The Interim

Oh my. I have been so distracted! You have to know that October is the time between our birthdays (Thom & I are only about 5 weeks apart in age) and to celebrate we have been happily buying ourselves some presents. Well, it’s always best to buy your own because then you get exactly what you want, right? And besides, we’re officially old folks now (or he is and I will be shortly) so we spoiled ourselves.

Anyway it was mostly about the digital items. First we had to buy a new printer because the old one broke. The new one has a built-in scanner and is so smart that it can order its own ink. So cool. We can print wirelessly from any device anywhere in the house too. Yowsa. Progress has been made since we bought the last one obviously! But that’s not all. Thom got a new iPhone and I got an iPad Mini 4. (Her name is Corbie because she’s black like a raven.) And still that’s not all! We replaced our cable modem which also replaced our old router. However the downside of all this was Several Days of Setting Up and Getting Functional. We’re still trying to figure out a few things but progress has been made. Good thing we’re both pretty good at troubleshooting, especially Thom since that’s sort of what he used to do Before Retirement. I hate to think how difficult setting up new hardware and software must be for the muggles.

Corbie the iPad Mini is pretty cool but it’s going to take me awhile to get her all comfortable and sorted. Meanwhile my ancient (in computer years) netbook, Bluet, upon which I am typing these words is not going anywhere soon. I’m saving up for a new computer but not until XP finally runs down to the seriously annoying point when I’ll be forced to replace both Bluet and Damselfly (the even-more-ancient big desktop) anyway. It’s already slowing somewhat after a year of no longer being supported. And you can’t just use an iPad for everything. Or at least I can’t after 30 years of using a home computer. It’s just too limited even with all it’s fancy apps. And even the iPad Mini is so big that you can’t easily tuck it in a pocket to listen to podcasts so tiny Ruby the old iTouch still has a job to do too.

Seems like I just keep adding gadgets instead of subtracting, doesn’t it? Not so. Besides eliminating the router, I’ll be gaining a whole lot of computer desk real estate after getting rid of the honking huge scanner we bought sometime back in the 1990s for as much as a whole computer costs today. It’s been a workhorse and still functions but the SCSI connector is past history. We won’t even discuss the Zip Drive. Oy! It was still plugged in but not used for so long we don’t know if it still works at all. And then there’s the corded phone. I originally needed it for a dial-up modem. Who remembers those? Anyhow I haven’t used it in about 10 years. Yeah I was in denial about these things. At least I’m trying with the premise that when new things come in old things go out, aren’t I? I count 4 for 4 so I’m calling it even.

But we aren’t done yet. There were even more expenses and distractions. I’ve had appointments to get my scratched glasses replaced and my hearing aids checked. The weather has been fabulous for the last few days and the garden is calling loudly. I got my garlic planted and about 1/4 of the beds cleared and ready for the fall rye cover crop. I still have to dig up my madder to harvest the roots and replant the crowns. Then I get to do my once-every-three-years home-grown madder dyebath. Very special!

I haven’t had time to even touch my sewing and the latest knitting project isn’t going anywhere very quickly. Definitely distracted, huh? I was going to finish the Smoke & Mountains saga but this post got away from me. Very soon, I promise! Then you may get some weird stuff while I try to post from the iPad. Don’t know if it will work but it’ll be an interesting experiment anyway. Corbie has a fabulous camera if I can figure out how to post the pictures.

Out to the garden, Damselfly!

Birthday Princess Adventures

My oldest grandbeastie recently turned 8 and what she wanted for her present was to come and stay over and make stuffies with Granny. Yay! Another Maker in the family. Do I have lots to teach her in the future or what!? Must not overwhelm…

So we stole her away after her swimming lesson on Friday and the first order of business was to check out the new playground at our recently revamped park. Then it was on to a second nearby playground, one she was more familiar with since we’ve been taking all of the grandbeasties there when we have them over. Exhaustion was setting in for the Princess and her granny and grampa by then so home we went and got down to business.

The Pencil Princess decided that she needed to draw a picture of what she wanted to make: a moon, an apple, a fish and a dog. We deliberated and thought the dog might be a bit complicated for a first session but the other three items were quite possible. So while her grampa made us dinner, she and I repaired to the studio to work on the first stuffie. Using her awesome Pencil skills, she drew the pattern piece on freezer paper, I added the seam allowance and she cut the doubled fabric pieces out. We both sewed and stuffed and here he is:

This is Mooney. He’s made from a piece of the hand-dyed sheets that I used for my Rag Quilt. He is stuffed with polyfill and has beady eyes and a red Sharpie mouth. He of course belongs in the sky:

After a yummy barbeque chicken dinner we all watched an episode or two of Doctor Who before collapsing in bed. The next morning the Princess and her grampa made French toast for us and then she was raring to go on the next project. I got her stamping the fish’s fabric with scales in green metallic fabric paint so we could let it dry while we made the apple. The leaf was the hardest to do because it was very small, too small to turn and stuff. So we left it raw-edged and unstuffed. We stitched the veins on while learning how to switch the sewing machine from forward to reverse. The stem was easiest to make with a simple piece of brown jute string. The finished apple was named Singer because, even though she doesn’t have eyes or mouth she sings all the time.

The fish was a bit trickier. We had an important lesson in how to use the seam ripper when we forgot that the scales side goes on the inside when you need to turn the piece right-side out again. The fins were very small so I used the tiny tube turners to get them turned. Too hard for the Princess but she had no trouble stuffing them and we machine-stitched them to the body pieces securely before sewing the body together. By this time, she was brave enough to push the sewing machine peddle herself (though I still helped “steer” the pieces) and she’s an expert at stuffing. Her whip-stitching skills improved so much that all I had to do was hold the body steady while she sewed up the final tummy seam. The fish’s name is Lucy. She has googly eyes and is really cute. She can stand up on her fins. Very talented.

