a very small book or two

in which our plucky heroine revisits bookbinding ...

Back when I returned to college, I spent quite a bit of my time learning book arts, not as my major subject which was enameling and metalwork, but as my avocation and for a short time my campus job. I volunteered, (and worked, for the one term I had work/study aid) in the campus bindery, where the library books were repaired and refurbished. I had the very great good fortune to work with John Crosby, who was incredibly generous in sharing his years of knowledge and skills, and indeed, I may have learned more there than in my formal classes. (Sadly, he retired a few years after I graduated, and the college decided to no longer fund the bindery but instead to discard damaged books) The skills I learned there, like riding a bicycle, will stay with me life long to call on as needed.

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time in the tinyworld:

This month I have sponsored a challenge in the SCA Miniaturists FB group, with the theme being "heraldic display"... I was hoping to inspire folks to use their SCA heraldry to create interesting tiny artifacts as pagentry knows no size limits. As the sponsor, I am not entering the challenge myself, but wanted to create items for the inhabitants of Tansu Terrace, who have their own tiny SCA lifestyle. The camp banner was my first personal effort, but I thought that for a prize for the winner, a miniature book would be have a wider appeal

This is the finished sample book I made first, to be sure that my ideas would work out... I painted my personal heraldry on the cover. Book is just over 1" x 1.25", the white horse is about 1/4" wide, and the acorn sprigs are 1/8" wide.

I began by creating sets of signatures, and piercing them for sewing, then stitching them onto raised hemp cords. Today I attached them to cover boards, which I made from two layers of Bristol paper. I pierced holes in the outer layer, ran the hemp cords through the holes, glued it in place on the outside, and trimmed and frayed the cord on the inside in order to have it be as flat as possible. I then glued a second layer of Bristol on the inside, for a double thick cover. While this isn't quite how actual medieval binding was done, it seems to give a similar effect.

Once the cover boards were attached, I then used some Cansons art paper as the outer cover, taking some time to smooth it in place around the hemp cords holding the book block together to show off the dimensional effect. The next step was to add the end papers, and I found a scrap of marbled paper that seemed suitable. There are 22 blank pages in the finished blank book

Painting my heraldry on the cover of the sample book was rather challenging, given the very small size of the space allotted. I first put down a layer of white acrylic gesso, and then began to use blue and white acrylic craft paint to create the image. I blocked in the location of the white horse and the acorns, then filled in the blue field, and finally added the details that turned my painting from blobs into a horse and three acorn sprigs.

This is the other blank book, with a blank shield waiting for heraldry of the winner of the heraldic display challenge

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Kestrel apron	ironing cart	yard waste bin
2	tiny armchair	shims for molding	recycle bin
3	tiny plate rack	tub trim added	ancient printer
4	four hair snoods	pruned quince + plum	yard waste bin
5	snood and pillow	added bathroom hooks	recycle bin
6	indigo tiger dress	worm bin refreshed	x
7	tiny fairy book	bathroom wall touch-up	x
8	tiny Viking flag	spinny Wellington	x
9	tiny blank book	x	x
10	tiny blank book	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - several years ago my Sekrit Santa Swap gift was a lovely small sable travel paintbrush, and it remains my best and favorite paintbrush to this day...

Time of Isolation - Day 922

Tuesday tidbits

in which our plucky heroine spends most of the day asleep...

It was hot, forecast peaking in the triple digit numbers, and so after my sojourn to speak to the specialty doctor I forbore to do much of anything but hide from the sunshine. My appointment was at 9 in the morning, and with at least an hour on the bus to get there I set the alarm for 6, despite anxiety/insomnia keeping me awake til almost midnight. Instead I woke up at 5ish, which gave a bit of extra time to run the fans and have a sunrise sanity stroll.

I was in fact greatly relieved to hear that my concerns (while valid) were in fact far more dire than the actual situation, and that in addition, the issue has been present for at least the last ten years, (and who knows how long prior), and is so minor that there is no need for any current treatment or even changes in my behavior. Huzzah! It was rather a peculiar treat to get to see the various CAT scans of my internal organs, but more information is good, and Dr C was quite reassuring. Frosting on the cake that the phone call from my other regular yearly physical came back this afternoon as "everything normal".

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time in the tinyworld:

While this collaborative art piece is a bit larger in scale (more like 1:6) than the usual tinyworld tidbits, and certainly well above my pay grade, I love the concept of a shelf unit full of contemporary artist-made "tiny treasures"...

