Staring at birds, animals, and flowers

One of my favorite things to do, (and it's always been one of my favorite things) is to take in all the tiniest things, almost microscopic details that are easy to miss. These red flowers, for instance, are TINY. Looking down at them they look like closed, red swirls, nothing special, but they attract hummingbirds.

I became fascinated with these close-ups I took a few days ago - the colors, the light, the very weirdness of these little flowers...

I moved on to the wet green edges of leaves:

Beautiful succulents:

Then, I became obsessed with the red centers of Hibiscus flowers:

Moving closer:

And closer

Then I found the orange Hibiscus, bruised and wan from the sun, and was paralyzed by their ragged beauty as well:

Down to the tiny spider within them, that seemed to be sunbathing:

I'm loving the heat, the slow pace, and the weird universe of living things: birds, animals, insects, and flowers. I hope your summer is as filled with magic!

Hello from Texas

I am utilizing my last few free minutes of internet (courtesy of the SAPL, thank you, so much) to say a quick hello and introduce you to Lucy, the cutest dog on the planet. I emerged, stuffy nosed into our backyard yesterday to see this happy little face:

Of course, she belongs to someone else - no dog this cute could be unowned. But she is perfectly welcome to hang in our backyard anytime she wants her tummy scratched. But we do need to teach her it's not wise to try to take on the garbage truck. Although the garbage men were quite amused.

Not much to say except that I'm relaxing and enjoying my relaxing very much. Hope all is well with you guys, too!

Here I am!

Okay, here I am again, with a few words for you, and a few pics from my vacation a month ago. I must say I've been enjoying my break! The weather in NY has been so weird, so unusual, and I've been relishing every moment, like I'm inhabiting an alien, unfamiliar climate. It kind of reminds me of the wonderful cool weather we have every once in awhile in Texas, when a few rare summer rains descend.

There's this constant, lovely chill in the air lately, like standing by a river at night, like the air just as the sky opens up for rain...

Lately, I've been waking up super-early every single morning. I take long walks everywhere by myself, exploring new places, often just blocks away from my normal path. Usually I am so spooked by the NYC crowds, but I'm really, really feeling the energy of the city and... liking it.

Why, all this new energy all of a sudden? Well, I've been reading a lot and... writing! I've always wanted to write a novel, but never really had it in me to work steadily at it. But for the past 2 weeks I've been working every single day, thinking, writing, editing - I am amazed. I am beyond happy and inspired right now.

So, while, I'm not "back" back, in the sense that I am tied to my screen day and night, I feel "back" in terms of happiness and inspiration. I hope this summer brings so much of the same to all of you!!!

Wee internet break

I go in and out of phases when this internet thing feels strange and weird. You know, the sharing with total strangers, and the tug of war of what to share and what not to share. And the fear of anyone looking in on my little corner of the internet just to say something unkind or rankling.

These feelings are most acute when I come back from a vacation - when I've been away from my little silver pet for days and days, and I wonder honestly, what exactly am I doing here? So, maybe just a wee internet break while I get back into the swing of things. And evaluate what I'm sharing and not sharing. And why I'm here. And how much wonderful living I'm missing out on when I'm clicking and clacking away....

Hope you all are well, all of my friends out there! :)

Shucks.

Lottie was featured over at Mr X Stitch today and I'm all aglow. Thank you Bridget and Mr X Stitch! Needless to say, I heart your blog and I am moved beyond words.

So, I thought I'd share one of my 60's French faves with you, a little lovesong to say thanks. Sheesh. and shucks.

It also occurs to me that I never really said why I was drawn to Lottie and decided to stitch her - I'm drawn to unusual people of all kinds because I think of what a struggle it is to feel totally ordinary but have features that set you apart physically, that make people stop and stare. I think we can all relate to having something about us that makes us uncomfortable or that we wish we could change, or that makes us feel "freakish." But of course, ultimately, physical appearance is just one piece of the puzzle - it shapes who we are, but the person we are can be totally distinct.

What I loved about Badbird's pattern was the sweet and innocent expression and clothing she drew for Lottie. I imagine Lottie as a totally innocent, kind child who is aware of how others see her but unruffled by it. I also love the vintage lazy daisies in the border that Badbird drew, and decided to stitch everything in very sweet, pastel colors to emphasize, again, Lottie's sweetness. I loved how this pattern presents you with an unusual subject that makes you stop and think, juxtaposing the ordinary with the unusual. Thanks, Badbird, for the awesome pattern! :)

How close is TOO close?

