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The Hanging Lamp Project

January 25, 2012 at 11:14 am by Claudia

It’s Wednesday and I’m in the middle of an ongoing project. Well, to be truthful, I’m in the middle of several ongoing projects, enough to make my head spin in that Linda Blair/Exorcist way. The crochet is ongoing:

Note how quickly the desk has become a catch-all. Need I add that I didn’t stage this photo?

As to the project at hand: I’ve had this idea for a while. The kitchen has recessed lighting in the ceiling and a little lamp on the countertop. I’ve always thought it would be nice to have a hanging lamp over the kitchen table that would illuminate the room without the constant use of many high-wattage bulbs. I know there are convertors that make recessed lights into pendant lights but I can’t use that option because none of the lights are over the kitchen table.

A while back, one of our table lamps bit the dust. As I took the shade off, I started to rip the fabric from the framework. I was left with an industrial looking, slightly rusty wire cage. Hmmm. Now there’s an idea. But how to do it? It would have to be a swag pendant light because the table is in the middle of the room, the socket is on the wall by the bench, and I’m not paying an electrician to install a light.

I found Susan and her shop, Shandell’s, and a neat kit consisting of a cloth-covered cord, light socket and instructions for putting it all together. If I was going to have a cord swagged across the room, I thought it should make a statement, so I chose the red cloth-covered cord. To go with the red in our kitchen.

I really love it. Yesterday, I did the basics. Susan’s instructions are very helpful.

I even managed to strip the wires and attach them to the plug. It works!

Here’s my little dilemma. Do I buy a retro, Edison-type bulb and keep this industrial look? Part of the reason I wanted the industrial see-through look was to keep the sight line to the kitchen windows free. Or do I cover the cage with fabric, like the fabric in the second photo from the top? I love that fabric, but it’s a fat quarter and there isn’t enough to cover the cage. But this will give you an idea of what I’m talking about:

Fabric or no-fabric? I’d love to hear your thoughts, my friends.

Let’s not even get into my nervousness about drilling a hole in the ceiling, finding a stud/joist and hanging this sucker.

First things first. What do you think I should do?

Crochet & Flowers

January 24, 2012 at 10:47 am by Claudia

I’ve been churning out some Obsession Scarves for the shop. Perhaps ‘churning’ isn’t the best word for the creative process. How about ‘joyfully stitching’? I so want to get the shop up and running, but there are photos to be taken, pricing to figure out, mailing costs – oh my goodness. As for photos – the skies have been a tad gloomy for the past two days and not the best for picture taking.

I’m suddenly aware of color – true color – lately. I want the photos to show the real colors and, frankly, that’s not always easy. For example, the pinkish tone in the to scarf is a little off, it’s a deeper color. That will be the challenge.

I’m experimenting with the opacity of the watermark on my photos. This is better.

Yarn is beautiful, isn’t it? The fibers, the softness. These variegated skeins are perfect for the Obsession Scarf.

Yarn and flowers.

Theses roses are stunning. They were part of a mixed bouquet that included the pink alstromeria – from Trader Joe’s. Mixed bouquets can be a wonderful way to spread flowers out throughout your home…a little here…a little there.

Yellow brightens up the house on a gloomy day.

I love Blogger but I’m having some doubts lately. The cancellation of Picnik, the push for everyone to join Google+, the problems with comments, blogs being taken down as spam or for some other reason – it all makes me nervous. I haven’t had any problems yet, knock on wood, but I know plenty of people who have. I’m researching WordPress. We’ll see.

Thanks for all the wonderful comments about Old Man Winter! I loved reading them. Seems like most of us have a love/hate relationship with this season. We had rain all day yesterday and our pretty snowfall has turned to mud. A depressing landscape, indeed.

Have a great Tuesday!

Question: What are your Feelings about Winter?

January 23, 2012 at 11:07 am by Claudia

Playing around with BeFunky again. So far, so good.

This is a photo from last winter. We have snow on the ground right now, but it’s going to warm up today, so I expect much of it will melt.

I have a love/hate relationship with Old Man Winter. I was raised in Michigan where huge snowfalls were the norm. For most of my life, I’ve lived in areas of the country that get a lot of snow. I can remember walking through a blizzard to get to a rehearsal when I lived in Philadelphia. Several of us in the cast were trying to get to the subway and we had to cling on to light poles when the wind started gusting in order to avoid being knocked on our behinds. In Boston, where I also used public transportation, I regularly slipped and fell on the icy sidewalks, had to wait for the T (the subway) while snow and sleet stung every exposed part of my skin. The last winter that I lived there, I remember thinking to myself: You have got to get out of here.

And I did. I got a job in San Diego. I lived there for 8 years. During that first winter in San Diego, I traveled home to Michigan for the holidays. At that time, my parents were living in Northern Michigan on the shores of Lake Huron, where huge snowfalls were a regular occurrence. There was snow piled everywhere and the winds coming off Lake Huron were sharp and biting. Perfect for a Christmas celebration with family.

But when I arrived back in San Diego, the temperature was in the 70’s and I felt the warmth of the sun on my face and I had that same feeling I have when I slip into a warm bath. Aaaahh.

So what did we do? Eight years later, we decided to move back East. And ten years after that move, here we are. My poor husband, Southern California born and bred, has never made friends with winter. He likes the first couple of snowfalls but then he longs for San Diego. Happens every year.

When I was younger and living in Michigan, I regularly drove in the snow and was rather fearless about it. I once drove across the state in a major blizzard to attend a friend’s wedding and didn’t blink an eye. Didn’t have four-wheel drive. Didn’t care.

Now, I watch the weather reports, I worry about Don driving home from work late at night, I do everything I can to avoid driving in the snow.

I get a wee bit depressed.

I’ve made a little list:

Claudia’s Pros and Cons of Winter (Actually, the Cons and Pros)

It’s very cold. But I like the way cold makes me feel invigorated.

It’s very cold. But I get to wear sweaters.

My garden is sleeping, hidden away under the snow. But I know that I will appreciate it all the more come spring.

There’s a lot of snow. But it looks so beautiful when the sun is shining and it sparkles.

All I see is white – everywhere. But I can see the bright red of our cardinals against the white of the snow and nothing is more beautiful.

I have to shovel. But it’s good exercise.

I get sick of it real quickly. But the dogs love it. Riley licks the snow, Scout frolics in it.

Winter seems endless. But without it, we wouldn’t appreciate the fresh green growth of spring.

It’s very cold. But I get to drink hot chocolate.

So here’s my question of the day:

What are your feelings about winter? Do you love it, hate it, or are you somewhere in the middle?

The Hanging Lamp Project

Crochet & Flowers

Question: What are your Feelings about Winter?

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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