Wristlets and Coffee Table

cuffs and table, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

I made these fabric wristlets a while back. I plan to make a bunch more.

My sister Michele Lucas, a wonderful painter, painted the table in which they rest.

We both love colour!!!

after the bath

this is one of the pivitol paintings
i saw as a child

a painting by the canadian painter Paul Peel

you see
there in the painting is a warm fire
and two children warming themselves after the bath

'how did they do it dad ?'
'how did they do it!'

'how did they get the fire in the painting?'

it glows
the light is magic

my father giggles, and admits
' i don't know '

i look around

perhaps one of the guards knows

i haven't the moxie

and stare in wonderment

* * * *

a gizzalion years later
my little nine year old bea

has had a bath

and parades inside her bedroom
wearing only a towel, on her head made into a turban
with a seashell tucked into the towelling fold

this is after the bath too
and i reminded of that other time

and this time

and i wonder too
about the magic in this moment

the joy
and the glow

true-blue

true-blue, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

bird and leaves

bird and leaves, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

very very short stories from the toy store: two boys and bundles of joy

here is the first story

two boys

one three
the other 2
adding in total years to five

with crisp fives
one a piece
in each of their hands
five fingers holding


because they have been very good boys
a chance to spend and purchase
a special little something

i direct them to the playmobile

'do you have any romans'
'sure here is a roman'
'that isn't a roman'

he's right
what the heck was i thinking

i try again

'ah here is a good roman'

this time i get it right almost

'do you have any bad romans?'


next story,

a report on babies
i see lots in the store
every one a winner
a ringer, a blue ribbon baby
beautiful perfect
open or shy

true

and then i ponder
about the bigger customers
the older ones,
the workers,
myself included

all of us started as these perfect true bundles
but now so much more complex
and floundering

and i think how did we all go from that to this?

ear-less

yesterday at work
while standing at the door greeting customers

a small girl with a sad face walked in

her head was wrapped in a turban of gauze
with her pony tail genie fashion sprouting out the top

of course i was curious
but knew better than to ask

all sorts ran through my head
cancer, some tragic accident

until i heard the story
told to another
while circulating
in the store

the small girl with the sad face
oddly made up with cosmetics, a pagent queen
having stumbled

the little girl had had an operation on her ears
it seemed it was the doctors opinion that ears
such as hers should be transformed into more
desirable ears

better ears i suppose?
not grandfather's ears

i think good ears are ones that function
but i like gap teeth
and delicious imperfection

i felt sad for this girl
no fault of her own

fixed
where
she

wasn't broken

tea pot pins

tea pot pins, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

Four pots are better than one.

tea pin

tea pin, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

take time to drink tea!

tuesday doodle horoscope fortune telling upside right cake delight

tuesday doodle 2, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

fortune telling
advice for myself, as dictated from my doodle
for this tuesday composed with the help of
the leafy tree muses and my dear friend the sun...

be prepared for the unexpected

trust that tea pots can fly

your cup becomes full without trying

your umbrella can be a helpful sunshade

let sleeping cats lie

xoxox

tomato red dress

tomato red dress, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

it fits real well.

sometimes i am scared of red
gravitating to greens

but i like the risk taking of red
and the vibrancy

i always like red in small ways
cherries on top of cupcakes
shoes at the end of an outfit
jaunty red kerchiefs around the necks of pirate dogs
red rubber balls with jax
and red food,
strawberries are my favorite

sometimes i wear this dress
and want to dance and sing
and contrast the green of the grass
and the shrubs
and feel
energetic
and full
of posibility

all that is

words have been slow

coralled into a spot at the back door
in a wire box, some escaped

landed in the lasagna i didn't make

time passes
back and forth

flow and not

rain always sets me right

to get new footing
i always embark on the task of buying new shoes

i got a pair yesterday
walking with achy legs
up yonge street

sort of sporty and casual
with so much comfort
you wouldn't believe it

i got a new part time job
at a toy store

a very nice toy store
in which i get to converse with great 8 year olds
and see lovely babies in strollers

and test out some of the toys

i read books
sometimes seeing authors i know

and then think of my words
and pictures

and serve the next customer

now is a fork in the road
mismatched from the spoon and knife
tucked away

but that shadow box logic
doesn't disturb

i am enjoying talking with others
up from the basement lair in which i do my other work

