Lazy birds.

When my mom was here, I was focussed on finding a pothos plant. I know they're very common, and there's nothing really exotic about them, but they're one of my favourite houseplants. Because they are so common, though, I had a really difficult time finding one. None of the specialist plant/flower shops can be bothered to carry them, because -- c'mon -- everybody's got one already, duh. I finally picked one up when Rob and I went to B&Q the other day:

Click to enlarge. It's nothing special, but I keep finding myself looking at the same old bits of the flat and thinking, 'Ooh, that looks nice,' and I'm pretty sure it's all down to the pothos. It just seems so homey and full of life, unlike the ubiquitous peace lilies (which I associate with Ikea, which is fine, but not exactly lived-in).

When I lived in La Crosse, I saved a dying pothos from a Walgreens. It was only little, with a few leaves, and its sopping wet soil was crawling with little white flecks. A good repotting and a few months later saw it looking quite healthy and bug-less. So perhaps I just have a soft spot for pothos.

There's another new plant in the flat, in an oft-photographed location:

I bought these African Violets at a heavily discounted price from Waitrose. They were on clearance because some of the flowers had already started to die and dry up, but as you can see, it's still flowering well two weeks later. The container is so cheery, and it's nice to have flowers growing in the flat.

In other plant-related news, I'm growing lettuce on the balcony. Er, well, lettuce is growing on the balcony -- I have about as little to do with it as possible. I sowed (sew) the seeds months and months ago, but the seedlings all died on me. Then I tried planting some other plants in the container, which also promptly died (I blame the container), so I threw the whole lot out on the balcony (which wraps around the corner, so I placed it where I wouldn't have to see it). I happened to look out there about a month ago, and would you believe there are two little lettuce plants growing? They're not really big enough for eating, but they're still impressive, considering how cold and blowy it's been. Bravo, little lettuce plants. I've sprinkled some strawberry seeds in now too, to see if the balcony can work its magic on them. Neglectful gardening, that's my method.

When I went to the Country Living fair last weekend, I saw some lovely little hanging jars -- some had candles inside; others had little bunches of cut flowers. We asked the seller what they cost, and she told us to buy them from her website -- she was ordering some more in a couple of weeks and didn't want to sell us the ones she already had. Fair enough, I suppose; as Rob just said, there's a reason why some businesses remain small.

Anyway, I wasn't too picky about the shape of the jar, so when the strawberry jam ran out, I made my own:

I made the hanger out of some heavy duty silver plated wire, and Rob soldered the open bits closed. The 'necklace' is made from a few purple and pink shells I collected in Portugal last October, and some little jangly. . . bits. I don't actually have anywhere to hang it from at the moment, but it's nice and beachy and perfect for a rainy day like today.

There are a LOT of charity (second hand) shops in Leigh. It follows, then, that my mom and I went to a LOT of charity shops in Leigh. I left most of them empty handed, but I did snap up this knitting caddy for only £1.50:

I had been toying with the idea of making a new cover for it -- something that could snap out and have handles so I could take it along to Foyles. I might still do that, but I'm fairly happy with it as it is. Before this caddy, I was starting to store some of my favourite yarns in a plastic box by the couch (for TV crocheting).

Ever since I started the mug cozies, I've become much more excited by the prospect of lovely yarn. Right now, the caddy is holding the lime Blue Sky cotton, some vivid, coral alpaca, two balls of silk from HipKnits, and I think there's a little pouch made from Noro Silk Garden. The blue piece is going to be a small cushion cover; it's about half finished. The darker blue is Debbie Bliss cotton silk, and the lighter is HipKnits silk, which is so, SO soft. The DB is more cottony, of course, but it still has that nice sheen to it.

And that's my new caddy!

I've been in Leigh on Sea the past couple of days, but my mom and I went to Kew before heading out east. Surprisingly, I had never been to Kew before this past week (perhaps it's less surprising when you consider how infrequently I travel into the W/SW postcodes). I thought there would be more flowers in bloom in the green houses (there weren't many), but the greenery was still very welcome, considering this has been the coldest March in, what -- twenty years?

Photos:

I got this pretty little tea light holder at Liberty the other day, but there's no information about the artist on it. It's very nice, though:

Glowy.

