Fish, Fish, More Fish, and Yellow Wallpaper

Louisiana....  I've been before, but not to the area we visited this long weekend.  It was ups and downs: I'd never been there before, so I didn't know the people, and they didn't know me.  I was definitely the outsider.  So that was uncomfortable.  The bathroom was a little odd: half yellow and green plaid wallpaper, half yellow and green floral print (very vivid print, at that).  The floor was a slightly puffy yellow Moorish tile pattern linoleum.  With a sage green bathmat.

We went fishing.  A lot.  I don't even like to eat fish.  But.  We went fishing.  I caught a few brim, a catfish - and lost two more, including the requisite "big one that got away."  The weirdest thing about the catfish... they make noise!  The one I caught made little oinking sounds.  I guess he was trying to be scary, but it just made me feel sorry for him.  Glad I am not going to eat him/her/it.  I also went 'vegetarian fishing.'  Caught a leaf, a tree, and two tufts of grass.

I did manage to finish reading The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Noose.  It was even better than the first book - I enjoyed all of it, and the main character has learned a little humility.  It was an excellent book.  I just wish it wouldn't be as long a wait as it will be before the next book.  (If that makes sense).

I missed my cat, I missed my sewing machine, and missed my own bed.  There's so much to catch up on now that I will be busy busy busy for the rest of the week.

Books books and more books

Finished The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie last night.  An excellent read - good enough that I went immediately on to the next book - The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag.  So far it's just as engaging, if not moreso.  The only problem will be once I finish this one... I'll have to wait.  Fortunately, there SHOULD be another Terry Pratchett out this year (in a few months, I hope).

On mine, I've reached 34k.  It's migrating along just fine, save that one of my characters completely re-invented himself.  He was angsty originally.  He is no longer - instead he's disgustingly cheerful.  I am all right with that - better that than angst.  He just caught me off guard.  So, off to rescue a dead man from Hell while the world falls apart around them....

And sewing.  I am still putting hair on a doll.  It's taking longer than I expected - mostly because of Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and Weed that Strings....  I can't put them down!

New Look and New Goal

I officially declare this blog a do-over.  Give it a make-over, send it out into the world revamped and renewed.

I am currently working on several projects.  I've finished several more, and am keeping busy with a variety of things.  On the WIP list I have: Condor doll, fleece quilt, and costuming for Faith Strangeways (a traveling faire character).  On the finished list: several more dolls, a gift for my sister, and a small pirate-themed purse.

I am keeping up with the writing: 29k words into it - started almost three weeks ago.  I am also reading: how can I not?  The most recent reading list (in progress) includes: Complete Dorothy Sayers Stories, Cheer Leader (from the 50's), and The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (borrowed from my sister).  Two are good and one (Cheer Leader) is silly.

Faire is over for the summer, and I am in some ways glad.  I can relax now - time to have weekends back for a bit.  Catch up on all my projects, spend time with the cat, and just hang out.  It's been brutally hot and humid here - never a good combination - so we've been doing a lot inside recently.  And lots of estate sales.  I've gotten some interesting things, and if I had more room would have gotten even more.  Oh... and we bought wild plums at a farmer's market, and I am going to plant the pits and see if we can grow our own.  That would be cool - and maybe next year or beyond I can make jelly for my dad: he loves plum, and we used to make wild plum jelly every summer.  It's gotten harder to find wild plums on the road side, so we stopped.

So... there's the first update.  This blog will now hopefully be more consistent, about more than JUST the sewing projects - although a lot of it will be that - and more about the misc. other things happening in my life.

I know... it's been obscenely long since I've posted.  Since last we met, I've made 7 skirts, 2 bodices, and lord knows what else these days.  Oh, and a moose.  I will try to post pics of everything soon - tomorrow or the next day.  Life gets in the way sometimes.

All is reasonably well, just... had more time for sewing and doing than blogging.

Baskets baskets baskets

We made twenty-odd fabric baskets this weekend.  And now we are making twenty-odd scarves... because we have plans.  But.  I am amazingly proud of all of these baskets.  We took pictures galore... I am only posting the nicest of them all...  It went very swiftly with two of us working on them.

So far we've been asked by 5 people if we are making them to sell.  Initially the answer was, "Well, no, not really...."  But from here on out, the answer is "Why, yes... yes we are.  Interested?" 

Sitting here drinking cherry-pomegranate juice with a little lemon juice mixed in to cut the sweet of the cherry.  It's really quite tasty, and a very pretty color. 

I accidentally tripped the breaker on the den tonight... apparently two space heaters (one is for the plants on the back porch, the other for inside) is too much.  So.... tripped breaker and my roommate saying "Oh, THAT'S not good."  I came close to panic, since the last house I was in the breakers fried themselves and took out the electricity to half the house.  But, all was well, just unplugged the inside space heater and re-set the breaker.  No harm done.  *whew*  And ultimately, when in the den, I can dress warmer.  The plants can't.  So they get the space heater.  I can still have the one in  my bedroom.  (Roomie likes cold.  I don't.  My knee doesn't.  My lungs don't.  She sleeps with her windows open when it's 20 degrees outside.  I have a space heater.  It works).

No snow...

A little disappointing.  But, probably better for all of us.

The outdoor plants are weathering well.  I have a blood orange off of one of my trees, and I am delighted.  Maybe I can convince my roommate that we need to go by the nursery and get another citrus... maybe a tangerine... we don't have one of those yet.  :)

Finished hat #2, but didn't get pics.  Maybe today.  It's still mostly black, but the next one... I have PLANS for the next one.  Ivory and red, with lace trim...

The sky is a pale steel gray, clouds over the dim and pale yellow of dawn.  What I can see of the city outside is sullen and grim under the sky, gray-roofed like reflections of the clouds.

Tonight I am hoping we will make pearsauce - like applesauce, but obviously not.  :)  We have huge numbers of pears left, and if the pear sauce comes out well, we can make pear butter. 

And another wreath

I forgot about this one, too....  I finished this wreath - gold and red.  It has been given to my roommate's mother...it turned out quite nice.

And tonight I make another bonnet with some reverse applique and work on dolls.  I have got to finish them.  When I do, there will be more pictures.