Did you just see that?

Pain Pain go away.

2010-06-08T15:52:00.000-07:00

So back i go to the doctors. Back and forth to specialists and the hospital for blood work. Scans, and meds and X-rays OH MY! Thank goodness for Canada and it's medical system.

Seems that we are now leaning towards believing it is Lupus i am dealing with and with a healthy dose of Fibro/Chronic Fatigue on top of it.

The oddest thing happens however when you are dealing with pain and health issues... something that you wouldn't expect. At least it happened to me. I began to appreciate what i have health-wise moreso than i did when i was pre-fibro. Even though i am not as healthy as i was back then, i am so much more grateful for every part of my life that i have.

I have tried a lot of different medications to help deal with the pain and fatigue so far to limited or no success... some drugs made me feel so ill that i couldn't even take them long enough to see if they helped at all. I want to introduce you however to the one thing that has helped tremendously!

This is the fabulous (and sleepy in this picture) Miss Stella Rosa-Bella the pug. She is the newest member of the Square family. You dump a bundle of ridiculous pug puppy in your lap on a sore day and they warm your heart. They make you laugh and they trigger the brain to release neuro-chemicals that are proven to make you feel better as well as actually be healthier. Holding a sweet pup or a new born infant is better for your well being than almost anything there is.

So... be positive, be thrilled with every ounce of goodness you have around you and GO HUG A PUG!

Look Ma, I'm covered in paint!

2010-01-18T08:52:00.000-08:00

Well world's tiniest fan-base... if you've been looking, you may have noticed i have been away for a long time. After being in some rather terrible pain and dealing with ongoing draining fatigue for months, my doctor and my specialist diagnosed me with Fibromyalgia. It's been quite the journey and i am just managing to dig myself out from under the weight of the past couple of months. I do truly apologize for the lapse... but i don't promise it won't happen again. When you are out of spoons, ain't much you can do about it.

Well finally, after a very busy fall and start to winter including but not limited to 3 of our 4 family members' birthdays, Christmas, New Years, a family visit and a massive flood that mucked our entire main level of our home 4 days before Christmas, i have been back in the painting saddle again.

This first painting was inspired by a dream about a dear artist friend of mine. It's called "Chrome is Painless" and is the first painting in my "Girls You Can't Have" series. It measures 12 inches across by 16 inches high and is painted in acrylic on stretched canvas.

The second in this series is called "Francine". This painting also measures 12 by 16 inches and is painted in acrylics on stretched canvas.

The third painting in this series is "Vilette" (pronounced Violet). Don't mess with her. She'll gut you like a fish. She is also on 12 by 16 inch stretched canvas.

And now for something completely different. In the summer after watching a marathon of Flight of the Conchords, i had the strong desire to make a Bret McKenzie doll. Life intervened and i had to take a hiatus from a few projects but i finally got around to finishing him off this weekend. He is made from mostly environmentally friendly materials and is hand-painted. I didn't make the to scale guitar that comes with him but i did paint his tiny Chuck Taylor Converse complete with gum on the sole of one shoe. He took me about 10 hours to make and stands about 18 inches tall.

Now i am going to do my utmost to be on top of crafting and painting, sewing and spinning and of course, updating. Peace out yo.

Halloween is soon upon us!

2009-10-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

In celebration of my favorite day of the year, i am going to share with the interwebz my favorite spooky shops! I would also like to invite you all to check out the Etsy Owls Street Team's October challenge. You can vote for your favorite haunted hand made craft! There are some lovely items and spooky inspirations to get you in the Halloween spirit.

Speaking of which, i will top off all of this ghoulish goodness with a picture of a possible ghost taken by yours truly on Halloween 4 years ago. I have never shared this online before. MUAHAHAHAHA! The photo is completely unretouched and i am scanning it right from the photograph without any editing except resizing the perimeter.

As some of you may know, Etsy has groups of people who connect due to their shared beloved craft. I wanted to find just the right group but that proved difficult because i have no one dedicated craft. I sew, paint, knit, make art dolls etc. Then i discovered the Owls. It stands for Off the Wall Ladies. Well, those who know me at all know that's where i fit. Each month we encourage each other to new levels of craftiness and hold a challenge. This month, our challenge is in the celebration of Halloween. Please click through here to check out the awesome stuff and place your vote!

I am constantly in awe of the mad art skillz i see on Etsy. It is inspiring and makes me smile each day. Today i share with you some of my favorite Halloweeny items i have found.

First up... be warm and terrify!

Rubella is a hungry hat monster from a fantastic shop called FairlyEnchanted. Cozy, functional, monstrous!

Next up are two horrors for the price of one!

I particularly love these guys because they combine three of my favorite things... Sock monkeys, Circus Sideshow and Halloween! You can find these guys and other great treasures in the Etsy shop Trigo.

Feel like bringing a touch of Halloween into your wardrobe? You can with this rad dress from JamesAnthony.

