A Fanciful Twist

Crochet Dreams + Homemade Pasta

Many years ago I had huge dreams of homemade blankets.

Piles and piles of glorious homemade goodness.

I thought about quilting with vintagey pale calicos, but it's too technical for my pea brain.

I am wishing on that one still.

Then I had a dream of throwing clay on the wheel, and I got really obsessed with that.

I would make clay things from 9 a.m. until 2 a.m.

For years.

Then I made jewelry like a mad woman.

Then I bought my weight in yarn.

Then I bought more clay.

Then I became soldering obsessed.

Then I made a great wall of blanket and forced myself to stop after adding for 8 years (maybe more).

Then I started the blanket below on December 23rd 2013.

And finished it last week.

Forced myself to stop.

It was the hardest thing ever.

Stopping.

And did I tell you about that time I decided to start blogging???

:)

Wait wait, I am still obsessed with all those things.

(here's the newest blanket below just completed)

Well, you know where this is leading.

I suppose it's no secret.

I have a bit of ocd.

Do you???

Tell me you do too.

Please?

What is your obsession (s)?

Sometimes it's a burden, like when I have to check doors and locks 35 times.

(for some reason that faded when I moved to the country house full time)

But, it was to the point that I would have to talk to myself.

And remind myself that I did check it, and that everything is okay.

Brain gets tense and stuck, goes bonkers.

Drives hours to go recheck something.

Twice.

It's exhausting.

And since I am coming clean, I count things too, but less now that I am older.

Letters and numbers and boxing in words, all in the mind.

OY, my brain.

What is wrong with me?

The part that annoys people (like ML) is that I have been known to ask the same question several times.

I just want to be sure :)

Maybe that's why I love crochet?

Doing the same thing over and over and over and over and over again.

I find such comfort in it.

I can breathe and relax.

And not to mention, count!

Hey, epiphany moment here.

I can listen to the same song over and over all day for years.

It becomes part of me, my daily thing.

A flow.

I have a very complicated brain I guess.

Then I decided I needed to make homemade pasta...

But before I go there, let's talk about...

The blanket I forced myself to stop last week.

Like I said, I made it fairly quickly.

Dec 23rd to last week.

So, a few weeks.

And the whole family has enjoyed it.

It's about 69" x 50" in size.

I decided to hide out and watch scary movies to break it in last weekend.

Popcorn, shirley temples?

Keep 'em coming, keep 'em coming....

Aaaaaaahhh!

So here it is, smaller than the great wall of blanket of course.

And looser.

Lighter, simpler.

It's prettier up close because I double up many yarns, and it's super sparkly too.

You can not see hardly any sparkle in photos.

 

Below is the great wall of blanket, which you have heard about for years.

I worked on it for 8+ years.

I finally stopped when it was 100" x 70" in size.

You can tell I started it when I had a really really really stressful job.

Why?

The weave is sooooo tight and obsessive.

It's not even funny :)

I remember my hand always aching when I would work on it.

Years and years of weaving.

Super sparkly too.

And because the weaves are so tight, it is extra warm.

I personally think it would made an awesome coat.

It is so heavy, it's astounding.

Crazy heavy.

After this pic below, he didn't want to take it off.

Soooo warm and cozy.

So, while he cuddled up with the yarn...

I decided I needed to make homemade pasta.

Needed to.

I tried Ree's recipe.

It was good, next time I will try Mario Batali's for fun.

It takes some elbow grease doing it by hand.

2 eggs for 1 cup flour.

That's it.

I did 6 eggs and 3 cups flour.

I kneaded my heart out.

About 10 minutes.

Adding flour when sticky.

Then I rolled it out super thin.

I plastic wrapped and refrigerated half of it.

And made the other half last night.

Using my pizza cutter to slice.

It was fun actually.

I made it in batches.

When you pop it in the boiling salted water it sinks to the bottom.

Then a few seconds later each noodle starts to float.

Ree said to cook it for about 2 minutes.

But that was a bit too dense and al dente for us.

3-4 minutes was even better for our mouth likes.

I had some homemade summer pesto in the freezer, so I heated that up real quick.

It was such a fun thing.

(The doggies reaaaally loved it, they like basil and they love pasta.  They get homemade food sometimes, and their doc says pasta is a go, so, yay.)

This morning I decided to make the refrigerated dough, and it was even easier to work with and roll out.