Here they all are:

I also gave the Pencil Princess her own sewing kit. My friend Kirsten made it from felt with a cute angel stitched on the cover and I won it at our guild’s Christmas exchange one year. I think the Princess will get more use out of it and it’s a good way to keep the sharp things contained. Inside there are needles, pins, scissors, thread, measuring tape, seam ripper, dressmaker’s chalk, and a wooden needle case made by her grampa.

And there’s more! After lunch we went over to Cambie Street for a street fair. The Princess got her face painted (sparkly swirly heart), a balloon dog, a helium balloon, a whistle and, after standing in line for about an hour, she got a cartoon drawing of herself in Paris. She was so patient while waiting. She was watching the man draw everyone ahead of her with great interest and said she wanted to see what the “cartoon me” would look like. She knows about this stuff – after all, her daddy owns a comic book store! She is definitely an artist in the making.

Later after we took her home, she generously gave her yellow balloon dog to her little brother who missed her (and was possibly a little envious). He will get his turn to spend time with Granny & Grampa too. We usually have them both over together because it’s more convenient for everyone but sometimes it’s really nice to have a Special Time just to focus on an individual Beastie.

That was fun! Now it’s my turn to make stuff for me in the studio. I’m working on some tops to take camping. More anon.

The Story So Far

It’s my birthday today and it’s the big Six-Oh. I’m trying to decide how I feel about that. I breezed through 30, 40, 50 with barely an eye-blink but for some reason I’m feeling more…contemplative? Perhaps a smidge more concerned about the speed of the passing years and the ever-diminishing time remaining to me. In earlier eras I would be considered an old woman but I don’t feel old – at least most of the time. I feel fit and strong and productive. I’m happy with my life (Horrible Summer of the Itchy-Peelies aside) and wouldn’t really change anything that I have any influence over. There’s a few things I’ve learned over the years: don’t sweat the small stuff, don’t try to fix anybody else (just me), and don’t be afraid of change because it happens anyhow. So maybe it’s going to be OK, this Seventh Decade in The Life of Damselfly. Bring it on!

I’ve been working on yet another secret project which can’t be blogged about. Yeah, that’s what? Number Five in the last few months? This one is not for a baby or a grandkid but is for my local Ravelry group’s Festivus exchange. I have just over a month to finish up a gift package for my Swappee. Unfortunately I won’t be able to post about it until the middle of December. Sigh.

The sweater for Princess Pink is coming along. I’ve nearly completed the second sleeve but of course I haven’t even started the body yet. Worsted yarn knits up a lot faster than my usual lace and sock yarns though. Easy-peasy. I’m aiming to finish by next Monday when I’ve been invited to My Son The Ninja’s house for a belated birthday dinner.

I also found a sweater that I want to make for me out of the Berroco Remix yarn that I originally bought for the PP sweater. More on that later. It’s an interesting yarn:

100% recycled fibres in a tweedy blend of 30% Nylon, 27% Cotton, 24% Acrylic, 10% Silk, and 9% Linen. Whew! It was the nylon that stopped me from using it for PP because we’re now pretty sure she’s allergic to it. Not a good choice of yarn with 30% nylon, even more than sock yarn contains. Oddly enough, my son-in-law also is sensitive to nylon. I didn’t know that was such a common problem. Not for me though. So I get a sweater for me out of the mistake. Heh.

Meanwhile it’s a sunny day with a little fog. Kind of like my life…

Birthday Things

Well it took me darn near all day to get her finished, but my Birthday Doll is done. The photo isn't the greatest since it's too dark and rainy to take it outside in diffused light. Her name is Ofrenda, which means "offering" and she's holding a bunch of marigolds which are traditionally spread all over graves, alters, etc. on Dia de Muertos. On the inside, I began with a stick from my walnut tree and wound it with wool from my handspinning stash. As I was winding I included little snippets of paper with the names of all my family and friends who have passed on. At that point she was looking like a mummy, in keeping with the theme!

Over the wool are lengths of fabrics and some tinsel-type yarn for a bit of sparkle. Her face and hands are translucent polymer clay and hand-sculpted by me, then details were painted with acrylics. Her arms are rolls of fabric stitched on. Her hair is fuzzy novelty yarn and there's actually a tiara of transparent black leaves on her head (though you can barely see it in the photo). She has a necklace that includes a swirly bead made by T-Man. She's about 11" tall which is the largest I've made to date.

You wouldn't believe the trouble she gave me, starting with me causing smoke to come from my craft microwave when I "cooked" the stick a bit too much thinking to kill anything nasty. It smelled nice, like incense! LOL!! Then I broke her leg when I was trying to hold her steady to get her tiara on. Oops. It's a bit wiggly but not likely to come off. I'm glad she's done. Don't know about you, but I think she's kind of cute!

So I’m another year older. Am I a Crone yet? I think so! The hair's going greyer, the wrinkles are deeper, the flesh is saggier, the bones are creakier, and the energy level ain't quite what it used to be. Otherwise, I feel just like I did when I was 20! Age is only a number anyway.

We aren’t going out for dinner tonight but The Man ordered pizza. That’s his way of cooking dinner for me and I’m not about to turn it down! Then my friend is picking me up to go to a fibre arts guild meeting this evening. I’ll be taking Ofrenda and wearing my Little Squares sweater. We can go out to dinner tomorrow night when it’s not so rushed. I like taking my time if it’s a nice restaurant.