heylucy

fairy circles and terrarium injuries, or maybe I should be walking my dogs more regularly

That's right, I am reporting the very first recorded terrarium-related injury. I headed out with the dogs this afternoon on a quest for moss. It's very hard to walk through our gate and down the street and leave the dogs behind, because the pitiful barks make the neighbors think we're dog abusers. So I hooked them up to the dual leash, and we set out. And we walked by the Next Door Neighbor's house, when their dog (the same dog that runs along the fence line in tandem with Winston every, single, day) started barking and my dogs freaked out, tangled themselves up and tripped me, even though I was, at that point, standing still. I'm still not sure how they did it. But because I know you all are as excited about terrariums as I am, I couldn't let a little bloody hand wound and a couple scraped knees stop me. Oh no, we got ourselves up and untangled, and continued on the Moss Quest. I just tried really hard not to bleed on it, the leash, or the dogs.

Oh, but I have to back up a little bit. Last night I went searching for some cute mushrooms, also for the terrarium, and I couldn't find anything. So in desperation, I picked up some red and some white polymer clay, despite the fact that I've never used the stuff before, and have never considered sculpting anything in my life, least of all tiny mushrooms. I had to have some mushrooms, you see. A plain moss terrarium  just would not do.

Here they are in progress. Those are their spots, waiting to be added. This picture kind of makes me laugh. I figured I'd just use up all the clay and make as many mushrooms as I could, while I was at it. The clay was easy to work with. I'd say the hardest thing about the whole project was the fact that the red smudges really badly, so that was kind of a pain. I had to scrub really hard to get it all off my hands, and you can't even think about touching the white unless your hands are perfectly clean. If there's any interest, I could maybe, one day, post a little mushroom making tutorial. It usually takes me a long time to get around to these things, so don't get too excited.

I'm quite pleased with how they came out. I'm almost tempted to just leave this little fairy ring in my studio forever.

Obviously, I can't put all of them in my terrarium, so I'm going to list a couple sets of three in my shop, and I'm going to give away a set of three right now! Surprise! Well, not right this minute, but just leave a comment if you want to make a terrarium and need a set of mushrooms. I'll leave the comments open this week, until Friday or so, and then choose a winner next weekend.

And now, for the big reveal:

I'll keep you updated on its survival. I hope it does okay. Mr. HeyLucy was concerned that it might start to smell. I have to say, that thought never crossed my mind, so I will report on that as well.

And here is a hopefully sympathy-inducing shot of part of my injury (small, so you don't get too grossed out):

You can click to see it bigger, if you're into that kind of thing. The saddest part about my injuries? I actually fell off my back step a few weeks ago, and scraped up my hands and knees in the same places, and it was FINALLY nearly healed. I can't blame the dogs for that one, however. I'm not very coordinated, I think my center of gravity is all wacky because I'm tall.

terrarium dreaming

1. terrarium, 2. Old Jar Moss Terrariums, 3. a terrarium, 4. terrarium trial, 5. this morning i made terrariums., 6. City on the Hill Terrarium, 7. Terrarium, 8. Moss Terrarium, 9. terrarium centerpiece

One of the projects not on my list is to make a little moss terrarium in a big jar I got at Ikea. I think that will be my weekend project this Saturday. Terrariums satisfy my love of miniatures and glass jars and moss all at once. I especially love the ones above with the little mushrooms and tiny houses. I think I will need to put something like that in my terrarium too. It also means that I will be going on a little hike to collect some local moss, that should be fun! This is the best time of year to head up the trail just up the road from our house.

I'm also starting to scheme and plan the curtains-over-the-bookcases project. I really love the Good Folks fabric line from Anna Maria Horner, and I'm seriously considering using a combination of these two pretty patterns:

I really love a lot of the new fabric designers, but when faced with actually buying their fabric I sort of freeze up. I have several problems. Number one: I just can't decide which I like best in any given group. What if I buy one print and then I get it home and realize that I actually really like a different one or a different colorway better. Number two: I don't feel like I can really make things for my shop out of them, because they are so well known that whatever design I come up with will never be quite worthy enough, and the item will only be purchased because of the fabric designer. Does that make sense? Like my design will be overshadowed by the fabulous-ness of the fabric. Or if I were to make a quilt all out of one line of fabric, it's not really very original of me. I'm just babbling, I don't know if I'm even making any sense. Anyway, what do you think of the above fabric choices? The curtains would be mostly the floral, with a deep hem of the geometric fabric at the bottom (like 18" or so). Or maybe I should go with a different fabric from that line...see how hard it is to commit!?

inspired

Oh it's so nice to spend my weekends in my little house studio. I set my iPod on shuffle, or turn on the portable DVD player, and just get to work. The quilt wall will be getting a lot of use, I hope. I sketched out an idea the week before last, and started playing around with it the last couple days.