my feet are tirered
but the newness excites me

the charactors
and textures

the polite hellos
goodbyes

new and familiar
returning and expanding

rain always sets me right

summer with head in the sky

head, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

knit love purl two

pillow two boys detail, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

2 boys holding hands pillow detail

in which i used the following ingredients:
-old moth eatten wool blanket, heavily patched by me
-up-cycled wool sweater
-up cycled red angora sweater patch
-recovered second hand new gingham fabric
-recycled white sheeting, with original older illustration by me
in which i used markers, and chalk pastels on heat transfer (iron on)
-computer magic patch work, with vintage fabric collaged into heat transfer
-new stuffing

altered book becomes pillow

altered book becomes pillow, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

layers and layers of history and the touch of hand
start with a correspondance a reply to an altered book letter

collect up vintage fabrics unleashed unearthed from corners in attics and basement corners

let the fabric speak...

what's that, whispers me
fabric answers this there
that here

mix up the batter
combine lace
and drawings
some pixie dust

stuff
and
enjoy

goodEGG

goodEGG industries
A beautifully designed new on line shop featuring Canadian Craft Design.

I am happy to announce some of my greeting cards are available for purchase there.

today's work

heart and fabric button cards, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

greeting cards,

a little fellow holding a heart
and a fabric pin to wear!

I love seeing the repeat pattern in this.

george and owen

pillow george and owen detail, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

on a pillow.

xo

Large thanks for Small Press

A grand thank you to all those that made the Spring Toronto Small Press show a lovely show to be a part of.

Thank you as well to all the people that made it out for a visit.

book ish

book ish, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

Please come by,

The Toronto Small Press Fair
Saturday June 7th, 2008
Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre,
750 Spadina Avenue, Toronto

12pm-5pm
http://www.torontosmallpressbookfair.org/

Sassy unpacked

hey michele thanks for coming by and saying hello.
i really enjoyed sharing sweet potato fries with vicki,
thanks vicki


slo had beautiful shirts and purses

a jeweller i had never seen by the company name old western had
beautiful stuff too, raindrop necklaces, mushroom like vintage button pendants
and a very inspiring woodland suitcase display

kate, seemed to enjoy being in close proximity to the bar.

sales truth be told were a tad slow...

but hey the evening was lots of fun.

The Sassy Little Craft Show

book of love still life, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

Tonight!

I will have books of love, pouches, dolls, cards, and pins. Please do come by and say hello!

http://www.myspace.com/sassylittlecraftshow

Lexia Fortsien

lexia fortsien, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

This drawing is done by my lovely and wonderful daughter Beatrix, who is nine years old and loves comic books and graphic novels.

pillow with new chair

pillow with new chair, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

isn't this a neat chair, i am enjoying it so much. it has wings on the top. a fantabulous good will score. my husband and i carted it home with my little red metal wagon, which we keep on our porch for such finds.

pillow three for tea fiesta detail

pillow three for tea fiesta detail, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

I Pick Fights with Old Ladies in Coffee Shops

yes, it is true,

just ask krissy
'cause she was there

suddenly feeling like i wet my pants
shame faced i tried to explain my view

for being too loud

as the woman at the next table
gestured to me and told me to
'turn it down'

'am i being too loud'
her and her friend nod annoyed

i feel awful
in the moment of joy
this closing down

i initially apologize
but it sits on my chest
like the undigested
spanakopita that i have
just forked in

i make idle
chat
trying to let the women
be thankful for good hearing
i mention my mother
being deaf

ah yes, says one of course
that is why
subtext
you really arn't a brute, as you appeared
but do have a ligitimate reason

we will let you live

wait a friggin minute i say to myself
feeling trampled and shut down
feeling such shame
not intending to harm anyone
but also wanting to be able to raise
my voice our voices in joy and understanding
enjoying the moments and tea and the sun
coming in, in our own private space
wait a cotton pickin minute

this is not sitting down well with me
and at that point it might of been better
to take thich nat hanh's advice of
do nothing when you are angry

but i did it
i piped up for all it was worth
and said
i want you to know i feel awful
it feels as if you slapped me in the face

which at that time was not an exageration
i felt eight and too old to have wet my pants
shame
scolding

the old woman
who we suspect is never wrong
answers

i never wanted to slap anyone in the face
well that is what it felt like

the women turn inward
afraid perhaps,
wanting us to go away

and the woman who threw the gesture and words
says shame faced now
loud enough for our ears
no longer in her whisper tea room voice
now i am sitting here guilty for something that someone else did wrong

because of course she is always right'
i guess

really it was one of those situations
pema chodron calls them hooks
some people call them buttons
i have heard it reffered to as rattling someones cage

