the kind porcupine

7/28

2008-07-28T14:59:00.000-05:00

my friend turned 30 this past weekend.

i painted her a drum, and i absolutely loved making it! for sure i want to make more. i liked how the last "silk/herb wrap" went, so i tried it again, and this time added a giant orange zinnia from my front garden.

7/22

2008-07-22T14:53:00.000-05:00

this is a hand dyed silk scarf wrapped over a loaf of freshly baked rosemary bread, with an herb bouquet from my garden. (except the rosemary, that i snipped from a friend's yard, mine is not growing well this year) there's some handmade (not by me) soap in the package too.
it was for my father's birthday.

7/15

2008-07-15T14:42:00.000-05:00

WHAT?!?

More than 2 months have passed, and NOTHING?

Well, not really...for some reason having the 5 kids home all day and the push to get the house done have squashed a couple projects and documentation on a few more.

And soups have been sporadic at best, although I've been making a lot of breads and served a fantastic rosemary potato soup and bread last week.

what does all this mean?!

nothing.

This is a gift for my niece Char-Char's 2nd birthday. It is a fairy costume that went with a set of silks and a wand. It seriously made me want to start dressing up on a regular basis.

5/6 #39

2008-05-08T12:35:00.004-05:00

pansies are the sassy bitches of springtime. they really do have that look, i guess because of the facial features and that they stand up all in-your-face. alice in wonderland was so right.

i planted a rainbow flower garden and container, and 2 fiber hanging baskets, in addition to onions, garlic, potato, my herb garden, and a bunch of poppies and zinnias that i started from seeds. those pics don't look great, but i can't wait to see how they will look in a month ; )

i'm doing the veggie garden this weekend. oh, to have a vegetable garden after 2 summers without one!! i can't express how wonderful it is, spring is my new fall.

life is simply a miracle.
SOUP OF THE WEEK: cream of vegetable that no one else ate. for shame.

4/29 #38

2008-04-27T18:49:00.005-05:00

this is a mural that tom and i made saturday on the wall of the girl's lunchroom. their school supports a sister school in Kenya, so this was a tribute to their retiring principal who began the program 8 years ago.

it starts about 6 feet off the ground, and is pretty huge on the wall. i really liked doing a collaborative project with tom, while someone watched the kids onsite. i really disliked being on a very tall ladder. the lion looks a little testy, but 12 hrs is about our limit for wall-painting fun. it is covered by some sheets, and we get to rip them off on thurs for the surprise. (surprise: to strike or occur to with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment, as through unexpectedness) haha!

the kids have to make it through 4 lunches pretending they don't know anything.

SOUP OF THE WEEK: orange carrot

4/22 #37

2008-04-22T12:47:00.003-05:00

earth day!!
i am trying to pitch 1/3 of the stuff in each room (not really earth-day-friendly, and donate, not throw out) before we are ready to move up into our addition, and while cleaning i came across the dilema of this wooden 'lazy susan' from IKEA. it needed a sanding to remove the jelly fingerprints and stray marker doodles.
keep...donate...keep...donate...
KEEP!
i painted a Tree of Life theme on it. i just put the clear coat on today. it is really fun to spin.
SOUP OF THE WEEK: an awesome potato leek soup. i think it might be the best one i've made so far.

4/15 #36

2008-04-22T12:29:00.003-05:00

this is a project for gabi, she knows what it is, but i haven't finished yet. i started it and then haven't worked on it this week...coming soon!
SOUP OF THE WEEK: chicken coconut

4/8 #35

2008-04-22T12:13:00.004-05:00

this is a needle felted monkey for isadora. i couldn't stand to crochet another goofy animal...sydney is a ballerina monkey who cares so very much for other people. that is just how isadora is, and some of us (all of us?) should appreciate it instead of saying "don't let things upset you so much!"

SOUP OF THE WEEK: kielbasa bean

4/1 #34

2008-04-02T08:13:00.004-05:00

a daisy for a lilly...

