Who knew that there is an entire online community dedicated to collecting Jurassic Park toys?! My oldest daughter has been in love with dinosaurs practically since birth, and began collecting these figures when she started finding them in the toy aisle at Goodwill. Her latest thing is doing what her group calls Customs.


The blue gray dinosaur, an "Aqua Spino" (be sure you want an answer before you ask!) is a working toy from her collection. The other, a non-functioning duplicate, is her first attempt at a Custom.





She used craft acrylics and her own imagination to create "Lava Spino", the first in a planned series of "Elementals by Raptorgrll", dinosaurs with genetic mutations that allowed them to survive the natural disasters that wiped out the rest of their species'.

I think they are pretty cool!

As for me, I am still working on stabilizing the cover and end papers of my "Poe" book. I am also beading a collar and a belt that will anchor my Klimt doll's costume. Hopefully there will be photos sometime before too long!

Elfin Challenge doll

The voting is over and the challenge is done, so I can share my Elfin here at last. I didn't win anything, but that's OK, because this is easily one of the most charming dolls I have ever made and she's all MINE. Here's the little story I had to include to enter her in the Challenge:

May I introduce you to “Levaine”? She is a Sourdough Elf, though she prefers to
be known as a “Tamer of Wild Yeast” instead. I like to humor her because she is
a nice little creature and it’s a small thing to make her happy. She lives
behind the baking books on my kitchen bookshelf, and as long as I keep her
supplied with plenty of fresh butter and aged cheddar cheese, my bread bakes up
light, fragrant, and delicious.

If I have forgotten the proper offerings however, my dough won’t rise and my bread is flat and heavy. Needless to say, she has me well-trained!

It's too bad I didn't take any photos of her "in progress". I modified the pattern to create what I think is a really wonderful 3D body with "mature" breasts, a poochy tummy, and a very cute round bottom. I was shocked by the shape her face took on as I stuffed the 4-piece head, as it is NOT what I thought I was drafting at all. I kept it though, because it turned out to be one of those Happy Accidents that keep things interesting while creating.

My favorite part was doing her skin coloring. I don't know what made me do it... on a whim I grabbed a brush and my watercolors and just started painting her as if she were a piece of paper. The colors flowed into eachother beautifully and created a different kind of subtly mottled shading that made a very interesting skin texture. Pretty cool, and I look forward to playing with that technique again.

This weekend I'm working on a round robin cookbook, and then I have another round robin doll to contribute to. It's always something around here. Thank goodness!

Painting again

It has been too long since I posted, but there is so much going on here this summer -- not much of it blog-worthy either I'm afraid -- that it hasn't really been on my radar to sit down and write. It feels good to be doing it today. Besides, it is time to come up for air now that I have finished reading the last "Harry Potter" book.

I have been doing what my friend Sue calls "committing a neatness" in my studio, so that I can work in there again. My poor cutting table is literally buried in the debris on ongoing projects, oh my! So in the meantime, because I just can't NOT be creating, even if only for a few minutes a day, I have once again picked up brushes and begun painting. I had so much fun with the little strawberry sketch that I did for a round robin cookbook that I decided to do some more. These little dragons are destined to be cut out and used as page accents for the book I am working on right now. Look, no mud! I think I might finally be getting the hang of watercolor.














This little blueberry sketch was supposed to be "next" in the cookbook project, but fortunately I discovered that the owner of the book despises blueberries BEFORE I added the recipe to her collection. It's all good though... it just means that I have a headstart on the next book. I will be rather sorry to see this exchange end -- it is easily the most fun and relaxed I've ever participated in.

Oh, and look what I found! The Library where I work is going to have a big used book sale next month, and I have been helping sort the donations. This treasure came in and I HAD to have it! (NOT cheating... we have a pre-sale cart set up already, so these books ARE for sale to the public. I just got there first, LOL!) I know it's in terrible sad shape, but it is still so pretty. It called to me... really it did! I have NO experience with altering books, but I am going to give it a try.

