Stitch in Time - April 2012 - Page 7

poochemio · #91 04-22-2012, 07:05 PM

Nope paying bills isn't a should, it is a need if you want and need electricity or whatever. The point is should induces guilt where it serves no one or nothing. Just a concept, I've found how you name things changes how you perceive something that would in another light be fun and experimental, should makes you feel guilty if you don't do it that way. Not treading on toes, just sharing something I found interesting and intellectually stimulating.

**DrDebby** · #92 04-23-2012, 05:17 PM

Margo, was not putting down the concept at all. I like it. And your point about how you name things changing your perceptions is spot on. A good thing to keep in mind. I'm working on that with my newly discovered dietary restrictions. One of my coping mechanisms with that is to label the foods I'm sensitive to as toxins. Makes it less appealing to cheat. Also reminds me to clean and sanitize things DH uses when he uses the kitchen for food I can't eat now. Getting rid of guilt is a good thing. Art and creativity is a joyful experience.

It's getting down right hot here. Eva, you can have it back, honest. We went from needing a fire in the morning to running fans during the night over the course of 2 days.

The pattern is still sitting on the cutting table staring at me.

On the plus side the faux cream cheese actually worked. It's not as firm as a block of the stuff, but it's more like a cream cheese spread. Now, if I only had some decent crackers to eat it with...

EvaJ · #93 04-23-2012, 07:48 PM

Debby, I know you will find a cracker that you can make that will go with the faux cream cheese.

Had to do some running this morning so got it done early as it was 82 at 8am already. It is over 100 again this afternoon. Seems funny when they are talking about all the snow in the east.

I worked on two dolls today. Make a shirt for a boy doll and just washed up the pants he came with. They were homemade but looked good. Then put one of the knit caps on him that I exchanged for a couple of bears at my last show. Then made a little skirt for a girl baby doll as she already had a shirt and panties.

Am trying to decide if I want to make up a few dresses and sell them. It is hard to decide whether I want to do that or not. I made 200 18 inch doll dresses several years ago and sold all but a few at regular price and then sold off the rest cheap to get them out of here. I know that I can sell them cheaper than some of the others are selling them for but also don't want all my doll fb friends to get upset with doing that. I sell my dresses from $15 to $25 and they sell most of theirs from $25 to $50. I don't know how anyone can pay $50 for a doll outfit.

**rue d'oak** · #94 04-24-2012, 08:06 PM

It's a powerful concept, Margo, to ask "what if" rather than should. Ans yes we all know that there are things we must do to be responsible people in the world. What If is potentially an open door, and actually can drive us toward doing the responsible and ethical. In the context of art and discretionary time and spending, I think it a freeing question.

Debby, how is adapting the pattern going? And what is your favorite combination for a GF flour? I am intrigued by the cashews for a dairy free cream cheese. I can actually imagine it!

Yes, I am working on my chicken. More photos by tomorrow.

Greetings to all
Jen

EvaJ · #95 04-24-2012, 08:26 PM

I made a dress for an 18 inch doll this morning and make so many mistakes on it that it can't be sold. Bummer! So I quit sewing for the day.

This afternoon we went to the bank and took care of some paperwork and seeing it is close to the Goodwill, we stopped there too. Got 4 small dolls and a zip bag full of thread and hem tape. The hem tape I use sometimes for trim on dolls and can always use more thread. Debby, there are three spools of purple.

All together 20 spools of thread. 15 cards of hem tape, a skein of embroidery floss and a couple of yards of grossgrain ribbon all for $3.99.

Now it is dinner time so I better start thinking about what we are going to eat.

poochemio · #96 04-24-2012, 08:50 PM

Rock on Eva! What a cache of good stuff for pennies. I need to find a cache of embroidery thread and perle cotton...maybe saying it will make me find just that, next thrift store trip.

I'm back to attacking the clutter in the studio and rearranging, I think it's closer to workable now. Having a big table in the middle of the floor interrupted the flow. I must say today I'm so grateful I have studio furnishings that are on wheels, I moved everything at least twice, and not too much worse for the wear. Buddha the cat has been supervising which makes it go quite a bit slower.

Okay now for a bit of culinary pondering...if flat bread was rolled thinly enough and pricked all over with a fork and then placed on a pizza stone or in a very hot oven, would it make crackers? I definitely feel for your need for crisp crackers Debby. I know when I used to eat at the Persian restaurant when then bread was rolled thinner and left in the oven a bit too long it became crunchy. Your spreadable "cream cheese" would be the right texture for that I'm thinking.

I'm killing a bit of time till the sun goes down and I can do the studio again, the sun has heated it up a bit much, with all the windows it doesn't maintain the cool like the house does. Once I clear a few more surfaces I can put a fan out, there is an exhaust/whole house fan out there, but without a window open as well as the door it doesn't help much. One 4 legged supervisor was more than enough today!