and the advice of the buddhist teacher chodron
is to notice it and choose peace
to not let yourself be hooked
based on non-violence and that we are all the same
self goo

i did get hooked,
cage rattled

and i did something so unusual for me
stood up and didn't accept it
let someone else know the consequence of their action

i am not sure i handled this situation well
too emotional too hooked but i did say what i wanted
conveyed to this other woman my feelings
from where i sat

by the window with the lovely orange gerbera daisy
single and fun in a jar on the table

next time
perhaps
i will try it again
only with more kindness

walking over
with civility
and saying
in quiet words

i am sorry you feel i am too loud
would you please come over to me
and tell me of your concern
instead of broadcasting it to the
entire room, as it makes me feel
terribly small, unimportant,
in the wrong and very embarrased

thank you.

so much for fights with old ladies
in coffee shops

i so much prefer love

pillow love and three flowers detail

pillow love and three flowers detail, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

full bloom

full bloom, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

new dress

new dress 2, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

self portrait in old new dress

a different pursuit

yesterday evening
while waiting for the delicious dinner to be done

we all played a board game

even grandma

a children's version of trivial pursuit

playing in the regular manor
taking turns from youngest to oldest
bea first pam last

the game proceeded
i won

but the lovely thing that happened
was another rule or way of doing came about
all on it's own

instead of being the sole answerer
you could 'defer' to someone who knows the answer
and if that person was willing to offer the help
you could take their better more confident answer

sort of like the life line idea of
'who wants to be a millionaire'

this game could be called
'who wants to be a community'

lately i have been thinking
about how people create their own hell

i see it often,
surely am a part of my own hell's creation

and keep going back to a story that i have heard
in various traditions
christian
jewish
buddhist

about the starving people
at the table

with long necks and short arms
that will starve
amist the gorgeous feast
unless they learn to feed each other

in our game,
in which we changed the rules
organically

the phrase
' i defer'
came to be one of the options


and it was a really good game

thanks boys, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

thanks boys!

Thank you to the boys who participated in my Mixed Media workshop: D.G, Christian, Jordan, Jonathon, Daniel, Anil and John, and to the staff especially Randi who organized the day and invited me to be a part of it. Thanks too to my sister for being such a good driver!

The day was a great success and the boys where brave enough to give one of my current passions a go; sewing on paper!
We cut and pasted, used fortune cookies for inspiration and lost ourselves in creating from such disposable treasures as the tops of potato bag sacks (they have nice sewn bits!), as well as ancient letraset ( "I have never seen anything like it in my life")
zippers, old maps and unusual books of Greek and Short Hand.

altered book project

altered book project, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

My friend Rhonda Nolan lives in the West end of the city, I live in the East end. Toronto is very big. Rhonda came up with the idea of doing an altered book by mail correspondance. This is my first page. I mailed it on the 28th of April. I am certain it has reached Rhonda by now so it is safe to post here and not spoil her surprize. Getting Rhonda's book with the altered pages was a lovely surprize because I didn't remember it was something we had agreed to do!

I am so looking forward to her response to my pages.

I really like this kind of communication.

needle, thread, glue ,rain, loose threads and some babble

biggie and little-y, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

Yesterday I had the unique opportunity of conducting a workshop day for a Home Schooling Conferance.

It was my pleasure to share the rainy day with such wonderful creative children. A special thank you to Theresa and Marina.

It was especially fun to help Sam sew for the first time, a natural with a needle and thread. I loved walking to the park with Dave and seeing the Magnolia trees in bloom. Great to see John and share in his humour. The day was really moist and the salad dressing was simply gorgeous. The bus ride home was hilarious, it was the philosophy bus with lots of opinions flying about, some disconcerning abuse directed at the driver after the ttc strike by an elderly woman who really was a very creative curser, so much so that even the driver found the humour in being dis-ed. I giggled to myself all the way home.

thank you

book of love standing, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

Wayzgoose was a wonderful day. Thank you to the organizers, participants and visitors.

Open Book

book of love heart pierced, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

Wayzgoose is this weekend. Me and my books of love are ready to go! I am so looking forward to this event, now in it's 30th year. Last year was my first time seeing the show, this year I am dee-lighted to be a participant. My friend James of 2X4 to the forehead, will be there with his wonderful stuff as well as the very talented Shannon Gerrard.