Happy Birthday USA!

Happy 4th of July! In the grand tradition of government workers everywhere, seeing as how it is a federal holiday I have today OFF, so I am devoting myself to goofing off, LOL! I don't even have to cook, as we have been invited to our neighbors' annual barbecue.


It's about time I got cracking on some of my swaps, so I have begun the final assembly of this month's cookbook project. My recipe for this month is my favorite version of strawberry shortcake, so the project for the book was this little watercolor.





I have been back at my jewelry making again. Last week I was lucky enough to be wait-listed into a full class with my favorite designer Emily Smart. She really is an amazing teacher, so patient, and she makes everything look so easy. Of course it's easy, now that I know how she does it, but before that... no way!



The class project was our own version of her design for these sterling silver halo chokers. Mine features thai silver beads, fresh water pearls, swarovski crystals, and aquamarines. I also bought enough silver wire to make 3 more... so many ideas crammed into one brain HAVE to be let out or else cause an injury. The wire is NOT cheap, but hey! I have a job now.

(I got my first real paycheck last week... woo hoo!)

Last but not least, I finally committed to a pose for my 2D/3D challenge doll, based on the masterpiece "Judith" by Gustav Klimt. The only downside to this choice is that Judith is holding a decapitated head in her hands, which means I have to make another head. This project just keeps getting bigger and bigger! Good thing I made extra eyes while I was at it.

The designer's instructions call for the doll to be painted with tinted gesso, but I decided to give her a coat of plain white gesso and THEN paint her, as I want to try to imitate Klimt's skin tones as closely as possible. I am using Genesis paints and having SO much fun. Once I got the hang of their eccentricities, I found them to be workable to the point of playfulness. Sheer delight! and then once I get a section just how I like it, poof! a little heat set and they are dry and ready for the next section.



I haven't quite captured the sleep-eyed stare of the original painting, but then again, it's supposed to be "inspired by", not an actual copy.

Klimt is famous for his gorgeous nudes, and this pattern does not disappoint.

Last weekend was the annual Black Sheep Festival in Eugene, OR. Black Sheep began years ago as a potluck picnic and has morphed into one of the largest fiber festivals in the west coast, if not the largest. It's not *quite* in my backyard, but the driving distance is reasonable so of COURSE I had to go. Lydia is crazy about the animals and also spins so she came with me, and Jake is just an all-around Nice Guy who came along to keep us company. And maybe babysit the Visa card, LOL?



We spent some time in the animal barns. I have pretty much given up on my dream of keeping flocks of my own, but I still like to get my fix of "clean sheep smell". Mmmmmmmmmmmm...

I would have LOVED to dig my hands into this guys fleece, but that would probably have freaked him out, so I settled for a photo instead.



The angora goats are so beautiful and so full of personality. Oooooh, I love mohair!

I found the Fantasy Fibers booth and loaded up on some of their "Mystery Batts". You never know what's in them, but it's always good stuff. Jake insisted on carrying the bags for me.

Lydia passed on fiber this year, but was very interested in the jewelry that seemed to be featured in every booth this year. I don't know if that's a new thing or if I just never noticed it before, but I sure came away with some good jewelry making ideas for myself. She eventually picked out a "Painted Pony" style pin accented with pearls. It looks really good on her denim jacket.

On the creating front, I have been making great progress on the sweater. I finished the main body and am now knitting off the edge with a simple lace border. I can't wait to get to the sleeves. I've never made a sweater in this style before... it's quite interesting in its construction.

I've been up to a lot more as well, but I'll share that in a later post. This one is already long enough.

First day of summer

My latest doll is so cool...! Unfortunately, she is also entered in a challenge so I can't share a photo of her until after the voting. I don't want to go any longer without posting though, so...

Instead I will share this photo of one of my favorite "dolls", my youngest daughter, who celebrated her 16th birthday yesterday. I remembered gifts, a card, and a cake... unfortunately I forgot candles! In order to create a more festive photo, I want out and cut 16 roses from my garden for a bouquet for the table. I was annoyed with myself at the time, but now I am really pleased...

