Apple Valley Road Trip

Yesterday we took a road trip to Apple Valley CA. Now I have all kinds of art inspiration. There is nothing like a day trip to clean the cobwebs out of your brain and help you see the world in a new light. I would have cried if I'd forgotten my camera. Even though I have friends in Apple Valley and my boyfriend has relatives in Hesperia, I'd never been to either spot unless I passed through as a child on the way to somewhere else.  I have no recollection of it anyway. But the dessert always has great photo opportunities.

I grabbed what photos I could. I wasn't the driver, and we already had a day full of stuff scheduled, so it was catch as catch can, often from a moving car.  I did what I could though.

One of the rentals we looked at.

I've always loved joshua trees.  I just never thought I'd have them in my yard.

Talk to the Hand

I don't believe I've ever talked about the little felt hands I've been beading.  I made them for bardic tokens.  So if I'm at an SCA event, and I see a bard strolling around or doing a presentation, I like to 'give them a hand'. I don't normally do it at competitions, because they have an audience and get tons of attention.  I give them out to bards that go out of their way to go to SCA events and stroll around singing, or juggle for the children, or recite poetry to the queen, and so on.  I just like to reward them if I catch them doing something entertaining.

Some of the hands have a pin so they can wear them.  But recently I've started making some with loops so they can hang them from a hook, or a Christmas tree, or their mantel or whatever. I should go take photos to help you visualize.

New Batch of Bowsocks

First Guy dyes all the canvas before any sewing.

The finished bow socks waiting for a longbow to go inside.

Yesterday we went to a friend's house so Guy could sew hand-dyed bow socks.  A bow sock is a sleeve you put a longbow in. I wonder why they don't call them bow sleeves?  My part in all these was cutting 36 pieces of ribbon to use as ties, and then touching each end to a flame to keep the ribbon from fraying. I love playing with ribbon! Now they all have to be turned right side out. Thankfully that's not my job.  He does it with the help of a yardstick but it's still a struggle.  So if you are tired of your bow getting beat up in transit, let me know and I'll have him set one aside for you before he puts them up for sale at Great Western War.  The selection is always the best right after a new batch is dyed.  Some colors sell out fast, but there is no way to predict which ones.  This time around the purple is particularly beautiful.

You can visit Guy's website at http://www.greenmanarchery.com. 

Photos or Not

Lucky me, I got to go out to my friend's ranch today. But it was short notice so I just had time to grab my camera. I didn't have time to look for the case with the spare batteries.  So as Murphy would have it, my batteries died on the fourth photo.  Luckily one was of my daily self-portrait. I doubt the other three were that great. Tomorrow when it's light out again I'll unpack my camera and we'll see if it's in focus.

Knitting a Blue Elf Hat

I started knitting a new blue hat yesterday on double pointed needles. I soon discovered I either need a 5th needle or I need to transfer it to a small circular needle. I started in the point of the hat, and increased as I went, and now I can't risk adding any more stitches to the needles or they'll just fall off the other side.

Sewing Machines Can Be So Stubborn

Yesterday I helped my new neighbor get her sewing machine going. It turned out to be a tangled bobbin issue. Sometimes two heads are better than one. She is doing some alterations. You know the drill: Weight goes up, weight goes down, weight goes up, weight goes down.  She's taking the seams in again.

For once, I'd like to be taking my seams in again.

Going Green

Yesterday I begged a ride to Joann's and got the black yarn to finish my witch doll. I looked for pre-made witch hats and they had some but none in the right size or that weren't attached to something else. They did have quite a few dog Halloween costumes, so if that's your thing check them out.

The landscapers were a rude awakening at 8 AM on a Saturday morning, but I'm happy to report we now have an instant green lawn thanks to sod. So I should be able to start doing video tutorials again. I'm not sure how soon I can walk on it and I doubt the Mexicans out there are going to tell us. They're not big on communicating. I think only the foreman speaks English and I haven't seen him around.

I'm just happy it's green out there again. We're still planning to move though so I won't get too attached to it. They said they wanted to replace the old yard with drought resistant landscaping so I wasn't expecting them to put another lawn in. Then again when have they ever done anything the way they said they would.