more planning

i'm making another eye pillow, this time for my best friend back in the prairies. she and i have been best friends since high school, and have supported each other through too many situations to count. she's also one of the few people i stay in regular contact with despite the distance and time since we've lived in the same city. some of our mutual loves include tea, yoga, books, and holistic healing. anytime one of us is dealing with life stuff, we talk to one another and the temporary solution is always 'do some yoga, read a good book (often 'cunt' by inga muscio), and drink herbal tea.' here's my brainstorming for her eye pillow embroidery design:

i haven't decided whether to fill in the teacup yet or not, but the colour scheme will definitely be in the warmer tones.

finished!

here's the finished project based on last post's designs:

i freehanded the whole thing, and thankfully it came out nicely. i haven't embroidered in ages, so i was pleasantly surprised with the final product. the slip cover is embroidered with dmc floss and made out of scraps of canvas and fleece (on the back). the eye pillow itself is made from scraps of cotton and stuffed with flax seeds, lentils, lavender, and calendula. fingers crossed that it gets through the border without too much trouble and gets to my friend in the states quickly! for those of you who are interested in making your own, i used the amy butler free eye pillow pattern.

(here's a pic of the back...i overstuffed the pillow a wee bit, so it's bulging a little. i'm okay with that though.)

planning

i'm making eye pillows for some cute people in my life. one of them lives in the states, and i miss them loads, despite only having met them once in person for a few hours. the eye pillows are already sewn and stuffed with flax seeds, lavender, calendula, and lentils. now i'm working on embroidering slip covers for each pillow. here's a pic of my sketches and plans for my southern friend. (fyi, some of you may find the word offensive. do some research and learn why it's not.)

a productive weekend

i had a productive weekend, involving making and finishing several gifts and making strawberry jam.

the bear was knit for my cousin's son's 4th birthday, which we celebrated yesterday afternoon. i made his older brother a moose and their cousin a dolphin out of felt. all of the stuffies quickly gained names (bearblack, hooves, and winter, respectively), and were well-received by children and adults alike.

i enjoy giving little gifties to people in my life, and so made a new friend an origami fox out of starry night paper, and included a note about vulpecula, the fox constellation.

i bought six quarts of strawberries from my favourite farmers at the market on saturday, and proceeded to make two batches of jam. twenty cups of hulled, crushed strawberries later, i ended up with 7.5 cups of homemade jam. the ones pictured were from the first batch.

detox

i'm on a detox right now. today is the midpoint of it. it's based on ayurvedic practices and involves morning dinacharya, including waking up early, dry brushing and rubbing oils on my skin towards my heart, tongue scraping, neti, yoga and meditation, and taking supplements to aid in digestion and detoxification. i'm halfway through the mono-diet, and have already made a date with a friend for sunday lunch at a local vegan and gluten-free restaurant. while the mono-diet is hard and making me at turns cranky and hyper, and i doubt that my sweet tooth will go anywhere as a result, the detox is getting me back into healthier routines. and i'm dreaming of all the delicious things that i will cook and bake in the coming days! that's the most important part, i think. reminding myself that i do have time to cook for myself despite busy days, and that i can do it in a way that doesn't only involve baked goods and toast. of course, the first thing that i plan on making is a cheesecake, but it's all in the intention :)

my very own drop spindle (and some other goodies)

today i ran some errands while job-hunting, and i ended up with some lovely stuff.

waterproofer from MEC, bear trap and mango madness teas from David's Tea, and MY VERY OWN DROP SPINDLE from the loop, my favourite local yarn shop.



the spindle is handmade locally from 100% upcycled cutting board. it's beautiful, and has the perfect weight. i can't wait to start spinning my own yarn on it!

i wish every day was like this...

i found this photo on fuckyeahdykes.

there are so many things about it that i love. mostly just that i wish i felt as comfortable as these two to lie naked in the woods, making music. maybe someday we'll live in a society that values bodies for what they are, rather than manipulating minds into hating our natural beauty.