Also, I made this a while back, and it's just been sitting on my desk, waiting to be photographed:

See a larger, different picture here. It's crocheted from Blue Sky Cotton, which is just so lovely and soft. I'm not a huge fan of cotton yarn, but the feel and colour of this really attracted me. It looks great with the fuschia velvet ribbon and little seed beads along the top, and the cotton should be good for soaking up condensation from a cold drink on a hot day. The cup is made from recycled glass (not by me, of course), and is short but wide (about 3.75"H by 3.25"W). It should be suitable for both cold and warm drinks (but not boiling!).

I'm selling the set for $20, plus shipping according to your location on the globe. If you're interested in purchasing it, please e-mail me, letting me know where you live, and I will send you a PayPal request for the correct amount.

Some pictures to tide a person over until the next crafty update. I had to bluri-glowify these to make them look a bit groovy, because they're actually low quality snaps from my camera phone (taken on a bus).

I can see St. Paul's; can you see St. Paul's? We took a bus from Oxford Circus (about) all the way to Blackwall DLR station, which is such an excellent ride, if you've manage to score the front seats on the top of the bus. It's a long ride, but welcome if you've been walking around Liberty, etc all day.

I actually took this last Tuesday, on my way back to work from Foyles. It's right near the corner of Oxford Street and TCR/Charing Cross Road. What a great little detail.

I had was going to do 12 of 12 (twelve pictures of your day on the twelfth of the month) this past Sunday, but then it wound up being a sort of crappy day, so I didn't really feel like documenting it. I did take the above photo about fifteen minutes after I woke up, though. Pretty.

I don't have much crafty stuff to update about. My mom is arriving on Friday for a ten-day visit, so a lot of my 'crafts' as of late have had to do with cleaning products and scrubby sponges. I went to Waitrose yesterday to stock up on said products and also bought these:

Bang! They weren't even open yesterday, and now this. At least I can pretend spring is on its way.

First things first -- new bird prints!

Nice and springy colours, these. The outline is actually a very dark green, not black, and I really like how the colours look together. I've got thirteen to sell, and six have already been preordered (! thanks, guys!), so that leaves seven to be claimed. The price is still $5, including shipping. E-mail me and I'll send you a PayPal request.

From little birds to little houses. This is the house in daylight:

Seeing this little mock-Tudor house sitting on my shelf makes me so happy. I'm not sure what it is -- I've never been drawn this stark style before -- I think it just looks like such a nice little house. This is the inside. It's a work in progress, obviously. I'm not very happy with the bed, but I like the Kaffe Fasset 'rug' on the ground floor and the purple runner on the stairs. I made the stairs this morning and left them removable for the time being, as the house is only 4"x4", and therefore a bit cramped for arranging.

Like I said yesterday, I'm not quite sure why I made this. I was just struck with the urge to have a tiny paper house, and now I've got one. I've always loved miniatures, especially miniature. . . accoutrements -- tiny sets of things. I remember making paper dolls when I was little, and they would have folders full of accessories. When I was a bit older, I was really into model horses and everything to go with them; there's just something that's so delightful about a world in miniature. I remember reading The Indian in the Cupboard and wishing so badly that I had my own cupboard so I could have a herd of tiny, live horses.

In the absence of a magic cupboard, I'll have to make do with my paper house.

Wondering what I made for lunch today? Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint you.

Parmesan Carbonara, minus the parmesan. I got the basic recipe from one of those cheap cookbooks (the vegetarian one) Borders always has on their bargain shelves -- turns out they actually have some good recipes inside! I made it a while ago according to the recipe, with sun-dried tomatos and fresh basil, but I didn't have those on hand today. Instead, I chucked in some spinach and mozzarella.

Served with? Pink grapefruit and lemon lemonade. I finished reading this book the other day. I'm usually the first to cry fad whenever a book about food becomes a best seller, but I did like this. It's not about losing weight, and it doesn't tell you to only eat fruit one half hour before other foods while not drinking any liquids. Simply having a list of good foods, where all I have to do is make sure I eat them -- that's enough for me. I've mentioned lycopene twice today, which is two times more than I've ever mentioned it before. It sounds science-y and important. Now I just have to remember what's in pumpkin that's so healthy, so I have an excuse for eating all this pumpkin pie.

