Flowers and Fiber

2011-12-18T11:47:00.001-05:00

California in December

2011-12-18T11:40:00.004-05:00

We had a great time visiting California to see my family, and enjoy a trip to the San Diego Zoo Safari park. The palm trees were gorgeous, and the sunny blue sky was amazing to see. Boston is great, but we really enjoyed the scenery and the sunshine. We stopped at a fruit stand in Temecula, and bought red oranges and grapefruits and wanted to buy lots more. George and I stood by the car in the parking lot and ate 2 oranges each right there! Delicious.

Home again, and now it's all about Christmas. We are busy decorating the house, and had a great trip to the outlet mall and our favorite store: Villeroy and Boch, where I bought some beautiful Christmas plates and a tea setting. I love the festive colors of Christmas, and we leave our decorations up until February.

Blogging has been something that has gone by the wayside of my busy life. I'm very grateful to have such a nice family to visit in California. Onward with the holiday plans!

Enjoy the season!

2011-12-18T11:38:00.002-05:00

Safari park picture taken by Devin!

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2011-09-11T18:20:00.000-04:00

Lemon Meringue Pie

2011-09-11T18:19:00.002-04:00

We have decided that we really like making these. I learned that baking a pie crust should not be done while watching The Name of The Rose on TV, or you might overbake it by 5 minutes and have to make a second one from the remaining crust. So, this is not perfect, but definitely a labor of love.

And a really nice treat on a Sunday afternoon.

Thunder's Apple Tree

2011-09-05T08:30:00.003-04:00

When my cat Thunder died three years ago at age 17, we planted a very small apple tree in her honor. Last year we were not quick enough with the spray and the borer caterpillars had a picnic on the leaves. It was sad. This year, we were out there with the first warm spring day and sprayed every weekend and watched it closely. It had an abundance of healthy leaves & blossoms. Most of the apples seemed to develop down low.

A problem.

During the night, little night animals would come and pick off the apples one by one. We have skunks, raccoons & woodchucks and any of them could have been the culprit -- or maybe all three. Anyway, all summer we have watched as the apples become fewer. Now we are down to just this one.

So, here is a picture of our one apple for which we have high hopes.

Have a great day.

2011-08-27T17:47:00.000-04:00

Hurricane Irene means a lot of waiting here in Boston

2011-08-27T17:43:00.003-04:00

Hurricanes are so much fun to watch on the weather channel. So much going on. I'm sorry for people who have damage and flooding in their homes. I have been assured that our gutters are all facing the right direction. I was beading today at my little kitchen studio, and heard a freight train of rain coming down the track. It was a huge downpour, and I was glad when it stopped. George went out for some last minute supplies and got soaked. I shut all the windows and made popcorn.

Tomorrow is church, and since I'm the cantor, we will try to get there if it isn't dangerous to drive. But, it will probably be too rainy to take the chance. They'll have to do without me, the ten people who do show up.

This has been a slow hurricane, with a lot of talk, anticipation and concern.

And lots of time to turn into the weather channel for more updates.

Clean floors

2011-07-30T18:15:00.002-04:00

On July 18, the movers came to move us out of the upstairs, and the floor men ripped up the old carpeting and sanded and varnished the floors. It was a huge undertaking. We chose not to worry about it until it was time to pack up, which took a whole weekend. The floor sanders worked for four days - the last 3 applying 3 coats of polyurethane. The kitties were moved into the den, with food and litter. They took it like little troopers, and didn't cause any problems at all. Our bed was moved to the living room, where we slept like kings in the middle of a large suite - actually enjoying that part of the process.

Hell came. On Friday, July 22, the movers came back again to move all the furniture back in (we kept it in a UHaul truck in the driveway). It was 103 degrees -- the hottest day in Boston on record since the 1920's. It was a roaster. We put a case of water and Gatorade on ice. The freezer wouldn't even freeze drinks it was so warm outside. We know. We tried. The movers were great, and worked very hard and I tried to keep everyone hydrated. George and I sat in lawnchairs in the shade when we could find any, and helped organize where the boxes went. Somehow, it all got put back into the rooms, but we still had a big mess of boxes and furniture and clothing that needed to be put away. It was 90 degrees in bedroom, and that is WITH a window air conditioner cranking the whole time.

