Meanderings of a Mermaid

I've been beetling away at my Sea Stars shawl project. A couple of hours and the whole thing will be done. I am just completing a border edge now. After which you will get to see the completed result. My girlfriend C is calling it Sea Starz, modified after the stitch pattern name, Sea Stars. So I have adopted this name for the past few days. And then a happy little coincidence came along. Yesterday had three really obvious freaky coincidences occurred but I'll just tell you about one. I found out that a very creative jeweller, Dalan Hargrave of Spring Branch TX will be designing and making my next piece of jewellery. I've been lugging around quite a few cut stones for years. I profess to being a collector and I do eventually have most made into jewellery that I design, or my late husband designed and made. It was time to get some of the blue-green stones assembled into one art piece. It will have something to do with a mermaid - I think that's all I'm going to tell...

Do you remember the ads from way back when: The brassiere that was to Lift And Separate the girls.?? Well this is a good explanation for why it never rains in this part of the Hill Country. As the weather systems approach from the west they encounter the rising topography. Geologists have termed this area of exposed Precambrian rocks the Llano Uplift. It is a remarkable landscape feature that can be seen with some decent road tripping. As the warm wet weather reaches the slopes it begins to rise and cool. Some rain will come down as the clouds cool and carry more moisture. That's the lift. But then there is the separate. As the winds continue to push the weather eastward the systems split in half and veer around this north part of the Hill Country. It's remarkable to see on the weather map radar; happening over and over again. So because this region is "well endowed" it's a perpetual challenge for livestock and ranchers. You have my sympathies.

So , clearly this is not where I live right now. In a former life I lived on Baffin Island, way up there beside Greenland. A lovely spring day in the Arctic invited one out to romp and play: the wind tousling the few strands of hair that weren't well tucked into the helmet. But now my spring times are hot and dry. I miss Home North and its inviting lake. Even if it's too cool yet for swimming there, the shoreline becomes a place to hang out and catch a cool breeze. The new boat will provide a floating lounge for us this summer. And I'm contemplating all the fresh fish we will catch off the front end of our fishing model. Soon it will be time to load up the furry ones in the van. Actually the back seat is down and covered with a moving blanket. They have cushions aplenty and I stop so often it's a wonder I make it all the way in three days. Look out Canada! This little family is getting ready for the long trek to Home North. Expect us in under three weeks now!

"Every time we remember to say "thank you," we experience heaven on earth." Sarah Ban Breathnach. This is such a lovely thought I wanted to share it. And it was high time I said Thank You to my friends who make my life one big smile. And to the followers of this blog who keep coming back. Life and love has been very good to me and for that I am very grateful.

I've hat a love for you ever since I was a child. Father making me squint into the harsh sun; all while waiting for several family photos to be snapped. I hated that. I quickly learned to adopt a hat and sunglasses. Sun screen was added to the daily list once that modern marvel came along. And as an exploration geologist it was always important to be very observant. Whether doing the navigation in the co-pilot's seat, or trying to spot the gossanous glint on a far rock outcropping, or determine if that was a polar bear or just an arctic wolf stalking me,... it was always important to see well and see it all immediately. Therefore hats have always been very important to me. I still wear them all the time outside on a bright day. Hats can quickly add some panache to an otherwise plain outfit. They can put you in a playful mood. Some hats will lend an air of mystery to your persona! Suck in your cheeks and you too could be a jet setter about to fly off to the Riviera for some ...

Okay so here are a few pictures that tell the tale. The mosaic purse has been knit and now it needs to be lined. Here the purse is already sewn together, using the mattress stitch or invisible stitch. You are looking at the inside with all the floats and loose ends. In this next image is the cotton broadcloth lining. I used a frisky remnant of fabric I received from friends in New Zealand. I simply cut three pieces all just a little bigger than the outline of the three knit pieces. Then I sewed the cotton together on a machine. The top edges and strap edges all have a minimal hem folded over just once. And I ran the stitching line as close to the edge as I could. Here is a close up of the corner detail. You may need to lop off a triangle of cotton at each corner just to allow ease for making it around the bend. Drum roll please! Here the lining is going into the knit purse. A sneak peek at the lining before it gets sewn in. Normally I would recommend a plain light coloured lining,...

Somewhere along the line I decided that running a workshop for the area knitters would be a good idea. This, at a time, naturally, when I was quite busy already. Of course . After some careful thought, a list of five or so possible topics, some discussion and rudimentary voting, we settled on a mosaic knitting workshop. It is the simplest of the colourwork techniques and lots of fun. Then I set about to find a stitch pattern that would work. This is what I came up with. Since most of my stitch pattern books are at Home North, I relied on Vogue Stitchionary 3 to come up with the candidates. Pie Crust is the name, and a simple purse is the game. So in preparation for the workshop I am writing up the unique design and blocking the pieces prior to sewing it all up. I will eventually line the purse for added strength. For my version number one I will use crepe myrtle branches that need to be pruned anyways. Many options are possible for the simple handles: chopsticks, drumsticks, thin sp...