crochet — Page 20

Over the Weekend

October 3, 2011 at 4:56 pm by Claudia

Over the weekend:

I added some lace to the edge of the upper shelf in the studio cabinet. It will do for now, but I think it is too close to the color of the shelf – not enough contrast. Hello brides and grooms!

I found a place to hang the pretty embroidered guest towel from Jill:

I won that rustic hanger a while back from Jennifer at The Old Painted Cottage. Unable to decide where to hang it, I put it away until inspiration struck. It struck over the weekend. As long as Don doesn’t sleep walk out of the bathroom, which is just to the left of the cabinet, and dry his hands, it should be safe.

I looked at this and thought there must be a more attractive way to store my crocheted-throw-in-progress:

You were thinking I would follow with a photo of some beautiful container? Nope. Haven’t found one yet. Though it won’t make any design magazine spread, the box is right by my chair in the den and holds everything I need to work on this mammoth throw. Can’t use a basket – the yarn will snag. Any ideas?

I received a phone call from Don on Friday saying we were going on a ‘Mystery Date’ that night. He gave not a hint of where we were going. We ended up driving to a town that is right next to the wee hamlet we used to live in. I still had no idea what the heck was going on until we turned a corner and I saw the marquee: “Gordon Lightfoot tonight.” I was totally surprised and delighted.

I’ve been a fan for years – I saw him in concert at least 3 times when I was much younger and somehow wrangled my way backstage and got his autograph. Don saw him more recently when I was away working in California. This time we got to experience his artistry together. It was a magical evening and just what I needed.

Gordon Lightfoot and my mother were both born in the same town of Orillia, Ontario. I feel that makes him a sort of cousin. Gordon might not feel the same way.

Another scary photo of Scout. This one cracks me up.

The call of the wild.

Potpourri on a Rainy Monday

September 5, 2011 at 10:04 am by Claudia

Thought you’d like to see me in full Boston Red Sox regalia, though I look pregnant here and I assure you, I’m not. And since I’ve lost weight recently, I must tell you that’s not my gut. The windbreaker is blousing out in an unseemly manner.

It’s a rainy Labor Day here in the northeast. Gray, drizzly and humid.

Don has to work today. In fact, he worked all weekend.

I’m bored.

Random thoughts:

:: Why does my Feedburner count change from day to day in such an extreme manner? Once day it is 7, the next, 50, the next, 792 and then 3. What the? I took the feed count logo off of the blog because it was so embarrassing.

:: I’m not a fan of blog posts that show photos from elsewhere on the web; specifically, a lot of decorating-type photos. Nine times out of ten, I’ve seen them already. I depart from that kind of post quickly. I’d so much rather see a blogger’s own photos – much more interesting any day.

:: Like clockwork, every year at this time I get the urge to knit or crochet. I’ve started working on the mammoth throw again while watching the Red Sox win and then lose their games with the Texas Rangers.

:: I bought the new Flea Market Style. It’s really wonderful – full of all sorts of neat ideas and interesting homes and totally fresh. Which leads me to another thought I’ve had lately. I hardly ever buy magazines anymore. I flip through them and often see pictures of homes I’ve already seen on blogs. Of course, being featured in these articles must be simply wonderful news for the bloggers involved and I’m happy for them. However, when money is tight, why would I buy something that has content that I’ve already seen? This world of blogging must be a tricky situation for magazine and book editors. On the one hand, it makes available countless possibilities for feature articles in a way that just wasn’t feasible years ago. On the other hand, many of us have also seen those photos and blog posts so they are no longer new and exciting. I suppose the same could be said of my Studios feature. Tricky stuff.

:: I have been blessed with the arrival of 2 packages in the last few weeks.

My friend Catherine, who hails from Sidney, Australia, sent me a box full of beautiful trims and laces and ribbons and fabric. She is in the process of moving her creative space to another room in her house and that involves cleaning and sorting and all that sort of thing. Lucky me! Catherine doesn’t have a blog yet. She writes beautifully and I’m hoping she starts one soon. Thank you, my friend.

Then my friend Sue, of Vintage Sue, sent me a box full of treasures. Sue writes one of my favorite blogs. Her husband is in the Armed Services and they are about to be transferred to Texas. She’s cleaning and sorting, just like Catherine, and I am once again the one who benefits from it.

I almost missed this package. I walked down to the mailbox one evening and out of the corner of my eye, spotted a box in the culvert that runs along the edge of our property. I thought it was trash that had blown there in the hurricane. Fully expecting the box to be empty, I realized it was heavy and addressed to me (and a little wet at one of the corners.) My only thought is that the mail lady thought she could balance it on the top of our mailbox. It didn’t work.

Sue remembered a comment I made on one of her posts and included this:

This is a beautiful Hull vase that Sue found while she was thrifting. One of the handles was broken but Sue knows that doesn’t matter a whit to me. Isn’t it pretty?

Just perfect for the studio. Lambchop had to approve, of course. Thank you, Sue.

:: I’m up to 2 cups of coffee a day. I can’t help it, I love it so. But that’s all I’ll drink. I swear.

:: I have read 13 out of the 15 Jack Reacher books. 2 more to go. Then I will suffer the agony of withdrawal.

Have a great day off!

Nesting

May 15, 2011 at 11:09 am by Claudia

And by ‘nesting’ I mean the real thing. This morning I took advantage of Mama’s momentary absence to open the net curtain so that I could get some photos. We’ve had an erratic weather week here. Earlier in the week it suddenly got very hot and humid. I noticed that Mama’s beak was open for long periods of time and she seemed to be flying on and off the nest more often. After googling for some info, I learned it’s a sign of stress. I have a feeling the stress was caused by the hot temperatures and the need for Mama to regulate the temperature of her eggs. I snuck outside and put a dish of water on the deck in case she needed it. Once the evening came, she calmed down. This went on for a few days. It is much cooler now, thank goodness.

She often turns the eggs before sitting back down on the nest.

This is Dad. He sits in this small tree and watches the nest, staying at a distance so as not to encourage predators. Every so often, Mama flies out to meet him. They sit in the tree together or hit the ground on a worm search.

According to my research, sometime later this week the eggs should start to hatch. Then both parents will be on feeding duty. I will, of course, have camera in hand.

I’m enjoying the scrappy randomness of my throw:

Actually, I suppose this is more of an afghan. It’s pretty wide, which can be daunting when I think of how long it has to be. I’ve made one this size before and it lives on our bed. This will be for the den. I try to crochet at least 2 rows every day.

I have rehearsal this evening. Then a day off. By the way, my class with the apprentices went very well. I’m working with them on Shakespeare’s verse – how to analyze it and how to use all that information to make the verse come alive when acting. The apprentices are very engaged and a lot of fun.

See you soon!

Over the Weekend

Potpourri on a Rainy Monday

Nesting

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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