Craft Corner Death Match: Repetion repetition repetition

February 3rd, 2012

Craft Corner Death Match: Repetition repetition repetition

So repetition, in my brain, just means pattern. I have this weird brain when it comes to pattern – I am, at the same time, addicted to it and I detest it.

I can’t have patterns in my house – fabric, wallpaper or anything, because I become obsessed with it. My eyes immediately seeks out the repeating pattern elements and then that’s ALL I can see – where the pattern starts and ends and how it loops.

If someone is wearing a patterned shirt it’s the same thing – the pattern becomes all I can focus on.

I blame my parents, as any good solid person should. My mother papered my wall with tiny pink, purple and blue flowers, and then on the ceiling were panels of tiles that had repeating patterns of DOTS. If I was ever forced to spend a lot of time in that room, when I was sick or whatever, those stupid flowers were all I saw, over and over in my head, repeating and repeating – I can still see them to this day. And those tiles – well – they had 1117 dots in a pattern that repeated 28 times on every tile*.

My favourite book growing out, was called, “the mysterious disappearance of leon (i mean noel)“. I must have signed that book out of the library 50 times. No one ever thought to get me my own copy, I guess. But wait — I just ordered one! HA!

Anyway, in the book, the main character is in love with this one pattern of fabric.

Pattern

Pattern

It’s all she wears, and she has her house (as i remember and I could be wrong but will know in a week or two) papered in it, and her couch covered in it. So that WHEN SHE SITS ON THE COUCH SHE DISAPPEARS!

Bigger view

Bigger view

More day

February 2nd, 2012

Not much sewing going on, although I am posting a new CRAFT CORNER DEATH MATCH entry tomorrow – theme: REPETITION REPETITION REPETITION
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Meanwhile, a few more photos of Rok Rok in his new home on the window sill at work … enjoying the sun.

Rok Rok on the window

Rok Rok on the window

Can you spot him? Here’s a close up:

Close up of Rok Rok

Close up of Rok Rok

Today, a whole class of children went by and they all stopped and peered in at Rok Rok and were pointing and smiling and looking mildly puzzled. I wanted to email Jasper, but he’s gone all floating away like, so I’m posting it here for the rest of the world. No pictures… I had no camera or cell with me. (and only a room full of workmates with cell phones)

sun

Loving the sun at my new work

And, just so you don’t think life is all about Rok Rok, here’s a Yermit I made a while ago – he’s a Yermalike for one of my work colleagues, and ended up being the prototype for a lot of the Yermits … his sweater and shirt and laptop and such. I stole him back and now he sits on my desk.

Yermalike

Yermalike

Close up of his laptop and Blackberrry

laptop bag, Blackberry, shirt bottom with fish

laptop bag, Blackberry, shirt bottom with fish

Oh, and one more picture- because I’m also obsessed with this construction site – or rather, demo site. It’s where the new library will go. For a while it was going to be built really soon, but the latest I heard the timeline for the project is now themed “In Our Lifetime” which cracks me up.

New library

New library

Ok – one more – icicles by the door as I was going into work yesterday. I had to stop and admire the sunlight on them. Sun is the theme lately …

sun and ice

sun and ice

Just a day

January 30th, 2012

When I am not sewing, here is my day:

In the morning while I ate breakfast, I did some sketching.

cake

cake

Today was a gorgeous day to be out walking in the morning, but I always enjoy the walk to work.

Gorgeous day - I love my walk to work

walking

Sometimes I’ll walk through this park. It has some lovely tall trees. Years ago, before I lived here, I was dating a guy who lived here. One summer he and I and a pack of his friends had a “tree climbing guild” and we would climb the trees in this park.

The park with trees

The park with trees

First the trees would be rated for difficulty – how far up the first branch was, texture of bark, handholds, that sort of thing. Then whoever wanted could take a run (literally – you had to run at them and jump and scramble) and then you’d be rated at your skill and daring. By the end of the summer we were covered in “guild scars” – scratches and bruises. (note: we were 19 or 20 at this time)

We probably climbed this tree:

Rated a 7.

Rated a 7.

And this one – it lost a huge branch last week actually.

rotting tree

rotting tree

So my day is spent doing computery stuff – I didn’t take any pictures of that part.

At lunch I went for a walk downtown.

