Millinery

I've been working on a whole waggle of witches (waggle is to witches as gaggle is to geese...I'm pretty sure....) And because I don't want to be accused of overwitching I'm just going to show you a bunch of hats. Make that a haggle of hats. It's been a real scream decorating this year's crop. Old stale designs are easy to fall back on. It's much more difficult to come up with something new and hauntingly haute couture.

The purple flower looks a little like raffia, but it's really plastic--so durable for a witch who is reckless with her broom. I bought it in the big city when I was visiting Big City Girl.

This is one of my own designs. The stamens were store-bought at the same big-city place.

This is one of my own too, made from tulle I purchased at Joann's. Same stamens. The hatband and leaves (with embroidery) were made from wool felt.

Here's another plastic flower with the same orange tulle. I embroidered a spider on the collar. Those eyes might be just a little too beady. I was going for the maximum-scare effect.

Here's another flower design by moi. This witch is dressed-to-the-nines....well, except for the bunny slippers. I felt sorry for her. Those big-ol' witch boots gave her bunions. I love the button on her flower. Sometimes when I shop in the city with BCG I buy doo-dads with no plan in mind for how I'll use them. But it's great fun shopping for them, and they don't cost much. Plus, I don't need one of those big-city shopping bags to carry doo-dads home on the train.

I'll post pictures of the entire waggle soon. I'm thinking of having a bon voyage party for them before they ship out to the old hotel. Then I'll be ready to start my new Treehouse activity--oversantaclausing.

The alumni

One of the perks of being a member of the local senior center--and I really feel a little irreverent saying this--is that when another member "graduates" and moves on to join The Alumni Association, their family members, facing that monumental task of dispersing of the departed's worldly goods, often donate yarn and crafty things to the center.

And if these graduates had a real honest-to-goodness stash like I do, and their loved ones had to dig down through several archeological ages to unearth every last relic--all the better. These are the real treasures. If I were to graduate any time soon, poor Mr. Gadget would have to rent a semi.

Things are going well with the new writing group. Most of the people who came to the first meeting returned for the second. I think that's a good sign. It tickles me how people always tend to return to the same seats at these sorts of things. Maybe it's a carry-over from school days when we were all assigned seats so the teacher could keep chatty friends from sitting together, or to make attendance-taking easier. My mother-in-law, who attended church daily, always sat in the same spot in the same pew--and if someone else, God forbid, was sitting in her seat when she arrived, they were in for the glare. I wonder if she was just a creature of habit, or if she knew God was taking attendance. If the latter is true, I'm in big trouble.

So, I've decided to share my contest doll. The deadline is over, and I'm sure all of the submissions are now being reviewed. As I understand it, none of the dollmakers will be notified one way or the other if their creation has made the cut. It will either appear or not appear in the Spring 2012 issue of Art Doll Quarterly. I'm not sitting on pins and needles. It was a fun project and I enjoyed the process, and it was my first attempt at making a doll using a wire armature. I'll definitely do another.

Here's a close-up of his face. Vinny likes to cook, but he also likes the wine and occasionally takes a nip.

Here's Vinny in the early stages.

I hope he hasn't totally corrupted his shelf-mates at the magazine office. When I left him, his bottle was almost empty--but who knows? There may be an enabler in the crowd.

What's that buzzing sound?

I've been busy as a bee, buzzing and flitting and gadding about. I did get the kitchen floor vacuumed and mopped this morning. I had no choice really. It was crunching when I walked on it. I think little bits of everything fell off of my everything bagel. Maybe I should just buy plain ones....especially now that I'm so bee-busy and housework is such an inconvenient interruption.

I just finished painting a Halloween cat. He has 4 legs so he can stand on a shelf but only if he leans against something. I'll put a hook on his back so he'll also be able to hang around.

Here's the latest witch. The gluing-on of the hat and hair worked well. Not having to sew them on really saves time, and my arthritic finger is much happier. I'm not pleased with the cheeks but I'm probably stuck with these. I tried using one of those dabbers the stencilers use, but I think Q-tips and blush are still the best choice.

So the other day Mr. Gadget and I were sitting down having our lunch. We each make our own lunch--which is so important for saving a marriage during the retirement years. I usually have a sandwich, and he always has cereal--a mixture of two kinds--with fruit. Sometimes I have a salad or some leftovers, but Mr. G. always has cereal no matter what.

"I have something important to tell you," he said as we were about to sit down.

"Uh-oh," I said while bracing myself against the counter. "Is it good news or bad news?"

"It's neither really," he said. "But you might find it surprising."

"Ok, lay it on me."

"I'm thinking of changing one of my cereals," he told me with just a hint of sheepishness.

"No!" I exclaimed.

"Yep," he said. "I think I'll start having Cheerios with my Raisin Bran instead of Basic 4."

"You know, this is really going to shake up my grocery-shopping routine," I told him.

Living with Mr. Gadget reminds me of that line from Forest Gump. Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're gonna get, but it's pretty much always milk chocolate with a creamy nougat center.

Dizzy Knitter

This is my current knitting project--a scarf made with sock yarn. I was hoping to get a picture of it nicely draped to give you a sense of its true allure, but it can't be done. So you'll have to wait till I finish up that ball of yarn to see it in all its glory. Someone from my knitting group in California shared the pattern. It's super easy, but she didn't warn me to have Dramamine on hand. I'm making it with sock yarn I had in my stash. I'm pretty much over socks....or maybe I should say oversocked.