As far as homegrown artwork, I'm partway through creating a tiny hand bound blank book, the folded signatures are first sewn onto hemp cords in preparation to actual binding... this will be the prize for whoever is chosen for the Heraldic Display challenge over at SCA Miniaturists, and I will be painting their desired heraldry on the cover...

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Kestrel apron	ironing cart	yard waste bin
2	tiny armchair	shims for molding	recycle bin
3	tiny plate rack	tub trim added	ancient printer
4	four hair snoods	pruned quince + plum	yard waste bin
5	snood and pillow	added bathroom hooks	recycle bin
6	indigo tiger dress	worm bin refreshed	x
7	tiny fairy book	bathroom wall touch-up	x
8	tiny Viking flag	spinny Wellington	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - my "keerns" (as I called my insides when I was a little bitty thing) are not going to come out through my belly button, the umbilical hernia is really tiny, less than 1cm, and I don't need surgery, not now, and possibly not ever.

Time of Isolation - Day 921

Monday media and miscellany

in which our plucky heroine figured out a solution for the spinny teasing and mannerless but sweet little dog I am taking care of...

since he refuses entirely to hold still and let me clip his leash to his collar in the ordinary and polite way when it is time for walkies (and this has been making yours truly completely bonkers). I awoke this weekend with the thought: if I get him to jump up into the tub chair that he likes to sleep in, I can "corner" him there just long enough to connect collar and clip and off we go... This new strategy has worked like a charm ever since.

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My previous (rough) sketches for the Scythian scroll turned up, so I spent most of the time during Crafternoon refining the linework, and then covering the lines on the reverse with soft pencil so I could transfer the design to the Bristol board, then actually transferring the designs. First the metalwork beast, then taping that in place as a sort of paper resist so I could transfer the Pazyryk felt carpet design that will make up the background. That sort of pencil work is hellaciously tedious; virtual company made it much more pleasant. The next step will be to do more practice calligraphy so the inscription can be sized to the border and to become more adept at using the "Roman Rustic" hand...

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time in the tinyworld:

More effort on making sunflowers from dried weeds, paper, and paint - as previously mentioned, I found some weed heads with all the seeds gone, and the leftover discs really reminded me of sunflower centers. A wash of umber and black paint darkened them to an even better resemblance. I remembered there was a piece of yellow tissue paper on the wrapping shelf, a fragment of which became petals (which were quite a fidget to get them to stick to the centers) A dab of green paint on the back of each flower head to represent the sepals looked well, but then showed through the yellow tissue paper, oops... would have been better to use some paper that was a bit heavier for the petals.

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~ creativity challenge ~

I made a new thing (to me) -  a sauce from zucchini. While looking up recipes online for some new options for the delicious squash from my Mud Bay pals, I found one for a zucchini pasta sauce, which was the jumping off point for my own creativity... The online sauce was a bit of a riff on pesto, but in the interest of using what I have on hand, I went in a vaguely southwest direction, with salsa verde and some minced cilantro instead of basil and grated cheese.

Cube and gently saute a medium onion. Cube and add about 1½# tender zucchini to the pan, cover, and steam saute until soft (add water if needed to avoid sticking) Puree (with added liquid if need be), and add a 4 oz jar of salsa verde, the zest and juice of one lemon, and at least ¼ C finely minced cilantro. This made about 3¼ C of sauce. It would be good made with lime instead (if available) It turned out delightfully savory, and will be a good addition to my short list of saucy staples.

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Kestrel apron	ironing cart	yard waste bin
2	tiny armchair	shims for molding	recycle bin
3	tiny plate rack	tub trim added	ancient printer
4	four hair snoods	pruned quince + plum	yard waste bin
5	snood and pillow	added bathroom hooks	recycle bin
6	indigo tiger dress	worm bin refreshed	x
7	tiny fairy book	bathroom wall touch-up	x
8	tiny Viking flag	spinny Wellington	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - prepubescent zucchini, so very tasty, and such a wonderful gift from my friends up north.

Time of Isolation - Day 920

Saturday snippets and bits

in which our plucky heroine has some extra spoons for a change...

