rainy day blessing

I should be sewing but seeing how I left my mayday post sitting on the dashboard for two weeks, I'm feeling guilty about not updating. It has been raining steady for almost two days and we have one more to go. That will keep me out of the garden for a while. My "other" garden has been planted but I haven't seen it yet. I laid it all out and I hear it's beautiful. Hopefully I'll get a dry day and can snap some pics. I have to send the bill, my least favorite part of the job. The rain is a blessing. I feel as if mother earth has endorsed my efforts and has taken over for me. I'll go see it when the rain stops and take lots of pics.
I have been busy with handbags, finishing one for Sweetpeas and another to sell on a new site, Modwerk. I really enjoy making them , especially when the person I'm making it for chooses some of the elements, because it's more personal that way. The internet has it's advantages but it can be very impersonal. My Etsy shop and flicker stream have brought so many interesting women to my door. It reminds me of when I had my shop, I knew just about every woman between the ages of 13 and 65 on my side of the island, but we also had regulars- visitors that came on a regular basis and celebrities and first timers. So many people from so many places, it was wonderful to meet the all and know that they were taking a little bit of us back home with them. My daughter Naomi will be coming home for 5 weeks in 10 days. I hope to press her into service and let her take care of all the web business for me. I know the time will fly and when she leaves my son will go with her off for his summer with his Dad and I will have lots of time to sew and plant and hopefully get myself into a better blog routine.

May day is lei day in Hawaii

Here I am late again, but better late than never. May came in windy and cool and I spent it at the nursery picking out plants for the "other garden". What a pleasure to be able to pick whatever I fancied without looking at the price and then deciding if I wanted it or not. In less than 2 hours time I spent $1,000 dollars. I still have another dozen shrubs to find somewhere else. I have a half a dozen excellent nurseries within 10 miles of me so that shouldn't be a problem. It's rained the past two days, tomorrow I will lay out the garden for planting.
Today was almost over before I realized it was May Day which is Lei day in Hawaii. In the weeks and days leading up to may day lei makers all over the state are gearing up for the days festivities, which focus around the lei, symbol of love and friendship. Even though I am 10 years removed from my island home I have continued to make leis. This year for the first time I didn't, which brings me to my list of the things I miss most about Hawaii.
1. My best friend Deb. We are the same age, she is also originally from California. We have very common history and experiences. With the exception of my brother Ron, I think she understands who I am and why I am that way, more than anyone else just because of our age and having grown up in the 60's California culture. She is like my sister, and I love and miss her more than words can say. My daughter Naomi says that we have sound alike and use the same expressions. Holy mackerel!

2. Flowers and more specifically, leis. I had plumeria,jasmine,stephanotis,gardenia, pua pua kini in my garden and oh the scent of them. The joy of picking and stringing them,laying one upon a friends shoulders. Kauai's lei is Maile and Mokihana, neither flowers. One is a vine the other buds on a branch of forest trees. Both smell faintly anise like and they are my favorite. My ex husband brought maile leis when our daughter graduated from high school. I wore mine for 3 days and now almost a year later I still can smell it when I rub the dried leaves between my fingers. When Naomi was little she learned this song "maile lei ,flower lei wear this lei on this occasion. Flowers bloom, lovers too, beautiful maile lei, beautiful maile lei.

3.The sandy beach of Hanalei Bay, I could wax poetic for hours on the beauty of Hanlei. When I first sailed to Hawaii we spent almost 2 months at anchor in Hanalei. When I am sad I imagine myself floating on my back in the warm shallows at the pavilion, hearing the swishing sound of the sand moving with the current and watching the clouds slowly pass overhead.

4.Beach combing, there really aren't many good beaches for collecting shells on Kauai, the reefs and the waves break most before they make it to shore, but you can find wonderful treasures. Perfect tiny shells, beach glass,driftwood, even coral. Another song Naomi would sing and also hula to me
"Pearly shells, from the ocean, covering the shore, shining in the sun, when I see them ,my heart tells me ,I love you more than all those pearly shells.

5.Hamura's Saimin and Kilauea bakery & Pau Hana Pizza. If you go to Kauai you must have a big bowl of Hamura's saimin in Lihue... True local food long silky noodles in a light broth with bits of green onions and char sui sprinkled on top, locals like it with hard boiled eggs , I preferred added vegetables and maybe a wonton or two. Yum! Pau Hana Pizza is in Kilauea and is owned by Tom and Katie Pickett. They make the best artisan breads, bagels and pastries and later in the day, Pizza of all kinds traditional and very untraditional. what I wouldn't give for a kalamata bialy or a mighty thistle pizza.

