It's not Spring yet, But...

I know it's coming! The days are about twelve hours long, and while the mornings are normally well below zero, the sun warms things up nicely in the afternoon, and the air is softer. The sky is a deep, warm blue that makes it seem as if it should be summer.
Junebug and Firefly were bred last January. I think they settled, because they act like they are starving, and they seem to be getting wider. I haven't seen any utter development yet, but the muscles around the girls' tails seem to be more relaxed.
The coming of spring also means garden planning! Which I have yet to get to, but there is still time.

Spring

When does spring come?
Each year, I try to pin down,
but it's elusive!

Alaska Weather

So, it was greenup on Tuesday. It snowed most of the day on Wednesday. And then on Thursday, I woke up to this.




Snow and fog. It was very lovely, though unexpected. However, snow in May is not uncommon. I've even seen it snow in June.
Evantually, the fog burned off and the sky became clear. It turned out to be a warm spring day!
TTFN!

Breakup

This is an old vignette I wrote when I was fourteen for a high school project. It was the only project I managed to get an A+++ on in school. Not sure I deserved it, but it was nice.
I did edit it ever so slightly.. It's interesting to think about how I would write this now.

Where I live, we have five seasons. Spring, summer, fall, winter and breakup. Spring is normally lovely and beautiful, cool and clear, the sun's elusive rays warm. Summer here is glorious, but resembles a green desert. The end of summer is sort of a rainy season; which lasts from August 1st, till whenever school starts. Fall is magnificent. The yellow leaves glide to the ground into a sheet, and them comes with the coverlet of winter. Winter is gorgeous, but it is frigid, and sometimes very much so. And there is never enough sun. Here, it may drop to -50F, but this does not happen too often, only once or twice every couple of years.
Breakup is the season when the sun, the source of heat and light, ceases to hibernate. And the sun's gravitational pull pulls every one's refuse to the surface of the gray snow. Perhaps it is more of a magnetic attraction, but somehow, the sun manages to melt anywhere from one foot of snow to four, and fill those lucky people's homes with a couple feet of liquid ice crystals, dragging along any lovely nutrients it has with it. Breakup lasts about a month and a half or two.
Then it is spring.

Winter's Revenge

Milking bowl in hand
I step into the snowflakes.
But it smells like rain!

Birdie Chorus, aka 4/5 Update

When I took a walk this afternoon, the birds were making quite the racket. Though load, it's a welcome change from winter, when the birds were rarely heard.
On Saterday, I took several camisoles and a purse to a new local foods market. They are going to sell them for me at no charge and take no cut. Hopefully, I will sell some this next week. The owner already bought the purse for his wife as a nice Easter gift!
I am trying to figure out what to work on next. I have two corset covers from an antique shop that I hope to make into dresses or shirts. I have a list of things I wanted to make for late-winter/spring, so I should choose some items from that.

TTFN!

Spring is in the Air

I think spring decided to come early this year. It's been warm and sunny for the past several weeks. Of course, we could still get a cold snap, but it probably won't be forty below.
Today I finally finished a kuspuk prototype. It was made from some old flannel that has been around for a long while. It has many kinks to work out, but I was so exited, I wore it before it was finished. I haven't had a kuspuk since I was a little girl in Nome (many years ago). I made it short sleeved (a modern version!). Normally, they are long sleeved with a cuff. I made this one with a skirt on the bottom to keep my legs warmer.
I'm sorry I can't post pictures, the computer refuses to upload them :(
Here is great article on kuspuks from Tundra Medicine Dreams.

TTFN!

Happy Windsday!

Winnie the Pooh: Happy "Winds-day", Piglet.
Piglet: [being blown away] Well... it isn't... very happy... f-for me.
Winnie the Pooh: Where are you going, Piglet?
Piglet: That's what I'm asking myself, where? W-Whoops! P-P-P-Pooh!
Winnie the Pooh: And what do you think you will answer yourself?
:)
(Thank you Google!)




Yesterday and today have been rather blustery (though still sunny). But perhaps not windy enough to blow Piglet away. We always seem to get a not so gentle "zephyr" about late winter-early early spring. Yesterday, the goats did not get to go outside because they are sensitive to wind and drafts. They were happy to go out today! I went out to check on them after it started getting breezy. Ladybug decided to try the camera cord. She once ate a furniture tag.


I love to take walks, and to take pictures. Here are a few photos from the past week or so...


Yep, that's a boring pic of GREEN moss. It's all in how you look at it!

Today I have been working on hemming a linen-peace silk scarf, that I made out of one yard of cloth. It had to be pieced together. Lately, I've been working on some new designs. Not so sure if this one's going to work out for selling though.

Tomorrow, I hope to post Part Two of the series on rust dyeing, in which I will explain the process. And post more walk pictures :)

TTFN!

Rust Dyeing, Part One

This past week has been absolutely GORGEOUS! Rarely a cloud in the sky; temps in the morning hovering just a bit above zero, and then soaring to fifty (in the sun) during the day. I think I will post the collected pictures taken from my afternoon walks tomorrow.
However, this post is part one in a series on rust dyeing. It is an interesting technique that I like to use in my work.

(second rust dyed project, November, 2007)

In October of 2007, my mother bought me a copy of the art clothing magazine Belle Armoire (www.bellearmoire.com), of which an article about rust dyeing was showcased. So I that's how I first started.
I've gotten many compliments on how cool it looks. And I've had much fun routing around in the dumpsters at the transfer station looking for cool metal scraps. My favorite is that broken off cog!

(Reversible tote, August, 2008. Personal collection.)

On Thursday, I hope to write about the process of rust dyeing, and I will post more pictures!

TTFN!

Spring?

Here is a double haiku I wrote a couple days ago.


Singing the tune of
spring, snow soaks up the vibrant
late-winter sunlight

"Is it really Spring?"
I ask the pussy willows.
"Or is it a hoax?"