I love Calavera. I also love this store so much i ordered a custom made skull mask from this store just for me!

PrayingforFall has lots of fun spooky stuff and takes custom orders too!

Now one thing i love almost as much as Halloween is Geeks. Both the Circus Sideshow kind and of the nerdy variety. Therefore it is natural that i should love this shirt.

Nontrendy has lots of other cool stuff too... or is it not cool. Don't ask me, i'm Square.

Now Halloween would not be complete without a touch of Zombified charm. This choker from Tianarutledge can make you appear to have a severed and reattached head... how cool is that?

And now as promised, the "ghost picture". This photo was taken at the Denman Mall in the West End of Vancouver BC Canada. I have no idea on the haunted status of the mall. My daughter and i were there on the afternoon of October 31st 2005 when i snapped this picture on film (not digital). Imagine our surprize when we got our pictures back! Denny the Denman Place Mall mascott was totally still when i took the picture so it's not a tracer from movement from his glove. Ironically enough, the two of them are standing in front of a liquor store with a large sign that reads "Spirits" right behind them. This photo is not retouched in any way other than to scan it into the computer and resize it smaller so that it doesn't take up the whole page. Tell me what you think!

Happy Haunting!

[ j ]

Great sewing machine company and more Halloween costume madness

2009-09-29T08:54:00.001-07:00

I love to sew. I have been sewing since i was 7 when i got a battery powered sewing machine. My mother bought it for me hoping that i would take to it and keep busy while she was sewing. Little did she know, it only made me long for the power locked within her now 60 year old pale green metal monster Elna. That thing can sew through anything!

I would wait until i had the house to myself at 10 or so and thread up that Elna and off i would go. My crappy hot pink and purple toy machine taught me how to thread a machine so it fed the beast inside... and creativity was hatched from the deep recesses in my brain.

As an adult, i still have a penchant for old super heavy metal sewing machines and love my Old Faithful which is a 50 year old yellow Singer in a blue and white box. Old Faithful lived in a friend of mine's garage for some 30 years in the damp climate of Vancouver BC Canada where it rains more than it shines. That pup got plugged in and off it ran -- no sweat at all! All i really needed to do was Febreeze the box which smelled like mold. (worked like a charm on the wood too).

Sometimes i have found over the years that i hanker for a new machine. They have all these fancy features like one touch button hole makers and a multitude of stitches. This past January i caved to this covetous leaning and picked up a Brother CS 5000H. I couldn't believe the lightness of the machine. No back breaking labor to pick this sweetie up, i could tote it in one hand. I threaded her up and off we went on a journey of leaf and vine stitches, single touch button holing and a great interlock stitch that is virtually like a serger without the cutting blade. FUN!!

Alas, all this good sewing came to an abrupt end this weekend. The needle arm seized on me like a crocodile on a fried chicken. No efforts to free the arm would rectify the situation. I chalked it up to the affordability of the machine and the paces i put the poor thing through with my home based business. I figured i would go back to Old Faithful or need to buy a new machine for all those fancy stitches. It came to me that i should perhaps call the 1-877 number on the Brother website.

I gave them a call yesterday and was told that they are shipping me a brand new upgraded machine to my doorstep this week and all i have to do is ship the old broken machine back. In this day of "ain't my fault" companies that shirk any kind of responsibility for faulty products or low quality manufacturing, it is SO refreshing to find a company that backs up it's products with excellent customer service and reliability. I highly recommend a Brother sewing machine and know i will be dealing with them for any additional sewing machine needs.

Now for some new costumes recently made:

6 costume from Shane Ackers' Movie 9 above. Below, a toddler cobra costume requested in green and blue.

Here is a toddler Hedwig costume. Hedwig is the owl from Harry Potter. Requested with horns.

Here is a dinosaur costume based on the dino from the movie Toy Story.

Halloween Costumes Central... how may i help you?

2009-09-05T16:59:00.000-07:00

Halloween is almost upon us again and i cannot be any happier. While i love the summer months, my natural pasty pallor, my October birthday and my morbid sense of humor has led me for most of my life to consider Autumn and Halloween the best time of the year. The smell of crisp leaves with a touch of frost in the Canadian air sets me all a'thrill.

I am the grown daughter of a Halloween obsessed costume maker and took up the gauntlet myself as soon as i lived on my own. I have been making costumes as a hobby for some 20 years now. I make all my patterns myself and just dive right into that pile of fabric.

Here is my charming little housefly son from last year.

Buzz buzz... don't want to shoo that fly away, he's too cute -- and he has a cookie!

My daughter has a penchant for sushi much like her mama. Here she is be-decked last year complete with wasabi cap and chop sticks. Much to her chagrin, most of the people in our rural neighborhood believed that she was a hockey puck... i guess you see what you know.

This is a terrible picture of a cute costume. This was made for my daughter when she was only 4. She was a real Reptar fan.

The next year, she was a metallic blue dragon. The body was scales with rippled blue lame scales down the belly and iridescent blue wings. The head piece fit like a hat.

