I've just finished reading The Poet of Tolstoy Park by Sonny Brewer. It was given to me by my sister, Maureen, who is in a reading group and this was one of their choices. I was in a group once, but I didn't feel like I was carrying my weight: I'd rather listen to what others had to say, unless of course I felt very strongly about something. At first I felt awful about not contributing, but then I didn't care; after all, it's not about me. And in that frame of mind, this book echoes that feeling for me. It's the fictional story of Henry Stuart, (a real life character), who moves through life trying to "perfect the soul awarded him". A philosopher poet. There are lots of little tidbits to chew on at quiet times during the day, like "the more we think we know the more we think we matter. We become obsessed with our own cleverness...and with a constant desire to prove that we matter." If someone else read this book, I'm sure there'd be a different part that spoke to them. It was hard to hold in mind the fact that this was a work of fiction, and I finished it shaking my head in awe that Sonny Brewer (or anyone) could write something so real? Heavy? Poignant? Deep? I guess it's no different than creating a piece of art and people saying how did you do that?!
Speaking of art, that's my direction for today. That and finding a pair of red shoes to go with a new red skirt for a wedding this weekend. The art part will be easier, believe me.

Wildlife Everywhere

Home from our mini vacation in Florida with lots of new birds to add to my lifelist:


Little Blue Heron
what a gorgeous beak.

Sand Hill Cranes
never even looked both ways before crossing the street and walked right in front of us. Guess this is their neighborhood.

Limpkin
and the roseate spoonbill, Great White Egrets, little ones too.
And then there were some other characters along the Myacca River:

It was a great trip.

Leaving it all behind

Tomorrow we leave this:

taken moments ago. I'd say that's a good 12 inches on that granite block that was naked this time yesterday morning. No chance of seeing the sun today. But TOMORROW!!! We trade it all in for this:

Walking the beach in Florida for a long weekend. Ahhh, warm sand, warm water, perfect timing.

And just so you know I've been staying on task, here's a picture of fibers I'm using in my top secret project.

Not so secret, really. Just an excuse to NOT say this is as far as I've gotten!

I've Been Trying:

1. to spark my creativity by reading this book, Kaleidoscope with the most beautiful cover. It's one of those books that FEELS so good just to touch it. Well put together. And it has a chapter by a woman named Susan Tuttle, (who is a good friend of my friend Kate). I've met Susan once and in that one brief moment knew she was one of those women who looks you in the eye and is genuinely interested in what you're saying. Her part asks us to "Explore the Landscape Within", a self portrait. But I REALLY can't wait to get to the chapter called "Set Your Brain On Fire"...that's just what I need.











2. to walking every day. I found a new hill not far from home...15 minutes up and 15 down. I get so bored doing the same walk that I've taken to driving to some of the backroads, parking and walking in a new place with new things to look at. Whatever works. I've lost 10 pounds of unnecessary stuff.

3. to be patient during negotiations for a piece of property near the coast. To NOT get my heart set on it so much that I go into a funk if it doesn't work out. Moving after retirement has always been in the back of our minds, so this will be the first real concrete step.

4. to knit, to read, to clean, to put christmas decorations away (pitiful me). They're off the mantle and made it to the couch...TODAY the attic!

New Projects and Inspiration

This is my new project. Knitting a sweater for me. I don't trust making one for someone that may be disappointed if it comes out not quite the right size, or a little lopsided. But for this one time, I'm determined to do it the right way, so much so I've already ripped part of it out once, emailed the designer once with questions, and know I need to rip some out on the other finished side. The designer, Jill Vosburg, was very helpful and very patient with a neophite like me. The funny thing is, I'm not really new at knitting. My mother taught me when I was 8? But I've always knit "my way", meaning never EVER taking time to do a test guage square. Duh. Making changes to a pattern because I like it "this way instead". I guess that's okay if you know what you're doing. :)

So hopefully, before too long I'll have a finished product to show.

