Friday, April 27, 2007

Putting aside one for the other...

I've been putting all my focus on one thing lately which has resulted in neglecting my knitting .

Any & all chances I have I'm here...


caressing, banging, sliding, crashing & escalating...

to master this piece in order to accompany Breana. Our Violin Concert is around the corner, will I make it? For a breather, I practice the other recital pieces I'll be accompanying. I dive into the crescendos, I float with the sweet melody, I crash during a mistake and I gush when my heart strings sing w/ the notes.

I slip into my 'happy place'. I get sucked into the song, the conversation, the idle chit-chat, the dance, the angst and the release. I let the notes linger in the air and float up to the heavens. My ears ache when the notes crash to the ground with a boom and I'm left empty. To refill I work on those measures over & over & over again in order to gain satisfaction.

I enjoy spending time with my Hardman, my beloved piano that I favored when I was younger. And that's where I will spend the rest of my morning!

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Reasons to love our beach town...

Turning temporary pedestrian walkways into galleries displaying young local artist's work...
that make you stop & ponder...
or allow you to keep on walking with a smile on your face...

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Epitome of 'blissful treats'

A friend, Elena, is always so thoughtful, especially during Easter. We love our knitted Easter bunnies! Elena took the time to knit bunnies and give them out to numerous people - in the meantime she was renovating one home, packing up another and taking care of her two children, 2 goats and 2 dogs while letting our Violin program consume her life & property one day a week. She is kind, giving & sweet!

She also spoiled me with these delectable petits fours! I brought them camping with us - well, I didn't know they were so beautiful and delicious! I selflessly shared them amongst the 7 of us while secretly & deeply wishing that I had left them home for my own private consumption. How could I have known that they would be so adorable and so soft & moist!
But it's good to share, right?
I did the right thing, no?

Blissful treats - yes!

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Yarn & Friendship

A few years back a handful of friends & I gathered once a week in the morning at each other's homes. The kids were at school, the husbands at work and the homes empty. We'd knit, chat & eat wonderful morning treats. However, we discovered that one can only knit scarves at such a gathering. Working with a pattern was too involved and caused you to either mess up the pattern because you were trying to follow & contribute to a conversation or resulted in you shutting yourself off from everyone so that you can concentrate. In other words, a lot of scarves were made that year!
Sometimes I miss the gatherings - the chats around beautiful baskets filled with colorful skeins - the clanking of the needles beneath the chatter - the yummy treats straight out of the oven - the wonderful women to share a morning with.
It was a morning where nothing was more important than the needles in your hands and the friends sitting by your side. A morning where the dishes stayed stacked in the sink, the dust settled and the beds remained unmade.
Good times...

Hurry - the suns out!

Blue/green day because the sun was out and when the sun is out I start to think about the ocean, smell the seaweed, hear the crashing waves and squint because of the powerfully bright sun!
And I move far away from black days...

when it's too cold, too windy & too wet to hang laundry outside.

There's something theraputic about hanging laundry outside - the whole ordeal of starting early in the morning so the clothes won't get scorched, the walking the basket of wet laundry outside, the meticulous hanging of the items, the seeing the clothes billow in the breeze from the corner of my eyes, the taking down of the laundry just as it becomes dry and soft not dried to a crisp and the folding of the laundry that smells like the sun.

Simple
Requires patience
Soaks up the sun's goodness

Monday, April 16, 2007

Bag in progress

Driving on Highway 1 my knitting bag was at my feet w/ skeins & skeins of yarn looking up at me. For days this bag sat at my feet and was moved from one end to the other but I was too consumed with being in the moment until...
all of a sudden I got in the mood. We settled down for our last night away and my needles started clicking away. Below me was this scene and every so often I'd look up to this view
at Bullfrog Pond Campground.
*
Deep breath,
Click click click,
Soak in all that is good & pure,
Change yarn,
Deep breath...
Click click click...

Saturday, April 07, 2007

Chosen project

I've decided that it is too complicated to bring a sewing project while camping. I am going to take with me a project that for the most part will allow me to do while driving, while soaking in the view, while watching my girls explore and while holding a conversation with my husband. This project has been sitting in a bag for 6 months! The book was renewed from the library the maximum amount of times allowed and has since been returned. It hasn't been available to borrow since!

Thursday, April 05, 2007

She's back in the saddle again...

I haven't thrifted in a long time (aside from costumes) because I have been trying to be good. My studio is still in disaray, remember?
But when I drop off books at the library I always have to peruse through their sale tables - this time I found these...
We already have my childhood copy of Konigsburg's book. I like having more than 1 copy laying around so I can read (or re-read) books alongside my girls. I remember liking that book when I was younger and reading it over & over again.
Can't beat 50 cents - $1.00 books! (Yeah!)

After breakfast of poached eggs on toast and a white mocha w/ a dear friend we popped into our favorite thrift store and found this cute tic-tac-toe game! 3 dimensional! If you lose one way, you can win another! It's a lose-win situation!
($2.50! That's a win-win!)
Then after poking our heads into the art studio where Mackerilla bags are made and after taking a peek at Alicia's blog. I got excited!
No, I didn't purchase these today. I found them in the fabric pile in my studio. I don't think I'll be knitting this spring break...


...underneath all my fabric I found this top!

Where have you been my whole life?!!!! How did you get mixed up into the abyss of fabric and treated like an outcast?!

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Getting excited about being creative

I'm getting real excited about new projects!

A few years ago I embroidered on tablecloths - crisp white, delicate & simple tablecloths purchased in San Francisco Chinatown. I made my own patterns and embroidered tiny tips and forget-me-nots. Then out of nowhere, I stopped.

I'm thinking it's time to revamp my white dishcloths...and others...Saw this book today. Included with the sweet pictures were patterns. I didn't purchase the book, I walked away...I'm going to sit back and dream of what will soon be!

Monday, April 02, 2007

Sonoma Art & Wine Faire

The warm weather & bright sun we have been surrounded with the last couple of days has me dreaming about how I'll spend the lazy dazy days of summer.
So, I'm back tracking a little bit to last summer......Bay Area Artist