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| Becka's Library Shelf |
| Becka's Games Shelf |
andy had to work all weekend and so i made him a present. an alligator bag. it is about 7 inches square and should be just the size for confining computer cords or something when he goes off to CA next week.
becka on 01.30.06 @ 05:56 PM CST [link]
i joined a fabric postcard challenge and just squeaked in my entry for january.
the project is called 6x4 Lives and is described as: "The idea is to use the fabric postcard format as a journal. The challenge is to produce a fiber postcard once a month that records what you have been exploring, doing, or thinking about. The format can be used to explore telling stories visually, experimenting with techniques or exploring new ones, or involve taking up design challenges such as experiments with colour and composition. This is not swap challenge, but a personal challenge to share with others. The postcard can be made using any textile technique and measure 6 x 4 inches." you can see the other entries at flickr - 6x4 Lives Group
"sat on by a gloomy" is my first fabric postcard and my entry for january. going back through my posts, this seemed like the perfect thing to sum up what january has been like. i used only scraps from the sewing room floor and gave myself only 15 minutes - another january theme of throwing things together from what you have and hoping that it works. collaging with fabric is actually a lot of fun....
becka on 01.30.06 @ 05:40 PM CST [link]
my friend danielle and i went to a "paint your own pottery" place on saturday evening. andy and i used to go to one in boulder years ago. you choose a piece of bisque pottery, paint it with all kinds of colored glazes and then they fire it and you come back and pick up a finished piece. such fun! danielle and i spent several hours chatting, drinking coffee and painting. i made a vase and a little sauce dish, which i think i will use for something in my sewing room. the vase is greener than the picture shows - it is hard to photograph shiny things. i picked up everything today and valiantly resisted peeking at danielle's finished piece before i dropped it off at her house.
becka on 01.24.06 @ 09:05 PM CST [link]
just completed this evening. i found some skeins of tencel/cotton blend yarn on sale last week. i didn't feel like knitting another scarf and i needed a project to demonstrate for a tour group the next day, so i warped up my inkle loom with yarn. i haven't ever used yarn before on the inkle, usually i use much thinner threads like perle cotton or something like that. i was amazed at how nicely the yarn worked and how quickly i finished. i think the whole scarf from skein to finished product might have taken a grand total of 3 hours (and i was talking and working in public most of the time). it is super soft and i love it!
i love taking the inkle loom on the town with me. i got together with some fellow knitters on wednesday last and took it to a coffee shop. two different people asked what i was up to. then i took it to another coffee shop with more knitters on sunday. a lady was watching from halfway across the room and had to come and ask what i was working on. on sunday i warped it up with a variegated green-lilac soy silk yarn. again super soft and lovely and i got it on sale. i can't wait to get weaving on that one.
becka on 01.23.06 @ 11:20 PM CST [link]
1. fireplaces.
2. freshwater pearls.
3. club soda with a slice of lime.
4. funny colors of nail polish to paint my toenails.
5. tulips.
6. woodblock prints.
7. seashells.
8. watching a dvd and working on a project.
9. kneesocks.
10. brand new shiny pennies.
11. forget-me-nots.
12. postcards.
becka on 01.22.06 @ 06:40 PM CST [link]
1. saturday.
2. gryphons.
3. dictionary.com (where i had to go to look up how to spell gryphon.)
4. garnets.
5. corduroy.
6. the word, pleonasms. (two points to anyone who can define it without going to dictionary.com)
7. reading books with words that you have to look up in the dictionary.
8. handkerchiefs.
9. having a window in my shower. i know it's weird and a pain to make it opaque (so the neighbors don't get a peep-show) and dry (so the woodwork doesn't rot) but it is so cool to have sunshine in the shower.
10. clocks that tick.
11. banana bread.
12. squirrels in the backyard or on the neighbor's birdfeeders.
becka on 01.21.06 @ 12:28 PM CST [link]
1. the anti-gloomy fairy who sent me a bouquet of iris and lilies. THANK YOU!