Sometimes, waiting for Halloween is just too long. Here is the costume i made for my son when he was 1... just in time for Easter.

As many people who know me can attest to, i have a real love for sock monkeys. One year, i decided to be one for Halloween. Here's the costume. This sold on Ebay - used - for $200.oo.

When my son was one and a half, Fall was a cold time of year for a fair child with very little hair. This made an interesting idea boil forth in my mind. If he had no hair, could i make him a costume with hair? What kind of hair would i make? Well naturally, a POMPADOUR... Elvis has left the potty!

Another family obsession is pirates. Here is my dear daughter when she was 6 as a cute an cheeky pirate. Oh those buttons were so much fun... without a button holer on my sewing machine.

Below is a custom request for an Ewok costume i made just today for a friend's daughter... my son is a willing model.

Here's another custom order i made for this year's Halloween. It's Max in his wolf suit from Where the Wild Things Are. The person who ordered this will have fun rumpussing for sure!

I just revel in costume making. I take custom orders and make up as many costumes as possible each year for Halloween. If you would like to have me make you something, check me out via my Etsy store or leave me a msg. here. Cheers!

Happy Birthday Frida Kahlo!

2009-07-06T13:33:00.000-07:00

Today is indeed the birthday of one of my all-time favorite artists, the wonderfully talented Frida Kahlo.

In celebration, the Etsy Owls Team (which i am a member of) and the Spanglish team have decided to join forces in a friendly contest honoring Frida. Various members of the two teams have come up with their own tributes and you can vote on which one you like the best.

There are so many fantastic entries! I was going to complete a painting i have started of Frida but alas, life got in the way and it's a really large painting so i will have to save that for another day.

Here is my entry...

Thanks Frida for all your genius in creativity, your perserverance in the face of suffering, and your fabulous eye for details. Happy Birthday Frida Kahlo!

A Contest for free goodies!

2009-07-03T20:08:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since i've posted... naughty naughty! I have been busy with summer, renos, special family dates and some health issues but i am back with the best of news.

FREE STUFF.

That's right. I am hosting a giveaway for free goodies made by me.
The giveaway draw will be on my Facebook fan page.

The last winner won $80 worth of custom made merch made just for her family. Who knows what i will be giving away this time?

I make sewn goods, stuffed monsters, paintings and clothing.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Square-j-Jane/96369311286?ref=nf

Click to join my fan page and post what you would like to see me make more of or work on next... that will enter you into the draw to be held at the end of July!

How many monsters does it take to trash a house?

2009-06-10T13:45:00.000-07:00

Well we are soon to find out i suppose. Fellow Blogger and Etsian Nattyknits has started a charmingly funny blog entitled Monster Big Brother. Like the TV version, Big Brother gone monster style features the antics of a handful of interesting characters, how they interact with one another under the same roof and how they create and/or resolve issues between each other.

I am tickled polkadotted to have my monster Terrence featured in the Monster Big Brother House. Terrence is an interesting character who tends to have a hard time keeping his thoughts to himself... he also fancies himself as a ladies monster. He loves long walks on the beach, a serene sunset and a can of baked beans... who knows what kind of mischief this will get him into?

Getting paint in my hair and ruining my eyes.

2009-05-06T20:56:00.000-07:00

In other words, having a great time! I love painting so much. Art of any sort is a passion for me and to be back in the world of painting is so exciting. Normally, i like to paint really large hand stretched canvas at least 3 ft by 2 ft. Realistically, between working 40 to 60 and sometimes even 80 hours a week on top of being a mom to two high energy kids and renovating... well who has time to paint a canvas that large? I certainly don't... at least not the intensive way i normally paint.

This led to a huge void in painting in my life until a fellow OWL and Etsian Erin of CagedBirdSings and maker of stunning stained glass windchimes, inspired me to get painting again. Another fellow artist and Etsy OWL LuckyTwentyOne suggested i try the smaller 8 inch by 10 inch canvas. They are a much easier task to find time to complete. I thank the both of them for the artistic nudge in a productive direction.

As a result... forward rolls the "One Crazy Spring" series of paintings. I present to you "Lolly-pop Phobia":
"Sergei is terribly afraid of lolly-pops. The problem is, he works in a candy factory... his parents' candy factory. He is going through an anti-phobia program to confront these fears... it's kinda working."

The second new painting i've recently finished up is "Too Early for Breakfast":

"Daphne is not a morning person. Her little brother is unfortunately. Secretly, she cannot wait until he is a teen too and has to deal with blemishes and mood swings and hormones. Right now however, she would just be happy to have him sleep in until at LEAST 7 AM. "

If you like what you see here and you paint too, i would love to see what you are working on these days or what inspires you... please leave a little comment and a link so i can spy your art.

Feliz Cinco De Mayo!

2009-05-05T17:12:00.000-07:00

Well it's challenge time again. Many of us OWLS are super busy so there are only 3 entries this time in our challenge but wow are they GREAT!

