Today's little creation

No, I'm not becoming a megalomaniac, and of course I didn't create the sunrise. It's just that, well, I haven't exactly created anything to share with you. I'm knitting my son a pair of pirate socks (with a skull and crossbones on them) but this is a bit slow as I've never actually completed a pair of socks, and these are knit from the toes up so it's all new to me. Plus I'm just knitting in one colour down at the toes, and as a dyer, I don't find that exciting.

And then I digressed to start knitting a jersey for orphans in the Ukraine, because I saw that a local group was doing this, and hell, they need it more than I do. And at the same time, I read "The Orchid Thief" by Susan Orlean - I saw the movie of this some years ago but it was really altered around and didn't enjoy it - and got incredibly excited by orchids again. Again??? Yes.

You may not know this, dear readers, but I was a commercial orchid grower in a former life, around (gulp) 20 years ago. Of course I was married then, to some bloke who's related to my children. I walked away from the orchid business when I left him, and took nothing from it, but over the years I've acquired a few (around 20 or so) plants. Obviously my orchid passion was just simmering under the skin. Do I really need another obsession? Especially an expensive one? Of course not. But that's the nature of obsessions. They're not logical, they're not reasonable and they're not really controllable either.

Do any of you have obsessions apart from fiber? 

Soft focus

Ahhhhh, ain't digital camera technology wonderful? Here's a self-portrait in soft focus. Now if I could only work out a way to digitally enhance my entire body, then apply it................ 

Miscellany

Here are the 2 chemo caps that I've knitted this week for my friend Sue, who is undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. First, I had to dye the wool (you didn't think I'd use ordinary commercial wool, did you?) and let it dry, which took a day or so. I've used baby wool so they'll be soft and comfortable. I may get back to the 3 garments I'm knitting for myself now.

I guess those of you who have been reading my blog for my quilting art will be disappointed by its recent absence. Truth is, I'm not sure what direction my art is taking. It seems to be wool and fibers that are exciting me at present, and I haven't worked out how to combine these with what I've done before. I've just bought a small loom and I'm keen to see what I can produce on that once I've mantled it (it came dismantled, so I must be able to mantle it). Felting also looks like an exciting possibility. And of course, I am in a dichotomy at present with my other job in mortgages and insurances, which is about as different from art and creativity as you could get. Nothing like using both sides of your brain, but not that easy to do well.

I had this tiny poem appear to me during the night, so I've turned it into a haiku. It's about memories:

A moment in time,
Dipped in sunlight, preserved now
In my memory. 

Dyers Webring and Dyeing2Design - technical hitch

I have just hooked up my old computer to the net to download some software, and found to my horror that 343 emails arrived in my mailbox. These appear to be linked to my dyeing2design email addresses, and clearly, I have made some sort of stuff-up when moving one of these (or possibly both) over to the new machine. Quel horreur! I shall attempt to remedy the problem.

So apologies to the people who have requested to join the Dyers' Webring (you have now all been contacted separately) and any other blogger who has emailed me in the past 2 months and received no reply. I shall now wade through the offers of rock hard erections, guaranteed money- making schemes, international lotteries that I've won and all the other dross to see if there are other messages I should attend to.

Elfen

I showed my son this photo of me in my earflap hat that I knitted yesterday, and he said I looked like an elf. It's made from the apple-green wool I dyed for his girlfriend's jacket (now completed - yippee!) and some other multi-coloured hand-dyed wool.

Ok, so it's mainly teens and twenties who wear these hats, but why should they have all the fun? I may be old enough to be a grandmother, but I'm not ready for a twinset and pearls yet. Actually, I probably never will be. I'm growing my hair long because when I'm old, I intend to be an eccentric old bat, and I need long hair to complete the image. Grow old disgracefully, I say! 

Location, location

Real estate agents tell us that location is the most important part of where you live. For an artist, it's important to have surroundings that you love and things around you that inspire you.

This is my bedroom. Seven, my Manx cat is asleep in the sun on the fake fur. This stops REAL fur from getting all over my pillow. Hanging up is a beaded macrame belt and an old fan.

On the other side of the bed, you can see my rimu (native black pine) dresser with some of my old crocheted gloves draped over the little mirror. My collection of antique Chinese jade pendants hang on the wall.

Another macrame beaded belt hangs by the big rimu mirror, draped with my silk scarves. My black rabbit fur scarf lies below that, and there are 2 possum skins on the rocking chair by the bookcase (also rimu). My bedroom is a lovely sunny room full of my treasures.

Here's the little corner of my living room where once the entrance was. There is a tiny leadlight window above the Scotch chest. That's my Beach Babe doll that I made sitting up there.

This is also a lovely sunny spot, and here's the early morning sun coming through above the settee.



















The last photo is my old china cabinet in another part of the living room. You can see some of my antique teapot collection in it, and my "Monet's Hexagons" quilt above. I love plants, and have them in most rooms.

Midwinter Blues (and greens and yellows and reds)

This is a collage (thanks, Picasa 2) of my fabric which I'm posting as I am completely uncreative at present (apart from knitting). I was offered a job (a REAL job, that is) which I started this week, so earning a living will be featuring rather highly in my life over the winter. I spend mornings from 8 till 12 at the office (may as well use their power and heating) and then go home (all of several minutes' drive away) to work on my business. It's working out well - the job is in financial services, which I've done for nearly 12 years now, and because it's commission-based, I can work as little or as much as I choose. I love the freedom of that, and it suits me down to the ground. After 8 months of working at home (or not working for some of it), it's taken a few days to get into the rhythm of dressing for work but I've got a routine worked out now.