crafts — Page 3

Some Thoughts on a Sunny, but Cold, Sunday Morning

January 27, 2013 at 10:13 am by Claudia

The deep freeze continues. Some relief is in store tomorrow, though we’re going to get the dreaded ‘wintry mix.’ And on Wednesday? Highs in the fifties. Go figure. The temperature changes from day to day this winter have been mind-boggling. But the sun is out and that makes everything better.

• Yesterday I received a couple of packages in the mail. One was from my talented sister, Meredith. She has been experimenting with needle felting. Let’s see what that cutie sent to me:

feltedheart

This adorable felted heart pin. Isn’t it sweet? Our Etsy shop just might have a variation on this heart very soon. Just giving you a heads up.

feltedbird

Oh. my. goodness. I am in love with this beautiful bird, complete with a nest on a branch. As you know, I love birds. I love red. This is perfect.

feltedbird2

Be still my heart. Meredith will most likely be embarrassed by my posting these photos, but I’m so proud of her creativity. These are her first forays into needle felting and they are fabulous. Imagine all the wonderful creations that are in store.

Thank you, sweet sister of mine.

lincoln

• The Screen Actors Guild sent us an Awards Screener copy of Lincoln and I watched it last night. I really loved it. There’s so much important history in this story. Everyone in our current Congress should watch it. They could learn a thing or two. Or three. Lincoln has always been fascinating to me and now I want to read Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book on which the movie is based.

The cast is stellar. (There are at least 3 actors in major roles that I have worked with and coached. That makes me smile.)

Daniel Day-Lewis is simply incredible. He is a brilliant actor on any old day of the week, but this performance is pitch perfect and worthy of an Oscar. Sally Field is heartbreaking and wonderful as the First Lady.

• I finished Gone Girl. I wasn’t all that crazy about it. Gillian Flynn is a brilliant writer. No bones about it. She writes beautifully and her intricate plot, which weaves together a complicated story and lays a trail of tantalizing clues that reveal more and more about the characters, is first-rate. That being said, my problem was that I didn’t much like the two major characters. There was nothing that made me root for one or the other or ultimately care what happened to them. Neither of them had much in the way of redeeming character traits, so I was left feeling empty and unsatisfied. It’s the kind of book, for me, that dazzles me with the sheer skill of the writing, but leaves me feeling like I would if I wanted a full dinner but got an elaborate dessert instead. I love dessert, don’t get me wrong. But it doesn’t fill me up.

I’m sure I am in the minority here. This is a hugely popular book and I know it. And I’ll never give plot points away. Just my ‘unofficial’ review.

• Just a word about my weekly A Favorite Thing party and why I love it. Two words: cozy and manageable. I feel strongly that it is my duty to visit and comment on every post. And I do. I’m the hostess, after all, and it’s the polite thing to do. I welcome all new participants, of course, but this party isn’t about numbers. It’s about sharing stories with each other. I know that other linky parties are much bigger. But, since my aim is to share in your posts and comment on each one, this cozy little get-together is just perfect. However, if the numbers did go up from, say 40 or 50 to 80, I would still visit each and every one of you. If it ever got to the point where I couldn’t visit you, I’d have to reconsider the whole thing.

Okay. I just may clean out our closet today. You have no idea what a mess it is. Then I will reward myself with some work on my dollhouse. Clean and sort first. Play later.

Happy Sunday.

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Cheerfully Creative Clutter

January 13, 2013 at 9:17 am by Claudia

I seem to have taken over the den with all my paraphernalia . (My husband might say that I tend to do this will all the spaces in our home.) From my station in my blogging chair, this is what I see (no editing or staging, of course):

coffeetable1a

The coffee table: A basket full of stacks of books, papers, a Scrabble game. A catalog from a company selling miniatures. A catalog from Garnet Hill. The remote. 2 DVDs. (This week we’ve received preview copies of two movies, Silver Linings Playbook and Argo through the Screen Actors Guild and yesterday we received 3 more that are available for download on iTunes. I think I’m watching some movies this week!) My eyeglass case. My agenda. Quilting supplies: thread, air erasable fabric marking pens, a ruler, an old dog food measuring cup that I use to trace circles on my quilt.