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time in the tinyworld:

wanted to share the photo of the finished miniature SCAdian Viking style camp flag... I erred in my previous measurement, it is actually 2½" wide. I am quite pleased with how I was able to embed the applique stitches within the blue melton cloth so as to be able to have my heraldic badge motif show up clearly on both sides. (flag made from wool melton cloth, wool felt, horsehair, and embroidery floss; flagpole from bamboo lashed with hemp cord)

My next projects will be a book and a painted banner as prizes, and a very small bunch of sunflowers just for fun. While I've not seen tansy growing around here (I am pretty sure it is on the noxious weed list) I did find some small dried up alley plants with centers that look suitable to attempt the same sort of assemblage that the_small_house_project created for this lovely bouquet last year. I will have to add some paint to the dried weed centers, so this afternoon will be about playing with paint and gesso and glue

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Wednesday was also wonderful, as I had a nice long porch visit with Maeva and Ariadne. I was able to send off the various sewing projects for them, in exchange as it were for a box of homegrown produce: Zucchini and beans and Thai basil oh my! (I just finished a super tasty stir fry for lunch today with the last of the beans, and some rice noodles, a handful of frozen emergency chicken, and topped the sauce seasonings at the last minute with the minced up Thai basil) I think I need to add that herb to the short list. It tastes noticeably different than the Italian type... It was so great to have time to just sit and chat. At the very last, before they were off to their next stop, I was able to give them the small double sink originally intended for the kitchen here, it is probably the right size to fit in the remodel of the Ivy room back into a kitchen. I would way rather they have it and use it, than that it sit in my side yard for another decade...

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I splurged and bought a second set of measuring spoons recently. Because the set included "½ Tablespoon" which is something I want often enough that it has become annoying. I often make fractional recipes, because most are for a family of four as a baseline. And since it was a set, and not just that one, I had a lot of extra spoons. The (whole) tablespoon measure is just right for scooping out powdered laundry detergent, and thereby removing yet another minor annoyance... for years I have been using a partial "scoopful" in the washer, since it is one of those front loading HE machines that doesn't need a whole scoop. Eversomuch easier to have a right sized scoop instead of guesstimating!

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Did a tiny bit of pruning again, until the sun came out. Next up will be cutting back Feral Grape so I can reach the grapes before it is yellowjacket season. If it remains cool in the mornings, and I continue to be able to wake up early, I may actually get some of the needful pruning done. I also want to cut back the side yard ferns that keep trying to grab my legs in a most disturbing way.

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Kestrel apron	ironing cart	yard waste bin
2	tiny armchair	shims for molding	recycle bin
3	tiny plate rack	tub trim added	ancient printer
4	four hair snoods	pruned quince + plum	yard waste bin
5	snood and pillow	added bathroom hooks	recycle bin
6	indigo tiger dress	worm bin refreshed	x
7	tiny fairy book	bathroom wall touch-up	x
8	tiny Viking flag	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - this morning was a precursor of autumn, and little Wellington had a nice long walk. Last night it cooled down early, and I was able to get the fans running for several hours before bedtime. Also, looking up whether is was possible to grow the Thai basil plants indoors, I found this blog post which makes it sound not too difficult. I think I shall check and see if the driveway plant sale a few blocks away still has a few Thai basil starts...

Time of Isolation - Day 918

T is for...

in which our plucky heroine has a totally treat filled Tuesday...

Today, the miniature Flower Fairy book kit I ordered last month from Malta finally arrived in my mailbox. And an unexpected gift from I suspect Danni, with a maneki neko notebook and not one, not two, but eight tiny maneki neko beads all different, and all unlike any of the other ones in my collection. This brings my total up to 33! In addition, a large flowered box of 1:12 goodies from my pal Ånni was delivered later in the day, which included a spinning wheel, some small crystal/glass pretties, and quite splendid large sideboard just calling out for a creative paint job. I suspect it will end up as art and craft supply storage, since my tiny friends seem to be expanding their handcraft horizons.

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time in the tinyworld:

another addition to my tinyworld library... I wanted to try one of the book kits from My Miniature World Shop, which are quite reasonable in price, especially considering the cost and inconvenience of my taking a PDF to a copy shop. I chose "The Book of the Flower Fairies" It took 4 weeks to arrive, which was well within the estimated time suggested in the site info, and Rebecca had already cut the pieces into strips ready to be assembled. Since I have already done quite a bit of mini bookbinding, I didn't need to avail myself of her post about how to turn the kit into a book, as I have my own preferred techniques. I am very happy with the quality of the printed kit, the tiny text is very clear and easy to read, and the images are crisp.

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Kestrel apron	ironing cart	yard waste bin
2	tiny armchair	shims for molding	recycle bin
3	tiny plate rack	tub trim added	ancient printer
4	four hair snoods	pruned quince + plum	yard waste bin
5	snood and pillow	added bathroom hooks	recycle bin
6	indigo tiger dress	worm bin refreshed	x
7	tiny fairy book	bathroom wall touch-up	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - I am loved, and seen, and not forgotten...