I wish flowers would bloom around *my* birthday, LOL!

I started knitting on a new sweater this week. Unfortunately, photos of a knitting work-in-progress all look like used grocery bags; still, here it is! It's working up quickly in a textured cotton yarn... This one is "Madeline" from White Lies Designs. I hope it looks as pretty on me as it does in the photo on the pattern!

I am home for the weekend, so my plan is to FIRMLY ESTABLISH a final pose for my Klimt doll, stitch her into position, and begin painting. I have been circling her for days, avoiding making a final decision, because she is just such a wonderful figure... I want her to be right. No more waffling though -- I WILL finish this doll!

Another Round Robin doll ready to travel

What I *really* want to be posting are "in process" pictures of my latest doll, but it is a challenge piece and so must remain a secret until after the voting is completed. It's a pity, because this little being's metamorphosis has been a magical adventure, and another example of how much I can accomplish in an experiment if I just RELAX about the results, LOL!

Our Colorful Adventures Round Robin is just about ready to come to a close. I think I only have one more doll to work on, and then that one will be sent home to its owner. Which ALSO means that MINE will soon be home as well. I can't wait!

This doll was originated by a wonderful doll artist with a very quirky style. I hope she is happy with what has been done to her doll. I think she is "Simply mah-veh-lus dahling!". If you double click on the photo you can see a larger view of her, you can get a better idea of the depth of detail that has gone into her creation. Can you see the dragonfly in her hairpiece? Her beautiful facial tattoos? AND the wonderful texture and color on the crown-of-thorns gourd that makes up her base?

Honestly, there are enough ideas on this one doll to fill an embellishment book!




When she came to me her arms were stark white. The obvious and easy choice for my addition was to give her arms a flesh tone. After a little playing around mixing different colors of Dyna-Flow into a flesh tone, it didn't take any time at all to paint the arms. Because it was SO easy I felt a little guilty and decided to add a little more, so I dug up some black stretch lace and made her some gloves.

The only snag occured when I went to put the glove on her left hand -- she was wearing a bracelet that had been stitched on by another artist. I carefully snipped the thread, restrung the beads in exactly the order created by the original artist, THEN put on the glove and reattached the bracelet. Whew!

OK, NOW I feel that I have done enough and can send her on with a clear conscience.

What a difference a day makes!

Not nearly so scary looking now, is she. (Whew...!)

The library where I work is closed on Mondays, so I had all day yesterday to work on my doll. It did take nearly the entire day to get her skinned, assembled, and sculpted, but she is such an amazing sculpture. She was worth every second!




I'm sorry the photo doesn't show much detail -- white on white is always tough -- but I am thrilled with her shape AND her face. The overall shape of her skull isn't quite as rounded as I'd like. If I *ever* attempt this VERY labor-intensive pattern again I will tweak the head pattern to give her a wider and deeper skull. Now that I have a clue to what I'm doing though, maybe next time won't be quite so challenging.

(I wish I had taken this as a class. Aside from the fact that I would love to meet Pam Grose, it would have been SO much easier to work with the designer instead of trying to puzzle it all out by myself.)

Nest step is gessoing and painting. I had been planning her costume as well, but her body is go gorgeous I might not want to cover it up, LOL!

A "Finished Object" and progress made

This is my entry for Shashi's cookbook in Cookbook Round Robin on the FabricDollArt list. All ready for mailing -- woo hoo!! I kind of wish now that I had printed the recipe out on a transparency instead of vellum so you could see the watercolor painting underneath better, but I am still satisfied with the effect. I look forward to tweaking this process more in the future. Geez, I love to paint!

My next painting project will be a little more unorthodox. I have some girl's Levi's jackets in excellent condition that I want to try "unpainting" with bleach I've got the designs all worked out... now I just need to find the time to sit down and do it. I've been experimenting with a bleach pen made by Clorox that makes the whole process pretty easy.


