Project 365 - Round Two

It's been a tough week at our house. Suki Enid Monroe passed away on Thursday. That's 2 cats in 6 months. Needless to say, we are sad. I personally wake with a feeling that I need to commit more fully to my goals, which I need to redetermine so it's easier to commit. 

In that vein, I've decided to do Project 365 again. When I finished my first 365 days, I felt a bit empty. The project was fun, irritating, daunting, satisfying, and on and on. It also kept my desire to create somewhat nourished, even when there was little time to do anything.

July 26, 2009 is a good day to start. Give me a few days, and then watch my progress.

another gocco swap

two in one, originally uploaded by jennifer noland.

Sarah at cloth.paper.string had another gocco swap. I actually met the deadline and everything is out. I'm somewhat surprised because I left for the Grand Canyon the day after the mailing deadline. I always love to cut things close. I guess I work better under pressure.

My daughter learned to draw celtic knots and braids this past year, and I was reminded how much I like them. That's where my inspiration came from for my design.

I've started receiving some pretty cool pieces in the mail. The best thing about swaps is the anticipation and getting parcels without bills attached. Thanks Sarah.

Gold Rush

dresses, originally uploaded by jennifer noland.

Many things have been happening since I last stopped by. I finished the gold rush dresses, all four of them. The funny thing is I never took a picture of them. The one above is the closest I have. The brown dress on the left and the white one, third from the left are mine. Aprons too. The other two are adult dresses.

The trip was a success. All the kids had a blast. The parents too. We saw a deer swim across the rapids of the American River. None of us knew deer could swim, or chose to.

wardrobe re-fashion

I pledge that I shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved

items for myself for the term of my contract. I pledge that

I shall create and craft items of clothing for myself with my own 

hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract.

I've resigned to participate in the Wardrobe Re-fashion that starts May 1. I pledged 2 months. It was fun the last time and really made me think about spontaneous purchases. I discovered that I made more of them than I realized.

The first project I'm going to take on is sewing the Gold Rush outfit for my daughter's end of year trip. I've had everything waiting for 5 weeks. My second project will also be for her, something white to wear to the May Faire. Her class is dancing the May Pole this year and are supposed to wear white.

After all that, I plan on tackling the pile that needs mending. Maybe I should've signed up for 4 months. Hmmm.

rainy day

It's raining again. It's really good, we need the water, but it's ruined our plans. So much for plans. We'll go to the Exploratorium instead. We get to drink out of toilets, paint with our shadows and alter our perception of things. That's always fun. 

The rain has interesting timing. I've been on vacation at very rainy places, only to have it rain while I slept. The days were clear and beautiful. It seems that when I'm home, the rain comes on the weekends when I have outdoor plans. 2 weeks ago, there was a deluge and we were going to go camping. We ended up camping in the house. No campfire though.
I really enjoy watching water fall from the sky. Constantly changing it's density. Right now, it's steady and gentle. When we leave the house, it'll probably get more intense. I wonder how many clogged sewers we'll pass?

back to the real world

December 30, 2008, originally uploaded by jennifer noland.

I've returned from my holiday trip and now it's time to get back to reality. It was a lovely trip and really nice to visit with everyone. It had been three years since I'd been back.

The one thing I'm not missing is the cold. I'm not used to cold snowy winters. More like chilly, rainy or foggy winters. I walked on frozen water that was not in a rink. It was a wonderful novelty. My daughter thought it was one of the greatest things.

We now have enough chocolate to last the rest of the month. There is a part of me that wants to ration it, but I know I won't. It's too delicious.

Time to get back to work. Until next time...

Winter Update

I'm writing this from my room across the street from Sarphati Park in Amsterdam. My daughter and I have been visiting family in Germany and are taking a few days for ourselves before visiting some Dutch relatives.

Today we spent a few hours in the Rijksmuseum. There are many amazing things in there, even one's without the Rembrandt signature. Then we walked around town for a couple of hours and had some lunch. Italian. It was hot, saucy and cheesy. The perfect thing for the frosty weather.

I love this city. It's the first time I've been able to share it with my daughter. She goes back and forth between liking it and being bored, but she is 10, that's the way she is with most things these days.

I've brought tons of yarn on the trip and have at least one project going at all times. I finished 2 things on the plane; armwarmers and a scarflett. I've been working on a pair of fingerless gloves with mitten flaps for my daughter. Both are almost at the point of getting the mitts. Hopefully, I'll finish them before we are back to warmer weather. I'm also working on a scarf for myself, which I need desperately. My chin gets SO cold.

We came across a button store yesterday, but it wasn't open. Our mission tomorrow is to find it again and have it be open. A whole store of buttons, imagine the possibilities. We'll also go ice skating, buy some tulip bulbs for a friend and possibly take a canal cruise. The next day it's back to family.

We went to the Weinachtsmarkt 4 or 5 times in Hamburg. It's fantastic. The smells, sounds, and colors to look at. When I get home, I'll post some photos. Until then, have a fantastic new year.