Lace

The winter preschool programs started up again at the library and I'm working longer, busier hours, so I find I'm a little more worn out at the end of the day.  Still, I managed to complete this piece, which I may title "February Morning," for the Mahopac Library gallery show called "Lace."  The nine squares are all attached, although minimally.  I wanted to leave everything very unstructured so the focus would be on the bits and pieces of lace, not any sashing in between.

Here is a close-up:

This piece will be a challenge to hang, just as the "Bamboo Grove" was.  I will probably use the same method of making a hanging sleeve out of white netting and using a piece of clear acrylic as a slat.  I'll have to give everything a good pressing too (it seems very rumply in this photo), although I wanted the piece to bring to mind lace curtains as well as the morning sun shining through a frosted window, so if it hangs away from the wall a bit, I suppose it will seem more curtain-like.

Anyhoo, this was a fun exercise and it came together pretty quickly, but it distracted me from my Fiber Fall pieces.  Still trying to figure out a shortcut for those.  Maybe if I just dedicate myself to making one segment per day, in about 45 days, they'll be all done...  (Do I have that kind of discipline?  Not sure...  Keep you posted).

Winter into Spring

Last week, our backyard still looked like this:

We had our last significant snowstorm almost exactly a month ago, but it's been so cold that not much has melted - until this week!  I've been taking a quick photo of the garden every day to show the coming of spring, and today it looks like this:

It's so nice to finally see the path and pond again!

These photos have been good inspiration for my next project, which had to fit into the theme "opposites."  I decided to do a winter-into-spring piece.  I picked up some white cotton-linen fabric last weekend and spent some time on Thursday splashing it with paints in pale blues and lavenders, with some snowflake stencils used as masks to keep some areas white.  When that was dry, I layered some additional stenciled snowflakes on top of those with white paint.  Finally, I cut some snowflakes out of white and sheer fabrics, and am now in the process of stitching them on by hand and by machine.  Here's a sneak peek:

This project is due in early April, so I'm trying to do a little work on it every day.  Considering this was a piece of plain white fabric on Thursday morning, I'd guess that if I keep up this pace, I'll get it in on time...  Hope I can keep up the momentum!

Watching Icicles Grow

... and birds eat!

It's another snowy day here and I will probably be spending it indoors doing these quiet, slow types of things - nothing very thrilling, but the perfect time to get them done.  My youngest daughter and I are alone here for the day, keeping ourselves busy.  She's been wanting to redecorate her room, so on Friday, we picked up paint, rollers, stirrers and everything we could need to get the job done.  But FIRST, we need to peel the border off the walls - and I can't think of anything slower, more tedious, or less fun!  We are taking turns and slowly but surely making progress around the room.  Today would be the perfect day to get the majority of it done so maybe we can paint over the coming weekend.

I have been able to slip some creative tasks into the tedium, including putting together this bracelet for a special friend of my daughters' who is celebrating her 16th birthday.  I made only some of these charms and others came by way of a swap last year.  I toyed with adding some color to the black and white theme, or even adding purple accents for her amythest birthstone, but decided sticking with black and white would be best, especially considering the time constraints we were under.  I'm happy with the results, and so was she!

And finally, I've been adding some hand quilting to my "Tuscan Window" piece as you see below.  I decided the small pieces of upholstery fabric would be too delicate to stitch with the machine, so I've been slowly adding detail and security at the same time by hand.  It's almost ready to put in the window-shaped frame and finished, so I can get on to the next project...

How have you been passing the time, this long, cold winter?

Valentine's Day Gratitude

Despite the huge, messy storm yesterday, and my DH being out of town, I'm feeling very thankful today.  For one thing, we never lost power!  The heat is on and we can cook, shower, and flush toilets as usual.  Yay!  I am also feeling very beholden to my next-door-neighbor, Gail, who helped us dig out.  Their snowblower quit, so she borrowed ours and did both driveways with it.  She is an endless source of positive energy and fun, and never lets me down when I need help with something.  I'm so fortunate we ended up neighbors!  Of course, on Valentine's Day, I'm thankful for the loves of my life:  my husband Mark (affectionate, faithful, true), my three daughters (beautiful, talented, each one special in their own way), and our golden retriever, Cassie (ever playful, loyal and affectionate!).

Are you thankful for anything special today?

Mini Virtual Vacation

I hereby interrupt this long, frigid, hellish winter to bring you some images of summers past:

There now, that feels a bit better, doesn't it?  Unfortunately, we now have to return to your regularly scheduled weather...