Here you can see some of the results of my experiments on denim. The numbers refer to the number of minutes I left the bleach on the fabric. The "90" is darker because I began with wet fabric in the first place. Yes, I know you shouldn't add another variable to a test, but I didn't think of that until later. sigh...

Stay tuned for further updates!



















I haven't abandoned my doll making either, but... is this about the scariest doll head you've ever seen? Ugh! I am just going to have to Have Faith in the designer of this one as I have seen some spectacular dolls made from this pattern. There will be another layer of fabric over all this as a "skin", as well as eyelids to tone down the goggle-eyed stare, but in the meantime, I have to say it again... UGH!!

This is the body of the doll for the above head. Again, I am going on faith as the limbs seem to be a very odd shape to me, but we'll just see won't we. The idea for this doll was inspired by the "Judith" paintings of Gustav Klimt. Who could resist the great story line involved as well as the fabulous imagery he created... not me! This is one of the more ambitious dolls I have ever attempted, so we will just have to see how it all comes together.

Still threading the loom, so no progress to report there. The soy silk thread is a delight to handle though, so I will just enjoy the process. One of these days I will learn to settle down and do one thing from start to finish instead of having so many multiple projects going at once... or maybe not, LOL!

... at a snail's pace...

I have no photos today. ... sigh... I AM creating, but nothing has been finished for what seems like an age. It has now been almost 3 weeks since I have had a day to myself. Me, who is completely used to having EVERY day to myself. It is all good, but the freedom to lose myself in my Right Brain is now going to have to be planned for MUCH more carefully. I thought I knew that already, but the challenge is in keeping up the effort at organization.

I HAVE completed 2 more round robin projects, and am deep in a dressmaking endeavor for DD#2 who has a figure which needs some intensive fitting. (Tall slim dancers are NOT the type for whom pattern companies grade their patterns!!) I have also completed a fascinating experiment with some denim and a Clorox Bleach Pen. A fun playtime with some very interesting results -- stay tuned for a project to come! So, yes, things are happening, but nothing that will photograph well... alas for blogging!

I have also been doing my level best to be a Source of strength, rather than yet another who needs *his* strength to my DH, who is facing some serious challenges on the farm. Nothing major... just a string of odd coincidences and bad luck that add up I don't know how successful I have been, but I don't know what else I have to offer. He's not the kind of man who will ask for anything, and my intuition has run out of ideas. Maybe there really isn't anything else TO do. I wish I knew...

In the meantime, if you who read this are the praying kind, please remember us. I am becoming quite afraid of the next "little thing" which just might be the one thing too many for a good and strong man to bear. He would probably tell you I worry too much. I hope he's right.

A Busy Week

There is nothing like being busy to prod one into getting things done. Thanks to my new job, my days are no longer entirely my own, so I need to work on my various projects in a much more organized and efficient manner.

This is "Lily Ann", an all-cloth doll from a pattern by Kezi Matthews. I have been trying to put her on my Etsy site, but I haven't been able to get a decent photo of her in my little light tent. I popped over to the hardward store this weekend for another length of PVC pipe to make longer legs for the frame, so now she fits inside and I can photograph her at last.




All her features are hand embroidered using cotton floss.

This little darling is my first completed "Reborn" doll. She started out as a "Lots to Love" doll by Berengeur. I took her apart, painted more realistic features and skin colors on all the vinyl parts, and gave her a rooted mohair wig instead of the textured vinyl she started out with. Then I sewed a new and more proportionate body for her out of cuddly soft doe suede, jointed her parts back together, and weighted her body for a more realistic heft. Her romper is made of Hoffman cotton and trimmed with lace.

I enjoyed the painting part a great deal, but sewing the body and clothes was rather boring. I may make another one some day, but not any time soon.