Moving on to things less food related, today I made a house:

Out of paper. It's not for me to know why I did it; the muse just struck, and who am I to deny inspiration? It's 8.5" tall at its peak, and I cut out and glued on all those little black pieces individually. I started this project much the same as I start many projects: things begin well, and I think, 'Hm, how will I mess this up?' It sounds pessimistic, but I can always count on one big, stupid error when I'm trying to be careful. This time, it was cutting out the window above the door. There wasn't supposed to be a window there; I just couldn't tell which lines I was meant to be cutting on. I had to just shrug and turn it into a stained-glass feature, since it wasn't exactly a perfect Tudor replica to begin with. Better pictures will follow, especially once it has some furnishings. . .

Also to follow: more bird prints! Coming soon!

Look what arrived today! Beautiful stoneware vessels by Karin Eriksson, via Mirror Mirror. Actually, the package was supposed to be delivered yesterday, but we were out when the postman came, so I had to trudge to the depot today (in the rain) to pick it up. Well worth the wet shoes, though!

London Book Fair was, well, fair. I get a little nervous being around so many people, but I attended a few seminars which were actually quite interesting. Highlights include A) delicious Greek yoghurt+blueberries for breakfast and B) finding out that the wife of the man who does our bibliographic database software is a fan of my website (hi!). Seemingly not related to books, I know, but, uh. . . just ignore that.

One of the freebies that was being passed around was a nice, hardcover blank journal with "So & So Press's" logo on it.* I think I might make a fabric cover for it and use it as a drawing journal, once I feel like I can settle down to crafting again (the fair drained my brain). I also stopped by Chronicle Books' stand as everybody was tearing down stands on the last day, just to see if they were planning to dump their books in a skip, and whether I could have some first (how lovely are their books? The most lovliest of all America's books.). They were packing the books to ship back to the States, but one kind woman let me have a Lotta Jansdotter card set. I'm so tickled by the kind gesture, but I also feel slightly guilty/embarrassed, as though I'm a great big greedy mooch who's after free stuff the whole time.

Which I'm not. (I hope.)

*As far as I know, So & So Press doesn't actually exist. I'm reserving it for the name of my imaginary publishing company, just in case the name 'Clumsy Donkey Press' doesn't work out.

Look what I made:

Click the image to enlarge. It's my new crochet caddy! A little bag I can slip inside my bigger bag when I need to travel around with hooks and a ball of wool.

The top is a simple patchwork (er, stripes) of those prints I'd chosen, quilted to some thin cotton batting. Once I quilted it with a little free-form leaf action, I washed it in the sink and threw it in the dryer for some excellent quiltiness. The front of the caddy (under the top flap) is the piece of felted crochet, and the back is made of the prints again. I didn't quilt the back or even reinforce it with interfacing, which is the one thing I'd change if I could do this over again.

A close up of the fabric-covered button and the quilting. I'm really not very good with binding edges with bias tape. For this bag, I sewed it by machine to the outside of the bag and then hand stitched it into place on the inside of the bag (like you're supposed to do with quilt binding). I didn't take any photos of the inside, though, so you can't see my lovely hand stitches. Which is just as well, because I was lying just then when I called them lovely.

Because the front of the caddy is crochet, and therefore pretty thick, there's less room inside that you'd think. I put in some pockets for hooks and things, but it's pretty simple otherwise.

In other news, I just discovered Mirror Mirror, which is just about the prettiest little on-line boutique. I bought a few things made by Karin Eriksson, who my internet pal Cally had posted about a couple days ago. Karin makes very beautiful ceramics, and a couple of her pieces will soon be living here, while there may or may not be a little treat headed Cally's direction.

So! Rob and I are going to look for dinosaurs today at the Natural History Museum, and tomorrow it's time that living in Docklands finally pays off -- the start of the London Book Fair at ExCel.

Gathering bits. Gather, gather:

I've decided what I'm going to do with those fabrics. And the bobbly piece of crochet I felted months ago. And some bias tape. Stay tuned to see if it works.

I'm supposed to take a photo of Rob, because the Italians like to see what their authors look like, or something. I'm not sure. All I know is that there's Rob, some Italian publishers, and the request for a picture. Part of me thinks the editor just wants it to hang on her wall, and I'm not sure I approve of that. Anyway! Like a puma or a tiny fish, Rob is elusive and difficult to capture on film/pixels. So I took a picture of myself instead! Because I wanted to see if the light would be as nice as I thought it would.

There's a larger version, but nobody needs to see me that closely. I don't participate in Self-Portrait Tuesday, because I can't help feeling vain whenever I post a photo of myself. I know that's not what the project is about, and that's not how I see other people when they post pictures of themselves, but there you go.