I'm so surprised to see that crocheting is also making a big comeback. I have an afghan, (or 'african' as Stephen King calls it in his new book Lisey's Story) that was made by my Aunt Maddie and given to us as a wedding present. But the one I wish I had was one I grew up with. It was beautiful multicolored squares surrounded by black. It was always on the back of the couch and when I was home sick from school it would entertain me for hours, just looking at the color arrangements. Nice memory. Hope everyone has one of those special memories.

Signs of Spring

When I was younger and my kids were little I worked with my friend Loel in her nursery school. Every spring she would send the kids away at the end of the day with the assignment of looking for 'signs of spring'. I still do it. All by myself. And besides the first crocus, first pussywillows, first green grass, there are three BIG ones I look for in anticipated excitement. We've got number one:

Tapping the maples. I particularly love this stand of maple trees with the real old fashioned buckets attached, not the new efficient plastic kind with the tubing attached to each one.

They line the road for a good stretch, with this beautiful old stone wall running behind it. Quintessential New England in spring.

Numbers two and three are a ways off yet. I'll let you know.

Knitting Bag

I went away last weekend and came home without the cord to download pictures from my camera, so I feel like I'm missing some major part of my blogging life. What's a post without pictures, I say. At least I need the crutch of pretty pics enhancing my words. But, until my cord comes home I do have some to show you...a knitting bag I made for my sister's birthday.

She can organize all her needles and patterns in one place:and I got to use one of my beautiful new buttons:Can you tell I'm having a hard time with the new beta blogger and moving pictures around...and what's with this blue text? Anyone have some words of advice for the technically challenged?

We pause for a moment...

...to bring you a few pictures of the last days of winter here in Maine. These are two of 5 ruffed grouse in my crabapple tree that is right outside my kitchen window. I love that tree. Last weekend we had a 'herd' of turkeys eating off of it...some in the tree and some standing on the ground jumping up to reach the fruit...pretty funny.
And this is daughter Sarah with her housemates, Maslow and Buca. Big dogs. We had a great day on the lake and the house didn't suffer too much from wet dog. I bought a new bathing suit today in preparation for a trip to Florida in a couple of weeks. And when we get home, it will be warmer here. Sap hasn't started running yet because the days are not that warm, ( warm days/cool nights) but March 25th is Maple Syrup Sunday around here so it will be SOON!

So Close...

This is 99.5% done...all that's left to do is hand quilt the log cabins, and think of some very clever title for it. It's about 26x26, hand painted fabric, using washers as embellishment....I'm happy with it.

The real color is more like the top photo.

Work in Progress

This was my project all day yesterday, except for the hour I went outside and walked on the lake. Once I got on the thoroughfare ( where the snowmobiles travel, kind of like the East Australian Current in Finding Nemo) the walking was perfect and the sun...I can't tell you how much this northerner loved the warmth of that sun. Anyway, this is my interpretation of a traditional log cabin. When you put the above picture with this one:




you will see the two major desing elements I'm using. Washers, (thank you Deborah, though I couldn't find big flat square ones) wire, hand painted fabric to look like aged copper....the colors are a little different in these pics but the true color is more greenish than blue. As soon as I get it done done, I'll show the whole thing.

Messy Room as a Metaphor for Life this Week

It's been one heck of a week, you might say an emotional roller coaster week, but the sun is shining and the chickadees are chick-a-deeing and all will be alright. I've missed blogging, and blog reading... since Valentinge's day when life seemed to speed up to screech. But it's the weekend. One of the many things on my plate has been a deadline for 2 project proposals for a new book on beading. Never done one before, but Frayed Edges was asked to contribute since the editor saw the article and some of our quilts in Quilting Arts Magazine. So there was stress of the self made kind that needed attending to. This is what I should be straightening up today.

After the hurricaine blew through. But all I really want to do is something mindless (knitting squares to figure guage) and play with my new buttons. Pretty?

Love

Happy Valentine's Day everyone.

Tasty Treats

This is what happens when you try- VERY HARD- not to eat sugar. You run into every beautiful pastry ever crafted and you take pictures of it instead.

