The last post seems too glum to leave it for the day so... I searched high and low for raw silk, the specific sort I use for my woodlander's faces but could only find a milky white bolt. I experimented with tea dying and am really happy with the results. Hello bull terrier! This is how my dude also makes his own fun, it is in his blood!:
of sewing madness for me. Oompf! sewing non-stop, thinking... taping fingers. My nails split in the yuckiest way and I get 'papercuts' from thread now. Thimbles, I use them! I'm whipped and feeling seriously socially maladroit ... mal android! Ha! (Ugh again, where is the balance I pledged a few sort weeks ago??) So in keeping with my own very real edgy awkwardness right now... I actually had a cross stitched different looking version of this very real pillow belonging to Ms. Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth and it some how got lost in one of my many moves. I hope to commission a new one some day. I don't know some days it could come in handy (thanks lisa for the much kinder sweeter inspiration)
... and tomorrow. As I'm working on my shop order, I've cut some extra materials so that I can make two of what I'm working on for the ye olde etsy shop... in theory. It hasn't panned out yet. In the mean time, this guy is heading over *here* today. The three ghosts and the two birds will also be price reduced 10% plus free shipping this week for all facebook, flickr, twitter and blog readers. Just drop me a note in notes to buyer and you will be refunded via paypal or email me before purchasing at nicole@astulabee.com and I'll reset the price for you. Make way for the new!
We had an impromptu superbowl party last night. party? Mmmm home made roasted potato, black bean, spinach and cheese tacos (a super economical staple of ours...much yummier than the flash/bad takeout photo is making it look!). :)
It is another work through weekend here... lions and horses and woodlanders, oh my, oh man... and a quick hello too: Congrats to all who placed in the Poppies Awards on the Poppytalk blog. I was especially excited to see the ever inspired and inspiring, Margie from Resurrection Fern up there. and also Betsy Walton, I'm a fan. and I'm excited for Rifle Paper Company too, I saw the husband and wife duo's wares at last summer's Renegade Fair and was instantly smitten.
p.s. A big thanks to all who voted!
and hello Jeremy too: My friend Jeremy Willis has a big colorful interview up at the Revel in New York blog now. It is a fun read you should check it out *here*
Last night, during Lucia and my evening's sing-a-long (I'm not joking ... we seriously broke into a written on the spot, impromptu ballad of the broken barrette/with a smooth transition into a hall and oats, carol king, futureheads duet medley) I begged her for the umpteenth time to join a band (so I can make her costumes) Because truly, making costumes for rock stars would be a dream (um hello guys.) Lady Gaga, whatever! Her costumes that set all a buzz at the Grammys, I found so b o r i n g, cheap looking and ugly. I dream of crafting ensembles for the likes of Bjork (I still love her for her 2001 Oscar dress, I mean really.) She is just magical looking always: and Karin Dreijer Andersson from The Knife and Fever Ray so spookily over the top but the lady with the best gear, and seems like she has the most fun it, might be the super brave Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I find it all so inspired/inspiring! It really looks as if she will wear whatever her designer makes for her. Seriously, can you imagine? A dream! photos from here and here And I just realized her costume designer Christian Joy has an etsy shop now under the username Joy 1222 So cool! p.s. Maps was part of Lu and my evening sing-a-long too.
I was recently asked to write just a bit about what I love. So fun to do but I was a little stuck at first. There is so much to love right?! In fact, I who, I guess thinking back, has never really super celebrated Valentines Day (outside of chocolates and tid bits for my girl), have been accused of throwing the word love around too much. But, hell, I love what I love and I guess that's many things and people. So to hone it down to one?
I suppose what I’m always craving is evidence of a sincere curiosity, an honest effort made, the underbelly and, the story behind. I love a good fierce unyielding underdog. This love has perhaps not served me particularly well. Before Obama, my daughter questioned my unfathomable ability to rally for the non-winner in every election. My love can get embarrassing. I will get dragged into reality TV sagas if I believe the effort, the desire and, the process of specific contestants to be sincere. My love can be too forgiving. Still, I truly admire those in art, music whose efforts gather and glue together all of their thought and process into force filled fields that not only produce great things but also transcend form, produce a breath of life that is palpable. I think of the 19th-century German philosopher Nietzsche. Philosophy scholars would surely blanch at the thought of me citing a canonical thinker here but, Nietzsche with his stomach ailments, thwarted loves, miserable family, eventual madness, coupled with his disdain for the weak (the followers, the sheep) forgive me for the horrid over-simplification, provided perhaps a blueprint of how not to care about one’s own underdog-ness, how to overcome (and actually how to get all comfortable within it). A favorite of mine, from Thus Spoke Zarathustra (of which he sold forty copies, gave seven as gifts) is from The Three Metamorphoses: “Three metamorphoses of the spirit do I designate to you: how the spirit becometh a camel, the camel a lion, and the lion at last a child.” A journey is laid out, the camel, mired with fears and burdened with conformity becomes the lion, who tears at convention and then evolves into the child, pure will and creation "innocence and oblivion, a new starting, a play, a wheel rolling by itself, a prime motor, a holy asserting." Assertively chafing up against expectations and rules, rolling on self propelled isn't always applauded, it is just not. Sometimes my love gets me in trouble, underdogs can be wild and embarrassingly honest, childlike. Still, you'll find me in the stands tearing up for the kiddo with no rhythm, sticking out among his classmates, earnestly trying and so happy to just be up there or off actively admiring that artwork that is so oddly misshaped and ridiculous in scope but ever present and memorable. Maybe rather, ever hopeful, I love a hard won success story, full of celebration and appreciation, that begins with an underdog, a visionary after all. The excerpt I cited from Thus Spoke Zarathustra can be found in its entirety *here* Again my apologies for co-opting and simplifying! I watched this below, Deep Water, while sewing this weekend. Pretty heart breaking, be warned, but surely got me thinking. xo!
Oh, it seems I have none. I wanted to quickly try out some new settings on this blog but have inadvertently saved the maybe-s. Obviously there's some tweaking to do and my past posts are perhaps a bit wonky but this new setting allows for bigger photos, which makes me happy. I like photos best of all. Despite the pile, I must say I'm feeling a bit disappointed in myself today. I am going slower than I thought I would and I have a huge stack of other creatures cut and ready to go. Things are falling a bit by the wayside. Emails. GALORE. I'm sorry, I'm creeping through my inboxes and my apologies by Tuesday, I should be caught up completely.
And internets?
This is a good one. I've never in my life eaten foie gras. I'm a barely if ever and reluctant meat eater and the controversy and cruelty surrounding foie gras has never enticed. This talk by Dan Barber though, is grander in scope. Heartwarming even.
And for another take on food consumption, my sister Jenn has guest blogged on the Whole Foods website, contributing to a discussion about a two week raw foods diet her and her workmates embarked upon. My sister Jenn is a pretty amazing eco minded, animal loving, bike enthusiast, inspiring vegetarian, super cool mama! You can find her post *here* Go Jenn!
Aside from that I'm feeling very guilty that I have watched entire seasons of crap reality series. The Shame. the SHAME! More self diagnosis via the web and with everyone but Rosie the cat and me gone, diagnosis is focused inward. I now fear severe ADD and addictive crafting behaviors. Many thanks VH1. I'm just trying to make a living, you know... geez.
thanks S! this is the best song. Can: Turtles Have Short Legs (1971) I've been left alone to work. All alone until Monday. Oh madness will creep in but I can't wait to share the progress.
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