SEWN a new class by Mary Ann Moss

I've been so busy working on the new garden and projects around the house, I forgot I was blogging again (even misspelled the name of my blog in a comment box the other day) (mixed with suger, nice huh).  So.  I'm working on a few things, but I had to stop what I was doing and say, my favorite on-line teacher is teaching a new class called SEWN.  I've taken all her classes and I have to say it's a good thing she only peddles art or some of us would be in rehab.  Can't wait for July 4th to get here!

remains of the day

I signed up for this class ages ago;  a crap storm hit my life and I forgot about it.  Then I remembered!  I started this journal cover sometime in late January.

the layout

front cover

good magic

back cover

inside cover with signatures

first day of spring

I've always loved making books but when it came to actually putting anything in there I was (I'm sorry to say) stymied.  I'm not a diary or scrapbook keeper, so the idea of a visual journal appealed to me on so many levels.  I have been taking pictures for years and now I can do some creative documentation in the books I've made in the past and the several I'm working on now.  I've never done anything by halves so I'm all in on the bookmaking just now.  Actually, more than bookmaking.  When I got into the book classes it brought me back to something in myself I let go for too long.  I'm happy to say I've got my groove back.

spring is here

We've been getting outside when it's not raining or freezing cold; but it seemed as if things were never going to get blooming. 

 I love the little flowers that show up all over the yard in the spring!

 Dandelions are one of my favorites. 

 Did you know you can make a great medicinal tea from the root?  You can, just be sure you know what you're doing.  You don't want to use any that have been sprayed with pesticide or have been um...sprayed by an animal.

Heather doesn't last long.

We are fortunate to live about five miles from the Biltmore Estate.  The grounds of the estate was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed Central Park.  

 Some of the grounds are laid out as formal gardens.

But most are these wonderful, wild areas.

I can't wait for it to warm up a bit more so we can get up on the Parkway too.  The rhododendrons will be blooming in May and June.

and now for something completley different

It's been a long time.  Over the past year or so I remembered something I let slide out of my life for too long.  Art and making.  And my love of bookmaking in particular.  Thanks to Mary Ann Moss and her awesome classes, I remembered.  So, for the next little bit I'm going to talk about that.  The book-and-art-making.  I'll start with books I've made in the past.  This one I blogged about years ago.  It's as good a place to start as any.  Here goes.  This was originally post on May 10, 2006.  Hope you like it!  If you click the link you'll see the pages inside.

 Flora and Fauna

Finally, the copper book is finished. I swear sometimes it's so hard to get the stuff out of my head and on to whatever I'm working on. Others not so much. This was a long one but I'm pleased with the results.

I decided not to make resin charms and went with these. A little stone heart, the copper charm has a drawing of a bird with straw in it's mouth, and the bottle contains soil from my yard.

boy...is it ever getting deep around here

How deep you ask? 12.5 inches. That's how deep. And geez louis 36 hours without electricity. I know why the pioneers lived to the ripe ol' age of 29. They spent all day everyday making food and heat. Cross that off my list of things to do. The thing that gets me is growing up in Colorado, it snowed like this with regularity so people when on about their bidness. Here? Not so much. The whole city was shut. Everything. They had to call out the National Guard to get people out of their cars on the highway. There were people who were stuck for almost twelve hours (that happened to us once when we had just returned for Iceland of all places. We were stuck on the beltway in DC. For twelve hours. That was a treat with a two and six year old I can tell you.). Anyway, nothing was moving. We live in the mountains and it HAS been known to snow here. You would like to think they would be a tad bit more prepared for when it actually happens.

It is awfully pretty though...

And? May I say? Thank You for the lovely birthday wishes!

48...is great!

Today is my birthday, and I love birthdays. I never worry about getting older (I'm living to 100, you know) because I love birthdays so much.

Dale gave me this wonderful ring as part of my birthday gift. He found this artist on Etsy who will stamp things on what she calls poetry rings. Dale asked her to engrave words from our song. When mountians crumble to the sea...

There will still be you and me.

I'm a lucky, lucky girl...

well, hello there...

Geez...I don't know what happened. I was taking down the Halloween decorations, keeping an eye out for bears and suddenly it's December and the tree is up. Sheesh. This whole year has just blown by at warp speed. That lovely wreath up there? Was an idea I stole from Tia who stole it from someone else who I'm sure, stole it from somewhere else. You know how it goes... I remember something very much like this one when I was a girl; only they were made out of those IBM data cards my dad use to bring home from work. This one is sheet music.

So. Anyway. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. All I had to do was bake a pie (pumpkin-pecan), make cranberry relish, and bring a bottle of wine (an exceptional little Spanish number called Juan Gil)(love,love,love Spanish wines, the only thing I like better is a good brunello, but those are very expensive so I have to settle for baby brunellos most of the time...sigh). Um...where was I? Oh yes, pie...cranberry relish...wine. Thanksgiving was a treat. The only thing to make it better would be if Dale and Samantha could have been with us.

I have been knitting and felting nests and needle felting eggs for Christmas ornaments to go in the gift boxes this year, I found this cute pattern here.

What else. Oh. I'm (literally) walking my ass off. Finally able to walk for exercise, but I still can't walk the hills in the neighborhood so I'm stuck on the treadmill for a while longer. But I'm not complaining because I am SO happy to be moving around again after the hip thing.

And? I haven't purchased one single Christmas present. Oy.