View From The Chair

You walk by me
As if I am not there.
My legs may not be strong
But my mind is.

These wheels do not shield
Me from the world.
They do not make me blind.
I see you as you pass me by.

My body reminds you
Of your own mortality.
Yours reminds me
Of my own.

You find temporary escape from truth
As you pretend I don’t exist.
Yet when you close your eyes
Mine are open wide.

We stayed plenty busy despite our allotment plans being foiled.  Maybe even because the plans were foiled. Somewhere along the line I decided that I am going to make this kirtle for my youngest to wear at a dance performance next weekend. They need to dress up in the period of the dance, Tudor, for the villager fun day the first weekend in June. Last year they wore shorts and t-shirts but this year, with the retiring of the old teacher that organized the performance, they have apparently brought on a more ambitious organizer.  Which somehow translates into Katie needs to make a fancy dress costume.  I am sure that other parents are no where near as insane as me, but a switch gets flipped in my brain that compells me to make instead of buy.  No rational thought employed, just irrepressible urge to do it myself.

The sun is back out and we need to get outside and finish up the allotment planting. The rains will have made the soil, which is a very clay soil, much softer and easier to work. Heavier, but softer nonetheless. It will be June next week and things should be well planted by then.  Onward ho!

Marche’ Saint Pierre – 6 floors packed with fabric.  Need I say more?

My daughter displaying my rapidly growing stack of payment tags for my purchases – as I am intently wheeling myself and amassing my booty.  Good thing I left room in my suitcase to bring it all home in!

He loves me, but fabric shopping is not his idea of fun.

I on the other hand was in heaven!  (Yep – that is my new avatar.)  Paris fabric shopping induced bliss!

I will be blogging over at Beneath Our Feet with more pictures of our travels in France, so be sure to stop by there and check for updates.  After we left Paris we went to the Rhone Alps region where we are hoping to launch our dream venture from.  More on what that dream is later…

I was on a mission.  Of course I had a flare of my fibromyalgia for a few days after I bought the paint so it sat quietly on a shelf waiting for me to get to it.  When I felt better there were other more pressing needs in the potting shed and in our allotment. (Which I really should blog about – allotment politics and gossip are the best!  Gardening in it is fun too.)  At last the day arrived when my body and my schedule were in sync so I set about my task.  It happened to be the day before a big BBQ party at our house. As I worked I imagined myself proudly presenting my new red bin to my guests amid oooohs and aaaahs of my crafty frugality.

Documenting the bin au-naturale.  It served us well when our kitchen was black and silver industrial when it was first purchased. After we moved out of that flat the poor thing has been somewhat of a eyesore and been mistreated.  I scrubbed it up nicely and readied it for it’s makeover.

Next I set up a paint booth by stringing up a couple paint drop sheets all over the patio. The wind was blowing towards the big bush so I tied it up and around it to spare it from getting sprayed. An up-ended recycle bin served as a base to prop the bin on and lucky thing – it was red so the paint didn’t muck it up. (Can’t have my recycling bins looking shabby now can I?) Thanks to the swine flu craze all the masks at the paint store were sold out so I donned a high tech breathing filter courtesy of my farmer husband (which I did not document in photos, but if you do work with spray paint use some sort of a mask. That stuff is awful. Were it not for the greater good of my kitchen decor I would not have used such a vile medium.)

Several hours and 4 coats of spray paint later …. My beautiful red rubbish bin!!! (Fully deserving of all 3 exclamation points.)

Ain’t she a beauty? And for a mere fraction of the cost of the extortionately priced ones. The bin cost us £14 when we bought it 4 years ago and the spray paint was £7. I used 1 whole large can of paint. The gray metal showed through for the first 2 coats and the 4th,final coat gave it a nice even shine. I had no idea going into the project that it would take so much paint and originally contemplated buying a mini can. Thankfully I went for the big can or I would have had to buy 3+ of the small cans at a much higher end cost. (full disclosure: actually I used a whole large can and 5 squirts of another can but that was because some fluff flew onto the final layer of painting the lid. I had to buff it out with some steel wool and give it an extra coat. Were it not for the wayward fluff it would have been a one can project. )

Oh – and at the party I did indeed smile with pride as my guests commented on my lovely bin and were duly impressed with my ikea hack skills.

With limited budget (as in zero budget) for acquiring of new yarn for my stash, and a need for a significant but not too brain taxing project I decided to give a Log Cabin style blanket a try. It is a stash buster project using up all the odd bits and bobs left over from other projects and a few odd skeins that have been with me for way to long and needed to be used up or given away. My original intent for it was to just make something for the family. We can always use another nice warm blanket. But then I remembered that our friends are getting married in late June and it would be a perfect wedding gift for them. They are very eclectic people and it is definitely an eclectic blanket. So far it measures roughly 2ft x 2ft and I am hoping to make it no less than 4×4. I might need to raid some yarn from my shop to meet that goal but if ever there was a reason to do so, making the perfect gift for good friends is as good as it gets.

