At the Colectivo Holiday Party

My cookies were disappearing! :-)

 

Ornament of Cheerfulness!

The lab at St. John West Shore made this fetching choir of caroling test tubes. So CUTE!

 

Coming! Needles, Hooks, or Loom?

>SNERK< As if I need to be asked twice. "Yarn" is the new "shiny".

Garfield Minus Garfield publishes daily. It was my sister-in-law Leonor who introduced me to this very zen webcomic.

Of course, this particular strip was sent (rather pointedly) to me by My Beloved, who is still waiting for his first sweater and the half-finished half pair of socks I still have on the needles.

 

Glad to be inside! (Thankful Thursday)

Rick brought in the last blooming gladiolus after digging all the glad bulbs. There *was* frost this morning, after all.

I'm very thankful for my husband's thoughtfulness. He never stops making me smile.

 

Federal Red Tape

Federal Red Tape
Originally uploaded by sunspotting.

It *is* in a national park...

I'm sitting on the porch of the Boston Store now, knitting socks as I cheer for the runners. Rick should be finishing anytime now...

 

Pre-race Silliness

Pre-race Silliness
Originally uploaded by sunspotting.

Why the foamy stuffs? Mountain bike bling?

We saw this on our way to the start line. It just struck me as odd in so many ways; perhaps it's something a child made and gave the bike owner. It hangs so as to be a bit mechanically distracting to normal bike operations.

I don't know. If it were me, I'd want to rip it off after the first 12 miles or so. Lucky for the foam flower, it's not.

 

The AntiCraft Samhain Issue Is Published TODAY!

Time for The AntiCraft to publish! It's a good one. Again. As usual.

Our theme this quarter is called "Broken Bones", and it celebrates the Latin American festival Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).

This is not a morbid day to wallow around in pathos and mourning. It's a day of bright colors and cheerful, festive music, generous food, family gathering, and celebration. It's a day to go and share the year's experiences at the gravesite of the people who have passed on, whether recently or long ago. In fact, sometimes it can go on for two days.

So click on the link and see what we have to say, craftwise, about celebrating the memories of the ones we love!

 

"How I Spent My Summer" bling

5 weeks til Pedal to the Point!

We have more training to do. That's the easy part. That's fun and social. There is a lot of money to raise. In this economy, that's the scary part. That can be fun and social, too, though.

Meh. We can do it. It's time to crank it up a gear or so!

-->r2.

Mysterious and Intriguing

These signs are found on streets all over the world. No one knows who puts them there, or even what exactly what they mean. The "Toynbee" in the sign is a reference to the Ray Bradbury book, The Toynbee Convector, as well as a concept from the Kubrick film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

This sign is at the corner of W. 3rd and Prospect, *on* W. 3rd., near my husband's office building.

Inspirational Intricacy

Really great, insanely detailed polymer clay bowls. Highly inspirational for me.

Tiny Tin

Tiny retablos! I've never seen them so small! Very charming. These are in our favorite gallery, Galería Quetzal, on Mayfield Road in Little Italy. I like her gallery because she goes all over Latin America gathering the works directly from the craftspeople. I also like her because her gallery is vibrantly colorful and loaded with fantastic textures. Personally, I find her an excellent and beautiful human. I would give her name, but I am an idiot about remembering names.

Anything else? Well, yes! We found another gallery we love: Scaravilli Design. It's all photography, and ALL eye-poppingly lush. He makes Cleveland look as cosmopolitan as Prague and Amsterdam, and so very much more. It was a delightful evening, and we got to spend it all with Tim and Carlina (2 of our very favorite people!), too: bonus!

Day of the Dead Decor

Larger retablo. I adore tin folk art, but retablos take the cake.

Learning Something New Everyday...

The Marx Bros make an appearance at the 2008 Little Italy Art Walk! It's Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Karl.

YES. Karl. Hilarious, right?

Tim pointed it out. Leave it to Tim to find the most ludicrous thing in a gallery full of wonders...

(This was in Pennello Gallery on Mayfield Road.)

 

Criminy. Not AGAIN. Not TWICE in a Day.

Criminy. Not AGAIN. Not TWICE in a Day.
Originally uploaded by sunspotting.

Well, now we know why I don't EVER pick the flowers from our yard for interior flower-strewing: they really WILL be strewn. Note the tasteful and artistic reflecting pond that cascades down the face of the dresser and moistens the table linens within.

Arrangement by Rebecca. REarrangement by Anonymous F*c%ng Cat.

 

New Species Discovered at Greenhouse

Rock Owls. 'Whooo'dathunk. Well apparently, *that* guy. And he's charging $8 each for his mad skilz as a stone carver. Rick's cousin Kate is in the background, reviewing her planting and purchasing notes.

Wordless Wednesday: Little Mr Wickett

Peace Angels

These are the first few that are done. FINALLY. Soooo labor intensive! But ultimately worth it, I think. These angels are all alike, they just have different details front to back. I (fairly stupidly) forgot to sandwich a loop to hang this ornament, so I will have to trouble-shoot that as soon as the 'peace please' signs are attached. *sigh* There's always something! ;-)

Negative Space Angel Wings

Production work. This was gruelling. The end result will be worth the effort. Now it's time to crochet more eyeballs...

I Bring Good Tidings...

...of great presents!

I made it, but the pattern is copyright Ana Maria Seaton, moderator for Art for Cures, a charity art group I participate in. She's a creative dynamo.