Friday, May 31, 2024

The Peacock Puzzle

The experience of constructing this puzzle was excellent! It's a beautiful bold design. The puzzle pieces are of great quality. The geometric design was interesting and engaging.


It came with a nice clear good-sized reference poster. That's always a plus when Dale and I are both working on the same puzzle. One of us can use the box top for reference; the other can use the poster.


This is a 500 piece puzzle authorized by the foundation that licenses Frank Lloyd Wright designs. This happens to be an architectural detail from the Imperial Hotel in Japan. Throughout the hotel a peacock motif was repeated.


The back of the puzzle box gives some interesting information.


This might be the first time I put a puzzle together that has gold foil pieces.


Here, the shine is very apparent.


I'm going to keep my eyes open for more of these puzzles made from Wright's artwork. It'd be fun to have that collection to add to our puzzle shelves.

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Heron

Jodie and I took Abby for a walk around the ponds at Golden Gardens Park. There were lots of turtles out sunning themselves on logs along with this beautiful heron. The white speckles are fluff from the cottonwood trees.


I need to take my big girl camera with me next time I go to the ponds so that I can use a telephoto lens. This photo was taken with my phone's camera. It'd be great to capture a better shot of this magnificent bird.

Monday, May 27, 2024

Sunday, May 26, 2024

God Bless My Neighbors

And God bless my ability to walk for two miles again. This beauty greeted me on my path through the neighborhood.


Peony

Saturday, May 25, 2024

Melody's Stationery Kit

The last time I was with my granddaughter Melody, she was able to read whole books to me. She can even read cursive!

She graduates from first grade soon.

Since she lives so far away and we don't get to see her family very often, I'm hoping to build a one-on-one relationship with her in a new way. Or ... an old way, really.

I was about Melody's age when I started having pen pals. So now that she can read and write, I'm hoping Melody will be pen pals with me! To that end, I made her a personalized Stationery Kit.


We're starting small. The kit has:

  • six blank card with envelopes
  • two sharp pencils with tip erasers (when I was a kid, I LOVED tip erasers)
  • a standard pink eraser
  • six Sesame Street character Forever postage stamps
  • a sample of how to address an envelope
  • an envelope that's pre-addressed
  • a sample of how to write a letter ... where to put the date, a salutation, the body, the sign-off, a signature
  • a short letter I wrote to her with all those elements
  • and a full sheet of personalized return address labels
Please note the Kittycorn!



I loved sending letters to my grandma and receiving them in return. I lived in southern California; Grandma lived in Pennsylvania. We got to see each other even less often than Melody and I spend time together. Grandma's letters always began:
"Just a few lines to let you know that we are well and hoping to hear the same from you."

I hope Melody and I can grow some fond memories through the written word together, too. 

Thursday, May 23, 2024

Melody's Kitty Purse

She's done. That's the best I can say about her.


Sometimes projects go well. Sometimes they're a challenge. Put this one in the "challenge" column.


My granddaughter wants a birthday with rainbows and kittycorns ... kittens with unicorn horns. I tried. I really did. Several times. But THIS was my best effort. Sigh.


After consultation with Melody's mom and dad, they laughed and said it was ok, but that they could remove the unicorn horn if Melody didn't like it. 

That was reason enough to take it back in my own hands. I unwrapped the present. I pulled out all the yarn and crochet supplies I'd already put away. I removed the horn ... and of course, cut some of the yarn in the kitty's "forehead." There was no easy way to fix it without unraveling a whole bunch of the top of the cat and the handle, then remaking it.

I wasn't about to do that. This purse had already been too much of a challenge. I worked on it most of the day yesterday and was totally beat.

So ... I stitched the hole up with yarn and thread as best as I could. Then I added a bow.

As a needleworker, there's a whole lot about this purse that I don't like. BUT ... as a grandmother, I can look at it through different eyes.

No, it's not the colors I'd originally envisioned. The whiskers and the nose and the mouth barely show up but I was using the yarn I had on hand. The proportions seem off. The finished purse was a bear to try and photograph. I just couldn't get the lighting right. Editing the photos barely helped.

But it's done. It's a cat. And Melody's Mimi went out of her way to try and make something special. 


I have lots more years to make lots more special objects for my very, very, very special girl.