quiltondesk

The desk: the usual things plus two books, an obsession scarf due to be mailed out tomorrow, a quilting hoop and The Quilt. Handquilting a queen-size quilt is an awkward operation. I constantly have to move layers of fabric around in order to get the hoop readjusted and find a way to get my left hand under the quilt. It’s big. It’s bulky. I’ve quilted 3 rows of blocks so far. Yesterday, Scout and I took the day off. We were exhausted. I sat in the chair hand quilting. In the evening, I moved to the sofa. We watched old westerns all afternoon: Wagon Train, Bonanza, The Big Valley, The Rifleman. And then I watched Ironman in the evening. I’d never seen if before. I like Robert Downey, Jr. He’s never boring.

den

And in this corner: yarn and lots of it. You see what I mean? All sorts of things. Add to that all the stuff on my chairside table and ottoman. I’ll spare you that.

As I looked at it yesterday, I liked seeing the cheerful clutter. Then I wondered what Don would think if he was also trying to exist in this space. The truth is that he would be just fine with it. He always says that he likes seeing creative clutter. He thinks it makes a home come alive.

I think he’s right.

I’m off to visit all the links from yesterday’s post.

And I’m linking this post to Elaine’s Sunny Simple Sundays.

Happy Sunday.

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Ripple-y Satisfaction

January 6, 2013 at 9:14 am by Claudia

Afghan? Throw? Blanket? What the heck is the correct name? I don’t know, but it’s finished.

sunedgecoffeetable

sunonbackofsofa

This is the closest I will ever get to a chevron. As you know, I’m not a fan of the chevron craze. But for a ripple blanket/throw/afghan, I will make an exception. I’ve done one other ripple throw and it lives upstairs on our bed. That particular ripple design has a gentler curve:

sunbedafghan

sunchair

This one has a more angular ripple and it skips two stitches, creating the charming little opening in the design. I have to say I really like this sort of scrappy look. I had a basic color scheme in mind, inspired by the red and tan in our den, but I added purples and greens and grays and creams as well. Each time I came to the end of a row, I made a spontaneous choice as to the next color and went with it. I also used various yarn weights and textures which can result in a wonky edge, which is why I crocheted a border around the whole thing.

sunfloor

It’s about 4 feet by 6 feet. Perfect for Don and I when we sit together on the sofa. Perfect to nap under. And for me, solo – I used it the other night as I watched “The Rifleman.” I love Lucas and Mark McCain. Ripples are addictive; I may have to start another one. How many ripples can one have? And now I’m reminded of that dreadful Ripple wine we drank in college. I prefer this ripple.

By the way, I used inexpensive yarns from Michael’s and Joanne’s. A crochet project of this size is a huge yarn-eater. The more expensive yarns would be cost prohibitive for this gal.

Drum roll. The obligatory photo of Scout with the throw:

sunscoutafghan

The whole thing has left her in a state of exhaustion.

Yesterday was a big day for the kitchen floor. Not only did I spread the afghan/throw/blanket out on it so that I could get a photo, I moved the table and chairs out of the room so that I could pin baste my quilt:

sunquilt1

Lots of ironing, lots of cursing, lots of moving around on my knees (not so fun at my age). But, surprisingly, it didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would.

sunquilt2

I have a quilt frame out in the shed that I’ve used for basting purposes in the past. I took a moment to venture out there and briefly considered using it again for this. But it’s really long, it’s in the back of the shed and it’s icy out there, so I went with the floor method. This is the perfect thing to do when Don is away. Keeping Ms. Scout out of the kitchen, however, was another story. There were a few sneaky attempts to walk on the quilt.

And I crocheted another obsession scarf for a customer. Where the heck did I get all this energy? You’ll notice I didn’t use it for cleaning closets, organizing drawers, sorting through paperwork and…shredding.

Can you blame me?

Happy Sunday.

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Some Thoughts on a Sunny, but Cold, Sunday Morning

Cheerfully Creative Clutter

Ripple-y Satisfaction

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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