Ohhhhhhhhhh...I have not painted in my fake journal yet! Did a bunch of sketching in my other book, oh this is too wrong!!!!! Later......................

**DrDebby** · #97 04-24-2012, 11:40 PM

Eva, thanks for the purple thread find.

Sorry the dress was a disaster. You'll make another and it'll be darling.

Jen, so looking forward to what you are doing with the chicken costume. As far as GF flour mix and the faux cream cheese, I've been going to this blog and haven't had a misfire on a recipe yet. I really like the almond flour/tapioca starch combination she uses. I've made the cream cheese, the soft garlic bread sticks, the crescent rolls and the sandwich bread. The only reason the sandwich bread didn't turn out was because I didn't follow the directions correctly. But, the mess tasted ok and would definitely work for sandwiches. The flat bread recipe came from another blog, but I used the almond flour/tapioca starch combo for the flours and it turned out fantastic. I make that a couple times a week now.

Margo, no the flat bread recipe won't work, it's soft and pliable even with re-heating. But, I found that by re-heating the soft garlic bread sticks, they came out crispy like crackers. So, I had garlic crackers and cheese. It was good. Even if it was for breakfast.

I am envious of your studio space and I haven't even seen it. Just the thought of being able to move things around...

Was gone most of the day today because we had to drive to the city to pick up mom from the airport. She has made her migration to Idaho for the summer. She is borrowing a neighbor's car for a few weeks, then flying back to California to attend my nephew's high school graduation. Then, she'll drive her car back bringing 2 or 3 grandson's with her for a visit.

While we were there, we ordered the shower base for the bathroom. Good thing. Instead of being here in a week, it's going to be at least 2 weeks, maybe 3.

When it comes in, we'll buy the rest of the stuff. We still don't have a firm date to start the project, but I've spent money on it.

All that driving and walking around stores hurt my knees. Of course it didn't help that DH is trying to help me get back into shape by offering to buy me a stationary bike I can use so I can exercise without putting weight on my knees. Only problem is to bend my knees as the pedals come around causes a great deal of pain and the tendons are no longer used to bending that much.

Just trying out some of the equipment in the store caused a whole bunch of ouch.

Then, when I got home, I was having a bite to eat when a crown broke loose and came off.

I'll be seeing a dentist ASAP in the morning. I so didn't need that. I think I'm done for the day.

EvaJ · #98 04-25-2012, 01:10 AM

Debby we bought John a piece of equipment where he can sit in the chair and pedal. It saves the back and isn't hard on the knees. You can have it at different levels of tightness so you have to pedal hard or soft. They are not expensive. We found one at the thrift store but I know I have seen them in the junk catalogs we get in the mail. He uses it for about 10 minutes a couple of times a day. His legs and feet get sore and tired when he has to walk and we are hoping this helps. He has only had it a couple of weeks.

blestlady · #99 04-25-2012, 02:01 PM

Hello all, sun is out but not for long. More rain on the way. Last night Tom went to the guest bathroom at 3 a.m. and said the vent leak had reopened!

So at 3 a.m. he walks down to the shed in the rain and gets the 6' ladder, comes back to the house and works on the leak. (I never heard a thing! I slept till 8 a.m. Ear plugs and the fan to drown out noise and benadryl before bed all helped!) Ran out of the leak stuff, so early today he went to Lowes and got a small bucket of it instead of the squirter thing as per someone's advice there at Lowe's. It is better than trying to maneuver the squirter thingy around in that tight space. Then he got on the roof and back inside the house and put the black icky stuff both places. Tonight more rain so we'll see.

We have had some cold temps this week, 30's at night and the plants all seem ok but had to cover them a couple nights.

Debby, too bad the locals didn't tell me to not plant till after May 10th until I had already planted stuff.

They would have if I had asked but I didn't.

Eva, you and I are in the same mode this week. I took scissors to the crocheted blanket I was working on I was so mad at it!! And then threw it in the trash.

Soooo, no pictures of the blanket, everyone. I was doing the strips and sewed 3 sections of 2 strips together and was working on it till almost time to go to the dinner last night (don't ask why they had a dinner to open her gifts that they had told us to bring to church and put on a table in the hallway a couple weeks earlier.........then Sunday they say she will open them at a dinner at a restaurant Tues night!! for us to be there at 7:00). I havent' figured out how they do things here yet! Anyway, I am good at crochet and to not figure this out is really making me mad. Will consult my sis who has done this pattern for years. But basically I'm over it.

I went to WM and bought her a bag of baby items; 2 sets pjs, 1 sleeper, lots of socks, a toy, baby wipes) and told her what I did to the blanket. I might make something for her but not a blanket! And I might NOT.

Ok, I'm done.......gotta get going here. Tom is back in bed getting some sleep and I need lunch. Hi Margo and Jen!

**DrDebby** · #**100** 04-25-2012, 05:00 PM

Thanks Eva, I'll look into that.