The good news is that we survived this. The floors upstairs are beautiful. The old stained rugs are gone and we are enjoying more space since we gave away carloads of furniture and clothing. I know where everything is, and most all of it is unpacked and put away. The kitties were great about the move, and never made a peep through the whole process. George didn't have a heart attack and I survived the heat and lived to tell the tale.

All good.

Have a great day.

2011-07-10T16:26:00.000-04:00

A loon swimming near the dock

The lake

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Vacation at First Connecticut Lake, New Hampshire

2011-07-10T16:08:00.002-04:00

We always have a great time, but this year our vacation at the cabin was spectacular. We had beautiful cool sunny weather, and lots of time to fish, swim, sightsee, take pictures of critters, play cards and I made a couple of beautiful beaded bracelets from a complicated pattern I was eager to try. It was a splendid vacation, and I only got two bug bites -- and that is a big deal since I am allergic and they can be really troublesome to me.

We didn't find the Pileated Woodpecker I sought, but we did see a beautiful young male moose with velvet brown antlers standing in the middle of a small out of the way road called East Inlet Dam road. It was breathtaking to see him standing there calmly, and before I could reach for my camera, he ventured off into the dark woods. The side of the roads are covered with wildflowers. The sun shines brightly and still the woods are dark as night. We saw lots of loons and had a particularly wonderful loon concert at 2:30 a.m. on two separate occasions. The loons call back and forth across the lake when everything else in the world is quiet and dark. Amazing.

The cabin is comfortable and welcoming. The swimming was cold, so we ventured into the lake only once, but it was fun. Fishing was..., well, fishing wasn't. We had only a couple of nibbles, and George caught a fish that only a loon would be proud of, about 5" long. We didn't really try hard to catch anything. It was more fun to play cribbage by the lakes and rivers, and just enjoy the scenery.

Can't wait until next year!

2011-07-10T16:06:00.000-04:00

2011-07-10T16:05:00.000-04:00

No fish, but lots of fun with worms.

2011-07-10T16:04:00.000-04:00

George is in the background - fishing off the dock.

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Our kitchen table at the cabin...homemade apple pie - yum.

2011-07-10T15:59:00.000-04:00

Wave goodbye to the cabin until July 7, 2012

2011-06-21T19:05:00.001-04:00

Flowers are just coming into their own; it's still early!

2011-06-21T19:01:00.000-04:00

2011-06-21T19:00:00.001-04:00

A few pictures of our flowers today: June 21, 2011

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So many beads, so little time!!!

2011-06-15T21:10:00.002-04:00

2011-06-15T21:08:00.000-04:00

The Bead Dreams competition showcases and special jewelry art made to benefit Japan Relief.

The Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee; 2011

2011-06-15T21:07:00.000-04:00

George and I had a great time at Bead and Button this year. He plunged right in, and visited booths, attended the demos, talked to people, found interesting things to share with me and generally enjoyed the whole experience. I was thrilled! I had more fun this year than ever before. George was there to help me carry things, and never once did he encourage me to stop whipping out my credit card. This year I went with a plan, and I knew the booths that I wanted to visit. My impulse purchases were very few (always
fun though). I took a great class with Katie Hacker while George took a much needed nap, and we had a couple of good meals; Benihana and Mader's German restaurant -- a must visit in Milwaukee! The inspiration that I came home with will carry me well through a year of jewelry design. I can't wait to get started. Here are the pictures:

2011-06-15T21:06:00.002-04:00

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This is the pendant that George bought for me as my show souvenir.

2011-06-15T21:04:00.000-04:00

The large and spacious main lobby of the convention center, where the Bead Dreams entries are in glass cases. Makes my heart pound to think about it!

2011-06-15T21:02:00.001-04:00

We really enjoyed the demos this year; this one at the Fire Mountain booth. Lots more demos than I remember, and stuff to learn wherever I turned!

2011-06-15T21:01:00.000-04:00

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This nice lady at the ISGB helped us buy a beautiful dicroic pendant, with all the money going to Japan Earthquake Relief. Everyone is SO NICE!

2011-06-15T20:58:00.001-04:00

The Bead Social on Saturday, with an auction and proceeds to go to breast cancer research. We won the table prize, and had a great time!