Another Sunrise:

...no less beautiful than the previous one. We had a chance to walk Newbury St. last night; actually, we walked from the Commons to BU, about 2 plus miles. It was a feast for the eyes. There's art everywhere, and that's just the store windows.



Most of the displays have some sort of 'red' theme, because of the upcoming special day. And the clothes...I feel like Dorothy when she said "We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto".

The ballet, well, Contemporary Ballet, which was the purpose of our trip, was PHENOMENAL. Complexions Contemporary Ballet. And of course Ian was best. This small company of dancers was incredible, each individual bringing a different professional background to bear on their performance. Ian has a strong traditional ballet background as did some of the others, but one of the guys had no professional training and you could see the street dancing/rap flavor to his moves. It was fast, energetic, and sometimes disjointed, a little too modern, (translate abstract,and if you read this blog you know how much I love abstract), but the last piece, set to the music of Marvin Gaye was jazzy, and a heart pumping joy to watch. Makes me smile just to think about it. 13 gorgeous bodies moving in perfect synchronicity.

More exploring today ending at the Science Museum. I'm really disappointed to think we are too late to see the special exhibit of the cadavers...I would have liked that.

Good Morning

This is not actually the sunrise this morning...we have no sun here. Only a black and white landscape with snow expected. Bruce and I are off to Boston for the weekend. Culture. Or as some of us here in Maine say, cultcha. Ballet, museums, art. Stay warm everyone, hopefully I'll have some good stuff to share on my return.

Mornin'

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLOTTE!!!

Two years old today...sitting in her present from last year!



...and this year



This is one of those bookshelf dollhouses, top shelf and inside roofline showing. I'm sure it will be used as storage for now, but will evolve into the intended dollhouse as she gets older.

Energy Again!

I'm loving this book. This has FINALLY gotten my creative juices flowing. I was going to say it has finally gotten my lazy butt off the couch and into my studio, but then I remembered it's not that I've been physically lazy as much as uninspired to start on new projects. Big difference. This book by Ineke Berlyn is chock full of COLOR and DESIGN help, and so much INSPIRATION. I guess this is the direction I need to head in. I've been fascinated for a long time by the idea of taking a photograph and interpreting it in fabric, but it's NOT EASY for me. I struggle and struggle because I'm so LITERAL. Abstract does not enter my creative vocabulary very often, and when it does it's usually not intended. I get hung up on DETAIL. But I LOVE the way these illustrations look. The color. The simplicity of the design. So I decided to play a little yesterday and this is what my work space looked like when I started...notice the book opened to my 'inspiration'...



I had some wool roving so I started by interpreting one of her designs. I chose my colors, laid them out on my pad and started needlepunching. As I got closer to the end, (the place where DETAIL comes in), those demons started rushing in...that voice in the back of your head that says, "that looks stupid", "what's it supposed to be anyway?" and the other voice saying VERY LOUDLY "it doesn't have to BE anything, this is only FOR FUN" "Have fun!!!" So I did. I just let go and started loving the colors and the feeling of it...so soft...and the design is fine. I decided I didn't like the moon, so that ended up on the floor...



And in the end:



This is how it finished. With a detail shot:



Needlepunching is so cool. It's very sculptural, three dimensional and because of that you can accomplish depth, not by shadowing as you would on a flat surface, but by directing the needle into the fibers a certain way. And when you blend them all together...I turned my masterpiece over at one point



and saw the back...beautiful!

These were done by my friend and fellow Frayed Edger Kate last fall. You can see the sculptural possibilities with these guys. Aren't they funny?! Endless possibilities.

Frayed Edges Monday

In case anyone missed it on her blog, here's another picture of happy Sarah holding the contract for her NEW BOOK. This is very exciting for all of us Frayed Edges, well for me anyway, since I've never seen a book go from conception to reality. It will be a kick to see the outcome. I've already seen the "proposal" and I'm just sayin' it's a work of beauty in itself.