I made a go to dressing, because it's sunny and I wanted a cool light pasta for lunch.

The juice of 1 lemon, the grated peel of 1 lemon, a heaping spoon of honey, a heaping spoon of mayo.

Whisk.

Then add a drizzle of olive oil and two slurps of white vinegar.

So fresh, so yumm.

It makes a lovely dressing for anything.

I love it with roasted chicken shredded, as a salad, with peas and diced veggies.

Or pasta, salad like, dishes.

Which is what I made.

You can also put in canned fish if you need some protein in there.

I did some tuna fish and peas.

I love peas.

I eat lots of frozen peas.

Stir, and yumm.

That was a real pasta fill.

I am not a HUGE pasta lover.

But, from time to time, it really hits the spot and I want some.

So, we have homemade pasta, and crochet blanket dreams come true.

What's next?

2 stacked blankets.

Yay.

But, ocd says, more more more more!

I think I am like cookie monster, honestly.

Well, I started the scalloped edging for a new blanket last night actually.

I will only use yarn I have on hand.

As I did with the one I just made.

I enjoy having something as such to do late at night.

Are you ocd-ing on anything lately??

Or always??

;)

 

 

Love, V

 

 

 

 

ps:  Is everyone on vacation, bored, tired, hibernating, in a holiday fog still????

 Oooo, vacation, yumm.

 

pss:  here is a video that has the most views on youtube for crochet beginners.

 

psss:  Here is an easy video, also on youtube, for crochet flowers.

 

A Pâtisserie {of the imaginary variety}

Hello there!  Here I am, with a sweet tale of what I have been up to for the better part of a month.  Grab a seat, steal a treat and come in, won't you?

You see, this tale begins with my wee gallery, which lives right outside, in my garden.

I used to do art shows in it, I used it for my apothecary shop, and then, it sort of got full of boxes (to the ceiling if you must know the truth).

Then one day, I had a thought.

Why not turn it into a place for me to go and hide out in.

A place to be inspired?



Then I thought about what such a place would be like?

A pâtisserie, of the sort of imaginary variety, is what came to me...

And so, it came to life little by little.

I decided to focus only on the kitchen side of the gallery for now, and filled it with all the little trinkets I love to look at.  I will work on the larger side in the future.

I wanted my pretend pâtisserie to have bursts of color, and to house all the kooky sort of things I love to collect...

I put decorative trim on all the shelves.  Although you can't see the details of some of the trim, since the lighting is so bright in the space.

I also wanted a place to house some of the pottery pieces I have made over the years.  Such as the teal and olive green tea pot to the left (below), and the pink and black polka dotted goblet in the center (below). (The little bear with the red and white striped stockings is by my dear friend Marjorie of Marmee Craft).

I have been enjoying this space so much, I can not even tell you.

Valentine's was scrumptious in here, and I made all sorts of pastries and my linzer cookies too...

The two paintings below, one of chocolates and one that says Kiss Me, are by my beloved friend Laura, of Rhinestone Armadillo.
 

I am so in love with my little hide-out, I might never want to leave my property ;) 

I simply wanted an inspiring place to cozy up in, a place to refuel, in the most delightful way (to me)...

 The planter heads seated on the two shelves on the right were purchased a couple years ago from ClayFlower22.

One of funnest parts of putting my faux pâtisserie together was the sweets case...

I personally can't get enough of peering inside.  It brings back some sort of childhood pastry shop memories...

But the best part of the whole thing is, I can have a pretend pastry shop, and not actually have to run it, and make pastries every day ;) 

I did some funny things, for instance, I had Mister Lovee bring me some hostess cakes, and then I took them out of their wrappers, and put them in pretty toile cupcake wrappers that my Mammie had sent me...

Then I scattered around a few sanded lemon drops, and other swirly candies.  And, my one confession is that, I also tossed in a smattering of faux treats :)

A few fake cakes here and there...

:) 

(I painted all the roses you see scattered about, in 3 different shades of pink)

My friend and I chatted up a storm and ate all sort of sweets on Valentine's afternoon.  Although, truth be told, I had already been in there sampling edibles with Mister in the a.m. 

A little bright spot to play in...

I am not totally done in here though.

I have to install my chandelier...

Plus, I want to finish tacking up things I love to the wall below. 

