made and added a ribbon bookmaker to the inside of the back cover. It's a olivey green chiffon ribbon that has a purple and olive green beaded tassel attached.
To cover the glued on ribbon I covered the insides of the covers with some of the coordinating papers as well. However, I neglected to take pictures of those steps.

Creative Every Day - Dragonfly Socks

Here's today's Creative Every Day effort. It is a pair of pages in a 3.5 x 5.5 inch Moleskine Notebook from the E=Mc2 IME Group on Ravelry. This book is part of the Moleskine Round Robin, which I have blogged about before. This particular book is from the second group. This is the same group that I did the Ravens and Roses themed 5 x 8 inch book for. (See post of 01/22/09 for a look see at that book)

This page says "Dream Bigger" and the "R" of Bigger goes off of the page. It is collaged from torn bits of scrapbooking papers. I made a ribbon page marker with a fob from a recycled bob of plastic that some stickers came on. I am trying to be a greener crafter and repurpose things. I stitched plastic letters of the book owner's name inside the plastic sleeve and attached it to the ribbon with an initialed brad (This part is missing from the picture as the book owner doesn't need to know what I have been up to: wink, wink). I used stickers for the lettering. I also sketched and used altered bits of stuff on the two prior pages.












Here is a picture of one of the latest pair of Dragonfly Socks. This pair were knit on Size 2 Brittany DPNs from a Cherry Tree Hill Sock yarn in the Blue/Green Colourway. I got two little bits of pooling from the knitting of the heel flap, not enough to bug me though, for which I am very glad.

The previous pair of Dragonflies(the purple/green stripey ones) were knit on 4s. I definitely like the smaller needle size in terms of the fit of the socks but hated them for the fact that I broke two of them just knitting along on this pair. Never mind, that they all look like smiles from bending as I knit.

What happens when knitting fast with wooden needles also known as How to Put a Smile on Your Wooden Needles? Apply Heat and Humidity from my hands.

These needles are only a week old. There really is no excuse for the breakage, in my opinion. They are made of birch wood and have a lifetime guarantee, so it's no big really. Except, the LYS doesn't have any of this size in stock at the mo. Yes, I know there are metal needles, but they fatigue my hands faster than anything and I like to knit for long stretches, sigh.

Creative Every Day - Altered Altoids Tin

I made this little piece today in response to the Creative Every Day challenge to use words and contemplation on the word "Dream".

I used a piece of blue wool felt for the base. I needle felted the amorphous design from the shed blue/grey wool from my big garter stitch shawl and a bit of the hand dyed merino that I purchased at the Sew Expo earlier this month.

I then took a piece of paper and hand wrote the word "dream" and coloured the paper with coloured pencils. I took a plastic plaque and place the word under it and then I attached the plaque with some rock crystal beads and sterling head pins.

I glue the plastic dragonfly on to the needle felted piece and glue that to the lid of the Altoid's tin and wallah.

This piece isn't quite finished as I am, wait for it, waiting for the glue to dry. After this step dries, I will then cover the sides of the lid and pretty it up some more before it is complete.

Again, I am sorry for the craptastic pictures.

Dream - Creative Every Day

So, the latest word is DREAM from Creative Every Day.

I immediately thought of all the dreams I have had over the years. Some have come true, like my children and doing things I never would have dreamed of doing.

Some have been nightmares. Like the lost of so many that I love in my life.

I scribbled some words and sketched some ideas (thanks to the Moley in the purse) for art whilst waiting for various things today. I will refine them and there will be dream art and I will share those dreams shortly.

Fern Clog Socks - Creative Every Day

I finished the Fern Clog Socks yesterday, which I started while watching the testimony in court on Friday. Obviously, a fast knit. Erin will take a pix of them later today and I will post them later this evening. They knitted up very nicely and I am very please with them. I got the pattern from Ravelry, of course. I did make a change to them in that I didn't like the published decrease on the left side of the pattern and did a different one that satisfied my sense of symmetry better.

For my Creative Every Day Challenge, I cast on a new pair of Dragonfly socks for me and dyed some cotton fiber with tea.

I dyed the cotton yarn (bought on sale at Knitter's Kove, woot) that was too bright for what it's intended use is with tea. I have been saving teabags for about 2 weeks and had quite the bowl full. The yarn is going to be for a sock project I am doing for Erin as she has not learned to knit socks yet. She is violently susceptible to wool itchies, so I make her socks in cotton, bamboo or some other non-wool fiber.

These socks are a special project that I am not talking about until they are done as we haven't seen/found a pattern for them and maybe will want to publish it ourselves after it's all said and done. Stay tuned for the progress on them.

Today's Creative Every Day

Here's today's Creative Every Day. The challenge was to use words. With grateful thanks to the What's in Your Altoid's Tin Group on Ravelry. These are stitch markers relating to a comment from someone in that group (KnitsWithPenquins, you know who you are). She said I should hang a sign around my neck that said "Will work for Ginger Roos." So, in response to that jibe, I have created these stitch markers. One set says "Will craft for Ginger Roos" and the other set says "Will craft for Trader Joe's".

We, Daughter o'Mine and I love Trader Joe's. It a wonderfully eclectic food, beverage and sundry store based out of SoCal. When we lived in California, fully half of our food budget went to TJs and all of our party food budget as well. Sadly, there are NO Trader Joe's in Colorado. We have discovered that the nearest one to us is in Albuquerque, NM. It's an eight hour round trip from here and with the winter weather a trip not to be undertaken lightly. We do plan on going sometime in the Spring.

Erin has taken an empty suitcase to Las Vegas in order to shop at the TJs there. I have taken a cab from the Phoenix Airport to the one there, also with an empty suitcase in order to pick up a few things. Our favorites from TJs include among others: Chocolate Covered Almonds, GINGER ROOS, Ginger Cat Cookies, Danish Self Extinguishing Candles, Cotton Dish Towels, Expanding Sponges made from some vegetable or another, Raspberry Peach Blossom Juice, CRUMPETS, Mini Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies and I am sure there are others too numerous to name...

Send me some Chocolate Covered Almonds and I will send you the Will Craft for Trader Joes stitch markers. Send me some Ginger Roos and you'll get the Ginger Roos stitch markers..

BTW: Here the link to the blog of the Quilts Arts Edgar Allan Poe 200th Birthday Anniversary Post Card Challenge: http://qaravenchallenge.blogspot.com/
My postcard is here on my blog in an earlier post as well as on the QA Raven B.log

Finished Goddess Postcard - Creative Every Day

Here's the finished postcard that the beginning of is photographed in the previous post. I think it turned out pretty well.

It is made from green commercial wool, green and taupe hand dyed silk top and purple/green and orange/yellow hand dyed alpaca, which were then needle felted onto a purplely grey wool felt background.

I then trimmed it and glued it to a watercolour post card backing. It may go out into the world as a Random Act of Kindness to one of my friends. Who knows where it will land?