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.

Day 9 ~ Faceless Self-Portrait

Hmmm, how to convey me in a self portrait that's faceless? Valiant effort on my behalf, if I do say so...

#57 of 365 - Art Today

Today was primarily devoted to doing the art that I bought some of the supplies whilst doing yesterday's errands. Deborah came over and kept me company while I played in the 3 Moleskines I have in hand from the Ravelry International Moleskine Exchange. I gnerally do a theme of art in the books that come my way. Today's turned out to be a Spring themed poem with steampunked fleurs. Don't ask me why, just the mood I was in I suppose, as I am SO ready for Spring to arrive.

The ingredients for these pages are patterned paper, green flower shapes, gears, and rhinestones, with tags, ribbons and yarn. Sorta of Shabby Chic meets the Industrial Revolution. The bit of poetry is from "A Celtic Miscellany" by Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson. It is from the chapter on Nature. What I used is as follows: May-time, fair season, perfect in its aspect then; blackbirds sing in full song, if there be a scanty beam of day. Waxing philosophical to boot...

#56 of 356 - A Day of Errands for Errands Sake

Spent the day taking care of business, banking, shopping, art supplies for the Moley Round Robin, last little bits for the Saint Patrick's Day Swamp on Ravelry, which is Irish themed and green. Failed at finding new jeans tho. I am SO tired of the ones that slide off my ass. This is me, tired...

Yanno, the usual stuff... Gotta tell you, I hate buying the bulbs for the over the stove light in the kitchen tho. Why-o-why do they burn out so fast? ... and me with the Black Hole of Calcutta for a kitchen...

We did have a lovely lunch at La Baguette tho. We also picked up a crafted loaf of Euro Rye Bread to go with the Nutella I bought at the Wal-Mart.

After lunch, we went to the Bead Gallery to find some Tiger's Eye beads, so I can send them to my friend, Frewen in the form of a necklace, in hopes of incentivizing her to make me a Mother of the Bride hat that looks like Tiger's Eye for the DD's wedding. We found some cute penguin earrings for the DD who is fond of penguins (which I did not know, until I made some penguin stitch markers for my friend, Becca aka KnitswithPenguins, and so she now does). She may also make stitch markers from them if she can't find ear wires that don't react badly.

Here are the penguins and here's some of the Irish Swamp goodies and the beads I selected.

#26 of 365 - Olio

This Moleskine spread says a lot about me. I haven't had a round robin Moleskine to work on in QUITE some time. I miss the incentive to make art when I don't have a deadline to create to.
Now for a completely different subject, this is the yarn that Erin dyed for me to knit my Bellatrix from. These stockings when finished will be a welcome addition to the "Kewl Sox" collection.

Moley Madness - Round Three

As you all are likely aware by now, I love my Moleskines. I also love the Ravelry Round Robins I have been doing with them since last Fall. Here are the opening pages of book three which left on it's travels yesterday.




My first book had no theme, per se. My second book has a theme of Ravens and Roses. This book's theme will hopefully be a travelogue of it's journey. I have asked the participants to tell me something about where they live. Can't wait to see it when it comes home. I started with a view of Pike's Peak from the Garden of the Gods as a guide for them to know what I want for this round. I really am lucky to have such a treasure in my own backyard as it were. All but one (yeah for Kimi, taking that leap of faith again) of the participants in this round are totally new to me, so I am really excited to see what they will do..




Of course, the photos are craptastic and in no way do justice to the process, but I am doing the best I can. Thanks for your patience...

More Moleskine Madness from Ravelry

Now that I have had time to process my joy at the return of my Moleskine (pronounced Molskina), I will go into more detail about the Ravelry International Moleskine Exchange Round Robin and where this all started. My friend, Karen asked for more information. Moleskines have been a part of my life for over 10 years and I keep all necessary information in them along with anything else I need or might need in the way of sketches of knitwear, sizes and measurements for the Highland shirts I make, ideas for quilts, a hand-fast ceremony and so much more. Here is a picture of my current Moley, it has a knitting charm attached to the place mark ribbon.