Bonnie, so sorry you had so much trouble with the crochet. You'll figure it out, you're a whiz at crochet. You were probably stressed over the deadline. I'd have just given the mom to be a card and a note that it would be coming.

Well, I called the dentist's office first thing this morning. The soonest they could get me in was 11:30. *sigh* I drank many cups of warm tea. The good news, if you can call it that is that they didn't charge me to fix it, even when they had to re-make the crown. I was right, this one had been installed less than a year ago. All seems to be well now and I can eat since they didn't have to numb me up to do the fix.

EvaJ · #**101** 04-25-2012, 05:58 PM

Just stopped by to see how everyone is doing. Not a good day and I don't want to complain so will just say "HI!"

poochemio · #**102** 04-26-2012, 12:39 AM

Debby glad you got the crown fixed and they didn't charge you for it. Sounds like an ethical dentist.

Bonnie, sorry about the blanket. We all have projects like that. So frustrating when one member of a group keeps changing deadlines, I'm sure that didn't help. Maybe that particular pattern just isn't your cup of tea. The woman has a gift and you can go back to making things you want on your own deadline.

Eva hope your day is better tomorrow.

I attacked the piles of clutter in studio today, always the hard part, had to rearrange a couple of art supply drawers. To be honest I got bored and decided to go to town and buy some curtain rods. Decided maybe I'd score at the thrifts. I did just not what I was looking for, that one was closed. I found 2 cool looking curtain rods, a pink velvet curtain which along with my orange velvet will finish blocking studio sun, a funny little cane that I'm going to use for a curtain rod over the glass door and a couple of 8 foot long carved viga beams, probably use those to build a ramada, local for a free standing porch kind of thing. Who knows they are very cool and were amazingly cheap, they will go in some project if not the shade thing. Yeah I know I don't need more stuff, but with the summer sun coming on strong shade in the high desert is very desirable.

My online class with Jude Hill starts tomorrow. Not entirely sure what we are going to be doing but it will involve cloth and threads. Whatever is is should be interesting, I really like the woman's work and perspective. I don't know how to do links but her blog is called Spirit Cloth if anyone needs one more thing in their inbox to read!

It's past my bedtime.

Oh Jen how is the chicken costume coming along.

**DrDebby** · #**103** 04-26-2012, 03:36 PM

Eva, so sorry you were having a bad day. Hope today is much better.

Margo, shade is important in the summer no matter where you are when the sun is beating down. I love sitting under my apple tree in the summer. Have fun with your class.

Today, after yesterday being mostly a non-doing day, I've been busy catching up on chores. Mom is settling into her summer residence. She came up here early this year to get a garden in. Of course it's pouring rain today.

So, she's inventorying her stories, deciding what to work on. I've decided the faux cream cheese makes a good sandwich spread.

poochemio · #**104** 04-26-2012, 03:49 PM

Debby now that you have the base for your spread there is no end to the addins! Nope I can never leave well enough alone in the kitchen, and it seems with all you have given up...well the more flavors you CAN add the better.

I've been in and out of the house all morning. There are all sorts of things in the flower garden about to burst and I've enjoyed portraying those in my journal, and well, they may be croaked by the time I come back from powwow. Also a very overcast day so I'm in long sleeves and chinos to protect me from the rays, but when the sun comes out my little costume is like a sauna so back in the house till the sun hides again. It's all making me rather lethargic.

The hummingbirds have arrived and are very happily feeding at my little station by the bench, not in the least bit frightened of humans so I imagine they have been here in previous years. I have flowers and hummingbirds, I am enthralled and pleased!

I need to hang a couple of curtains to block view into the house, and make a couple of books today, so first lunch and then off to tear paper and stitch. See you all when I return from Gathering of the Nations Pow Wow!

EvaJ · #**105** 04-26-2012, 06:25 PM

Have fun at the pow wow. We are surrounded by the Indian reservation here and yet have never been to one of their pow wows. They have them inside the building that is on their land where they have the rodeos. It is across the river from their casino. It costs too much money and not in our budget.

It rained this morning and has pretty much been cloudy all day. The temps are in the upper 70's so the house is all open. In fact when the wind was blowing earlier this afternoon, I even had to close up the bedroom windows because it got too chilly. I suspect that by tomorrow we will be back to a/c.

Worked on another blouse I am trying to design for the 18 inch doll but the second one I am not pleased with either so it is back to the drawing board. I will put that project away for a later date as I need to do some more thinking on it. So this afternoon I cut out three outfits for the Chatty Cathy dolls. I have one that is mine that needs a new outfit and I have a friend who a couple of the dolls that need new outfits. She can sew but doesn't like too. She would rather crochet and does beautiful work on that.

I cut out 3 because it is the cutting out part of sewing I don't like to do and standing over the cutting table makes my back hurt worse.

Oh, I did sleep in this morning and got up to fed the cat at 5:30 and then went back to bed until 8:30. It felt good after no sleep and my bad mood yesterday.

Salute to our Partners