Time of Isolation - Day 914

cogitation on cardboard "building", and other miscellany

in which our plucky heroine has a functional ordinary sort of day...

Today, though interrupted with an extended nap, was not too fraught. An early morning bike ride before the heat rolled in was very satisfying. The miniature Viking Style heraldic flag is done, but I still need to come up with some sort of miniature portable hole to set it up next to the tent. I managed to call my mother this afternoon, and talked to her for a while. (and realised that I can set a phone alarm to remind me of a good time to phone her each day) I have prepped most of the ingredients to make and freeze a batch of pot stickers, and transfered the sugar macerated figs into the freezer, since it is still too hot for making jam. Tomorrow little Wellington will come over for a two week dogsitting stay. This week has a lot of moving parts, and I am going to draw out a chart in my bujo, since the calendar page is too small...

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time in the tinyworld:

In response to a query about building dollhouses from cardboard, I decided to corral some of the online sources I referred to, as well as to write down my own experience and effort. The building of Caer Cardboard is an ongoing process, as yet rather unfinished, but definitely one that gives me great pleasure.

Even a rough plan in the beginning is very helpful...I first made sketches and a drawing to decide how I wanted the house to look, more or less, at least, how big each room would be, as that would determine how large the cardboard panels I would need. Since it is quite easy to cut the laminated cardboard, I was less worried about the window sizes and locations.

I then began using up many of the large pieces of corrugated box cardboard I had been saving, and made either two or three layer laminate, using white glue, placing the corrugations perpendicular on each layer, and weighting each laminate piece down thoroughly while it dried, as the first time, when I neglected to do so, created a very warped piece only fit for the recycle bin. It does take a significant amount of time for the cardboard laminate to fully dry, and it is better to be certain that it is DRY before moving forward.

I found the cardboard panels are easily cut using a box cutter and a metal straightedge, as one would in any papercraft or book arts. Be sure to put something underneath to protect your work surface, I use one of those thin floppy inexpensive plastic kitchen cutting boards. And of course, pay good attention always when using sharp knives. I decided that for me, the easiest way to assemble the cardboard into a structure was with hot glue! I am not building for eternity, but for my own amusement. Other forms of glue will be more archival, but also require more jigs and clamps to hold in place.

As a way of strengthening the joints and sealing up the edges I thought that using paper tape was a much cleaner and easier method than the glue and spackle method, particularly since I already had a huge roll of paper tape on hand. It was slow, but really satisfying to see the difference it made; the photo at the top, showing the before and after of the side of the roof dormer makes it really clear. Once I had covered all the internal and external joints and edges, and again that took some time doing it bit by bit and letting it dry, I decided to coat the whole house with gesso, as a sort of primer before exterior painting, or interior wallpaper/paint, or adding any trim or windows.

A great deal of my decisions have been based on what craft supplies I have on hand, as this project began not that long into the very first isolation in 2020, as a way of doing what I could, with what I had, in hope of keeping at least somewhat sane....

~ ※ ~

At the beginning of the pandammit, I found this video from Bentley House Minis to be both amusing and inspiring, more for her technique of laminating cardboard into layers for greater strength.

Ann Wood is the artist who created the Tiny Rag Doll pattern, which drew me back into the world of miniatures, the Miss Thistle Society, and the Tiny Rag Doll Nation. In this post she discusses a material that I consider crucial to successful cardboard dollhouse building: gummed paper tape (water activated). I also love the way she has used clothespin halves as brackets to help support the upper story floor. PS she also has a tutorial to use egg carton cardboard to make a "stone" fireplace hearth, and the same technique can be used to create stone flooring, or even the appearance of stone walls or foundation on the exterior of a cardboard house

These posts from Dollhouse Smithery are useful as well in thinking about how to build from cardboard and foamcore, and they have information about using paper mache to help bind the structure together.

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I found this method of presenting temperature data to be very vivid and easy to understand. A fuller explanation of the image and where the information was sourced is here on the NASA website...

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Kestrel apron	ironing cart	yard waste bin
2	tiny armchair	shims for molding	recycle bin
3	tiny plate rack	tub trim added	ancient printer
4	four hair snoods	pruned quince + plum	yard waste bin
5	snood and pillow	added bathroom hooks	recycle bin
6	indigo tiger dress	worm bin refreshed	x
7	x	bathroom wall touch-up	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - I have a house chockablock full of various kinds of craft supplies. This is a great blessing in keeping self at least as sane as I ever am!