Wayzgoose is an annual book arts fair in Grimsby Ontario.
The show is on Saturday April 26th 2008
from 9-5pm

More information can be found at

www.town.grimsby.on.ca

Please come by and say 'hello'.

a small disjointed story about buying shoes

monday i meet my mother for a coffee

i had tea

then we went to look for shoes
for me

something summery
and servicable for the dog park

i try on two pairs, that i might of worn
at the age of 14, somehow i am still this age
sometimes with my mother

14 same height
different weight
similar responsibility
slightly more mature
but differing to mother's opinion
pleasing

the first pair, a bargain for converse high tops
a peculiar pair, grey and pink but somehow
desirable

the second pair, very practical sandles
hot pink with extremely comfortable insides

i think that i am always trying to capture that
first extraordinary shoe purchasing experience

it must of been the year of 1973
the shoes were very plain
brown lace ups with a crepe sole

i remember putting them on and
upon my mother and the sales person asking

'how do they feel?'

i responded by saying
in a lilting floating speech
"i feel as if i am walking on a cloud"

was it true that such spectacular shoe
design could afford this comfort, this
utter delight, this cradling, supporting
floaty feeling

yes!

and so i buy the pink shoes,
wearing them to find that they rub
here and there, and make my feet a little sweaty...

first shoe love
extraordinary as this 1973 crepe souled variety


happens
perhaps only once

owen my dog, and me his person

this afternoon,
around two

owen lays low
columbus is coming down the street
a fluffy little bicion pup
who's hair is stand upy on his head

us attached to leash on the other end
introduce
gail
kim

we talk puppies and dog training

the important thing to remember is hierarchy
oh yes

i suppose the owner should be the dominant one

yes

never let them on the sofa
and never the beds until the hierarchy is well established

owen sleeps on top of me on the sofa
his breathe lulls me to sleep on nights where i can not find my own relaxed rhythm
snoozing on my head my breathe and his breathe deep
i fall asleep
thank full

which brings me back to hierarchy
he listens to me
and returns to me usually
because he likes me
and i like him

i broke the cardinal rule
of never feeding your dog tidbits
when you eat,

from my bowl of portidge this morning
owen got to eat little bits of peach
oatbran too

usually when owen cries for me i listen
telling him it is okay i will be there in a minute

usually when i tell owen to drop it, to come, to sit
he listens

i know the dog training people wouldn't approve
of our relationship

but owen and i
are very happy with it
and each other

spring flowers

Stella 3, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

just beginning to peek up
hello little fellas

it has been donkey's years
since seeing sweet green

welcome home
welcome home

dear lovelies!

Wednesday

this is the day that used to be my father's day off
sometimes i would accompany my mother and him on a little day trip adventure
to a small town, up and down and an ice cream cone

my sister michele , the painter
one day helped me with my young bee
and had painting with- draw- al
we went to the goodwill
in the west
little italy
and bought for $10 a small coffee table
which she got her fix from
and painted
with a remnant of an ancient dishtowel
she collaged the word wednesday

today is this day
wednesday
and the sky is letting loose
and my words have seem to have evaporated
like the snow
but now rain down onto this electronic tablet

i navigate the day
winding in and out of memory
and actuallity

stumbling into potholes of newly uncovered earth
and misspelled words that surface
bubble to the top

wednesday will meet me in the basement
and in this underground lair
i will work,
putting together a small card order
and sewing many lavender scented books of love


today is wednesday
and it is raining down
raining
raining

down

new paint box

new paint box, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

up my sleeve

up my sleeve, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

have a fungi birthday

card fungi birthday, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

and if it isn't your birthday have a fungi day any way!

new card design now available in my etsy shop and also soon to be available at the fantastic paper goods shop 'the paper place' in toronto's west end on queen right near trinity bellwoods park, also to note, while i was there last, i did notice that the print gocco is once again being carried by the paper place (a.k.a. the japanese paper place in it's last incarnation) very happy to have them carry this new design and some of my others too!

please excuse bad spelling, bad grammer and ramble, very tired
where is the sun? is it spring yet? are those snow flakes? what northern latitude did you say toronto was on?

talk soon,
kim

please note too, that my dear blogger will not help with my spelling it just spews lots of odd letters when i ask it to...poor bloggy misses the warm sun and weather too!

lunchee date doodle

lunchee date doodle, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

monkey madness and other news

thank you to the participants in last saturday's workshop.
you inspired me.

just to note this saturday sandwiched between eggs and easter and good friday another workshop may happen, at nathalie-roze and company, this one on saturday 10-1pm, the theme, making sock monkeys...it should be as much fun as a barrel of them.

tibet lurks at the foremost
i am so sad at the violence and unrest in this part of the world,
as it happened before i heard the news i keept getting images in my mind of the wooly ox like creature, that i associate with tibet, my friend christian's music keept evoking this for me, lingerings and drawings of prayer flags and holy travelllers, resonating, deeply moving...

today rain, and dogs and snow heaps melting

rain i love, and the glow of the colours phospheresent dreamyness and cool rain, so quiet on the eyes

peace inner and outter i wish for myself and for you

love,
kim

tomorrow card making workshop at nathalie-roze

Hello.

