my softie dog design is evolving...

we chilled by the fire and made terrariums today.

i made a lightbox yesterday to photograph my etsy stuff in all this gloomy rain. even though it's kind of rickety, i'm liking the results! this little cutie is not for sale though, she's all mine.

i am so grateful

for finally having time to explore and dream and create and spin and stitch. this little guy i did tonight, my first softie i've made in YEARS. he's a bonzo-type for sure, and i'm hoping to develop some kind of little spotted dog softie design all my own. and surprisingly, drawing and cutting this design with no pattern and hand-stitching him only took maybe three hours, which is much less than a typical embroidery piece, so that's kind of cool.

and, i am so grateful for the health and company of my family. for the uninterrupted time drinking wine with my mama. for the grumbly generosity of my dear papa. for trips together we never could have taken just a couple of years ago. this time is so precious, and i savor every second, every touch, every word.

for finding the fairy tale of true love i always hoped for. and for loving someone who is so unfailingly good to me. no amount of gushing will describe how i feel about my husband.

for healthy, happy, sweet critter companions, especially my baby (gulp) imogen with her squint and her bad bionic knees. and the fact that her heart is my heart. (but this is not to diss my other critters, whom i cherish!)

for my husband's sweet daughter who has just come to live with us. i love her already and feel so grateful for this chance to know her and maybe even help her out a little at a difficult time in her life. plus, she is adorable and is helping me dress better.

for such long friendships, people who are still with me after years and even decades.

for our new business venture and the sweet smell of self-employed success!

it's an embarrassment of riches, really. wish i wasn't so weepy thinking of it all! damn that cookie dough milkshake! happy thanksgiving!!

wip, all of it

i got some fabric glue today. had not realized before how much easier it makes things. also looked over this wonderful book on art quilts. i had never thought of what i wanted to do as quilting, but there are so many transferable techniques, especially with applique. it's even better for my purposes than the painted quilt book, which is amazing.

i finally met with my errant committee member, the one who i've been convinced wanted to dump me. i went in there with image of myself as a lamb going to slaughter (i'm prone to drama, perhaps?) anyhoo, he had on a cozy, cute-old-dude sweater, and was not mean but very gracious and supportive, although he did summarily dump me. still, i think it's for the best, as now this leaves me with an open spot on my committee that i might can fill with someone artsy. maybe there is still a way for me to make my degree more overtly art-related with an applied component. i feel good about it and he even gave me some much-needed, good advice. he said "i think you are more than entitled to take all the time you need to think, rethink, and write." how's that for a carte blance to spend my time stitching??

flossing

oh my, ok. so i'm spending the second evening in a row winding embroidery floss onto paper bobbins with this little plastic bobbin winder. my mom has been finding boxes of embroidery floss at garage sales, and i have quite a stash, but it is hard to use because it tangles and it isn't organized. so this method of organization seemed reasonable when i was standing at michael's, anxious to make crafty purchases (it's one of the few allowed with my dottie angel challenge. i do enjoy the meditative aspect of organizing my crafty supplies, but now as my progress is slow, super slow going, i'm just not so sure about this vs. the "toss in box" method.

what do other stitchers do??

lookeee!

I've been featured on Mr. X Stitch!!! i sorta feel like i have found myself, my medium, my voice (WOO!!) with this embroidery thang.

after the rain

we discovered a fairy pond! i guess from all the rain. or maybe it's been here the whole time.

Henry's harecut

Cosset's harecut

circa 1961

The Progressive Farmer's

self portrait (la lapin)

Currently, highly enamored of Sandrine Pelletier.

Jim

from a thrifted children's book. this was the best illustration - what an expression! what do you think the rabbit is saying to the horse??

bunny swoon in anthro

so i'm setting about recreating this rad bunny necklace. today i found some bakelight buttons for eyes, nose and even some teeth. still need ears and whiskers (and maybe that head/eyebrow piece) - will check mum's treasure chest.

the dottie angel challenge has been so successful thus far in curbing my shopping (i was only in anthro for inspiration! really!) except that it has turbo-charged my thrifting. i have been a thrifting mofo, a thrifting beast the last week. mostly crafty supplies but also vintage cuties that can't be left behind. too many for me and my little house! i will finally have to list some on etsy, i think....

lagom/orph

it's always tempting this time of year to rush around decorating and cleaning and trying to be "productive." as the weather feels brisk, so do i. a simpler life is what i am going for though, yessir. not too many decorations, projects, or rabbits. lagom (swedish for "just enough, not too much") is my mantra.

