market update: gone fishin'

everything's as ready as it's going to be, down to the tags. you might have gathered that i'm pretty excited about this market thing. i hope i won't have to report to you on sunday that it rained and no one came and that they hated all of our stuff, but i suppose there's a chance of that. regardless, it's been a great exercise for me. and i'll be listing in my various shops whatever doesn't sell early next week. and for those who want scarves, even if they all sell, i'll make more - i'm hooked and feel like it's the first thing i've made since the helleristning stones that really feels like something special. so watch this space next week, i'll definitely let you know when and where they're available.

the scarves are tagged and folded and ready to go.

since the whole market was started by the local fish monger, here at the last minute, i decided to make a little batch of fish. i bought the pattern in a local fabric store and am making them up of the beautiful cloud 9 organic cottons. i didn't have time to finish my nature walk plus quilt, but at least i'll have a few fish to show what can be made of these gorgeous fabrics (i'm going to have some fat quarter stacks available at the market).

i'm stuffing them with carded wool in keeping with the organic theme. and it makes such a difference to how it feels to work with organic and natural fibers and textiles. there really is a difference, especially when you're working with little fish that you're stuffing and handling quite a lot in the process. organic fabrics just seem warmer in your hands. and i like that very much.

more photos tomorrow of finished products. i've been so busy all day, i hardly stopped to take these photos. plus, the wind has been pretty fierce, so i couldn't go out to my quilt staging area in the garden. maybe tomorrow.  in any case, there will be many photos from the market on sunday.

thanks to everyone for the market well-wishes here, on flickr and on facebook!

look at what's new from moo!

yesterday, in my email inbox, i got my moosletter and in it, i saw these innovative new business card holders and i thought, those are cool, i wonder if it's time for some business cards...  and then, when i got home, i found the most delightful surprise in my mailbox...you guessed it! one of moo's new business card holders - especially for me! i knew i loved moo.

you can moo too!

it's time again, those fabulous people at MOO have sent out a discount code: RVA92Q - this time the code entitles you to free shipping on a first-time MOO purchase. and although they tell you that they're shipping via DHL, it turns out they're not (my postcards came via royal mail), which is a big relief, since DHL sucks at delivering. this code is for new MOO customers. so if you've been wondering if you should order, now's the time to try it out! i love my MOO cards and my new postcard-sized ones just arrived on saturday. i'm using them for postcrossing as well as for decor above my desk.

if you MOO or would like to...

hey guys--if you have been thinking about getting your own MOO cards and have never ordered before, you can use this code: RDVYSN and get 20% off a single MOO product in your first order! and if you use it, then i might win a cool magnetic photo thingie, since that's a unique code and the first 100 of these that MOO gets on orders (it was in their latest Moosletter) will win the cool magnetic photo string thingie. and i love to win, you know. so if you were thinking of ordering some MOO cards anyway...do it now and then we can swap, i've got MOOs for every occasion!!

NOTE:  the code can be used by as many people as want to use it--you'll get your 20% off on one item in your order!!!

observing right now

1. the day is grey.
   
2. burned hair smells really bad.
   
3. the smell of burned hair lingers on and on.
   
4. listening to röyksöpp.
   
5. i'm pondering a gocco print and it's going to come out of my head and onto the paper soon.
6. the room is warm.
7. flickering candlelight.
8. amazon.com sent my book from new zealand (who is doing the logistics on that?)
9. there are pictures to be hung.
10. cameras make me happy.

note to self: remember where the candles are when you are caught up in taking photos.

i'm all about the direct positive

tangobaby made me download a trial copy of lightroom 2 (i apparently have no will of my own and am generally weak in the face of gadgetry and pretty software). so today i finally really played with it.

it's heavenly.

and so are my MOO cards, shown here after a little direct positive treatment.

so heavenly that i ordered 3 new sets today for different purposes. because i'm a girl with a lot of purposes, why do you ask?

and here's what you can do with lightroom 2...

original:

there was a time when this would have made me perfectly happy

but then i found out about antique light:

and cold tone:

imagine what will happen when i start making my own presets...

but first, i'm off to oslo.

* * *

but speaking of directly positive, get yourself over to borneochica's blog and read her post about how she's going to gather books and donate them to teachers in chicago. i sent a box of them her way yesterday. if i can do it, so can you, mine have to cross an ocean and all. :-) she called me a rock star when i did it. you too can be a rock star, i'm sure. 

moo moo and an interview

a big thank you and a big hug to everyone who left sweet comments and sent sweet emails about yesterday's post. i think that a big part of why i shared our sorrowful news is that i knew i would feel that rush of love and support from near and far.  you guys are awesome. i don't know what i did before i had all of you.

* * *

today, i'm going to a interview for a real job. after doing the consulting thing for nearly a year, i'm ready to be an employee again. i need the structure of going to an office every day. and i especially need daily human interaction with other adults who are not my husband or the teachers at sabin's school or the grocery store checkout people (who are often not adults, if i think about it). and i need someone else to be responsible for calculating the VAT, that drives me mad.  i'm wearing my favorite gap dress (quite akin to the audit dress ), awesome wolford tights (which of their tights are not awesome, i ask you), my big-ass celebrate obama ring and the new chanel no. 5 eau premiére. so it can't possibly go wrong.

* * *

last evening, after a 9:30 p.m. cup of licorice tea to soothe my throat, i was wide awake until well after midnight. but it was only partially the tea. it was largely because of moo cards. beautiful little mini calling cards with your best pictures on them. and you can actually upload 100 pictures at a time (which takes awhile, i can tell you) and get one card of each picture if you want! i went a little mad ordering sets of the Summer of Fun for the kids for christmas and then of course, some just for me. oh, and i downloaded the blurb booksmart software and started working on a book (or two)! tangobaby did both of these things long ago and has been encouraging me to do so for ages. i felt a little stupid for not knowing what moo cards were, so i never really got around to it. but now i have, big stylie! and i have to say that it was so much fun, i'm not sure what i was waiting for!

here's one of the pictures i used on a moo card, just as a teaser:

aren't they pretty? festive bottles of absolut, all dressed up for the holidays in the copenhagen airport.

* * *

and one more thing to share before i go fix myself for the interview...i found a few minutes on tuesday afternoon to visit the wonderful norway designs in oslo, where i bought the coolest cards by darling clementine . i feel very inspired to make some gocco prints after seeing these cards.

ok, gotta run....