Update

Geez, the last post was in early March! That’s because of a lot of things, so let me run a quick summary update.

The boys are doing well, and we are all adjusted now to the new family routine. Toby is a gentlemanly prince with a fox tail and could be a professional athletic cat. This boy has jumping acrobatic skills I’ve only seen online, so his favorite game is to catch things out of the air and do summersaults as he lands. He started talking first, but his voice is soft and rarely used.

Meanwhile, Ollie is captain of the Naughty Kitty Club (formally diagnosed at the vet!), and surely a little wizard living in his own weird world. He must be related to PuppyCat (from Bee and PuppyCat) with a little bit of Cubby (from Adventures of the Gummi Bears, hyped up on Gummi Berry Juice) mixed in. Ollie hasn’t grown out of his let-me-chew-on-everything phase so he requires constant diligence (check out that HDMI cable below!). Not to mention the loads of energy he still has that demands extensive active play, or his curiosity that leads him into trouble more often than not. His favorite game is Sideways Pyscho, which is where he spontaneously hi-fives you, hops into the I-am-so-scared pose with arched back and spikey hair, then takes off running for you to chase him. He has recently started talking in a series of tiny meeps and merps (appropriately weird like PuppyCat), and apparently has a lot to say.

Both are so sweet, easy to get the purr motors going, and with all the hugs and faceboops a person could hope for. They have a great mix of independent play, brotherly play, and wishing to engage with people play. I’ve been teaching them how to be hammock cats on the deck, and I hope to upgrade that to going for walks (or even riding bikes!).

We finally decided to tackle the “popcorn” floor of the bedroom, which means we ripped out the closet wall and subfloor to repair the floor joists and rebuild the closet as a walk-in. In doing that, we discovered the wall adjoining the bathroom is sinking, which is not great since it is a load bearing wall. So, we are also tearing out the bathroom (which truly needed to be done anyway) to fix the wall. Opening up the bathroom floor will hopefully help us solve another ongoing problem, which is that sometimes the kitchen sink backs up (not ideal when the water softener runs and then floods the kitchen, obviously..). Hopefully, we can suss out what’s going on with that drain pipe. As you can imagine, things have been a bit chaotic with moving everything into other rooms, and the noise and dust and tool ephemera laying all around. I’m pretty over it, but there is no way out except through.

Thus, I have not been in the creative spirit. Instead, though, we planted some trees so I’ve been doing more gardening and yardwork to keep them alive and happy. Plus, I picked up an e-bike and use it to run around the yard while doing said gardening, or riding with Boy on the bike paths to see how far we can get.

But I guess I have been doing one creative project here and there, at work when I have down time. The ongoing cross stitch that I began in August of 2020 (I think) hadn’t been touched in probably another year, but I pulled it out recently. Can’t say doing all the white in this part of the piece is that thrilling, but it’s all part of the game. And, I’ve been reading a lot more this year, too. Even started Elden Ring back up. The year is not a total loss, just a shift away from a case of the crafties, temporarily. I really miss Stitch Club and creating art, but I’ll get back to that eventually. I always do.

Besides, this weekend I hope to begin a project for my new niece, who is due to arrive in about a week, and while I have the machine out for that, I can finally tackle a project my friend requested from almost a year ago! Eep!

Did you see these recent posts?
Stitch Club: Kaur

Stitch Club: Kaur

Saima Kaur led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club designed to make us smile by stitching brightly bold and whimsical figures, and I was inspired by ancient South African rock art.

read more
Stitch Club: S. Kelly

Stitch Club: S. Kelly

Stewart Kelly led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club using the kantha stitch to make a still life.

read more
Stitch Club: Edwards

Stitch Club: Edwards

Priscilla Edwards led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club where we learned to make a wire frame and use batik wax to form a sculpture. For whatever reason, I decided I’d make a sailboat!

read more
Looking for more cases of the Crafties?
A new era

A new era

My craft room has two new additions, Toby and Ollie.

read more
Hexie Dreams + Template

Hexie Dreams + Template

My Hexie Dreams quilt, which was carefully fussy cut and hand pieced by me, then hand quilted by my gramma, is finally finished after three+ years of work (and avoidance). The proof is in the stitching – persistence pays off!

read more
Stitch Club: Dias

Stitch Club: Dias

Cassandra Dias lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club workshop on embroidered landscapes, and I was inspired to recreate a honeymoon photo of France’s Pont Du Gard.

read more
Hello 2024!

Hello 2024!

