cloth.paper.string

framed

You might recall that back in December I fell hard.  And was subsequently crushed.  You see, there was a certain letterpressed print offered up at Tiny Showcase that I happened upon after each and every print in the edition had been snatched up.  I lamented.  Little did I know that the bit of woe I posted would send my dad on a secret mission.  A few days later, with the help of my brother, his mission was accomplished.  On Solstice I held in my hands a printer's proof of Alec Thibodeau's Good Libations 2008 Lunar Calendar!  To say I was thrilled would be quite the understatement.

Fast forward three months and you'll find me a bit sheepish to admit that I'm just now hanging it on the wall.  But it's framed.  And I did it myself thanks to The Small Object's tutorial, a handheld mat cutter, and a frame from IKEA. 

To help get up the nerve to cut such a big piece of mat board, I practiced on a few other prints I had been meaning to frame for ages including a set of letterpressed stamps from Nikki McClure.  I still have a big pile to frame, but no longer will I shell out many dollars or wait many moons to put more prettiness on the walls.

welcoming

The image that leads a blog is as important for me as a blog's content.  It serves as a welcome to each post, to each page.  It sets the tone for what is ahead.  As the seasons change I'm always itching to share a bit of the inspiration I find in my environment.  An image to come back to, to reflect upon.

But each time I make a new banner for cloth.paper.string, or see another blogger adopt a new one, I can't help but feel a pang of sadness.  For it seems that old banners are only archived in memory once they are replaced. 

Today, as I switched winter moss for the beginnings of spring thaw, I realized that I can hold on to that image which served as the introduction here through the winter.  And also those images which have graced the masthead through the recent seasons.  And so, I've created a banner archive.  You can see it here, or get to it through the link on the sidebar. 

If you don't already, I hope that you, blog friends, will be inspired to share your retired banners as well.  I'd love, especially, to see once again those front door embellishments that greeted me the first time I paid a visit to your 'homes' on internet.

textural studies

There's a spot by the lake that I've been making a point to visit this week.  While the vantage point is the same, the vista rarely is.  The textures alone are phenomenal.


The ice has been moving in and out with the wind, with the current.  As if the lake is breathing. 
Yesterday, open water filled the same spot beyond the knobby point where ice houses had been set out earlier this week.  Tomorrow, it will surely be changed again.  Even once the head of the lake freezes solid, it will continue to be in a state of flux influenced by wind, light and snow.  I know it is this lake that keeps me going through the longest season; the constant reminder that the world is very much alive, even in the dead of winter.

new love

I've broken up with the hourglass.  I had searched for ages for the perfect sweater to knit with the wool from my parent's neighbor's sheep.  The wool that I dyed this time last year when the days were gray and dreary.  The yarn that is destined to become the first adult sized garment I've ever knitted.  I honestly thought the hourglass was THE ONE.

After a torrid affair that included knitting about a third of the sweater twice, I realized that there was too much of the same-old same-old.  Too much round and round to keep my attention.  Knit, knit, knit was all that sweater ever wanted.  It refused to challenge me and I clearly wasn't going to grow in the relationship.  So I left it.  Months ago.  And while I knew I wouldn't go back, I didn't have the nerve to tell it that it was over.

But now that I've found a new sweater to invest tens of thousands of stitches in, I have to make it official.  I've been spending all my spare time with this one, sneaking stitches every chance I get.  My new love is the tangled yoke cardigan, and I found it through Ravelry.  I know nothing about online dating, but I can't help but think of Ravelry as the internet matchmaker for knitters and knitting projects.

As might be expected, my new infatuation has prompted me to spiff up my notions bag.   The fabric is linen from a thrifted skirt, the pattern is the travel pouch from Last Minute Fabric Gifts.  A good little bag for all of those knitting tools.  But enough about that, I'm must get back to my knitting affair...

the inspiration...

There's so much of it around me these days.

The almost-frozen but always changing lake and those resilient birds that must know that the days of floating are few.

My inspiration wires.  They have finally made their way onto the wall upstairs.  I first saw one years and years ago in Pure Style Living and was immediately taken by the idea.  Since then I've seen them popping up all over.   My new favorite spot to see that which inspires others and how they bring it into their spaces is the inspiration board flickr group.  Definitely worth a visit.