I have a few other projects that I would like to get started in the next few weeks. I had hoped to make a shrug with some nice cotton that my friend Anna gave me last year before I go to Seattle in July. I’m not sure that I will get to it by then, but it would make a good project to work on while I am there if I don’t finish it before hand. I have another project planned that I really want to get done before the end of June, but again I am not sure that it will be possible. Its another gift for another wedding and I can’t say anything more because the recipient just might be reading this blog. But if I don’t get it done before that wedding I will give my apologies and get it to them as soon as possible. Hopefully before their first anniversary!

Last week the spirit of the season blew through me as I surrendered to a most intense fibromyalgia flare. With a good mystery audiobook playing on my laptop on my nightstand, cup of tea placed within easy reach, and my supplies set before me neatly on my bed I began hunting and pecking through beads and baubles for inspiration. The result was several pairs of glass and stone earrings that were bundled up and sent to their new homes before I had a chance to take pictures, and this lovely necklace that I made for our friend Sabrina. Made from orange/red/yellow rolled felt beads that I made last spring and colorful glass beads which I bought in a fabulous bead store in Barcelona.

I also made this divine hat for Stephen to wear with his once again long hair ponytail. It is cold in the mountains of Italy where he lives but it can be a real pain trying to find a hat that works with ponytails. Hopefully this will do the trick and keep him warm and in style. Made with handspun single and the pattern can be found here.

It was good to get some creative work done. I have been in such a drought lately, putting my energy mostly into daily needs, but also attending to other calls that have been demanding my attention. When I opened my box of beads and tools there was a sense of apprehension with my eagerness to get started. Knowing that I was in the midst of a bad flare, I also knew it was entirely likely that I wouldn’t be able to finish what I started. Another thing that keeps me from my creative pursuits is the lonely trail of abandoned projects that are evidence of good intentions gone the way of dreams. But not this time. Once I got going the momentum built on itself and I began to get as much energy from making them as I was putting into them. More even. What a joy and a delight! ‘Tis the season to be merry and bright!

There must have been some huge celestial event, or some other type of shift in the universe recently. I cannot figure out what else may have caused me to list some of the goodies I have made over the past several months in my etsy shop. I suppose I like seeing them sitting nicely on my cool green Ikea shelves. It does make for good conversation when someone comes around for a visit to chat about my fabulous hobby. Eeesh. Ouch. I will admit I am not the most self promoting of artists, but I really do think of my work as my art. Not that I have anything against hobbiests, I do have bonafied hobbies of my own. Like amassing the ultimate pashmina collection and parenting. (okay, yes, I kid on that last one.) But my fiber work is my art. My work. It might sound like a corny sales pitch from Ye Olde New Age Shoppe, but I truly do put energy and intention into each piece I make. Even the little ones. Each item I make marks the moment in time that they were created in and while engaged in my creative process I always find new sparkles to explore in life. Nonetheless, there does seem to have been some sort of warm wind that has blown across the frosty tundra that was my motivation to actually offer my goods for sale. Even if they do look really cool on my shelf.

bags bags bags

Originally uploaded by Divinely Crafty.

I just uploaded a bunch of pictures of my recent felt work to my flickr. I am loving working with fibre and have several projects in the works. There has been a huge creative surge bubbling up in me. It is bringing with it major self-awareness and enormous shifts.

Its intense and right on schedule. When I left Oregon 2 years ago, my good friend Spicy-T said to me “See you in three years.” I have this pattern of leaving for 3 years and then returing to Portland for 3 years and leaving for 3 years… and so on. And in perfect synchronicity things are getting stirred up. I come at it from a place so intensely different than I have in times past. I don’t see this bringing me back to Oregon. But if there is one thing I have learned it is that I can never say never.

The local Steiner school, which enjoys an international reputation in the Steiner-world, has an artist’s fundraiser where artists and artisans are invited to exhibit their work. If we happen to sell anything ( the crowds arrive with cheque books open at these things ) we donate a very reasonable percentage to the school. Thats it. No space fees, and any workshop tuition profit is not subject to donation. Not all artists are asked to lead a workshop, but those of us who do things such as felt which are fun to do at home yourself (and has appeal to a wide age group) have been asked to do a workshop if they want to. I had such a great time leading a quick workshop on making felt at the Sewingmamas Sew Expo Retreat near Seattle last month. What a thrill to come home and have a chance to teach again! And what a thrill that I was sought out and didn’t have to go hunting it down. I wish all opportunity came to me this easily!

These were originally made for my littlest daughter, but alas they are not pink enough for her liking. (The girl knows her mind, and her mind says PINK PLEASE!) So into my etsy shop they go.

Hand felted with resist and needle felted decoration of flowers and vines. Super sweet. These were my practice for a pair for myself that I am hoping to get made before I head off to Seattle and Portland (yippy!!!) for a couple weeks. (We’ll see how that big idea goes as I launch into my traditional week-before-trip sewing and knitting frenzy. Why I wait until it is crunch time before I get my rear in gear is beyond me!)

Next up is a knitted felt bag with needle felt button and flower for a little extra groove factor. Made with handpainted wool yarn I got in a swap.

Yes, there is a color theme to my work this week. I figured that if the sky is insisting on being gray then by golly I am going to add a little of my own color and brightness to my world! Anytime the heavens want to follow my lead is fine by me! (hint, hint oh Universal Powers….:)