Talking Around the Pictures

My computer has been such a total @#$%&  lately that I'll just chat away and hope the photos upload while I'm writing.  It's hard to believe I am nearly at 200 posts.  I'll have to do some sort of prize/give-a-way for that post.  That's if I survive THIS ONE!  I would love to blog everyday.  If not update my own blog, then leisurely browse through all my favorites and make meaningful comments on each one.  It's just so frustrating that such an enjoyable task would take me several hours to complete.  Trudging through the error messages, blank screens, random disconnections and programs that simply do not work at all.  For the last month I have limited myself to checking my Etsy "activity status", Facebook, my e-mail and my blog.  Rarely do I write or share photos anywhere.  What was once such a joy has become a tiresome burden.  I really miss my chats, comments and conversations with my friends far and wide.  I literally feel "disconnected"!
So as I plod away at my keyboard, waiting the endless amount of time it takes for my photos to upload (if they actually will) I will tell you about my other pursuits.  I've been knitting socks of course.  They are my little stress-reducing tool.  Round and round I go on the double-points.  The repetitive movement combined with the nice little math issues involved make this a very relaxing and productive activity.

Only one left!

Coal and Roy



Carmella

 I went to the Warren County Arts Festival yesterday, much against my own vow to boycott due to the fact that the committee rejected my work as not being "artsy" enough to suit them.  I actually went at the very last moment to help my friend disassemble her booth.  There were some beautiful items there, but it seemed like the same old stuff...tons jewelry, photography and quite a few booth just advertising various art or ballet schools.  Not to be vain, but I think my items would have been a unique addition to the usual fare.
I can feel my self slipping into my "bitch and moan" habit, so I'll change the subject.


A few new garden ornaments.

 Tonight is a beautiful Summer night, even if the temperature does not quite scream out "Summer".  I like the moderate temperature though.  Nice to sit outside without dripping with sweat.  We had a long period this morning of continuous  gentle rain, which my garden appreciates.  A question for my fellow gardens.........What's up with the lettuce topiary? 
This is just run-of-the-mill red lettuce purchased in a plastic tray of four plants from the local Wal Mart.  I don't understand why they ended up like trees!  They are also rather bitter tasting too....more like arugula then regular lettuce.  You can see in the background that the cabbage is quite normal.  It was so wet in the early Spring that I opted for these planters in order to get the plants growing as soon as possible.  Maybe that's the reason for the Giant Redwood-like lettuce.
Oh look, there are all my photos.  Rather disorganized, but at least I managed to put together a post.  Maybe by mid-week I can come up with something a little more cohesive and interesting.

How To Make Use Of A Yard Of Fabric Part II

A lovely piece of floral print cotton from my stash has been amusing me this past week.  With limited Internet access and having to download a completely new (and rather annoying) photo resizing program, I wonder if I will be able to show you my results.  The little sun hat is finished, but the doll dress still needs some work.

 Draping things, even the lightest of satin, is a bit of a task on a 16" doll.  Getting it to lay just right has been my goal for the past 2 days....hence the numerous pins in the photos.  A least all those tiny little buttons (beads) are on and I do love the color combination. I wasn't too thrilled with it at first.  I thought it was a bit too bright for the time period.  I've spent a little time browsing around an amazing vintage fashion website, DefunctFashion, and I see my color choices really aren't that outrageous.  I need to add some pleated red trim to the bottom of the skirt and fashion a bustle of the yellow satin for the back.  Then I will name it Summer in the South of France 1883.

Ok, the server just "rejected" one of my photos.  Time to get away from this machine before I smash it to bits!

Starting From Square One

My computer has had a complete and total breakdown.  Once again my husband has brought in a mysterious "friend-of-a-friend" to repair it.  After three days of tearing the computer apart, trips to Best Buy taking several hours each time, and many "pieces that just wouldn't fit back in", I have a somewhat shaky and sporadic connection the Internet. It takes three or four tries just to get the thing to start up, the mouse frequently gets stuck and Facebook totally refuses to acknowledged that fact that I have Windows XP, so no Chat.  As for photo uploads, well there are no photos left in my computer to upload.  EVERYTHING, and I mean everything, is gone.  Photos, e-mail address, passwords, favorite websites.  I'm beginning to think this computer guy is related to the friend-of-a-friend who worked on our plumbing.  We now have a garden house that only expells hot water.
So in a way this is a totally useless post.  More of a test or an experiment rather then anything of real substance.  Time to press the "publish" button and see what, if anything, will happen............................

