Hog heaven

Mr. Gadget and I are just back from a cruise.

We sailed from New York City

and passed under the Verrazano Bridge--

with barely any room to spare.

The weather was warm.

The seas were smooth.

The scenery was lovely.

The desserts were delish!

The Halloween celebration was spooky!

But not all was bliss.

Meet the......

They were onboard in record numbers.

They're the pesky little piggies

who plant their towels, books, bags,

sunglasses, and other place-saving devices

on deck chairs almost before dawn.

Some save more than one--

a shade chair and a sun chair.

Others save chairs for their

entire extended family.

Mr. Gadget and I are already planning

activities for our next cruise.

We'll have a big ol' pig roast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Goodness gracious great balls of fiber

I made a last-minute trip to Rhinebeck, NY

yesterday for the last day of the

New York Sheep & Wool Festival.

There were snow flurries,

and fiber as big as soccer balls.

I should be well-stocked now

for next year's felting projects.

2016 might be an all-felt year

since cloth and clay dolls seem to be

falling out of favor.

Maybe I've saturated my little corner

of the market.

All is not lost however.

The condo is decorated with

witches galore.

There are always plenty of fun sights

at a fiber festival.

Hats and scarves, and

people dressed head to toe

in whatever they've knitted.

This year the funniest sight

had to be these guys.

Gotta love how they're all

working the foot pedals in their

stocking feet with big ol' work boots

neatly put to the side.

It was an entertaining day--

not to mention a very cold one.

A great day, in fact, to dress

like a sheep.

 

 

Eyes been busy!

I now have two new eyes.

Both cataract surgeries were

successful and easy.

Except for the darn drops

that seem to go on forever.

I have a good Drop Manager.

In fact, I've just promoted him to

Vice President of Drops.

I finished some crafty things

for the Columbus weekend show and

delivered them to the old hotel.

Friday night I attended the

gala opening party

and hobnobbed with some

 other artsy folks.

It's a perfect weekend for

craft shows.

Sunny, pleasant temps, and lots of

trees wearing colors.

Now I'm working on 

Christmas and winter things.

Dolls, ornaments, and

whatnot.

 

Mr. Gadget and I are doing

more downsizing.

Before moving from our house

to the condo

almost 7 years ago...

we thought we had completed

that task.

But no.

More has accumulated.

 

My Treehouse has overgrown.

Vines and thickets and unruly things.

I need to do some weeding.

But I'm not a gardener.

Maybe I could hire someone.

Perhaps a tree service?

 

And now that I have new eyes

I seem to have dust bunnies

everywhere.

They must have heard

I'd be out having

some procedures

and decided to form

a welcoming committee.

 

 

 



One pumpkin and a couple of traffic cones

(First, just a short note to blog reader Nancy Anne.  Would you please email me?  The link in your comment didn't work.  Thanks!)

So, work in the Treehouse has slowed to about 20 mph. That's because a few days ago I had cataract surgery.  I was pretty sure it would be a piece of cake. I'd just scarf it down without lingering at the table--especially if it was chocolate.  Instead, it was more like prune pie. There was no pain I'm happy to report, but fuzzy vision has been slow to go.

As I explained it to Big City Girl the procedure is kinda like road work.  First they bring in the mini-jackhammer to break up the pavement.  Then they shovel out the chunks.   Next is the repaving process, and finally they hose down the construction site drop-by-drop.

In my case, the pavement was well-entrenched, so the jackhammering took a while.  That put extra pressure on my cornea and caused more-than-normal swelling.  More hosing down is helping but it's slow.  I guess the road crew didn't know I have dolls to finish and a deadline to meet.

I was very wise before this project got underway. I hired a good staff to help out.  Mr. Gadget agreed to be my chauffeur.  And he seemed delighted to accept the role of Manager of Drops. The manager position entails a great deal of responsibility. He must keep track of 5 different bottles of drops and then corral me at the proper times to drop them in.  

I've been helping to. I take my part very seriously.  I stand by the side of the road and take endless coffee breaks. Did you know you can rest a cup of coffee on one of those orange barricades? It's like they were made for it. Oh, and I'm diligent about wearing my hard hat.

In two weeks we'll be doing this all over again. By then we should have the bulldozer well-oiled and running like a clock.

Limerick Thursday

Witch Winnie is quite fond of her name,

but that wart on her chin is a pain.

"Please doc," she pleaded, "can't you operate?"

"No! I've too many surgeries on my plate."

So she torched it with a can of butane.