It's lap or baby-sized, and I'm thinking there will be three or four more flowers. I wanted to use shot cotton, and originally thought I'd do the whole thing with all solid shot cotton colors, but the quilt shop didn't have any good, saturated pinks and greens like I wanted. I was so disappointed, until I wandered over to the batiks. I don't think of myself as a batik sort of person, but the colors just got me, so I'm giving it a try. I'll just be satisfied that only the background is shot cotton.

I also blocked my scarf, and am having a little fun playing with some Anthropologie-like embellishments from my vintage lace stash.

Since I wasn't feeling too great last week, about the only thing I did was knit. I stuck mostly to my orange sweater, but I thought I'd start a couple other, small-ish projects just to mix it up a little. When I cleaned out my yarn stash I decided I needed to find specific projects for the yarn I have, so now I have a half a dozen things to chose from. I started on a shrug, because I just happen to have the exact number of skeins of Homespun in a lovely, deep purple. I needed a size 10 cable needle, so I was searching through all my circular needles and it turns out I have four size 9 needles and not a one in size 10. I'm not sure how that happened. Anyone need a size 9 needle?

I also managed to finish up the needle books and pincushions for the shop. They were a lot of fun to make, so I hope they all find good homes.

this and that

It might be time for a numbered list, as I have several unrelated items to post.

1. I'm still slowly going through my fabric. Here is some helpful information if you need to de-clutter your fabric stash (I imagine it would work well for yarn or other craft supplies, too). The only thing I don't agree with totally is the part about doing it all at once. It can be an overwhelming task, and I tend to subscribe to the FlyLady philosophy-you can do anything for 15 minutes at a time.
2. Miep Gies turned 100 this month. I love her story, and all those stories of people like her who helped so many people during World War II. Also, Miep is the cutest name ever.
   This is a good opportunity to once again recommend The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It's not a true story, but still, it's so good, and just joyful, and it has to do with World War II. I think it's my favorite read of the past year.
3. I've been sick all week, so the only studio project I've managed to complete is the hanging of this sweet little clock from Decoylab.
   
4. I completely forgot to mention that the U.S. version of Softies is out (it was originally published in Australia). The new version is called Softies Only a Mother Could Love: Lovable Friends for You to Sew, Knit, or Crochet. It's such a great little book, I'm so glad even more people will get a chance to buy it.
   
   To see more of what's inside visit the Penguin Australia site, you can visit the sites of all the contributors and even upload your own creations to a gallery. I've also amended the Flickr group to include both versions of the book, so please join and show off your softies!
5. Sally came for a visit today while I was puttering in the little house. Please do not notice the dirty floor and scratched up door (you probably wouldn't have if I hadn't pointed those things out). I can't be bothered to vacuum or paint at the moment (see #3, above, for my excuse).
   
   

brought to you by the color orange (and a little turquoise)

I woke up on day three of my three-day weekend with a killer sore throat. I already had a cold this Winter, so I'm not sure what the purpose of that was, but it was annoying. So I've been laying about, and between naps, did a little knitting. I'm powering my way through that to-do list, and started on my sweater. Originally, this yarn (Berroco Ultra Alpaca) was going to be an Assemblage sweater, which I love and still want to make, but because this yarn is alpaca, and therefore very soft, when I knit the patterned cuff you couldn't see much of a pattern. So I think it will be much better suited for the Diminishing Rib Cardigan in the latest Interweave Knits.

This is the first time I've knit a top-down sweater, but I think it might be my new favorite thing-no seams, try it on as you go, and easily adjust to fit! I also learned a new cast-on for this, the tubular cast-on. It was a little tricky, and I admit, it took about four attempts to get it right, but it makes sense now, and it does make for a nice edge. If you try it out here are my tips: 1. Use straight needle to cast on, and then transfer to your cable needles if you're using them, the cable created all kinds of problems for me, and 2. It will look like a big mess at first, but just give it a few rows, and it will work itself out.

Also in orange, the shot cotton scarves I mentioned last time:

I might be a little obsessed with this fabric, although I don't think I can do it justice in a photograph.

One last bit of orange (and white) for your amusement, someone found the catnip stash and had herself a little party:

 

Later we found her looking for pop tarts (the last paragraph of that news story cracked me up).

And now on to the turquoise. I painted my picture frame, which will eventually be an inspiration board, but it needs some help.

 

It's a little darker than I hoped, and also a little flat. I'd like it to be more the color of my tray, but I'm not sure what to do to get it there. Maybe a watered down greenish glaze? And a clear, glossy coat of paint? Any ideas?

