For the Birds

I have never considered myself a birdwatcher/ornithologist of any degree. I mean I love birds, I plant plants in my garden that birds like, along with bees and butterflies, because it's wonderful to invite these creatures into your life. However, when we moved into the new place, I started looking at the birds a little more closely; which wasn't hard considering the crazy amount of bird activity we have going on around here. Seriously, I am considering making a call to the Audubon Society to tell them about the bird action in our backyard!

I sit outside on the patio in the late afternoon and find myself entertained for well on an hour just watching (and listening) to the birds come and go. It is really fascinating to see them interact. As I watch them I can identify the easy ones, but I thought I should pick up a field guide so that I could know my new neighbors a little better.  I find myself getting all excited if I notice a new bird that i haven't seen before. "Oh hello!" I say, "Now who might you be?" then I grab my handy dandy field guide and try to find the picture that most resembles my new feathered friend. Once done I read up on the little miss or mister to see what else I can learn. I do believe I am learning quite a lot these days!

So far I have identified the following: (All photos from free source on the web and I have linked them to Wikipedia in case you would like to learn more.)

Western Scrub Jay

European or Common Starling

American Crow

American Robin

So, those were the easy ones for me. There is also a large flock of pigeons that visit the house next door, but they seem to steer clear of our yard, which is ok with me really since they seem to scare off the other birds.

These next birds required gathering a bit more evidence and information to be sure. 

Rufous Hummingbird

Anna's Hummingbird

Song Sparrow

Dark Eyed Junco

House Finch

Spotted Towhee

And my new favorite

Cedar Waxwing

There are more birds about, but I want to make sure that I am not mis-identifying them. It feels as though we have our own back yard bird sanctuary. I am looking forward to see what fine feathered friends come by this Spring!

So fancy that, I have become a bird watcher indeed!

Announcing the US Release of Simple Sewing with Lola Nova

Hello and happy Friday!
I am very excited to (finally) announce the US release of my book Simple Sewing with Lola Nova by Alexandra Smith!

This has been a long time coming so I am very happy to see it available in my home country!
You can find my book on Amazon.com HERE

I am still awaiting more information from my publisher and a few copies. I will keep you posted as to where else you can find the book, any special events that might be coming up, and a giveaway on my blog soon! Watch this space!

A huge thank you to all of my wonderful readers and friends!

Have a lovely weekend all.
xo

Hello Monday - Hello Fall!

Happy Oven!

Fall is delicious!

Kathreen Ricketson’s Brave New Quilts Legacy Tour

I am deeply honored to have been asked to be a part of Kathreen Ricketson's Brave New Quilts Legacy Tour. This is not just about her beautiful new book, but about the indefatigable spirit of Kathreen herself.

When I first received Brave New Quilts, saw the gorgeous cover and flipped through the pages; a fresh grief washed over me for a moment. Her tragic death earlier this year was such a shock to me and it was unthinkable that this bright light in our community was now gone. After a brief moment, I shook off the sadness and dove into the book with a sense of celebration and wonder!

I know that this book was a deeply personal project for Kathreen and that she was excited about it. It is a corker too! It's not just a fresh and cool new quilting book, but a really good read as well. Kathreen's voice is clear and engaging, and as with everything she put her energies into, it is so inspiring.

In Brave New Quilts, Kathreen has created quilts inspired by 12 different 20th century art movements. I love this! The information she provides is fascinating and accessible, the design principles engaging and inspiring. She really has a wonderful way of discussing color, design, and the rules of creating the quilts in the book. All the while she encourages us to go our own way and discover our own path; even providing alternate colorways for each project.

The arrival of Kathreen's book turns out to be quite fortuitous for me personally. I have recently renewed my love of quilting and have been experimenting with modern and art quilt design, this book is a great resource to add to my collection and just the nudge I needed to get cracking!

I can hear Kathreen's voice telling me, "You can do it! Go for it!" 

Kathreen's legacy is huge and far reaching. From my first introduction to her via her trailblazing website WhipUp, to her brilliant kid's magazine ActionPack, through her books and all of her endeavors; I have admired her talent, her love for her family, her intelligence and her amazingly generous spirit. She encouraged me greatly when I was working on my own book. She treated me with great respect and made me laugh. She is one of the people through whom I have made friends from all over the art/crafting/making community and have been more inspired and courageous than I ever could have imagined.

As I wrote in a post on WhipUp earlier this year:

 "Though I never met her in person, I considered Kathreen a friend, a kindred spirit and a supporter of the utmost kind. Through her hard work and gorgeous spirit, she brought together a community; fostered art and craft, endlessly inspired and encouraged so many wonderful people.  She made such a tremendous impact on me and I know so many others. She created an amazing legacy and I truly believe she made this world a better place. She reminds us to live life with passion and intent; to live deliberately with love and to continue to follow our hearts."

I absolutely recommend Brave New Quilts, it is a brilliant book. I also encourage you to follow along on all the stops on this Stash Books Legacy Tour!

Tuesday	10/1	Heather Jones
Wedneday	10/2	Kristin Link
Thursday	10/3	Maya Donenfeld
Friday	10/4	Alexandra Smith
Monday	10/7	Sonya Philip
Tuesday	10/8	Ellen Luckett Baker
Wedneday	10/9	Andrea Jenkins
Thursday	10/10	Shannon Cook
Friday	10/11	Mimi Kirchner
Monday	10/14	Cheryl Arkison

Wind and Rain

Oh my but it is a gloomy Monday! We are having quite the storm here in our neck of the woods. Pouring rain and blustery winds since the start of the weekend. As of yet, we have not quite been washed away, but I have had moments of concern.

