The Kenneth Foundation’s Neighborhood

      As a craft-procrastinator (why I procrastinate on something I love doing? no idea.) Thanksgiving signifies that x-mas is but a month away and if you haven't started making your gifts yet, you need to ASAP.  Since this year I am very, very, very, seriously, poor and unemployed all x-mas presents will come to fruition through my super stash of yarn and fabric and my own two hands.  I've come to the realization that I can pretty much make and do anything I want depending on my level of interest and my access to materials and tools.  I know how to do a ton of amazing stuff and I'm learning more everyday.  Yesterday I learned how to nest my seams to make my quilt blocks lay flat, and today I taught myself to make doll clothes patterns with just the measurements I found online.  More importantly than realizing that I can do and make and thing I want is that I SHOULD make and do what ever I want.  That I should be contributing to the craft community and stop wasting my talent and super awesome studio space by being a "lurker".

This craft-epiphany was due to a culmination of influential women in my life:

• Mama Hughes for being an amazing mentor and for always believing in me, encouraging me and giving me endless opportunities to learn from her and really making me feel like all things are possible.
• Ayla from the Jean M. Auel book The Clan of the Cave Bear for showing me that sharing your talents with the your community enriches the lives of those around you unless you are a complete troglodyte like Broud.
• My very talented friend Katy, (she designed my website and business cards) who was jealous of my craft room and made me realize that I was wasting my precious gift of space and tools and being unappreciative of what I have.

Sewingroom

And this is what I've been up to:

      I'm making a denim quilt for my parents.  We have an "heirloom" denim quilt that has been passed down from my dad's parents no one remembers who made it, or how old it it is, it's just always existed.  While being shoddily pieced together and not very attractive, it is highly utilitarian.  We used it for going to the drive-in theater when we were kids, countless picnics, music festivals in the park, trips to the beach, camping, you name it we've used that thing everywhere for everything.  Now it's gotten pretty beat up over the years and some of the patches are beyond repair.  I've also noticed that we use it a lot less now that it's all tattered.  My parents also just got a new RV so what better present than to make a new quilt that we can use the hell out of and make memories with.  The picture above and left shows the plaid I want to use as the backing (it's from France and I got it at a designer leftover sale) and the above and right photo is a sample of the block pattern I'm using.  Cool side note about the denim I'm using, it's all from jeans that I've worn dating back to middle school.  I harvested all the denim over the years knowing that someday I wanted to take on this project of creating and "heirloom" quilt.

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I've taught myself to make doll clothes.  My cousin who is 9yrs old, loves the American Girl dolls, and Michael Jackson.  What better than to make her doll one of the most iconic MJ outfits!  I will be making the red sequined military jacket and cropped tuxedo pants that the king of pop made legendary on his Victory tour.  Now if i'm super cool, i'm going to attempt the sparkly glove and socks, but we'll see about that.  here is the jacket I'm going to attempt to emulate.
 
                                            

Turkey day was hella laid back with only minor family drama when my sister's dead-beat-baby-daddy (DBBD)decided he was mad at my boyfriend for not being welcome at our new apartment and threatening to

Black Friday, talk about epic let down!  Nothing I wanted (or wanted to buy for someone else) was on sale, or was on sale enough for me to want to buy it.   Even my 9 month old nephew protested by smashing his glass bottle on the floor at Wal-Mart.  Why my sister uses glass bottles is beyond me.  My sister and I gasped in horror, but he laughed and smiled, finding the whole event quite entertaining.  this picture is of him biting a defenseless kitten (only joking, no one was defenseless or injured, in case PETA or CPS is reading)

Love:

Mewithjuliandjosh

- I organized all my trim this week, now my lace and ribbons and zippers and whatnot are all organized, now maybe I can get to some x-mas crafting.  lol.

- Free and delicious coffee from my new and wonderful credit union.  using the Keurig machine is half the fun, but getting FREE, GOOD, chocolate cake flavored coffee is the other half.

- Playing with my niece and nephew.  It's one of the few times I can actually let go, cut loose and just have fun.  those two are so cute it's just unbelievable.

Hate:
- New Moon movie.  ok, I can forgive them for fucking up the vampire lore, I can even forgive them for being a disgusting teen romance series.  What I can't forgive is sending the WRONG message to young girls about relationships, healthy break up behavior, and how to treat your family and friends and boys who have feelings for you.  Bella Swan is a piece of shit, she is selfish and self centered and treats her the people in her life like garbage.  wake up!  these boys aren't the life/death of your universe, get some self respect, Edward is emotionally abusive (he hates himself to much to ever really love bella, and bella is too insecure to know better thus pressuring him into huge commitments like marriage and changing her into a vamp) and Jacob practically threatens physical violence that he has "no control" over.  this is a VERY POOR role model for young girls to find appealing or romantic.  As a feminist I am beyond appalled.

- The cold weather making my bones hurt and living with someone who had a natural body temp of like 103F who never needs the heater who says to me just as I'm getting warm, "it's so hot in here, do we really need this on?"

- Not hearing back (it's been 3 weeks now) from the school district where I applied to be a substitute teacher after they basically told me that I would have a job because I was needed so desperately.  I've come in and talked to them twice now and both times they told me the paperwork just hasn't gone through yet.  so by the time I start working for them I'll be starving and on the streets and the kids will be like, "oh god no, not the homeless sub, she's the worst!"