And thanks for all the little pep talks about my bookcases on Apartment Therapy. I'm not letting the haters get me down, and really, the nice comments you left for me here more than made up for the snarky ones over there!

love

I hope you are all had a LOVEly Valentine's Day! We don't go to crazy around here, a bucket of KFC and maybe a card or some flowers is the norm, but Mr. HeyLucy was feeling virtuous yesterday and decided to forgo the usual fried chicken indulgence. We made prime rib instead, and it was delicious.

I have some happy gifts for you: a few fun little game links. Gatuno is a cute adventure game. You are a cat trying to find a sad little boy a Christmas present. Wrong holiday, but the sentiment is the same. If you find that one too frustrating (and there is a walk-through available here, in the comments), here's a super simple adventure created as a project by an animation student. The music and imagery are quite nice, even if it takes only about a minute to play the entire game. This isn't actually a game, but it's fun to watch (make sure you have your sound on!). Hema is a Dutch store that I loved when I lived there, sort of like a smaller version of Target. And the most imaginative of all, I've saved for last. Samorost is so original and lovely. It wasn't too hard to figure out, and the graphics and sounds are just so perfect. It's a nice little escape.

I've decided to do a small project or two towards the completion of my studio project each weekend, and use the rest of my free time for actually playing and enjoying the space. The projects for this weekend included putting up a shelf above my worktable:

 

I'll be using it to display art. I have a few things awaiting frames right now, and a tiny Amy Ruppel painting on the way, so I'll show more when things are nicely arranged and displayed. I also recently ordered some Black Apple paper dolls. I spent yesterday cutting and mounting them in Ikea frames, and I love they way they came out. I hung them right where I set up my ironing board when I need it, so I can enjoy them while I iron.

 

 

So far this weekend I've also finished knitting my latest scarf, made a couple more shot-cotton scarves for gifts, and started a new quilt. I'm planning on spending a good amount of time in my sewing machine chair, so I hope to have a quilt top to show you soon. The crocheted cushion is courtesy of one of my favorite internet people ever, Yvonne. It was part of our annual Christmas swap and I love it with the cushion I've got on there.

 

Now I just need to decide on a color to paint the chair. What do you think? Maybe it's time for an opinion poll.

Thanks for always bing so nice around here. A couple pictures from my home were recently featured on Apatment Therapy, which is incredibly flattering, but the commenters over there are awfully full of snark. I don't really understand why anyone would take time out of their day to criticize something as personal as another persons home, but I suppose it's their decision how they use their time.

another check mark

Saturday I devoted my whole day to thrift shopping/antique mall-ing in search of a dresser for the studio. Mission accomplished!

If you'll recall, it was on my Complete the Studio to-do list. Also on the list is Paint the dresser. I'm tired of painting at the moment, and it's been raining for four days, so painting is not going to be a high priority for awhile. I can live with it like this for a good, long while, actually. It would be better if it was a brighter white, to match the walls, but I can deal for now. The shape is just what I wanted, and the size is perfect. I love the handles, and, while I didn't really want anything too shabby chic or distressed, the little painted swags on the drawers are kind of sweet.I also didn't think I needed a side table, but when I saw that little white one for $45 I kind of had to get it, and it turns out that it's really coming in handy.

I managed to thin out my yarn stash, and fit nearly everything in the bottom drawer. There are a few balls of sock yarn in one of the top drawers, and it's so nice that it's all safe from those pesky cats. I decided to display part of my creamer collection on a tray on top.

 

I need to find some small projects for the odd balls of yarn. What do you do when you have leftover yarn or orphan skeins?

Once the dresser was organized I was so inspired by my pretty new space, I worked on some treats for the shop. There's a couple peepers in there right now, and I hope to have some pincushion/needlebook sets by the end of the week. It's so nice to work out there now. It's a small room (barely 10'x14'), but I've got so much of my junk organized and cleaned out that it's just so easy to work. 

 

And, since you haven't seen this fuzzy face for awhile, I leave you with the one and only Winston:

 

I can't take it when he looks at me like that. I had the day off today, and spent it in the studio with the rain and then snow blowing and blustering outside, and I had to let this muddy thing in because I felt sorry for him. I hope my carpet will come clean.

scarf series II sneak peek

I still have a ways to go on this scarf, but I think it's pretty, so I wanted to show it off even though it's not done. I love the asymmetry of it. The pattern is the Juliet scarf from  Knitting Little Luxuries. I've been knitting in little blocks of time here and there, and it's steadily growing.

Those little blocks of time are like tonight, after a nearly two hour drive home because it started raining, and a quick change into pj's and hopping into bed to catch up on some favorite shows online. Heavenly!