Finally finished

2011-05-30T10:56:00.001-04:00

One good thing is I generally finish what I start. I worked on this pair of socks for more than a month, because I stopped to do other things. But, finally, I finished them this weekend, and now I can go onto the next knitting project - a white T-shirt to wear on my vacation.

My salad

2011-05-29T19:37:00.002-04:00

George just went to the kitchen and made this delicious salad for my dinner. Twenty-three pounds down!

2011-05-20T09:15:00.000-04:00

Six Tips for Your Crafting Life

2011-05-20T08:42:00.004-04:00

Recently a Twitter friend sent a post from The Interweave blog that has inspired me. So I have my personal six tips for my crafting life here. I'll list them, and then I'll elaborate.

1. Put your craft at the top of your priority list, and not the bottom.
2. Make a project board out of wood, and put everything you need on the board, in plain sight.
3. Gather your inspiration and put it in 3 ring binders where you can find it easily.
4. Listen and Learn: spend time looking at other creative people's work -- listen to creative people and learn from them
5. Listen to good music that inspires you as you create.
6. Learn to love organizing. Time spent putting things away neatly, and labeling them for the next session is not wasted.

Crafting is my priority. Design your day around your craft and decide what you want to accomplish that day. Don't waste your crafting time doing housework or worrying about things that aren't getting done. You are an artist, and your creation IS what is important.

Walking through Home Depot one day, I found a beautiful 4 foot square piece of oak. We sanded it and rounded the corners and stained it with two coats of pecan Minwax and two coats of polyurethane. It is a lovely shiny thing that keeps all my stuff handy. I thought of this when making metal clay jewelry one day and my brushes kept disappearing in the clutter around me. Clear the distractions. Create a space with great lighting. Buy an extra Ott light or two and keep them handy when you need them. When bringing your craft on a trip, make sure you bring your own lighting. Once I tried to repair someone's jewelry on a towel in kitchen lighting, and it was a disaster. Bring your light with you!

3-ring binders are my salvation for keeping my ideas in a safe and permanent place. I have several large binders, one for knitting, one of magazine articles & inspirational pictures, one for beading ideas and techniques, one for beading class lists and a diary of beading classes. These large and colorful binders are close at hand, and I refer to them several times a week. Some of my knitting patterns are 20 years old, and I know of no other way that they could still be referenced if I had not started my notebooks. Many old ideas are still good ideas!

I spend a lot of time on the internet looking at other people's blogs and looking at the links that they put on Twitter. If they think it is important, and they are wonderful creative people, then it is worth my time to see what they think is worthy. My creative life is my own, but a shared creative life is twice as much fun, and probably ten times more fruitful.

Music is a great mood mellower. Listen to music that soothes you and makes you happy. Ideas will flow.

Learn to love organizing your beads, yarn, knitting supplies, etc etc. Spend time organizing; know what you own and where it is. Creating goes much easier when you are relaxed and in command of your materials!

And my 7th tip? Have fun and don't be critical. First efforts are not usually your best efforts. Give yourself some time to learn and hone your skills. Relax, and love the time you spend creating!

Have a great day.

Vegetables are us

2011-02-15T19:07:00.002-05:00

Beautiful baby bok choy that George bought for me at the farmer's market today.

It's the little things....

2011-02-13T08:34:00.002-05:00

This is the balloon of the season. I gave one to Lucy, George's granddaughter, and I gave one to the young lady who was crowned Queen of Hearts (lowest score) at our Heart's party last night, and George went out this morning to get me one for Valentine's Day. It's the little things that make me happy.

2011-01-29T06:39:00.000-05:00

Napoleon's army in a shop window

2011-01-29T06:38:00.000-05:00

French Market Restaurant on Decatur Street

2011-01-29T06:36:00.000-05:00

The Hove Parfumeur Ltd on Royal Street

New Orleans details

2011-01-29T06:34:00.002-05:00

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2011-01-29T06:32:00.002-05:00

A vent grate in the building on Royal Street, like hundreds of others.

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Carriages are painted and pretty, and always around the streets of the French Quarter. The streets are old and cobbled, but washed every morning and clean.

2011-01-29T06:29:00.001-05:00

New Orleans

2011-01-29T06:18:00.005-05:00

One of the best things about visiting New Orleans is in the details. It is a graphic-lover's city. Everywhere you look there are pretty things to see --scrolling ironwork, beautiful vents on the buildings -- even the manhole covers are nice looking! Maybe it is the Spanish historical influence (there isn't much left of the original French architecture) but it is an endlessly fascinating city to walk around in. People drape their balconies with beads and flowers. Restaurants decorate their windows. Shops lure you in with antiques and treasures that look one of a kind, whether they are or not is a small detail.