Time of Isolation - Day 913

old dog learns a new trick

in which our plucky heroine has a productive day...

Yesterday I learned a new embroidery/sewing stitch, actual buttonhole stitch instead of blanket stitch! It has a very different function, and is a lot more stable. Took a bit of doing to figure out the best way to hold and wrap the thread, but it will prove useful not just in the tinyworld, but also whenever I decide to make some actual buttonholes!

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time in the tinyworld:

I decided to make a Viking style flag as one of the miniature heraldic display examples, using my primary SCA badge for the motif. The materials are wool fabric and felt, horsehair, and embroidery floss; the blue wool is a relic from Flieg's tunic. The flag style is inspired by the bronze Viking Age "weathervane" artifacts, though this quarter circle is only 2" across. It is a single layer of wool fabric, with the edges all finished with buttonhole stitch:

I also intend to make a miniature Japanese nobori style flag with one of my alternate badges, and also some miniature bookbinding, as I figure a nicely bound blank book (with their heraldry painted on the cover) will be a good prize for the winner of the challenge...

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Did a minor bit of refurbishment: filling of nail holes and touching up wall paint in the bathroom, as I noticed once putting up the additional hooks that the wall was looking a bit shabby in places. Still working on decorative painting of the embossed trim boards for the rest of the wall around the sink.

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~ creativity challenge ~

Sewing, sewing, sewing like the wind yesterday in order to get the indigo tiger popover dress done before the Sewing Nomads meeting this morning. I woke up extra early after a night of most peculiar dreams, and finished the very last bit: a narrow bias binding faced hemline. The rayon fabric is lovely and lightweight, but so very wiggly to work with. I decided to temporarily starch the neckline in order to work with it more easily. It is simple to mix up cornstarch and water, and just dab it on where needed and let it dry (though cooking up the starch works even better) this only needed a tiny bit, as the rest of the dress was mostly assembled. The last time I made myself a new summer dress was in 2019, so the indigo tiger dress is a very welcome addition - we have at least several more weeks of summertime yet to come...

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Kestrel apron	ironing cart	yard waste bin
2	tiny armchair	shims for molding	recycle bin
3	tiny plate rack	tub trim added	ancient printer
4	four hair snoods	pruned quince + plum	yard waste bin
5	snood and pillow	added bathroom hooks	recycle bin
6	indigo tiger dress	worm bin refreshed	x
7	x	bathroom wall touch-up	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - oh my what a treat, today was Not Hot! It cooled off enough overnight that I was able to get the indoor temperature here at Acorn Cottage to a pleasant 68F, at least for a while in the early morning! And it didn't really heat up too badly this afternoon either...

Time of Isolation - Day 911

Progress, however incremental

in which our plucky heroine is doing her best...

Even when my best feels like not good enough. My goal for August is to make some progress on all the various fronts: housey stuff, and promised creative work, and contacting people about potential work, and need to not forget or begrudge my own creative fun for balance. And so far, I have made visible if small progress. Since the pandammit shows no signs of abatement, I must needs find a way to live within the constraints of isolation.

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Wednesday's morning small but noticeable improvement was finally adding hooks to the bathroom wall for backup towels and bathrobe. Hopefully Thursday will see some continuing to paint the decorative trim to add to the sink surround...

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~ creativity challenge ~

Spent some time last night hanging out online with my pal Ursel, each of us doing desk work. I was able to get a bit more clarification on my current and long neglected scribal scroll project, and feel like it is time to begin transferring the design to bristol board prior to calligraphy and painting. I have five remaining backlog scrolls promised to create, and I know that once I begin, each will take on its own momentum. It is hard, so hard, to just work alone. In the Before Time, I would visit Marya, or go to Scribal Night, but those are not an option any more. I think I am going to do the drawings for several of the scrolls. Cannot really do the painting and calligraphy in my bedroom (though maybe if I set up an actual card table instead of just the TV tray table??)

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The worm bin has finally been renewed. All the worm castings set aside in a bucket, to add to plantings here, and fresh torn newspaper bedding added. I put some extra layers of solid damp paper over the top to help the worms deal with the current heat wave, and will be careful to check on them every day. They are quiet and helpful kitchen pets. I gave them the peelings from my breakfast fruit, and all the stems from the spinach I recently cooked.