Please take a look here and vote for your favorite.

For another fantastic Cinco de Mayo challenge that needs votes, you can check out EtsyBABY's challenge.

TODAY -- you started out narsty and ended stinkin awesome. Thanks!

2009-04-28T17:33:00.000-07:00

Today started out as a crappy day. I had to slog my way through Hubby's and my taxes which we have procrastinated entirely too long over. This is not an easy endeavor in the simplest of circumstances but since i run a home based business, it meant combing through about 200 reciepts and adding up an infinitesimal amount of costs for everything from band-aids to bread. Not my favorite thing to do. Math and patience are not my forte.

I finally collapsed and said, "ENOUGH!" Time to curl up on the bed under my soft satin edged quilt and watch crappy daytime television. Thought came to me to inquire to Hubby on the status of the mail. Lovely Hubby went out, brought the mail in and lo and behold there were two parcels for me as well as one parcel card. Without even asking, my dear went off to the Post Office to pick up the remaining parcel.

The first parcel i opened was a beautiful stained glass wind chime and objet d'arte made by Cagedbirdsings on Etsy. I couldn't get a good photo of it today as it's overcast. Hopefully, she won't mind if i steal her pic and share it with you all...

The second parcel i opened was part of a top secret stuffed critter trade with fellow Etsian IckyDogCreations. I sent her a one of a kind leopard print monster...

and here she is getting him settled in to his new home!

Well when i opened my second parcel today, this is what i found:

SO AWESOME! Zombie bunny feasting on the brains of a sock monkey!! Icky did her research on what i like it seems! Fantastic and i love it to bits... really a work of art! Check out the exposed zombie rabbit ribs!

Now as if all that didn't turn my day from shite to rad, Hubby came home just as my zombie appreciation giggles died down. In his arms was a large box from The Black Lamb. As mentioned before, i have developped a bit of a penchant for drop spinning wool. Laurie has wondrous rovings in a multitude of colors and was absolutely a peach to work with. I cut open the box from her with quite a little jolt of excitement as the wool filled bags expanded outwards revealing...

a wondrous cornucopia of fibers! I cannot wait to get my hands in there and spin... i will be sure to share with you all... whether you want me to or not. ;)

2009-04-26T16:27:00.000-07:00

Today the family and i made a nice little Sunday trip to the open house at S.O.R.C.O. or the South Okanagan Rehabilitation Center for Owls. All animals hold a strong place in my heart but birds are especially dear to me. This center is almost entirely run by volunteer resources, funds and supplies. If you love owls like i do, please take a moment to check out their website and see what you can do to help out -- particularly if you are in the Okanagan region of BC Canada.

S.O.R.C.O is located about 12 KM north of Oliver BC and they do incredible work helping rehabilitate raptors that are injured or have fallen from nests or become ill etc. They often take in birds who have fed on carrion on roadsides and been hit by cars. Sometimes bald eagles will eat so much that they can no longer fly! Wherever possible, the center releases the birds back into the wild. They are also trying to start up a breeding and reintroduction of burrowing owls to the South Okanagan. This is a project near and dear to my heart as i adore burrowing owls! They are no longer present in the region due to encroachment on their lands by people, orchards and vineyards and due to a lack of the animals which burrowing owls like to make homes out of their dens. Badgers for example are no longer found in the area.

It really is a precious habitat here. The Okanagan is not the kind of land most people think about when they hear "Canada".

Arid, sagebrush and grasses on sandy and or rocky soil make up the region. It really is a little slice of dessert. The flora and fauna of the area are rare to find in Canada. It's one of the many reasons i love living here. The fantastic weather doesn't hurt either!

Here is a bald eagle that was rescued by the sanctuary. He came in with a collapsed lung. He is faring much better now. Such beauty!

Some owls at the center showing that owls really don't like being bothered when they are sleepy, nor do they like a tidy room. Reminds me of my daughter!

S.O.R.C.O breeds many different types of rodents for food for the raptors. This is a necessity due to the plans of releasing the recouperated birds. If they are unsure of what is food or how to catch and eat it, they will not survive in the wild. Many of the birds that are rescued are infants when brought in. A little sad because this little baby mouse was painfully cute!

Mice like him grow up however to keep little owls like this guy Charlie alive. Charlie was near death from starvation when he was brought in. He had to be fed through a tube initially. While there today, we watched as Charlie scarfed down a mouse like it was a cheeseburger and complain hungrily for more.

They had face painting as well as a band, a barbecue and a garage sale at the open house. I got a wicked strawberry cookie jar, a 60's fisher price school bus and some starwars fabric for next to nothing. Woo HOO!

Here my son Henry is getting an orange owl painted at his request by a very nice lady.

One more owl to remind you that we can all help out in our own way with our time, our money or our spirit to make a change in our world or our community. For the next 6 weeks, i will donate 10 % of all proceeds from my Etsy store to S.O.R.C.O.

