Spring Cleaning

Spring is here, and it’s been a month of cleaning up, clearing out, assessing life and implementing new strategies around here lately. I feel the need for a list!

I finally found a new doctor- Yaay! Who diagnosed me with Type 2 Diabetes. Ick.   Which has lead to…

A new diet and exercise regime. Yaay! Been trying to do this for ages it seems. Loads more veggies, whole grains and lean protein. It just feels so…right.

I’ve started a new quilt! The fabric gathering has begun. Pinks, violets, greens and light browns. Yummy!

Found a new Potting Bench for the wee-small garden at the thrift shop this week:

Yes, yes- it’s really just a T.V. tray- but it’s a glorious rich solid wood one, perfect condition- just needed a little oil and elbow grease to spiff her up! Lovely.

So…lots to do, lots to see, lots of places to go. Gotta get back into a daily schedule around here. Here’s a peek at what my mornings look like nowadays. Back soon with more tales from the Magickal side of life…

A new Idea…

Cobbwebb stalked down the trail, daring the woods to impede her progress.
No, no, no! I want a faeries tale!
Ok.
About market day in the village.
Alright.
Only it’s got to be Market Day- and it’s got to be in the Village Square!
Umm… who’s telling this story?
You are.
Ok.
…
Well, go on, tell it!
I’m thinking it up- takes a moment, you know?
Oh, alright! I’ll tell it.
Go ahead then.
All right- I will! There was a Market Day in the Village Square.
Then what?
I hadn’t got that far.
Shall I then?
Yes, please.
Alright then. Once Apon A Time…the Village was holding it’s Bi-Annual Faire, filled with stalls and tents and tables and events and goods from all the crofters from miles around…

October!

Gosh I love this time of year!The pumpkin patches are finally up, Pumpkins and squash are heaped in piles in the market, the leaves are spinning down, the earth goes to bed earlier, and everyone longs for a weekend in the mountains…
No baking yet this week- it’s been too hot to turn the oven on! Lots of crafting though:

Finished Tasha’s new Morris Pillow this morning- it’s made from the leftovers of the Shower Curtain I made a few weeks back. After piecing together strips and blocks I put some iron-on interfacing to the back, both to plump it up and also to enhance it’s quilty-ness. Then I put a regular old bed pillow in and sewed it up. Perfect! It goes quite nicely with the new Fall themed dishes I picked up early last month, too…
I also finally- finally!- perfected my new Pixie Pouches pattern! I’ll have pictures to post of that later this week, but basically it’s my knitted bag recipe. I started the process last Fall, believe it or not…
The only other thing I have going at the moment is a pretty major Job Search- time to get these oars back into the water and find some regular work! And no, I’m not giving up on The Dream- it’s just time to realize certain paths didn’t pan out, and time to get back on the Road…

Fall sewing- and a Hobbit or two…

Mama’s little helper:

We (she owns half of everything brought into this house!) bought some new fabric for a few very special Fall projects.

High loft interfacing. A very important part of my crafting!

Lots of yummy Fall colours!

Some of you might remember this little guy. I made hima few years back, but now he’s so apropo! It’s my version of a hobbit- right down to his little vest and pants! Now all he needs are some hairy feet…

Happy Weekending everyone!

Follow your heart…

Today is the last Friday of June, and I’m transferring over the last of the posts I’ve written for Magickwyrds since June of 2010 into my PC. I’ll be spending the first few weeks of July editing and formatting those files and making them into a book. It’s something I’ve had in the back of my mind since I started this blog- turning it into a book. I spent some time this spring researching the different on-line options, but I’ve decided to d it myself. It’s just a vague outline right now, but the first step is done- turning the posts into files on my computer. The next step is to decide what the pages of the book will look like and format the files to fit that image. I intend to do just one copy for myself, with a Japanese stab-binding (which I think is the most elegant of my options), a hand-bound linen covered davey board cover, and maybe some handmade paper end-papers.

I had a lot of trouble finding a source that would print the book to fit the image of it’s online formatting. I chose the colours and font of the blog myself, based on my favourite colours, and I was getting frustrated with the limited choices of the companies I found on-line. I fussed around with this project last summer, but didn’t come up with the idea a Japanese binding for it until this year. Oddly enough I found the idea in Bookcraft: Techniques for Binding, Folding, and Decorating to Create Books and More by Heather Weston, which I’ve read before, but this time one of the projects just jumped off the page and screamed at me- or maybe that was just the Faeries getting tired of hearing me fuss about “that dratted book” again…

Anyway- that’s the project for this summer. I hope to get it finished by my birthday- it’ll be my present to myself. In the meantime, I should let you all know that I’m thinking of changing the formatting of the blog this year- after I finish the book probably, unless I get brave. I’ve spent three years with this look, and I’ve read tons of other bloggers, and in that time I’ve gotten many ideas of how to make my little blog better. I think it’s time I made some improvements to this space.

So here’s a toast- to grand ideas! great expectations! and dreaming big! Happy Summer everyone… now get out there and follow your heart!

New Beginnings…

 

We’ve moved!

     It took a year to discover our last home wasn’t a good fit for us, and five long years to find one that is. Turns out all it takes is one plumbing disaster, 3 months of drywalling, and one incredible leap of faith.

     Our new apartment has less square footage, but way more space and sunshine! No more dark photos people! Case in point:

     We actually are done unpacking boxes, I just need to fit two minutes together to take some pictures of our new place. We love it here, it is a much better fit for our little family. Tasha has LOADS of sunshine to loll about in, my husband has a much safer area to bicycle in, and I get much better lighting to do my crafting in! And there are lots of other reasons too, but I will save those for later. Right now I have to go clean up the debris from the all-nighter the faeries pulled when they found out the Lady Mage’s House was back under construction…

Goodness this is easy!

Too easy, methinks. This could get addictive... So, a new blog. What's it about? My world is a never ending round of crafting, cooking, cleaning, and reading. Oh, my yes, the reading. Words are...magic, around here, hence the Blog Title. Anything your heart desires can be found in a book, and so here we are. Dollhouse miniatures, sewing- clothes and books, darling! This book, in particular, has been seeing a lot of action around here lately- Miniatures: How to Make Them, Use Them & Sell Them by Phyllis Meras.

Crafting, Sewing, Housekeeping, Homekeeping, people keeping, cat keeping- you'll see it all here eventually. For now, I want to show you a little something I call the Lady Mages' House. Its one of the dollhouse puzzles I've found at the local craft store.

So far, so good, but needs a little something, no? Stay tuned, craft-believers, there's more to meet the eye in this saga...