What do you miss about your former home?

Spring Fever

I’m having a difficult time getting into the blogging routine. All my routines are off with the change of seasons. The weather has been off and on…. warm and sunny and cool and rainy. We needed the rain, but damn if it didn’t knock most of the cherry blossoms off my tree before I had a chance to get a good shot. Last year I was managing a children’s store and did next to nothing in the garden (or elsewhere for that matter. Retail Manger – is s job for someone with no life). I have major projects planned, but I’m no longer sure I want to keep investing in a garden I know I’ll be leaving within 3 years. My garden is not the garden that has kept me from blogging and crafting the past 2 weeks. I have a second garden, well, it’s not a garden yet, I have been designing it.
6 years ago I was working as a mortgage assistant part time. The man I worked for had a beautiful house in Cambridge and I worked there while he was between offices. It paid well and my boss was great, but it really wasn’t my cup of tea. When his new office was finished, I told him I would be quitting and he asked me to design his garden. It was fun for me. My home garden is mainly shade and can be windy. His yard had a nice balance of sun and shade and was very protected. I planted the garden and took care of it for 2 years until it was established. Well Dan and his wife now have a child and have moved from Cambridge out to the suburbs. Now I have another garden, this one is over ½ acre with some deep shade areas, a challenge. lots of established trees, a new lawn but no shrubs, no perennials. I have drawn the plan and Thursday we will go select the plants. I am not going to plant this one, but I will supervise. It’s a nice design, a 3 year plan so they don’t break the bank getting it all in. I am going to use the money I make on this to buy a big tree for my front yard to help screen the monstrosity that is my neighbor’s new addition.

Aren't they grand?

My grandson's, two years apart both had birthdays last week!

I'm too young to be a grandma again

My daughter Heather had her second son this evening ( I forgot to ask what time) A boy 2 weeks early but still a healthy 6lbs 11 oz and 20" long. She sounded great, but I know she was tired. He sounded hungry. I'll post a pic as soon as I get one. Now I can go to sleep.

Catch up

I was thrifting last Friday ( see my flicker vintage children's books for my two 50 cent finds) when a terrible headache came over me. I spent the better part of the weekend in bed.
On Sunday my husband was going a little stir crazy and we went out to the Grafton flea market. Oh what junk, it was awful, The few decent tables were loaded with a few good things mixed with trash can material. No prices on anything. Now I'm not afraid to bargain but before I begin I like to have a feel for the seller. I stood at table after table looking through piles of post cards, sheet music, junk jewelry and listened to the sellers talking amongst them selves about how bad business was. I'm wasn't surprised with no prices on anything and sellers that either hovered over you telling you the history and price of every object or ignored you all together. "How much are these?" I ask holding up sheet music pages (not booklets just odd pages)
"They are all different" he says.
"Oh, they were all in the same pile, How much?" I ask again?
"For which one?" he asks.
"This one" I hold up the top sheet.
"A dollar ",the next one "50 cents", this one" 2 dollars" and on and on .
Ridiculous. I offer him $2.00 for 5 pages.
"No bartering." he says .
I said "If you don't barter why not put price tags on everything or at least sort them into piles with a sign?"
I get what we used to call in Hawaii "STINK EYE" . Oh well, I guess he doesn't need the money I mumble to myself as I walk away empty handed.
Out of maybe 20 decent sellers, only 2 had any prices on anything. After several hours with a husband who regretted suggesting the excursion the minute we paid a dollar to get in. I managed to find up a nice Limoges dish with an arts and crafts motif, an ivorine shoe horn and 4 metal necklaces for 10 dollars.
Now I am 3 days behind in my orders, I need a helper or someone with a whip to stand over me. I did finish a reconstructed bag that is not promised to anyone to list on Etsy

Reconstructing

I had a request for another pocket bag and so I whipped this one up for the very nice Amy from Illinois. While in search of materials for the bag I found some really odd grandpa shorts but I just fell in love with the fabric, a tissue thin cotton plaid. I made a cute little skirt from them, but I am just too damn old to wear it. I'm going to take some pictures and sell it on Etsy. I am just about ready to give up there. It may be a cheap place to sell but the lack of control over the layout and set up of my shop is driving me crazy. Last week, I bought myself a US map and some map pins. I want to put one in everywhere I sold something. Reminds me of when I was young, one of my friends had a map of the world that was floor to ceiling the length of their hallway. There were 4 kids in the family, travelers all.They each had their own color pins and even yarn to chart their travels. I know mine will never be as grand but the thought of a map with pins in every state and continent might be incentive enough to keep my foot in the door at Etsy.