April showers means a rain challenge for the Etsy Owls

2009-04-20T18:18:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, i am a proud member of the Etsy Owls team. We are a group of eccentric creative folk of varying artistic styles and mediums. Each month we try to do a challenge to help encourage us to stretch our brains, get excited about art and get to know each other better.

This month, the Owls challenge is based on the word "RAIN" and what it means to each of us. I would love it if you would check out our items and vote for the one you like the best!

Here is my entry for the challenge:

This is a new painting entitled "Spring in Vancouver". It is acrylic on an 8 by 10 inch canvas. You can check that out in more detail by clicking on the image itself.

The other entries are all fantastic. I have voted for my favorite and hope you will too!

One Crazy Spring -- a new painting series.

2009-04-08T18:24:00.000-07:00

So, what started off as one painting has now turned into a series of paintings. I have missed painting and these little 8 inch by 10 inch artists canvases are just right for getting my hands back into paint for a spell. I normally really like to paint large canvas but i just don't have time for that right now with all the other nuttiness that i am up to on a daily basis and the three jobs i work.

The first in the series was Haddy Grimble, named after a line in a ridiculous John Lennon poem.
I had so much fun that Haddy just really whetted my appetite for Spring Makes Friends. As most people who know me can attest, i have a real obsession with sock monkeys. Not the newfangled variety either, but the real old Rockford red heeled sock monkeys. I predict many more sock monkey paintings in the future.

This second painting did nothing to abate my need for paint and so today i painted "The LAST Blind Date". As with the others, this is an acrylic on 8 by 10 canvas.

I cannot predict where this series of paintings is leading me... but based on my past experience, resistance IS futile.

Art runs in the family.

2009-04-06T21:33:00.001-07:00

I love to paint. Among all of the crazy crafty things i make and do, i have been painting for over half of my life. One of the most fantastic things about being a parent is having the opportunity to watch your children discover art for the very first time. Children inherently have this fantastic ability to live life out loud and see brilliance in everything. Their eyes are new and their perspectives are fresh. They aren't as likely to assign labels to or expect reason from every aspect of life.

Here is proof of that... a painting by my rather intense two year old son.

Here is some amazing Pokemon art by my ten year old daughter. Each picture below is actually about the size of a penney to a quarter.

Today was sunny and inspiring. I decided to put ink to canvas for the first time in awhile... This is how Haddy Grimble the alien monster came to fruition. Last, i leave you with some pictures of the flowers i just felt compelled to buy to bring some spring indoors today... as a reminder that nature is possibly the best artist around.

The wooly experiments continue...

2009-04-05T14:42:00.000-07:00

So, last post i wrote about my adventures into the world of spinning wool by hand with a drop spindle. I had tremendous fun and here is the final product after i had set the wool. Below that is an example of how the wool looks knitted up. Unfortunately, i don't really have enough to do much with but i plan on using this wool for some art dolls hair. In the first picture, the wool is still wet and the color doesn't really pop like it does in the dried and knit picture.

Now as i had promised, i was going to share my experience with DYING wool. It is extremely limited so don't look to me as offering you the gospel on the subject. As some of you may know, i have been a hair dresser for almost 20 yrs. There are some basic facts of hair and coloring that i figured would apply pretty well to dying wool. I had previously read about dying wool with Kool-Aid and had tried other ways of doing it to very unsatisfactory results. That's when my hairdressing experience kicked in.

The rule of thumb for hair is that HEAT and ALKALINITY open the cuticle layer (or the outside of the shaft of the hair) which allows color to be removed or deposited into the center of the hair. COOL and ACID will cause this same cuticle layer to close and trap deposited color within the hair shaft. I wasn't certain but thought it was a good bet that the same would apply to wool.

I took my pre-spun wool and immersed it in enough water to soak it but no more than what it would hold. I placed the wool in a microwavable glass bowl deep enough that the wool was completely below the upper edge. I donned my heavy duty rubber gloves and opened 3 packs of fruit punch flavored Kool-Aid. I sprinkled these liberally all over the wool as i fliped the wool over, making sure to not be too even with application as i wanted variations in the color. Then i placed a microwave safe saucer on top of the dish and placed the whole shebang in my microwave for 5 minutes on high. I checked on the wool at this point, careful not to burn myself -- really freaking HOT! I added just about 1/2 an ounce of HOT water at this point to keep the wool from drying out... i didn't want a fire. I then returned the wool back into the microwave for another 5 minutes.

When complete, i took the wool out of the dish and placed it carefully on a sheet of waxed paper to keep my counters clean and then let the wool cool down. Once it became cool enough to be close to room temperature, i immersed it into a clean sinkful of cool water that i had added about 1 ounce of vinegar to. Carefully, i swished the wool about and noted that very little of the color was coming out. Once i was satisfied with this, i emptied the sink and rinced the wool carefully in cool water once more and straightened it out on a white towel to dry. There was virtually zero color transfer to the white towel and this is how the color turned out with the wool when it dried!

