Nieces

Nieces set #2 got snow in the last couple weeks.

The older one is a hellion in training. The younger is the quietest baby I've ever seen. I love them both to pieces.

Not about James Bond

Sorry, I realize that last post was pretty lame.
The last two weeks have been... I don't really have a good adjective. I'll just call them 'eventful' and leave it at that. I haven't felt like being public lately.
(ETA: I'm referring to personal things. All the stuff with the election just piled on top of those. I feel like I should have blogged about that instead of posting pretty Portland pictures, but it's too much right now. When I get too wrapped up in things, I have to focus on the small. Talk myself down. I'm also not good at optimistic lately. The hatred is running too close to home.)

Right, and as the title says, this post will not be about James Bond or any solacian quanta he might provide. Instead, I'll show off my baskets.

If it's not already quite apparent, I have a raging case of Not-Ever-Finishing-Stuff-Up. I've been working on these for (arggh) probably 3 or 4 years now. I pull them out about once a year and do another couple blocks. Not really the way to complete things, except in the far long term. (And considering I haven't gotten around to teaching myself machine quilting and I am a REALLY slow handquilter, I'm really in trouble.)

These started out as a kind of "I like this block and these two colors together, let's make one" thing, which is how most of my quilts start. I really like colors and pattern and how they appear together and that's the most fun I get out of making quilts, so the organic-growingness is my modus operandi. I usually have some sort of big picture in mind, but not always.

Some of the blocks are very close in value or are obscured by heavy patterning, but that's on purpose. I'm playing around purposeful obscuring (when I do get around to it) after reading and being impressed by a Roberta Horton book.

I think this one is my favorite block. It is a little matchy-matchy, I admit, but I like it anyway, probably because I like the fabrics inside it.

Another, um, extremely long term project is a series of small color studies using traditional Amish patterns. It'd probably benefit from not being spread over so many years. This is from another of Roberta's books, An Amish Adventure: A Workbook for Color in Quilts

I like this one the best so far.
Your eyes are not playing tricks on you; that really is 3 different shades of red. I love how it appears to be constantly moving. AMISH! ADVENTURE!

I realize these are all a little staid. Just to maintain my crazy hippy cred:
My favorite result of some messing around with fabric marbling from (gulp) a few years ago. Lots of fun but a WHOLE lot of work. Yeah, even though I did pretty swirly pictures I like these alien egg capsules the best. I still haven't figured out what to do with them, though.

Bah

I think 'Quantum of Solace' is a stupid name.

In the interests of full disclosure

I don't have a good picture, but it's been raining pretty much constantly here for a few days now. As it does for most of the winter and a hefty chunk of Fall and Spring. Everything is wet, dark, and molding. I miss summer. The slugs are eating my jack-o-lantern.

Portland*

downtown Saturday Farmer's Market in the Autumn

Mill Ends Park (in the middle of the crosswalk)

a closer look

Japanese maple leaves

The Zoobomber bike pile in front of Powell's

* Almost named Boston, and decided on a coin toss between some of the original landowners. As if the confusion with Portland, Maine, isn't bad enough.

Fine, fine, pictures.

Posted from Firefox, since Blogger 'n' Safari haven't been playing nicely together for some months now, when it comes to pictures. Really, I do NOT want to get started when it comes to software. The more you know about the basis of current technology, the more you start stockpiling food and water for the coming apocalypse, you know? And really, you do NOT want to know the cruftiness level of some of the stuff managing the entire modern economic foundations, let alone factoring in human greed and frailty.

ANYWAY. Yes, here's the pictures of the gloves with the smitten yarn. Above is back, and below, palm. From a pattern in Selbuvottr. I'm too drunk to link the reference, sorry.


Here's a money shot of just the yarn. You really have got to feel this stuff to believe it. It's like alpaca, but with wool sproinginess. I realize this is not a color scheme chosen by most persons, but I adore it.
I loved it so much at first sight that I wound each hank into a yarn turban by hand, using these directions which I found years and years ago on teh Internets and which have served me well. I could have machine wound but it was just that wonderful to just pull the yarn through my fingers.

It has been raining all day long. I am drunken and maudlin. My love monkey is pantless due to wet rain splash up. Please excuse me.