bee creative

Inspire Me Thursday - Best of...

Inspire Me Thursday's prompt for this week was to think of the best of 2007.  I think what was the best for me and will be most memorable this year was starting a blog!

I was inspired to start this blog because I wanted to participate in "Inspire Me Thursday" and Wardrobe Refashion  (it's been 8 months since I bought a new item of clothing...).  These challenges have helped me move beyond just thinking about projects that I want to do, to really doing them. 

I also like participating in something that people around the world are doing.  Although I think that being local is  hugely important in most ways, I think it's also important to be part of the global community/conversation in someway.   

In a kind of butterfly effect, it's led me to other places.  One was being included in Artful Blogging.  This was very, very exciting for me!  On a more practical level,  finding other blogs that have helped me focus my efforts to be more sustainable (a new idea I like is not just being sustainable, but also regenerative in my lifestyle.) has been very important.   I'm also trying to be more sustainable in how I create.  My goal for the next year is to really become consistent in using up my "stash of trash."  That would be all the stuff I've saved other the years thinking that somehow it would be useful....

Recycled material:  Map

Whew...made it out of the scrap pile!

Basket number three is sort of overflowing...  But my able assistant Hazel the cat and I made it out with material for a cover for my futon.  I decided to recycle jeans and an old table cloth for the top.  I've put together a sample square to see if I like it, and I do.  Now I just have to see if I have enough jeans in my stash.  I can't remember when I threw away a pair of worn jeans.  I've saved them for as long as I can remember, so hopefully I have enough.

Here's my sample.  I used some scrap flannel to back the table cloth.  I considered sewing it so the seams were to the right side and then cutting them into a fringe.  It would be campy-fun but with a Chihuahua that likes to chew, I thought better of it.

Waste not, want not, part two

Due to the holidays and a rather icky cold, I got behind on my "Waste Not, Want Not" project.  Today, with a little help from my assistant, I got back to work on cleaning out my stash.  Good thing she's cute, cause she's a menace!

This is basket number two.  From basket number one I've got enough squares to be off on a good start to two different quilts.  And I cut enough squares for a bathmat.  That's what I assembled today.  I really like it and I think I'm going to make another.  I got the idea for the bath mat from a link at Sew Mama Sew's Handmade Holiday project.  Lots of great tutorials.   I'm sure I'm going to try  some of the other projects in my attempt to use up my scraps.  Here's the bath mat:

Tomorrow I'm going to go diving to see if I can come up with enough scraps to make a cover for my futon.   That will make basket number three, which may get emptied before basket number two....

Full moon in the morning

Although I've been cherishing the light the last couple days, I do find something special in the short days.   I like the coziness, I like that it slows me down.  I like that I can walk out the door at 7 AM and see the full moon in a dark sky.  I love all the lights.

What I've found though, is that I enjoy them a lot more when I'm home for the day.  It's hard to go to work in the dark and return in the dark.

Recycled materials:  paper bag and old journal.   

Change of season

Today was the last day for my local farmer's market until March.  Not a whole lot of vegetables left, mostly crafts.  Some squash, carrots, potatoes, apples, and beets.  And bread, honey and smoked salmon. That's about what is available at the co-op too.  One of our local farms is going to keep a stand open.  It will be interesting to see what they continue to have over the next 3 months.  Eating local is going to get challenging. 

Yesterday I took a walk down by the bay.  This is an area that was formally industrial and is now a park.  There is a lot of bricks and concrete mixed in with the rock.  The tide was really high.  It was easy to start thinking about cycles:  the tides, the moon, the seasons.  It seems strange to me that winter is the season when the light returns.  Winter is often thought of as cold and stormy (and can be), but it's also when the light comes back.  It's when buds on some of the trees will start to open.... 

Gardening on the shortest day of the year

I suppose it might seem a little crazy, but I spent part of the shortest day of the year, a day that was 28 degrees Fahrenheit when I woke up, sorting my seed collection and ordering seeds for next year's garden.  I bet I wasn't the only person doing this! 

This year I've decided to order seeds from Seed Savers.  I'll also get a few seeds from one of the local farms that has started selling seeds.   I generally spend 60-75 dollars a year on seeds (including garlic, onions, and potatoes), depending on what's low in my collection.  I very rarely plant a whole packet of anything, sometimes a packet will last me at least 2-3 years. This will end up giving me fresh vegetables for at least 6 months. 

