a bevy of birds

For reasons mostly unkown, birds have been popping up everywhere in our house. I know that birds are nothing new, and frankly, I've been a bit leary of birds simply because they seem to be popular in art and design these days. But all of a sudden, I'm addicted.

At a low point this summer Jay had a profound interaction with a tiny and precious winged creature. Soon after, we purchased a massive drawing by Nicholas DiGenova because the subject matter was timely and even better, it spoke to us both. The image above is just a detail - the piece houses mulitple creatures with multiple heads, referencing some psuedo-science from centuries past. Next up is a souvenir from my New York trip; I never leave the city without a visit to the American Folk Art Museum. I enjoy the museum itself, but I also love the great gift shop. This brooch with miniature blackbird satisfied a jewelry fix I didn't even know I had. Then some resin bird buttons are the best detail of an otherwise classic brown cardigan I also picked up in New York. This leaves only one more bird mention...and by far, the most personal.

I've been trying hard to get back into my own artwork for a few weeks now, which is never an easy goal. Without truly knowing why, I began making bird stencils while looking for a way to use common stamping materials. I think, deep down, I imagine birds as messengers and the work I've been experimenting with is all about the hidden messages women have a urgent need to release. So this is where my addiction has led me, birds teetering on my own white pages, a product of my own hands. But if they harken me into my studio, I take all my reservations and silly comments back.

Wings are just where it's at. And I wholeheartedly join the bird revolution.

where did my baby go?

Last weekend Sadie turned three. Three!

Time flying aside, I am most shocked by how seamlessly our relationship has welcomed real conversation. The two of us take the subway home everyday, which is almost an hour trip, and we fill each moment with words. Words that come out right, words that are strung together into sentences, words that communicate exactly what my three-year-old is thinking. I recently finished The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion and in it she reveals that when her daughter Quintana was young her husband would write down the things Quintana said on little scraps of paper. He put each scrap into a box partly for nostalgia, but mainly for when he wrote future novels that had children in them. As adults, there is simply no way we can recapture what comes out of a three-year-old's mouth without actually documenting the source. Inspired by this I have only written down one fragment (and mostly for Jay's benefit - I wanted to have a Sadie moment to share with him on the phone while he was in LA). Sadie was talking to Glen Miller, our cat, through the glass of our front door and she said: "stay back, you have to be safe and you not have shoes". Since then Sadie has explained to me that the whole reason why our cats stay inside is because they are shoeless. Of course. And it took a three-year-old to say it so clearly.

(At this very moment Sadie is piling her birthday cards, one by one, on Glen Miller as he sleeps on a stool. They are the funniest pair - not too long ago she bent down to within 1cm of his face and asked, "Are you sad? Are you sad? Are you sad?" Who wouldn't be when you are trying to sleep and a toddler is forcing you to study the poetry of Hallmark?)

So, a baby Sadie is not. A charming, unpredictable, inquisitive three-year-old is my girl today. And I have to say, I'm pretty stoked by that.

the forever socks

Finally I can turn in my DPNs, the red socks are done. I started these when my Dad had hip surgery back in February and they just hung around building s-l-o-w-l-y over time. Also, I made the first toe all wrong and had to rip it out after finishing and weaving in the ends - oops. But the best part was trying to take photos of my feet while Sadie was around, and as you can see, she had to get in on the action. Her striped pants deserve to be photographed though, so she can trump my new socks anytime.

Speaking of socks, I don't know how Elizabeth does it! She's so fearless...I have a hard enough time with this basic pattern from Fleece Artist. But at least I can join this group now on Flickr - because I have to admit, seeing handmade socks with a pair of great shoes leaves me feeling all tingly inside.

Sock details: Fleece Artist 100% Merino Washable wool and 2.5mm Pony DPNs.

Oh, and the cable idea has been approved. But how do I catch up on all the Mad Men that I've missed?