My little rainbow

Today is my daughter's 19th birthday. This is the first time I will not be with her to recount the tale of how she came into the world. When she was smaller it was a long story, she always begged for more details. As she grew older, the story grew shorter. Slowly it morphed into a family legend.
I feared I wouldn't have another child after my first.Years went by, doctors said it was improbable. Still, I hoped and wished and prayed and waited. My prayers were answered. After a long stormy night of rain( tears) and wind (breaths) the sun came out and delivered my little rainbow. Happy birthday Naomi!

Season opener or Absolutely no early birds

I am a thrift shop and garage sale maniac. There are no thrift shops in the town I live in, only "Designer Resale" shops that I can't afford to shop in. In the winter no one has garage sales so I get pretty happy when spring rolls around and I can go treasure hunting. So last week while browsing
I see an ad for an upcoming garage sale in my town. It reads "Estate Sale- Clothing, furniture and household items from 1940's to 1950's.... One day only, No advance sale! Absolutely no early birds!
I circled it in red on my calendar.
It was a pretty ugly day out. I figured if I went 15 minutes ahead of time I wouldn't get too soaked while waiting to get in. When I arrive there are only a couple of cars and no line at all. I go inside and there is virtually nothing left but furniture and glassware, I walk from room to room Where the heck is everything?
I ask one of the ladies, "Where is all the clothing?" She says "Oh there were people knocking on the door at 8am and since it was raining we let them in. A couple of ladies bought everything." I was bullshit, " What about "No advance sale! Absolutely no early birds!?" She just smiled weakly and said "Sorry." I went down to the basement to see if I could find any thing interesting, I found an old wooden sleeve ironing board, a wicker rug beater, an enamel funnel from Sweden. There was an old map of our town tumbtacked to the wall which I took down. Up stairs I noticed two beautiful heavy mirrors, on large rectangle with a walnut frame and a small plaster oval one with gold leafing. Nothing was marked except the big mirror. "How much?" I asked the woman I had spoken to earlier. She said "You have six things, so how about six dollars ." That was more than fine with me. Early birds be damned!

Two down, one to go

I finished my second reconstruction project, which was the one I started on first. A skirt with ruffles of a gorgeous Amy Butler cotton sateen floral. I had originally bought the fabric to make myself a bag but this year I think I'm going to macrame one or go with a solid color. So, I had the fabric and the colors worked very well with the cargos, but more than that I loved the contrast of texture. I made a sash out of the floral and another Amy Butler print and wove it through a chain belt. It looks great without the belt too. Originally I was going to hang little fabric fans from the loops but since the skirt will be in a larger size I thought I should keep it simple. I need a real dress form for fitting. My display mannequin is tiny ,it's difficult to display anything larger than a 4 on on it . The skirt is designed for a taller girl. I'll make a short girl skirt next. But I'm very pleased with it. My bag was a major hit . I posted it on Flickr before I listed it on Etsy, because I wanted to get Naomi's input. I received 4 inquires about it. This morning I wrote the first one back and she bought it straightaway. So that was a success. Now I still have the two legs to figure out for my 3rd project. I need a new book bag maybe.... Well the weather here is still cold and I am so done with winter. Just leave already !

Unfinished business

I tried to finish up a few unfinished projects this week. I have a bunch of ipod and laptop sleeves that I cut out weeks ago. All I need to do is sew them.I moved everything downstairs (in anticipation of spring) But I'm not quite organized , all my stained glass and mosaic projects are also waiting to be finished . I started to clear a space off, there was a bag of my sons clothes for donations. I made the mistake of pulling a few things out to play with . So, instead of sewing up what I had all ready, I cut up a pair of his pants and started 3 new projects. I am pleased with this purse.
I bought some very cool ribbon from sacredkitschstudio a while back and wanted to make a belt with it, so I used that and built on it. I love recycling . The ribbon is the only thing new on the bag. The rick rack, buttons, webbing and lining and of course the bag itself are all recycled. I think it's one of myfavorite things, I hope the other 2 pieces come out half as good.