Please do come. There is still some room in the workshop.

Head out of clouds and in the warm and friendly back room at Nathalie-Roze and Company.

Tomorrow, Saturday I will be offering my Creative Card Making workshop, a workshop just as much about process as product, unleash your creative card making genie and make some fabulous cards that only you could make.

Workshop time is 10am-1pm, treats are served at the break.


Please check out Nathalie-Rozes link, in my link list and click on workshop for more details.

smooth ride

The cab driver had hanging from the wind shield a heart.

Beautiful.

Beaded.

Christian asks, "What does it say?"

"Is it writing?"

The driver smiling says, "It is a name..."

"Alah, a name for the Muslim God."

I say,

"Yes, different names, many different names for the same God, Yes?"

Yes, yes the same one
large hand gestures
encompass inside the taxi and beyond

the drivers hands off the wheel
suddenly his hat transformed
from a grey fashionable flat top peaked cap
to something white,
a crochet of fine cotton

his practical jacket
a glowing white shirt

and suddenly

the sun is warmer
and fiddlers are dancing on roofs

back inside the taxi

The trinity laughs in mutual agreement
and the ride continues, so very smooth.

head in the clouds

cloud silver studded, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

oh dear i forgot to mention my dear friend who is visiting from berlin
had a concert....

it is here i remove head from clouds and mention he is performing tonight a co-production of the goethe institute here in toronto and the new music series please check out either of their fine websites for detail

find out just who the german avant-garde composer dieter schnebel is...you have been wondering have you not?!

also i have a class on saturday morning (maybe, veilleicht?)for creative card making at nathalie-roze and company please see her link at bottom of bloggy page, the last few classes have not happened due to too few students who wish to take them....crash there goes the ego...oh well.

love and best wishes your friend,
kim

T'ai Chi

T'ai Chi , originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

42

recently (march 1st) i turned forty two.
here is my ambling post, much like drifting clouds that is an ode to that
moominmama's memoirs, a little barbamama music

forty two is the age that my mother had me
this old!
this young!

42 as readers of a " hitch hikers guide to the galaxy" know is the meaning to life the universe and everything...i couldn't agree more, in the middle ages i would of been dead, well past most things with no teeth even

i am quite spry, although i have this small pulled muscel since after the big snow, from trudging and shov'ling and it makes for sitting lotus position quite painful

the sad thing for me about getting older is not growing physically in height, i stopped at 14, about 5' feet, surely if i squeeze i can make it to say 5' 4"...but really my hobbit nature and appearance (minus hairy feet) i am growing into

on my birthday i had to stare down a pit bull. i became a tree as my small dog owen hid between my legs, i stared into the dogs eyes and said "no". I must of been about 8 feet at that moment, after wards I wanted to puke , but i concured a fear at that moment, saying in my head at the sad possiblities of what could of been " no this isn't going to happen" growth i felt it.

for this birthday i embraced hobbit and greek tradition and gave out presents, did get an amazing poem bookmark from wonderful Bea that reads " love is silly and warm and funny and good and love is evrything "

the next day i recieved a lovely necklace of turquoise of my own choosing

one wonderful thing about 42 is being old enough to say about good old friends " i have known him for 20 years or more"
this i can say about a good friend who will be visiting from Berlin, he shares a very close birthday and the same birth year..

42 more reasons i am liking this spoke in the wheel
1. i am still alive
2. cloud watching
3. tea
4. learning t'ai chi
5. further investigations of buddhism
6. new friends
7. old friends
8. family
9. being a mum ( Bea who is at the top of this list)
10. being a wife ( Jay who is at the top of this list holding Bea's hand)
11. having a dog
12. and a lovely cat
13. less shoes that i like more
14. less clothing that is more comfortable
15. colour!
16. sewing by hand
17. sewing by machine
18. love (which really is number one!)
19. food
20. cooking
21. cleaning with out chemicals
22. walking
23. silence
24. space
25. listening
26. reading
27. music
28. the internet and blog land
29. an audience for babbling
30. wondering who is out there
31. knowing very little
32. being happy
33. being okay with the wide spectrum of feelings
34. kindness
35. health
36. certain wonderful movies
37. less television
38. less shopping
39. me-ness
40. light
41. numbers
42. possiblity

