Saturday, March 19, 2011

My life has been really sad lately and I just could not get enough energy to blog. My mom is abusing pain medications, which has been going on for years, but her doctor is quite angry about it and I have a feeling it will be coming to an end and I will have to deal with her. It has been so much easier not to do anything and I am letting her face the consequences that are coming from her actions. On top of that my son cannot seem to keep his behavior in check. He is back in trouble with the law for having undesirable people in his car that had drugs on them. He has also been letting everyone and his brother drive his car. He has to meet with the dean on Monday and then we will know if the university will send him packing or not. I hope not as his grades are so much better and I love him, but really don't want to live with him.

Depression or "the funk" as I call it has kept me from doing too much. I did make a few pieces of jewelry and start and complete a proddy rug for my friends two year old grand child.




I used leftover bits of silver chain and beads that were left over from old projects. It is 45 inches long and can be worn a number of different ways.


I finally got my angels hung up in my sewing room.


This anka was gift from my friend Nancy when she went to Egypt a year or so ago. I used brass findings and oyster shell discs and bone beads all from Ethiopia. It was fun to make.


The focal on this necklace is also a finding from Africa. I have had it for a long time. I used fresh water pears and aqua opal beads to create this necklace.

My son came home for spring break and left all most immediately to meet his birth mom and siblings for the first time. They made things quite easy for him and he had a great time. I was on pins and needles that he would fall so in love with them that he would never come home, but even though he had a great time he came home and seems happy to be here.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

I was dyeing today!

I spent today in the kitchen dyeing four yards of wool. I dyed sharp greens, pale pinks, lilac and fuschia, purples and one spot of pink, blue and green. I am getting ready to proddy a rug for my friend Nancy's two year old grand daughter. It will be a fun "shag" rug. I would load some photos, but for some reason the server is rejecting my photos. More later.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Sometimes I get overwhelmed by what needs doing and the pull from others for my time. I know that none of you have that problem. I should be extremely grateful that I actually have a home that needs cleaning, that I have an abundance of fabrics and fibers to work with and that I have dear friends who want to do things with me. In short I have been blessed and should not complain. Okay already.... I have been working on three purses at the same time. Three new ones that are not finished. Hopefully one will be completed by Saturday night, the rest will probably take longer.



This was a fun little bag that I finished shortly after I got back from New Orleans. It is small. The opening is only five inches across and it is seven inches long. I intend to wear it across my body and put my cell phone and money in it when I don't want to cover a larger bag. The background is part of an army blanket and the wools are from my overflowing scrap basket. It was a lot of fun to make.



I recently picked up five balls of sari silk. The colors drew me in and I had the most fun knitting these small bags. Whether they will be used as purses or as storage bags I don't know. The top one I am keeping. I embellished it with vintage buttons from my large collection. I know they blend in with the bag in the picture, but in life they stand out. This bag is more muted than the others and I am keeping it for myself. The other four turned out a little larger. I think there was just more on the balls of sari silk. I embellished them with felted wool balls from my collection. Some of those small balls, less than an inch across I made some time ago, before I discovered that you can buy them fairly inexpensively. Some of the balls were beaded for a little sparkle. I made them for the four teachers and long time friends from the Workt by Hand retreat I go to every spring in Ohio. I hope that they will like them.