This image is from Rob Ryan's blog

I recently did a post on Feeling Stitchy about an artist whose work was being altered just enough to look "similar, but different". The discussion took about 5,000 different turns as people analyzed every facet of the situation, but what I really wished we'd stuck to was this: "How close is TOO close?"

We've all seen "similar, but different" in advertising, art, fashion, and product design. Sadly, I see this is happening now to Rob Ryan (an amazing papercut artist) from a post on his blog. The artist acknowledges their work is inspired by Rob Ryan. But does an acknowledgment make selling such similar works right? (Note: If you scroll through the comments, there is some debate as to whether or not the artist sells the cuts - some say yes, some say no).

I know that when you put an idea out into the world, in whatever form, it will be copied, incorporated, altered, and riffed on. I see just about every lovely thing in our culture as a "riff" of something else or inspired by something else. I just wish that artists, whenever possible, used their skills to create something new.

Read (and see more images) on Rob Ryan's blog.

New project: Siamese Twins

And here's my next project. The Badbird patterns have seriously restored my crafting mojo - the second I finished embroidering Lottie I printed out and started on the Siamese twins, Rose and Daisy. Again, I enlarged the image 170% on the copier and taped 4 printouts together to trace the final image.

First, I started with a red transfer pencil, just like last time:

But, lo and behold, when I flipped the tracing paper over to transfer, I didn't like the flipped version - the proportions and balance looked off. Drat! The idea of tracing all over again, and fussing with my iron was not appealing. So, I tried a shortcut. I pulled out some carbon paper (Sublime Stitching):

It was easy to use, not messy at all, and saved me the extra hassle of ironing on. The lines are crisp, sharp, and dark:

If you look closely you'll notice I made some changes - Andrea Zuill's design has lots of beautiful details that I left out from pure laziness. I wanted to finish quickly, so I stuck with the simpler elements like the hearts and dotted border. I also added one of Andrea's hearts under the girls' hands and added their initials:

I started stitching right away - here they are after 2 hours:

I was admittedly distracted by The Painted Veil (most notably, Ed Norton) and slightly less so by Max Payne (cool effects, but overall it was a drawn out stinker).

These are the only colors I've used so far - two different shades of brown for the girls' hair (for a tiny bit of contrast) and a peachy pink shade for their skin (that's Presencia floss at the top, if you're curious). I still need to pick out the rest of the colors for the girls... I'm thinking, oddly (because I usually hate them) purples... or some deep wines and magentas...

Yay! I'm so excited!

Finished!

Okay, so I'm not totally finished. I still need to wash this (to remove the transfer pencil lines) and decide if it will be a pillow or a wall hanging. I'm undecided so far, as I think both would be nice.

Maybe I should leave it up to the person who'll be receiving it? Let's pretend you are that person - which would you prefer? I loved doing this project so much that I already started on another Badbird pattern. And I'm super-excited about that one!

Crushing on Vulcans...

I always had a crush on Spock as a kid, and my favorite Star Trek films were the ones that revolved around him - The Wrath of Khan and The Search For Spock. It pains me to report that my crush on Spock has gotten even worse:

There's simply no hope for me now. I rarely get blown away by films but this one completely silenced my (loud) inner critic and just knocked my socks off. I wouldn't say I'm an ultra-nerdy Trekkie but I love good sci-fi and obsessively watched the old and new series (and almost all the movies). To me, this movie celebrates everything that was good and funny and exciting about Star Trek, and (is it possible?) made it even better.

I have a feeling I'm going to watch this movie at least 5 more times this year. And, isn't the internet a wonderful thing? It's how I know I'm not alone in crushing on Spock.

Summer dreams

There's something about late Spring and summer that makes me very, very happy and restless. For some reason, my brain chooses this one time of year to give me the feeling that I need to get up and move - but I'm not sure where or how. Also, I remember, in a vivid display, so many things that have happened to me over the years at this time. I remember hot, sticky summer days filled with a golden heat that gleams in the hair, skin, and eyes. I remember swimming pools and cool streams and breeze. I remember car trips and wishing for things with all my might. I remember, even, dreams.

Here's the music that says to me, most clearly, the strange and restless things I'm feeling (being totally aware that these playlist sites are here today and gone tomorrow - so enjoy it while it lasts! :)