Last but not least, I finished weaving the prayer blanket I began for my brother-in-law last autumn. I stopped work on it for a while when I found out that his church had already made him one. I need the loom for another project though, so I got this one off, sewed up the center seam (my loom isn't wide enough to make a full-width blanket in a single swath) and bound it this morning with the coolest irridescent silk duipioni. It has a few quirks so I don't think it's nice enough to give as a gift or sell, but it is a wonderfully heavy fuzzy thing and will be pleasant to have on hand next winter.

"Magik" the cat likes the corner where the yarn has noticibly more mohair spun into it.

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged by 4 different people this week... which pretty much leaves me with nobody else to tag, LOL! Anyway, I am supposed to list 7 random facts about myself.

1. When I was young, I wanted to grow up to be a star of the Grand Ol' Opry.

2. I like sparkly beads better than diamonds.

3. I do not understand the appeal of professional sports.

4. I like silk better than any other fabric. If I could, I would dress in silk from head to toe every day.

5. My favorite comfort food is a thick slice of warm bread slathered with real butter and topped with a thin slice of sharp cheddar cheese.

6. I think I could live without any given body part except for my hands. If for some reason I were to lose the use of my hands, I believe I would pine away and die.

7. My favorite way to waste time is puzzles. Give me a good sudoku or crossword and I am a happy camper.

I have been as busy as the proverbial one-armed paper hanger this week. I just started a new job in the business office of our public library, and while it is a very nice job, it will take me a little while to pick up on all the ins and outs. So, while I have gotten lots accomplished in the studio, I haven't managed to take any pictures yet.

Stay tuned!

I got to go into the city by myself on Monday evening to take a wire wrapping class with Emily Start, one of my favorite jewelry artists. She works primarily with heavy gauge wire and large-ish stones and I think her work is almost alive, it exudes so much energy. Now that I have tried some of her techniques, I know why. Ittakes a LOT of energy to make thick wire do your bidding, even if it is labled "dead soft".

Here are 2 views of the piece I made in class. I started with an amethyst crystal point about 2" long that I got on eBay, (you won't find THESE at Wal-Mart, LOL!) which I wrapped with 16 g wire, then accented with more silver beads on 22 g wire. I absolutely love it, but think I still want to add a dangle from the little curlicue at the bottom. I just need to get a chain for it and it's ready to wear.














Then I have these 3 pieces waiting to be wrapped, now that I have a clue as to what I'm doing. The brown one is smoky quartz, the purple is amethyst (of course), and the green one is zoisite. The red spots are ruby crystals embedded in the matrix. Isn't that one cool??














The photo on the right shows the neck ring that started it all. The ring itself is of 12 g wire (my mind boggles trying to imagine how much strength she has in her hands to shape such heavy stuff) and the stone is kyanite embellished with aqua aura and more silver. A very dramatic piece.

I wish I had a link to include so that I could share more of her wonderful work, but she doesn't have an internet presence. If you want to see Emily's jewelry you have to come to Oregon and tour the galleries and bead shops where her work is displayed. Let me know if you do... I'd love to go shopping with you.

Finished at Last!

I have two big pieces of news today. The first is that I have finally put together an Etsy Shop to attempt to sell some of the things I make. I don't know if anyone will find me, or want anything even if they do, but it was a big step outside of my comfort zone, and I am proud of myself for scraping up the confidence to finally Just Do It. I even managed to add the link to the sidebar of my blog. Who says you can't teach an Old Dog HTML?!

My second piece of news is that I have finally finished my beaded collar.



See, I can finish a Really Big Project when I want to... even if it does take several years, LOL! I put the last bead on my collar this afternoon, and I am so happy with how it all came together. I've been wearing it for over an hour now, and am very pleased with how comfortable it is, even for all its weight. It is very nicely balanced, and the leather backing hugs my neck in a very pleasant way.


Because of the requests for photos of me actually wearing it, I had my daughter snap this photo of me this afternoon when she came home from school to show you how it looks on the body. See how it just snuggles into the curve of my throat?

Tonight I am taking a class in wire wrapping. I hope to have something new to show very soon.