Working the holiday

Mr. Gadget and I are back in the Concondo after a nice, hot, busy two-month stay on the west coast.  Although I do enjoy our travels, I'm always happy to get back to the Treehouse and my projects.  This Labor Day weekend I'm laboring on witch dolls. I'm going to have quite a few to deliver to the old hotel for their fall show.

I've been giving thought to slowing down on my craft production next year.  Maybe just do one show instead of two.  Maybe do more writing.  Maybe write my memoirs.  I've been making dolls since the early 1990's--right after I shared a craft table with a friend.  She made a few hundred dollars on her dolls and I sold one lousy appliqued sweatshirt.  Duh. That was a no-brainer.

Now I've come up with a new doll idea.  Every year I make dolls from patterns I've used repeatedly, but I always branch out and design a couple of new ones.  Some sell, some don't, but I enjoy the challenge.

The new pattern idea is a witch--a primitive witch--and I can see some potential for making other characters. A chef maybe.  A Santa probably. Quite possibly most of the characters I've made with my other patterns.  So I may just slow down some, but not too much.  You know how much I like to make stuff.

So, the month ahead will be a busy one for me.  Witch production will continue, and next week I'm having the first of two cataract surgeries.  The second surgery will be two weeks later.  And then on Oct. 3, I'll be taking the train to NYC to meet up with Big City Girl.  We're going to see a puppet show!

Oh, remember the little clay earthquake bird I made and left on a bookshelf at the Calcondo?  It's been replaced by an earthquake ladybug.  She sits on the rock wall just outside of the front door.  I figure it's going to take about a six-point-o to knock this little gal off her perch.

Eclecticollection

Ya got that?  Sometimes I spend more time thinking up blog post titles than I do writing the thing.

I've been busy working on stuff.  And I've been doodling in my sketchbook at odd moments of inactivity.  I make  sketches with my black pen. That's fun, but not as much fun as the coloring part....wherein I enter a calming zen-ness of sorts.

I finished the red-felted bead necklace and posed it on the fig tree with one of my favorite jackets.

I'm pleased with it and will give it a test run one of these days.  A very nice saleslady at Michael's helped me select the hardware I needed to put it together.  Very simple.

Here's the Mona Lisa, I mean a homely witch with her clay face all dry and ready for paint.  Hat, clothes, and body parts will come later.

Here's a needle-felted Santa in progress (about 5-6" tall).  The eclecticollection requires me to wash my hands a lot.  And whenever I go for a pedicure and the nice Asian lady asked me if I want a manicure too, I always say, "No thanks. I'd have to come back tomorrow."  Which would be fine with her I'm sure.

Here's a sketch of another work-in-progress.  I made a paper machine pumpkin, and am working on a paperclay witch that will sit atop.  She's in a time-out at the moment until I can figure out how to make her hands so they won't break off.  I think I have an idea so I'll give it a go later today.

And then there's been the sketching and coloring I mentioned earlier.  Here's a sample:

I guess you could say I'm elbow-deep in one big creativextravaganza.

A doodle slug

My first thought when I opened up this page to write was to tell you what a slug I've been.  Sitting on the couch, sitting on the patio, sitting on the beach, sitting in restaurants eating lemon meringue pie....  But then I realized I haven't been a complete slug.  I've been doodling.

A few months ago I bought a lovely blank book at Home Goods (who knew they sold such things?).  I had no immediate plans to start an art journal thingy, but I couldn't pass it up for five bucks and I thought maybe I would start doodling at some future time.  Maybe when I was 70.

Just ignore those reflections.....it's not a lightening bolt from the heavens. It's just sun coming through the fence.  My photo skills are not my forte. The light was better outside, and I was able to avoid the question that Mr. Gadget was sure to ask from his perch on the couch: "What are you up to?"

At first I wasn't sure I'd be able to come up with ideas for things to draw.  But so far that hasn't been the case.  The sillier the ideas, the more they seem to flow right into my head.  

It's an evolving project and one I'm enjoying more than I expected to. This morning on a trip to the library I found a book on whimsical lettering that should nicely complement the whole silliness theme.

Meanwhile, I have some dolls underway.....a standing witch doll, and a couple of witch heads out of clay that will get their bodies when I'm back in the Treehouse.  I haven't mentioned that I'll be having cataract surgery in Sept.  It's time, and I'm looking forward to seeing better.  It's all part of being a 70-year-old doodle slug.

I have an excuse.....

....for being away from the blog.

Mr. G. and I made the trip to the Calcondo.

Soon many relatives arrived.

We entertained them.

We took them to the beach.

We provided airport shuttle service.

We did laundry.

I celebrated a big birthday.

On my official birth date.

I ate lemon meringue pie.

Several times.

(Why are my pants tight?)

