Snowing and Windfalls

It is snowing like crazy and the wind is whipping around outside. I am happily and cozily inside thinking about making things.

I have had two windfalls this week. My friend is helping his parents clean out their old farm house and I gave him a few requests if he happened to come across them. And he did. The first is below. It is a perfectly serviceable typewriter. I have been looking for one for years. Eliot thinks it is fantastic.

The other request I had was for any fabric or craft supplies (obviously). He came up with this right off the bat. It is a box full of cut up quilt squares. I think some must have come from old shirts but there is a huge variety. I will probably sort through them and have a give away if anyone is interested.

Inside play has been peaking lately with the cold weather. Trains have come back to the forefront of creativity. The repetition gets to me sometimes but I am getting better at judging my train saturation point and his willingness to accept my sometimes hasty retreat.

Little bits of rug progress is happening here and there. I have lots of strips cut out to finish the blue ocean part of it. I am not sure if I am crazy about the dark blue. I think I will live with it for a little while and see if it grows on me.

I have been playing around with smaller bits of wool scraps trying to work out some new project ideas. Lot's of ideas kicking around right now.

Goodbye Grammie

My Grandmother passed away last night. A sad day. She lived to a feisty old 91. We were lucky to have her staying close by with my Mother for the last few months and the end was swift if not entirely expected. I am happy that she and Eliot had a chance to spend a lot of quality time together recently.

I made her some Christmas mittens this year. This picture has been sitting in my 'to post' cue for a while. She used to tell me stories about making all of her clothes and she helped me quite a bit whenever I would dig out my sewing machine and schlep it over to my mothers house. She and my Grandfather were quite a dynamic duo - I am glad they are back together.

Getting Inspired

I am fighting cabin fever by trying to get outside here and there. I didn't take back much of the garden this fall in the flurry of moving in (which according to some gardening books I have been reading is actually a good thing) so I have been admiring the leftover skeletons. I think this could make an interesting quilt design, or wood cut. This is my current basket of strips for the rug. I found two more blue sweaters this past weekend which are disassembled and ready to be cut up too. I have a nice sharp blade ready and waiting.

I put up some of my bits of ephemera that have been cluttering up my desk onto a cork board in my sewing room. I want to make a rug that is a large compass rose. I think they have some great design possibilities.

This is Eliot's basket, which looks a lot like mine. This is a small bit of my scraps that he cuts into small squares and strings for his rug project. It is nice to give him something to work on while I am working. I hope that this looks well enough to make a fairly large rug. I have TON's of scraps!

Bird watching is our usual pastime. It's like yard TV.

Despite the cold we have been trying to get outside as much as possible. Kevin's broken foot is on the mend. The snow is so dry and hardened on top Eliot can run around on top without sinking. Here he is with the snow shoes he got for Christmas.

I am trying out some new rug warp. It is a heavier linen that I have been using. I will report once I start using.

And, as I have been updating the sidebar with birds visiting our feeder, I am not sure if you noticed a more unusual visitor. A Red Tailed Hawk has been hanging out in the tall trees around our house. I was adding birdseed about two weeks ago when I noticed red spots on the snow. I though maybe a squirrel had injured itself on the wire that we have the bird feeder hanging from. I didn't think much about it until I was up in my sewing room that overlooks the backyard when all of a sudden the hawk comes diving out of the sky and nearly catches a squirrel dashing for the bushes. We have noticed a major decline in our squirrel population.

Today we saw it in the giant pine in our neighbors yard and I managed to get a few shots as it flew off and was chased by a crow.

Ease In

I am trying to ease back into my blogging habit. I have been easing back into my crafting habit. I picked back up where I left off on the rock rug (I think it will be the Crescent Beach Rug once it is done). I have my big table facing towards the back yard so I can watch the snow and birds. I am motivated to get this one done. I'm aiming for the end of February to have it completed.
I went to a fabric sale at a church a few days ago. I picked up some fantastic fabric for a steal. I think they will be used in the next quilt I have in mind.

Another project in the works. I love the boats of Ann Wood so I thought I would make one for Eliot with my own creative touches. Here is the start. I have a feeling this project will keep being pushed to the side but it is fun to think about none the less.

So - I will try not to disappear for so long again. I have lots of pictures of the past few months to catch up on.