Yesterday was the first meeting of our new condo craft group. There were 7 of us--2 knitters, 1 crocheter, 1 photo-organizer, and 3 who just came to socialize. I'm not sure if it will take off, but we'll give it a few weeks.

During our conversation someone asked if anyone knew about the senior center in town and what kind of activities they offered. Various things were mentioned--cards, exercise, ceramics, knitting, etc. Then someone said, "Oh, I saw that they are going to have a life-story writing group starting up soon."

"Yes, and I'm going to lead it," I chimed in.

Well, they were all taken aback, as was I. Funny, eh? While I was at the senior knitting group on Wed. I checked to see if anyone had signed up, and so far I have 3 suckers...heh...heh....I'm sure we'll all have a lovely time, and I suppose I should think about putting a plan together for it.

This weekend will be a busy one. Big City Girl and Tech Guy are coming tonight. Tomorrow Mr. Gadget's older brother is coming to visit. He travels all the time, so I'm hoping he won't want to do any sightseeing. There's not much to see anyway. Well, I guess there's the old barn down the road and a couple of antique shops. I do happen to know there are football games on TV this weekend, and both men know how to operate the big-screen TV. I'll just plan to hang out in the Treehouse, but I'll leave my instructions for them just in case they forget something.....or drink too much wine.

The instructions

Here's the second of my two clay witches--now awaiting hair and other accountrements. She is also neckless, but alas! She has a chin. You'll have to look hard. She also has a mole on her nose. All witches should have moles. It says so in the instruction book.

And speaking of instruction books, the other day Mr. Gadget asked me if I'd like some instruction on how to operate the big-screen TV.

"After all," he said, "we've had it now for a couple of years and you might want to watch something when I'm not around."

So I went to get my blank notebook--the one I set aside and labeled How to Operate Things in the House for Dummies. Well, it wasn't totally blank. The first page has instructions on how to get into Mr. G's computer and retrieve all the important info in the event that he exercises himself to death.

"The first thing you should do is get some small stickers that you can write on," he said. "Label them #1, #2, and #3." Then he told me to stick them on the small remote, the silver remote, and the black remote respectively.

"Turn the TV on with #1, then the cable box with #2," he said. "But use the power button on the left, not the one on the right."

"You've got to be kidding!" I shouted. "Don't you think this is complicated?"

"No," he said.

"Tell you what," I told him in my most assertive voice. "If I kick the bucket before you do, I'll make things real simple for you. You don't even have to take notes. Just get a bulldozer."

Gout no doubt

I'm a gal who can walk and chew gum at the same time, but just barely. What I can't do is drive while telling you an interesting story. Neither can I add ingredients to a pot of stew and converse with Mr. Gadget simultaneously. And now I've discovered I'm not very good at writing blog posts while sewing and gluing and trying to remember to do the laundry. I always have good intentions. September promises to be a busy month, what with crafting in the Treehouse, the condo craft group starting up, and the senior center writing group that I've volunteered to lead. Maybe Mr. Gadget can do the laundry. I'd bribe him with another apple pie, but there's no time to bake.

Here's one of my witches-in-progress.


I'm trying something new with this one. Usually I sew the hair to the head (ouch!) and then sew the hat to the hairy head (double ouch!) This time I glued the hat to the bald head, and I'll glue the hair on just below the hat. I don't know how well it will work, but gluing is much easier than sewing with an arthritic finger....you know, that little finger problem I'm going to keep secret from my doctor when I go in for my physical later this month. You know, that doctor who finds reasons to send me to a variety pack of specialists all over town, thereby reducing my available crafting and blogging time even more.

I was going to put bunny slippers on this witch, but I've decided it wouldn't be nearly as whimsical as if I put them on one dressed to the nines in black evening wear. I'll be working on her next....if my finger holds out and my doctor doesn't call.

Hurricrafting

I'm happy to report no problems here from the hurricane. We were feeling rather smug all day Sunday, watching TV and playing with our appliances while many around us were losing power. But then, around 8:30, our comfy little world got dark and quiet. Mr.Gadget, who always plans ahead, had our gigantic supply of flashlights in good working order and strategically located around the condo. The power company's assessment, in the form of a generic recording, was that we could expect restoration on or before Saturday.

We both tried our best to settle in for the long haul, but by early Monday morning I was feeling the pangs of caffeine withdrawal. Mr. G, bless his heart, rescued me by firing up the grill and heating water for some tea and Taster's Choice. Around 10 a.m., as we sat in our recliners sipping hot beverages and wondering just how much Scrabble we could play, the power came back on.

The frightful weather was just the thing for working on frightful things....like a witch without a neck. Maybe I could learn how to scrunch down like she's doing to hide my neck. I'll bet the turkey feathers would tickle.

While pondering whether this poor witch could wear anything around her neck of a decorative nature, I started some new ornaments. This is just a trial run....wherein I just slap something together for later tweaking. That's not unlike my blog posts. My creative process is a mystery to me. No matter what I'm creating, the first version is usually one of those slapped-together thingies. Then, later, I go back and carve and delete and add a little here and there, and maybe throw in a pinch of salt. Then it's good to go. But of course, your opinion may differ.

These slapped-together Santas will require lots of tweaking. I may make them bigger. I will use a different shade of pink on their faces. I will give them eyebrows and maybe some nostrils. I will outfit them in red hats with a tiny bell on the tip.......unless I decide it's just easier to let them wear thimbles.