Hello Monday - Slow Simmer

It's a rainy Monday, the perfect sort of day to slow simmer something delicious on the stove, perhaps bake some bread, and think on plans for the coming days.

My work room/studio is nearly back together and well organized. Thank goodness as I am itching to do some stitching again. I'm planning some makes; like this Negroni Men's shirt from Colette Patterns in this handsome Kaufman lightweight cotton plaid. I'm planning a test shirt in some calico I have in my stash, then on to the plaid.

Whilst unpacking and organizing, I came across a few unfinished projects from days gone by, so those are on the to-stitch list as well.

Well, I'm off to brew a cup of tea, listen to some Debussy, contemplate cooking, peruse bread recipes, and make the most of this rainy Monday.

Today

Today is one of those rainy days that has me thinking the best place to be is on the couch with a hook and yarn, working in rounds.

Today I am nursing a toothache that that seems to have spread to my whole body, another good reason for parking myself on said couch with a bit of yarn and roundy therapy.

Today I may attempt to finish the Valentine dress I started for my girl, which requires working in rounds as well.

Today may be a well rounded day.

Happy weekend everybody!

This Morning

This morning a fairy princess is home sick. She was in terrible shape and thought she might die, going to school was simply out of the question! However, now that we have called in to inform the school of her dire state and she is safely ensconced in the flannel jammies and a nest of pillows and blankets, she seems quite a lot better...hmmmm.

This morning I have 1998 emails in my inbox. This is ridiculous! This is because I am crazy. By crazy, I mean I do the same thing over and over while expecting a different result. Many of these emails are actually comments from my blog that I read early in the day, thinking to myself, 'Oh what a nice comment, I will have to reply to that lovely person later on when I have a minute.' So, I save the email to remind myself and when later finally comes, it's well past my bed time and I feel badly and think to myself, 'Right, first thing in the morning I'll send off some nice notes.' And then the cycle starts all over again. Beneath my calm, well organized surface, there lies a seething pit of chaos.

This morning I have to start a project that needs to be completed by this afternoon and I haven't the foggiest notion of what I am doing.

This morning it is cold and gray; I am contemplating a second cup of coffee and wondering if we have the ingredients for making scones, but knowing full well we do not have cream. There is no sense in making scones without cream, trust me.

This morning I am hoping that you are all well and happy.

Blue Monday

It was a dark and stormy night...

It really was, and now it's a dark and stormy day. Still, I woke up this morning determined and enthusiastic about the tasks before me. Lot's of work to do you know. Morning coffee was made, there were clean school clothes, I ate a very lovely piece of toast slathered with homemade marionberry jam, I fetched my happy dots umbrella, and school drop went off without a hitch. Returning home, I thought of the post I would write for my shiny place here before getting on with the very important business of the day.

And this is where it all starts to turn out differently than I had planned. I should have known something was amiss when I saw the hundred crows descend from the sky and land on my roof with a whole chorus of raspy shouts.

I sat down at my desk, the place I do my very important work and online window shopping (I swear it's all research!) My photo editing program was having fits and would not save my files. The internet was slow as molasses but, I forged ahead and wrote my post, waited ages for some other photos to load so you would have something nice to look at...I hit publish and all went dark! No post in sight, no post hiding in the corners, no post under the bed. O.k. once more with feeling! I tried again and the entire computer crashed. Now, at this point I kinda had the urge to do some throwing, kicking, stomping exercise all over this here computer but, a few deep breaths and a get back on that horse attitude, have given me the patience to give it one more go. If this fails, it may be days before I'm heard from again. I am crossing my fingers and making promises to the cyber forces that be. I promise, I will defrag and do my due diligence disk cleanup as soon as this goes live!

Now that I am significantly behind for a tutorial re-shoot (on this dark and stormy day with nary enough light for cats to see by) I think I will retire from this tantrum tossing computer and dream of rainy day yarn and a cozy corner to while away the afternoon whilst I try to get my shots. Ooh, which reminds me, I have camera confessions to share later in the week!

I hope your day goes off without a hitch!

Hello Monday - Mary Go 'Round

This weekend as the clouds gathered and drops began to fall, a pumpkin haired Annie kept popping to mind as I sang, "Here comes the rain again..." We had some lovely weather this October, sunny and bright fall days that I am very grateful for. I think it's here though, the rainy season.

With the rain, my apparent obsessive need for crocheting in circles has returned. What is it about hooking 'round and 'round that calls to me? Is it some meditative practice, like chanting a mantra over and over? Perhaps I should crochet myself a mandala, ooh now there's a thought! Hang on a sec' while I jot that down in my "Book of Big Ideas".

This weekend, whilst doing a quick tidy, I picked up one of Pony Girl's dress up bracelets that had seen better days. It was such a forlorn little thing, I was about to toss it in the bin, when I had a change of heart and an idea.

Out came hook and yarn, had a quick bit of mental preparation, found a cozy spot on the sofa...and I was off! Soon I was crocheting crowns for pumpkins, rings around posies, circles of flower power, creating the next craze in couture accessories... 'Good Heavens!' I thought, why these are just a treat and useful for so many things!
Really, I do think that they would make a stunning garland and a very sweet ornament that makes up quick like a bunny for holiday gifts.

I thought perhaps some of you crafty folk might like to have a go at these sweeties.. So, tomorrow I am going to do something I have never done before. I am going to post a crochet tutorial! I am going to show you how to make one of these "Mary Go 'Rounds" for yourself. (Named for Mary, one of my first childhood friends. We used to play 'flower shop' in the forest everyday until dark. We would pick wildflowers and weave them into tree branches. We made bouquets of wild iris, columbine, fern and salmon berry. We never had a customer but, we loved our flower shop in the woods.)

I hope I get it right and I hope you will come back tomorrow and give it a try!