Easter pretties

Sometimes using woven wire just doesn't cut it--so this time I played with some sterling silver chain, and added labradorite briolettes as drops, for my daughter-in-law's Easter giftie. She can wear it with denim, she can wear it with dress-up outfits. Labradorite glistens and sparkles as the light hits it, and turns green, blue, silver or soft gray--what a beautiful gemstone!
Then I splurged and put together a necklace for myself, from carnelian briolettes, and Hill Tribes silver. Never having worked with that kind of silver before, I have suddenly become addicted. It is heavy but looks grand, and reminds me of Navajo silver, some of which I am still hoarding from 30 years ago when I first learned beading.

Book pages

One of the cutest, sweetest craft books I have come across recently was also talked about on Martha Stewart Show a few weeks ago--"Sock and Glove: creating charming softy friends from cast-off socks and gloves" by Miyako Kanamori. I made the bunny from her directions, and was very happy with the cute result, so I am shipping it off for Easter to a grand niece. The only thing I did differently from her directions was to hand embroider the details, instead of using buttons, because it might constitute a choking hazard. So here is my example--hope you too have a chance to try out this wonderful book!

Book Pages

Been reading "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory, and now am anxious to see the movie. When we visited London in November, '97, we took in the Tower of London, and saw King Henry VIII's suit of armor. He was quite the impressive king! No wonder the women went ga-ga over him! Anyway, I finished "The Constant Princess", and didn't like it as well as the first in the series, but now am on "The Boleyn Inheritance", which brings back more of the same court intrigue as the first book, so I am happy.

Whipped out a couple of coffee cozies for my daughter, from a pattern she sent me--actually the outside paper cover for a Starbucks cup--perfect pattern. They turned out rather well, I thought. Now that I have a real sewing room, I can spread out with my projects.

The Neighborhood

Speaking of books, I just finished reading Sara Paretsky's "Bleeding Kansas", and one of the characters really spoke to me. Myra was the Schapen family matriarch, and she kept a blog going, writing volumes about her neighbors in rural Kansas. Most of it wasn't nice, but this gave me an idea.

We live in rural MO, in a supposedly "zoned" county, but you wouldn't ever know it if you drove the backroads and byways in this county, while you constantly encountered junk yards, trash heaps, derelict appliances and farm equipment stacked in the front of houses, down the driveways out to the roads, and cluttering the sides of property fencing. For example, we have the privilege of living next door to one of those junk yards so I am including pictures so you can also share the experience. When people come out to visit, I just say, watch for the junkyard and turn at the next driveway. It's an easy directional sign--large and highly visible. In this downturn of property values, and slow moving real estate, it would be extremely awkward to even think about selling out of this neighborhood. Who wants to live next door to this?

Book Pages

Been doing a lot of reading lately, because of the weather. It seems that winter just doesn't want to leave the Midwest. We get a few nice sunny days now, and back pops the cold dip in temps, and the freezing rain or snow.

So curled up in a cozy chair with the cat on my lap is the thing to do.

I have discovered Geraldine Brooks. She is awesome! Her latest, "People of the Book", is about a book preservationist who is called into Sarajevo to preserve a recently unearthed Haggadah, a Jewish prayer book, which was written in the 1500's, during the Spanish Inquisition. The interesting thing about the book is that it is illuminated, like a Book of the Hours, and the interesting thing about this book is that Ms. Brooks takes us back in time to each instance where something or someone impacted the physical nature of the book, and left its mark forever. Loved the layering of this novel, and learned so much about old books and their preservation, and what the past says about them.

On the flip side, back to the USA, to Idaho, with C. J. Box's latest, "Blue Heaven", about 2 kids who witness a crime, a murder, committed by a group of 4 retired cops. They run from the men, into the forests and mountains of Idaho, and encounter both good guys and bad guys in their attempt to get back to their mom. Both heroes and villains are well defined and described, and this is a fast-paced thriller.