Elemental Stitches

Station Fire

The sky is thick with smoke today.  I took my inhaler for the first time since coming back to the desert because of all the smoke.  Its just the beginning of fire season and we already have the biggest fire in Los Angeles county history.  I am praying for all the people and animals being affected by the fires in CA.  Good Luck everyone!  Here is an idea of the smoke.

2 weeks ago

Taken yesterday

We have been staying inside with the air conditioner on but the smoke still seeps in everywhere!  Hopefully it will be out soon.

Monsoon Season

The one thing I adore about the desert is the desert monsoons.  I LOVE them!  The sky is filled with electricity, the clouds rumble and crack with bolts of lightning, the smell of summer rain sweeps across the plains!  I sat outside in the middle of the yard soaking up each giant raindrop as they slowly started to splash around me in a steady sprinkle that lasted for about 30 minutes.  Then the sun peaked its head out and the clouds began to dissipate.  Before long it was as if nothing happened.

Desert Living

Honestly I never liked the desert.  It is dry, harsh, deadly.  But it also has its own beauty.  The sunsets are amazing, the landscape is awe inspiring, and there are so many old abandoned places to photograph.

I took some pictures of where we are staying for the next couple weeks.  It is so different from Santa Cruz.  In Santa Cruz the forest surrounds you on all sides, top and bottom.  Here in the Antelope Valley you can see 20 miles in any direction.  Its the difference between being claustrophobic and agoraphobic.  These little mountains are buttes.  They are an anomaly in our desert which is basically flat everywhere.  These beautiful rocks jut up out of the earth and were considered sacred by the Native Americans who lived here hundreds of years ago.

Brae loves to go feed the horses.  I used to love horses.  I dont know why I am not as obsessed about them now as I used to be.  Perhaps it is my allergies to hay and alfalfa, or maybe I lost some love when one threw me off his back and I couldn't walk for a week.  Most of our horses are retired except for one.  This stallion, Thunder, is four and will be trained by Tom once he gets his balls cut off.  That way he will be much calmer and more reliable.  While Tom was moving him into his new stall he kicked Tom in the jaw.  Luckily he was okay.  He thinks the horse knocked his jaw back where it is supposed to be.  Apparently he got punched when he was a teen and it messed up his jaw.  He is convinced it is fixed now.  Damn cowboys are always refusing to go to the doctor.  As aggressive as Thunder might have seemed that day he is really a sweet horse.  He just needs a little less testosterone, or a good romp in the hay with a pretty mare.

One of the coolest things about the Antelope Valley is the military aircraft.  Lockheed Martin Skunkworks and Boeing both build their planes here.

This is the Stealth Bomber which happened to fly overhead as I was taking pictures of the yard.  I haven't seen one of these flying around in a while.  I used to see them all the time.

Another of my favorite things about the desert is all of the old things lying around.  This was my favorite shot today.

Stay out of the heat everyone!

This Week

Hi!  I have been super busy this week so I am sorry about the small amount of posts.

Remember how we were having beautiful weather?  Well we finally got some of that rain we needed and a little ice too!

The ice was coming down so fast that I couldn't get a good pic with it so dark outside. 

This poor plant has been repeatedly uprooted by a toddler, repeatedly dehydrated and now pounded by ice.  I think I am going to take pity on it and re-pot him.  I still cant believe its still alive.

Do you see how perfect those little spheres of ice are?  Isn't weather amazing!  Today is in the high 60sF, but tomorrow night the rain is supposed to drench us again.  Another couple of inches are on their way.

After the sun came back out I felt really cheery and decided to make a cheery cake.  Just something easy and fun.  I haven't played around much with frosting so I tried out some new frosting dye I got recently.

The color came out perfect!  Super pink!  My Munchkin was ecstatic.

My postcards also came in this week!  They will be available in my shop in the next couple of days.

Joy of Childrearing

The best part about raising children are moments like this...

Setting:  Mom watching inauguration.

Daughter comes in and excitedly exclaims, "Look Mom!  That is President Obama, he is like a King.

Mom:  (after laughing) Yes sweetie he is kind of like a King.

Goings On

School has got me busy!  October is my favorite month!  I am loving the pumpkins, the decor, costume shopping and sharing a bag of mini snickers bars with my husband (damn halloween candy).

The last two weeks have flown by.  Its a collage of lectures, preschool, yoga, homework, birthdays and very little crafting.  I am excited to start on the next tea towel in the Tea Towel Tour 4.  A photo is forthcoming.  Its still in the camera.

The little one started preschool.  Preschool is an experience in emotional parenting.  So far she has gone without crying and clinging to our legs, and is happy the whole day (except naptime when she cant stop wiggling and whispering to her neighbor).  Does she miss us at all?  I guess pre-school is way more fun then mom and dad!  I suppose I will get used to my little social butterfly and I know I'll enjoy every minute of it that I do see.

