Knit.

One of the prezzies my sons gave me for Xmas is this lovely book:

 I have just completed one of the projects - a dishcloth.

I tripled up the 100% unbleached cotton yarn to get a chunkier look. Rather yummy, I think. Actually, I don't think I will use it to wash the dishes just yet ...

A Xmas wish.

The gammon is finished.
The chicken is finished.
The last lick of Xmas trifle has been licked.
... burp ...
So all that remains for me is to wish you a ...

 Yappy Xmas, everybody!

xxx Snous and Anairam.

Queer but Cute Quilt..

I dare you to say that fast. Hahahahaha!!!!!! See, I told you!

This is my newest effort. Using the pojagi method and a bit of decorative stitching, I made this quiilt ...

...




















and now use it to cover a cushion on a low stool in my livingroom. The different fabrics I used have special meaning for me - one is a piece of cloth given to me by a lovely friend (and intrepid traveller - geographically and emotionally)  when she came back from Zanzibar; one is from an old but loved pair of pyjama pants, another from a tango dress; another from a pair of jeans that became so frayed from wear that I had to cut it off. The brown check is from the very first cushion I made for myself when I left home and moved into a flat 31 years ago. We have all come a long way.

The Figures in the Mirror - Part IV

For Part I see here.
For Part II see here.
For Part III see here.
And now Part IV, in which the issue of balls is once again uppermost in our characters' minds ...

 

Paper birds.

I have tried my hand at a paper cut-out again. I think it went a little better than my previous disaster.

I have mounted it on another sheet of white paper, about 1/2 a cm away (using those adhesive foam bits) - the idea is that if a light shines on it the front will form shadows on the back. If you know what I mean.

Moleskine full.

Last doodles ...

Things I drink ...

 

Connections.

New(ish) doodles.

Have a great weekend, dear friends. Try not to worry too much about the complications of life. Have a nap instead.

New Acquisitions #19

Even in the midst of a Serious Editing Project there is always time for a visit to the car boot sale.

A small Japanese-style teapot with two tea cups. Perfect for jasmine tea.

Some old envelopes with stamps for collage projects. And a few reels of cotton thread. For who knows what.

 Only when I got home and unpacked my purchases did I realize that there was a subconscious selection of colours going on. Isn't it fascinating how the brain stores information without you realizing it, and manipulates you secretly to use the information that you were not even aware of?

The Figures in the Mirror - the story continues ...

For Part I see here.
For Part II see here.

and now ... Part III ...

Have a great weekend, everyone. Hold (or have) a ball!

List-it-Tuesday

aimee and others have been posting a list every Tuesday. Of course, when I had lots of time, I had no time to do it; now that I have no time, I find it imperative to make lists and write about it. That is because I am in the midst of an Editing Project. This always happens. I am used to it, and if you ever find yourself in my situation, here is a handy list of things to do to procrastinate.

PS I have done all of the above today. I also picked up my medication, had lunch at Casa Labia, and walked the dog. Now I am finally ready to start working. But it is 5:47 pm, so I am just going to have to wait until 6 pm.

Books.

Forgive me if I have books on my mind. I am editing the first of the three that will keep me busy over the next couple of months, so books are kind of topical right now.
But fear not, dear Reader! This post is not about these books, but about two others that I acquired over the last month or two.

Very, very handy, this one. Especially now that I seem to have developed a thing for stitchcraft. (Which rhymes with witchcraft.  Not that that is of any relevance. Though it does make me want to write a story about a witch called Mildred who has a passion for embroidery ...)

This one (published in 1964) is really about designing, and not so much about embroidery, but I just love the illustrations.

Have a great weekend, everyone! Read a book!

I Can Fly.

I made a new doll.

And just in case people don't get her, I've put a label on her wing.

Mostly people don't get me. I sometimes wonder if I should stick a label on my forehead saying something like quirkess* or weirdo or beware: abnormal. Do you think it would help or would it confuse people even more?

* This is not a word.  I made it up.
PS The first of the three books I have to edit over the next few months has arrived. I am immersed in Doppler effects and Huygens's Principle. Have pity on me.

The sad piano stool - a short story.

One day (not so very long ago) there was a sad piano stool.
If you looked like this ...

... you would also be sad.

Then one day his life changed!!
Anairam took an offcut of upholstery fabric and embroidered it with black cotton yarn.

She used it to make a cushion.
Then she put the cushion on the piano stool.

And now he is a happy piano stool.
The End.

On Aesthetics, Ants, Adoption and Cadavers.

Time for some brain food. To battle the vacivity* of mind. And I bet you are just itching to find out what aesthetics, ants, adoption and cadavers have to do with one another.

Not much, actually. Except that they are subjects of different articles/books I have been reading over the last couple of weeks.