Winter Fun

What do you do for fun in the winter?  This morning we had a beautiful, heavy snowfall, the kind when every little twig is outlined in white.  Everything was hushed and quiet.   Since I was out with the dog anyway, I decided to try to capture the snowy scenery.

 

Here is my garden covered in snow with snow falling on the lake in the background.  It's a beautiful place to be, even in the winter. 

Of course, Cassie was really the reason I ventured outside this morning.  I probably would have been just as happy to enjoy the view from the window!  But she couldn't contain her joy and energy and just had to get out and run and roll and lay in the snow.  She is still such a puppy!

 Another thing I like to do on a snowy day is bake.  I'm not sure why.  But it makes the house feel really cozy to come in from the snow and smell fresh baked banana bread!

Later in the afternoon I was inspired to make cupcakes as well.  I've been buying fewer cookies and treats, but since it's the weekend and we're indoors, I thought it would be nice to have a little indulgence!  I tried using Godiva chocolate liquer instead of vanilla in the frosting, just for a slightly different flavor, and dusted some cocoa powder on top.  Yum!

Of course, one of the best things to do on a snowy day is cuddle up with a warm blanket and a good book!  Today I finished reading The Girls Guide to Love and Supper Clubs by Dana Bate.  I really enjoyed it - it was light and fun and would make a good movie, along the lines of "Confessions of a Shopaholic."

Finally, I did a little bit of artwork today.  I managed to get my new Epson printer up and running all by myself yesterday.  I relocated that little plastic shelf unit from my daughter's bedroom where it was no longer being used and was simply gathering dust.  It makes a nice place to put the printer as well as conveniently eliminating some of the clutter from my work table.  Connecting the printer to my laptop was easier than I thought, although I did have to run to Radio Shack for a different USB cable.  But in no time at all, I was printing - and directly on fabric!

Here is the first photo I tried printing.  It's about a fourth of a photo I took in Italy, and blown up to 8 x 10 and printed on fabric, the colors look very washed out.  I printed it again, and this time boosted the color a bit, but meanwhile I thought I might experiment with this one.  I got out my Inktense pencils and added some color to the sky and some of the trees.  You can really see this in the foreground.  I like the control you get with the Inktense pencils, but even in a set of 24, the colors seem very limited.  There are only 3 or 4 shades of green, and it's challenging to get enough variety from that few.  

Here is the photo printed again, with the color boosted and another portion of the photo printed below it (I wanted to print one long 11x14-inch photo, but this small printer is a little limited.  I had to print two 81/2x11 pieces and I'll have to sew them together and hide the seam.)  As you can see, the colors still look washed out, so I think I will use the Inktense pencils on these as well.  I want the photos to be what's seen through a window in my next project.  I thought it would be a fun way to use a photo of the Tuscan scenery, as well as the new printer.  (Yes, the color of the sky definitely needs some vamping up, don't you think?)

 More about this project and my 2014 goals in the next post...

Pushing Through to Spring

The weather continues to be very wintery, gray and decidedly unmotivating!  Even though the lake is beginning to melt and the geese and robins are back, I still feel like crawling under a blanket with a good book whenever I get the chance.  Today I felt like I might be fighting off the cold that two of my daughters had last month, so I spent the day in my PJs, catching up on reading and rest.  I figured I'd better do it today, before Monday comes and I'm off and running again...

But I survived the Dr. Oz Detox diet (with some major modifications).  I have a pretty healthy diet, but my sweettooth is my weakness, and I realized I go to the sweets for lots of reasons other than hunger.  One thing I noticied about living on fruits, veggies, and nuts for a few days is that I didn't crave junk.  I also didn't get those energy swings they say you get from refined sugar.  It made me more mindful and aware of what I put in my mouth and I already found myself coming up with healthier lighter meals and snacking choices this weekend. But I also enjoyed eating hot food again!  Maybe living on smoothies is better left for warmer weather.  

Despite my malaise today, I felt energetic through Saturday.  In addition to stitching away on my "Nothing Gold Can Stay" piece, I spent some time housecleaning and some time arranging the new display shelves downstairs with my DH.  We had  taken these shelves down when we enlarged daughter #2's downstairs bedroom, and just got them back up.  It was fun going through all the old photos and vacation souvenirs and arranging them on the wall. We still have some more work to complete down there, including putting up molding and adding another bathroom.  One day at a time...