2. ribbon. i got an order from www.ribbonjar.com today too. such pretty packages.
3. going to the movies.
4. dark chocolate.
5. teaching. had two classes/demos to teach this week. fun fun.
6. twilight when everything outside looks blue.
7. a dog greeting me at the door.
8. coconut.
9. starting a new project.
10. carrots from the garden.
11. pretty postage stamps.
12. long hot baths.
becka on 01.20.06 @ 05:26 PM CST [link]
1. veggie lasagna. yummy.
2. sleepy dogs
3. fountain pens. i just got a new one after not having one for many years.
4. garth williams. he is the illustrator for charlotte's web and miss bianca. i love his intricately detailed line drawings.
5. jane austen. do i even have to say more?
6. milano cookies.
7. the song, misty. (especially the version on the johnny smith cd my dad got me.)
8. the johnny smith cd that my dad got for me.
9. oversized paperback books that will stay open when you lay them on a table.
10. board games with beautifully made pieces.
11. striped socks.
12. garlic butter. with shrimp. with vegetables. on toast.
becka on 01.19.06 @ 05:51 PM CST [link]
what a theme to have going on this week. gloomy. one of my very favorite people in the world has decided to move on to bigger and better things (ie quit her job and i don't get to work with her anymore). i am thrilled for her that she is going to find something that she loves, but i am sad for me. so in order to combat the gloomy mood i am going to list 12 things that i love or that make me happy. every day. until it seems like enough.
1. the perfect latte. creamy milk, lots of foam, just hot enough not to burn your tongue.
2. surprises. not surprise parties or anything like that, but getting a letter in the mail out of the blue or a "i bought this because it made me think of you" kind of gift.
3. green. lime green. kermit green. it makes me happy.
4. "i'm a manatee" by john lithgow. supremely silly.
5. my etsy shop. i love checking in on it every day. i love rearranging things. i love thinking of new things to put in the shop.
6. harry potter. the movies, the books. they are wonderful.
7. chickadees. i love watching them on the bird feeder. they are so tiny and perfect.
8. greenhouses. specifically the smell of greenhouses. earthy and warm.
9. doing crafty things with friends. it is fun to have company.
10. scratch and sniff stickers. i saw some in the grocery store the other day. "mello smellos". i never like the way they smell, but i love the nostalgia. 5th grade.
11. an excuse to dress up. i love having a reason to get dressed up and go somewhere. concerts, theater, dinner.
12. blackboards with colored chalk. my 5th grade teacher used to buy her own colored chalk so she didn't have to use white all the time. and not just the pastel colors, but art chalks in vibrant red and purple. you had to wash them off the blackboard, the eraser just wouldn't cut it.
becka on 01.18.06 @ 06:24 PM CST [link]
today has got to the be the darkest and gloomiest day yet. it was terrible here. the light never got to be more than sort of twilight all day. i had a few errands to run after work and i decided to give myself a treat. first i stopped at the "red balloon bookshop", which is a bookstore specializing in childrens books. i picked up the books that are now featured in my sidebar. then i went to "bread & chocolate" for a latte and a snickerdoodle while i started reading one of my new volumes. then finally a stop at "the bead monkey" for a few supplies and a little bargain shopping. i am greatly amused by the grab bag of charms that i got for less than $3. i poured out a few in to my hand: wine bottle, tennis balls, pelican, vanity mirror, sailboarder, saxophone, umbrella, knitting, campfire, pool cues, egyptian sarcophagus. truly random and so fun to think -"what on earth am i going to use that for?" ready for another random sample? jack-jumps-over-the-candlestick, lion, fan, monkey, garlic, jockey riding a horse, cowboy boot, olympic torch, lipstick...
becka on 01.16.06 @ 05:27 PM CST [link]
The lucet, a horn-shaped tool often made from wood, dates back to the Viking era. Lucets were in common use throughout Europe until the 16th century. A luceted cord is exceptionally strong and slightly springy. It is very useful in period garb, such as the lacing of a bodice.
this is the lucet i bought on ebay last week. i have been intrigued with them and i saw this lovely one and i bought it on impulse. it came today and it is a lovely little thing. i have an open house to host on saturday and i am going to sit and learn the lucet as my demo. 
