Of tea and flowers and feathers and lawbreaking, et cetera

Walking is easier in the suddenly much cooler days, the grey skies making colors pop, and this year I notice greater carpets of yellow sorrel

And a blue jay feather, which I brought home. 

It's against the law to own wild bird feathers in this State, such an outlaw. I hope the feather police don't check my coffee table.

At home again I'm trying a different blend of tea

and find this is exactly like my mom's tea. I must have hit on her choice. The leaves are much smaller and it's snarlingly strong, not much required. I think this is my comfort tea of choice now.

Speaking of which, shakshuka has become a comfort food of choice, also what I make when I can't think what to make. 

This time I used spinach and celery leaves as a base,  and canned diced tomatoes. It was a bit liquid, so I siphoned some off for use in future spag sauce, and ended with the best version I've made up to now.

And, since Handsome Son suddenly announced he was visiting yesterday afternoon, I baked a batch of blueberry and cranberry muffins, since I had nothing to offer him. I'm happy with just honey toast, but he's not a fan.

I also broke it to him that I'm not up to cooking elaborate meals, such as Thanksgiving any more, and he was disappointed, but amenable to take out, as long as we did Tday and other holidays one way or another. 

Years ago I would cook a three course meal weekly for us, when he was going through a difficult unemployment period. I went to monthly after he got settled, and between the pandemic and advancing age with retreating energy, I usually nowadays offer him a little something with a pot of tea. 

We did keep up a bigger deal for Easter, Tgiving and Christmas, but last year I moved to having us serve ourselves from the stove instead of a fancy table setup. I think I'm ready for an even simpler way to save energy, just buy takeout.  

This way we can enjoy the company without my getting worn to a thread. Self care rules! Not that he's demanding, in fact for the holidays he always brings parts of the meal. But I need a break.

We already started  simplifying by having pizza to celebrate handsome partner's birthday, and I'm doing Bad Food for Labor day next weekend. 

Bad Food, meaning things we never normally ate, became a tradition with Handsome Partner, for July Fourth and Labor day, usually hot dogs with everything, potato chips and that.

I haven't been in the mood for a couple of years, but I'm doing it this year, and Handsome Son might join me, depending on his work schedule, which he won't know till the weekend. So I think we're easing into easier ways for me.

The stitching is continuing, and I'm doing a variation on applique, using the stumpwork technique of button hole stitching round the shape,  then cutting out around the stitching. 

Then I'll mount another smaller shape, in green,  on this one, then apply the result to the blue backing.

Speaking of stitching, I realize that the knotted candlewick technique described by Caro isn't the candlewick I was talking about. This is the thing I meant.

I couldn't track down more info on it.

Seems that there are two techniques using the same name. The version I mean was used for warm robes and bed spreads, usually in white, using multiple soft cotton thread cut into tufts, exactly like the kind of soft threads used in candles, hence the name. The other, knotted version,  is pretty, and new to me.

While we're thinking puzzles anyway, Haggard Hawks finally produced a new one, yay

Funny clues please!

Happy day everyone, self care is the current mantra all round!

Sandy, sashiko and stumpwork

Sandy, enormous storm system, hurricane-close winds, inches of rain, local tornadoes, broke overhead ten years ago today. 

We've had big storms before and since but the hour upon hour of screaming wind, roofs trying to lift, houses demolished, trees bringing down power lines everywhere, cutting people off for days, roads everywhere blocking evacuation,  that was one I'd like to forget but can't quite. 

Damage is still evident years later. There are still people fighting to get the insurance payout for their demolished homes.

So, thankful for today's calm cool sunshine let's move on to the newly arrived edition of Tatter and a lovely kit and class offering

Tatter is an online magazine about hand stitching and natural fibers. You've seen sashiko stitching in work I've done, a peacefully calming stitching form.

It originally was a way of reinforcing warm outdoor work clothing in layers against the Japanese winter, and of repairing and preserving garments. Done in beautiful formations, it's also a stitching art. 

If you fancy trying a bit of embroidery, it's definitely possible as a starting place. A simple running stitch in a contrasting color, often white on blue fabric. Definitely worth a look. 

This reminds me to take a look at my jacket of many embroideries, a gallery in garment form, to see about finishing the sashiko stitching I marked out 

Also my goldworked signature piece which used to grace my exhibits, in its own frame , and some butterflies. These are goldworked, done as stumpwork, wired so they can be posed.

Tatter always reminds me of something I need to do, along with the energy needed to do it. 

Soon I'll need to organize a way to hang the robe better than on a clothes hanger.

Happy day everyone, do what you feel like doing as well as what you have to do today. If you're lucky, they're the same thing.

October dinner, ginger and friend, new figure, and the gummint

Yes I know it's not October yet, but Handsome Son has a lot of evening shifts lately, so we're seizing the day and calling it October. Like celebrating Thanksgiving on whatever day he's free 

Table laid, last few daisies picked. 

Menu set: pumpkin, carrot, lentil soup with hot biscuits, ham with steamed carrots, couscous, Dijon mustard or horseradish, banana bread with hot tea. 

I like the table organized ahead, makes me feel I'll get there.

This morning  seemed to be a good day to bring in the ginger plant and the moringa plant, of which another seedling broke ground here, so all is not lost with the moringa.

And I have embarked on the next Figure. This is a piece of silk organza with one of my woven works printed on it, hooped over a piece of sari silk.

Here's the original work I photographed and printed out

Monotype background, woven wire, beads, roving mounted on it. I painted the frame to suit, echoing the metallics.

And here's the back of the hoop showing you how this works if you're not familiar.

The design is going to be executed trapunto style. That's where you stitch shapes, through two layers of fabric, sculpting them, then insert stuffing, here very fine cotton roving, into the sections, entering the back via tiny cuts you make,  to render the three dimensional shapes you want.  

It's a way to get more complex shapes going than you get by sculpting into the complete head. This section will be appliqued to a head to form the top of the figure.

And the outside edges I think I'll do as stumpwork, the edges tightly stitched in buttonhole stitch, then cut around to stand free. That way there'll be an impression of wild hair.

If little of this means much, just watch this space and you'll see it unfold. I know we have some experienced embroiderers reading here, to whom trapunto and stumpwork are not foreign terms. We also have quite a few interested, but a bit less conversant,  readers, too. 

So, as the French say in their gummint forms, rayez ce qui est inutile. Delete that which is not applicable. 

Speaking of gummint forms, my Homestead Benefit form came today. This is an annual nod to our proud claim of First in the Nation in high real estate taxes. 

You can get a bit back if you can figure out how to apply. Unless the state Treasury says oh sorry, we can't afford it this year. More likely to happen with a Republican governor, Christie, I'm looking at you. 

But even they manage to find a bit for the downtrodden in an election year, which this is.  Current governor is a Dem, though, and has come through for seniors and other homeowners nicely each year. 

You'll notice they're not in a mad rush to part with your money. See the three year interval during which they've had the use of it..

This refund only applies if you owned and continue to own, your residence. Not if you rent it out nor if you're a tenant. 

And despite the old timey name, mules and plows and such don't enter into it, just a refund of some of the exorbitant rates we've paid. I'll take it, despite all my moaning.