This trip we spent time roaming on Royal Street. We took two long walks down that street and stopped in several shops. I bought some perfume at Hove, which is a perfumery that has been in business since 1930. The shop was old and beautiful, clean, not cluttered, and the shopkeepers are not pushy. New Orleans is a city for shop keepers, and they let you roam around and don't pressure you to buy anything. They are used to tourists and treat them well.

We had lunch at the French Market Restaurant on Decatur Street. Tired from walking and hungry for oysters, we went in at lunch time. It was a beautiful large room with ceiling fans. The waiters and waitresses were friendly and no one minded at all when I asked questions about whether to order my mufaletta with french bread or the traditional sesame seed roll. They took their time, explained the differences and didn't act as if I was foolish to ask. We run into that kind of service everywhere. Cab drivers are eager to talk to you about places to go, and will give you good hints. This trip we found that there were no lines anywhere for anything. The city was quiet. Most weekends are not like that, there is usually always some kind of festival in New Orleans. We liked having the city to ourselves (not quite), and we enjoyed our quiet dinner at Commander's Palace with the four other parties in the room. Usually a bustling restaurant, it was fun to have all that service to ourselves!

New Orleans is fascinating and unexpected, even when you have been there six times, like we have.

Have a great day.

2011-01-22T08:32:00.000-05:00

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New Orleans - January 15-19,2011

2011-01-22T07:47:00.008-05:00

We had a great time in New Orleans. This trip I wanted to go to Tipitina's, and we managed to make that happen, taking a bus down Tchoupitoulas on a Sunday afternoon (just like natives) to hear Bruce Daigrepont and some great Cajun music with guests from Cajun country in Louisiana who never record. It was a real treat to hear the best Cajun performers and watch the dancers try to dance to those fast Cajun beats. (In the Lafayette area, where the real Cajun's are, they know exactly how to do the two step and the waltz to these up beat tunes...not an easy thing to learn.)

We decided that the theme for this trip was: all stairs, no chairs. Neither of the two clubs we visited, Tip's or the Mid-City Rock and Bowl, had chairs. After a while we found a chair in both places and enjoyed the music. At Rock n Bowl we saw Amanda Shaw, the fiddler who plays in the new IMAX movie Hurricane On The Bayou.

We walked the French Quarter on Royal Street, bought some perfume at Hove, shopped the French Market every morning after having coffee and beignets at Cafe du Monde on the riverfront. We took the Creole Queen to the Chalmette Battleground. We walked and walked and tested our knees and calves to the max. We found a new restaurant, The French Market, where we had a great plate of oysters and mufalettas, and we returned to our favorite restaurant, Commander's Palace, where we had a wonderful three course meal ending with pecan pie. We had a second mufaletta at the Central Grocery, sitting on stools in the back and getting our drinks from a coke machine. Met a lovely couple from San Francisco and shared some of what we have learned in our six trips to New Orleans. That mufaletta actually lasted two days -- we ate the second half of it one the plane during the break in Dallas. (They get better with age.)

Our hotel was the Country Inn and Suites, where we had a suite, fine, but the bedroom had no windows--just a brick wall. At first I was a little appalled, but it turned out to be a fine large room which was quiet and dark when you needed it to be, and we slept like babies. This hotel is one of the few that offers a free breakfast, which we really enjoyed. They had wonderful oatmeal in a crock pot and another large container of yogurt with fresh fruit, along with all the muffins, scrambled eggs, sausage, waffles, etc. A good healthy breakfast is a must in New Orleans to fuel us for all that walking. A cab driver told us about a restaurant near our hotel that make great oyster omelets--ugh. This trip was unusual because there were no big events and no crowds, making it especially nice. Our cab driver who took us back to the hotel from Commander's Palace said it was so dead tonight, he was going to go home and watch TV. The weather was also wonderful, in the low 60s, with some clouds but no rain. New Orleans can be really hot and humid, so we enjoyed walking around this trip in the cool.

