Take that spring

I spent yesterday working in the studio. I've realized that my idea that I could use the same table for jewelry and craft projects as I use for sewing, was not very well thought out. I'm never really at an ending point to clean up all that accumulates there, and even if I was I'm not sure where it would all reside while I use the table for sewing. I need to keep my eye out for something else. A lot of people sew on the floor, but I can't quite imagine how this works.Then again, I'm not the most coordinated person in the world. I listened to The Reindeer Section the whole time. It's been a really long time since I've listened to them. Whenever I put it on,after a long time, I always think,"Oh where have you been?". If you visit the site, I recommend listening to Your Sweet Voice. A wonderfully cohesive collaboration before Gary Lightbody was "discovered" by Grey's Anatomy.

Primary Colors

Yes, Devin chose that cheesy,if appropriate title. I was feeling so good about blogging in the new year. And then I got the flu again. This time is was a different kind of flu. And by different, I mean the kind that leaves you ten pounds lighter. Ahem. Well, on to more pleasant things. I wanted to share this great coat rack that I found on clearance at Anthropologie. We both have an insane number of coats and jackets,plus grocery bags,etc., so additional hanging space was really needed. Plus,it's more immediate than where we normally hang our coats,which (hopefully) will help us resist the urge to pile everything on a dining room chair.


As you can see, the kitchen is bright yellow and white. Recently, red has become a regular accent color. I hope to share some more of the red in my kitchen,including another great Anthro clearance item.



I also wanted to share some of the handmade that was given this Christmas. Outside of my jewelry Hannah was the recipient of the most. This is the collage I gave her for her new apartment:



One of her other requests was for coasters that "look like your stuff". I was a little pressed for time and experimentation,so I actually used these with my own images. Here is one of them:


We enjoyed a big day out today, mostly full of fun for Ramona. Getting lots of attention while we make a return to JCrew, running off leash, hiking,and the dog park. Needless to say she's pooped. We're a little pooped too. Nose to the grindstone tomorrow,though because I have some sweet items for Valentine's Day to show you.

keyhole

Just a little corner of my home I wanted to share.

feng shui & Wendell Berry

I've been feeling a bit claustrophobic lately. Sometimes I feel as is I am being smothered by things. You'd think with the moving of the past years that we would have cut down on the things we've accumulated, and we did, but maybe not enough. I think part of this feeling came from finally getting all my project stuff out of the dining room, which has been it's temporary place for the summer, as the studio has been over 100 degrees. It felt so good to get it out of the way and to finally be able to see the surface of the dining room table and potentially eat there. However, the feeling began to fade as I faced my studio, which now has piles of things that need a place to be. Moving a mess from one place to another is not the same as eliminating a mess, nor is it as satisfying.

I've been reading a book of essays on the life and work of Wendell Berry.One of the essays, called The Art of Buying Nothing, is by Barbara Kingsolver. In it, she paraphrases Berry's standards for technological innovation.
1. The new tool should cost less than the one it replaces.
2. It should be at least as small as the one it replaces.
3. It should do better work.
4. It should use less energy.
5. Ideally it should use some form of solar energy, such as that of the body.
6. It should be repairable by a person of ordinary intelligence.
7. It should be purchasable and repairable as near to home as possible.
8. It should come from a small shop that will take it back for repair.
9. It should not replace ot disrupt anything good that already exists, and thins includes family and community relationships.
I realize that many of these guidelines are easier said than done for those of us in the modern world. Berry, who writes his books without a computer saying, " I would hate to think that my work as a writer could not be done without direct dependence on strip mined coal." But it does make me think about all that STUFF we accumulate and spend so much time organizing, buying more stuff to facilitate the organizational process.

In the new Domino there is an article detailing a writer's experience with feng shui. Looking at the diagram of the 8 point feng shui system, I realized that our refrigerator was in our money space, and that I have been avoiding some seriously sketchy glass yogurt containers in there for a long time. Next to the fridge is a badly placed trashcan. Kind of as a joke, and kind of because you have to face those yogurt containers sometime, I cleaned out the fridge and rearranged some things in the kitchen. I also cleaned off the bookshelf that had becaome the landing ground for bills and mail (our career corner- it could use some help). There were quite a few other jobs that I'd been avoiding, but finally tackled filling bags with things to donate. We've been making jokes about how that clean freezer will help our prosperity. More than that, I think is that doing these things, maintaining order, eliminating things, makes me feel so much lighter. Whether you believe in the powers of feng shui or regard it as new age hype, I think that lightness sure counts for a lot.

clean

finds on the line

It's been a long, hot, busy day, but I wanted to post some photos of my favorite finds from the thrift store this weekend. Here they all are drying on the clothesline. Oh, how I love hanging clothes on the line.Better yet, is how they smell when they come inside.

In the current issue of Martha Stewart Living
, there was a nice little tutorial for making a summer bag out of a lone pillowcase. I didn't have any orphaned ones around the house, so I was on the hunt when I was shopping. There were a few good contenders, but this was perfect:

I'm actually kind of glad that it was a loner at the store, because otherwise I would've have wanted to use them on a bed and not for the project. You can view the tutorial here.

Off for a late evening walk with my boy and my dog...

Happy Mother's Day