Some parts are a very bright rich red and some are a softer pink. I don't think these pictures really do the wool justice. I am now looking forward to trying this with more colors... PLEASE don't try this method on your own head though... heads are not made for microwaves.

A beginner's adventure in drop spindle spinning

2009-03-24T19:19:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in my last post that i recently acquired a top whorl drop spindle from fellow Etsian MaineWoodsYarn. I also promised to elaborate on my newbie spinning experience.

Wool is a beautiful thing. I, like many other knitters and crocheters, can be stopped in my tracks by a well stocked wool shop. I can spend an hour or two just browsing and touching -- i have to touch almost every item in the store. As a kid, i crocheted with whatever yarn was passed my way or that i could find at a local bargain center and therefore was always playing with crappy acrylics. While acrylics are quite fun when it comes to painting and serves a certain utilitarian service in amigurumi or items you need to wash alot, it really can't shake a stick at natural fibers. Alpaca is so soft and beautiful. Bamboo has natural antibacterial properties and a lovely sheen. Wool is like a miracle material being strong and warm, water repellent and yet absorbtive as well. Cottons give you the opportunity of wearing knits even in the summer.

I have long lusted after the knowledge of spinning. I held spinners in the same category as mystic conjurers, falcon trainers or high school teachers. They must posess some magic power to do all that they do... a power that i do not posess.

After doing a little reading here and there over the course of the last couple of months a new seed began to sprout in my brain... one that had a little voice of it's own stating "spinning isn't that far away, reach out and spin!" The Eureka moment came when i discovered a web page talking about drop spindles. More research took me to this great video tutorial on Youtube. I took the plunge and bought my top whorl spindle. How fantastic to not need a whole spinning wheel! (i wouldn't however rule that out down the road though :D )

This brings us to today. I eagerly await the mail with hungry eyes wondering what Etsy treats i have coming my way. Today i recieved my package from HeartstringsbyDee... five fantastic goober buns of roving in fantastical hues. I ripped open those packages and ran for my spindle. I put on my leader line, sent the men upstairs and plonked myself down on my kiddy finger smeared couch. *note to self, rent steam cleaner* Here below you can see three of these roving bundles draped smooth prepped for my spinning endeavor.
Here i am carefully feeding and blending the rovings in to the drop spindle... well, i paused to take the pictures since i don't have three arms and it takes two to spin.
You spin the spindle down your thigh with the opposite hand while stabilizing and feeding the rovings into the top of the spindle. As you work, you gradually move your feeding hand further up the roving away from the spindle. You have to be careful not to over twist or over or under feed your spindle but other than that, it's easy peasy. When you have a nice long spun strand (i find i like to stop when my hands are spread the full arms length) you "park" the spindle between your knees or thighs and unhook your recently spun yarn. Carefully, you wrap it around the lower stick part of the spindle and then bring the last inch of it back up and under the hook and you are ready to spin some more. Take care not to wrap too much around the base right below the disc or too much near the bottom of the stick or you will run into problems, either running out of stick to spin down your leg or no room to spin at the top.
Below is the finished spun wool. I will unwind it carefully around a rectangular block of wood i use and immerse the wool in very warm water and then blot it carefully out. This "sets" the spin. This is a basic spinning technique and you can repeat the whole process on the other leg for a double ply by spinning in the opposite direction but i will not be attempting this any time soon.

I love this wool and can't wait to knit it up in something. It is a nice strong thick and thin chunky mix in various shades of pinks and reds with purple, black and aubergine accents. Fine metalic red threads and silks run through it. Lovely rovings means no dying... that'll be another project day for miss Jane.

And more with the fun fur...

2009-03-19T22:46:00.000-07:00

I think if i keep sewing this fun fur stuff i'm going to develop a hairball.

My awkward bunny sold to a dear friend of mine who is also a repeat customer... (love ya Nic!)
Nic also ordered a custom girl bunny... i love how she turned out... i just want to hug her and hug her. Her pinafore is fully reversible and i got to use my new Square [ j ] Jane labels i bought and absolutely love. If you are in need of nice affordable labels, check out Rememberwynn on Etsy. Fantastic and easy to work with, she helped me through the process and got the tags to me super fast too.

The eyes i've used on my awkward bunnies series have all come from another Etsian and fellow Owl member Chezmichelle at Sun Catcher Eyes. They are the easiest safety eyes to use and so pretty too.

I am working on a furry fish with legs right now too and will finish him off tomorrow.

I Just got this fantastic worry journal in the mail for my wonderful albeit slightly fretful daughter. So adorable and fun to use! Click on the monster below to check out Spiderbite's boutique on Etsy.
Recently, i have also crossed the line from random crafter to insane hard-core crafter by spinning my first ball of wool. I found a wonderful and affordable top whorl drop spindle from Mainewoodsyarn on Etsy... I highly recommend them. More on these wool spinning shenanigans later.