AKA, the worst of 34 things so far. we were on a family trip at IKEA sat., and lillian found the cutest guinea pig stuffed animal. we should've just let her buy it, but instead i told her i'd make one. there are many ways to make a cute stuffed animal...but between the colors, wrong texture and working under the stressful conditions of a 6 yr old slave driver, it looks like a joke.

however, she cannot put Daisy down. i wish i had time and roving to felt her one, it would be awesome...but now i have orders to fill the envious arms of her sisters, more dreaded ugly animals to come.

the best things about daisy are that she has lavender and rose petals inside, so she smells nice on her neck, and that lillian claims to have found her out in the country, "looking for an owner".

she said "at the next show-and-tell, EVERYONE will know that you made this, mom."

great.

SOUP OF THE WEEK: MUSHROOM BUTTERNUT in the amazing, borrowed, Vita-Mix.

3/25 #33

2008-03-23T11:45:00.003-05:00

these are the special eggs for this year. yep, i only made the moth and half the butterfly, but Easter is a production with 5 kids! thanks to tom for his help!!

check out the other eggs from past years!

SOUP OF THE WEEK: what? no soup?? no soup. but we did make an amazing homemade rice pudding, egg casserole, chocolate chai coffee cake, fruit salad, hashbrowns, and my first ever Babka. i snuck a piece off the bottom to give tom a taste, and he said it was just like his grandma! (every wife aspires to be just like her husband's grandmother)

3/18 #32

2008-03-22T11:55:00.002-05:00

crocheted purse with hand felted star.
i just plain love it. i purchased a zipper to go inside, attached to a liner, but i'm not sure i want to do that.
i am thrilled that hobby lobby now carries felting needles. i don't think i could ever buy their roving, but i had enough scraps from last year's batch of felted eggs to make the star. i adore felting! i love using the hot and cool water, and the anise soap i bought at womanspirit.
picture coming when i get a chance...
SOUP OF THE WEEK: a broth that no one ate, so i froze it.

3/11 #31

2008-03-11T12:55:00.000-05:00

i had this old pair of jeans that i loved, but were too big for me. after re-visiting them for a short time after des was born, i decided to morph them into something else i loved that didn't remind me of fatness...tom suggested a bag.

i really love it, except for the long awkward strap. (will revise eventually) the sewing machine and i got to know each other a bit better, and so i decided to make a couple other sewn bags. i love the crocheted bags because they can stretch and go over the shoulder and have made about 10 of them to use, but also need ones with no give that can be held by hand. (and take less time to make)

a good tip for finding great fabric is to buy IKEAs discounted curtains. i've done this many times in the past, getting enormous pieces of thick material for under $3. (middle pic) the bottom pic is of a bag made from a twill-like IKEA fabric, too coarse for a garment. I love that there's a turkey on it.

the best thing was, tom saw the "turkey bag" and asked where i got it. (yes!) when i proudly told him i made it, he then asked where i got the straps. (YES!!)

SOUP OF THE WEEK: Tracey's Tomato Dill

3/4 #30

2008-03-04T19:20:00.006-06:00

posting early. this is a blanket made for a friend's baby boy. i love granny squares, the colour, design, and fabulous way they all have a unique effect both by themselves and as a group put together, but i despise the ends that have to be woven back in. i would love to ask a professional's advice about this. i did an expert job on desmond's (top pic) but within weeks of use they started popping up here and there...

SOUP OF THE WEEK: Gabi's Corn Chowder and a Cream of Onion that I added mushrooms to, then added a ton more to the leftovers, plus some flour and Smoked Gouda to make a great pasta sauce (that the twins still didn't eat.) Hey, if you can't please everyone all the time, at least you can please your husband. With homemade soup.

Someone have a baby--quick! I love granny squares.

2/26 #29

2008-02-26T11:43:00.001-06:00

i have some Goddess beads I've been meaning to make into jewelry. i made these, and another of the tiny "venus of willendorf" one for my mom, and then started to think that i would like a collection of Goddess beads to make into a collection of necklaces for myself. then i had this burning desire to get back to enameling, but i cannot due to the present living conditions of my working space.

