Phoenixes in flight

Phoenix plush number one. I am almost done with number two, and have the pattern hashed out for baby phoenix. Only a slight obsession.

Still stitching the cat stuffie. So far it looks good. Maybe by Monday I will have it completed and have pics up.

Good news... job interview tomorrow. That's a good thing. And maybe another one early next week. Yay! And this weekend one of the local wolesale fabric places is having a sale - and faux fur is on sale. And since they also do free trim samples, life is good.

A while back a friend gave me a necklace with a phoenix pendant. I love it, but the chain kept turning my neck green. I finally got a new cord for it, and can wear it all the time now. I feel much better - my own personal symbol of things in flux and getting better. Let's hope it's a sign of better days ahead. I could use a few.

Pushing 122k on DotP, about to start Chapter 19. I am pleased with the way it's going so far, and hope the rest of it works as well as the bits I've completed.

It's rainy today, and the Vine Street bunnies were still out this morning. Several were sitting out in the middle of people's yards looking sad and pathetic in a wet-bunny kind of way. I guess when you're a bunny, if you're hungry, you have to go out to eat no matter what the weather.

Tuesday.

Definitely a multpilicity of bunnies. Several were carousing this morning, nibbling people's lawns, amusing themselves doing bunny-type things.... Figured there were more than one. Confirmation is good, though.

As noted, here's the back of the hapi-style coat lining. The far arm doesn't show up terribly well in the smaller pic, but it's a black and deep wine-y purple. Very pretty. The front is also multi-colored. When I get the other material (for the shell) I will be able to finish this one.

Did not get a chance to work on the stuffed cat yesters, so it's on today's list of things to accomplish. DID manage to get the lawn mowed, the dead limbs cut out of the tree, the scary insane homocidal rosebush trimmed and the equally scary homocidal holly cut before it took over the front of the house. So much accomplished on the outside.

Also took back up and old WIP - Teresa Wentzler's Tradewinds. I hadn't finished much on it, and now I will have to find most of my flosses all over again, but I figure... why not? It's something I haven't done in a while.

Not that much happening today.

After the Weekend

Spent a nice quiet weekend doing crafty-type things. And hanging out with the cat on Sunday. So, Saturday's list of progress involves: the hapi-coat style jacket - lining is done. Don't have the material for the shell yet. So, it will sit and wait. But, like a dork, I forgot to grab the pics, so that will have to wait until tomorrow. I like it, even if it's not exactly what I intended. Or expected. Still have scads of kimono fabric left, and want to find something to do with them that will show them off. Maybe another piece of clothing. Dunno. Also got almost finished with two kimono fabric bags. I have a clasp/closure for one of them - will try to get it stitched on tonight. The other... not so sure. It came out wider than deep, which is not a big deal, but not what I expected. And both bags still need straps.


Also finished six stuffed rats. Sounds like a line from the 12 Days of XMas. They are all cute. Like almost all the stuffed rats. I have to stop making these until I figure out what to do with them all!


Grand total of 26 bookmarks completed. Can finish about 5 more before I run out of ribbon/beads/etc. I like them, and so do several other people who've seen them.



THINK I've figured out the cat pattern. Will handstitch one today to make sure it doesn't come out looking wonky, and make sure it DOES look like a cat. Starting with black fleece, since it doesn't ravel and so forth, and not at all because it looks like my own personal hellion, Belanna. Honest. Never name a cat after a Klingon.


Didn't get much writing done, but that's okay. Hopefully will today, in between looking for new job.

Saturday was invited to friends' house for dinner. Wound up doing my crafting over there - it was nice to craft with other people for a change. I am a social animal, and like having people around when I feel like doing stuff. Writing is good on my own, but crafting... that seems to be a social effort to me. Always has, and maybe that's why. Anyway... dinner was excellent! And I got leftovers. BOY, did I get leftovers. Steak, risotto, salad, roasted garlic, corn on the cob. The whole bit! It was lovely, and the social part was great fun. I don't get to see both of them at the same time very often, so this was a nice evening.

Next!

Today I should finish at least the lining of my hapi coat. Brought everything with me to the lovely locale I call 'home' for job-hunting (thank you to the Rhodes!) and will have time to cut and stitch today. Also brought more bookmarks. I have plenty of them to do - 8 or 9 sitting ready for a little handstitching and a little plier work. Still need to get pics, naturally.

Broke 113k on DotP last night - technically 113,113 words. Yes, me being clever. Puts me over 540 pages. Think I am about 2/3 done, at this point. Maybe more. We shall see.

On the way over here today I saw the Vine St. bunny again. He/she is all over that street - or maybe there's lots of them, which is FAR more likely. This time I bunny-spotted under a truck. There it was, lounging under the truck like a cat or a dog, ears standing tall.

This weekend - with a little luck and concentration - I should be able to finish the kimono silks bag and maybe even knock out a few more dinosaurs. And a few more bookmarks, if I can get some blue beads and some wine colored beads. Must do so soon. Maybe find some old beat-up necklaces at garage sales. There are always garage sales in my area. Always.

Wow... June....

It's been way too long since I've posted. Too much faire, too little job. The usual. So faire is over for the season, and I have to wait until October to submit any changes for next season. So any of the sewing for next season has to wait until then. Boo. Here I had hoped to get ahead for once! Such is life.

Several people are leaving cast this year and I will miss them dreadfully. Especially Lys and Shado. Lys used to intimidate me, until she consoled me when I had a nerve-related crying jag. After that, she was my hero! I hope that they get what they want, but I know that they will be missed. Shado was my first arch-nemesis, and that will be hard to top - he made such a lovely one, kissing my boots and all. Wish I had a pic of that.

Onto the craft front.

I've started my sewing list on Tada lists. It's quite convenient, and lets me keep track of just about every sewing project I have, in order. And the order is flexible, which is nice, given my tendency to add and re-arrange!

So... my list of sewing projects... http://shayzamn.tadalist.com/lists/824569/public


The current craft of the moment is making bookmarks. Fancy enough, plain enough, made of ribbon or trim and beads, tassels, charms, whatever I can find that looks good! Need to take some pictures, once again. Need to dig out digital camera and take care of that.

The other project is using up all the kimono silks I got from http://www.kyotokimono.com/. Decided to piece all the pieces together and use them for a jacket. Turns out I have more than enough material for a jacket, so I will make a bag to go with. However, I decided that I would never actually wear a jacket that had huge pieces of kimono fabric - why? I don't know. I have another jacket that's not a whole lot more subtle. So, instead, I will make the outer shell of the jacket out of black (preferably silk) and use the kimono silks for the lining. I think I will make it in the style of a hapi coat. Seems appropriate, no?

Other than that, it's nice and warm. Almost hot, but I like it. The contrast between the indoor cool and dark and the outside bright and warm is somehow entrancing. I've been keeping up with my writing as well, feeling more like it than ever. At 112k words, I think I may actually be getting somewhere. Have to keep from working on the other one I want to work on, which would tentatively be called Hide and Seek in Texas.

So, back to crafting and job hunting. Hopefully I'll have pics soon. Hopefully I'll keep up with this better.