Some sense of order when there really isn't any

Not being one who is predisposed to tidiness

this happens to be the entire tipsy stack of books

which I've read over the last year

[and maybe a bit beyond]

piled as I laid them,

finished

or  [some]  not,

seen in complete disarray this afternoon.

This is a very graphic example of how my mind works.

True confession ...

such as it is.

Side story:

Recently, I found myself in need of an awl.

Not necessarily desirous of a new one

it came to my attention I might acquire one used ... not only for a lesser penny

but in the company of vintage needles tah boot.

Fond as I am of my grandmother's needle collection

these additions felt irresistible

for in this group were some larger eye sizes that I also happen to need,

of good quality, made in England

and which includes that delightfully historic Army and Navy Needle Book.

Here is the fine fella, Mr. Awl, now home to roost.  Still good & sharp

all that was required was a bit of cleaning on the wood handle.

I've left the heavy duty thread in place for the sake of posterity,

a reminder of tasks long past.

Sturdy,

dependable

and about to be put to further good use

[although not on this work smock ... slow going with hand stitching here].

But returning now to my opening tale of order ....

In my last post I happened to arrange a collection of objects 

that capsulized in an image what "home" symbolizes for me.

To my great surprise, I found enormous pleasure in this kind of organization.

Ironic 

isn't

it?

So in a similar vein, 

and because I find particular satisfaction in bringing this kind of 

photographic

order to things, here's another.  I daresay

 it might be quite some time before I'm similarly motivated

to produce order from the untidy stacks around the place.

: : :

My longtime blog friend, JJ Worden, left a swell link in her comment on my

last post ... she wrote:

"this reminds me a lot of an 'organized neatly' theme on tumblr

and is my head aesthetic though what comes out

looks nothing like it."

Love that.

Worth taking a long scroll over on that Tumblr theme  HERE

if this particular kind of  head aesthetic  appeals.

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Dilapidated usefulness

It's been said that all roads lead to Rome
and in the case of my longstanding search for an old copper kettle,
this has proven true ...

I have found her.

Not too big,

not too small, 

but   just right.

Love at first sight, it was, because of this ...

how many hands have wrapped around that handle?

Held and poured?

A bit of historical sleuthing dredged up some interesting facts:

The current Revere Copper Products was founded in 1801 by Paul Revere.

Rome Manufacturing was established in 1892, a division
of Rome Brass Copper with production facilities in Rome, NY.
In 1928, a merge of five northeastern copper companies
produced the Revere Copper and Brass Corporation,
the largest copper manufacturer in the U.S.

Turns out this old gal is vintage Revere Ware.
She's a sweet wreck
with her pock marks and dents and peeling paint.
The thrift shop ladies were clearly perplexed
when I couldn't hand over my ten dollars fast enough.

Her days of useful service are far from over.

She may be past her prime for proper domestic service

but she can't be more perfect for my dye kitchen.

I hope she didn't think she was retired ...

: : :

In a stroke of serendipity, Hipstamatic released a new vintage-feel

lens/film combo pak

the same day I found my kettle ...

they call it Monti

so I took it for a test run.

All images are straight out of camera [iPhone]

no post-processing except to add copyright.

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My tools

Work friends.  Ordinary objects and vials of pretties.

A collage from my week ...

simple things I can't live without.

:::


Photo mumbo-jumbo:
shot with DSLR
cropping & adjustments in Snapseed
antique effects added with Vintage Scene
final adjust & copyright added with PicMonkey

Joining in with the gang over at Kim's place for Friday Finds ...

lots of great stuff to be seen over there, go peek.

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Homage to my mower

She's loud,

she's raucous,

and she's got a wicked edge on her.

She can cough like a smoker and guzzle with the best of them,

but when those wheelies hit the sod,

it's all lawn poetry to me.

: : :

Forgive me,  for I have sinned and broken my promise ("not another garden tool!")...

the silliness of it all was too hard to resist....

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Texture Tuesday...perfectly perforated

Dunno how I got on this garden tool kick all of a sudden...in my previous post you had to read

all about my hori hori obsession and now this...

a portrait of my tried and truest, most favored and special watering can ever.

She's tough 'cause she's galvanized.

Doesn't she have a charming rosette?  THE BEST for sprinkling new seed beds.

And her handle swivels...oooh lah lah.

I once had a dark green plastic can that I loved so very much.  The pour spout was exceedingly long,

styled after those traditional ones from England...with a similar rosette, but upward facing

so the water came out like a small, delicate fountain.