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Kestrel apron	ironing cart	yard waste bin
2	tiny armchair	shims for molding	recycle bin
3	tiny plate rack	tub trim added	ancient printer
4	four hair snoods	pruned quince + plum	-
5	-	added bathroom hooks	-
6	x	worm bin refreshed	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - Ursel messaged me reminding me of our plan to have an ongoing Wednesday evening video call...

Time of Isolation - Day 908

Tuesday tidbits

in which our plucky heroine sleeps a lot...

The medication I was prescribed for my cranky back continues to bludgeon me into sleep, (not that getting 8 to 10 hours is a bad thing) and leaving me groggy when I am not actually sleeping. Tonight I will try taking the pill earlier in the evening. Once again I fell asleep again in the midafternoon, until about 7:30, and took another tablet. I can hopefully wake up early enough to run the box fans in the morning. We are back in a heat advisory, and tomorrow it will be close to 100F (37.7C) and since I've not been able to cool the house in the morning for a few days, it will be necessary to retreat to the bedroom with the AC.

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time in the tinyworld:

I'm going to make some little mugs for the mug hooks on the plate rack. I found this tutorial on Instagram for enamel mugs made from paper. And there is the Ann Wood tutorial for making cups and plates from paperclay...

I've started on a new embroidered armchair for the library room at Caer Cardboard, since the first chair has now arrived at its destination. So far I've only finished embroidering the lower front panel, with the back and seat cushions left to do. I also made some whimsical chair legs, from wood dowel shaped by a pencil sharpener and a bit of filing with a needle file...

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My dear friend Ariadne is a primary school teacher, and in these days of ongoing pandemic she not only wears a mask at work, but also covers her long hair with a fabric snood to protect it from the children's hands. Recently I found some of the pieces of fun Spoonflower printed fabric (octopi, sushi, and fishes oh my) she sent me back in 2020, that didn't get turned into masks, and so I am instead making her a new set of hair snoods for the upcoming school year. I started with the measurements from this pattern, with some modification because using woven rather than knit fabric, and because I only have fat quarters of fabric, there must needs be both some piecing and using a different piece of material for the long ties. Doing my best with the limited stock of fabric on hand here to find somewhat coordinating colors... I should have a nice bunch of protective gear to hand off to her when they come through town next week.

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Kestrel apron	ironing cart	yard waste bin
2	tiny armchair	shims for molding	recycle bin
3	tiny plate rack	tub trim added	ancient printer
4	four hair snoods	pruned quince + plum	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude- a slightly less painful back...

Time of Isolation - Day 907

not one of the seven dwarves...

in which our plucky heroine wakes up late...

So yesterday I went to the doctor about my intense unilateral stupid back/flank pain. As far as I know, my spinal x rays showed no structural abnormality, ditto the blood and urine tests. I don't have a kidney infection, or disc problems, (or some horrible tumor). I now have a prescription for muscle relaxers and they are going to try and get a referral to physical therapy approved. I tried one of the pills in the late afternoon, figuring if it made me Dopey or Sleepy that a nap wouldn't be a bad thing, since I have been finding sleep difficult due to pain when in a horizontal position. Before long I was nodding out over the keyboard, so dragged self into bed instead.

Woke up briefly at around 7 PM and took care of biological needs including microwaving some dinner, since I was obviously not to be trusted with either knife or flame. Soon afterwards I was back in bed asleep and finally woke up (more or less) at around 7:30 AM.  So... bludgeoned into sleep for about fifteen hours. Hard to tell if my back is at all improved, but I will certainly and carefully continue the regimen. And try and contact my acupuncture practitioner in the hope that she has room in her schedule. 

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time in the tinyworld:

The rustic plate rack tutorial that Ann Wood recently posted was my jumping off point. Since my craft sticks were narrower, I adapted the plans, adding a wider bottom shelf with plate groove, drilled and added vertical hangers, and added a bottom panel (from a wider craft stick) for mug hooks. The hardware pieces are the hook half of sewing hooks-and-eyes, needle nose pliers bent the ends out a bit. Finally I added a painted dot rose, inspired by some vintage dollhouse furniture:

tiny painted dot rose, 3/16" diameter... I used some of my tiniest paintbrushes. Slightly blended a dab of red and pink paint together for the flower, overlaid dots of darker green with dots of lighter green, and finally a yellow dot for the rose heart. These are easy to do as long as you use a really light touch and just use the brush tip, this assumes you have a paintbrush that comes to a good point. My next miniature project will be tiny mugs to hang from the hooks...