I have really enjoyed using some of my own art (something I do not normally do) in the form of prints and cards from

my A Fanciful Twist Shoppe...

I am crazy about mood boards, and mood walls.

My trick is to use pearl end corsage pins, to tack up things to my boards or walls.

It looks pretty and they hold really well...

I am also working on some new prints that I made especially to fit into this space.  I will share them soon...

I mainly created this space because I was just having such a hard time finding a certain sort of inspiration I was looking for.  I would look in magazines, in books, and on line...

But, I just couldn't find just the sort of thing I needed.

So, creating a little space tailored to my own candy colored emotional needs has been such a joy.

And, I pretty much used all things that I already had. 

Except for sweets and edibles, and maybe a thing or two.

It was a challenge to photograph this space, what with its bright light sources.  I hope these photos work to convey the space okay?

Oh oh, I almost forgot to show you what I am calling the "carousel cake..." 

I had a mad blast decorating this cake, and it was the moistest red velvet cake ever.  There is edible gold dust on the flowers too.  I know it is super cheesy, but I totally dig it ;)

One day I hope to pop some treats in here by my wonderful friend Rosie of Sweetapolita.  I think one of her Neapolitan cakes would be treasured!  Or any of her cakes or edibles really.  They are all unreal!

I hope she giggles at my cheesy carousel cake ;)

Other things I did, which is a fun tip, is that I bought candies and treats that had awful commercial packaging, and I repackaged them in cello myself, and tied them up with pretty ribbons... 

I made the clay lady face, above and below (terracota clay with low fire glazes), and the wee plate on the wall as well.  Oh, and I thought Stella and the Bee  had to be in here, so I framed up a small print of her that I had as a sample...

It's a bright and happy little space...

And, Mister and Mrs. Bunny keep a good watch over the place ;) 

The light from the door and the window over the sink are so bright until around 3 p.m., I can't even tell you.  And, I have to say, I quite like being in there when all of that bright light is streaming in.  It fills me with a lite and fresh joy...

I will take more close-ups when my good camera returns from the doctor.  But for now, here are some candy yumms...

And of course, snow balls, for good measure ;)

Although, I must procure some macarons from beautiful Ladurée at some point.

I made my yearly heart shaped linzer cookies, with their impossible to use dough, but worth every single morsel.  The recipe I use is super difficult, but I have to say, the cookies are so good, friends ask me if I will be making them year to year...

Oh, something interesting I experimented on, and it worked - was the sink back-splash.  You see, about 9 years ago I put that back-splash in, and used black grout.  It didn't work for me anymore, so I mixed up some teal blue acrylic paint and painted right over it, and then quickly wiped all of the large marbles off.  Guess what?  It worked!!  Hooray! 

Oh oh, below is an example of repackaging success...

On the top tier are some Christmas candles that "had" ugly bottoms, but I loved the swirls.  So, I used some extra tall cupcake wrappers, popped them in, and repackaged them, tying them with a pink ribbon.  Now I like them tons...

I used the heart centers from my linzer cookies, to make some cookies I could decorate for Valentine's day...

I can get lost in cake and cookie decorating, I enjoy it so much...

I am not a pro decorator, but I do love it...

The one below is rather large, and extra pretty in person... 

So there you have it, my dream space...

Where I can hide and imagine, and conjure up new art pieces...

A secret hideaway, of sorts...

 

Tucked right into my little building, in a bizarre desert land... 

 

Thank you for peeking in.

I hope you like it ;)

 

 

A Peek Inside Week: A Little Gallery

Hi there!  I am all caught up on life (which is why I was gone for a day or so), and about to get ready to have some fun this evening, but not before I take you to my humble little gallery, which is a free standing petite metal building that sits about 20 steps from my office door...

        

Again, yet another space that was used many years ago (30+) by the previous owners for supplies for canning and gardening.  It is a fair size, and fits a handful of people who can browse around comfortably...

        

I have not done a show since 2007 (I have done so many in my lifetime, I am not sure I am up for them for a while), but I still use my gallery, especially for fun stuff like the Halloween party.  You can see oodles of photos of the gallery turned into a Botanical Apothecary Shoppe, of the Witches Variety, right here...