April in Oregon... sigh..

It's been cold here... and wet... and COLD! What would YOU do under the circumstances?? Personally, I think my beloved little companion "Sailor" the dachschund has absolutely the right coping skills in place. Snuggled as deep and down and under something warm and cuddly as ever could be possible, LOL!

I, however, have been doing some spring cleaning and continuing with my beading on the collar I have already posted. I realised after I began adding fringe that I needed to construct a closure to determine how the finished collar would hang from my neck, so I could THEN determine where the center point of the fringe should be. Math and theory are good, but reality has its own way of imposing itself on a project, LOL!



So I have constructed two more small beaded pieces to form the base for the closure. Once I attach the pieces I can determine whether the thing FITS me or not, and whether or not the center of my design actually IS the center of the piece when it actually hangs from a human neck. And THEN I can finish adding the fringe. Oh, I hope this one is going to be as good as I hope it will be.

I'm learning...!

In its December 2003 issue, Bead & Button magazine featured the work of Sherry Serafini, a wonderful bead artist who specializes in THE most fabulous beaded accessories. Included with the article was the instructions for making a bead embroidered collar in her style. Of course I had to try one of my own.

My version features six small amethyst cabochons accented by various other small stones, pearls, and seed beads. It is more decidedly blue and purple than this photo shows. The actual embroidery went quickly -- I couldn't put it down! -- but my enthusiasm waned when I got to where I had to finish off the edges. The collar was set aside until such time as I could face such a tedious task.


Last week I decided to clean off my beading desk. Heaven knows it needed it, as I could no longer work there for the debris scattered over the entire surface. As I excavated the mess, I rediscovered several old projects that are worth completing, one of them being this collar. I put on a movie and decided to tackle that darned edge finish.

It actually took about 5 movies to complete the task, bead-by-stitch-by-bead, but last night I finished it, and now it's ready for the fun part... the fringe! I have been playing with combinations of beads and stones that might work, and I'm just about ready to thread up and get started, while sitting at my neat and tidy bead desk.

Do you think I can keep it that way? It's SO much more pleasant to work there, now that it's not such a disaster area.

Enticing my Muse

I suppose by now I ought to have stopped being surprised by my inability to stick to a plan... This project was supposed to be a simple piece, a "quick and easy" just to get me in the mood to create again. I guess I was more in the mood than I thought!

"The Peacock" is a wall doll is based on "Enticing the Muse", a pattern I found on the internet. I expected she would be a piece of cake, a 2 day project at most, as the original doll had no face, mitten hands, and very little embellishment. I chose a remnant of my one of my favorite quilting cottons and made the little mini-quilt for her body, adding the fine binding just because I could. I even remembered how to turn the little mitered corners. I guess quilting might be a little like bike riding... you don't forget what your fingers have learned.

Once having created such a pretty little quilt, I HAD to give her fingers and a face. What good is a muse if she can't look you in the eye??

Because I still believed I was just messing around, I decided to attempt something different for her face. Using Sherry Goshon's face painting book, I followed the instructions to create a face with African American features. I see by the photo that I need to darken and shadows and punch up the highlights, but all in all I am happy with her. One of these days though, I will learn to resist the temptation to keep making the eyes bigger and bigger and bigger...

Then I got out my beads. And some more beads. And then yet more beads. Finally, with the addition of the wrapped wire wristlets, she looked balanced and complete, which is good because my eyes have had enough of threading the miniscule hole of that oh-so-fine beading needle!

Getting it Right at Last

I have been on a baking binge since I returning home from my mother's funeral. My baking is usually successful, so I was surprised as well as frustrated when my attempts at creating a sour dough starter were spectacular failures. One attempt resulted in a lovely bowl of mold, but no sourdough...

On the 4th try, I used the instructions from King Arthur Flour's Whole Grain Baking, and was rewarded with a nice crock of fragrant, bubbly, yeasty sour dough starter.