At our Frayed Edges meeting last monday, Sarah was generous enough to share her expertise and her class material she teaches on machine quilting. We brought our machines and followed along with her instructions. I've done a lot of machine quilting, but I learned so many new things. Like wearing these:



As you can see, Sarah never quilts without them, and the dyes from the fabric on the fingers of the gloves prove it. I do 'alright' without them, but if you've ever seen her quilting, this small thing probably contributes to the fact that she wins awards. Along with the fact that she has a huge table with her machine countersunk so she can really "drive" her material all over the place...demonstration here:



You can't really see the action, but what you can see is the beautiful complementary color choice in clothing!

Happy Birthday to anyone who's birthday happens to be today...especially someone who has a propensity for purple and green! Such nice colors...

A Million Little Stitches

I'm back to working on this piece I started this past summer...now I'm adding hand work and every time I look at this I feel like I'm not doing it right. It looks disheveled and messy to me. Is there a right way and a wrong way? Should I be using a hoop? Should I aim for the same length? When I do the little circles I'm using two strands of floss...if I use more will that make it smoother? Am I really just obsessing?

Of Snow Removal

The plow guy came this morning. January 16th and the first plow of the season. The PLOW GUY. Kinda conjures up images of a scruffy, plaid clad, slightly overweight in need of a shave guy. Who, when he rolls the window down to talk to you smells of coffee and cigarettes. Or worse, cigars. Not that I have anything against cigars. And how often do we exchange words, anyway? When he rolls in at 5:15 and I wake up to the scraping of the blade, the only words are to Bruce, "It's the plow guy".

Our guy is Steve, and he is NOTHING like I've just described, so why does that image come up? He's very handsome, very slim, not too old, not too young. He has beautiful curly brown hair. And I'm pretty sure his truck cab smells more like coffee than anything else. He's a hardworker and a gifted carpenter when he isn't plowing.
He does stairs and banisters, two of the most precise and difficult woodworking challenges I can think of. More precise than putting together a quilt. And he approaches plowing our road with the same quality of care he does to a mahogany handcarved handrail. We're lucky to have him, and I don't mind the early morning call to wakefulness. It just means I don't have to shovel!

Another This and That

I got up early this morning because I couldn't sleep (5:15am). That's not unusual for one whose friends make fun of her because she goes to bed at 7:30. But I read! Well, for about ten minutes and then I fall asleep....anyway, my mind was full of things I wanted to blog about, books I've read, cleaning out my sewing room and digging up treasures (not), but I opened my email and found this:



These are little Lenten Roses from my sister Tricia's garden in western Massachusetts. 70 degrees yesterday. Denver has more snow than it knows what to do with and we have poor little flowers getting confused. I'm not complaining. I hate the cold and the mess most of the time, but I love Maine so you take the good with the bad. I probably will complain in the spring though, when my perennials don't make it.

So. Cleaning out my sewing room. I found projects never finished. Even in a very short time my style has changed so things I started last year, 6 months ago, will never see the light of day. What do you do with them? Back into the closet for awhile. Next time I clean they'll go out the door. Baby steps. Like the yards of upholstery fabric I've been saving for who knows what. This time they didn't make the cut. Gone. Feels good to purge. And it's no coincidence it happens at the beginning of a new year. Weight, physical surroundings, clean out, start new.

Books I've read:



Okay. I bought this book because I liked the cover. The colors and the image made me look twice, and made me wonder what was inside. I've never read any Jodi Picoult before so I don't know if this is her usual style or what. I can't say it was a happy read. Actually on so many levels, I found it disturbing. I think it's supposed to be about the father, Daniel, and his transformation from bad boy to the father who will do anything to protect his daughter. But I saw the moody 14 yr old, who lies to her parents, plays crazy sex games with her friends, gets herself and a boy involved in real life drama. Then there's the whiney mother. I don't know. I don't envy the things parents have to handle these days, but I still think, no matter what, with the right parent/child relationship, things don't have to get so far gone. And this book? By the end, unbelievably far.