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While it is still the top of the summertime weather bell curve, eventually coolth will return. While rummaging in the scrap fabric storage, I found a knit top I'd made several years ago, bundled together with scraps of the same fabric, jersey lycra with multicolored feathers in teal and turquoise and rust on a creamy beige background. And since my current sewing plans are for a teal/turquoise focus, this will fit right in. Back in 2021 I drafted a pattern piece to adapt my TNT knit top pattern to a turtleneck collar, and there was a large enough scrap to cut out the addition. Currently hand stitching the finished collar in place, using the very simplest stretchy Alabama Chanin stitching. I use this a LOT for my knit tops, as it adds a bit of subtle visual decoration (either texture or color contrast) and holds up really well in the wearing and the washing.

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~ creativity challenge ~

in the interest of using up fabric and/or completing various projects, the small pieces of Spoonflower fabric that were intended as cloth masks back in 2020 are being recombined to make snoods for Ariadne to wear when she returns to teaching school this autumn. Very recombinant snoods, to be sure, but colorful is good when you teach little kiddos.

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Before it was too hot and sunny out, I managed to do a bit of pruning on the trees on the south side of the house. The quince has quite a few young fuzzy quinces on it; I think it bloomed before the April snow happened. The small plum tree only has two plums. I pruned off quite a few of the branches from both trees that grow up into the sky, as I only want trees where I can reach the fruit. The plum needs more pruning... I have not figured out what to do about the AC blowing hot air on it that crisps the leaves. I may try to gradually prune it further away from the house into a sort of semi-espalier?

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Kestrel apron	ironing cart	yard waste bin
2	tiny armchair	shims for molding	recycle bin
3	tiny plate rack	tub trim added	ancient printer
4	-	pruned quince + plum	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - I have most of what I need, even when I don't have what I want

Time of Isolation - Day 904

mind the gap

in which our plucky heroine is feeling distracted...

Cranky back is still cranky. Indeed, the pain in my back/flank keeps getting worse. At this point I can't find anything that is absorbing enough to keep my mind off the pain. And I have this stupid phobia about making phone calls. Finally with some support from a dear one, I called my PCP yesterday and made an appointment. The soonest was at the end of August, but this morning I got a call from the clinic and they can fit me in tomorrow morning! I don't expect some magic potion to make it stop hurting, or even to let me sleep for more than a few hours at a time, but I hope to start the process of finding out what is causing the problem and maybe something to do to ameliorate it.

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time in the tinyworld:

I've been playing in the workroom with making up the rustic plate rack, and I think that my "popsicle/craft sticks" may be a little narrower than the ones Ann Wood was using; my finished piece ended with significantly different vertical dimensions, and the bottom shelf seemed too narrow for useful storage. So... I decided to go with plan number next, and do some adaptations...

A wider craft stick was cut down and attached to the back side of the plate rack to serve as a lower back piece to hold hooks for tiny teacups. One more, cut a bit shorter, could extend the width of the bottom shelf, and will have a bit of scrap wood added to the edge as a lip to prevent items from falling off. Finally, I added two more regular craft sticks vertically at the back, sticking up, so that the finished plate rack can be hung on two nails in the future someday kitchen.

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I've been slowly listening to and reading "The Art of Asking" by Amanda Palmer, and being more and more impressed with what she has to say. I admit I didn't really know much about her, her story, and what she shares about her point of view - I knew she was a musician, and that she was married to Neil Gaiman, and I maybe had seen one or two of her videos online. So much information and clear thinking in the book about asking, about trust, about being an artist... I think that once I finish the book I am going to re-read and re-listen to it.

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~ fun with home repair ~

finally beginning to actually close up the gap between the tub/shower surround and the wall next to the sink. Said gap been in place since 2014 when the soaked wallboard was replaced with plywood, but nothing was done about the gap where the moldy chipboard molding had been removed (former owners of the cottage have a lot to answer for in terms of thoughtless remuddling - really, who puts chunks of painted chipboard next to the shower?!?)

Took me years to figure out how to attach and shim trim pieces to a very multi-level surface that had no wall studs behind to anchor to. Last year a Netflix show about tiny houses mentioned "Gorilla Glue Construction Adhesive" which turned out to be the correct thing to bond the trim to the wall. I'm using a few shower curtain rods as pressure clamps to make certain the trim bits are as flush with the wall as possible. There are three sections of trim, because the plywood and the former wallboard are that uneven, so it will take a bit of time. I don't know what made me think of using my assorted sizes of craft sticks as shims, but they are super thin, and can easily be glued together to make sturdy wooden shims of various thickness. Attaching trim and filling all the gaps will mean that the attic air (and various spiders) will no longer have a direct pathway into the indoors of Acorn Cottage. Huzzah! Better late than never!!