Back in the fall, I signed up for a Journal Exchange on Ravelry. The rules for that were simple. Send in a questionnaire, get matched with a swap partner then put together a wee giftie of a Journal, writing prompt and some other goodies and send off to your swap partner. I got a lovely package back along with a Celtic journal in my exchange which I blogged about last year as well.

Whilst talking amongst ourselves in the journal exchange group, we realized that some of us would like to go further, than just sending a blank book. We also discovered that quite a few of us were fans of the Moleskine brand of notebook. Thus, the International Moleskine Exchange round robin group was born. Many of us immediately signed up to be involved in the long term art project. Some logistics needed to be ironed out, then we got our Moleys, wrote our introductions and off we were to the P.O.

I have just finished one exchange with a small book (3.5 x 5.5) that had no theme other than for each participant to tell me a little about themselves and add art in their particular media. There are 10-12 people in each group. We had some fall out due to life's circumstances and a VERY few Naughty Swappers, but for the most part this has been a very successful round robin. I have always enjoyed working with others on art, be it a quilt, a knitting project, a Headless Corpse or the books. Everyone is creative in some way. One of our members is more of a wordsmith, than an artist (so she claims, but I love her little sketch of a turnip in my book). Words done well is a talent I wish I was better at.

I also have another larger one, loose in the world right now. That one is a 5.5 x 13 inch one with quadrille (graph paper) pages. It does have a theme. It's theme is Ravens and Roses in honour of Poe's and Burns' 200th and 250th natal anniversaries. They are two of my favorite poets, so that theme seemed most appropriate for the round robin that started in 2009. I also blogged about it with pictures of the cover earlier this year.



The sketch is one of the many views of Pike's Peak that I get to enjoy except on those days when the clouds are lower than the mountain. This is the first bit of art in my Creative Collaborating Chicklets Group of IME Moley. We started out as Group C but ran away with it, thus the 3rd group became the 3Cs.





This is the last bit of art in my returned book. I had thought to send it back out in round 3, but my lovely and creative partners left only six blank pages in this wee book. So, I have an idea to finish it up with my thoughts about the IME experience and one or two more sketches and then enjoy it til the end of days.




Heartfelt thank yous again to Frewen, Baby, Loops, DMXOX, SleepyEyes, Kwesty, Grenouille, Celty and Stucky for enlivening my world and sharing part of yours. It has been a joy, privilege and incredible learning experience for me getting to know the marvelously talented, funny, irreverent, curmudgeonly, humorous, GIFTED women from Canada, the UK and the good ole US of A during this art experience. I would do it ALL OVER again in a heartbeat. In fact, I have signed on to do it again in a 3rd round starting next month, LOL.

Moleskine Happiness

Today after a eight month sojourn, my 3.5 x 5.5 inch Moleskine returned. I am overjoyed and overwhelmed at the talent, humour and thought that came home with it.


Here below is my very first impression...

Oh my, everyone! My Chicklet Moley is perfectly perfect in every way. I type this with tears running down my face.

I love the funny bits, the serious bits, the open heart bits, the art bits, my turnips with tatties, Grenoiulle, the knowing more about each of you, the pirate bag made by Kimi in my favorite shade of green that my Moleys will live in, I’m thinking. The wee blue bear (who from, BTW?), the wee quilt sketch from our Gina, the Celtic stickers from Heather, the drawings, yes, even yours, Frewen and someday we’ll share a glass of yer hand crafted wine together. The bit of music from Anna, Lini was feeling Japanese, somebody actually found and use E.A. Poe stamps and passed them along to me. The menus and wee watercolours from Deborah, and no, Hope it isn’t too cute.

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..

Saint Patrick's Day Parade and the Mail Box Gnome was Good to Me

Saturday was the Marching o' the Green in Denver. This is just some of our Blairs, we were 20 strong for the parade. It has become a regular March event for us and the weather smiled on us this year. Not too cold or hot and certainly no snow.

I came home from the St. Patrick's Day parade and got in the bed and didn't get out until this morning. I am getting to old for this stuff.

That said, I was a kid in the candy shop just now as I got not one but four packages in the mail. Trader Joe's goodies, fiber goodies and I am so grateful to all that sent me something. I guess that the Trader Joe's stitch markers have a new owner.


Some of the goodies from Miz Emily on Ravelry.com.