Anyway, here I am

with nothing but time to blog

and make things.

 

  A needle-felted Santa.

Beard fiber is at the Concondo

and will be installed later.

 

Some needle-felted beads.

Just wanted to try them.

Need to get necklace fixings.

 

Some embroidery

on my hand-me-down

iPad case.....

to tide me over till I can

make a more artistic one.

 

A journal of daily doodles.

 

I have more projects planned.

Too many to finish in

the life I have left. 

But I will try.

So I'd better get started....

Just one more....maybe

I'm working on one more embroidered owl from the Kleenex box.  The downstairs bathroom (aka the powder room) has now become my personal art gallery, and there's one blank wall.....over the toilet.  Since the ladies now have something to look at while they're using the room, it seemed fitting to give the men something to gaze at too.  

I've been doing lots of embroidering lately, and because of that I've been looking at lots of embroidery websites.  I'm especially impressed with this artist's work.  She uses DMC floss as I do, but in a heavier version.  If you check out her site, scroll through a few pages till you come to Sherlock.  I was blown away.  I have no hope of ever being this proficient.  I was, however, pleased to learn that her thread ends up in the same jumble as mine.

Once upon a time.....

.....there was a crazy crafty lady who loved to construct things out of fiber.  She cut a sleeve off of an old sweater....

....and had the wild idea that she could use it to build a Santa.  And what do you know!  The building inspectors were impressed.  They gave her the go-ahead to forge ahead.

Then there was an unexpected delay.  Her loving husband told her to put on her goin'-out-to-the-city clothes because he had a surprise day planned. She could only assume this would be an early birthday present.....since she had a really-big birthday coming up...one that required a loving husband to make a really-big splash.

So off the two of them went, on the 11:14 train.  And then there was a wild taxi ride across the Brooklyn Bridge to Brooklyn Bridge Park...where who do you suppose they happened to meet?

Big City Girl.  She had a little surprise up her sleeve too.  A private tour!

And then there was a subway ride back to Manhattan and an early dinner at a lovely little restaurant.  And then.......

It took the crazy crafty lady a few days to recover from this overdose of festiveness, but she was, eventually, able to return to the construction zone.

Rummaging

I'm really happy I didn't donate my bright red 100% wool Gap sweater to the thrift shop years ago.

I always loved the color, but the sweater is a little scratchy.  I haven't always made clothing purchases wisely. Now that I'm needle-felting I'm very thankful I've kept this old sweater around. It's about to become a Santa...with plenty left over for one or two more. 

First, I cut a slice out of one sleeve.  Think calamari. Then I drew a pattern for an oval shape that would close up the slice on the larger end.

This was fairly easy because the sweater fabric is stretchy and has some give. Then I cut out a red oval and whip-stitched it to the sleeve tube with red sock yarn (remember the red sweater ornaments?)

 

I put a beanbag (left over from an old craft fair) in the bottom and filled the tube with stuffing.  Next, I threaded some wire (a Mr. Gadget cheap tool store purchase) through the top for bendable arms and gathered the open end of the sleeve tube almost closed.

Then I dove (make that belly-flopped) into my bag of wool roving (gifted to me by other Marcia) and found a nice piece to wrap around the wires.

He has a ways to go to become a Santa, but I'm not in a hurry.  I have other things to work on.  I love to juggle projects.  I also love to rummage.  It's fun to see just what I can come up with using things I have in my stash....which is exactly what I'm planning to do for dinner.

Dear, dearie, dearest

Mr. Gadget and I are not users of mushy endearments.  I never call him honey or sweetie.  He never calls me darling or sweetheart.  Sometimes I do call him Mr. Gadget.  And sometimes, when he's really feeling loving toward me, he calls me Mrs.  Which is why I was compelled to purchase this mug the other day at Home Goods.

It has a few imperfections and it leans a little.....mostly to the left.....and it holds more than a cup of coffee....so it suits me to a T.

Now that I have the first of the two owl embroideries finished, I've been doing some high-speed stitching on the second.

It gives me a chance to let my needle-felting finger pokes heal, and to rest my thumb joint from the knitting arthritis.

Knit, purl, pedal

I hate to exercise.  I know there are people who actually enjoy it (Big City Girl who likes to box), and lots of people who don't mind it too much (Mr. Gadget).  

Yesterday I discovered a way to work out that might be a little less annoying.  I found out I can knit while riding a stationary bicycle.  This might just be my greatest discovery since I learned I could sew with two toddlers underfoot by putting my sewing machine on the kitchen counter where I could easily disengage the foot pedal.  I love when this happens.  With enough ingenuity nothing and nobody can ever interfere with my hobbies.