- I just want to bold one thing and now the bold wont turn off. guh.

Homesweethome

Despite fake neighbors, I'm sticking with VOX.  Tumblr was terrible.  The content quality of the majority of the users was lame.  commenting wasn't an integral part of their structure, "hearting" and re-posting were what you did if you liked something.  not the connection and conversation i was looking for in a larger community.  The posting interface just re-affirmed my suspicion that tumblr is not interested in blog style content, just pictures that you can heart and repost.  it all seemed really superficial and shallow.  not that anything that i say here is epic or deep, but it's me and it's real and if people can't interact with it and have a conversation, what is the point?  So for now, Vox is home sweet home.

I've been getting some comments and neighborhood

i come in peace (vector)

Meet Black Jack.  That's what we're calling him.  Or Just Jack.  With out jazz hands!  We really don't know what his name is.  We bought him yesterday.  The man we bought him from is a horse trader and had taken him as part of a debt.  He doesn't need him and so. . . .  He is about 20-25 years old, has packed and been ridden.  DH rode him yesterday and he did well.  DH and the mule!   He is very friendly, described as "Dog friendly" by previous owner.   How true.  He is a paint mule.  He has a couple of white spots on his right side and 4 or 5 on his left.  He has a grey belly and muzzle with light coloring around the eyes.  He is going to fit right in.

Now that we are not going to be building a new home anytime soon, the question becomes "Where do you Spin?"

Right now, I have a small set-up in a small bedroom, approximately 100 sq ft, that still has a bed in it.  It's a pain, because I can not have everything set up all at once.  I would like to be able to leave my sewing machine up, all of my wheels set out and ready and also have a space for my circular sock knitting machine and a place to do dyeing. 

Ideally, a studio should have a wet and dry area.  A large work table, plenty of light and storage capacity.  Right now, I have  none of these.  If I want to spin, I must put everything else somewhere else.  If I want to sew, I have to find a table to set the machine on.  Even trying to keep track of all of my fleeces and different yarns is a drag.  I did get info on a knitter's project sheet, but even that seems to much to think about.

So, spinners, where do you spin?  Do you make do, or do you have a space that is dedicated only to spinning?

If Ikea and Anthropology had a baby it would be Car Mobel.  A German company that carries several interiors lines that are popular in Germany and Scandinavia.  I found them on decor8, which is a blog I read religiously, if pretty things and nice houses were a religion.  subscribe to them if you haven't already!

I want the thread holder on the left!!  <3 <3 <3  Tragically they only ship to Germany.

I just love finding things like this, it really helps to inspire my thrift shopping and polish up my ideas about aesthetic. 

Have you ever been so stressed out that you don't know how stressed out you were  until some of the stress is gone?  That happened to me today.

To say this has been an incredibly tough year is an understatement.

• DH started surgeries in January, was off work from January until May, not back to full duty until August
• Daughter 2 graduating from college
  
• 6 close friends or family members have passed away, this year isn't over yet, plus the loss of our Bud.
• two surgeries for me plus wondering if I had suffered a previous heart attack without knowing it.
• Expensive vacation (that I wouldn't have traded!!!)
• trying to find a house  plan that we could build, and afford, and be comfortable in for our retirement.
• Daughter 1 having her car crashed into (while parked)

Well, most of these things are or were out of my control.  Today, one big thing was lifted from my shoulders and I can't believe what a heavy burden it was. 

I am talking about building a new house.  We have some property not too far from here that is idyllic, bucolic, isolated and beautiful.  We have spent over 5 years in acquiring this property with the idea of  building a retirement home on it.  I have researched and looked at hundreds of floor plans, spent hours doodling my own, and countless hours of driving and looking to find the 'perfect' house.  Today, DH and I went to visit some more.  We found a bargain, a 2600 sq ft manufactured home with high end details for less than $100K.  It was a home that could have suited us.  But. . . .   after lengthy and honest discussion we have realized that building a house on this property may not be the best choice for us.  I, for one, am a person who does not do well being isolated.  I have never lived alone and I'm not sure how I would cope being alone most of the time, with no social contacts close at hand.  The cost of developing the property to make it ready to put a house on is over $20K.  We have some local property that is literally right down the street from where we live now that is larger than where we are at and has all utilities at hand.  So, for now, at least, we are putting any plans of building a new home on hold.  We are just not prepared to go forward with it.  And until today, I just didn't realize how stressed out this has made me.  Now, I can get back to worrying about my upcoming surgery and possible surgery for DH's knee.  Oh, the joys of growing old.

Have you ever had a premonition? Did you heed it?
Submitted by aynge.

My 'premonition' was in a different form.  One night, years ago, I woke from a deep sleep because it felt like I had taken a hammer blow, or a gun shot to the back of my head.

The next day, the news described a murder of a cab driver not too far away.  A day or so later, while driving, I saw some kids driving a car and thought "How can those kids be driving that car?  It is way too expensive and fast.  Turns out they shot the cabbie and had stolen his car.  Yes, that car.  They were driving it around like a bunch of idiots.  Still gives me chills to think about it.