More Woven Labels

I fall hook line and sinker for these and the blankies they're attached to.

The top image is a collection of brooches! Blanket labels covering sterling plate with sterling pin backs attached.

By Areta Wilkinson.
Available here.




n.

Named must your fear be before banish it you can.

~ Yoda

ARNICA

a plant with it's own website!

The Gentle Eye

of
JANE BOWN
100 Portraits

Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller, 1954
Francis Bacon, 1985
Moira Shearer, 1950


see the exhibition and buy the book

Some nws from designws.

a show in one of my favorite NL cities: Eindhoven (home of de Overslag):

TALENT 2009 - Between Dream and Reality
175 objects and installations by graduates of 30 European design institutes and universities.
October 16 - November 30

you've got 13 days.

E L K Calf

playing in a puddle.

I'm flipping out over this!

i thought i lost it

- this file of images from a long-gone studio.

but no!
It's here, and they're in it.
Anyway, a nice chance to recall the words of Lucinda.

Take a look at this (and don't be deterred by dorkiness) on home making, from the most well-mannered and modest of women, who makes life feel appealing, warm, intimate, real, and brave. Her own most direct literary ancestor was Jane Austen, as is made charmingly clear by a brief passage from the title story of her book The Lone Pilgrim:

Oh, domesticity! The wonder of dinner plates and cream pitchers. You know your friends by their ornaments. You want everything. If Mrs. A. has her mama's old jelly mold, you want one too, and everything else that goes with it -- the family, the tradition, the years of having jelly molded in it. We domestic sensualists live in a state of longing, no matter how comfortable our own places are.

-Laurie Colwin

I.D.

Lovely woven name labels from Cash's.

And something else special from them - for Sonj.

Saturday Afternoon

Look at those two beautiful loves of my life up there under the wreath.

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Yoga, organising, cleaning, picking a friend up from the airport, walking with the dogs, lunch with C+S, and later, baking banana bread. This is the best recipe I've found in 22 years. And one of the simplest. It presents the delicious combination of banana and lime. If you've ever juiced a lemon and poured it over sliced banana to prevent browning you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

The recipe is from one of the members of the familiar Moosewood Collective which compiled Sundays at Moosewood in 1990. It's by far my favorite of their books -the only one I've hung on to- as the recipes are diverse and truly appealing in terms of ingredients. Written by members based on their individual lineages and then grouped into corresponding geographic and cultural regions, it's like going through the inherited recipe boxes of all your friends.

This one is from the Caribbean (and I'm sorry I don't have a copy of the book with me to properly credit the author). You can omit the coconut, ginger or rum (or all three) and substitute spelt or kamut flour for wheat and still get a perfect bread. But don't -I mean, DO NOT- skip the glaze. It's nothing short of f'n fantastic. And if you just combine the glaze ingredients in a little saucepan and let them melt together on the stove top while the baking's happening you've simplified it further by nixing a step.

I spent part of 1991-2 living in Jamaica, working in a health centre in the parish of Clarendon located in the central part of the island. Over those 10 months or so I found friends and colleagues with some amazing names as well: Peaches, Missy, DonDon, Winsome, Miss Pink, Fancy, Blackjack...

I really think the author should've called this Freakout's Banana Bread.

*

YELLOWMAN'S BANANA BREAD


In St. Lucia and Anguilles, I made friends with some local people after repeated visits to the same beaches. I won't forget their great nicknames: Merit, Rah's Bucket, Campbell Soup, Sugar Ray, the Ram, So-lar, Freakout, Domino, Splif and Gorgeous. This tasty bread is named after Yellowman.

Yields 1 loaf.

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 bananas)
3 tablespoons milk (or plain yogurt)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup unsweetened grated coconut, toasted
2 cups unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

GLAZE
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon rum
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

TOPPING
1/4 cup unsweetened grated coconut, toasted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.
To make the batter, in a large mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter. Stir in the eggs, bananas, milk or yogurt, and lime juice. Add the salt, ginger, and grated coconut and mix well. Sift the flour and baking powder together in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix them until smooth. Pour the butter into the buttered loaf pan and bake for an hour, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the bread for about 10 minutes before removing it from the pan.
Meanwhile, for the glaze, combine the brown sugar, butter, rum, and lime juice in a small saucepan on low heat, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes, until it becomes a thin syrup. Pour this glaze over the loaf, spreading it with a spatula or spoon to coat the top and sides. Sprinkle toasted grated coconut evenly over the glazed loaf.