Quinn chewed it tah bits shortly after she came to live here.

"Who me???....I only chew really big sticks."

Now I ask you, is that a face that could tell a lie?

: : :

Linking up with another of Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday parties...

used Kim's lovely watercolor texture, 'Oh my', on both ~ added 'Heirloom' from French Kiss 

(Glorious Grunge Collection) to the black munchmouth.  

Click HERE to see what everyone else has been up to,

so much creativity!

p. s.  I promise for next time that I will not write about another garden tool.

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Better than 1,000 thread count Egyptian cotton...

just a tad scratchier (some might say unbearably scratchy) and only available

in a limited choice of colors... like beige.

Must be purchased by the bale

and applied with a pitchfork...

but  the new sheets on these beds couldn't be finer!

I suppose it depends on ones priorities [grin].

If I can't outrun the weeds, maybe I can outsmart them this season...free up some precious time

for other garden endeavors...

like sitting in the shade under the umbrella.

See that orange-handled tool poking up along the side there?

That is the one garden tool I couldn't possibly live without.  Called "hori hori" from some vendors.

Might wanna check 'em out.

Thanks to A. M. Leonard for the picture.  That's where I purchased mine although they are available

from several sources.  Leonard calls theirs a "Deluxe Stainless Steel Soil Knife" and that it is.

Basically, it's a re-design (more ergonomic) of an older style with a clunky wooden handle.  Not only

were those models heavier & not easy to grasp once muddied or wet, but heaven help you

if you laid it down in the garden somewhere and forgot where it was...

the old brown handle certainly wouldn't let you know.

I haven't lost this one yet and it's been a good two years now.

The best of the weekend to everyone...hope it's brilliant wherever you are

and may all your weeds be damned.

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Natural succession...

isn't always pretty.

A typical scene from our woods in winter...blow down, something we can count on.

Topsoil levels are shallow in most parts of our island.  Saturate the ground with enough rain,

throw in some wicked winds

and you might find this on your next walkabout.

On the other hand, around the coastline, you can guess where the trees are going to fall.

How far will they swim

and where will they next take up roost...?

If you view this as *litter,* you may need to reconsider.

Never was there a finer building material for the imagination, as exemplified by these great forts

and time-worn shelters...they pop up almost overnight around here.

But this is transient real estate...don't get too attached...most likely they won't be there next season.

I've found another purpose for this refuse; no heavy lifting, no construction skills necessary.

They fit in my pocket,

travel well,

and serve a very important function...Douglas fir, madrone, red cedar, all working together.

So smooth in the hand from all that tumbling.

And on a lucky day,

I can find ones with a natural slit in the end for holding the tails...

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Needle felting sampler

Honey, I shrank the kids vest!

I just couldn't give up on that teal colored wool vest (or maybe not all wool) that I wrote about here.

The color is too perfect, just what I need for my January page of the Bead Journal Project...so this time I boiled the heck out of it on the stove. Using a couple of long metal spoons, I agitated the pot for about half an hour, dipping the whole soggy mess twice into cold water baths. It did not shrink too much more from the washing machine experiment, but it did shrink some. Enough for me to call it a keeper.  

This is part of said vest, above, used as a base for a little needle felting sampler.  Although you can still see the knitting stitches in the vest material, I like it because of the texture.  Pardon the odd assortment of colors - I was going for contrast, not *art*.  The wool, yarns & fibers I played with are left to right:  hand spun wool-something that I traded for in a swap; Noro yarn (wool/mohair/silk, from Japan); hand dyed Wensleydale locks; Cascade Yarns (all wool, from Italy); hand dyed silk (throwster's waste); Merino wool roving (spiral dyed).

This was my first venture into the world of needle felting and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to tack everything down.  Lots of that ease had to do with this little gizmo:

This is a "pen style" needle felting tool, made by Clover, which is fitted at the moment with three needles but you can use only two, or even one needle, depending on the details of your hand work. I chose this style especially for its grip since I am blessed with grandma's hands, arthritis and all. You've gotta watch out for these puppies though - I think the word "barbed" is an understatement.

One last observation before I get back to the worktable...Merino roving is definitely the cat's meow!  (Apology to my dawg, sorry woofie.)  The way the roving behaves while its being felted is unlike any of the other materials I used and since you can pull off even the slightest little wisps of wool, the possibilities for subtlety and the layering of color are going to be a whole world unto themselves.

Till next time...

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