hope springs...

In an effort to hurry spring, (As if I can, *giggle*)I bought and inexpensive pair of pink plaid tennis shoes, ( Since our trips southwest are to be a bi-yearly event, not having a break this year makes the cold seem unbearable) I will wear them about the house tomorrow. (Of course I will put on appropriate footwear if I go outside, but allow me my delusions. ) What next? An indoor picnic perhaps?

We decided to exchange the light fixture. While the new one is not as artistically pleasing, (The first was a curved, brushed nickel and glass affair) This one gives a brighter light, and fits in with the track ceiling lights in the rest of the house.
I am getting a new task lamp for the worktop as well, similar to the one on my art desk I think. I would like to splurge on an Ott light some day, but I do like the kind I already have.

We are nearing the end of this project. I will try to take a more photos when we do.
I'm in search of the right cupboard for the sewing machine/recycle bin, as the floor space is just under the standard 24”inches on that side. The washing machine cannot be moved over any more, due to the placement of the outlet pipes and the water hoses.
On the other side, we need the room to get to the water heater. However, There is just enough room on the upper left for a cupboard, and the new flooring will be laid in the next two weeks or so, I hope.

I hadn’t done any book binding in a while, so I made this mini sketch book on Tuesday, all from recycled materials:

The inspiration came from a travel size sketch book given me by my friend for my last birthday, which is quite handy. I may use the same cloth to make a mini scrapbook for hubby’s b’day next month. He has a collection of photos of motor cycles he’s owned, and of ones on his wish list, so I thought I would make a sort of album for him.

A fresh batch of small, plain origami boxes for gift wrapping :

My fellow Etsyan mikish has a second shop for her handmade totes here: http://mikishmink.etsy.com/

We both seem to have a fondness for sewing graphic and colourful totes.

eclipse

Some of my favorites for valentines from hubby!




I missed much of the eclipse. I meant to watch but was preoccupied and I didn’t remember until the end. This is what I saw:
A very bright moon with the tail end of the earth’s shadow (the lighter, crescent shadow on the right) It brings a cat’s eye to mind .
It was a very cold night and is a very cold day, about 8* below zero as I type.





I received the spring issue of Cast-On Magazine on Monday. I like the lace anklets, so I may try that, even though I usually have fun working out my own lace patterns.


















Whilst waiting for the arrival of the spring issue of American Archaeology, I am finishing reading the one from last spring, as I have exhausted the issues from last fall/winter and summer. The article on deaccessioning would have been useful years ago when I had to research on my own at the museum, but it worked out well in the end.







Anyhow, the project is going well. I sewed the shade for the door’s window on Sunday, used my sewing machine on the newly built worktop.
I wanted something pretty, to soften the space. I will be buying a weather insulating curtain for the door. It will hang from a swing arm rod on the door frame for easy opening of the door.

I painted the bottom cupboards and added the new draw pulls, and we built the new worktop. It is removable in case we need to use the sink, but we rarely do. We sometimes use it to clean our hands and paint brushes, and I do some potting there, but I wash delicates in a separate washbasin so we shouldn't need it much.
I’ve also put a first coat of the white wax finish on the trim around the work top. The wood grain shows through nicely, so I will also use the finish on the top.
I’ve already painted the wall over the sink, which will be my gallery/idea wall, and hubbyinstalled the deep wire shelf above. The old shelf was only 12 inches deep, and this one is 16 inches, so It gives us much more room for bulky things we don’t often use.

before:

after

Taking a break

Work in progress...


Amaryllis, Feb 12th thru 17th

Happy Valentines Day!

I've been saving this photo I took weeks ago , I hope it makes you smile. Mother Nature's whimsy!
I hope your day is special.


My knitted heart bag I had listed on Etsy:




















The project is going well. Hubby installed the new light fixture on Saturday, however, one of the three glass shades had a break in it, so I telephoned the manufacturer, and they are shipping a new one to us. Hopefully it will arrive before the weekend. I will add a few more before and after photos soon.



I've not been drawing or painting in the last week or so but I have been knitting a bit, and am nearly ready to block the cushion cover
(' just working on the last bit, the button flap).





I started this cross-stitch piece about 3 or 4 years ago. It is from a book of patterns adapted from William Morris designs by Barabara Hammet, which I like very much. I finished only the upper right quarter then. At Christmas time in '06, I was recovering from another bit of surgery and on bed rest, so I was able to get to this point:



I seem to be in the mood to work on it again, so I should have the main section completed soon, if not the border, which is the most difficult part. I've changed a few things to make it uniquely mine, including the colour of the border, which was to be blue, but I wanted white .
My hope is to complete all unfinished sewing/knitting/embroidery projects, there are three each, before summer, then I will spend more time with my paint boxes.

Two bulbs and lumber

Today I potted the other two amaryllis bulbs. They were already sprouting, in the closed cardboard box in which they were shipped. They should flower by mid March, I think, if all goes well.

It was already two thirds completed when I stopped work on this wrap I started knitting in November of last year. So I hope to resume as soon as I've finished the brown cushion cover in a day or two.

My design is a simple repeat pattern in multiples of 12 stitches plus a border.

We bought lumber for the new workspace counter top today,but more on that part of the project later, after the first two walls and the new lighting are completed. I'm excited!

workspace improvement project

I painted one wall on Sunday, and hubby installed the shelf brackets a couple of hours later. The colour was the first blue I picked out at the shop, and I really like it---It's called Chopin blue, and reminds me of Delft china.




The old wall where the ugly bookcase stood now looks like this:





As you can see, I've already claimed the spot where I can sit and sketch, or knit and have a cuppa whilst waiting for the washing. ( The amaryllis is one of three bulbs sent by a friend at the new year. I will pot the other two soon. The knitting is a cushion cover for a friend.)



I sorted a lot of things the days before I started, and stacked them in the study in the containers I already use. I'm giving more fabric to the theatre ( I always sort my stashes often to keep a bit of order)



Here is the opposite side: Everything I will put on the shelves already fit nicely in clear Rubber Maid containers, however,
I want to buy some large baskets for things I want in easy reach ( wicker baskets with the wire reinforcement should last a while).
I prepped (filled holes, sanded, washed, taped) each wall the day before painting, so that helped the process seem less over whelming, although it none the less saps what little energy I can muster. The taping was especially important, since the first two walls are now blue, and I'm going to re paint the other two the same off white they are, so the room still feels open.


Anyway, this weekend, we are buying a new light fixture which we already picked out at the Home Improvement shop, and hopefully, a cupboard to put next to the washer( right) for my sewing machine, with space for the recycle bin under neath. Then I can start loading the new shelves. After that, it will be the other two walls, and new lino flooring.

portrait of Sam

Our Sammy was nearly 14 when he died in 1998. Sam quite enjoyed life, we believe, and now when I think of him, I smile at our times together.
He was hubby's car dog, and fishing companion. sometimes I think he sensed how uncomfortable I was being out onthe lake in the little row boat, so he sort of took my place there.
He was my companion ( along with a cat or two, but of course, cats often have their own timing about where they want to be) Sam and I often took long walks to the lake, or even just round the yard, when he was often on the chase of an elusive rabbit, or on the scent of deer. He would disapper amoung the tall grass, and I would occasionaly get a glimpse of his fluffy tail.
I did a preliminary sketch of him some time ago, but it has taken me this long to paint his portrait.
I'm now considering getting another puppy, and am quite looking forward to it. I'm certain Sam is having a great time still.