My Baby Lini, also from Ravelry.com sent me some goodies for my birthday as well, here's just a few of the bits and bobs contained in the graphic designed box with the turquoise ribbon.



Then there was Ginger Roos and a lovely beaded bag of Lavendar from Rebecca aka KnitswithPenguins, also from Ravelry.com.

The last package contain two Moleskines for me to add my artistic endeavor too. I shall try to do them justice as always

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.

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.

Ravelry Journal Swap and Moleskine Round Robin

So, I belong to Ravelry.com, which is an on-line knitting and crochet community. It's suppose to be about knitting and/or crocheting, right?


First off, Ravelry has a group or two or three for EVERYTHING. I saw that there was a one-on-one journal exchange happening. You first fill out a brief questionnaire, then you get matched up with someone else who signed up for the swap as well. Then after some exchanges to get further details about your swap partner, you then send a journal with, in this swap, a writing prompt and a wee giftie. Susan, my swappee is from the far reaches of the NorthCentral Mid-West and loves pink and blue. She is WAY younger than me, so I got her a bubblegum pink journal with book binding and lined pages, as that's her style of journals (being cack-handed, I prefer spiral bounds). Then I made a Superperson emblem with flowers and vines PINK bag with pink and black ribbon ties for it along with a matching pink project bag that I filled with two pinks and one blue ball of wool roving and the new Clover needle felting pen as her giftie. Well, apparently I chose wisely as she indeed loves pink, but she also loves Supergirl and liked the fabric I chose for her gift. She has also has never tried needle felting, but was interested in it and now she has the start of her supplies if she finds she likes it as much as I have discovered I do. As always, in haste, I left something out of Susan's package, so here is what I wrote to her about that. It might be of use to someone out there.


I wrote to Susan:
I do hope you enjoy the needle felting, I am a huge fan of it as I am sure you can tell from my blog. The only thing I didn’t send along, which I discovered too late was a large CHEAP sponge, like you get from the Dollar Store for a working surface. You can get the brush mats at JoAnn’s, Hancocks, Michael’s, etc., but if you’re not sure if you are going to like the process or only going to try it a few times, I would use a substitute and the cheapy sponge works nearly as well for a needling surface. Use a cutting mat under a sponge, tho, so you don’t mar your table and/or break your needles, ask me how I know, LOL… Above all, have fun and oh, by the way, cookie cutters make great templates for designs if you aren’t comfy with free-handing it… If you do get hooked or needled, as the case may be, many LYSs will sell dyed wool roving fiber by the oz. and some of the artier stores may have dyed silk tops and other kewl stuff that can be needle felted. The black bag with the oak leaves is needled from both wool and silk fibers. Have fun and if you do have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. (See post of 11/24/08 for picture.)


Then there is Group C of the International Moleskine Exchange Group aka the Fabulous Creative Collaborating Chicklets. Wherein, I have met an amazing group of women and they know who they are, who if anything, are funnier, smarter and more clever than me. There are 10 of us in the group, but 6 of us appear to either have the most time to waste or the smartest mouths so I can thank the Gods and Goddesses that most of my group share at least some of my warped sensibilities about the world and Martha Stewart and are willing to talk about free ranging chickens, vegan marshmallows, Moleskines, art and what ever else happens to strike our fancy. Oh, sometimes we even talk about fiber, Frewen is blogging about felting boots, Baby Chicklet about prezzies made of fibers and I just posted about my version of Jayne Cobb's hat from Firefly and what my daughter's getting for Christmas.

So, you might ask, what is a Moleskine? The Moleskine is a notebook that can be quadrille (graph), unlined, lined, watercolour, thick or thin paper filled generally black covered with an elastic band to hold it all together with an inside back cover pocket for stuff that was made famous by the likes of Hemingway, Picasso and various other creative people and a staple in my purse for 5 iterations or about 5 years. It comes in various sizes and now apparently in various colours. We are doing a round robin, which means that currently my Moleskine is in Essex, England UK, with Lini, the Happy Hooker. We each did intro pages wherein we let the women who were going to work on our Moleskine know if we wanted a theme, hated something, had no opinion, yadda, yadda, yadda, before sending them off and then we'll each do 2 or more pages in each of the 10 other books in the exchange before ours returns to home.