and some more new babies

there's nothing more fun than bringing home chicks from the feed store. seriously. i can't think of anything, can you? and this was even funner because these aren't just any chicks - they are turkeys! five baby bronze turkeys. welcome home!

happy anniversary, sweet love

our fourth was yesterday, and i got home just in time.

this is little ricky

he is supposed to be lucy and desi's baby. he was an ebay find of mum's, but he came with a strange detail. the hand.

here he is saying: "hello mathyld! without you, my story would have been lost."

as mathyld noticed, this *has* to have been an intentional reference to this song, don't you think? why else would his hand have been severed and re-attached, and with big black thread x's on hard vinyl?

thrifting is serious business

this is classic us. i've been watching a lot of american pickers, and i think mum and i would make a rad picking duo. wouldn't that be such a fun life?

i was thinking of getting this wood bellows. i passed it up, and now i regretsy. it's very important to keep the fire gods happy, but winter has passed, and i wasn't loving the gold eagle..

until i saw these pics, i had no idea my roots were so bad, and why oh why are my cheeks all red? so much excitement i guess. i think this was taken soon after the great potato heist.

so much to love

Mum is enjoying her wonderful La Sylphide by under the pyramids! Mathyld, you are so dear!

Sneak peek of my new series. Another one was here.

Tomorrow I'm going to Stitches South!

polish film and potato pot

Saw such a cool film tonight. And this afternoon, found a piece of pottery in the shape of a potato.

See his face?

I like emailing pics to blogger.
They all show up as separate posts.
Less curated, more B-roll.
And that's good.

i love looking over my mum's vignettes and collections, but i usually only take time late at night when everyone is sleeping.

Obsessing over Charlotte Gainsbourg

kind of discombobulated today. my dad's been in the hospital. he's home now but it's always scary.

being a city mouse

for a week or so.

a chore day

getting ready to leave town for a bit!

welcome to my world

On possibly revealing too much, too soon

This little guy keeps escaping from the dogloo where he hatched. Then he can't get back in over the lip. I've been putting him back in and his moms (there are two hens in there, I don't know which one is his ma) fly at me in a very scary way. Of course, he might be a she, but he seemed like a he to me. I'd like to take more pics of the chicks, but the moms are not having it. Some farmers don't get attached to little ones or name them yet because the world is pretty precarious for someone so tiny.

I've been thinking about actually submitting some needlework to be considered for a show. I saw this call for work over at Joetta Maue's blog. Even though I'm often intimidated by the skill and vision of the fiber artists she features, why not try, right? Especially because I had this idea that fits in with the theme that I'm excited about and am going to do anyway.

And I was thinking, rather than sit here and wonder what to blog about while I'm thinking about all this stuff, why not blog about it? I love when other bloggers reveal their process, but there is this temptation to just unveil new work once it's done, as if by magic. There is this surprise of "Woah, where did that come from? S/he has been *busy*." Or at least that's how I feel. And if I include readers in this process, maybe I can get some useful feedback, or insight too. I'm in my own head way too much!

Then there's the fact that I've been criticized before for not revealing my thoughts or intent behind something I've posted online. And this project I have in mind *might* be destined to cause a little controversy, at least among people who are looking for controversy. Sometimes, it's fair to give some context, especially for a more conceptual work or when you really want your own intention to be part of the viewer's frame of reference.

Then again, maybe it's better not to reveal too much early on. Criticism of delicate, new ideas is always a buzzkill and can even be damaging. And then, if I don't get accepted into that exhibit (which is fairly likely, these types of shows seem to be very particular), then I'll wish I'd never mentioned it here. But I love Alexandra Hedberg's Art as Business series, partly because she shares her disappointments along with her successes. Then again, there are lots of other reasons artists and crafters wait until they have finished pieces to share. What if they never get done? And perhaps a strong piece should be able to piece speak for itself, without the extra baggage, and that draws the viewer into a meaning-making process yada yada.

Back and forth much? I am so often full of indecision. But in this case, I like what I'm working on so I'll definitely share the process in upcoming posts. I wanted to think about all this though because I want to know why artists share or don't share and when. Would love to know what you think.

that pastoral paradise i've always dreamed of

I felt like I'd found it today. I finally tried to sort through and skirt the wool from my sheeps. It was such a beautiful day to be outside lazily picking hay out of wool.

This is Gabbie's brown and black fleece. Part of my homework for the master spinner's certificate is to spin fleece from each part of the sheep, so I tried to lay it all out in one piece.


I love her primitive sort of wool.


This is Georgie's grey "katmoget" fleece. It is stunning.


LOVE the tipped locks and they have a good crimp, too.


The dogs got into Greta's fleece while it was still in the barn (horrors). They rolled around in it and got hay all up in it. My friend Sue said I could bring it over and run it through her picker.


It's totally worth the effort, with its color (called "mioget") and its length!


Henry kept me company. He hopped and sniffed and chilled. Isn't he a handsome boy?