I found a really fun slot machine to play at Harrahs, that blessed me by giving me a lot of free games with lots of money at first ($100), and then took it all away again -- alas. Don't you know that gambling is bad? But Harrahs is interesting, huge, and on the way to the river. They also had a Starbucks, a Fuddruckers, free bottles of water & a friendly attitude. I really enjoy walking along the MIssissippi and watching the river boats and the tug boats as they maneuver the swift currents.

We flew first class on the way home, a great trip punctuated by a change of planes in Dallas when the windshield defrost didn't work, a delay of 2 hours. Home to the mountain of snow they call our front yard. I am happy that I bought some feather masks for my friends at work, and some masks for my wall at home. Something to remind me of the joie de vive that is New Orleans!

Have a great day.

2011-01-07T23:30:00.000-05:00

Bella's mittens

2011-01-07T23:21:00.003-05:00

During a village Christmas walk, we dropped into one of my favorite yarn shops and heard about a pattern for Bella's mittens, as seen in the Twilight movie. The first pair I made came out fine -- with a few mistakes. I had to learn a few tricks to get them right. The second pair was a disaster. I finished one mitten and realized I had missed several rows of a cable pattern and they were miniature and wrong wrong wrong. George convinced me that a big rip was necessary. I took a scissors to them and ripped back the whole mitten and ended a whole Saturday of knitting with a ball of yarn.

The third pair of mittens was finished tonight. They are made with two strands of yarn worked together. I started them on Sunday and knitted every evening and finished them on Friday night at eleven. The pattern is wonderful, but not easy. You have to follow it exactly and not make one stitch different than called for. The pattern has 87 rows and most do not repeat. It isn't a pattern that you can sit and talk while you knit. Concentration is key. I keep a stitch counter, markers and a cable needle handy. I learned the magic loop method for these mittens, which is a way of knitting a small circumference on circular needles instead of double points. There was a learning curve that I had to master, and I must admit, there was a little gnashing of teeth as stitches dropped, stitches were missed, and I had to rip back a thumb that I made too short. All worth the effort, however. It is fun to concentrate and learn to do something that is a challenge.

I have two pair of finished Bella's mittens now, and two orders from people who want me to make them a pair. Knitting for hire isn't something that I have ever done, and I'm not at all sure that will work out. Knitting for love is better than knitting for money. But, what am I going to do with all these mittens? I might as well share. Maybe they call these Bella's mittens because they'll bring out the werewolf in any knitter!

Have a great evening.

A wonderful year!

2010-12-31T08:50:00.004-05:00

For Christmas this year George bought us a new Apple mac mini. It is a beautiful machine, about 8" square; small enough to sit right on the desktop. We have a new screen and keyboard and I'm already loving the Apple setup. I still have to transfer my pictures and my music, but we are good to go. It was a big deal to get a new computer and finally take the old one offline. Maybe we don't do change as well as we would like to. These days, everything is supposed to be disposable, but George and I still remember "use it up, wear it out, make it do". Sometimes our old fashioned traits get in the way of progress.

Besides the new Apple computer, George won an Ipod in a drawing, and I got a new Droid phone and a Kindle. Progress catches up to us!

George continues his lucky streak. He won an engine at his flying club picnic, the Ipod at a trade show raffle, the huge gift basket at the church fair in December, and a food processor as the prize in a contest online for Hellman's mayonnaise. We really need to get him to buy some lottery tickets!

This is my last post of 2010. It has been a really great year. George loves his job, and I love mine. I even got a Christmas bonus this year -- the first in a long time. Our kitties are thriving and playful and a constant source of affection and entertainment. My jewelry business has blossomed into a success; I sell as much as I want to -- without getting tired of the creative process. We had a great time this summer at the cabin, despite the heat and two trips to Big Lots to get more fans. We visited Mike and MIchelle twice this year. Going on trips has always been fun, but coming back home hasn't been so much fun - both times in May and in October, I came back sick with the flu. Our health is generally good, our doctors are always available and at the ready to cure us, and we are grateful for modern medicine and all the miracle drugs that help us with our little problems when they appear. Do I sound old -- talking about health and doctors? It's ok -- we are just acting our age!

Our New Year's resolutions are pretty simple: eat healthy and add more vegetarian meals to our weekly menus, laugh often, play more Cribbage, watch far less drivel on TV, take walks around the neighborhood, try to keep our bead addiction under control (me), take a trip to Oklahoma to clean out the storage locker in El Reno of my mom's beautiful things, and keep it simple.