:: shrug ::

Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Crochet Kitty Purse

I finished another little girl purse for Bags of Love. It's sweet. Only six inches tall and 5 inches wide. It's constructed primarily in single crochet, then a bit of added embroidery on the front. I also added some safety eyes.

I found the idea on Pinterest. The original blog post is from the A Crafty Concept blog. 

Unfortunately, I found the directions were somewhat hard to follow even though they were thorough and had lots of photos. So I ended up doing the ears and handle my own way.


The back is plain.


I wavered on whether or not to add a mouth, but decided against it since the original pattern doesn't call for one.


Now that I have the general concept figured out, I've started a second purse for my granddaughter Melody. Her birthday is coming up and her themes are rainbows and "kittycorns" - a cat with a unicorn horn. Apparently that's a thing these days, because Dale and I found lots of examples of possible gifts of that magical beast. 

I'll be making her purse a bit larger since she's a seven year old now. (How did that happen?) I still need to figure out how to add a sparkly unicorn horn to the cat's forehead. I might embroider a mouth on hers too.

I'm still mulling it over in my head, but hope to complete the kittycorn purse today.

Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Playing with Color

The rose variety I saw at the Owen Rose Garden that most attracted me is a climbing rose called Joseph's Robe. This plant has several different colors of roses on a single stem - from tangerines to yellows to reds to purples to hot pink with lots of variations. It smells very nice, too.

I decided to play with this image today, first by getting up way too close and personal:


then to wipe out the vibrant color by converting the image into sepia tones. This way the shapes and textures become dominant.


Every now and again it fun to try something a little different at the end of a busy day.

Monday, May 20, 2024

Colorful Companions

Puzzle time again!

This gorgeous color-rich puzzle full of tropical birds was produced by the Audubon Society.


It's a 1000 piece puzzle. Besides the wonderful illustration, I was intrigued by the promise of a linen texture.


The pieces did have the look of linen. But I expected to feel a bumpy texture. That wasn't really there.

There were several things that bugged me about this puzzle. The pieces didn't meet neatly. I don't mind puzzles that have rows offset from each other. But this puzzle only had some pieces offset, and others lined up.

Worse than that, though, is how the pieces fit so sloppily. It didn't hold together at all - so Dale and I couldn't easily moves chunks of puzzle at a time. We were constantly re-piecing bits we'd already put together. That lack of quality, all by itself, is enough to keep from making this an enjoyable puzzle to complete.


The image, however, is to die for. The puzzle came with a nice large reference poster. As an image, this is a great puzzle because you can work on it in color clusters, then place whole birds into the main puzzle at one time.


Along the side, you can see other puzzles in the series. I'd get them all if the puzzle quality was better. But ... naw ...


However, close-ups of the birds are worthy:






I don't mind putting in the time, though, when I can purchase a $15-$20 puzzle for only $3.00 at a thrift store. There's easily $3.00 worth of fun.


By the way, that missing green piece in the upper right corner in the first photo ... we found it. Our robot vacuum kicked it out from under the couch. I was able to add it back into the box so it's there for the next person who tries to put this puzzle together.

Sunday, May 19, 2024

Swimming in Pollen

This happy critter looks drunk on life inside the Fourth of July Climbing Rose.


At the Owen Rose Garden in Eugene.

Saturday, May 18, 2024

Iris Time

They're beginning to bloom all over town. This one was near the parking lot of Owen Rose Garden.



Friday, May 17, 2024

Petit Purses: Part 2

The next three crochet purses Jodie and I put together used variegated yarn.

This was a standard 4 ply worsted weight yarn. It was interesting to watch this yarn color pool into diagonal stripes.


For the inside, I used some scrap fabric from a pillowcase that used to belong to my mother-in-law and that I inherited when she passed. It's nice to think that a little girl will have a piece of my mother-in-law who was also an artist. She was great with kids and enjoyed giving girly-girl things to her granddaughters.


I used the same kind of decoration on this purse as the previous two - a white crocheted flower with a flower-shaped button.


The final two purses were made with a specialty yarn that Jodie had in her stash. She thinks she bought it at an estate sale. I'd never used a yarn like this. It was quite kinky and slinky. One of the strands was very sparkly. The yarn was fairly tangled up, so I took some time to unknot it (quite some time, actually, due to lots of knots), then spun it into new balls.