Joe Macca

Cedar Waxwing, 2009

oil and acrylic on panel

36" x 36"

Untitled, 2007
Acrylic and Oil Medium
45" x 45"

Images courtesy of PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, Oregon

p a r t y

it's up!

c a n d i c e t a r n o w s k i . c o m

I'm pouring us all champagne, even the kids.

in M E M O R I A M

TUCK

Dec. ? 1994 - Nov. 12 2009

- - -

C+S's dear guy passed on this morning ...
culminating an unexpectedly long and fantastically good lifetime, lived alongside two of the best humans possible, who adore him, and his companion Lily.

A million well wishes, Little Man.
And much love to C+S+L as they transition into a new phase as well.

Inside and Outside

Shiro Nakane of Nakane and Associates.

The preeminent landscape architect of our time. He and his family have renovated or restored the majority of the oldest and largest Zen gardens in Japan including Ryoan-ji, Kinkaku-ji, and Saiho-ji. They've also designed and built a number of contemporary Tea Gardens, Temple and Shrine Gardens and Karesnasui (dry landscape) Gardens.

The possessor must be the best designer... he sees his situation in all seasons, he observes a thousand hints that must escape a person who in a few days sketches out a pretty picture.
- Horace Walpole

Remembrance

Pia, again.

She's fantastic, as ever:

The people at The Daily newspaper asked me to draw the models at London fashion week. I enjoyed drawing and drinking champagne and feeling plump and badly dressed.

Kalle Kataila

KK, from Finland.

And the world that changes a little every day (The mountains seem ever more like mountains, the sea like the sea)

I love that her people always have their backs to the viewer.

Moccasins III

Beading's complete, and the left liner (fashioned in stroud) and moccasin are together.

This particular home-tanned moose hide moccasin is a pattern designed by the Northern Tutchone First Nations, as was the pattern for the duffle mittens posted in October.

In the top image (circa 1900. Glenbow Museum Archives. Calgary, Alberta, Canada): three Stoney women from the Morley Reserve in Alberta are shown scraping a hide. The hide would be stretched on the ground and worked with an ulu, an axe-like fleshing tool made from elk antler or wood, to remove the hair and thin the skin.

A fairly well-explained pattern for side-fold moccasins similar to those worn by many of the North American Plains Tribes is available here.

Amir Toos

Apologies, for it's so tiny:

The History of Hindostan by Firishtah Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah Astarabadi

Translated from the Persian by Alexander Dow
First published 1770-1772

Featuring tales of Amir Toos, a General in the government of the Persian district of Badwird who was defeated by the Turkmans.

And below, another, younger Amir Toos in NYC (wearing a fine example of the hunting jackets Woolrich made in the 1940's).

LB

Louise and Laurie (Bourgeois and Brown)

Two women who continue to put things into the world that please me greatly: redolent, turbulent objects and deviceful, delightful music & stories.

You can listen to LB (the Canadian) every night from 10 to midnight.

Moccasins II

beading has begun.

Making Moccasins

Another class with Shelby Blackjack, started last night.

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And a very special Happy Birthday to SESAME STREET!
They're 40 today.

The Tweedlebugs, Grover and John John.
And the op family.

Duffle Mittens V

They're all done!

on tuesday afternoon

we walk in the snow.

b l u e & r e d

today.

A mountain ash just outside this little blue downtown house ...heavy-laden with its gorgeous red berries, waiting for the birds to come feast.

Some very sad and beautiful photographs by Chris Jordan. He made these in early October on Midway Atoll, a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the North Pacific.

These are Albatross chicks, nesting babies whose parents have soared out over the vast polluted ocean, collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, tens of thousands of Albatross chicks perish every year by starvation, toxicity and choking.

Midway Atoll is part of the Rose Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, one of the world's most remote marine sanctuaries. It sits 2000 miles from Hawaii and is part of the territory of American Samoa.

Albatross are incredibly large, grand birds with feathers of pure white, a two-tone coral colour curved beak and deepest black eyes. Their giant adult size explains the capacity of the young ones' stomachs to contain so many objects.

Please think with love on these wonders of creation and give a donation to RSPB if you can.

Love Is the Only Force

capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.
- Martin Luther King Jr.

I'm looking forward to this.

And when I came across this again yesterday after lots of years, I right away wanted to give it to you:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves: "who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?"