       

        

In 2005 I was still deeply into my highly colorful art, and had been doing lots of enormous scale custom pieces for homes for a few years by then.  So, that colorfulness (which I am being drawn to again) was a huge part of my first shows here in the gallery.  I have been doing work as an artist for 15+ years (even while having real world stinky day jobs), although I only started my blog 3 years ago.  Many tales to tell one day on that front...

Anywho, I opened my doors to the public via the gallery in 2005.  And since then, the gallery has changed and evolved.  Here are a few older shots...

        

       

  

My last show held some of the pieces that are more familiar to some of you.  That was Spring of 2007 I believe.  Or maybe it was Fall 2008.  I can't remember, my mind fails me these days ;)

        

        

People ask why I have not been a part of the local art tour and other shows as of late.  And the answer is, I found it very challenging to try to make art to sell in my on-line shoppe and have the entire gallery stocked for shows.  I also found a certain amount of trauma to my soul letting people come over and wander through my property.  Mostly you get lovely visitors, but sometimes you get a couple people snickering negative comments about your work or how they could do it themselves, right in front of you.  It's okay if they don't like it and/or could do it themselves, but to snicker about it while being invited into your own property feels pretty yucka-yucky.

I found doing shows in my own home, much more emotionally draining than doing the oodles of trunk and craft shows I have done over the years, away from home.  Has anyone ever experienced anything like that?

Nevertheless, it won't deter me from doing them in the future, I have learned so much about what to expect, and what not to let bother me.  It's all about creating an invisible soul shield, you know what I mean?

 

Then everything else is smooth sailing.  Of course, there were endless positive things about the shows.  So many lovely wonderful faces who stopped in year after year.  Love them!

People stop and munch on treats and drink coffee, and dance to the music, and tell you they are taking your work back home, some near and some far away, and you feel your heart fill with delightment.  That's the good stuff I hold on to.

   

You learn things about yourself through shows and such, if you open your eyes and ears, and listen to yourself.  You learn what your limitations are.  You learn what you are willing to do and not do.  And for me, I gained something I wish I had had my whole life.  I took on this persona who just simply refuses to do anything she doesn't want to do.

I can't be coaxed into doing anything that the 5 year old girl in me doesn't want to do.  And that is huge for me, because my whole life I was the "yes" girl.  But for me, through shows I got to a point where I was so exhausted, that I learned much about myself, and learned how to say no.  That truly is a huge step for me, and what I find to be a good thing.

I find that sometimes we are so afraid to say no and be honest about it, that instead we suffer ourselves.  So, I think it is good to find a comfortable space inside of ourselves where we can say no, and tell the truth about why the answer is no.  Many times my answer is,"No, I can't do this or that because my house and bed are too cozy, and I am in my pj's and I don't feel like leaving, sorry ;) "

But wait, I see I have veered to a completely different place, as usual ;) -

In the future, I am going to try to pull out some video of the art shows.  I spent all evening and morning searching for those videos on discs, and couldn't find them, but I will one day, and I will share them with you..

   

You can see lots more Gallery photos by going to my right hand side bar, and looking under the "categories Section" for A Strange Little Gallery, or click here for now ;) .  All the Gallery posts ever written live there.

This coming weekend will be the last post of the home tour week, and I have some new shots of the Gypsy Love spaces to share Saturday or Sunday.

        

Thanks for a super fun week!  You guys are a blast, I giggled and swooned so much reading comments.  I especially giggled madly with the handful of concerns about the dust (and act of dusting) my houses and outdoor living spaces might hold ;)  I never thought about dust until now, I mean I love to use windex and bleach sinks and toilets (tma), so I probably dust without thinking about it.  But more truthfully, I guess the answer is, I don't care about dust ;)  Or combing my hair, or wearing mismatched socks.  I know, aren't I rotten?  I guess the Pipilara in me is alive and well.  Dust, what dust?  Tee heee...  ;) ;)

You are so much fun!!  What on earth did I do with myself before blogging existed and I didn't have my fanciful friends???

♥ ,V

Now, wrap your silk scarves around your head and put on your layers of billowing skirts and blouses, and if time permits, meet me here later this weekend for some Gypsylandia fun! ♥

A new day, a new Adventure?

What will the day unlock for you?

        

Perhaps new adventures?  Will you notice little tiny things?  Isn't it incredible how our perception, can totally change our outlook?  Actually, it can change a whole experience...

I brought you the first rose of the season.  (Oh, how I love this one rose bush we have that gives cake frosting roses...)