For the start of 2024, I’ve been playing with drawing, paint, and watercolor pencils to get a feel for the media.

read more
Ida Andersen Lang’s Tutorial

Ida Andersen Lang’s Tutorial

I followed a water color pencil tutorial by Ida Andersen Lang to work through some techniques to set me up for a successful Mixed Media 2024 journey.

read more
Stitch Club: Boschert

Stitch Club: Boschert

Deborah Boschert lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club on creating a mixed media art quilt. I based mine upon a visit to a new town and restaurant.

read more
Finds and Things

Finds and Things

A random post about some art supplies, vintage finds, and an AI-generated experiment for future crafts.

read more
Stitch Club: Stone 3

Stitch Club: Stone 3

Sue Stone’s third workshop with TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club prompted us to use text in our piece, so I recorded a trip to Shawnee National Forest.

read more
Stitch Club: Stone 2

Stitch Club: Stone 2

Sue Stone led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club in her well-known portrait style, and I was inspired to capture a man in a hat in four variations.

read more
Hexie Dreams 19

Hexie Dreams 19

My hand sewn fussy-cut EPP Hexie Dreams quilt is all ready to go to my gramma for hand quilting. Check out a few of my embellished hexies, and come back in the future for the finished product!

read more
My Village Quilt

My Village Quilt

I present to you My Village Quilt, based on the Urban Village Green quilt: a four-year-long project that tipped the love-hate scale finally over to love.

read more
Hexie Dreams 18

Hexie Dreams 18

My fussy-cut EPP Hexie Dreams quilt is coming along. All the flowers were stitched into rows and the rows are being stitched together now for the final push. I also share some of my dear sewing supplies!

read more
Stitch Club: Maue

Stitch Club: Maue

TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club with Joetta Maue prompted a stitched piece from a photograph and I’ve recreated an adored image of my late grandparents.

read more
Hexie Dreams 17

Hexie Dreams 17

A quick update on my fussy-cut EPP hexie dreams quilt. A whopping 131 flowers are now complete, yay!

read more

Update

Geez, the last post was in early March! That’s because of a lot of things, so let me run a quick summary update.

The boys are doing well, and we are all adjusted now to the new family routine. Toby is a gentlemanly prince with a fox tail and could be a professional athletic cat. This boy has jumping acrobatic skills I’ve only seen online, so his favorite game is to catch things out of the air and do summersaults as he lands. He started talking first, but his voice is soft and rarely used.

Meanwhile, Ollie is captain of the Naughty Kitty Club (formally diagnosed at the vet!), and surely a little wizard living in his own weird world. He must be related to PuppyCat (from Bee and PuppyCat) with a little bit of Cubby (from Adventures of the Gummi Bears, hyped up on Gummi Berry Juice) mixed in. Ollie hasn’t grown out of his let-me-chew-on-everything phase so he requires constant diligence (check out that HDMI cable below!). Not to mention the loads of energy he still has that demands extensive active play, or his curiosity that leads him into trouble more often than not. His favorite game is Sideways Pyscho, which is where he spontaneously hi-fives you, hops into the I-am-so-scared pose with arched back and spikey hair, then takes off running for you to chase him. He has recently started talking in a series of tiny meeps and merps (appropriately weird like PuppyCat), and apparently has a lot to say.

Both are so sweet, easy to get the purr motors going, and with all the hugs and faceboops a person could hope for. They have a great mix of independent play, brotherly play, and wishing to engage with people play. I’ve been teaching them how to be hammock cats on the deck, and I hope to upgrade that to going for walks (or even riding bikes!).

We finally decided to tackle the “popcorn” floor of the bedroom, which means we ripped out the closet wall and subfloor to repair the floor joists and rebuild the closet as a walk-in. In doing that, we discovered the wall adjoining the bathroom is sinking, which is not great since it is a load bearing wall. So, we are also tearing out the bathroom (which truly needed to be done anyway) to fix the wall. Opening up the bathroom floor will hopefully help us solve another ongoing problem, which is that sometimes the kitchen sink backs up (not ideal when the water softener runs and then floods the kitchen, obviously..). Hopefully, we can suss out what’s going on with that drain pipe. As you can imagine, things have been a bit chaotic with moving everything into other rooms, and the noise and dust and tool ephemera laying all around. I’m pretty over it, but there is no way out except through.

Thus, I have not been in the creative spirit. Instead, though, we planted some trees so I’ve been doing more gardening and yardwork to keep them alive and happy. Plus, I picked up an e-bike and use it to run around the yard while doing said gardening, or riding with Boy on the bike paths to see how far we can get.

But I guess I have been doing one creative project here and there, at work when I have down time. The ongoing cross stitch that I began in August of 2020 (I think) hadn’t been touched in probably another year, but I pulled it out recently. Can’t say doing all the white in this part of the piece is that thrilling, but it’s all part of the game. And, I’ve been reading a lot more this year, too. Even started Elden Ring back up. The year is not a total loss, just a shift away from a case of the crafties, temporarily. I really miss Stitch Club and creating art, but I’ll get back to that eventually. I always do.

Besides, this weekend I hope to begin a project for my new niece, who is due to arrive in about a week, and while I have the machine out for that, I can finally tackle a project my friend requested from almost a year ago! Eep!