Actually, who are we not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing Enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

- Nelson Mandela

Duffle Mitts IV

OK
the appliqué on the second mitten is done, fur liners are sewn in and edging criss-crossing is complete on both. I attached one of the creamy rabbit fur cuffs onto the left mitten today but will wait to take some pictures tomorrow when the other is in-progress.

And I had time to cut out another little (very little!, and very red) pair for the Pinecone today. I'll make grey rabbit fur liners for those as well, and add a braided string to slip inside the snowsuit.

What a treat to stay up late and DO STUFF! I'll pay tomorrow -a little- I'll pay a little.
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Look at this from Carolyn and Andy London of London Squared.
Thank You, D.
Love + miss you.
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A Big Fire

C, S, P and the dogs and I ripped it up last night with a great big fire, some good scotch and a few cheap marshmallows.
Such a beautiful fall night.
And this morning we woke up to falling snow.

Natural Bristle

...placed into some lovely brushes.

The numbered group is from Mason Pearson,

You can order this lovely one, handmade in Sweden, for next to nothing,

And I thought to include the print of the little brush-tailed rat kangaroo just because his tail is really something.

Kata Golda

i couldn't resist these cuties - Kata !

Duffle Mittens III

Finished the appliqué and embroidery on one mitten last night. Working on the other today.

Check out this and this with Ricky.

Duffle Mittens II

I got the rabbit fur liners all sewn up (blanket stitched). The right one needed gathering at the top as the front piece was larger than the bottom piece. I wish this'd been the case for the left as well = more fur around the tips of my fingers. I'll keep this in mind for the next pair.

And I started the polar bear appliqué.

Ode to a Nightingale

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Looking forward to Jane Campion's Bright Star with Abbie Cornish.

The content and costumes.

Abbie Cornish played lady-in-waiting Bess opposite Cate Blanchett's warrior queen in Elizabeth the Golden Age (2007).

Ms. Campion's next film is Runaway, based on Alice Munro's wonderful 2004 novel which won the Giller and the Commonwealth Writer's Prize that year. A recent interview with Eleanor W. can be found here.

Embroidered Paintings

in silk, from Vietnam. A 700 year-old tradition. These incredible demonstrations of labor-intensive handwork are owned by a friend who has traveled extensively there. I was able to take some pictures of them yesterday while the daylight was less grey.

The Cyril N.K. "Nordie" Kirk Collection

Acquired and used by RCMP Inspector "Nordie" and Leona Kirk while posted to Aklavik, Northwest Territories from July 1945 to July 1948.

3 delightful items made by Martha Stewart, the wife of Special Constable Andrew Stewart:
- a pair of moose hide and beaver fur mittens decorated with floral embroidery and lined with duffle with a braided yarn cord attached for hanging.
- and two pairs of moose hide, stroud and beaver fur mukluks. Covered with cotton fabric and hand-worked with embroidery and rick-rack.

The Kirk Collection is housed by the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

(I love the name Cyril)

Making Duffle Mittens

in a class taught by Shelby Blackjack. The exterior shell is evergreen duffle wool and I'm planning a little appliqué for the backs. Will continue to post images as this pair progresses.

Preparing Monday's Dinner

Braised lamb with red wine
Mashed butternut squash & potatoes with carmelised onions and peppers
Rapini with lemon
Green salad
Apple galette and vanilla cream
Chera's pumpkin pie


7 humans. 6 dogs.
Up early. Cooking all day. Chilly outside and the sun shining. Everyone arrived about 4:30 for drinking wine, eating cheeses and laughing. To sit down with my bests, this is the best, and this is the North: between dinner and dessert a long walk and game of tag in the woods lit by evening light.
Hands down one of the loveliest thanksgivings yet.

miniature blankets

worn on the outside of shoes = spats

...a lovely illustration in a pre-WWI French footwear advertisement of what looks to be a green wool pair, and on Bearcat Rod Taylor pictured with Dennis Cole in 1971 and below, a couple of contemporary examples from Maide attempting a comeback.

s a i p u a

stunning, packed bouquets from s a i p u a, and their blog is here.

Favorites:
dahlia
fresia
bush and tree peony
button mum
renunculus
garden rose
snap dragon
viola
sweet william

making other arrangements

Button and spider chrysanthemums, sedum, white roses, daisies, hydrangea, cedar, pine, boxwood, and the oft ignored carnation.

You and I

Sergey Dvortsevoy's Tulpan.

Making Arrangements

The fur-like Dalia printed fabric is from here.