Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Work to Do, Prague and What Makes Me Laugh

April 2, 2013 at 9:01 am by Claudia

balljars

The sun is pouring through the kitchen windows this morning. I had to get a shot of the Ball jars – so pretty. If you look closely, you can see the reflection of my flannel pajamas. Though it’s sunny and slowly getting warmer, it’s not quite warm enough yet to switch from my flannels.

It’s quite cold in Prague and there was a bit of snow falling yesterday as Don arrived. He is absolutely charmed by that beautiful city. He walked around in his jet-lagged state and took scads on pictures on his iPhone. We’ve Skyped a couple of times and I saw the view from his hotel window. Gorgeous. You can see a castle in the distance. Here’s hoping he got a good night’s sleep last night. Today he has costume fittings and will most likely be getting a hair cut. The man he is portraying had short hair. It’s been a long time since Don had short hair. It will take some getting used to!

coffeetable

Once again, the minute Don leaves, the piles on the coffee table in the den seem to magically increase. Reading material, crochet, the remote, quilting supplies. I spent the evening last night hand quilting. I want to get that done while Don is gone, so that I can maybe bind it before I leave. Maybe. I might be biting off more than I can chew. Because I also have to clean up the garden (too cold right now) and do this:

shakes

That’s on the docket for this morning. I have the finished edited version of the text and now I start the slow process of checking pronunciations, meter, stress, and word meanings. It’s a slow process on any Shakespeare text, but because I’ve coached Twelfth Night so many times, I think it will go a bit more quickly.

We’ve been watching episodes of Frazier at night on the Hallmark channel. Such smart, witty writing – the kind you have to keep up with, the kind that makes you laugh out loud. It’s such a contrast to most of the stuff on television these days. Except for maybe Modern Family, I rarely laugh out loud when I’m watching something on the tube. And even that show (written and produced by one of my former students – yay, Abe!) doesn’t make me laugh like Frazier does. When you have a combination of smart writing and wonderful actors, you get that increasingly rare phenomenon: a truly funny and witty show. Don and Kelsey Grammer have worked together a few times – onstage and on Cheers and Frazier. Cheers: that’s another show that I can watch in reruns and laugh out loud. It’s timeless, as is Frazier. Anyway, I don’t want to go on and on. I just don’t like writing that is dumbed down.

Okay. Have to get a move on here at the cottage. There’s work to be done! How are you spending your day?

Happy Tuesday.

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Filed Under: crafts, Don, quilting 53 Comments

Mabel On The Road

March 13, 2013 at 9:03 am by Claudia

I leave in just over 4 weeks to work on Twelfth Night in Hartford. Lots to do between now and then: prepping the garden, prepping the script (when I get it) and researching everything that needs to be researched, more items to be finished for the Etsy shop, perhaps finishing my bed quilt. There are other projects that I might not be able to work on here, but perhaps I could take them with me? Which brings me to my lightbulb moment:

featherweight

Miss Mabel, the ultimate in lightweight portable sewing machines, can go with me! After all, she is a Featherweight. I spoke to her about it and she seems excited. What girl doesn’t like to travel?

When I’m on the road working there are days that are packed and busy with no time for anything but work. But there are also days, depending on the rehearsal schedule, where I have big chunks of free time. I’d much rather be doing something productive than simply killing time or surfing endlessly on the web.

Featherweightmoda

I found these charm packs of Moda fabric in a box in my Craft Closet. I’d completely forgotten about their existence. I bought two of these packs when I was in San Diego 4 years ago, no doubt planning to do something with them while I was there. Since I made two quilt tops during that 6 month period, I was on a roll. Anyway, I obviously didn’t get to them, so I’m thinking I’ll take them with me.

designwall

I put some of them up on the mini design wall the other day. Hmmm. Any ideas?

sunmaggierabbit-670x446

I’m also taking this project with me.

I’m excited at the thought of traveling with my Mabel! Her lovely presence will instantly warm up any temporary housing. She’ll bring a touch of class to the most mundane of spaces.

Laptop. Camera with lenses. Books to read. Mabel. Check.

Wait a minute. I haven’t named my camera. Suggestions?

Gosh, I haven’t received my emails of this post – Feedburner seems to be acting up again.

Happy Wednesday.

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Filed Under: camera, crafts, Hartford, On The Road, quilting, sewing, singer featherweight 53 Comments

Juggling Projects

February 26, 2013 at 9:29 am by Claudia

Do you ever find yourself juggling projects?

I seem to be doing a lot of that lately. I’m hand quilting the bed quilt and I can see the end in the not-so-far-off distance. But then I have to leave it to crochet some scarves. Which I then leave to try my hand at some new crochet flower patterns that I might use for garlands.

But I have two books to review: one next week and one the week after. So I have to make sure I allow time for book reading.

And then a customer orders one of my Crochet Flower Garlands and I have to crochet the flowers, since I make them to order.

quiltfolded

Then I discover this quilt that I made in San Diego as part of a Quilt Along and my attention is diverted once more. You can see that I’ve hand quilted quite a bit of it already. That happened a few years ago. But there’s more to go.

quiltlaidout

It measures 58 inches by 69 inches in its unfinished state. I’m not sure what the heck I’ll do with it when it’s finished, but the project grew out of a six month long stint in San Diego where I knew I had to make something or go crazy. That’s when my dear friend Ingrid, who is a costume designer, lent me her Featherweight. (And when I fell in love with Featherweights.) I found a Quilt Along online. I didn’t have any of my fabric stash with me, so I bought a jelly roll of pretty fabric and some more for the border and back. I also pieced the bed quilt during that same time.

Very, very simple, but nicely graphic pattern.

quiltcloser

I love the fabrics. It won’t take long to finish the hand quilting. It might be too large to use as a wall hanging, though that’s what I’d love to do with it.

Stop right there, Claudia. You have books to read, another quilt to finish first, scarves to crochet and a script to work on.

Not to mention a house to clean, errands to run, Etsy packages to mail and a dog that needs a bath.

Psst. Don’t tell him, but I don’t work quite as efficiently when Don is here. My rhythm gets out of whack. He’s distracting.

Do you find yourself in the same situation? Juggling projects? Perhaps a little ADD about the whole thing? Please share.

Oh, and speaking of projects, there are two new scarves in the shop. I don’t know what the weather is like where you live, but we have a good month or so left of winter. Maybe more. These are in wool and acrylic and they are soft and beautiful.

scarfpompodoublog

scarfmidnightrideblog

I have a couple more to make in silk/bamboo and then, my friends, I’m considering retiring this pattern. That’s not definite but if you have been interested in getting one, now just might be the time.

Happy Tuesday.

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Filed Under: crafts, crochet, etsy, quilting 29 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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