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I was tired Friday afternoon and just watched the BBC Robin Hood series until i could have an early dinner and fall asleep in front of the news. A long night's sleep, and I felt well and alert.
I realized that my Ponoko order arrived while i was gone. I was delighted to unpack the sheet of laser cut purple acrylic and the sheet of laser cut leather. All in all, i'm pleased. The etching in the acrylic needs some help to be visible, and i can scratch and paint on the scrap to find a good solution.
One of the many little projects was to make a back for a comb-bound notebook, so that it would be stiff enough to be a writing surface. I didn't get the measurement between the comb-binding punches quite right. I must have slightly under-measured -- a rounding error -- and the error propagated so that any few combs can go through but all twenty some have problems. I notched the combs so it would work with what i have.
To experiment with pendants, i made a pattern by swirling a seven pointed star in Illustrator. In acrylic the pendant and earrings are a little pointy, but cute. The leather pendant in the same swirled star seems much more attractive. I'd also used the free area on the leather to make little name/email/phone number tags to attach to things to keep them from being lost. Those turned out quite well.
I've made purse bottoms out of both leather and acrylic, with laser cut holes around the edges for crochet attachment. I'm not sure when i'll move to that project.
I made a run to the farmer's market and soaked in morning sun. Blood oranges, asparagus, and fragrant strawberries tell the story of spring. I've eaten one of the oranges and hope to make a vinaigrette for the asparagus with the remaining one -- but i might just eat it, as well.
In gardening news, one crocus seems to have bloomed. I'm not sure what the rest of the bulbs were doing. Maybe they needed more sun? The foliage on my flowering plants is beginning to become thick and lush with new growth, so if the crocus need sun, they are not likely to get it.
I have a wide planter that i tried growing veggies in last year. The one real success was a scented geranium that now has a inch and a half diameter trunk. I keep pruning that geranium back, and yesterday i planted snow peas in the planter and mulched with thick trimmings from the geranium. I probably should replant my meyer lemon, but i merely fertilized it. I repotted the thick heavy aloes and now have extra young aloes in other pots. I thinned the self seeded crop of Italian parsley and took out the largest collard from the top: i suppose i should have picked leaves from the bottom. The large one was shading the others, though, so i think i made the right choice.
I dumped out the worm bin and transferred the soil to a old wire mesh trash can, mostly lined with unprinted newspaper. I'm going to experiment using this as a planter, and cut some pockets in the wire mesh to plant seeds. I mainly had sunflower and bean seeds, so, i'll see if that works. The biggest problem i had was with the squirrels eating the sprouts. This time, i think i can keep a grate across the top of the basket to prevent the squirrels from getting the fat sprouts. I'm going to try planting mint in an old watering can and my old teapot. I think mints could stand the lousy drainage, and it seems like an attractive pairing.
The lavender and rosemary are already blooming.
I am delighted with the bodice front i've made of a slubby worsted weight silk-llama blend yarn i picked up in Santa Cruz. It's to go with a wrap skirt made from vintage sari silk that i also picked up in Santa Cruz. I plan to just wear it around the house during the summer. Maybe i'll line it and wear it in public. [Design notes.]
The next step is a different story: I ripped out the crochet work i did on the return flight. I didn't quite have enough yarn. Had i been home, i could have weighed the yarn and divided it in two equal segments to make symmetric sleeves. Now that i'm home, i think i will focus on using the brown yarn to wrap around under my arms and the remaining red yarn to go over the shoulders.
Off for a busy day.
I realized that my Ponoko order arrived while i was gone. I was delighted to unpack the sheet of laser cut purple acrylic and the sheet of laser cut leather. All in all, i'm pleased. The etching in the acrylic needs some help to be visible, and i can scratch and paint on the scrap to find a good solution.
One of the many little projects was to make a back for a comb-bound notebook, so that it would be stiff enough to be a writing surface. I didn't get the measurement between the comb-binding punches quite right. I must have slightly under-measured -- a rounding error -- and the error propagated so that any few combs can go through but all twenty some have problems. I notched the combs so it would work with what i have.
To experiment with pendants, i made a pattern by swirling a seven pointed star in Illustrator. In acrylic the pendant and earrings are a little pointy, but cute. The leather pendant in the same swirled star seems much more attractive. I'd also used the free area on the leather to make little name/email/phone number tags to attach to things to keep them from being lost. Those turned out quite well.
I've made purse bottoms out of both leather and acrylic, with laser cut holes around the edges for crochet attachment. I'm not sure when i'll move to that project.
I made a run to the farmer's market and soaked in morning sun. Blood oranges, asparagus, and fragrant strawberries tell the story of spring. I've eaten one of the oranges and hope to make a vinaigrette for the asparagus with the remaining one -- but i might just eat it, as well.
In gardening news, one crocus seems to have bloomed. I'm not sure what the rest of the bulbs were doing. Maybe they needed more sun? The foliage on my flowering plants is beginning to become thick and lush with new growth, so if the crocus need sun, they are not likely to get it.
I have a wide planter that i tried growing veggies in last year. The one real success was a scented geranium that now has a inch and a half diameter trunk. I keep pruning that geranium back, and yesterday i planted snow peas in the planter and mulched with thick trimmings from the geranium. I probably should replant my meyer lemon, but i merely fertilized it. I repotted the thick heavy aloes and now have extra young aloes in other pots. I thinned the self seeded crop of Italian parsley and took out the largest collard from the top: i suppose i should have picked leaves from the bottom. The large one was shading the others, though, so i think i made the right choice.
I dumped out the worm bin and transferred the soil to a old wire mesh trash can, mostly lined with unprinted newspaper. I'm going to experiment using this as a planter, and cut some pockets in the wire mesh to plant seeds. I mainly had sunflower and bean seeds, so, i'll see if that works. The biggest problem i had was with the squirrels eating the sprouts. This time, i think i can keep a grate across the top of the basket to prevent the squirrels from getting the fat sprouts. I'm going to try planting mint in an old watering can and my old teapot. I think mints could stand the lousy drainage, and it seems like an attractive pairing.
The lavender and rosemary are already blooming.
I am delighted with the bodice front i've made of a slubby worsted weight silk-llama blend yarn i picked up in Santa Cruz. It's to go with a wrap skirt made from vintage sari silk that i also picked up in Santa Cruz. I plan to just wear it around the house during the summer. Maybe i'll line it and wear it in public. [Design notes.]
The next step is a different story: I ripped out the crochet work i did on the return flight. I didn't quite have enough yarn. Had i been home, i could have weighed the yarn and divided it in two equal segments to make symmetric sleeves. Now that i'm home, i think i will focus on using the brown yarn to wrap around under my arms and the remaining red yarn to go over the shoulders.
Off for a busy day.
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