Crafters block

Is there such a thing? I got a little excited last week when we had some sunny warm days and moved all my sewing projects downstairs. I had planned on waiting until Easter but my daughter called and told me that her brother had complained that we weren't eating at the table as a family. She told me to pack it up and give the table back to dinner. So I did. Family dinner is one ritual I have always insisted on. We were quite the oddity in town, no nanny, no maid, must eat dinner at the table with parents. Horrors.
So, now I have to go downstairs to work. It's not like sitting in our sunny dining room with big windows all around. Its a nice basement all finished off but natural light is only available on one side, In the winter the sill is home to my collection of tropical plants and scented geraniums. This year I have neglected them,yet they thrive and block about half of the light that comes in . Makes me wonder how our forefathers managed to work though the winter in their homes with little or no natural light.
I have a ton of stuff to sew, all cut out and neatly stacked. I have a craft show this weekend . Monday is spring, I'll shoot for then.

Owls Away

Well it's been a while I know. I actually wrote a nice long post last week and then had a major crash before I posted. I guess I should write in word where I have auto save, I just don't. So, I had the crash while my Palm desktop was open and lost 7 years of data. Yes I had a backup, but it took me a half a day to figure it all out. So my post was about owls ,which are suddenly popular. I have been an owl person for the last 15 years. Back when I was living in Hawaii, they seemed to appear when ever I was in a difficult time. A friend told me Pueo (owl) must be your amakua ( guardian spirit). Which at the time made perfect sense to me. So over time I began collecting them and then of course when you start collecting something all of a sudden people are giving them to you . I never really liked anything too "cute" but now with it's popularity at an all time high there are some wonderful owls flying about. So I decided to try my had at a cute owl and made some pillows to sell on Etsy. I like the way they come out . I have decided making and selling things on ETSY is perfect for me. I have too small of a house to keep all that I make and so by selling it on Etsy I get the satisfaction of creating it and I don't have to worry about where to put it.

Woot 2 posts in one day

Per tigerluxe"

I'm inviting everyone who reads my blog...if you have read this far...to list on their blogs 5 books that have changed their life...i hope this hasn't been done before (in the many corners of the intranet)

It was difficult to just pick 5 but here are mine in the order I read them.


1.The Collected Works of Dorothy Parker
2. Slaughterhouse Five Kurt Vonnegut
3 Silent Spring Rachel Carson
4. Fatu Hiva Thor Hyerdahl
5. The Life and Times of Michael K JM Coetzee

And why....
#1 My father gave me a volume of Dorothy Parker after my first heartbreak, I laughed and survived many more with it's help. She is one of only 2 poets I can recite with authority.

#2 War is hell This book turned me into a pacifist.

#3 We need to protect our planet This book turned me green

#4 This book made me question organized religion , missionaries and it was an amazing adventure story.

#5. I can't describe it, our connection to our spiritual self and nature, dignity


I read the first four books before I was 20 and the last one after I was 40. I read hundreds if not thousands more in between but those first 4 really shaped me into person I am today. Thanks Rachel for the mental exercise.

Wearing a turtle neck sweater is like

being strangled by a weak man .........All day. Mitch Hedberg
Rest in peace Mitch. I am sitting here procrastinating. Comedy Central is airing a half hour of Mitch. He really had one of the most perfect deliveries ever. His comedy was so original. The other night I was questioning if there are any original ideas left. How do you know we haven't seen or heard something somewhere else, long ago and instead of thinking it up we're remembering it? My husband is an inventor, an engineer. What he does is science, everything documented, researched. He has patents on his ideas. The last couple of weeks I 've been working on a new design for a purse. I was pretty excited about it, thinking it was so original. I've never seen anyone do anything like it. I toiled over it, dream of it at night. Sewed and resewed the prototype. Last week I'm in a used book store. I open up a book from 1957 and there it is, staring me in the face. Did I see it before, or just think of it?

I've been working on income taxes for the past couple of days. No fun and definitely not the time to get creative. I can't work on taxes and listen to Mitch at the same time. I decided to upload some more of my son's pictures from his trip to Greece into Flicker. He took 160 digital ones and another 80 on film. (it was a photography class trip) At 6 at a time it's taking a while.
I was happy to have comments on my Kokeshi doll pictures. Nice to be able to share them and see others collections. I decided to take some more pictures of my Japanese things and now I'm uploading them. Mitch is over and now Stephen Lynch is on. I love him too. Comedy is good. We need more comedy in the world today. I have to finish my taxes. Joy .

