Nary a tweet

Usually by now the neighborhood birds are back in full force, but so far not a one.  Winter, on the other hand, will not leave.  I will be patient.  I'm making a bird to see me through.

I haven't decided what color to paint him, but I'm leaning toward blue.  I'm sort of sorry now that I didn't leave an earthquake bird at the Calcondo, since there was a 4.4 quake soon after we left. 

I've finished painting the face on my latest witch. At least, I think I've finished. Maybe she needs a wart. 

Soon I will visit the park and forage for sticks.  I hope by then there will be lots of birds tweeting.

So yesterday was Mr. Gadget's birthday and I think this was his favorite gift.

Some facetime with Big City Girl.  Isn't techno-magic wonderful!

Pilgrimage

My friend, other Marcia, and I made a fiber trek to Massachusetts yesterday.  It was sort of spur of the moment.  Neither of us had anything else on our calendars, and there was no snow in the forecast--ideal conditions for a fun road trip. 

We made our regular stop at WEBS (aka Knitters' Heaven) in Northampton, and then followed the trusty GPS to Easthampton to a place I was most interested in checking out.

The store occupies part of an old 1920's vaudeville theater on the town's main street.

 

Inside the front door is a small shop with all sorts of hand-felted treasures.

A hallway in the back leads to a huge open space (maybe where the theater sets used to be stashed) that's filled with all sorts of fiber goodness.

I soon found the needle-felting fiber I was on a quest for and grabbed up many handfuls to replenish my supply. 

I'm usually not much of a shopper, but this place just sucked my credit card right out of my wallet.  I don't know if it was the abundance of fibery delicacies, or the history of the old building, but I felt an overwhelming desire to sing and dance.

Construction zone

I've begun the face-building process on the witch doll.

I usually start with the nose and build the other facial features out from it.  The first step is to make sure the nose-sized lump of paperclay adheres to the face.  This takes some work with my clay tools, and it's not the time to worry about what the final nose will look like.  Fine tuning comes later.

After the nose I work on the eyebrows.  Once they're done, it's easier to get a good eye placement.  There are a couple of ways I make the eyes.  On this doll I formed an oval shape out of clay and anchored it to the face with my tools.  Fingers work well too, but on something small it's easier with tools.  I then work some of the clay upwards for an eyelid and a little bit downward for the bottom edge of the eye.  I'll put the eyeballs in later.

Next comes the mouth.  It's not the greatest mouth, but it's a witch mouth.  It doesn't have to be perfect.  I've also added a little more clay to her left cheek to fill it out some.  I might do more work on that later.

The beauty of working with paperclay is that more clay can be added after your work has dried.  Just brush on some water and add more wet clay.  Your project will be happy to wait for you while you make lentil soup and a cheese and mushroom quiche for dinner. Bon appetit!

Witchworks open for business

The Witchworks is now officially open, and well ahead of witch season I might add.  I'm doing something very unusual for me.  I'm planning ahead.  Plus, it's lots of fun making witches so I consider it more play than work.

Last fall, you may remember, I made a witch with arms and legs made out of sticks.  I dragged Mr. Gadget with me to the local park to find just the right sticks and then asked him if he wouldn't mind drilling some holes in them so I could attach them to the fabric doll body.  I found the finished doll pleasing, and was happy that someone else did too...enough to buy it. 

It was an experiment really.

So now I've decided to make another one, but one with a clay face.

Here is the sewn and stuffed doll body.  I put some plastic pellets in the bottom to weight it down a bit.  I painted a coat of gesso onto the head to make the fabric more agreeable to the clay application.  Once the snow is gone and the ground has dried out, I'll make another trip to the park.  I'll go alone this time.  Mr. Gadget enjoys an occasional walk in the park, but he's not fond of helping me forage for body parts.

Got butane?

Mr. Gadget and I are now in Connecticut after an uneventful trip back.  Those are always the best kind.  There is still plenty of snow on the ground, but the weather has warmed up....although not in any consistent way. One day it's 50 degrees, the next it's 15.   Mother Nature is up to her usual tricks.

I finished the chef except for a few minor details.  The buttons are just pin heads.  I will replace them with black beads.  She could use a little more rose in her cheeks, and maybe some fingernail polish.  She was fun to make, and I've already got ideas for similar projects.  As usual, I have many more ideas than time so I must pick and choose.

I've signed up for a one-day workshop in NYC on April 5.  I've read Danny's blog for a few years and thought it would be fun to spend a day with him to learn about his process.  I do occasionally draw, although not very well, and I have been know to keep a journal from time to time. The map shows a fairly direct walking route from Grand Central to the Open Center where the class will take place.  Walking is good.  Subways not so much.  I still need Big City Girl to give me a tutorial.

So now we'll be staying put for a while, and I'll have some time to spend in the Treehouse working on some things for future craft fairs.  I have quite a few felted flower pins underway. They sold well last year.  And speaking of felting, my friend other Marcia and I are planning another trip up to Massachusetts soon for some fiber shopping.  We'll, of course, go to Knitters' Heaven, but we'll also be making a stop at Felters' Paradise.  I've never been there, but it might just end up being a regular stop on our route.

Other Marcia has become a very proficient weaver in recent years, and sometimes we stop at a weaving supply store several miles north of Heaven. I'm thinking it won't be long before our expedition requires a two-person tent and a camp stove... 

Time for a toast

The Calcondo re-do is finished.  I'll spare you the "before" picture.  It was pretty ugly.  But here is one of the "after" pictures.

 

This is looking into the bathroom from the master bedroom.  The old sink overflowed onto the carpeted bathroom floor and out into the bedroom and hallway, also carpeted.  All of the walls had to be replaced and also the vanity.  We had the bathroom and hallway tiled, and had new carpet installed in the rest of the place.  It looks wonderful now, just in time for us to leave it.  But, hopefully, it will be clean and dry when we return, and we have appointed scouts to check things out while we are away.  What an ordeal.

I've made more progress on the chef-in-a-mug.

She still needs clothes, but at least she has her make-up on and some hair.  I'm happy with her so far.  Each project is a learning experience.  Next time you see her she'll be wearing her chef's garb.

So now I need to tidy up a little.  We've invited the neighbor ladies over for late-afternoon wine and "the great unveiling."  For 2 months they've been putting up with construction noise.  We'll be sure to keep their glasses filled.  Maybe we should have called a caterer.

A little misunderstanding

Apparently he got the wrong memo.  I told him to dip the COOKIES in chocolate.