• Which "aesthetics" do you mean? Ten definitions - I recently purchased this book by Leonard Koren (author of wabi-sabi). It is a short treatise, consisting of 10 different definitions for the term "aeshetics" (i.t.o. appearance, style, taste, as a philosophy of art, a thesis or exegesis, a synonym for artistic, beauty, beautification, a cognitive mode, and a language.)
• Are ants industrious little workers, teachers to us all, benificent saints, or teeny, tiny Nazis? I found this article about the entemologist  E.O. Wilson illuminating, and frankly, a little scary. I may want to read his novel, Anthill, now.
• An article about working with cadavers - about time that they are treated with a little respect, I would say ...
• And finally, a fun site. Yes, you can adopt too! (*this one is mine)

A Change.

From this ...

(ugly still-unpainted wall and yucky torn plastic)

to this ...

(Anairam's version of pojagi - made from an old sample book of discontinued curtain fabrics and a few other bits and pieces.)

Inspired by annekata's post on pojagi here.

I just love annekata's projects and informative posts - she has awakened in me an interest in sewing by hand. It is incredibly meditative. So much so that at times I even forget about The Neighbour's Horrible House.

Land art.

Last week I spent a day doing a land art workshop with artist Andree Bonthuys at Die Kelders and Platbos.

"simple creative acts of walking and marking 
about place, locality, time, distance and measurement"      (Richard Long on land art)

Hand-sewn Nest (probably about my recent obsession with hand-sewing) - I left a treasure inside the nest for someone to find.

Target = Red (definitely about my obsession with collecting, sorting, categorizing)

Magic Ladder (hmmmm, about filling in spaces, a habit of mine?)

Other land artists I admire: Andy Goldsworthy,   Strijdom van der Merwe,    Robert Smithson

Sticks and Stones.

Can you guess what I did this Thursday?

The figures in the Mirror - part II

(For part I - see here). The story continues and takes an unexpected twist ...

New Acquisitions #18 (or Tiny Things with Wings).

(Figures in the Mirror will continue on Monday. The story has taken quite a disturbing and shocking turn! I am doing four or five pages at a time, with no preconceived story line whatsoever, and I am really not sure how it will all turn out ...)
For now, a confession: I have been a bad, bad girl and have acquired many new things. I will post three of them today and the rest later. I purchased these three items at the local Methodist church bazaar. Don't you just love a church bazaar? They seem such happy places. I don't find churches themselves very happy places, but maybe that's just me. But oh, a bazaar! Women tossing pancakes, the smell of boerewors rolls, weird crafty things like pot holders and toilet roll covers, tombola tables. Old ladies selling raffle tickets. And cupcakes. What's not to love? I found these in the 50c bin:

A tiny plastic bird. It is currently positioned on the frame of my limited edition William Kentridge lithograph. It is a comment on the relative value of things. If you knew what my WK is worth now, you will know what I mean.



















A tiny porcelain bird. It is perched on the post of my dressing table. At night it flutters off and brings back interesting dreams for me to dream. Nifty, hey? You should get one.

A tiny porcelain angel. She is praying, as you can see. I didn't really want her, but she looked so sad and lonely left in that 50c box with several pink plastic pigs and an odd assortment of Lego; I swear I could see the little tears trickling down her cheeks. So she came home with me. Unfortunately I dropped her as I picked her up to photograph her, and oh dear, her neck broke. Clean off. Which just goes to show that praying may not be all it is cut out to be. Luckily, unlike those incompetent king's horses and men, L'Usband managed to put her together again. She is now ensconced safely in my display cabinet, where she shares a shelf with three pigs. At least they are not plastic.

The Figures in the Mirror.

Remember my mini magazine journals?
I am busy making a new one - and a story seems to be emerging ...

Who knows how it will end?
I'll keep you updated.

One year.

Today, exactly one year ago, we fetched Snous from the Animal Rescue Service.
We celebrated today by taking her for breakfast to the Sweetest Thing, where she had half a vienna and two tiny bites of croissant. After brekkie we took her for a scenic walk above Simon's Town, and then back home where she relaxed on her pillow; then another walk with lots of sniffs, and finally a special supper. And lots of cuddles in between, obviously.

Snous on her favourite spot - the front window sill where she can observe all the comings and goings in the neighbourhood.
Happy adoption birthday, Snous. Thank you for a year of laughter & joy, my dear doggie ...

Offrenda.

This year I made a very simple shrine. Photos of my mom and dad, and a few mementoes - a handkerchief of my mom's, the memoir my dad wrote and finished shortly before his death, my mom's pink and black plastic beads that I will always associate with her. No flowers, just a mint plant. For food, a simple dish of small pears.

Last year's was quite different.  I wonder why?