The last is probably the hardest.

Have a wonderful New Year filled friends, family and good times!

What other people love

2010-11-12T21:18:00.004-05:00

I am getting ramped up for my jewelry shows this Christmas season, and that means I spend a lot of time thinking about what other people will love. During the year I design jewelry for me, or just because I want to, but this is the time of year that I really start thinking about others. Recently I discovered that I have very few purple beads in my collection. People are nuts about purple. So today I bought some beautiful Purple lampworked glass beads on Etsy. They are amazingly beautiful and I will make these into a bracelet that someone is going to really love.

So, this next few weeks it's not about me. It's about what other people will love. (I think I love these too!)

Have a great day.

The color purple

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2010-10-30T08:58:00.001-04:00

40 degrees & sunny

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Time to bring the peppers in from the cold. Every year I plant habaneros and other kinds of really hot peppers to add to my soups and stews during the winter. I love to watch the peppers grow and their bright colors add a little splash to the garden. Last night it was 40 degrees and today we picked the last of them. I learned the hard way that you really need to be careful with these. I put gloves on, and slice and chop them into small pieces and keep them frozen. I even put a "danger" sign on the container in the freezer. You wouldn't want to mistake these for something else! A few tiny flakes of frozen habanero pepper will heat up a whole big pot of chili. It doesn't take much when you are working with one of the hottest peppers on the planet.

The big lesson I have learned is not to touch my face, or especially my eyes or nose. Just a little touch with pepper scent on your hands is enough to burn for an hour. These little babies are so pretty and spicy, and it has been really fun to watch them grow.

Have a great day.

2010-10-23T09:35:00.001-04:00

No harm in catching on slow

2010-10-23T09:18:00.008-04:00

Over the years I have learned one thing about myself. (Well, I've learned many, but this is one.) I catch on slow. I am not a trendsetter. It takes me awhile to catch on to things. I am a slow learner, but watch out -- when I get it, I REALLY get it!

Several years ago a high school aged friend of my mothers was making a fleece knotted blanket, and told me about them. Last year another friend said she had made one and they are really warm and snuggly. She said, "wrap up in one and you are immediately asleep." The fabric stores have been selling this idea for a long time -- and fleece comes in a wild selection of colors and patterns, and is often on sale. Last year, still a non-believer, I bought some patterns of fleece and hemmed it up on my sewing machine for den throws. Finally yesterday, I decided to try it out and this morning I cut and knotted a fleece blanket in a little over a hour. They were right, all those years ago, this is a very FUN project!

My first knotted blanket is made with a red and green chili pepper pattern on one side and black and red plaid on the other. It happens to be Christmas colors, which seems like a plus.

Cut off the selvages and layer 2 yards of 2 patterns of fleece wrong side together, (be wild and creative); cut a 4" square out of each corner; cut 1" strips that are 4" long around the edges. (I found working with a plaid is great since it gives you the straight edge guide you need.) Knot every other one with a square knot, then flip and square knot the remaining strips. The flipping and knotting makes the knot fringe a little fluffier and the same direction of knots on both sides. I was pretty careful to make nice firm square knots all around.

I have enough fleece to make two more blankets this weekend. They are warm and nice, but they are especially wonderful because they are so much fun to make.

NOW, I finally understand.

Have a great day

Visit my new ArtFire store which I launched this weekend!

2010-10-03T14:12:00.002-04:00

Visit Silverandsparkle's ArtFire Shop

2010-09-18T08:29:00.000-04:00

My new Kindle

2010-09-18T08:14:00.002-04:00

My new Kindle arrived yesterday. I downloaded several books - some free from Amazon. When the price hit $139 at Amazon I decided that it was time. I love my Kindle! It is a really cool thing to have so many wonderful books at my fingertips. I had my Kindle for only a few minutes and downloaded The Cossacks (free) by Tolstoy, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (free), Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (free), The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (not free), War and Peace (free) and Four Classics: Billy Budd, The Scarlet Letter, Huckleberry Finn and Red Badge of Courage ($6.95). That should keep me busy for a little while! George's fear was that too much money would be spent on books. I assured him that with the kind of books I like to read - it will take me while before I have to pay for new ones.