UPDATE: As promised, i finished up my Darwin fish... i present to you, MURDOCH.

making stuff just cos it tickles my fancy.

2009-03-17T19:20:00.000-07:00

Lately, i have been on quite the creative kick. While i am absolutely wretched about updating my blog, i am always looking for time on the sewing machine or time with my knitting needles.

This month i have made the following - nay - plucked them from my head really...

This is Mumbles an art doll. She was sold to a buyer in California.

This is a dress for a 3 to a 4 year old i designed and made. There are skulls on the hot pink fabric and they glow in the dark. It's waiting for some little punk rock diva out there.

Next is "You kill me". It's a business card wallet i designed. No one seems to like it, but i really do. Perhaps i should keep it. Last to be posted today is my awkward bunny Chuck. Awkward is such an awkward word. Chuck is such an awkward bunny.

2009-02-18T08:41:00.000-08:00

This is repeated from my Owls spotlight

Absurdities.

Absurdities. My life in one way or another has always revolved around the absurdities. It started young when i was a child... My mother was always laughing at the most obscure things. I think it stemmed from a British heritage and too much alcohol. Perhaps it came for her from a creative mind and a cold climate. I remain unsure of the roots but it runs deep.

As a youngling i noted that i was different in that, "um, what ARE you doing?!" kind of way. Perhaps it was wearing a witches costume or cowgirl costume to school in March or February and not getting why it was an issue.
Often, art was my outlet for this affinity with the absurd. I began drawing when i was able to hold a crayon, crocheting and knitting in my pre-teen years and sewing with an old metal Elna when i was 11. Painting became art
therapy for me when i was in my late teens and early twenties. To this day, if i don't create something each and every day, i go a little crazy. There really is a very FINE line between creative intellect and complete madness.

Back to the absurdities now... One of the fantastic things about relishing the absurdities in life is that life has a way of feeding you extremely unique situations if you simply choose to notice the opportunities of the absurd.
Like this:

Or this:

Yes, the absurdities is where i am most comfortable. They have allowed me to play accordion on stage while dressed as a giant broccoli, to tattoo my own leg with no previous experience in tattooing, to work with an Elvis impersonator and to meet some brilliant people. When people ask me where i get my inspiration to create, i tell them i find it in the absurdities. The absurd allows my brain to wander free of many constraints as i know my thoughts aren't too crazy or the world wouldn't present us with these absurdities.

To view the fruits of the absurd, you can check out my Etsy store.

This posting is all about the pictures...

2009-02-10T19:17:00.000-08:00

Today has slapped me with many a picture. Pictures are - as it is their nature - rich in unspoken dialogue. To illustrate this point, i must share with you the pictures that have come to assault me today. (note, all pics can be viewed larger by clicking on them)

I start off with the snapshots from my day job taken earlier today:

This is what happens when you give a mad artist some plasticine, principles of the color wheel and two 2 year olds.

This on the other hand is Ernst... a business card folder i made yesterday and photographed today. He speaks for himself. His story can be found to a further extent here.

Now later on today, my fantastic 10 year old daughter decided to browse through a photo album i have had for years. Joining her, i found some really quite entertaining old pictures. Ones best left to speak largely for themselves...

That's me on top... that's my old friend Rob Nelms with no eyebrows -- the guy in the suit. This was circa 1995. This Oscar Meyer wiener-mobile had Illinois license plates and was spotted parking in my friend's building's parking lot or alternately in front of a funeral home -- both in Ottawa Ontario Canada.

This is of course, the bassist of the Look People playing slide bass on my butt. Circa 1993.

This first picture above is me with one of the two very best cats in the whole world... and a hideous couch. I miss you Zaire! Circa 1989. The picture above and to the right is a snapshot taken of a dear old friend of mine. I'm sure he would rather this picture disappear.

And a final shot:

Proof my son is a freak -- he is sound asleep --
WITH HIS EYES OPEN!

[ j ]

and now a link full of spring color

I stink at blogging... Today i sew for me.

2009-02-06T13:42:00.000-08:00

Really, for someone who never stops talking and is in possession of some serious self absorption, i ought to be much better at this.

I even forget i have a blog. Then there's the layout. I look at it and it depresses me. I want it fixed. Despite my ability to make pretty things and dance about in the brains of my computer, i cannot for the life of me get the layout of this simple little blog straightened out. I'm sure it's like fractions were when i was in grade 4... i am just making it more complicated than it really is.

As most people who know me are aware of, i am a nutty artist-type person who runs a little store on Etsy.com and am constantly making fun little items to list in my store. This morning, i thought to myself, "self, why do you never make anything for you?!?"

In response to this thought and at peril of making my self dialogue open to all, i decided to make something just for me today. Here it is!

This is a 12" by 9" makeup pouch to replace my way too small old one. Doesn't it just make you want a cup of coffee?

Now i shall share something with you that should make you all cringe... because if i am squirming uncomfortably, then you should too.