Late-Winter Blahs

At least, that's my excuse for neglecting this blog and more active pursuits!  Instead, I've been watching past seasons of Dexter on-demand on Showtime with my husband and reading the next book in the "Yada Yada Prayer Group" series by Neta Jackson.   The weather has continued to be either very cold (temps in the teens in the mornings) or very damp and dreary, as you can see from the above photo, and it's gotten me feeling very lazy and non-productive, beyond the necessary cooking, cleaning,  laundry, and hours at the library.  My lower back has been giving me some grief as well, despite my Monday yoga class and my other feeble attempts to alleviate it with exercise and diet.  I hate to say it, but the back pain and dreary weather combined make me feel old, a feeling I'm trying to fight!

One giant (and more uplifting) task we've been able to cross off our list is booking a 20th anniversary trip to Florence and Tuscany with the help of this Rick Steves guidebook:

 We carefully chose dates that would coincide with my parents' schedule, as they will be coming here to hold down the fort while the DH and I are away, then booked the plane tickets.  After hours of poring through this book and researching online, we have reservations at a lovely little Bed & Breakfast that is centrally located in Florence, so we can see most of the sights on foot, and also reserved one night in Siena at the Pensione Palazzo Ravizza.  We even booked a tour of some vineyards in the Chianti region one of the days, so most all of the trip is planned ahead.  It is exciting, but a little daunting, to imagine a week away, and all the things I still need to get done before we go!

One of those things is a piece of art for our next FANE show at the Mahopac Library.  We decided as a group that this year our pieces would be comprised of more than one part (but these parts would fit together into a 14" square) and that they would be inspired by the lines of a poem or song.  After much thought and deliberation, I came up with the opening lines of one of my favorite poems, "Nothing Gold Can Stay," by Robert Frost.  I drew a sketch of how I hoped this piece of fiber art would turn out and now I'm trying to make it happen.  For some reason, each step has been a bit of a struggle so far.  I'm working with tulle, yarn, and a water-soluble stabilizer to create a foundation of tree branches to which I'm hand stitching some tiny leaves.  I'm not sure I'm satisfied with the results, and of course, it's very slow going, but here's a sneak peek:

It's supposed to be completed by March 7th, but I could possibly stretch it later into March if necessary. The problem with doing that is it only delays my progress on the next piece, due in early April!  Better finish this post and get in a little more stitching (and laundry and dinner prep) before I have to get off to my monthly scheduled Sunday afternoon at the library!

Sunrise, Valentine's Day 2013

We had a few inches of snow fall again last night, the kind that sticks to every little twig and branch on every tree and bush.  I was outside early to clear the walkway and driveway, just as the sun was beginning to peek over the trees on the far side of frozen Lake Casse.  As I shoveled away and the earth turned, I was able to stop periodically and try to capture the hushed beauty and peace as the air became suffused with warm shades of creamy peach and yellow.  Here my photos: sunrise on February 14, 2013, Mahopac NY.

After the driveway was all cleared, I walked down the hill with Cassie (actually, I must confess, one of the girls left a sled at the top of the hill and it's much easier, faster and more fun to sled down, so that's what I did!).  By then, the sun was further up and was beginning to warm the air a little and an almost imperceptible breeze was ever so gently moving the trees.  The snow started drifting off the branches, in gentle wafts, almost like it was snowing again, but this time in the bright morning sunlight.  It made the air shimmer and glitter.  As birds began to twitter and call to each other through the trees, it was impossible not to feel truly blessed to experience the simple magic of an ordinary sunrise.

Winter Wonderland

It's been looking and feeling very wintry around here (after all, it is January).  Last night we got a light dusting of snow that was made up of fairly large, beautifully formed flakes.  I tried to photograph them here.  The camera's built-in macro isn't quite good enough to get a great shot, but at least you get a sense of the sparkle and shine everywhere this morning.  Here are some more shots of our winter wonderland.

The two below are from nearby Lake Mahopac, which finally has a good coating of ice.  Some winters it doesn't freeze up at all, and some winters it's completely frozen and people go ice boating and ice fishing.

Lake Casse finally froze over completely and we've been able to venture out onto it.  The dogs have a great time running around and slipping and sliding.

Our next door neighbors have a metal dock, so this afternoon my youngest and I hiked down there with our skates.  I cleared the snow from a small area so we could skate a bit.

It was still a bit bumpy and we only skated for about 15 minutes or so.  It always feels so good to take those stiff, heavy skates off and put comfortable, warm boots back on!  With all the hiking down there, clearing the snow, skating, and hiking back up, I've gotten my exercise for the day!

My skate tracks left a funny pattern in the snowy ice.

Here is the moon rising over the lake a few afternoons ago.  Tonight the moon is full:  I'll have to check out the winter wonderland at night!