dark days

The past week has been dark and gray. The type of day when you are lucky if you see the sun or it rains ~ because it breaks the gray monotony.
We have left what I called The Year of Mortality far behind, but it never seems to have truly ended. Perhaps I just came to understand it more. But already, though my family seems to be continually faced with the fact that we are mortal.
I am sorry to have gotten so melancholy! I am not so sad as this may make me out to be! I am simply thinking melancholic thoughts lately. The last week I have been sitting vigil beside our dear old cat. He had two or more strokes last week, he started having trouble walking and suddenly went blind. There is nothing that can really be done, and so, as long as he is not in pain, we are simply waiting. And yet, with all of this, he still switches his tail in annoyance when you wake him up, and begins to purr when you talk to him.
It has actually been a sad but lovely week, spending the time caring for our Old Man, giving him broth and his favorite foods, making sure he knows he is safe and loved. Knowing that if he dies during the night, we will have done all we could, and he was happy until the end. And so, I am enjoying my quite week. It is nice not having a car, not even being able to go anywhere if I felt I should ~ because I really wanted to be home with our sweet Dominic.
Love,
Lucia Marcella

A new venture ~

Ever since I was little I have dreamed of having a little business making toys. When I was twelve I actually payed for my pet rabbits' food by selling little felt toy bunnies at the local farmers market. I brought a spinning wheel and my two sweet pet rabbits - Toby and Samwise Gamgee - and was able to sell every toy I had made, and had a wonderful time!
I think that was actually the first time someone told me about Etsy.
"You should sell these online," a really nice lady said. "There's a new website that hosts small business."
Of course, then I got distracted by (homeschool) high school, getting sick, and worrying about college... and, well, I have a bad case of Procrastination.
But now (drum roll please!) I am finally making the leap and opening my Etsy shop!
It's called The White Bird Studio, and I am planing on opening it on November 1st, All Saints Day ~ I need all the help I can get, and how great is it to have all the saints as patrons of my shop?
There will be an Autumn girl or two, a few little Christmas Elves, and some sweet Winter maidens. If I am able to get everything done in time, they might be joined by some other little surprises, but we'll have to wait and see!
I am so excited about finally starting my little shop, and I hope you enjoy seeing my little people in progress!

Remember September

I am, apparently, very bad at this blogging thing.

Every time I sit down at the computer I cant think of a single thing to write! 

It's like writing an essay for school all over again...

We did finally get our first bit of cooler weather this past week, which is amazingly exciting after a summer of 100+ degrees! I opened all the windows in the house the moment it got into the 70's. The cats decided that this must be winter, and began to sleep the day away curled up in the warmest bright spot on the rug. 

It's warmed back up to feel like summer again now, and I'm drinking many cups of tea, knitting woolen socks, and wishing for fall. 

Anyway, this is me, trying to begin this blog in earnest. Hopefully I can get some good pictures of what I am sewing the next time the sun comes out, and post an actual blog post sometime in the next few days.

Until then, thank you for stopping by my little corner of the internet! 

It was so lovely to meet you ~

By the sea

Nearly every summer we spend a few days by the ocean just taking a rest from the the world and breathing in the salty air. We pack up a bunch of black and white movies, at least five books per person,  a couple of knitting projects, and a bag of watercolor paints. We look forward to those beautiful calm days all year, and never want to leave once we are there. We always get home wondering what we can do to make Life more like our seaside days, and this year we are trying even harder to figure it out.  I think we have started getting the beginnings of a plan...

1. Make time for art every day, even if it's just a couple of minutes, and what ever come out of it doesn't look anything like how you wanted it to.
2. Read more actual, paper and ink, hold in you hand, page turning books. Kindles only sometimes count.
3. Watch TV and movies together, even if it's not something you particularly like. It might still make you laugh :)
4. Go outside deliberately,  not just in order to get somewhere, but simply to be outside. To look at the flowers, watch the sunrise,  and find bird tracks in the sand.
5. That tea can help every situation!