If I were starting a seed collection I'd order peas, beans, lettuce, carrots, radishes,  a summer squash, and tomatoes (one cherry, one larger one good for canning).  I'd also add seed potatoes and onion sets to that. At this point I have a lot more than that though! 

In the past I've saved my own bean seeds and several different types of flowers.   One of my goals for 2008 is that I want to work on saving more varieties.  Seems like the smart thing to do!  If you want to read something scary about seed supplies check this link out.    

I also decided to visit one of our local nurseries.  It wasn't even possible for me to resist this primrose, probably grown at one of our local wholesale nurseries.  The yellow ones often have a sweet fragrance.  I'll keep this inside for a couple days and then put it outside.  I have a primrose that's been blooming since November in the garden, they are a happy thing in the winter!   Flowers are important in the garden.  Many are edible (although not always very good tasting in my opinion), they attract beneficial insects, and they lift the spirit. 

Because I'm keeping track of these things at the moment:

Time spent "gardening:"  1 hour
Money spent:  40 dollars

 

Inspire Me Thursday -giving

This is one of the cards that I made to give this year.  I've made my own cards for many, many years now.  My recycled material for this project was scraps of paper from my stash.

I also make most of my gifts or buy things that are locally made at the local farmer's market or one of the holiday craft fairs.  It's part of my effort to take the commercialism out of holidays.  I think that not watching TV or shopping at malls makes this time of year more meaningful for me.  I do need to get better at starting projects sooner though.  I think it's going to be a very busy weekend!

My family's seen this poem on more than one of my cards, but I thought I'd share this with everyone else:

I heard a Bird Sing

I heard a bird sing
  In the dark of December
A magical thing
  And sweet to remember.
"We are nearer to Spring
  Than we were in September,"
I heard the bird sing
  In the dark of December.
  -Oliver Herford

Happy Holidays to all!

Inspire Me Thursday-Ice

Here's my effort for "ice" for Inspire Me Thursday.  My ice is hard to see.  The glitter didn't scan very well. 

It's 26 degrees F right now...there will be more ice tomorrow morning, perhaps some snow.  Right now it is clear and cold and it's easy to see the stars....

Recycled materials for this project:  paper from my stash and my old journal. 

Inspire Me Thursday - Paradox

Inspire Me Thursday's prompt this past week was "paradox."  I spent a lot of time thinking about this one and as a result of my current reading (just finished Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and started Deep Economy by Bill McKibben) came up with two:

1.  That after a certain amount of income, more money does not mean more happiness.

2.  That small farms can produce more food per acre than large industrial farms. 

Those facts seem paradoxical to me!  And that led me to my response-art money!  I've always been intrigued by this idea.  If anyone wants more info on this, check out the artmoney website.  I don't know if I'll do more with it (art money can be registered and spent), but it was fun spending more time exploring the artmoney website and it was fun to create.  My topic reflects my second paradox.  Even as we're having our first snow of the year (hooray!), I'm planning my spring garden.  A couple links of interest on this topic are Revive the Victory Garden and Victory Garden+2007.  Well for anyone from "Inspire Me Thursday," warned you I was up on my soapbox! 

Recycled materials for this project:  paper from the stash of trash, and little teeny scraps of fabric from my waste not, want not basket. 

First snow of the year!

  "Let it snow, let it snow..."  I love snow.  I love it even more now that I don't own a car and I don't have to drive in it.  I either walk, take the bus, or get a ride.  If I can't get there, I can't get there.

I love it because we really only get snow about 2 or 3 times a year, so it is a special event.

I love it because it makes the world quieter, and softens the edges. 

And I love to sit by the window and watch it fall while I work on some project or another.

Today I worked on my "waste not, want not" basket.  I cut out stacks of squares and a sample block for the "rose star" quilt.

I decided that "rose star" needs to have consistent patterns of fabric, so it's not a good way to use up my fabric stash.  Ah well....

I did remember another good project for strips of fabric though.  A sort of log cabin type block.

I started with a larger center square and then added strips that fit.  I'm going to keep adding until I have a 12 inch square and then make a small pillow with it.  It will make a good gift for my holiday party for work. 

I also made a nice big pot of soup, perfect for the first snow day.