(yes, i am crazy like that.)
becka on 01.12.06 @ 10:58 PM CST [link]
i say almost because i still have some trash to take out and some large rubbermaid bins to go to the basement, but the room itself is clean. i can't post "before" pictures because i couldn't bear to take any. it was trashed. before christmas we just started stashing things in here to get them out of the way and then shutting the door. i moved the sewing machine to the dining room table to get christmas stuff done because i couldn't walk much less work in this disaster. so, friday i took a day off and shoveled out this room. i bought tons of shelves and drawers and containers. i threw things away. hooray!
becka on 01.10.06 @ 06:09 PM CST [link]
well, the troll is off to the show. i added some more to him to give him a bit more contrast. when i looked at him picture, i realized how monotone he was. so i added a bunch to his "skirt" (green and dark brown), made him a vest and cuffs, give him long eyelashes and added a little rosey-ness to his nose. i will take pics at the opening on friday night.
becka on 01.10.06 @ 03:38 PM CST [link]
we have a members show at the art center that i am supposed to enter a piece in to. it is a non-juried show and open to anything, but i am having a hard time finding anything that i want to show. i was way too busy to contemplate making something new, so consequently i tried anyway. that is the piece on the right. the goldfish bag. although i like it, it doesn't seem finished and i am not sure what it needs. the piece on the left is one i finished in some spare minutes robbed from something else back in october. again, i like it but i don't love it. i have since learned how to do mitered corners. this piece also got some water dripped on it and i discovered the ink is not waterproof. (the center piece is printed from my computer on to fabric) i should have tested this but i didn't. arrrgh. the water spots are almost definitely only noticeable by me because i am picky, but it annoys me to know they are there. finally we have my friend the troll. he is the troll that lives under the billy goats gruff bridge. i made him back in vermillion, i think. it has been a while. i pulled him out and give him a little tlc today (including a nose job!), added a few things and spruced him up a bit. i adore him, but... but i don't know exactly.
becka on 01.09.06 @ 05:49 PM CST [link]
a few gifts didn't get finished until after christmas so i can finally now post pictures of those. as a kid i used to love getting late christmas presents. you would get the first hurrah of christmas and then a couple of days later as the new toys were starting to get less exciting, a new something would arrive in the mail. this is a fun little toy bag i made for my friend ben. it is stuffed full of fun things to do on the go. i made a similar one (which i forgot to take a picture of) for my nephew james. his was blue denim with an orange crayon appliqued on the front.
becka on 01.08.06 @ 10:09 AM CST [link]
i have the lyric to a song from "a year with frog & toad" in my head because today it is actually sunny!! i woke up and just laid in bed with my face is a sunny spot and basked. out of curiousity i just checked the weather forecast for december around here and there were only sunshines on 3 days in december. just 3. that tells you something. i am planing to do a major clean and reorganize of the sewing room today, which is the sunniest room in the house. that ought to make the job more fun.
becka on 01.07.06 @ 10:59 AM CST [link]
not many posts around here lately. i am hoping to reverse that trend. here a are a few fun things to mention....
andy and i saw a great horned owl in a tree while we were walking the dog a few nights a go. he was really cool and there was enough light reflected off the snow that we could see him pretty clearly. he kept and eye on us too. maybe lucy looked tasty?
i got this lovely comment in my etsy shop today...
"This bag is just perfect! I could go on and on, but the craftsmanship of the bag itself is amazing, the care put into the packaging was so nice, and the little suprise made my day. Thank you so much."
big smiles from me.
i also discovered yummy choco-cherry snack mix from my local coop: peanuts, almonds, dried cherries, chocolate chips. all organic. good stuff.
becka on 01.05.06 @ 06:45 PM CST [link]