So now I'm working on a new witch....in the Treehouse...by myself...sitting down....with birds chirping outside my windows.

I sketched and cut out a pattern from card stock.  I had to add some length afterwards because I had forgotten to allow for the paper-bag style bottom that will allow her to sit.

I traced around the shape on a double thickness of muslin and stitched it together all around.  I made a small slit in the middle of the back for inserting weighting pellets and then I stuffed it firmly.  I realized, again afterwards, that it needs more weight.  Next time I might plan a bigger bottom.

Then I applied a coat of gesso to the front and sides of the head, and after it dried I added the paperclay and began sculpting the face.  As I've said before, I love making witches because the less perfect the face the better they look.  From a primitive point of view.

While I'm working on her I'll try to think up a good limerick.  Or maybe while I'm biking and knitting I can come up with one.  I'll be so busy I won't even know I'm sweating.

Little red fuzzballs...

.....also known as needle-felted beads.  I'm planning to make a necklace....after I talk to my jewelry-making friend Sally who can advise me on chains and fasteners and stuff like that.

You might be wondering how I plan to end up with beads  all the same size.  It's going to be a challenge, but I have a plan for that too.  I'll designate one bead as the role model for all the others.  If some of the others don't quite measure up, I'll inject them with steroids (or, add a little more fuzz).  And if some are slightly overweight, I'll send them packing to the locker room for some deflategate (or do more poking). 

I'm making two crockpot dinners this week--both new recipes.  The crockpot is the next best thing to not cooking at all. Well, I take that back.  If Mr. Gadget cooked, that would fit in right between those other two.  But Mr. G. forgot everything he knew about cooking when we got married...with the exception of toasting a bagel which he does very well.

We had CP dinner #1 last night and we both gave it a thumbs-up. We are fans of Mexican food, so if you are not you can just skip right over it.  I did use flour tortillas and made burritos instead of tacos

CP dinner #2 is cooking as I type, so no report will be available until I post next.  Smells good though, and I did throw in some extra mushrooms. (I didn't post in a timely manner, so I can tell you it was another thumbs-up.  Add a little red wine to kick it up a notch.)

I think I've told you before about how I hate to have blood drawn and that on one or three, or maybe more, occasions it's been just short of a torture session.  Sometimes I've been forced to lay down with a committee of three surrounding me to discuss options.  Now that there's been a change in my insurance, I'm required to go to a regular lab (as opposed to the doctor's office).  Yesterday I had some blood drawn and I did a happy dance all the way to the car.

So I'd better go give the crockpot a stir.  We need to eat early so Mr. Gadget can attend the condo association meeting tonight.  I'm so glad he doesn't insist that I go.  The meetings are usually loud and contentious.  He handles them better than I do.  After all, he grew up in New York in an Italian family....  And I don't mind saying that I hope tonight's meeting goes into extra innings because I have lots of good shows saved.

And before I go, here is one of my Kleenex owls all framed.  I did it myself with a frame I had on hand.  Don't pay any attention to the waves above his head.  Those are just emanations from his aura.

Wax isn't just for ears

A witch known for being unconventional

dreamed of life atop a golden pedestal.

But it wasn't to be

without an exorbitant fee,

so she sits in old wax from a candle.

A treehouse tale

I'm working in the Treehouse today and making some progress on my latest clay witch.

Her face is done and now needs some spray-on sealer.  Usually I brush it on, but this time I used watercolor paints and colored pencils so the spray-on finish will, hopefully, keep the colors in their places.  I'm flying by the seat of my pants using watercolor paints on clay.

Here's her hat.  A ball of crochet cotton works splendidly as a drying rack. 

When Big City Girl and Tech Guy were about middle-school age, I used to fantasize about how I might escape now and then from their crazy-making antics.  I would visualize a treehouse sitting in the branches of a big oak tree in our backyard.  Here was my plan:

While the two dastardly rascals were away at school, I would have a couple of construction guys come to the house with a load of lumber.  They would build a simple treehouse that would be big enough for me, a comfy chair, and a cooler for refreshments.  I'd ask them to attach a rope ladder that could be raised or lowered at my discretion.  And, of course, they would have to make it spider-proof.  That goes without saying.

If the guys worked quickly, they would be gone and I would be up in the treehouse with my knitting when the kiddies arrived home from school.

I could only imagine their surprise.  "Mom, what are you doing up there?" they'd yell.

"I'm knitting," I'd say.  "I don't know when I'll be coming down exactly," I'd tell them.  "But I'm sure you can find a way to get along with each other and fix yourselves some dinner."

"This is not fair, Mom!" they'd scream.

"And don't forget to feed the cat."