Also, you may have noticed that my photos are quite bright, despite the fact that it is 10 pm. I owe this amazing display of light all to my new little friend, the Nikon SB-400 Speedlight. I bounced the flash off the ceiling for these two pictures, nothing more complicated then that. I feel like I've opened a whole new world for photography in the evenings after work with this handy little tool.

progress report

Now the progress on the studio is slower as I do little things here and there. I feel like I worked so hard this weekend, and there's not a lot to show for it. I still have a lot more fabric to sort through and fold to go in the left bookcase. The baskets up top need some tidying up as well, but it's looking much nicer than it did before.

I solved my light switch problem, although I didn't, perhaps, choose the easiest solution. I changed out the switches altogether for new, white paddle switches, and found this sweet little switch plate at my favorite Ace Hardware for only $4.49. It had an antique finish, so I painted it white.

Changing out the switches isn't too hard. Each one had two wires, so I took the top wire out of the old switch, and put it in the top hole of the new switch, then did the bottom wire so there was no chance of messing it up. The main thing to remember is to shut off the power!

I also installed the hooks, which were on sale at Anthropologie. They didn't come with any visible way to hang them, so I improvised by nailing picture hangers on the backs and hanging them from sturdy nails. They're mostly for holding my knitting project bags, so they didn't have to be super sturdy, although they are quite solidly in place, I must say.

I picked out a doorknob while I was there as well. The deciding factor was the fact that this one was on sale for $14.95. It helps that I do love milk glass.

It, too, was a little tricky to install, but that's the great thing about Ace, you go in with your problem, and they walk you right through the solution. I had to get screws to mount it, and there was a little grumbling and growling as I tried to fit everything together. A third hand would have been helpful, but I'm now quite confident in my doorknob installation abilities.

One last project was to place grommets in this quilt design wall I have (it's really just a piece of thick flannel or felt, my husband bought it for me from Keepsake Quilting, I believe) and then put cup hooks along one wall so I can easily hang it up and take it down. This was one of those projects that was a tiny bit harder than I expected, but came out exactly as I envisioned, so the frustration was worth it. Cup hooks are not easy to screw into wood.

The grommets are actually plastic, and I found them at Joann. You just cut a circle out of the fabric and snap the two halves of the grommets together, no special tools needed! They were a little pricey ($10 for eight), but I had my 40% off coupon, so it wasn't bad.

So here's another cheap decorating tip: sales and coupons are your friends! This takes patience, and it's also good to have a plan. I tend to think very carefully about how I want a room to look, and realize that I can't rush it. Once you've figured that out, you can accumulate the things you want over time rather than going on a crazy, expensive shopping spree. When I try to get too much at once I tend to make costly mistakes. So bit-by-bit, and watch for sales and coupons. If you're in the U.S. and not on the Joann mailing list, get on it! They send coupons regularly. For California residents with a Beverly's fabrics nearby, ditto that. They do theirs via e-mail, and it's not as frequent, but still worth getting.

I have lots more fun projects coming up, and I'm going to need some opinions, so I hope you won't mind if I ask what you think over the next couple weeks. I actually made myself a to-do list for this year in lieu of any formal resolutions, and the majority have to do with this studio project. I'm posting it here for reference:

To-do list for 2009

Grow mushrooms
Make Kheer (Indian Rice Pudding)
Clean the microwave
Get some new chicks (2 Araucanas, 2 Cuckoo Marans, 2 Rhode Island Reds or 2 Barred Rocks)
Make myself a sweater
Finish my studio:

•   Slipcover chair
•   Make window coverings
•   Find a dresser
•   Paint the dresser pink
•   Collect and frame art to display
•   Install shelf above work table
•   Find vintage metal stool   
•   Hang plate collection in an artful display
•   Paint ornate picture frame and turn it into an inspiration board (turquoise?)
•   Make drapes to cover shelves-possibly patchwork?
•   Come up with a clever name
•   Put up quilt design wall
•   Find a rug (possibly this striped rug from Ikea?)
•   Make fabric cover for my sewing machine

Train Winston to do tricks or herd sheep
Vacuum every week
Lose 30 more pounds
Learn to make creme brulee
    (not sure how the previous two items will work together)
Take more pictures
Make a quilt
Design a pair of socks (knee socks! with Scandanavian-style colorwork! I can picture them in my head)
Clean out and paint laundry room
Make more things for my Etsy shop
Make French Macarons

And one last thing, completely unrelated to all this, I wanted to share a music video. This is my brother, and the song is from his new CD, which you can pre-order at www.caryjudd.com. I've been lucky enough to hear the songs as he's recorded them, and this is, by far, his best music ever. I'm pretty sure it's going to be my favorite album of 2009, so you really should think about getting it. I guarantee you won't be disappointed!