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I finished this June 4th, and had it stuck to the board. The board holds the picture in the frame – if you see what I mean? I'm particularly pleased with the colors in this one. I'll get the frame on this weekend, and take it up to the gallery next week.
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Two circles, because I feel bad about missing one yesterday.
I was home with Alice today, who I think was poisoned with some allergen last night. She was sick last night and wibbly today, but seems much better now.
Red Kate – I promised you a blue heron, and I swear I'll do it tomorrow!
My father is home in his house, with his wife and cats and books. He looks tired but happier than I've seen him in weeks.
No circle today, blue heron tomorrow.
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I looked up today as I was driving around, and saw a row of little black birds sitting on the phone wires.
It was strange weather: mostly sunny, but dark clouds and spitting rain would roll though briefly, and then the sun would come out again.
My father saw a pile of official doctor people yesterday, and was declared stabilized in the back such that he could ditch the back brace, and requiring little enough of the rehab services that he could go home. He was pretty jolly when I took him out for breakfast this morning. I told Alice I thought he'd take the brace out into the parking lot and set it on fire, but he seemed to prefer the idea of running over it with the car. He's got one or two more days in rehab, but it has more to do with making sure he's got the skills and strength he needs to be at home. That, and filling out paperwork.
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Today I did what I started to do yesterday but didn't because it felt like cheating – I just stitched a real feather to the circle. It is a beautiful feather. I lovelovelove the polka dots on it, and how they remain visible towards the ends of the feather barba.
The little picture is the disaster (a disaster along multiple axes) from yesterday.
In the simple amusements department, I have a new camera. I took my old one to see if they could fix the lens cover not opening. They said they couldn't, and told me things to do, and I realized I really needed a reliable camera. So I started testing the next ones. I turned mine on, to see about a feature it had, and it opened FINE. The sales woman said "bummer, I mean, good? I mean…" and then we both started laughing and laughing. I decided reliable mattered, so Alice has my camera, and I have a lovely new one, and the old one is working just fine now.
I made a circle today, and it failed in different ways three different times.
1. the bleach doesn't make black threads white, it just made them kind of green
2. the white paint doesn't sit nicely on the black thread, it soaks in
3. even when the white paint has soaked in and dried, it is not waterproof, and it washed out when I tried to rinse off the water soluble stabilizer I'd constructed the feather on
And I could have stopped there, but instead I persisted, and then:
4. the water soluble stabilizer did not rinse out completely
5. which wouldn't matter except when reapplying the white paint that washed out and trying to remove some of the wetness by ironing the circle, the leftover stabilizer kind of crystallized on top, and then
6. when I tried to photograph it anyhow, just for completeness sake, the photo won't email, so I can't even show you the catastrophe that resulted
So. I'm done now.
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Happy Graduation Aerin.
Aunt Nancy calls her a Graduette, and Al and I are Gradumom and Gradudad, which makes my mother a Gradugranny? Maybe not! We're all proud of her and pleased to be done.
This is another crow feather, printed using bleach, and stitched to emphasize shapes.
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All of May's circles, with some random other things (cake, larger piece, strange photography) that happened in May.
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Or maybe June is the month with feathers, to misquote the Belle of Amherst. I was wondering this morning what I would choose, because even though I have a list, I also win when I stay open to serendipity.
And then I was mobbed with birds. In a good way. I saw a lovely bi-colored tree swallow coming out of the bakery, and an enormous woodpecker flew across the road in front of the car, and a host of tiny twinkling things flew along beside me through a field in Hadley. So it seemed like birds would be a good subject for the month.
This is a stitched print of a crow feather Alice found for me Thursday night. Another sign!
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I've pulled something small but painful under the edge of my right shoulder blade – probably from something at Family Camp. I was icing it yesterday, and part of this morning. It comes and goes.
After I finished the first circle I realized I knew how I wanted to do it instead (with organza instead of opaque fabric) so I made one more. I think I am kind of behind in the May circle department.
I'll post a June 1 circle later, and a mosaic of all the May circles as well.
Lee Thomson 