Shaman's Hats

Friday was going to be spent with a friend but she had to cancel. It must have been meant to be because I was ready to put the inspiration I'd been soaking up from Folk Arts in the Soviet Union to good use. These are my two favorite hats. Since getting the book last Sat. afternoon I've looked through it every night before going to sleep. This gives my mind time to absorb and mull over the pictures so by the time I sit down to work I've got them sorted out. If you've never tried this, you should. Another trick is to look through a book like this upside down. You'll see the shapes differently, not so much as what the subject actually is.

Bridal Mushrooms

Is there anything more rich looking than white and cream when shape and texture tell the story? As much as I love color, every so often I need to go with this color way. I really recommend it to refresh the eye. It can be so satisfying to play the variations in color and surface, one of the few times I can wholeheartedly agree that less is more.
This rainy thundery Monday has started out well for me. I finished these two pieces and opened my mail to find I'd sold a hat on Etsy. On Saturday Dan and I went to the Westport Library Book Sale and I think I got the bargain of the day. Folk Arts of the Soviet Union, a beautiful Abrams book loaded with inspirational pictures was only $5. I'm in design heaven!

Crocheted Socks that Don't Suck part 2

Here's the new and improved heel. I'm glad that I set it aside long enough to convince myself that it was worth it to rip it out and do it over. My biggest help in making knit or crocheted socks has been Priscilla Gibson-Roberts' Ethnic Socks & Stockings. There are any number of ways to construct a sock and this book did a great job of explaining them.

Crochet Socks That Don't Suck

A while back I bought a book of crochet sock patterns and made myself a pair. I really wanted to make myself some socks but was intimidated by knitting on double points and since I learned to crochet as a kid, I'm faster and more at ease with it. The pattern was easy to follow and the socks looked great. I wore them once. The soles were bumpy and by the end of the day I had stretched big holes in the toes. I swear to you that I worked to gauge and followed the pattern faithfully. It just didn't work. Standard sock yarn is just too thick for crochet socks. It takes something more like cotton crochet thread in thickness worked with an 8 or 9 steel hook. I find working with cotton hard on my wrists and hands and I wanted wool socks anyway. I'm working on two different pairs now. Both start with a double row of African flowers at the top and the leg is worked in shell stitch. I started the white one first and made a heel flap with short row shaping. It's kinda sloppy since I was making it up as I went along and I wish I'd done the heel flap in reverse single crochet on the back side so it wouldn't have the ugly ridge effect. I was going to just live with it but it's starting to really bug me so I'm going to frog it out. Then I realized that if I did an inserted heel I could work it in the round. So on the blue sock I crocheted the spot for the heel opening with contrasting yarn, continued a few more rows and then went back to work the heel. The contrast yarn was going to get frogged out to make the opening but I picked up the stitches on the bottom of the waste yarn first because I wasn't sure what would happen. It worked just great! I'm probably not explaining this very well so if you have questions, ask me..

Finished Painting

Well, my attempt at creating flow didn't work so I had to rely on good old fashioned discipline to get the painting done. There are too many distractions on the weekend. In this case, knowing I'd have to drive my son somewhere but not having a set time for it until his friend texted him. Anyway, it's done and I'm happy.
We had fresh peas for lunch and they were so good!

The Neurobiology of Excellence

Right before I came down with that virus last week I had picked up a couple of books at the Goodwill. One of them was Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman. I was particularly interested in the section, Flow: The Neurobiology of Excellence. For me, flow often feels like a state of grace in which I've gotten out of my own way. I'm totally focused on what I'm doing but in a relaxed joyful way. It's been a while since I experienced it while painting and I really need the occasional dose of it to keep me going. Better still, I want to develop a set of work habits that can help me access it on a regular basis. A way to enter flow is to "intentionally focus a sharp attention on the task at hand." It's a bit like meditation, once the intruding thoughts have quieted it becomes self reinforcing. Ideally, the work should be at a level of difficulty just a bit more challenging than one is used to.
So for the time being I've stopped listening to NPR talk shows while I work. I'm trying to get my mind quiet before I paint. It may be that some soft music may help. Nothing I'm doing is really new but trying to deliberately, systematically train myself is new to me. I'll let you know how it goes.
This image is the painting I'm working on, another close up of a glass jar against a blue background. Getting some of the highlights in is making it more fun to work on.

Wildflowers

Here's what's blossoming in the lot next to our house today: day lillies, daisies, red clover, white clover, hawkweed,yarrow, yellow vetch, moth mullen, blue toadflax, deptford pinks, daisy fleabane, bedstraw and those bright pink flowers that I can't name at the moment. This is what I'm looking at while Lucy is searching for intruder cats instead of taking care of business. It's the season for kitty romance and a pair of cats has taken up their dalliance in our backyard bushes. Though I don't much care for their serenade, they're driving Lucy bonkers.
It's been a year since our son graduated from 8th grade at the Waldorf school. Saturday his best friend who was in the class a year behind him graduated. So did my best friend's daughter. I finally feel closure with that phase of my life. Waldorf education is wonderful for the kids and I'm glad we chose it for our son but it can be unbelievably hard on the parents. I've only just gotten over my Post Waldorf Stress Disorder and I hope that it goes faster for my friend.
P.S. The school just sent out this year's annual fund drive letter, including one to my not quite 16 year old son.