INDIANA LOVE

I am off for the holiday. I hope to be back next friday with final photos of my "christmas tokens of love". I have finished 3 totes, completed the lining on 2 others, leaving 8 to finish. I have made final decisions on wrapping; if the purpose of my presents is to propose a simple step towards a more sustainable lifestyle, it would negate everything to wrap it all in paper. Therefore i have wrapped each presant around itself. (one time in first grade we had a spelling pre-test, the teacher said "wrap" i spelled rap. everytime i wrote wrap in this paragraph i laughed to myself. i have never been a good speller.)

we went to morton's last night and finished off a tasty dinner with a banana cupcake topped with dark chocolate icing. mmmmm....................

best wishes to all, hope santa treats you well, and that your family enjoys your smiling faces.

amen.

pickle surprise

Well it is not a pickle, but an ipod case for a little lady first name C last name Bennett (I can't give everything away).When I went fabric shopping I tried to think of something that would be dependable and not soak up any Gatorade or green tea. This blue outdoor canvas was jumping off the shelf. At first we made fun of the color, but with further thought nothing else could be more perfect.

I needed a way to breakup the front panel (a forewarning my sewing skills are improving with every stitch) Surprise Joann's had this great houndstooth screenprinted fabric.

I made a few mistakes, but hopefully she will be forgiving.
Not finished yet, the inside as well as the top and bottom need to be completed.
Word to the wise: if you ever apply snaps check your markings 4 times, three isn't enough. The back bunches slightly, but who looks at the back.

tote straps tonight.

indiana weekend

Minimal sewing, 7 inches of snow and cabbage soup.

wonderful end to any weekend.

white lies

The snow has all melted.

Up to 6” of snow this weekend calls for a Christmas tree hunt with Trevor’s family. I wish home wasn't so far away so I could pick a tree where we all pile into my dad's truck, even though we are way past the age to fit four into that truck. We did it for about twelve years, but I can't make it again. One tree farm we would go to had a caboose in the middle of the lot and after we picked the tree we would go inside and drink warm cider. I believe the caboose is gone now, I am not even sure my brother experienced the caboose.
Not accomplishing as much as I wanted to get done this week, I must transport my projects to Trevor’s. I will lie to his family while I make their presents in front of their face. Ha haha. I will be sewing straps to weave a basket for my mom. Sorry mom you are not getting a basket, but I will work on my weaving skills and next year, who knows.

enjoy the weekend, stay warm.

worry nut

Santa I feel your pain.

I am beginning to worry about my progress. I have a week to get everything done and I haven’t touched any work in the last 2 nights and don’t have a weekend of work to bank on. I am starting a new project tonight. Pictures will be posted when the sketches in my head become real. I really hope it works because I get excited about the amount of detail I can put into it. I will share the secret soon.

I did have a wonderful evening last night with Chelsea bear. I really miss having her around. Luckily we have the holidays and the Heorot.

clear the calender

more info to come

(original photo borrowed)

blah

No chicken sausages!!!! I love small towns, but sometimes. ahhh spread my wings.

At least we have well priced antique stores and amazingly stocked thrift stores. Eat it big town lovers.

tote my life away

My weekend consisted of sewing, cutting, sipping union friendly champagne beer, and sewing. Not being an avid sewer, this was quite a marathon for me. I ended the week completing the lining and shells for 10 tote/grocery bags. I have all the prep work complete to cut the straps and finish up the bags this week. Fingers crossed.

tags

One Magic Art See and Draw Copier!!!!!!!

Wonderful name, wonderful find. Baby projector with a pinhole sized viewing hole.In this frightening children book with quite scary stories that I can guarantee would of given me nightmares when I was younger, I found this little lady. I multiplied her with the One Magic Art See and Draw Copier!!!!!!!
glowing muff and tights

merry christmas

leaking roof

melting snow.

I love how color can trigger memory.

kelly.

winter wonder

The first official snow fall about 3"; quite impressive if you ask me. Usually it seems like we get this sort of coverage in late February, when the winter is beyond enjoyment and the buds are tricked into thinking that spring is on its way. Every year I worry that trees are dead due to the shocking attack of late winter’s fury.

Trevor lives in an amazing house/apartment with this structure dumped near the ally. This shed/carport is sadly left in the back where the lower tenants just allow their dog out to shit everywhere. Walking back there is like entering a minefield. The shed has a wonderful green patina, which unfortunately these photos haven’t captured.

Occupying the second floor we are fortunate to use his room as a mutual work studio, music/ architecture, sewing, painting extravaganza. I have been taking the space over with my family Christmas creation emporium. My goal is to make 10 tote bags, a variety of desk calendars, as well as tins full of winter treats. Breath. I have taken a big bite for myself. One purpose of this blog is to post my progress to assure myself that I am moving forward; sort of a pep rally during my lunch break till I get home. So there it is, I have spilt the beans.

I want to create more, unfortunately this Christmas it seems that I only have enough focus and time for my family. I hope that I will be able to branch out from this point.
We are supposed to get 2-4 more inches tonight!!!!

fall sky

Today after replacing a dead winter sky in Photoshop with a sun filled beauty; I realized truly how dreary winter gets. I love the somberness that winter has to offer, but sometimes it is nice to look back a couple of months to see what is in our future. In this case, photos from a camping trip last October.

table top tree

I do have a guilty feeling in my soul when I see all the forgotten trees by everyone's trash the days following Christmas. But who could deny the wonderful smell of a fresh cut tree hanging around their apartment on cold windy nights? Not I.

Apologies for the darkness of the pictures, it was night and I still haven’t figured out the light meter on my Polaroid camera. The one I broke last week at Thanksgiving was not nearly as high-tech.

Jack was the gent who helped us with a fresh cut by hand. We walked the tree back to the apartment and I just kept hoping for snow, but the brisk breeze was enough of a reminder that it was nearly December. I have always dreamed of getting a tree in that atmosphere. It had such a wonderful feeling, like the photo of kids on the front of Christmas cards carrying the tree home on Christmas Eve.

Now I have to get back to my workshop to finish up some things on my massive list that I must get through before I call it a holiday. I will post on all of that when it feels like I have made progress.

A forewarning, I am wordy with unorganized thoughts. I also lean toward the messy side, and 95% of the time I am late. All and all, I aspire to be a good person.

I love making lists, and I primarily make a list for the pure joy of crossing things off of it. Sometimes my list consists of the minutest detail. I never look at the quality of the tasks on my list, just the quantity. That black pen going through words and making those tasks indistinguishable, pure joy. This would be the one time in my life that I would agree with quantity over quality. I hope this is the only time that statement is every used.

I have wanted to start a blog for some time now, and after months of scanning through some amazingly talented work of individuals; I decided the time is now. I live two lives at the moment. One is from about 7 till 5, and the other obviously follows. Thus far in my adult realm, the job has seemed to control my mental state, and although I have been brainstorming and planning to expressively live my life, thus far I have just placed it on the backburner. Now I am turning up the heat!!!!!!!!!!!!

Like most, this blog is about what I see everyday and how it all influences the thing I do. I will attempt to post as often as I come across things that move me. We are surrounded by beauty. Here is the translation of the beauty that surrounds me. I pledge quality over quantity.

Welcome.