Looking for more cases of the Crafties?
Stitch Club: Kaur

Stitch Club: Kaur

Saima Kaur led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club designed to make us smile by stitching brightly bold and whimsical figures, and I was inspired by ancient South African rock art.

read more
Stitch Club: Edwards

Stitch Club: Edwards

Priscilla Edwards led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club where we learned to make a wire frame and use batik wax to form a sculpture. For whatever reason, I decided I’d make a sailboat!

read more
A new era

A new era

My craft room has two new additions, Toby and Ollie.

read more
Hexie Dreams + Template

Hexie Dreams + Template

My Hexie Dreams quilt, which was carefully fussy cut and hand pieced by me, then hand quilted by my gramma, is finally finished after three+ years of work (and avoidance). The proof is in the stitching – persistence pays off!

read more
Stitch Club: Dias

Stitch Club: Dias

Cassandra Dias lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club workshop on embroidered landscapes, and I was inspired to recreate a honeymoon photo of France’s Pont Du Gard.

read more
Hello 2024!

Hello 2024!

For the start of 2024, I’ve been playing with drawing, paint, and watercolor pencils to get a feel for the media.

read more
Ida Andersen Lang’s Tutorial

Ida Andersen Lang’s Tutorial

I followed a water color pencil tutorial by Ida Andersen Lang to work through some techniques to set me up for a successful Mixed Media 2024 journey.

read more
Stitch Club: Boschert

Stitch Club: Boschert

Deborah Boschert lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club on creating a mixed media art quilt. I based mine upon a visit to a new town and restaurant.

read more
Finds and Things

Finds and Things

A random post about some art supplies, vintage finds, and an AI-generated experiment for future crafts.

read more
Stitch Club: Stone 3

Stitch Club: Stone 3

Sue Stone’s third workshop with TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club prompted us to use text in our piece, so I recorded a trip to Shawnee National Forest.

read more
Stitch Club: Stone 2

Stitch Club: Stone 2

Sue Stone led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club in her well-known portrait style, and I was inspired to capture a man in a hat in four variations.

read more
Hexie Dreams 19

Hexie Dreams 19

My hand sewn fussy-cut EPP Hexie Dreams quilt is all ready to go to my gramma for hand quilting. Check out a few of my embellished hexies, and come back in the future for the finished product!

read more
My Village Quilt

My Village Quilt

I present to you My Village Quilt, based on the Urban Village Green quilt: a four-year-long project that tipped the love-hate scale finally over to love.

read more
Update

Update

Just a summary of random things that’s been keeping me from posting.

read more
Stitch Club: Kaur

Stitch Club: Kaur

Saima Kaur led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club designed to make us smile by stitching brightly bold and whimsical figures, and I was inspired by ancient South African rock art.

read more
Stitch Club: Edwards

Stitch Club: Edwards

Priscilla Edwards led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club where we learned to make a wire frame and use batik wax to form a sculpture. For whatever reason, I decided I’d make a sailboat!

read more
A new era

A new era

My craft room has two new additions, Toby and Ollie.

read more
Hexie Dreams + Template

Hexie Dreams + Template

My Hexie Dreams quilt, which was carefully fussy cut and hand pieced by me, then hand quilted by my gramma, is finally finished after three+ years of work (and avoidance). The proof is in the stitching – persistence pays off!

read more
Stitch Club: Dias

Stitch Club: Dias

Cassandra Dias lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club workshop on embroidered landscapes, and I was inspired to recreate a honeymoon photo of France’s Pont Du Gard.

read more
Hello 2024!

Hello 2024!

For the start of 2024, I’ve been playing with drawing, paint, and watercolor pencils to get a feel for the media.

read more
Ida Andersen Lang’s Tutorial

Ida Andersen Lang’s Tutorial

I followed a water color pencil tutorial by Ida Andersen Lang to work through some techniques to set me up for a successful Mixed Media 2024 journey.

read more
Stitch Club: Boschert

Stitch Club: Boschert

Deborah Boschert lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club on creating a mixed media art quilt. I based mine upon a visit to a new town and restaurant.

read more
Finds and Things

Finds and Things

A random post about some art supplies, vintage finds, and an AI-generated experiment for future crafts.

read more
Stitch Club: Stone 3

Stitch Club: Stone 3

Sue Stone’s third workshop with TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club prompted us to use text in our piece, so I recorded a trip to Shawnee National Forest.

read more
Stitch Club: Stone 2

Stitch Club: Stone 2

Sue Stone led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club in her well-known portrait style, and I was inspired to capture a man in a hat in four variations.

read more
Hexie Dreams 19

Hexie Dreams 19

My hand sewn fussy-cut EPP Hexie Dreams quilt is all ready to go to my gramma for hand quilting. Check out a few of my embellished hexies, and come back in the future for the finished product!

read more