Given,  that last one isn't exactly news, but it's good to be reminded of the important things!
I hope everyone's summers are going beautifully,  and I'll see if I can learn how to write more then one blog post per season!

Little Amity

This is Miss Amity, my first real attempt at making a doll from the pattern on up. She is mostly inspired by pictures of handmade cloth dolls from the mid 1800's, but once I reached her face, I couldn't help put embroider it!  I have only found a very few pictures of cloth dolls from the 1800's who's faces are not simply painted (or very beautifully painted, but I did not want to attempt that just yet!). Most of the embroidered faces I have seen are on very sweet little African American dolls, so I may have to try making a copy of one of those next. When I realized Amity was not going to be a perfect reproduction doll, I decided to just have fun experimenting, giving her hand-spun hair with a braided bun, and hands inspired by Izannah Walker dolls.
I hadn't realized that I never got a good head-to-toe picture of her, but I'll post more pictures as soon as I have her underpinnings completed ~ for now I am having a very fun time imagining tiny petticoats and miniature leather shoes!

Back to sewing for me ~ what do you all think of my little girl?

Two little friends for a birthday girl

 

Just before Christmas a little friend of ours turned seven. Since her birthday just right around Martinmas, she asked to have a Lantern Walk party! Can you imagine anything more lovely?

And what other present could  you give a sweet little girl for  her Lantern-Walk-Birthday then two little woodland people carrying their own little lanterns?

Now, I have to tell you, I am still not happy with their faces. The little brother's eyes seems a bit... But I was cutting it a bit close, and barely got their smiles drawn before we had to head out to the party, wrapping them up in purple tissue ribbons on the car ride.
I've been working on drawing and painting better faces all winter, and am getting much more confident ~

I hope everyone is doing well, and having a lovely winter!

a change in season

We thought it was warm, and then August came.

the northern part of our family is telling us about nights in the 50's and morning cool enough for sweaters. I was driving around with the air conditioner on high and a thermometer that reads 106.

In some ways it's nicer when it gets that hot ~ the air dries out.

But we were all dreaming of cool breezes,

chilled dark mornings and warm autumn lanterns

It was enough to make you shake your fist at the weather,

and start getting out ingredients for nutmeg and cinnamon and honey Apple Crisp.

Then you'd realize how hot and tired you are, 

 and the honey and spices go back in the cupboard.

And then September came, and the light suddenly changed.

and some days would stay below ninety,

and I stopped having the urge to pour every pot of tea over ice.

But, of course, the turn in the weather came with a sneeze and a tower of tissue boxes, pots of hot tea and mugs of honey and lemon,

and a few weeks curled up and wrapped up in a blanket on the couch.

And our southern version of an Indian summer came, almost as hot as true summer, and air so thick and humid you'd rather just stay indoors and turn the air conditioning as cold as it should be outside.

But finally - finally! -  the first days of winter brought in the feeling of fall!
Yesterday came Martinmas, dark and windy.
Today the sun shines gently and there is a true cool snap in the air.

Happy Martinmas!

Vanishing Spring

The spring went by so quickly this year - though, it could just seem that way to me because I was sick for most of it…

I missed all my spring planting, though one third-generation heirloom tomato came up by itself - and only gave one tomato (but it was a really good tomato!). The lemon balm and mint have overwhelmed the lettuce bed, the squash we bought months ago still languishes in its little black pot, and the entire right side of the yard has gone insanely wild from the near daily rain showers. 

And it's hot. 

We may be used to temperatures in the mid 90s, and 60% humidity, but that doesn't mean we like it!  

Thank God for air conditioning. 

I miss the cool spring breezes, and all the bright new green leaves and pretty flowers, but it's fun having all the family home for the summer. And when we can brave the heat (and the swarms of Mosquitoes…), we are taming the garden bit by bit. 

Hopefully we can get in a fall crop of tomatoes, and make up for the missed spring :)