And so today I was at last able to bake sourdough from my own starter. Don't you wish you could smell these loaves, hot from the oven as they are??

An exercise in observation

Isn't she darling??! This is my version of "Ruby" a new pattern by Judi Wellnitz. Her headband will be much more dramatic once the glue dries, and she still needs a necklace, but I am delighted with her. (I know I probably should have let the glue dry before taking pictures of her, but I was anxious to get this posted this afternoon before I head off to church tonight for music rehearsals.)

Judi graciously allowed me to be a tester for the pattern in return for feedback before final publication. She was tons of fun to make and every piece fit together perfectly. The hardest part was being a faithful follower of Judi's directions... I kept having to remind myself to not just go and do things with my own methods. It all comes out the same in the end, but reading every last word before getting there slowed things down just a bit.

If I do the Holiday Bazaar again this fall, I absolutely will use her to display my business cards. She will certainly garner attention!

Ready to Mail

He's done, but oh the headaches he gave me in the process! I have never ever worked this small before, and I'm not sure I will again. My fingers just don't like working that way.

I am not at all happy with the way his hands and fingers turned out. I eventually had to resort to a "mitten" style of hand to make any indication of fingers at all. Honestly, I don't know how the people who make the eeny teeny stuff that sells on eBay do it. Trade secret I guess...

Fortunately, the figure I am making for myself is on a much larger scale, and also female, with NO horn. (Another detail on the swap piece that gave me FITS!) I hope to get started sculpting on her this afternoon -- I just need to wait for the apoxie armature to get a little harder.

I want to try a different wing method too. I've been collecting wing tutorials from the internet for a long time I think now would be a good time to play with some new ways of doing things.

Now I just need to pack him securely and pop him in the mail and my swap obligations are done until I receive the next installment in my round robin. It feels SO good to be making things again!

Life Goes On

My Mom died late in the evening on Sunday, March 4, 2007. I have never known life without her, and I sit here now facing the giant hole in my world that was once filled by her presence, that no one will ever again be able to fill.

I don't grieve for HER, but for myself, for having to face the rest of my time here on Earth without her. I am almost sorry that it won't hurt so much as time goes by... it seems disloyal somehow. I know that her pain is over and that she is now in Glory with her Lord, but... I miss her. I will always miss her. It was for her eyes that I began these pages, and I always chose my words as if I were writing to her. I know she always read them, even though she never would post a comment, even when I begged. She was shy of computers that way.

On the other hand, it is good to feel Joy returning to my life as the weeks go by. To be honest, I have gotten bored with being sad and I am pretty sure Mom wouldn't approve of prolonged moping either.

The totally unexpected difficulty is that, while I want to *want* to do something, I can't think of anything that I really want to do. I haven't forgotten her portrait, but I don't think I'm up to facing that project quite yet.

Who says the Lord doesn't provide, however...

My very dear daughter-in-law came to visit us this weekend (DS is still at sea for another month or so with the Navy) and she brought along a project for me to consult on. She had an old dress that she wanted to convert into a costume suitable for wearing to the Renaissance Faires in her area this summer. Bless her -- neither one of us knew it at the time, (I don't *think* she planned it anyway...) but that was exactly the medicine I needed.

I hope she doesn't hate me for posting this picture -- she had just gotten out of the shower and I didn't even let the poor girl comb her hair! My fault entirely!! -- but I need to show off how pretty the dress turned out, and how wonderfully she wears it.

There is no way we were ever going to match the color of the original fabric, so we opted for a blending shade, and I think (not so humble opinion time!) it turned out even better that way. The green and the blue compliment each other beautifully, and the trims tie everything together so it looks as if it were designed to be this way from scratch.

I'm afraid that I did rather take over the whole project, but I did "let" her do all the basting and hemming, LOL!

I look forward to hearing DS's opinion. Perhaps when he sees how beautiful she is, he will agree to a costume of his own. He is completely unyielding on the subject of wearing the tights required for a man's Renaissance costume. Imagine that!