Because it is a very thin yarn, we crocheted with a double strand. In this side-by-side photo you can see that Jodie used a larger crochet hook and her stitches are nice and loose. She made a bag that was slightly wider and shorter than mine. I used a smaller hook and tend to crochet with more tension, so I had to stitch a couple extra rows to make the proportion of width to height look correct to my eye.


Here's an observation for those who enjoy creating. Depending on how we combined the strands, it gave each purse a slightly different look. Jodie's has more of a confetti feel with all the colors mixed together. I lined up the colors on the two strands more closely, so I achieved a bit of color pooling with slightly diagonal stripes. 


I point this out not because one method is better than another, but because it shows how Jodie is a much more free spirit in the way she takes an idea and runs with it. I tend to be more rigid and follow the pattern instructions precisely as written. Working side-by-side, Jodie helps me be more playful and less concerned about outcomes. I find it an interesting correlation to our personalities. It's super fun to craft with Jodie because we bring out the best in each other.

I lined these two purses with a sweet pink small-checked gingham I recently found at a thrift store.


Jodie tried the single, wider handle on her purse. We added another white crocheted flower with a blue flower-shaped button center.


In this photo the shimmer of the slippery, slinky, shiny yarn is very apparent. I stepped out of the norm and added a turquoise flower made of a super soft yarn, then added stacked buttons in yellow and pink, sewn onto the center of the front of the purse with turquoise.



:: stepping up on my soapbox for a minute ::

Some folks have asked if I sell my artwork. Making these purses is a good reminder of why I never opened a craft business. It was fun to try making the same pattern with different yarns and linings and decorations - to a point. But I tire of doing the same thing over and over. 

If I had a business, I'd have to do the same craft repeatedly. To make any kind of profit - or even cover the cost of materials and photographing and advertising - the finished items would be too expensive. Each of these purses took about five hours from start to finish - not counting the time it took to untangle yarn and wash the lining fabrics and write blog posts. Even at a minimum wage for labor, the cost for a single one of these little-girl purses would be at least $75.

There are simply too many fun crafty things I want to try in a great number of mediums. I'd rather use my crafting space for a variety of yarns and floss and fabric and paint and paper and specialty tools than have to give up space to inventory and shipping supplies, and give up time for selling and accounting. Thank goodness I get to use my free time for learning and enjoying the process and honing my skills. Most working women don't have this opportunity. 

I have an embarrassment of riches in the way of time and supplies. It's one reason I like to share my completed work through charity or via random acts of kindness (think painted rocks and quilted hearts). I don't keep this blog so much to show off my efforts, but to try and inspire others to try things, to not fear making mistakes, and to give freely. I receive a lot of satisfaction and gratitude in return. Priceless.

:: stepping back down ::

Thursday, May 16, 2024

Petit Purses: Part 1

Jodie and I crocheted some purses for little girls that will be distributed through Bags of Love. Kids in crisis don't only need safe shelter and the basics of blankets and toiletries, but they also can use comfort items. That might be a teddy bear. Or it might be a little purse to call their own and hold their treasures.

I found this pattern through Pinterest. We made five altogether, each one taking approximately 4 to 5 hours to create. I'll share the first two here and the other three later this week. 

This pattern uses the "granny stitch." It's the same kind of crochet stitch used in classic granny square afghans. We used a single strand of 4-ply yarn. The bag is worked in the round.

This pink lady was my first attempt. I followed the pattern directions that called for crocheting two narrow handles.


So that none of the treasures would fall out of the holes created by the granny clusters, I decided to line the purses with coordinating fabric. The cherries are cheery!


For the decoration, I crocheted a white flower, then attached it to the purse with a pink flower-shaped button. The buttons I used on this project were some I found at a thrift store several months ago.


For my second attempt, I followed the pattern for the body of the purse, but put my own twist on the handle by crocheting a single, wider handle.


I lined this purse with a fabric that had characters from the movie Frozen


For decoration, another white crocheted flower with a purple flower-shaped button.


Jodie and I are quite pleased with the result. We got a bit more adventurous for the next purses, using variegated and specialty yarns.


Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Color Blast

I want to share a few more photos from our trip to the Rhododendron Garden at Hendricks Park last year. We may yet go again this year, though the flowers are likely just past their peak now. It's a wonderful place to stroll and take in aromas and sit and be still and let the beauty soak into my pores.