Domesticated Bee of Athena

On Monday night I couldn't sleep from stomach pain. 'You know what this is?' said Elias. 'Its called nerves.' Damn right. I was sick with terror. I had an appoinment to have a vertically impacted wisdom tooth surgically removed the next day. F**k.

Wednesday morning I looked surreal. My right cheek had blown up to 'wow' proportions. I spent the day avoiding mirrors, popping endless painkillers (oh the pain!) and sitting in a well-lit corner stitching felt owl coins like my life depended on it.

Why owls? Well they are the Athena bird. Since purchasing a beautiful little Joanna Cave owl necklace I've been thinking about them a lot. I've also been thinking about Athens a lot. Poor old Athens has taken a beating lately. Our city has seen better days. Lots of people want to leave, but I don't. I love Athens. Even now it is a rich city with so much to offer. While I stabbed miniscule stitch after stitch I thought about the Athens that saw the original ancient coins that I (very extremely loosely) based my felt coins on. I thought about all that she has seen and how lucky I feel to be part of it.

So now that my face has semi-deflated and gone yellow (I hear thats good!) I am itching to begin a mission to discover an Athens I am somewhat unacquainted with: the Athens of Crafts. With Athena as our patron, there's gotta be plenty out there...

By the way do check out http://www.joannacave.com/ and take a look at her stunning creations. I again (see Going to California entry) apologise for not knowing how to do the things that most bloggers take for granted, like make a name a link. I will do my homework soon I promise! Enjoy!

Heart Felt

DO you remember when Johnny Depp got that Winona forever tattoo? I was very impressed. A side of me was thinking ah what a man she's so lucky he's so cool! But the other side went ooooh thats a bit presumptious how can he be so sure thats ridiculous he'll be scratching at it soon enough.

Again my issues with tattoos come soaring to the surface. My attitude stinks of Gollum. So I have a huge soft spot for the classics. All the classic heart lover mom etc tattoos, lets face it, you do secretly want someone to do one for you oneday. Don't you? Or maybe you don't.














Anyway for our *anniversary* (not wedding) this Feb I supplied myself with my chicken shit (felt embroidery) version of the classic heart tattoo. I won't get into the reasons why I am more than happy to wear it and get picked on by my friends (Gary) and called a cheeseball. But I will say that Elias is the only reason that this blog is ever decorated with photos. And he is so big hearted he deserves to have his name on a heart. And hopefully one day he will finish one of his many abandoned embroidery projects so you too can see how bloody good he is!

Pride comes before a fall?

Pride. Once upon a time pride was a bad thing. Pride comes before a fall, we were told in scripture class. There were even stories of little girls or boys who were too proud and would eventually get their comeuppance. Pride was a definite nono.

But now its good! You should be proud of your achievements. Show some pride in yourself! Now you are destined for a fall if you have no pride.

I don't get it.

As a parent I feel like its so hard to strike a balance between love for your child and for yourself. So hard to pinpoint when you are standing up for your beliefs and when you are being self righteous.

You should be proud of your child! Or maybe not. Can you be proud and have perspective at the same time?

Risky business this pride analysis stuff.

I think I'll stick to embroidery.

Let Yourself Go

Today I watched extreme makeover. On this particular episode was a girl called Angela. Five years ago she looked fabulous. But life got in the way. She gained weight, bought a pair of bad glasses and...

Oh. Dear.

Maybe it is a sign? Paulo Coelho warned us about signs. I envisioned myself five years ago and thought...shiiiiiiiiiiiit.

Have I started to let myself go?

What the hell does that mean anyway? Let yourself go. Sometimes it means like really great man, surf the waves of life and go with the flow and all that. Have I let myself go in a good or bad way when I don't decline on the third glass of wine or fifth piece of stinky cheese on a cracker?

IS IT GOOD OR BAD TO LET YOURSELF GO?

I know older people who used to be really hot. They spent their life partying and having lots of sex and good food and now everyone says 'ah what a shame they've totally lost their looks. They just let themselves go...'

But they had fun...surely?

I'm not advocating being a pig or a lush. Nor am I trying to defend my love of wine and crackers (!?). I firmly believe in the importance of waking up early to practise yoga. But surely its nice to enjoy the simple pleasures life has to offer. And surely its good, if not every day, but once in a (somewhat regular) while to

let yourself go!

My selfish DIY xmas

In November I bought aaaaaaall this felt. Two very big bags full. I would make Xmas tree decorations as gifts this year, I said. Yes. And I made one. One felt xmas tree gift. Why? Maybe I got freaked out by what happened to it/her (see Seasons of love post) and lost my present making drive. Or maybe I just got selfish.

So I love sugar skulls and all the Day of the Dead decorations. I love the idea that once a year you celebrate those who have passed, with food and parties. So I took a piece of felt and stitched this sugar skull onto it. And I liked it so much I wanted to wear it, somehow. So at the advice of the very talented Loukia Richards (check out her work at http://www.myprecious.gr/designers/loukia-richards-2/ ) I made this bracelet. It being my first time making something like this it took me ages. And it totally devoured my present making time. But it gave me something to focus on through a month which brought the loss of three loved ones. The writing reads Those who live deeply have no fear of death- Anais Nin. For me that means be true to your heart and your dreams and be in the moment. I finished it on Xmas morning. So here it is, my Xmas present to myself and the reason that handmade gifts to others by moi didn't happen this year. I don't regret it coz...I like my new bracelet!

And a Happy New Year!

Well she made it to the tree! And not just our tree but a really big tree in another house altogether, and her new owners think she's fabulous. So wishing all of you a sensational continuation of Chrismas holidays and thanking you lots and lots for visiting my little blog. XXXXX

Seasons of Love

I made this felt matryoshka to hang on the Christmas tree this year. She was pretty simple. Just simple stitches. Split stitch and back stitch for the face and body and blanket stitch all the way round.

Still I managed to screw up big time! I had run out of fabric glue when it came to sticking on the white felt face. So I thought 'hey, big deal, whatever I'll just use a teeeeny bit of super glue'. Then suddenly my fingers were stuck together and I was shouting and running around aimlessly, madly washing and blowdrying the face until large parts of it had turned into felt cement. Shit.

Somehow I managed to save her. There were parts of her face that the needle could go through, and I added red pom poms to hide the glue. She still looks kind of like she's been thumped, with a blotchy eye that thankfully you can't see very well in the photo. But her destination is the tree, and she's going ahead with it.

Its been quite a rough spell. But I've seen all the riches of the world in love. I guess its kind of like how you see the most beautiful colours at sunset. Kind of like how we decorate our houses to celebrate on one of the darkest days of the year. So slightly battered I too am going ahead, dressing up my house and wishing you all happy holidays! :)