Next

Since my crocheted blanket is almost finished, I am planning my next project. It is going to be a felt quilt, along the lines of this one, from the Purl Bee (but not so damn ugly!):



I am also going to use felt blocks, but I am going to sew it more invisibly and use better colors.

In fact, I am going to use old sweaters!

I found my first one the other day, in a bag of clothes on the sidewalk. It was a men's medium, but I threw it in the washer with hot water then in the dryer; now I doubt if a five year old could get his arm into it:



See, it turns into felt when you do that. You can cut it now, without it unraveling:



Cool, huh?

So if you have any old sweaters that are mostly wool or cashmere, please send them my way! Seriously!

Bismarck

You have already seen this mirror, but look at what lives on top of it:



That is a photograph of our family cat, Bismarck, taken fifteen or so years ago. He is lying on my sister Mona's bed in our house on Cleveland Crescent in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. I am not sure where the carved wooden frame came from, but at one time it had something else in it. One of my sisters tore out the other picture, trimmed this photograph to fit, and pasted it in.



Bismarck died in the late 1990s. A few years before, he had moved from Nova Scotia to an apartment in Toronto, where he wasn't allowed outside and there weren't too many people around. When he died I felt really sad, and I wished that his last years had been better.



But then I had a dream about him. I dreamed he was lying on Mona's bed, on that very same pink comforter, and purring and purring! It made me feel a lot better—I knew he was in a good place.

He was a good cat, as my grandfather might have said. I wish I could pet him right now!

Now THIS is crocheting

Click for more info. Thanks Peachy.

Found!

Tassels:



Piping:



In a "free" box. You need?

Sunrise on the farm

The rooster wakes me up every morning.

UPDATE: I agree with Greg that this looks more like "Aliens visit the farm."

Saturday

We slept in, then we had a nap.

Then it was time for a stroll around the neighborhood.



Emily's Pork Store:



Baguette, provolone, and a three-and-a-half-pound blade roast for tomorrow: $16

Found a penny!



Snacktime at Variety and a whole bunch of coffee:















Purchased some rapini and a new box of kosher salt. Then found an old-timey desk chair!






















Perfect condition except for some chipped paint and a bunch of dirt (and maybe a bit of rust). I'm going to clean it up.






















Home. I listened to the radio and sewed blanket squares together. My blanket is looking so great!



Hmmm. Now I am feeling peckish. And thinking about that bottle of wine in the kitchen (despite my excesses last night).

Halp!

I can't stop looking at those pictures of Walter!

Grainy stalkerish closeup:


















So enigmatic.

Walter is his own dog.

One more post about hobo pants

"Clothing: Clothes can be of any style, but generally consists of long-sleeved shirts, and denim pants, good denim pants are needed because the work and travel of the Hobo is rough, easily destroying clothing not made for the job. Too many attendants at the local mission are used to locals wearing what ever pants are given, and will not even try to understand the Hobo looking for the rough and tough pants that will endure a working punishment, and last for at least a year."

From hobo.com.

Sewing it together!

Walter

This is Walter:






















He is an old friend of Greg. We visited him in Vancouver.



He is so lovable! But somewhat inscrutable. Look at that face!

This is Greg's "Walter" bottle:


















Hee hee. Now the Walter bottle is mine! I traded with Greg for my MoMA-issue water bottle, which fits his mouf better.

Hobo signs

Thank you National Hobo Museum.

New look in the dining room

Greg gave a framed print as a Christmas gift, so we filled its spot on the wall with a few random items: ampersand (flea market), set of keys (street), and lobster trap bait bag (beach).

Not bad.

Ride the rails with me

Greg has perfected a certain aesthetic I call Hobo Style.



































(Or, as above, Hobo-Who-Found-a-J.-Crew-Sweater-Down-By-the-Railroad-Tracks-Style).

I wanted to try out a Lady Hobo Style, so on Monday we went to Dave's and got me my very own hobo pants. Check it out:



































AWESOME. They gotta be Carhartt B07 Denim Logger Dungarees, or why bother? Giant thighs, high waist, and buttons for suspenders—check! "Rigid" is an understatement—they can almost stand up by themselves.

OK, so yesterday I was looking at some clothes on the internet (yes, hobos use the internet—when they can find free wi-fi) and I came across these total Hobo Style pants!



































They are Yohji Yamamoto Tweed Suspender Pants. I saw them on totokaelo.com and here.

This is the wave of the future, people. Get on the hobo train before it leaves the station—you heard it here first.

True Up

If you are into fabric you will probably like this site. I like the calendar teatowels she posts every day, tho the pictures aren't great.

Greg and I exchanged bling for Christmas.

He gave me this, and I gave him this:



He is not so into Jesus, but he likes it!

Woo, eBay!

Development

Remember my very first post? Now our little house has a silo next door:

Fishs Eddy!

Holy moly, how did I not know this place existed? Once again Beth has blown my mind.

I got dishes:



Special glass for Greggy:



































Some mini crocks, cuz why not (four for a dollar)?













Special glass for me:



































And last but not least, Greg got me this:



Hee hee!



Grand total: $19.

!!

Errands yesterday...

...included the purchase of bulbs and fixtures for our two Harri Koskinen Block Lamps:



I bought one at the staff sale at work for, I think, two dollars? Then snagged the other one at the end of the sale, for free.

Background woodburnings by Greg.

I gave Greg a haircut

Perfect. I really don't think he could be any cuter.

Ideal subway ride

Sitting, crocheting, listening to Sherlock Holmes stories:



Greg got me The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes for Christmas. I could ride around forever.

Brick

Remember this?

I was passing by the yard where I found it, so I took a pic:

Morning times

This is a little cub.



This is a little horse.



In the mornings they hang out on the windowsill and shoot the shit.



UPDATE: omg lil cub is famous! Ron must have been feeling very jaunty this morning.

UPDATE 2: Holden Caulfield would say that they are "shooting the crap."

Elementary

I deduce that Sherlock Holmes has a brand-new Twitter feed!

Tweet me!

I am brooklyncodger.

Nice chair, right?

I found the frame on the street; it was painted a hideous brown over layers and layers of various other colors. It was upholstered with something equally ugly. I took FIVE layers of upholstery and dusty old padding off it. It was like unwrapping a mummy.






















Greg sanded the frame and I painted it (with paint found on the street). Greg did the upholstery using a pillowcase we already had and some new strapping. It worked out!

I heart free stuff!

Two things I like to look at while I work

On my bulletin board.

I forget where I picked up the postcard—at some flea market I think. The Charlie Brown/Van Gogh drawing by Kim Scafuro illustrated a review of Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography (2007), by David Michaelis, in the New York Times (I read the book - it's great).

Snack of champions

It tasted good.

hee hee hee

On January 10 at 02:59:36 PM someone Googled "dynavent wall furnaces". . . and ended up here.

Most favorite object ever

This belongs to Greg.

Getting there...

Found, by Jem

Another artwork saved from destruction. I found this down the street on trash night.











































Way to go, Jem! Good work.