This morning I started looking at Kindle cases on Amazon. I didn't want to spend the $60 for the lighted case, or the $100 for the Cole Haan hand stained pebble leather. Nor did I want to spend $35 for the hand crafted cases on Etsy (with $5 shipping). I looked and looked and never saw one I liked for less than $20. Then, down in the Google list I see an article about the best Kindle cases, and a picture of a kindle in a 6x9 padded envelope. Voila!!

Here is my new Kindle case. Hand made, and free, just like I like it.

Have a good day.

The next peyote bracelet

2010-09-06T10:06:00.000-04:00

When time is not money

2010-09-04T12:42:00.004-04:00

I just finished this peyote stitched bracelet. I started it on Thursday night and worked on it for probably close to seven hours on Friday night and Saturday morning. It is stitched with size 15 seed beads - the smallest - with a "ruffle" of gold size 11s. I wanted to practice my peyote and I loved the pattern. If I had to put a price on it, it would be $100. It is subtle. It may not sell. But I am not that interested in the money -- I'm REALLY interested in making another!

Have a great Peyote stitching day!

2010-08-27T20:06:00.002-04:00

A new piece of livingroom furniture

2010-08-27T20:06:00.001-04:00

I love my Craftsman cart that we bought at Sears for my kiln. It is the perfect size and is a pretty bright and cheerful red. The kiln fits perfectly and I can hang my fireproof mitts by magnets on the side, and put my kiln and silver clay tools on the bottom shelf.

It is like a welcome visitor to my living room. It won't stay there forever, but for now, I like it where I can see it!

Labor Day weekend is the target date for the first firing. Until then I'm reading the manual, getting my clay tools together, making and drying the first silver clay item, and getting ready for the big exciting first firing!

Have a great day!

Gosh I love creative people - look at this!

2010-08-25T20:40:00.000-04:00

2010-08-21T09:42:00.001-04:00

A trip to our garden this morning

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White Flower Farm, Litchfield, CT August 14th

2010-08-16T19:54:00.004-04:00

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2010-08-16T19:53:00.002-04:00

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2010-08-16T19:50:00.000-04:00

My new kiln arrived today

2010-08-11T17:49:00.002-04:00

It isn't set up yet, and the enameling collar is just sitting on top, but isn't it just a magnificent thing!

And a couple of magnificent kitties to add to the picture.

My new Caldera Kiln (without the enameling collar)

2010-08-07T05:58:00.002-04:00

What I made in class last year with silver clay

2010-08-07T05:57:00.001-04:00

My Kiln

2010-08-07T05:47:00.004-04:00

For the last year I have been thinking about getting a kiln. At the Bead and Button Show in June of '09 I took an all-day class with Irina Miech, and completed a silver necklace and earrings from PMC silver clay. It was a wonderful class and she is a precise and patient teacher. Her books are wonderful too, so look them up on Amazon. This past June at Bead and Button I visited the Whole Lotta Whimsy and Paragon booths and learned that the kiln I thought I wanted was probably not the kiln for me. It was a shock to see how beautiful the kiln I should have really was. The shock was also for my checkbook. A kiln purchase for me is a big deal.

This week I took the plunge and ordered my beautiful new Paragon Caldera kiln from Whole Lotta Whimsy. There is a sale going on, and the kiln was $565. After adding the collar and shelves - (kiln furniture) - and the tools that I need the final cost was over $900 and I haven't starting buying the clay yet! I researched and read and emailed the experts. In the end, I added the brand new enameling collar. This is a "collar" extension of the kiln, which makes the inside larger, and also gives me a front door to load and brush enamel and re-fire.

The advice I read over and over was that when buying a kiln, buy one that you can grow into. I don't do enameling, but I want to learn. And adding beautiful color to silver pieces seems like something I just have to do. My excitement is building and it has been a wonderful week. The kiln has left Mesquite, Texas and is on the way to me.

Glory be. Amazing. Fun. Exciting. Inspiring. Hot!

Have a great day.

2010-07-11T14:34:00.001-04:00

This is the view we look at for 7 days straight - always changing, always serene. Did I tell you that only two cabins out of 7 were occupied, so we almost had the whole place to ourselves this year?

2010-07-11T14:32:00.000-04:00

Mrs. Merganser and her 18 babies diving for minnows at the pier.