An old mill by the river

An old mill by the river

Admired some graffiti,

larger than it looks

larger than it looks

layers

layers

happy graffiti

happy graffiti

I was wearing purple legs today. It was just a purple-legged day. Some days are like that.

purple legs

purple legs

While downtown, I purchased some new prismacolor pencils and some markers for sketching.

new pencil crayons

new pencil crayons on my desk, with Rok Rok

I gave a couple of the girls at work some Yermit boyfriends last year. Today one of them got a new hat, via some generous clients.

Yermit hat

Yermit hat

Sometime in the afternoon I decided that, as much as I love my Rok Rok, I no longer wanted him on my desk because he reminded me of Jasper, who gave him to me. (See Forgetting Jasper post to see why – yep there really was a Jasper.) So Rok Rok went to live on the window sill.

Rok Rok on window

Rok Rok on window - and it's starting to snow

I think he’s happy there.

Rok Rok looks out onto the street

Rok Rok looks out onto the street

After 11 hours it was finally time to go home. (no the days are not all that long) I said goodbye to Rok Rok from the outside.

Rok Rok on the inside

Rok Rok on the inside

By this time, however, the storm was in full force.

Winter storm

Winter storm

But, I’m a good Canadian and love my walks, even in the blowing snow and dark.

Blowing snow

Blowing snow

Scary trees

Scary trees

Blowing snow

Blowing snow

Happy Birthday MPC

January 29th, 2012
Cake

Cake

Two pieces of advice for my lovely daughter:

1) Don’t Doubt

2) Don’t import other people’s limitation.

STUFFED

January 22nd, 2012

Oh hey – I haven’t posted that the Winter issue of Stuffed Magazine is available now at bookstores near you – the good ones anyway. In it are 10 pages of Yermits!!!! Go now – buy – stuff – frame – be greatly impressed.

stuffed2

Kevin and I go walkies

January 22nd, 2012
Winter berries by the river

Winter berries by the river

Our track in the snow

Our track in the snow

Our feet in the snow

Our feet in the snow

Craft Corner Death Match: Forgetting Jasper

January 20th, 2012

Into town, one day, came a new boy. His name was Jasper.

Laura saw right away that Jasper was not like anyone else she’d ever met.

“He’s not like anyone else I’ve ever met,” said Laura. “He lives inside a happy bubble.”

bubble1

Jasper’s happy bubble kept him safe.

Outside, all of the badness of the world swirled around.

bubble8

But inside the bubble, none of the badness of the world could touch Jasper.

bubble9

Jasper’s happiness was infectious.

Laura found herself swept up and unable to resist his charms. She wanted to be his friend, to absorb all his positivity and intensity.

She wanted to be around him even when he wasn’t quite so bubbled, for there were such times (though he kept his bubble close by).

bubble2

Aunt Jodi, who until now had been sitting in the corner quiety watching and listening to Laura’s ravings about Jasper, finally looked up from her knitting.

She stood and walked to the cabinet and took out a plastic bottle of soap bubbles. Gestering to Laura, they went out onto the back porch.

With the soapy bubble stick poised at her mouth, Aunt Jodi said, “Laura, what happens to a bubble when you blow it out onto the wind?” Aunt Jodi blew, and a stream of bubbles emerged, lifting up and out into the blue sky.

“It floats away!” said Laura excitedly.

bubbles_sky

Then the realization of what this meant dawned on her.

“It floats away,” Laura said again, soberly this time.

bubble3

Laura was silent for a long, long while.

“Maybe the happy bubble will pop,” said Laura, hopefully, and meanly. (What a horrible thing for Laura to wish for, or even to say!)

bubble4

“If it does,” said Aunt Jodi, “Jasper will have drifted far away by then.”

bubble5

………………………

More Craft Corner Death Match participants here.

YOUR BOYFRIEND IS A FOX!

January 15th, 2012
Fox is plotting something

Fox is plotting something

He meticulously researches (and has a glass of wine).

He meticulously researches (and has a glass of wine).

YOUR BOYFRIEND IS A FOX!

YOUR BOYFRIEND IS A FOX!

First week of January

January 8th, 2012
Sunset on our street.

Sunset on our street.

It's been a mild January

It's been a mild January

I'm not sure where the beaver thought he was going to build a dam.

I'm not sure where the beaver thought he was going to build a dam.

Gordo

Gordo

January 2nd

January 2nd, 2012
Lenny

Lenny

Whoa - waht the heck - way too cute

Whoa - waht the heck - way too cute

Another Pink Spacewoman

Another Pink Spacewoman