Getting Ready

Getting ready for Christmas. The tree is now up. The stockings are hung by the chimney with care. The wreath is getting lights today, then it will be hung up on the front door. Also I am getting ready for the anticipated Christmas visit of my nephew, Merlin and his new bride, Jennifer, so I am doing a major clear out of "stuff". Also, my Da should be joining us. Thus far there are four big blue Ikea shopping bags of stuff and not nearly done. Le Sigh Enorme. Too, I am getting ready for a new round of an art exchange in a Moleskine with my International Moleskine Exchange group from Ravelry.com. I am really excited for this new round. We took a hiatus for 2012 and I missed my Moley mail. I ordered something special for the ladies in the group, which I won't share here as yet, since more than a few of the participants read this blog. This Moley has been on travels before. It is a themed one. It was started the year of the 200th anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe's birthday and the 250th anniversary of Robert Burns' birthday, so the theme is Ravens and Roses. This will be it's third go ~ round and hopefully it will be filled up completely this g-round. As well, as getting ready to re-read an Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon for the Ravelry book themed swap to begin in 2013.

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

I Am So Sad or the International Moleskine Exchange

I have had various Moleskines (Moley) in my purse for the last seven years, as they are a great way to corral my thoughts and little bits of paper. I lost my last one in September and I still feel the pain of that. I replaced it, but the information, like a handfasting ceremony and shirt measurements for a couple of guys I know are missing. Never mind, the business cards and phone numbers I need to have on a regular basis. It's was like losing my brains, ouchers! My books have always been workhorses for me, so the opportunity to make art in them is really exciting. I have replaced my purse one, of course, but I still think I will find some bit of information I am looking for in the new one, but it's JUST NOT THERE...

As to what this post is about: I am involved in a two Ravelry.com (the knitting and crochet online community) exchanges of art based in Moleskine books like Picasso and Hemingway used for their writing and sketches. Here's the link to Moleskine: http://www.moleskines.com/?gclid=CPzpl8_jopgCFRwDagoddmh2Aw.

One of the books traveling is a small unlined thick paged one with no theme. I neglected to take a picture of it before I sent it across the pond to Lini, the Essex Hooker, who has sent it on to Frewen, the Forager. I decorated the cover of that one with a few labels and such and asked my fellow Moleskine artistes if they would add bits to it as well as their contributions to the inside.

The other Moley is a large one with gridded pages. The front is pictured here. It is decorated to reflect the theme I chose for it. That theme is Ravens and Roses, as it is both the 200th anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe and the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robbie Burns, this month of January and this year of 2009. These two poets are favorites of mine and I wanted to reflect their contributions to my life and literature. That book is in South Carolina with Chantelle, aka the BrownCoatKnitter. I am also an American of Scottish descent, so the theme reflects me even more..

Each person involved in the round robin chooses whether their Moley would have a theme or not. We each get 2 or more pages to reflect the theme or what ever we want in each book as it comes by. We get about two weeks to work on them before sending them onto the next person in line. We have also been sending little gifties to those who are working on our books. When done my fellow artists will all have a wonderful collection of hand-made beaded stitch markers and Lini Baby will have a few kewl book marks as I send her them instead of stitch makers as she is a crocheter more than a knitter...

Right now, I am sans a Moley to work on and feel bereft. We are sending them around the world for up to 13 people to add their artistic vision to... According to USPS, one left Denver this morning for my house. I can't wait to see it and add my little bit to it.

Today Is the Anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe's Birthday

Happy 200th Birthday, Edgar Allan Poe!

I do apologize up front for the quality of photos. The tulle overlay on the card made the camera crazy.

I belong to an on-line group, called Quilt Art. At the beginning of the moth we got to talking about it being the 200th anniversary of the birth of Poe and his poem, The Raven. We ended up deciding to do a fibre postcard challenge incorporating themes from Poe's works, especially the raven. This is one of my efforts.

To make this card I thread painted the house and tree on a layer of fabric and a layer of Timtex (thanks, Lynda). It is my version of one of the houses in Baltimore that Poe lived in. The tree is in front of the side where he lived. The ravens were laser printed on paper and then torn around for a feathery effect. They where then trapped under a layer of tulle, I also stitched around the ravens to keep them from moving around too much..