What to do.............

.............on ANOTHER cloudy day!?



A.  Bake bread


 

B. Sew doll clothes


OR............

C. Take a nap


 

Maybe This One Should Have A Title!

In my enthusiasm to embrace the 21st Century and try out a pre-scheduled blogpost, I totally neglected to give my last post a title!  So much for progress........

 In regards to other progress, the bottle wall emerged from it's wooden frame intact!  Not so for my friend Cindy's creation, which cracked right in half.  The remaining two bottle walls did survive along with mine.  It was starting to get dark when we got the call to come  see the "unveiling" so the photos are not so great.  Of course it is RAINING again today, but I hope to get some more colorful and bright shots later in the week.



Mine on the far right.  Should be standing with bottles pointing downward.

Top view

Kind of hard to see the bottle showing on both sides of the concrete.  In the bucket below are "sea turtles" swimming.  I made them from the leftover scraps of concrete mix and pressed some marbles and beads into them for detail.  They need to "cure" in the water bath for a while.

Spent several hours ( thanks to my slow dial-up Internet connection) "de-stashing" on Etsy. The financial situation has become pretty bleak around here, so I listed a few crafty items for sale. Wouldn't you know it, the one I least wanted to sell sold within an hour. So sad to see these kitties go, but desperate times call for desperate measures.





Steinlen Cats
Boston Museum of Fine Arts Collection

It's turning into a real "poor pitiful me" kinda day.  Have those every once in a while.  Never in a million years did I think I would be so unemployable.  Things (meaning bills) are starting to pile up and this feeds my stress and anxiety issues.  Not that any part of me needs feeding at all!  Can't even muster the motivation to exercise, which just makes me more anxious and depressed.  Ah, the wheel goes round and round...............

A cross-stitch finish!  Yeah!!!  Here's the latest addition to my little Etsy gymnastics family.  Lauren Mitchell of Australia, 2011 World Champion on Floor Exercise.  Now if I could just sell one of these darn things!

Lauren Mitchell (Australia)

Some torturous beading and metallic thread work was involved, but I like the results.


close-up of beadwork

Last Friday(6th) was Bottle Wall Day at my neighbor Sharee's house.  She taught a group of 4 friends how to make bottle walls, a new craft for me.  3-4 inches of sand was pressed into wooden frames.  Then we selected some colorful empty wine bottles and pressed then about 1/2 into the sand.  A layer of specially mixed concrete (that's what Sharee is doing in the photo below) is plopped in about 2 inches thick and spread around the bottles.  We next put in little pieces of chicken wire to stabalize the whole thing.  Thi was topped with another inch of the concrete mix.  At this stage we added some surface decorations, like engraved lettering, beads, stones and other textural objects.  The unveling should be some time before the end of this weekend.


Holly, Sharee(side view), Me





This little pair of socks was finished last week too.  Just haven't had a chance to take a new photo yet.  The pari on the needles now is Red Heart Heart & Sole "Green Envy".  I've made a pair of this color before, but they were snapped up before I even had a chance to try them on.

Deborah Norville Serenity Sock Yarn "Citrine"

 As I experiment a bit with Blogger, I am trying this as a "scheduled post".  It feels a bit odd to be writing in the future!  I wonder if it's raining again, if my garden has actually gotten plowed up, if any progress has been made on the doll dresses?  Only time will tell......................

Inspiration = Action(?)

Not necessarily! Digging through fabrics and endlessly browsing the Internet for photos and this is what I came up with.  Wow, the old sepia-tone photos just don't do these fashions justice.  Look at the amazing color of this 1860's dress!

1869 Madame Vignon gown





The mix of color and texture on this dress is so interesting.  Check out that seemingly random pink bow....but it works!

1895 Day Dress

 Again, a mix of fabrics that works well.  So soft and graceful.


1905 Pink Crepe Gown

This one will most likely be the first I attempt.  I have quite a few 1895 patterns draw up already.  A few alterations to the sleeve and collar and I might be able to capture the essence of this beauty.


1895 Worth Day Dress

Another rainy day after a few pretty nice days previously.  Tuesday thru Friday it was up into the 80sF with bright sun.  Now it's back to the "usual".  I can't even get out to rototill the garden plot.  Just when I thought it would dry out a bit from last week's downpours, here it comes again.  At least all the grass got cut last night, finally!  So it's on to "indoor pursuits".  1pm and still I am typing and browsing and not much is actually getting done....................................