This is my grade 5 class photo that an old school chum posted on Facebook. That skinny freckle faced short blonde in the very center is me. How funny is that?

I love Monsters... and art.

2009-01-15T09:16:00.000-08:00

So Etsy has this thing where you can put together a compilation of some of your favorite items that OTHER people are selling. It is called a treasury. The hardest part is trying to choose what to feature. It can also be very hard to land a treasury as almost every Etsian wants to compile their favorites...

Here is my shout out to some very talented creative individuals:

If you click on the link below, it will take you to the actual treasury, where you can peruse or purchase items up close and personal-like!

When Monsters do geometry

I had my first sale of an item I pre-made yesterday to a total stranger. Feels great to know that someone I don't know appreciates my work. Now the packaging and shipping is ON. More tough durable pvc vinyl knitting needle totes to come.

Another little tidbit of trying to build an online business is tracking what's going on so you can figure out how to better take care of potential customers. Recently, Etsy introduced a collaborative effort with Google Analytics. This is fun because it lets you see who comes to your Etsy shop, i.e. from where in the world and more importantly, how they got there. For some reason, a large number of people are stumbling into various Etsy stores by entering the search term "corn poo" into Google.

I myself am not selling anything to do with corn poo... just so you know.

[ j ]

i am a dullard, or what NOT to do in your kitchen.

2009-01-09T09:24:00.000-08:00

for the past year my hubby and i have been working feverishly to reinvent our somewhat dumpy townhouse we purchased at christmas last year. It's our first home and we bought with the intention of fixing it up and selling for a modest profit so we could buy a house for our family.

I swear the day after we bought, the market dropped. :D Okay, maybe not the day after but something that smacks very close to that. We have had to rip out walls, replace flooring, repair plumbing, do some electrical and re-drywall parts. so far, we have done a fairly decent job on a very tight budget. Here are some of the before pictures of the townhouse:

Here are some during or after pictures of our work:

We still have some work to do. Unfortunately after last night, we have some EXTRA work to do. I am the queen of multitasking as is necessary when you have children. I started the water for washing the dishes in the sink and while it was filling, i went to the bottom of the stairs to ask hubby something. From there, i heard the unmistakable sounds of my two year old having a huge temper tantrum and calling for me. My motherly instint kicked in and up i went to the aid of my poor fretful 2 year old.

Oh yes, now you are all thinking of the water running. Well i was not unfortunately. 10 minutes later we all decended downstairs to see a flood spreading across our lovely new LAMINATE flooring we haven't even finished paying for yet and which we spent an entire back and knee breaking weekend laying down. A call to arms was sent out... or at least a call to towels. Every towel in the house was gathered. Laminate flooring is NO friend of moisture and does not take kindly to 2 inches of water pooling on top of it... splooshing alarmingly beneath it.

I could cry. Actually, i did. I very very rarely do something stupid/foolish/careless... but when i do, it is a feat of SPECTACULAR proportions.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade
squarejane.etsy.com

So, will this hurt?

2009-01-08T16:01:00.000-08:00

Possibly. This is my first real actual blog on a blogging site. I have at odd times just rambled here and there... facebook, myspace etc. Long time ago, i used to have my own webpage. Somehow, my life took over and i neglected it. I had no idea that much like a forgotten cactus, a website with no love at all dies.

A little bit about me for those of you who don't already know me in person. I am insanely short. Like if i were 3" shorter, i would be of little people stature. I talk. I talk ALOT. An old friend of mine used to say that i could talk under water. I like to know that i inspire that kind of idiotic image in someone's mind... me making random hand gestures and some muddled "bwa wa ah waah" noises while bubbles stream out the sides of my face searching for escape.

I paint. Not as much as i really should. I am a mom. I am a wife. I love my family like nobodys' business. Knitting and sewing isn't a pass-time for me, but an obsession. My hands twitch if i'm not typing, knitting, sewing, sculpting, painting or otherwise making something out of ... other somethings. To help me be able to stay home with the kids i do daycare and i run a little crafting business on Etsy. I Squidoo. I Twitter too... but i forget all these login things and honestly believe the world needs less of that and more making stuff... like sockmonkeys... or paintings of giant squid.

I see art everywhere. In the footprints of little birds in the snow, in a dead leaf swirling in a creek, even in a booger in my sons' nose. I have a real affinity for the complete absurd. I spell terribly but read voraciously... that is i do when i have the time. I buy handmade jewelry from other creative people. I cut hair. I am learning to tattoo. I have always been socially awkward... and i love that awkward is such an awkward word.

If I like you long enough to talk to you for more than 10 minutes, i love you for life. My dreams are full of birds and laughter, but i wear almost only black and have for most of my adult life. This is not to be tough or cool but to mask the coffee i live on and often pour on myself. I am centimeters shy of being OCD. I live in Canada's only desert.

There. Did that hurt you?

[ j ]

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade
squarejane.etsy.com