Waiting

My husband hates the name of this blog. He thinks Attention Deficit is a condition and I shouldn't joke about it. I really think, he thinks people will not understand or somehow look down on me. For the record, I am not joking about it, nor have I been diagnosed with ADD, but when it comes to crafting and gardening, I do have a difficult time keeping focused on one thing at a time. There just aren't enough hours in the day to accomplish everything I want to .
In the winter, I like to work with fabrics and foods. In the summer it's tiles and glass and plants and paper. It hasn't always been this way . When I lived in Hawaii, I worked onall my crafts year round. Here in the Northeast you spend so much time indoors. Days on end. Short days. Long cold nights. My sunny Hawaii crafts of making sailors valentines, stringing leis and making beach glass mosaics just don't cut it on these long cold days.
I took a classes in stained glass, copper foil and lead. I made mosaics from pottery instead of glass . I painted and decopaged wood and I started sewing. I sew in the winter upstairs where it is warm and bright. I break glass and cut tile in the summer when it is too hot to be in the garden, and cool in my basement.
This year, winter came too quickly. I didn't have time to finish off my downstairs projects. On my workbench, summer crafts wait for me. A mosaic I started for my front entryway, a kaleidoscope that just needs a touch of solder and several small pendants, all waiting. Waiting for the sun, waiting for me to tire of the warmth of wool and cotton, roving and thread. Waiting for me to trade the chug chug chug of my sewing machine for the sharp high whine of my grinder on a piece of glass.

Here comes the son

Well my week sans son will be over tomorrow. I haven't accomplished much , but it was great to have a break. I really needed it . It's the first one I've had in at least 6 months. But I did miss him . I'm looking forward to seeing his photographs and hearing his adventures.
I did manage to finally make Deb's apron and get it into the mail. It didn't turn out quite as I had envisioned . I like the two fabrics together but the pieces were too big. I should have broken it down more. That is the problem when you work on a deadline. I know she'll like the style and maybe it will look better once it's broken in.
I spent the Monday holiday at my husbands workplace. He's an electronic engineer and while he worked on an attachment for my total gym ( a footboard-I have the cheapy model without one ) I recycled some of his bits and pieces and made some cute earrings from resistors. I've listed them on etsy, If no one buys them soon I may just keep them , the style and colors suit me.

Procrastination and inspiration

I haven't been able to get much of anything done this past week. It's winter break time here. I spent most of the week getting my son ready for a 10-day visit to Greece with his photography class. Now that he is gone, I'm hoping to make progress on some of ideas. Inspiration arrived for me in the form of a bundle of fabric from my best friend Deb. She is an accomplished seamstress and her fabric stash is amazing. Included in the package are several very posh pieces of vintage upholstery fabric, a bit of bark cloth, vintage cotton kimono fabric, and silks from Japan, Thailand and Italy. My favorite is two pieces of Shibori silk. The sizes range from 5x5" to 12x24 ". I have been sewing lots of felt lately so I will have to start to think more delicately for the silks. Possibly some small bags or hair ornaments. First I have to get to work on making Deb an apron. I bought some Amy Butler fabric before Christmas intending to make her an apron for a Christmas gift. Somehow I never got around to it. Her birthday will be here soon enough and the weather is so dreary the charm fabric is just what I need to put me in a springy state of mind. I'll post when it's finished.

got got got no time

I am amazed at the creativity of the crafters online. They are both inspiring and intimidating. I have been having a difficult time getting anything done this past week. I can't seem to get more than an hour here, twenty minutes there. If I was more organized, that would be more than enough time, but I'm not. Two weeks ago I had a creative burst and filled pages of my idea book with things I wanted to try. The only one I have worked on so far - a handbag is not turning out anywhere near my vision despite numerous alterations. I believe I should keep at it, I had a dream about it last night.

Everyone has to start somewhere

This is my where. A little about me, who I am. A middle aged mom.Actually I prefer mid century, I was born in the fifties and now I am in my fifties. I come from a family of artists and other creative types , but I never considered myself artistic. My mother worked in many mediums and was a crafter before they had crafters. My father was an airline pilot whose regular route from the fifties to the early seventies was the Orient. I grew up with all things Asian. Every trip home a treasure, a treat.
My dad was the hero of my elementary school teachers when after a trip to Japan he brought back a package of "Magic Markers"heretofore unseen in colors. They were smelly, made very thick lines that ran through all but the thickest paper, but the colors were so intense, so bright that my teachers would have paid almost anything to get their hands on more. ( My dad sure missed an income opportunity there). Soon, there were American versions, but it was some time before they could compare with the originals.
So I've already strayed off my course, which happens to me quite a bit, which is why I named my blog what I did. I do have trouble focusing on one thing at a time, but I'll try to keep to the subject which is crafting. Crafting, a word I love because it is both sufficiently vague and all encompassing.
"What have you been doing today ? "
" Crafting"
For me it sounds productive, like I accomplished something.
Today I crafted.