MOTHER NATURE, WHAT GIVES?

She's off on a tangent - hurling humidity, flash floods and the threat of a tornado these past few days.  Mother!  This is northeastern New York, for jeepers sake - not the midwest!  How am I supposed to get my June gardening done when you drench my beds one moment and racquet up the temperatures to near-Hades levels the next?   Your behavior is annoying to me, it makes me think that I might have to resort to some of the H word  ...  dreaded housework, ugh.  Or, I could pull out those promised images of my book-making efforts.

This is my first book, made of fiber.  I've started another since, but like many original efforts, this one owns my heart.

It consists of perhaps eight double-sided pages which have been encased as one would a quilt - with batting and assorted fabric treatments.  Each page offers a little life 'lesson', such as:

That's a good one, yes?

Eat Good Food.  Your mother always tried to teach you how important this was - you probably didn't catch on until you had your own children!  I used to make my babies their first foods - I was particularly proud of my pureed chicken!  (and they smacked their lips and never spit it out!)  It was really good.

I loved beading these pages and scrounging through my 'stuff' for paper beads and wires and stamps and whatnot.

Sorry about that.  Turn head to the right, please...

Tell the Truth.  Eat Good Food.  Honor your Family.  Remember -    

No matter where you roam, there's no place like Home.  Make a book for someone that you love.  Pull out all of your creative stops - use your favorite fabrics, your treasured threads, your best sentiments.  Learn a new technique and apply it - silky tassels, machine embroidery, beaded and bedazzled edgings.  Whoever is fortunate enough to receive such a treat will absolutely

LOVE it!

WEEKEND WANDERINGS

Goodbye season of the peony!  I already miss you!  When you hang your heavy head I know that June is upon us and that the daylily border needs attention.  The days grow longer and still, there are not nearly enough of them to match the garden's demands.  And I need to sew.


Never one for purchasing kits, my resolve weakened years ago when Keepsake offered this patriotic package that I thought would be wonderful for my country house.  I envisioned it hung out each Memorial Day and 4th of July.  In between gigs, it could reside  on a wall - perhaps the stairwell.  Such good and worthy intentions have I.  When I hauled it out I was dismayed - I'd thought that I'd made a lot more progress than I had before hiding storing it!  It's onward and upward with this because I REALLY want to display it before July 4th arrives!

I've since learned that kits are not my cup of tea.  Wait - the exception to the rule is just about ANYTHING that my friend Linda Hibbert creates.  If she presents it, I want to try it!  She is offering some of her African animals in a gigantic sizing - go over and look.  I want them all.

In all fairness, I DID manage to complete the creamy stripes, but for the life of me cannot get an image that is usable.  I've been dreaming about that Nikon ... I even 'accidently' watered my Canon the other day while I was taking care of the seedlings.  That sucker STILL works.  Go figure.

Here's something that you didn't know - I make books.  Soft fabric books.  Books with beads and grommets and ribbons and paper piecing and silk and - well, next time I'll bring some of these images along.  Fabric books are totally satisfying and amazing - to create, to receive.  

In a weak moment I joined my first KAL - Ravelry has been like a Siren song with these things cropping up all over and I decided that it was time to see what all of the commotion was about!  My group produced a Potato Chip scarf. (clears throat)  People.  This was a horrendous waste of good yarn.  That's all I'm saying.

Misti Baby Alpaca and silk.  There should be a law!