I've got my dad's eyes and, to a certain extent, his nose. I had a couple face-first spills when I was little, so my nose looks straight from one side (this side, I guess), but less so on the other. I've got my mom's mouth, or at least a mouth from somewhere on her side of the family. I'm an only child, and I think one of the real downsides to that is not being able to see myself in anybody else. I love seeing pictures of siblings and being able to recognize the same features, but I don't really have anybody my age I can do that with. Every now and then I see a similarity between some of my cousins and myself, and I often see the features of my dad's mother when I look at self portraits.

This really is a self portrait, as well. I set up a mirror halfway across the room and held the camera (with its macro lens) at my chest to take this. As I was saving it in Photoshop, Rob commented that it was nice, but I was backwards. So I flipped the horiztonals because -- of course -- it was taken in a mirror! I couldn't tell; I'm used to seeing my reflection, and I thought I looked backwards once I'd corrected it. But never mind; you're seeing all my little moles on the correct sides.

Blah, blah, blah! I'm off to continue reading my new Super Foods book to learn exactly why it's so good that I eat a bushel of blueberries every week. (The book seemed to imply that people only eat blueberries 'as a treat' and 'when they're in season.' I eat blueberries every single day! I've probably got super powers; I've got to finish the book to see if that's true.)

(Oh, also -- I didn't ask permission to post those pictures of my mom and dad. Hi, parents! The world now knows what you looked like thirty years ago. Hope you don't mind!)

What, ho! I say! March already, is it? Blimey.

I love that the days are getting longer; it doesn't seem strange that it's brighter later, but I can't get over how light it is in the mornings. I leave the house quite early, and I'd gotten used to walking in the dark. Now I can't shake the feeling I'm running an hour late every day, but it's only the sun playing tricks on my brain.

I might be the last person in Britain to do so, but I've just discovered LivingEtc magazine. All I can say is that it's very strange that I've never picked this up before, considering it's been designed especially for me. Maybe it's just this issue, but there was something I loved on just about every page. They're mind readers. Exhibit A:

A page featuring a Svenskt Tenn tray with coordinating teacups. Pictured with? MY Svenskt Tenn tray with coordinating teacups. I say. I'm very excited to have another magazine to spend money on. Such inspiration!

My Kaffe Fassett Club package came from the Cotton Patch today (Hello, disappointing paucity of quilt shops in East/North London; I'm running off with the internet.). Three of my favourite prints:

'Ah,' you say, 'but only one of those is a Kaffe Fassett print.' Sharp eye! And surprising knowledge of Kaffe's designs! Indeed, only a few of the prints were by Kaffe; the rest are Philip Jacobs, also for Rowan Fabrics. I wasn't expecting to have other designers in the package, but I do like how these prints go together. Loving the yellowy green and aqua and brown. What can I make with these? Hmmm. . .

[Update: GTAS is full up now! Stay tuned for progress reports.]

Okay! Let's do this thing! Presenting to you:

The Good Time Animal Swap! I asked, and you said yes, so here we go.

What is it? GTAS is a swap for people with animals in their lives. Our pet friends love to be fussed over, and we all love to get mail. The Good Time Animal Swap is for people all over the world to show appreciation for each other's animal pals by sending a little treat in the post.

What sort of treat? Well, it will depend on the animal(s) you're sending your package to, of course, but you can send store-bought goodies (with a maximum limit of $10 for those items) and -- since we are craft bloggers -- there ought to be something handmade as well. Your swap buddy will give you clues as to what exactly you should send!

How many people can participate? GTAS will have twelve participants. If you've already left me a comment, you're guaranteed a spot. Otherwise, e-mail me. And please do e-mail me even if you've left a comment, just to confirm your participation. The deadline for joining up will be Sunday, 5 March. If all the spots are taken before then, I'll update this post.

What do you need to know? In your e-mail to me, provide the following information:
Your Name
Your Website
Your Address
Your Pet's Name/Species/Breed (You may have multiple pets)
Your Pet's Preferences/Interests
And lastly, whether you're willing to ship internationally.

Then what? I'll randomly assign participants a swap partner -- each will be different, so you'll know who you're sending your package to (of course), but you won't know who has been assigned to you until you get their package in the post. Suspense! Mystery! Once you get your package, take a snapshot of your animal pal(s) playing with their new goodies; I'll set up a flickr account so we can share our photos in one spot!

Ready? GO!