i finally finished blocking my dogwood shawl, just in time for this cool weather. all handspun and handknitted by yours truly. i wasn't so sure about the mohair trim when i was knitting it, but i love how it turned out. it's a snuggly blanket, shawl and skirt all in one. i think knitting books might be like cookbooks in that you tend to like most patterns (recipes) in a book or none. weekend knitting is my favorite so far.

there are many changes and adjustments afoot - hub's new business venture, which is taking sooooo much time - and my newly-committed writing schedule - ack. i thought of a new approach to writing that might actually work - to take everything i've ever written on this subject and smoosh it into a diss. why not? i had a different plan, and i've had trouble letting go of it, but it obviously isn't working out so well. i'm excited but unsure, as per usual.

but just for today, i am going to luxuriate in this new fall weather with faulkner, blueberry bushes, and alpaca fleece.

world's most beautiful sock pattern ever, made with the world's most beautiful yarn ever, for the world's most beautiful mother, ever

also preliminarily committing to the dottie angel utmost challenge, but with the following exceptions for things which i will try to get vintage, thrifted or handcrafted, but i may still go for new:

-yarn and wool and spinning/knitting/crafty supplies and necessaries
-critter care needs
-books, although i'll get what i can from the library
-bpal (although i believe this is all handmade)
-fluevogs
-auto parts
-plants
-undies
-gifts
-hub's needs/wants although i'll try to guilt encourage him
-am testing this out for a couple of days to make sure i don't need more exceptions
It's Officially On!!

We've been having some fun days, but always busy and sleepy. Today Mrs. Bunny went to new LYS and treated herself to Koigu and Addis!

ms. ruby

i took the sheepie plunge!

This is Georgie and Gabbie, Shetland lambs born this past spring. He's grey Katmoget (that's the pattern) and she is black with a brown spot on one side! He's been banded, and she's got an underbite, which makes them absolutely perfect for my pet and wooly purposes.

There's Georgie again, and Greta who is a little more shy than the other two. Greta is the coveted color known as Mioget, and she is just a tiny bit cow-hocked. Did I already say that I adore these sheep? They are all settling in, and only seemed a little freaked when they met the Chihuahua. Good thing that sweet feed is such a powerful motivator, because I want my sheep to let me hug them and all.

a day at the studio

having his late-night snack.

little Henry

today vegetables ... tomorrow the world

There in the moonlight, as the music filtered through the air, sat the bunny, his eyes intense and staring, an unearthly aura about them.

"Now, this is the part you won't believe," Chester said to me, "but as I watched, his lips parted in a hideous smile, and where a rabbit's buck teeth should have been, two little pointed fangs glistened."

this was right before she peed on my knitting pattern! but that was ok.

bed bunny

hee

Hub saw deer in our yard today. They stayed for a long time.

xtreme love affair

Junebug and me.

studio!!!

i'm soooo psyched about my new space! i got most of the stuff moved in today and although i'm not yet all unpacked/organized/arranged, everything seemed to fall into place. the window spaces are coveted in this building and i was happy with an interior space. here it is:


and the view out toward the front:

the bare part was just vacated by a stained glass artist who moved across the street. the weavers will be moving into that area (see all those looms up front?!!) and then the front spaces will be taken by painters.

and here's is what i set up today in my studio!!

the rug was actually there already, and at first i wasn't sure if it fit with my long-awaited dream studio aesthetic, but then i thought it worked pretty well. i haven't carted my precious Fantine (that's my Rose wheel) down there yet, although since it's going to be my main craft space, i guess i will. i'm told it's perfectly safe and it has a lock and all that, but maybe i should see about insurance first?

here's the view out toward the back of the building (two painters have that gorgeous space behind mine):


and here's my new carding station, thanks to a quick ikea run! i swear, the expedit shelf and desk must have been designed with carding in mind.


and my desk from home, repurposed as a sewing table (i wanted to move it anyway to make room for hub's daughter, who is hopefully coming to stay with us. whole 'nother story, that).


and some fixins and sewing supplies:


i have the space defined by an awesome thrifted sofa! so comfy. this pic is taken from another spinning station (a chair's better for spinning on that bulky babe) on the other side of the carding table.


i can't believe the amount of space and the peace i felt hanging out there today. there is no wifi, which will take some getting used to, but plenty of room think and breath and create. this is the nicest thing i've ever done for myself.