Today, in my slow but steady effort to concentrate on what's important, I tossed the bottle cap collection. They are all ginger beer caps, now that I've given up Diet Coke, cold turkey ... haven't had a Diet Coke since sometime in November.
I also spent some time with needle and thread. This piece is nearly complete.
It's been a good day.
I truly enjoyed your comments on the "giveaway" post. Some of them were so endearing to me and I thank you.
Not sure if you notice, but if you are reading this, you are at my new website/blogspace. I've imported all the old blog posts, so it may not look very different, but it has some new features, such as the "GALLERIES" link, and there are a few more things to be added soon. I hope you like it!
I put everyone's name into a bowl and then I closed my eyes, shuffled all the little scraps around and about, and finally picked one. The little Salvaged Star will be flying off to Velma Bolyard which is a lovely destination, I'm sure, based on the images she posts at her blog, wake robin.
Reading Velma's blog is how I learned about shifu. Her work weaving the paper fiber touches my soul ... magic of the internet.
A STUNNING SCRAP OF SHIFU, MADE BY VELMA BOLYARD.
My first blog post was January 26, 2008 so I guess some sort of commemoration is in order. I can't tell you how many posts I've written because every year I go through and delete ones that no longer suit me. Maybe I shouldn't do that. There are 318 left, which doesn't seem like very many for a five year period of time.
SALVAGED STAR - FRONT AND BACK
To commemorate my five year mark, I will be giving away my little quilt which I call Salvaged Star. It was a vintage quilt block languishing at the bottom of a box of old textiles a friend had given to me. It was the kind of thing I love ... old, soft, a star, and in a favorite color coupling of blue and brown. I picked it up to take a closer look. It needed to be rescued, to be stitched. So that's what I did. I added some layers of cloth, the backing being a vintage piece from an old quilt, then I quilted it all with hand stitching and also hand stitched a nice brown linen border. I hope you find the result pleasing.
It is a wee bit more than 7" square. There is some staining that is due to age but that doesn't detract from its look ... at least not for me. If you like it and you would like to own it, then please leave a comment here. In about a week, I will choose a name at random and that person will receive this little quilt.
HAPPY BLOGAVERSARY TO ME
2/6/2014 - COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED - I'll pick the winner later today.
Thanks for participating. :-)
Making Penny Pinkeeps
It's a snowy/rainy/slippery day; an excellent day for staying in and sewing, and trying to be focused. This is my Mantra For 2014: focus.
I have a tendency to take off in many different directions but then I neglect to finish the flight. Very often I don't even start. I'm very good at dreaming up ideas and I'm an expert at discovering new things to try. I excel at purchasing the necessary supplies and I'm also a first class hoarder because you never know when something might be just perfect for a piece you're working on.
The work suffers. My studio has become way overcrowded. The adjoining room too. I've had to "temporarily" keep some extra things in the living room - piles of boxes with interesting textiles draped over them. It looks a bit like a carnival waiting to happen. I've taken over the dining room - the table is piled high with wool pieces, as are most of the chairs. It's difficult to think creatively when surrounded by so much stuff. And any large idea is impossible because there are no table tops left on which to place a large piece.
I'm focusing on divestment. Until I've cleared out more space, I will likely be making small things. That's fine with me; I love small things. Once I have created an open area, physically and mentally, I will be able to focus on larger projects. I hope I will stay with something and see where it leads. Explore what's in front of me instead of falling down the many rabbit holes I find in Webland. In fact, stay away from the internet, at least for the better part of each day. It is wonderful to explore but it is my downfall. I simply can't be making wonderful new things while concentrating on this screen.
So, here's to completing projects, starting new ones, and completing them too! What a radical thought.
"To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget." -Arundhati Roy