This yoga class is not all that its cracked up to be.  Its not that I am not learning things...  I have never taken yoga as a college class before, only in studios or gyms.  This is the most basic yoga I have ever experienced.  I may be a little overweight but I have always been super flexible.  Half lotus is normal sitting for me and she is starting the poses so easy that I cant feel anything.  I understand that she is starting easy for those people who have never done yoga, but its just so easy that its frustrating.  I want to feel like I have been to a yoga class.  There are also a lot of people in the class so I am always having to look around me so I dont hit anyone.  Then there is the fact that she goes through sun salutations so fast that the energy doesnt have time to get moving!

I also got new glasses.  They are funkier then my last pair.  I like them. 

I am 26 now.  I actually had to count the years to make sure.  My birthday was great.  I got several little things for myself like cookbooks, kitchen odds and ends, and other things.  Tom's birthday is the day after mine.  He spent his birthday money on falconry supplies.  More on my husbands addiction with falconry later.  I think its about to get a lot more interesting.

The Beginning of a New Year

Ahh back from a relaxing two week break before school starts.  A couple weeks ago I attempted to erase most of my calendar and then enjoyed two blissful weeks with my family cuddled up at home, shopping the farmers market, and having wild experiences with California wildlife.  My hubbie started classes last week, but I won’t start until the last week of September.  The school year is the start of my year.  For me the new year has always began in the fall.  Summer is where you sit back and enjoy all that you have accomplished over the last year.  In the fall, new projects start, new friends are made, and everyone gets more serious, more productive.  Do you find this to be so?

           

I have been thinking about what I want to learn over the next year, craftywise.  This summer I have been teaching myself graphic design.  I have also been doodling all over everything paper that comes within reach while thinking of embroidery and fabric design.  Almost all of my embroidery lately has been from my own doodles.  So what’s next in my crafty life?

           

I would love to do more printing.  I bought Lotta Prints a week or so back and I made a quick swatch with a potato.   The leaf print turned out so well that I am gearing up for another version on a larger piece of fabric.  

 

Block printing sounds very cool and I got my hubbie to agree to carve some blocks for me.  He even sounded interested!  I might also try carving some rubber stamps before trying blocks. I haven’t tried freezer paper stencils yet but they are on the list for this year too.  I have a friend who loves screen-printing and thrown ceramics and he has promised to teach me these too!

 

I have thought about digitally coloring some of my ink drawings.  I am not a genius at Illustrator but I am doing well.  I might try some simple digital art prints, but it probably wont be high on my list.

 

My major in school is Anthropology but I am taking a minor in Art History so throughout the year I will be looking at a lot of art from other cultures.  I am curious to see how this influence changes what I am crafting on at home. 

 

I still do quite a bit of photography which I have for sale in my Etsy Photo shop.  I have recently added several new art prints for sale like this one.

I cant wait for what is coming this next year!  It is filled with more promise and opportunities then I could have hoped for.

It Was A Green Day

After I sat down and looked at the photos for today's post I noticed a funny trend.  Maybe my subconscious was affected by artsy-crafty babe's yellow days.  Or maybe I just like green but every photo has green in it. 

Anyway, onto my green day.  Recycling is green... and when I found this beautiful green desk in the trash I brought him right upstairs!

A quick wipe down and inspection showed a strong and sound body with one missing drawer.  Tom promised to make the missing drawer into a shelf and cover it with a hinged door.  Yea!  For that, I gave the desk to him.  He didn't have one yet and he was so happy to have his own desk (even if he did complain that it was too small).

Not long after I found the desk I found myself painting another free item.  A shelf that used to be a red and black asian design.

Now its off my floor, making itself useful, and it fits in with the rest of the decor.

With all this old/new recycled stuff I though I would share a few things in my craft room that are truly old.

I have had this name banner for as long as I can remember.  Its a little beat up but I love it.  It has hung on doors, walls, from hooks, nails and string.  It has been damaged and repaired many times.  Its always been there to remind me of who I am and what I can become.

This next piece of fabric has a bit of a story behind it.  This fabric belonged to the mother of my first best friend, Jasper.  Their house burned down when I was a little girl (mid 80s) and they had to move away.  I never heard from them again.  Her mother, an original hippie homesteader, gave my mother a large bag of fabric that survived the fire.  Jasper's mother was one of the first people who encouraged my crafting habits.  She made amazing quilts, dolls and clothes for the whole family.  I found the bag recently while going through my mom's garage and this is one of my favorite pieces of fabric from it.  I have about 2 yards and I can't find the courage to make anything from it.  My latest idea is to use the entire piece as the backside to a small quilt.  What do you think?