SOUP OF THE WEEK: Kylene's Chicken Noodle

2/19 #28

2008-02-19T11:35:00.001-06:00

apron apron apron, i made it out of fabric...

i just have to accept that i work far too intuitively to sew. or i actually do have some sort of microchip or magnet that makes machines go haywire when i come near. anyhow, i was determined to stop feeling bad about a fabric purchase made a couple of years ago that i never did anything with. however, when i was done and held it up, my husband (who is part machine and speaks the language fluently) laughed and asked if i was going to make a dreidel to go with it. well, my applique skills are poor, so i ended up with a 6 pointed star instead.

sew it is. (such a dork)

SOUP OF THE WEEK: Kelly's Keilbasa and Amy's Pumpkin Mushroom Curry

2/12 #27

2008-02-12T09:14:00.003-06:00

blanket for romy's new (upcoming) room.
i don't think i've ever fallen in love with something for it's "synthetic" quality, but the pre-teen girl inside of me is still drawn to things hot pink and black. this particular fun fur yarn has bits of thin soft strands of "easter grass" in it. i love it!
oh, so does romy!!
SOUPS OF THE WEEK: TAMMY'S CHICKEN TORTILLA, also ALPHABET and more PEANUT

2/5...project #26, half way!

2008-02-05T14:21:00.001-06:00

some hats for a mama who lives near me...

she has been fighting stage 3 breast cancer for about a year now, and just had surgery to remove it from her brain as well.

although i don't know her, many of my friends do, so i put these in a package with some other stuff for her. i hear she has a great sense of humor, and i want her to know she has friends she never knew about who would love to lend a hand.

if it turns out to be not-so-appropriate, at least they'll smile and say "what a psycho!!" either way, i think she might smile.

SOUP OF THE WEEK: CHILLED STRAWBERRY CREAM (ok, have to admit 2 of the kids gag on every soup...hence the might-as-well-have-been melted ice cream soup)

RESOLUTION #6: 9 lbs down, 21 to go

1/29 #25

2008-01-29T10:11:00.001-06:00

painted drum for my mama...

i've decorated them with henna before, but this time i tried leather paint. i think it will fade nicely with use.

SOUP OF THE WEEK: EGG DROP SOUP and gabi's CREAM OF VEGETABLE...i also made about 45 cups of african peanut soup, and got just as much of 6 other kinds at the soup exchange last night!

1/22

2008-01-22T14:07:00.000-06:00

painted xylophone for my niece's 3rd birthday.

last week we received our second shipment of drums from Ghana through a customer of tom's. i also had my eye on this, and got it for her. i thought about doing more painting on it, something intricate and delightful, but in the end i thought a more simplistic approach was better, wrapped in a playsilk.

SOUP OF THE WEEK: CARROT CURRY (not the best "first baby food"...i shared some with desmond, and he ended up with a terrible rash.)

RESOLUTION #7: i made the desicion to just be brave and do away with ALL regular breakfast cereals. it's been over a month, and it hasn't been all that difficult...whole wheat pancakes and oatmeal muffins, whole grain oats, eggs, sometimes homemade tapioca pudding with raisins.

1/15

2008-01-15T15:59:00.000-06:00

a different sort of project...mermaid twins photo shoot.
yes, i obviously was barely able to pass my one required college computer course, and it shows. it is very fun to play with photoimpact : ) even if i can only figure out basic lighting techniques. i do have to say, the pics i was able to get are outstanding and i absolutely love looking at them. the top photo is only cropped and not changed otherwise.
SOUP OF THE WEEK: AFRICAN PEANUT

RESOLUTION #6: 3 lbs down, 27 to go : p

resolution #6

2008-01-10T10:17:00.000-06:00

i decided resolution #6 was not progressing very well. although there are abundant good intentions, i had to contemplate whether eating oreos while watching The Biggest Loser would get me any closer to my goal.

now, starve me if you will, but for the love of God do not make me work out! i mentally tortured myself by committing to 30 minutes on the 'hamster wheel' even if i had to spend the rest of the day laying on the shower floor. (yes, i know, PATHETIC!!!!!)

it amazes me that it even happened, i had to hunt down an extension cord that wasn't being used by all the construction, only to find out that our jr. contractor had lost the key to it somewhere in his tools. since i had actually managed to find and put on a pair of gym shoes, i didn't give up, and took the suggestion from my husband to track down a round magnet and gorilla tape. (if this isn't willpower, people, i never want to see what is)

i ended up finding a personal trainer. he wasn't my first choice, but since this was a last minute workout, i had to take whoever i could afford. he ended up being pretty damn effective, yelling "you're getting bigger!!" and "daddy's gonna take a picture of you!!" but i lost it when i did my required 5 minutes of jogging and he screamed "you're breaking it!!" i screamed back "go find some play doh!!", at which point he cried and i felt really bad. to get me back, he did the ultimate fake-out of "pip's crying!" and i actually risked the baby's emotional wellbeing for the dedication to my last 3 minutes. It turns out he was faking after all (or that the rush or hormones flooding a baby's brain that they talk about actually hppened, and he fell back to sleep, all in 3 minutes)

in any event, 30 minutes went slower than any hated activity i have ever done in my life. i think i would have chosen a third episode of thumb stitches.

