Thursday, August 23, 2012

crazy quilting

working on hk's quilt
stitch by tiny stitch, i am hand-sewing what my mom refers to as a "legacy piece."  at least i hope so.  i have grand visions of how it will look and feel when it is finally finished.  i imagine what my little girl will look like when she is 10, all cozied up with this blanket over her.  i imagine her in college, cozied up with it while watching a movie.  i imagine her covering up her own daughter someday, smiling at the memories that have stitched themselves into the very "fabric" of its being.
i just remembered that i was going to have this finished for her 4th birthday, but i still have a ways to go (1 year later).  her 5th birthday is coming up in a couple months.  i think it is high time this cozy little quilt gets thrown into the mix for memory-making.
okay, goal.

i will document my process and the finished product, BEFORE halloween 2012!


Wednesday, August 8, 2012

go gather bones

off to gather bones

i know that my blog posts up to this point have been rather uninspiring.  perhaps i have been somewhat uninspired as of late, as of awhile.  i do have a lot to do; being a mother, supporting our growing business...
wasting time on the internet... but i have also been doing a lot of design work, looking at interiors, studying patterns and fabrics, drawing and sketching, note taking, jotting, page flipping, scouring.  i do more than it appears at this point.  my wings are still (STILL!) tucked in, waiting for the conditions to be right.  i love being a mother SO much!!!  my girlie is the light of my life :)
i love my darling husband, who works so hard so that we can live.  he teaches me about a strong work ethic, about loyalty, about what it means to really be committed.
my artist self is in gathering mode.  as clarissa pinkola estes tells us at the end of her book "women who run with the wolves," 'go gather bones.'
i tried to explain this concept just now, but lacked the words to describe the process of gathering bones. i went searching and came up with this lovely speech, inspired by dr. estes.

go gather bones speech

essentially, we comb the world for the bones of our life stories.  it is then our job to flesh those bones out.  to "sing over the bones."

this may seem wild and out there, but it rings true to me.  it took me 4 years to read "women who run with the wolves," and when i was finished, i felt like i emerged a little more clear on the matter of living.

i think i am beginning to flesh out my bones, little by little.  i am beginning to embrace the life that i am given.  this life that LIFE has offered.  i am so grateful to be a mother and a wife.  now my artist bones are beginning to rattle in their shallow graves.  they are calling wildly to me, that i might now sing that story too.

all things in good time, life seems to say.
now is a very good time.

for anyone who happens upon these words, i feel obliged to say that these ideas tie very much into why i choose to be a maker of things.  each object that i wield becomes "flesh," becomes another word in my song.

feeling so poetic tonight.

perhaps i'll even write another poem soon.  does that count as handmade?
maybe not.


knit scrubby


instead of going to the store to buy another scrubby, i knit one!  i have a bunch of yarn that just sits around, so it was essentially free.
i use it regularly.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

collaboration



this morning, hk and i collaborated on a work of art.  afterwards, because we both like it so much, i mounted it on matte board and put it in her room.  a great way to spend time with my kiddo :)

Sunday, August 5, 2012

accumulated - homemade/handmade since january

gosh, its been a long time since i showed my face around here.  i decided that it was time to revisit all the things i've made since the new year began.  as i went back though my pictures, i realized that i didn't take pictures of everything, as in baking projects and art projects with hk.  but following is a fair sampling of how i've kept myself busy aside from kid-raising and business-growing.  the important thing is that we have been having fun.  
click for more pictures!!
 poptarts.  involving corn syrup.  very ooey, gooey, sticky, sweet.  
hk loved them, then ran in circles for 4 hours (mostly kidding)
 fruit and yogurt parfait.  better than mcD's!
horsey friend made from popsicle sticks, yarn and masking tape.  neighhh!
 valentine's day dinner.  heart pizza's :)
 pretty, wispy, flowy curtain for our front room.  
really softened the space and made it feel more home-y
 caterpillar friend, charlie
 graduation gift for my sister.  she made me read all three books, and i loved them!  
but i didn't have social contact for about 3 weeks!
 graduation gift for my brother.
 well, i kind of made this.  okay, so i put it in water, but isn't it lovely?
 i have a picture of this kitchen from last year, so i didn't actually make it recently, but i did rearrange it in a way that hk is actually using it now.  on a regular basis even.  hooray for handmade kitchen :)
 i have drawn MANY horses over the past year.  hk is a big horse fan.  
this one won first prize, apparently.
 homemade REAL birthday cake (on his actual birthday).  
maybe still not as good as dear hubby's favorite...kroger cake!
disasterous brownie cake.  gooey inside and too rich.  but it was fun to make and decorate.  success :)

i plan to make some more stuff in the near future.  see you soon!