menagerie

me·nag·er·ie

məˈnajərē,-ˈnaZH-/

noun

noun: menagerie; plural noun: menageries

1. 1.

   a collection of wild animals kept in captivity for exhibition.

 

 

The members of my menagerie are all made from upcycled fabrics, mostly wool, all handstitched, all for sale!

 

 

 Brown mouse on pink cushion, $10

 Suzie with her rhinestone collar, $15

 

 More mice $10 each

 Elephants $15 each

 

 

 

 Funky owls $7 each

 

 

 Max the dog, $10

 

 

 Bunnies $10 each

 

 

 Squirrels, $7 each

 

 Polar bears $15 each

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Group photos show that these animals are small, almost tiny, stitched for admiring , not for heavy duty play by toddlers.

 

Here is Gael with Max

 

contact me if you are interested in making a purchase

In search of antlers

Third week in November, most folks think  "Thanksgiving time", not in our house. It is deer season!

I have written about this season before, here, and here.  The first link describes what it means to Dave.
I have always enjoyed the little break from routine that deer season provides, usually about 4 days of being alone in my house, a bit of time to myself. This year is a little different, not being in the shop.. Other years I still went to work, often having a sale this weekend...lots of people around.
 
This year is different, I made some plans with the grandkids, but mostly I am alone. So here are my lists...things not to do and a small to do list...but I don't intend to do anything that doesn't suit my mood,,,,,so there!


To do:
Sleep late
Reading
stitching
knitting
a bit of Christmas decorating
online Christmas shopping
fritter away time

Not to do:
cooking
cleaning
having the tv on
wearing my hearing aid
getting dressed (!)
 

What do you think of my list? What would you add?

Lately I have seen a lot of faux antlers in decorating magazines and on pinterest.  Of course, I jumped on the bandwagon, only using real antlers...Having antlers on the wall is not new to our cabin,but is new to my house. I draw the line at full head mounts....they must stay at the cabin..



These are sheds from my Dad's deer farm...the bucks drop their horns in late winter, I think.



Antlers from a deer Dave hit with his truck years and years ago, recently added to our living room décor.

 

Maybe I will have some more antlers after this season, or not.

Retirement, or something like it

So many folks ask me, "How do you like retirement?".   I have a stock answer---it is to soon to tell.  Two months is not enough time to make a judgement. I am still in the "OMG, I don't have to go to the shop today" stage.  Years of  having to do something, and now choosing to do something is a real novelty. And doing whatever it is without a deadline. Another novelty. 


German paper stars, so addicting!

Having always been somewhat of a recluse, the lack of socialization has not truly bothered me yet,  and becoming deaf has made personal interaction seem like work at times.  I have found there is so much to do at home, years of neglect, things to catch up on.  I actually enjoyed reorganizing a kitchen drawer. Mopping the floor. Yes, cleaning the basement!  Still not complete, but progressing.



A crazy quilt like Christmas stocking

Speaking of the basement, I have unearthed the workbench where I used to make Santas years ago.. It really was an excavation, piles of junk with an occasional goodie, then more junk...finally a usable workspace.  I have a some new projects in various stages already there, it is so nice to have a dedicated space to work. Not cluttering up the living space in our little house.

This is another project, in the works....more on this in another post

So, I like retirement just fine, so far. Never bored , always busy, but it really is too soon to tell.

Two years later...the story continues..............

Two years later, I have decided to blog again.  Why?  I have no idea... seems like the thing to do. well, I have a few ideas, really// To tie up loose ends, to communicate ideas thru blogging.. Verbal communication has become more difficult.. and now that I am no longer in the shop, socializing has changed.  I suppose there are some good reasons.

 

Whats on my mind today? Holiday stuff! Yah, yah, I know it's not even Halloween, but when the mood hits you, you just gotta go with it.

So I got this piece of unfinished embroidery at an estate sale recently.. Exquisitely done, I know I could never match the workmanship, even if I could find some thread to match. So I plan to use it in it's current state. Use it for what? I have no idea.....it's just so pretty.

Maybe just leave it draped over the back of the couch...

Looks nice next to my deer pillow....kind of a Scandinavian look, don't you think?  I never use red in decorating, with the exception of Christmas. I don't even like red... But I like this.

 

 

..

While digging around, I found an unfinished project from at least 15 years ago...I am almost ashamed to post a photo, my skills at rug hooking are so poor....but here it is.

Meant to look like St Nick and a sheep, I think I might trash it, or not....but I have to do something with it. It's now or never.  It's not so much the primitive hooking, it's that the face is so..............I don't even know....cartoonish... UGH...

 

...

Another find while digging around is this velvet skirt just begging to be cut up and made into something gloriously festive.

What will it become?

 

Stand by for further updates.