1/8

2008-01-08T10:59:00.000-06:00

exactly 60 silks, 30 play wands and 2 silk satchels for several orders, all finished in less than 48 hrs.my hands are grayish and aching!!

SOUP OF THE WEEK: BEER CHEESE SOUP

1/1

2008-01-01T20:21:00.000-06:00

bunches of new jewelry.

New Year's Resolutions...

since i started this one in august, i decided to think hard about what i want to work on this year. i've decided that i will:

1. find two additional galleries or boutiques for selling art

2. have a home show (someone offered to host, so let's do it!)

3. serve homemade soup every single week of this new year ( i say serve, because i plan to probably make 2 batches every other week and freeze...also we're having a soup exchange this month!)

4. have an in-depth family art project once a month, such as paper making. 1 x a month doesn't sound like a lot, but believe me, i'm sort of regretting putting this one in writing as i think about the disastrous mess.

5. a personal goal having to do with fulfilling family responsibilities that i won't mention for fear of people saying "uh...you don't already do that...?"

i'll offer a free silk to anyone who guesses it on the first try. NOTE: it has to be the one i'm thinking of, not just any responsibility i'm not keeping up with.

6. lose 30 lbs. yes, how mind numbingly commonplace, but yet it makes the list.

7. pancakes. whole wheat ones every single week of this new year.

SOUP OF THE WEEK: POTATO

12/25

2007-12-25T18:50:00.000-06:00

christmas presents...jewelry, silks, hats, scarves, and market bags.

no sir, 4 hospital trips in one month does not interfere with the 52 things...in fact, it's the whole reason i have this page, what else are you going to do there? : )

12/18

2007-12-18T18:41:00.000-06:00

lots of kaleidosilks

and a handmade and dyed silk satchel

12/11

2007-12-11T22:20:00.000-06:00

hand dyed playsilks:

lemon tree, neptune, winter winds, rainbow, and brights

12/4

2007-12-04T04:18:00.000-06:00

tie dye set for mary

11/27

2007-11-27T04:18:00.000-06:00

hat and scarf sets for the girls...
this pic was taken at 8:15 am, immediately before i realized we had locked ourselves out, and our baby in!

11/20

2007-11-20T04:18:00.000-06:00

nature table fairies for the twin's birth"day" cake

11/13

2007-11-13T04:18:00.000-06:00

terrible pic of my pink hat

11/6

2007-11-06T04:18:00.000-06:00

large baby set for the auction

10/30

2007-10-30T04:18:00.000-05:00

6th birthday party for the twins, a Halloween theme and crocheted pumpkin bean bags.

10/23

2007-10-23T04:18:00.000-05:00

30th birthday scavenger hunt and cake for tomasz

10/16

2007-10-16T04:18:00.000-05:00

baby desmond's crocheted Halloween costume--a cicada!

10/9

2007-10-09T04:18:00.000-05:00

pastel tie dyes for jen's favorite uncle's baby-to-be

10/2

2007-10-02T04:18:00.000-05:00

sock monkey baby set and book "Colorful Esteban"

9/25

2007-09-25T04:18:00.000-05:00

collage jewelry with beaded crochet chains

9/18

2007-09-18T04:18:00.000-05:00

olive hat for oliver

9/11

2007-09-11T04:18:00.000-05:00

set of Halloween resin jewelry...lost some to stickiness...

9/4

2007-09-04T04:18:00.000-05:00

set of resin candy corn jewelry

8/28

2007-08-28T04:18:00.000-05:00

2nd crocheted market bag in a set of three

8/21

2007-08-21T04:18:00.000-05:00

bright pink/purple crocheted scalloped shawl

8/14

2007-08-14T04:18:00.000-05:00

this is the first in a set of 3 crocheted market bags for a donation item.