littlewaif.com Blog

Bunny House, Bird Girl, and Blue Dog

Originally uploaded by littlewaif

These are a couple of things I have been working on. The bunny house is a soft toy that I’ve had in my head for a couple of weeks. I think it just needs a little touching up and maybe a little sparkly bits to make it perfect. The bird girl needs some wings, I haven’t decided on feet yet. The chenille dog is pretty much done. I love his oversized eyes and long tongue. He is a friend I made for one of my pose dolls.

Went to the New Castle Farmer’s Market over the weekend. I always have to hit the smoothie stand inside and get a mango smoothie, best ever! And then outside to the flea market. This is the first time I’ve been to it in a couple of weeks and the other side of the market is now filling up, the outdoor area with the dirt surface. I’m pretty sure you pay a premium to get a spot on the blacktop as the dirt areas are pretty much frightening if it has been raining or windy. So many different kinds of people there and everyone seems to bring their dog. Lately my dog phobia fears have abated some so I can walk right by someone with a dog. I’m still nervous around anyone who looks like their dog could fly them like a kite if they saw a squirrel.

We have a new public park in my area and it has been fun watching it evolve (or devolve if you are an animal) as I take my walks. They have a gigantic kids park area, which would be nice if my kids weren’t teens. Still, my 18 year old son and I got a chance to try some of the stuff when the weather was a little more blustery. Now the park is so covered with children it looks like a seething ant pile from a distance.

cow eaten by piranah fish

Originally uploaded by littlewaif

I bought a Little Golden Book this past weekend that I’ve never seen before. It is called “The Animal Kingdom: An Introduction to the Major Groups of Animals” by George S. Fichter/Illustrated by Charles Harper. It has the most fantastic art ever! It was published in 1968, not the usual gold edged Little Golden Book, more of a reference book. It has illustrations of animal groups, most fighting to eat or be eaten. The cow picture is my favorite. What a strange, mixed up combination of cute illustrations with a cow head and a butterfly, but underneath is a cow reduced to blood red water and bones by piranhas. Each illustration is like that, an alligator waiting to eat a bird, a bat going after a luna moth. I wonder sometimes what the conversations were like at Little Golden Book Inc. “um, Charles….. do you think your illustrations might be just a tad to barbaric for our target audience? Could you tone them down just a little, maybe the cow is just being tickled by the killer fish….. maybe they are just playing?”…..

Pussy Willows

Originally uploaded by littlewaif

The pussywillows are puffing up their little catkins like crazy outside. This has been such a weird winter. We have had hardly any snow, maybe three times it snowed about an inch. That is very unusual. We usually have at least one major snowstorm and a minor major snowstorm by now. And Spring looks like it is on its way. I can hear peeper frogs in the nearby streams and I saw some purple crocuses blooming yesterday.

I think it is my fault about the snow this year. I went out and bought a snow blower. Not a big behomoth gas one, just a nice respectable electric one that can move moderate amounts of snow. My husband said after my purchase, “you just wait, it won’t snow”…. and it didn’t. I’m sorry about that.

I tried a tiny bit of Spring cleaning in my craft area. The problem is… too many crafts. And every craft has a subcraft. Take for instance sewing.

Sewing
- sewing purses (need heavy fabric/lining/snaps/handles/zips)
- sewing clothing (clothing weight fabric, not tacky designs)
- sewing craft items (cute and crazy fabrics)
- sewing quilting type items (color coordinated fabrics)
- sewing mini animals (faux fur takes up LOTS of space)
- sewing dolls (muslin)

And sewing doesn’t even really cover fabric that I need. Velvets for flowers, everything wants different notions, weights of threads, types of ribbon, buttons, ……)

Here are some of my crafts I have done in the past year: oil painting, acrylic painting, watercolor painting, jewelry making, crowns, velvet flowers, embroidery, quilting, clothing, purses, collage, stamping, computer collage, amigurumi, knitting, crocheting scarves, clothing, ornaments, spray painting anything that sits still, furniture repair, photography, needle felting, spinning, omg I could go on and on.

What I really wish is that someone in my house would like to do crafts with me. My 15 year old daughter isn’t inclined, my 18 year old son gets bored easily, my husband will help with craft projects…. at gunpoint. Maybe I could adopt a crafter………

Those who watch me while I type

Originally uploaded by littlewaif

I’m not a white walls sort of person. But I thought our computer/craft room probably had enough color in it with all the stuff jammed in it so we painted the walls almost white, kind of beige. Kind of don’t like it. I always see beautiful rooms in magazines with white walls but I don’t seem to be able to make it work for me.

Maybe I can repaint just this one wall?

Caw! Where is that Spring?

Originally uploaded by littlewaif

Sometimes Michaels (craft store) has the best deals. I scooped up a bunch of kid’s craft sets for $3 each. Little watercolor, acrylic, and oil paint sets in wooden boxes with the paints, pencil, eraser, sharpener paintbrush and canvas or paper in a wooden box. For three bucks! Couldn’t pass that up. I painted this bird from the watercolor set. I don’t remember using watercolors since I was a wee kid so I wasn’t quite sure what I was doing. But I have been wanting to do some painting lately and all my painting supplies have to be lugged around so this was simplest. Ahhh, I love simplest.

This has been such a fun week. The dentist, the doctor, lab work, and an ultrasound on my thyroid. I’m sure my goiter is just how I remember it when it was last pictured in college, but my doctor thought maybe I should take another look at it cuz I am getting older-er.

Yeah March!