What better way to spend a stormy Monday then to unpack some pretties in the new studio? It really is thrilling to be putting my fabric up in it's new home!

Even Tiny Alice is getting into the spirit and fighting off the wicked weather by wearing her most Springy of aprons, getting dressed up for the Grand Opening even though it is still sometime off.

So that's where you'll find me today, unpacking and pottering about in my studio, feeling very grateful indeed to have a room of my own.

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The Amazings

Quite some time ago I heard about an organisation called The Amazings in the UK. A group that is dedicated to passing on handcrafted knowledge from wise elders to the next generations. Now that is amazing! I would love to take part in something like that, to learn hands on from those who have so much to share and teach. Alas, I do not live in the UK, ah well.

Then earlier this year I was contacted by The Amazings and learned that they are doing video courses! They were kind enough to let me preview a couple of videos and I was again, amazed. What wonderful quality videos storing a wealth of knowledge at my fingertips!

From the site, I found this statement and found it to be very true

Mastery and Wisdom, Brilliantly Shared.

We're creating online craft classes with elders showing us how to make, mend, master - and live. Let's keep knowledge alive."

Well, how about I let you watch the video below as an introduction, to give you a sense of their fantastic purpose.



One of the best parts of this, is that the courses are affordable and quite accessible. I have it in mind to take one on Altered Books and one on Home-dyed Jewelry, and ... so many to choose from really.

I highly recommend you go take a look see at The Amazings site, it is near impossible to not be inspired by this group's dedication. I see too, that they are adding new courses all of the time.

The Amazings have been quite generous with my readers, offering a free course! Just go sign up HERE!

I truly love what The Amazings are doing. It is important and useful work and a great deal of fun!

Settling In

Slowly, but ever so surely, we are beginning to settle in bit by bit to our new home. There are still an unnerving amount of boxes piled up in the garage, but we chip away little by little. In a while everything will be nice and cozy for Fall. The temperature has taken a sudden dip on the day of the harvest moon! I can't say I am prepared for the change of seasons, but the seasons have never consulted with me as to my readyness or not, and tend to come on anyway.

My Grandmother's hot pink velvet love seat has finally found a home and that makes me quite happy indeed.
And though she's a delicate thing, made for Victorian Ladies with small bird-like features and handkerchiefs, she does look awfully pretty in the living room light.

As for the studio, oh my good gravy. We did some wall bashing of course, then I went on to spend 3 tedious days painting the walls that we left behind. Many coats of paint later and it is starting to really look like something! There is still the sticky issue of proper lighting and wiring, best left to professionals to switch that business around you know.  As I have grown a bit itchy to get back to it, I did start to move in just a little.

Tiny Alice was somewhat miffed that I had taken some previous photos of her in undress, so I've made sure to protect her modesty with an old French nightgown for the picture.
So looking forward to doing some stitching again, the ideas have been buzzing!

Well, I hope I haven't bored you to tears with my tales of moving in, but it is my world at the moment. I am saving my strength since I do have some pretty great things to share with you all next week!
Until then my lovelies, be safe, be well!

Of Produce and Progress

Oh my good gravy! It has been one crazy Summer! I shant bore you with slippery details. I'll just get straight to the Produce Aisle of today's post.

Welcome to the front/back-yard farmer's market! 

Oh I do think I need to come up with a fitting name for the new garden. Any thoughts? Lola's Retreat? Alex's Acres? NirvanaNova? No... it will come to me I'm sure. Oops, sidetracked there for a moment. 

That big Tom there took both hands to hold it. It was so big in fact, that when Pony Girl tried to bring it into the kitchen, it was far too bulky to handle and it leapt from her small hands and crashed with a squooshy thud on the floor. There was a moment of silence as we believed it was indeed a very sad end to a truly impressive tomato. Upon closer inspection we saw that despite a bit of bashing and bruising and breaking in half, there was still plenty of good tomato left to slice and eat with bread, basil and a drizzle of olive oil!

The Delicata squash is nearly there.

The figs are coming on gangbusters! My first attempt at drying a few in the dehydrator was a bit of a bust. Tonight's fig and sweet onion jam should have better results.

And the jelly cupboard is getting fuller by the week! I have discovered the joys of ginger cardamom pear butter!

Now that I have distracted you with the bounty of my garden, I shall move on to the Progress portion of this post.

Since last we chatted, we have acquired a dining table and chairs for the dining room. Previously loved of course. It is the very first proper dining table I have personally owned in all my life. As I am going on a few freckles past 44, this strikes me as quite a feat! Our extended family dinners are sure to be much more comfortable and sociable now that we can all eat at the same table.

A few of my knickknacks have shed their boxes and wrapping paper to make temporary camp on the shelves of the Aqua laundry room/wet bar. There is a little cocktail cart discreetly out of frame. 

This isn't pretty, but progress has definitely been made on my studio. We've been bashing down walls and exposing the brick, which incidentally is the name of my next album. Painting and lighting come next.

Progress was also made today on perfecting my Chai spice blend recipe. I am soooo close!

In that mug up there is one of my favorite things; Chocolate Chai Tea!

Well, that concludes the Produce and Progress report for today. Have a gorgeous weekend all!