Something popped into me head...

As I was preparing dinner and getting ready to sit down and watch an episode of Bones on DVD, something came to me and I need to write it down so I do not forget.

 

I was was pondering the questions and my answers to the survey for the lady who wants to Author a book she entitles "Subtle Pagans". I started thinking and this just came to mind....

 

"Reverence and observance in the natural forces at work, both seen and unseen, are enough (to please those forces at work??) in this age where these forces are taken for granted, loathed, or even go unackowledged."

 

Is this Goddess speaking? Is this a great tidbit of wisdom...bistowed as I prepare to feast on italian sausages freshly grilled? Okay, I have to add some humor but come on...that is deep...way to deep for it to be just a thought from little 'ol me!

 

HUmmmm....

 

Ponderings....

 

Until next time...

No pictures, just babble...

I haven't posted in a couple days so I figured I put in a few words (or so).

 

Karate is kicking my ass again. I am now attending four classes a week. One on basic escrima sticks and on the same day as that, basic karate practice. Then I go again on Wednesday for basic karate. Then again on Thursday for Black Belt Team practice. OOooooo he worked us hard yesterday!! Again I ran into the issue of feeling like I could not breath fast enough or get enough air into me fast enough for what I was doing. I think it is this bulg on my bellay that is compressing my lungs a bit. Mom had the same issue.     So now I resolve to do 20 sit-ups a day (baby-steps) and once I can do 20 of those with little to no trouble (and without gasping for air or needing brake), I will add on 10 more and so on and so on till I reach a hundred along with my regular workouts. I should be past doing 20 in a week if I can keep with it.

 

I tell you what, punching on the bag has really strengthened my arms!! I can do sit ups...and lots of them now!! That is a great feeling!

 

I am told that after I get my Black belt uniform (which is blue instead of white thank goodness) and sparring gear that that is about the extend of the major expense with karate. What's left is to just purchase the weapons when we get to that point. But that still leaves me with $300 still due in order to move up to the BBT by September....OYE!!! I dunno if I can handle sparring. It is constant movement...and with this gasping for air shit, I dunno...will have to work on that.

 

But hey!! I can fit into an XL shirt now!! My regular size is XXL...sweet! I have shrunk...even though it is hard for me to see it, a smaller shirt proves it! Now all my older cotten T's just hang off me...and it is not comfortable. Now I need new shirts and you think I would be excited, but that is money I don't have right now. I need to learn how to take up the seams on my shirts.

 

I went to the Hilldale mall Wednesday and stopped by the University bookstore. They had a bunch of books on clearance for $2 each. I found three. One on German Gods and Goddesses, one on the views of Native American religion and practices for daily living in a modern world, and another one that I can't seem to remember. I left them in the work van...OOPS! I'll get them later.

 

I went to Half price books today and found a book on making Milk-based soaps....sweet!! Even though milk is rising in price, I think it will be cheaper in the long run than using veggie oils. I usually use olive oil (which is an arm and a leg right now), coconut oil, and veggie shortening with various other tidbits like chamomile flowers or clove.

 I bought some passion fruit tea from starbucks this morning, that should be good when it is ready. My last batch of suntea actually started to ferment and tasted horrible. BLAH! What a waste. It was Raspberry black tea.

 

I am trying my darnedest, no pun intended, to learn needle felting. I am getting frustrated with it quickly because I have all these images I want to bring to life, but I cannot seem to get it out and onto wool! There is little info on the net, and the books I borrowed from the library where only for wet felting. I really wish authors would be more descriptive with thier titles!

 

I am participating in a voluntary survey of "Subtle Pagans." An author wants to interview pagans who are not into the festival spotlight, and who lead regular lives like the rest of the world. I really don't care for the crowds, the hub-bub showing off of flamboyaintness, and how some people embody being pagan by dressing foolishly. This is not the middle ages people, and a Pagan holiday festival is not a Renisance fair or a S and M gathering. Good grief. I am embarrassed for them. It's like they are competing on who can dress more outragiously.

I have yet to be at a festival that portrays pagans as they really are, normal folks who simply believe differently and are more earthy (vs flamboyaint) people.

 

On the crafting front, I am back to knitting. After about a month of hiatus, I got the knitting bug bitting at me again. Now to finish some projects so I can get to work on my winter wares.

 

The polys are alive and growing. A couple more weeks and I will have cocoons and moths! Definately will have pictures of those.

 

Until next time...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spirit Totem Framed!!

Literally! Ahhh the exhileration of creation!

Until next time...






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I figured it out! Landscape felting...and other needle feltings

I am almost done with that demo for the LYS down the street. I got inspired to work on it last night so now I am on a creative streak. I decided to needle felt a blue bird onto the corner, just to make it more personal. I have a stash of dozens of different dyed wools in the closet from my dyeing experiments so I dug all that out. Now my work area is a mess again. LOL All in the day of a creative mind I guess.

Landscape felting!! I finally figured it out after reading on how to make a sheet of felt from roving at this here website
of which I am constantly going back to read. Then I pondered a bit and grabbed some dyed wool.
First I cut a random shape out of some commercial felt material. I have a lot of it from my days of making moccasin templates. I filled the sink with about an inch of hot water, got the piece of commercial felt (CF for short from here on)wet and laid it on one of those sushi roller mat thingys. I found a bunch at the local Big Lots a couple months ago for a buck each. Then I fluffed up some of the dyed wool I have laying around, and placed it onto the wet CF piece in the water and patted it down till it was completely wet. I did this until the wool covered the felt piece and then some.

Then I took some Dawn soap and poured a good portion over the piece and began PATTING at it. Just patting it down into the water was enough to get the felting action going without disturbing the fibers so much that they came apart or clumped up. After the water cooled some, I picked up the whole thing (mat and all) and added fresh hot water. (BTW this I did in the kitchen sink) After the felting had started I was able to lightly rub the wool in a circular motion. Then, since I did not have any bubble wrap, I grabbed a plastic grocery bag, wadded that up and used that to rub even more. WOW! It worked!!! It didn't stick too well to the CF so I was able to peel it off of that. So the commercial felt is a good felting template. Who'd -a-thunk? Next time I think I will make a white base of felted wool before adding the colored wool, just to bring out the color more when it is finished.

So as I looked at the finished piece (which oddly enough looks like the state of Indiana, my home state....go fig!), I got one of those flashes in my head with an image. So I set to work on it. I added silk across the piece because I wanted to add a little sparkle to it. Then I kept getting more and more images of what to put on this piece so I continued to work on it. I worked on this a total of almost 3 hours start to finished. The first picture with the yellow figure was when I thought I was done, but I looked away and I was hit with another image, this time with arms connecting to the silk.

Who or what this is I have no idea. Oddly enough again, the silk looks like lightening. FREAKY!! You can't see it in these pictures but the Mysterious Figure's body is not flat but 2-D. The head comes out from the piece and it looks like, if stare at it, there are eyes and a mouth of which I did not add at all. I figured it was an OOAK, a spirit piece. Now I need a shadow box frame to frame it in because of the 2-D-ness of it. But WOW....I think one of the BF's Creative Bugs crawled over and bit me, bit me BIG TIME!!

Until next time...






***All content is Copyright year and date of posting to C4G/CCW unless otherwise noted. Reproduction without permission in any form is strictly forbidden. Violators will be shut-down.***