Rain Rain Go Away

OK. Alright. Enough already! My house is starting to leak. My water barrels are full to overflowing. There are lakes on the streets where the sewers have plugged with leaf clogs. I’m not going out because I don’t have any hip waders to wear! Full head-to-toe raingear and a golf-sized umbrella couldn’t keep you dry today. Listen rain: go to Australia where they need you desperately. Can’t you hear them all doing rain dances over there?

Ahem. Where was I? Oh yeah. Ofrenda came with me to my guild meeting last night. There are a number of dollmakers in the fibre arts guild (they have a study group dedicated to dolls) so she was well received. They found it hard to believe I made her in only one day. My neck and shoulders disagree — they need a massage!

I forgot to mention about her hands. I painted my birth year on the back of one hand and this year on the other. When I overlapped them and glued them together, I totally forgot about the dates on the back because I was looking at them from the front. It turns out that you can only see the 06 but that's ok. My birth year is still visible. Fluke! So I guess she did cooperate on some things. I decided last night just before I fell asleep that she needed to be hung on the wall. So today I sewed a split ring on the back of her neck and she’s happily hanging in my study. Now she’ll be safe from wear and tear (and grandkid fingers) but she’ll be able to observe the coming year until my next birthday. Here’s a back shot.

I got another single book of the ones I recently ordered from Chapters/Indigo today without any notice. They usually send me an email when they’re ready to ship. This one is “Arctic Lace” by Donna Druchunas. All the reviews I read said it was a beautiful book so I was surprised to see that it’s completely printed in black and white! I was expecting a full-colour production. I will discuss the content when I’ve had a chance to read it, but the subject is qiviut and the Oomingmak Musk Ox Producers Co-op of Alaska. Lace knitting and stories about the people of the north who work with this amazing fibre — this promises to be a fun read. Note that there are a couple of errata here.

In knitting news, I’m up to turning the heels on the adult-sized Ribby Socks. I’ll post the full pattern when they’re done, though it’s just an upsized version of the Kid’s Ribby Socks. Simple but effective. They’ll easily fit wide or narrow ankles and feet. The ribs are somewhat odd, k3/p2, and are nicely stretchy and puffy. I think they make the socks a bit warmer also. I may have to make more of these. Yes, I’m still ignoring the Pomatomus Socks and the Peapod Sweater. I’m hoping to get to the Peapod this afternoon. After all, I’m not going anywhere today. It’s raining cats, dogs, and pink and blue elephants out there! Yuck!

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.