today i didn't notice the sky

cloud winter dance, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

a matter of survival, really and head in the clouds so to speak,
interior landscape sunny, and warm outside another matter, sunny and cold. crinkly cold. the kind that does odd things to inorganic fabric, the cold that even the dog doesn't enjoy, the cold that has the crossing guard drinking warm coffee...but i like it today, knowing that this deep freeze this vice of cold that is holding us in it's grip will pass, faith and experience and the weather watchers say that even next week the temperature will be in the plus. i am dressed today like i live in a cabin in the woods, worn brown corduroy trousers, olive green soft tee, an old plaid shirt, flannel material from jay, i think maybe stewart tartan, argyl wooly tights, under the trousers, a little orange patterned scarf at the throat protecting another warm outer layer of deep chocolate brown heavy knit sweater, and outside i further pile it on, lavender warmth in my scarf, hand made mittens by slo upcycled from old sweaters, a striped hat from jay, angora, hood on...warm kamik winter ski-doo boots, nostalgia about this weather too since it has been warm winters, mild and snowless for so many years. i remember a woman named juanita that i went to art school with that said that she enjoyed this weather and that wonderful feeling of coming indoors to warmth. juanita was warm and smiling almost always, i like her perspective. instead of bracing and pretending, really embracing, looking deeply into sky, listening to the crunch of boots on ice being here now, because the rest really is just fantasy.

long thin strings of cloud

cloud number forty two, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

go across the frozen sky this morning
tiny cracks and cranies of blue reveal a sky
behind cold white bleakness
dark grey watercolour marks across the sky's page

the little bubble earth contained today in cold
and stark and finger nipping weather

we talk alot about the weather here
and the ups and downs of this winter
have been radical
green and fragrant, cold and frost
jumping like someone that isn't in the drivers seat of their emotions

this winter has been long and strange

and i am still gazing at the sky

today's sky

cloud gentle rain, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

as i stepped out into the icy field with owen,
the sky had long clouds, rimmed in pink

moments later the sky was again cloudless
but white at the bottom fading gently into a greyblueness

more skies to come...

cloud rider

cloud rider embroidery, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

much interest in clouds

bought a book on weather

cloud species
cloud streets

such lovely language of the sky

looking into cloud symbolism
in China, symbol of peace
taoist symbol yin and yang in harmony
Christ symbol, behind the vale, truth

the sky is a part of nature one can appreciate even in a city

today i noticed after many days a cloudless sky,
so blue
sun so bright

people happy with this clear and sunny day

symbol of fertility also clouds bearing rain

more cloud study to come...

cloud slight drizzle with button sun

cloud slight drizzle with button sun, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

play book

play book, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

a little instruction manual for play,
blank inside...because play is like that

hoping from one pebble thought to another

dreaming of fabric clouds

looking into old correspondance

listening to the sounds.

To China

travel pouch 5, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

This is the travel pouch that I made for my niece. She and the pouch are travelling to China. Very exciting!

happy valentine's day

heart bird ric rac flower, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

love to you

may your hearts be happy

current activity

shove
ling
the
snow

hey let's make monkeys!

I will be teaching a sock monkey making workshop at Nathalie-Roze and Co.
Please join us for monkey making fun. Check out the link at Nathalie-Rozes shop for workshop details.

Hand stitch a classic folk toy. An heirloom project that I think you will enjoy!

thank you

leather handle, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

to all those that came to the Valentine's Trunk Show, dispite the bitterly cold weather I thank you!.

take heart kitty

heart pin snow kitty, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

snow falls

spring comes

the key
unlocks the door
where warm saucers of milk are

take heart kitty
dressed in your warm pink duffle

take heart kitty

spring comes after winter
after snows fall

card making workshop

love on the rocks, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

Please come to my card making workshop. Just in time for Valentine's Day! Make your sweetie a card to remember. Featuring sewing on paper, and using every day bits and bobs.

This Saturday 10-1pm at Nathalie-Roze and Co.
(please click on her shop link to see the fine details)

An important feature:

Tea and scones will be served!

Spring flower bed

Spring flower bed, originally uploaded by Kim's Suitcase.

I like to recycle.

For this weeks theme at illustration friday, it is blanket.
I thought of this old drawing, of a couple of years ago.