   

Or, do you feel sorta grouchy?  Grouchy is good too, gives us a chance to let it all out (without hurting anyone of course).  If I ever feel grouchy, I go into my room, and I scream as loud as I can, "I AM SOOOOOOOOO GROUCHY."  And then, I feel worlds better.  Although sometimes, I have to say it a few times.  Have you ever noticed how sometimes the grouch monger visits for no good reason?  What's up with that?  ;)

I think the key is to purge those feelings so you can continue to skip and not stomp down the path ;)

Days at the country house can be so peaceful and lovely, a stroll outside with the extra loud birds, is food for the soul.  This morning, I was out there just wanting to hug the air it was so warm and cozy.

      

I watch nature do its thing, with bees buzzing around with pollen...

        

         

         

Nature is just soooo amazing, isn't it?

        

       

Baby is soo adorable, when you go out walking around the yard, she finds you and strolls with you, and is just so tickled to be with you...  Now that's love.  We go down paths lined with wild flowers, that sit between my gallery and my soon to be office.

    

Everything around here was lined with metal by the owners who lived here for 30+ years.  If it was standing, it got covered in metal siding.  Mister Lovee bought the property ages and ages ago, because of the amazing views and the land, with fruit trees etc.  We make the best of all the metal, thank goodness, my room is not metal...  But it can be cute too.  I mean, I love my little metal barrio style gallery...  And, with the woodpeckers around here, maybe metal is a good thing?

The woodpeckers at my parents have sawed perfect holes, lots of them, through this lovely door they have out back.  Isn't that awful?

    

Anyhow, I think I'll hide out in the gallery for a few days, since I am still not ready to tackle the studio.  We are doing a little exciting construction in the back of our property that will take a few years, so the gallery is now housing a bunch of stuff while we turn Mister Lovee's old workshop into storage.  It is chaos of stuff here, I tell ya, just chaos.  But, it keeps me busy, and that is good. 

See, I veered again, sheeesh.  Okay I was telling you about strolling with my pooch.  Our favorite place to stroll and play and hideout, is through a little corridor of trees and shrubs.  It is easy to get lost in your child-like imagination right in there...

        

The sun peeks through ever so enchantingly...

         

A little slice of heaven lives in all things that grow... 

   

And we leave, paw prints in the sand ;)

   

As we stroll, random thoughts appear.  I wonder, where my Raggedy Anne doll from childhood is?  Did she survive?  I found this faded photo of me in my nursery, surrounded by dolls, and it made me want my Raggedy...

   

Those were the days ;)

When I went inside, I passed by one of my dollhouses and noticed, an unknown visitor.

         

Yes, a new addition to my family, left by a male fairy.  Mister Lovee Fairy Twinkle Toes.  Remember last year, he left a little tiny girl in my big yellow dollhouse?  I love it when he leaves treasures hidden like that for me...  No matter how silly they are.  Is this a cake topper or something, haha ;)

    

We love her. 

Well, I best be off to check on my shoes that I did surgery on yesterday.  I am so proud of myself, I hope my work holds.  I really should have done this ages ago to the gold and silver woven ones...

I used clamps and anvils to hold them down while the stinky but wonderful epoxy dried.  I am tickled, you just can't tell I did any work on them.  You know, I go shoe shopping, but nothing tickles my fancy, like my old tattered shoes I love so...

        

Oh, and I finally got to play with my super cute mushroom loves from Miss Sonya's mushroom swap.  It was a ton of work, and she did a lovely job, thank you Miss Sonya!! (she also has a brand new space, wax and wool, yipppeee!)

    

Have a great day my friends!!  Let's all giggle a little (or a lot), they say it's good for the soul ;) I am itching for my netflix to get here so I can get back into my clay today.  I love to have a movie on while I sculpt, that or This American Life, and I am happy.  I made a few little creatures this weekend ;)

Later I will scrounge up the courage to tell you about the dreams that I have that seem to be connected to reality.  It is all very strange.  Mom believes me, Dad says it is just coincidence :)  All I know is that I dream.  I don't have cable or a radio with news in my room, so I am not getting subliminal messages.  And I am not crazy.  Am I?  ;)

♥,V

ps:  I saw, vampire flick, Let the right one in - good, not cheesy at all!  I also saw Tell No One - good too.  Saw a few others and can't remember?  My mind I tell ya...