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Kestrel denim apron	ironing cart	yard waste bin
2	tiny armchair	shims for molding	recycle bin
3	tiny plate rack	tub trim added	ancient printer
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - sometimes the protocol at the local medical clinic is helpful. Apparently my constellation of symptoms were concerning enough that I was bumped into one of the "held-open" time slots. I am worried about how the pain is increasing instead of decreasing. I was effusively grateful on the phone to the person who called this morning to let me know my doctor could see me tomorrow instead of in two weeks.

Time of Isolation - Day 902

Monday miscellany and Tuesday tidbits

in which our plucky heroine makes slow if steady progress...

The technique of writing down a few tasks for the next day in my bujo seems to be helping more than it has in the past, or else I am improving in my ability to break tasks into ever smaller pieces until some seem doable.

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time in the tinyworld:

Further progress is happening happened, and the embroidered armchair project is complete! Once the embroidery was done, I couldn't resist my desire to see how it would look, so between yesterday's tasks I kept returning to my work table, to finish upholstering each component piece.

Here the back panel is partially completed... Still needs leaves and fruit on the strawberry, decorating the butterfly wings, and a few stars and dots. The tutorial is a wonderful springboard to creativity, and I decided to add sequins and tiny buttons to the embroidery and felt applique. I'm enjoying this so much (it makes perfect handwork for during zoom meetings, or while hiding indoors from triple digit temperatures) that embroidering a second armchair is in my plans, in a different mix of fabrics and motifs. Maybe mushrooms?

I have been working on this in fragments of time for the last week or two... I partially followed a PDF tutorial I bought online. I was for some reason feeling a bit of disquiet about the project, but realised that buying a tutorial doesn't diminish my own creativity, but rather is more like taking a class, as a way of learning new techniques, and being inspired by the work of, and supporting the efforts of another artist, in this case a miniaturist who lives in Toronto. Making these sorts of miniature things are helping me stay at least somewhat functional given the stress of the pandammit and everything else that has happened in the last few months.

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I've been slowly cutting up large "craft sticks" (bigger than popsicle sticks and smaller than tongue depressors) and laminating them together to form shims for the trim in the bathroom that goes between the shower surround and the wall next to the sink. Craft sticks are inexpensive, and therefore warped and distorted in subtle ways that make using them as micro lumber a challenge, but they are the right thickness to serve this function. The last few days they have been glued in place to the back of the three molding pieces, which means that soon I can actually adhere them in place.

This project began when the sink and the surrounding wall were replaced back in 2014, but at the time there was nothing done to replace the edge trim. The level of the plywood replacement pieces did not match the level of the former wallboard, and there are no wall studs in the right places to mechanically attach the trim. I've picked up an assortment of handy skills over the long years, but often it take me forever to come up with a way to solve these sorts of challenges. Finding out about Gorilla Glue Construction Adhesive has been very helpful in this case, and realising I could laminate shims to the correct depth was the other bit that was needed. Now I just need to pick a day when it is not beastly hot, so I can leave the windows open and run the fans to pull the stinky glue VOCs out of the house, and I will be able to finally start trimming out around the sink and tub. Eight years. Better late than never.

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~ creativity challenge ~

Meeting every other Saturday morning with my Sewing Nomads pals is always an inspiration for me to actually get off my duff and sew. My new summer dress is gradually taking shape, and my hope is to have it wearable by our next zoom later this month. I've shown the upside down tiger gores to several folks, and no one seems to think they are obtrusive. There will be a very few tiny scraps of fabric left once the dress is finished, as most of the bits will be needed to create bias edge binding strips.

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I fell out of bed on July 30th. I seem to have thereby tweaked my SI joint, and my back has been cranky ever since. Some days better, and some days much worse. I wish I wasn't such a hypochondriac that every twinge sends my worry dial through the roof. Being a cancer survivor doesn't help with that.

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Kestrel denim apron	ironing cart	yard waste bin
2	tiny armchair	shims for molding	recycle bin
3	-	-	ancient printer
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - spending time having to lie down because my brain is seeing rainbow psychedelic zig zag lightning. I get ocular migraines, but I don't also get the headache. Once the visual disturbance passes from my field of vision, I can get up and resume my everyday life.

Time of Isolation - Day 900