with the Happiness of the Small hands

scarf tying videos

2011-09-11T13:48:00.000-07:00

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Caer Lutris folks

2011-06-28T19:20:00.000-07:00

Vesta, and Ambrose, and Raven

a Sunday excursion

2011-05-02T18:12:00.000-07:00

first there is a mountain,
then there is no mountain,
then there is ...

melting snow creates myriad waterfalls

a dance of sunshine and water

the mountain shines clear

Wy'east

in shade and snow, the road ends

and we decide to turn back

and park under the power lines

once off the road, time to unpack

Bang! said Max

on choice

2011-04-28T22:12:00.001-07:00

Choose the man you admire.

Choose the man who’s at his best when the chips are down. Choose the man who’s been tested and who always, always, always does the right thing. Choose the man who is kind, cheerful, and curious.

If you can’t resist him, so much the better.

- Tamar Haspel

random images

2011-04-07T21:22:00.000-07:00

the Platitudes of St Fjorlief

2011-01-22T21:36:00.001-08:00

Don't take it personally, unless it is intended personally, and it usually isn't

Everyone is pretty much doing their very best, no matter what it looks like to anyone else

(add more as remembered)

each and every thing...

2010-03-10T16:35:00.001-08:00

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.

~ William James

little, Big

2010-02-14T21:14:00.000-08:00

The Things that Make us Happy
Make us Wise.

~ John Crowley

listing 1, 2, 3 ...

2010-01-28T16:41:00.000-08:00

1. Life and people are impermanent
2. Slow down
3. Look people in the eye
4. Drink tea
5. Be kind
6. Simple things hold the secret

~ Keri Smith

make haste slowly

2010-01-21T22:41:00.000-08:00

a good video tutorial on applied I-cord:

Now I can continue the finishing of this project. Yay!

power of three

2010-01-21T19:26:00.000-08:00

To live in this world you must be able to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go.

~ Mary Oliver

happy tiny hands

2010-01-13T09:45:00.000-08:00

Just as the bird’s wing evolved to fly, the human hand evolved to manipulate. An idle hand is not a happy hand. We really need to use our hands; they’re not happy if they’re not doing something.

~ Barbara Walker

as good a wish as it ever was

2010-01-03T20:17:00.000-08:00

May the long time sun shine upon you
All love surround you
And the pure light within you
Guide you all the way on.
~ Incredible String Band

think about your day...

2009-12-31T10:23:00.000-08:00

A true source of human happiness lies in taking a genuine interest
in all the details of daily life, and elevating them by art

~ William Morris

faith is the ground, stubborn is the crop

2009-12-27T09:28:00.000-08:00

...
Try to remember
a life gentled by daily acts
of domestic faith—the pot
set to boil, the bed made up,
the table set in calm expectation
that when the sun sets
we will still be here...

~ Lynn Ungar

never bored

2009-12-21T21:32:00.000-08:00

It is only people who live humdrum lives who get surprised if things seem a little bit odd. If once you push your mind and body a little further than they are accustomed to be pushed you get used to things getting odder and odder the further you go.

~ Elizabeth Goudge

the helpful croquis

2009-12-19T20:19:00.000-08:00

I will be doing quite a bit of sewing after the winter holidays, and will be planning a coordinated group of clothing. It's really useful to be able to sketch out possibilities; most of us don't look much like the seven-foot-tall all-legs images on the pattern envelopes. I've made myself a handy helper, a pocket sized croquis, drawn out on an index card that I can keep in my planner. The dark outline shows through regular (thin) computer paper, and makes it really easy to sketch in possible clothing combinations.

Since my personal proportions are a bit different than "standard" I also did this interesting exercise to determine where my areas of variability are. I already knew that my shoulders are very narrow, that's been a given my entire adult life, but I didn't know that not only are my lower legs a bit longer than in proportion, but that the distance from my bust point to my leg break point is almost 4" shorter than would be proportional. This information is not only useful when altering patterns to fit well; it allowed me to adapt the croquis to more accurately reflect my appearance, which allows for trial-and-error in the sketching stage, rather than sewing up things that won't make me happy when I wear them. Now it is obvious, at least to me, why I am not terribly fond of "separates", the proportions ~~are just clunky~~ will tend to make my already short-n-stout figure look chopped into little chunky bits; I just plain prefer the sleeker look of a dress or jumper.

~ : ♥ : ~

Lefthand image is the Sewing Workshop "Teagarden T", a pattern that I already have and have made up several times in various fabrics, worn with Vogue 8499, a Marcy Tilton design that I'm thinking of sewing, hoping the pants will be both comfortable and a bit more stylish than my overalls.

Righthand image is the croquis, sketched on a 3x5 index card and then traced over with a finepoint Sharpie. While it doesn't look much like what you see on a pattern envelope or in an advertisement, it looks a whole lot like what I see in the mirror...

practice makes progress

2009-12-18T15:49:00.000-08:00

Nothing is a mistake - there is no win and no fail - there is only make
~ Corita Kent

not that we don't attempt perfection...

2009-12-16T15:17:00.001-08:00

All things are literally better, lovelier, and more beloved for the imperfections that reflect the human effort that went into their making.
~ John Ruskin

because it it true...

2009-12-15T15:55:00.000-08:00

Time is a dressmaker specialising in alterations...
~ Faith Baldwin