That special embroidered piece from Marnie, now framed thanks to Ikea and a little creative mounting (colored canson paper, a few stitches in the corners).  I'm certain it's not archival in any way shape or form, but it works.  I'm so pleased with having a little handmade inspiration next to my sewing table.

And the gocco swap -- I'm amazed by the turnout.  Simply blown away.  Check out the list of participants!  And in the coming weeks stop by to the swap's flickr group to see the gocco'ed goodness that is being shared.

reminders from a sunday

While winter may feel eternal, it will pass and bring forth spring. 

Blueness actually still exists behind those persistent clouds. 

And most importantly, there is great warmth in celebrating loved ones, and doing so in person.   And, if you can get away with it, it's always best to have the cake before the meal.

sharing the love: mid-winter gocco swap

It seems that there's a bit of the gocco bug going around.  The symptoms I've observed run something like this:  discovering the wonder of the simple japanese screenprinter, wanting one's own device, thinking that they're no longer in production and than they can't be had, realizing that one can actually have one (found used or bought new), overcoming one's fear of messing up a screen or wasting bulbs, and then the falling in love.  Complete love.

I've been thinking lately that I want to share the gocco love.  And I'm wanting to experience a bit of the love affair others are having with their goccos.  And, I have a hunch that others too are looking to have and to hold more gocco inspiration (or to have that one thing that pushes them to finally get that gocco they've been dreaming about, or to use the one they recently received).  So, I'm proposing a mid-winter gocco swap. 

Here's the skinny:
Create a mid-winter-themed image (or, if my winter is your summer, an image that you're excited about sharing), print a run for the swap (it could be a single print, a small set of notecards, bookplates, stamps, stickers, a notepad, a fabric printed something-or-other, really anything gocco-ed that suits your fancy), send one of each of your creations out to each of your swapmates (you'll have 10-12 folks you'll be swapping with), receive a gocco-ed creation from each of your swapmates.   

The swap is open to anyone, anywhere with a blog and/or flickr account. 

The sign-up deadline is January 15th.  Sign up by sending me an email at clothpaperstring AT gmail DOT com with the subject Gocco Swap - be sure to include your name, mailing address and a link to your blog and/or Flickr account.   I'll send out your list of swapmates later that week (again, you'll have 10-12 who you'll be committing to sending your gocco-ed bits out to).

Mail your gocco'd bits to swapmates on or before February 11th.  Don't forget to take photos of your creations and post them to the mid-winter gocco swap flickr group.

Feel free to spread the word (and the love).  Cut and paste the HTML in the box to add a button to your blog or sidebar:   

<a href="http://clothpaperstring.typepad.com/clothpaperstring/2008/01/sharing-the-lov.html"><img src="http://clothpaperstring.typepad.com/clothpaperstring/goccoswap.jpg" border="0"/></a>

Happy gocco-ing!

Update:  The swap is now closed, with 49 gocco'ers on board!  See who's participating here.  And, check the swap's flickr group in the coming weeks to see the gocco goodness shared.  Participants have received a list of their swapmates -- if you signed up and haven't received the email, please let me know.  So many thanks to all for such enthusiasm for the swap! 

new years realization

This time of year one is able to experience places that are typically inaccessible to the ordinary traveler.  Out on the lake.  Over the rushing water of the river.  In the middle of the marsh.  Above the crashing waves.

I quite like the perspective that comes seeing a place from a different angle, through a different lens.  It gives me confidence that that which doesn't seem possible can actually be realized.   A good realization for the start of a new year.

May you find places and see you things you never thought possible in the new year.  And, may the dreams you haven't yet had come true.

upstairs

I'm ever-so-slowly settling into my new room upstairs. 

A place for making.

A place for dreaming.

A place for crafty ingredients.

A place for coziness.

A place for me. 

rootedness

While out walking by the lake yesterday I happened upon a reminder.  Skunk rocks rooted in the roots of a driftwood tree.  Stacked stones nudging me to find a better sense of balance and groundedness in my day to day.

The weekend provided a good start:  resting and relaxing while visiting with nana and papa, making and eating yumminess like guinness pot pies and pumpkin creme brulee, creating in my new studio, walking and watching by the lake and knitting round and round up a sleeve.  All things that make me feel both balanced and rooted in this world, in this life.