I have no fabric for today, it was filled, pretty happily, with other things. Instead I have a story.

I went to ride the Canadian horses I ride for Bob and Leonor, two towns over. They are up in the hills to the east of Amherst, with woods all around, and streams, high from the melt, coursing and trickling through the woods. It was a gorgeous day, and I convinced Bob to come with me. He took Penny, who is large and will be five this summer, and I rode Ruby who is much smaller, and will be four this summer. We started off up the road, and into the woods. We were trotting along, hopping over downed logs, when Ruby stopped abruptly. He eyes bugged out, and her nose was twitching, and her ears were semaphoring around and she was quivering all over. Penny kind of rammed into us from behind, and then she caught wind of what-ever-it-was too, and the pair of them stood rooted to the spot. Bob and I looked and finally saw what had their attention.

Two moose. One very large, about the size of Penny (whose back is up to my eyebrows) and dark and glossy and pretty clearly pregnant. The other was not much shorter, but looked unprepossessing. If it had been human, its shoes would have been untied, and shirt tails sticking out and sporting a severe case of bed-head. Bob and the horses and I watched them move out ahead of us, then cut across the trail and head up the hill, at a low headed, shambling trot. The horses remained rooted to the spot. They wouldn't move without strong encouragement for the next .25 mile, and after that Ruby kept scanning the underbrush for any further moose that might leap out at her, all the way home.

That was a pretty gratifying way to start the morning.

April 8
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

Finally!!

I am indebted to the free graph paper guy for three different kinds, plus variable sizes, of diamond shapes in printable graph paper.

This took so long to get organized I used up both the larger and smaller sets of diamonds.

I didn't post anything yesterday because I couldn't stand myself. I am much cheerfuller about everything today.

black and red diamonds
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

two more tries – mosaic(k)ed with those from yesterday so as to get the full impact!

The first (far left) is the closest, but the diamonds are catty-wampus, and I need them sitting straight in proper rows and columns for what I have in mind. The 2nd left is an attempt to piece diamonds, with mixed results. Still crooked, and the corners don’t meet (which is just a precision issue) and they are too tall and thin (which is a measuring issue).

I gather this week is dedicated to making the diamonds I want come out JUST RIGHT (yes, I am shouting!)

onward!

April 5 A
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

April 5 B
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

Both of these are making me really grumpy, plus the first attempt that I just started over because I hated it so much.

I know that I like my fabric to Stay Put when I am stitching on it. I don't mind ripped edges or wavery bits or things requiring ironing, but they have to lie down and not move while I stitch them down. I though I should push this particular envelope a bit, and I tried to hand sew this diamond grid together and that one made me very uncomfortable so I stopped. Then I tried to pin it together for some free machine sewing (5B) and that got monstrously puckery and made me cry and then I tried just straight stitching it together with feed dogs and forward stitching (5A) but it was falling apart so I stopped.

Tomorrow I will make the background that I wanted to make before I got the bright idea to push the envelope, and maybe later this week I will talk about haircuts.

April 3
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

I guess they are not exactly disorganized, more jumbled up. It is a very fine distinction, I know!

I realized that a bunch of my ideas required holes, so I spent a happy several hours drilling holes in shells (the pink ones are fast, the yellow ones are slower) and little fimo pieces (hand drill, very fast).

There will be an actual project type object tomorrow.

April 1
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

I want to feel rich. In money, I'm not, very. I mean, I can't afford a horse of my own, which is my current standard for extra money in my life. In other things I am.

In digging through my collection of beads found these diamonds I'd made from polymer clay (Fimo, Sculpey, odd mixtures) while thinking about the Queen of Diamonds. So I pulled them out and hooked them together using green wire. I am rich in red diamonds.

I am rich in other things too. You'll see them over the month. Mostly in sets of things. I'm thinking about making something over and over, getting good at it. Or to see the variations that come from building things with my hands.

And I know it is April first, but for fooling, I got nothing. Sorry. I love the theory, but I never get the actual implementation done very well. My favorite set of Fools has to be the crazy food from Family Fun Magazine. They have "spagetti and meatballs" that is frosting and red food color and lumps of cupcake, with coconut for grated cheese. There were other fun ones, like tiny foods, and backwards foods (so supper looked like dessert and dessert looked like supper), but none of it happened today.

Happy April one, regardless.