the "office"

from the hallway:

so I thought on my last day in my cinder block "office" I would take some pics for my dear readers who have listened to me complain for the last year. Actually it's a kiln closet (see the kiln tucked away under the table at the far back). I was very grateful for the quiet space, actually, because the alternative was a half-cubicled area off to the side of a loud hallway right by a major kids restroom area and the cafeteria. So this was much better! I cannot think with a lot of noise, and a school with over 1,000 elementary students can get just a wee bit loud :)
this one is from the inside:

so today I say 'farewell' to my cinder block office... I have loved you (not really), I have hated you (really), and now onto the next phase of my life. I'm wishing all of you a beautiful beginning to your summer ~ enjoy your children, enjoy your gardens, enjoy the weather!
I leave you with a picture of a different kind, to make you think of warm summer days: taken by my daughter, who is becoming very interested in photography, and even started her own flickr this week :)

deer dream

Not long ago I had a very vivid dream about a multi-colored deer. There were really cool vintage embroidered linens hanging like room dividers in this old house, and I guess it was supposed to be my grandmas house (the one that died when I was 5). We were going to inherit the house, and I was so excited about all the old linens. Anyway, there was this little deer with beautiful colored spots on her fur.
I've thought about it a lot, and then I saw this on the front page of etsy yesterday, and decided I should buy it:

cornflakegirl is the seller (I start humming that tori amos song everytime I think of her username), and she is Asian, and I told her about the dream. She said it was a good omen in Chinese culture to dream of a multi-colored deer. How odd that it's dreamt of enough to actually mean something. So I google 'deer dream' and it talked about how deer are graceful and can stand for the feminine aspect of ourselves. It said if you dream of a black deer, it might mean you are trying to stifle a part of your femininity, so I guess I'm letting mine flow for sure! Must be all the colorful things I've been sewing lately :)
She also makes these amazing custom dogs that look exactly like the live dog!

Truly amazing...
Here's a little creature made with vintage fabric:

It's May!

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. I put the shop on hold so I could make a bunch of new things for a Nebraska Aids Project craft fair. I only sold one thing, but at least now I have the biggest inventory ever! So I'm listing a bunch of new goodies in the shop, around 4-6 items a day until they're all in there.
I've also had major pain in my neck and back again, and it causes me to have headaches every afternoon. I'm back to naproxen sodium for the pain, since ibuprofen doesn't do anything. I wish there was a way for my neck and back to be completely normal. The chiropractor said I have arthritis in my spine.
Oh well, keep me in your prayers, dear readers. That's the only thing that will help this pain. I'm really getting excited now about summer. As soon as I feel better, I'd like to work in the yard a little. We also need to tile our kitchen still this summer. That's painful to even think about. 2 weeks to go til we are out of school. It's going to be hard to wipe the smile off of my face!
Here's a sampling of some of the new goodies:




and of course loads of little house necklaces... I think I made about 75 of them in the past few weeks. Kind of felt like last November when customers were ordering like crazy!
Btw, I am so in love with the rose print fabric in the background of some of the pics. It's so soft and cozy like a vintage sheet, but it's new fabric. It goes with everything. I've used it in a fabric collage, backgrounds for photos, and I think I'm going to make a new purse for myself using some of it. I can't wait to make some skirts out of it; it's just too lovely for words! Well, off to teach a class now~ only 8 more days!