It has been somewhat gloomy lately here in Oakland; there is even the chance for some unseasonable rain tonight and tomorrow morning. The lemon plant, however, does not seem to mind. It is going through more blooming, and I hope that the apiary that was here earlier is still around so that more lemons can be in the works for Dan and I. I hope that we get enough so that I can try my hand at some preserved lemons. The aphid infestation seems to be slowed down, but I have broken my spray bottle, so the fight will have to be on hold for a little while. The dill is not looking so good after all of this. Hopefully it pulls through. The beans, however, are starting to finally produce something. We had our first harvest of five beans this past weekend. I wished in a way that I would have waited because there are a few more now on the plant. We could have almost had enough for a meal for two if I would have waited.



The destashing is continuing here in the studio. Today I am listing up some medium triangular bails for purchase. There are two lots of 130 pieces each.



They are made of base metal and are great for use with pendants and other drop style gems with straight holes. They measure 5/16" or 8.3 mm



You could use them for Scrabble tile pendants if you wanted to drill holes in them. I originally used them to hang Swarovski crystals in some of my jewelry experiments. Hopefully they find a good home.

Today I am going to finally finish some personal projects. I worked on some of those yesterday around some more housecleaning as well as some hand sewing on one of the belts. I mended a torn skirt and also worked on my 20 yard skirt that I began for Chaos Wars but did not get finished. Yesterday I rolled the bottom hem, and 20 yards really is a long hem to roll! Today I need to adjust the elastic in the skirt and then make some corrections to the bottom ruffle. I also have to mend my green skirt that I treated myself to at Fat Chance. It got ripped at Chaos Wars, and luckily it happened right in a seam. That is what I get for wearing my nice things out of the studio! I then have a lunch meeting with a friend and a sewing meeting at 826 Valencia to talk about tent reconstruction and curtains that we need in the lab to cover the white boards. Both projects sound like a lot of fun. I cannot wait.

This weekend was more productive than I thought it was going to be seeing how little work I got done on Friday. I was so hesitant in working on the elephant and peacock belt because I am terrified of messing it up, that I fiddled around with ideas for way too long. I finally decided to just dive in and see what happens around 4 pm, so while not a lot got done, it did get started. Sometimes for me that is a majority of the battle. I cannot wait to get back to work on it today once I am done writing. Saturday was started off with Brunch with our friend at the Foreign Cinema in San Francisco. It was a really nice day, so we opted to sit outside to eat. The food was great and the atmosphere was also pleasing due to the unbelievably pleasant weather. Dan has declared that we must do brunch more often when the weather is like it was yesterday. We went from there to see the movie Moon. I liked it very much, but others in the group were not as big of fans. I am not one to spoil movies, so you will have to see it for yourself and make your own judgments.

Sunday was spent in a rather lazy manner. I tried to call the parents but they were not available, so Dad if you are reading this today, Happy Father's Day. I worked on a set of blue hairfalls most of the day, and they are almost finished. I hope to have them completed tonight and photographed tomorrow for listing. The garden loved the warm weather this weekend, and it seems like I can see a difference in the size of the plants from Friday to today. Hopefully the warm weather we are supposed to have this week will help this growth spurt. The radishes have all sprouted up, but there is no sign of the green onions. Hopefully they will appear soon. I will take pictures of them tomorrow.

The destash continues in my Etsy shop I am continuing to enjoy myself in finding things I no longer plan to use and listing them. I am not quite sure what is wrong with me, but the decorative placement of jewelry findings into neat patterns for my listing photographs has been oddly enjoyable.



I guess it is all those days of tangogram playing catching up with me. Well the sewing machine is calling, and I want to get this belt underway. Hopefully I will have this belt finished before Dan's brother comes to visit this week. I have a feeling that I will get little done while he is here, but that is a good thing. I miss Greg and cannot wait to see him when he gets here. With that in mind though, off to get as much done today as possible.

We went to see Spamalot last night in San Francisco, and I enjoyed watching the light hearted romp through some of the highlights from Monty Python lines and scenes. It was nice to revisit them in a live format and without having to supervise a classroom of high school seniors. We even got to go out for dinner afterward. It was so nice out in the city we sat outside to eat which seems to be a rarity this summer. Alas, the good weather is not holding out though. The fog is already rolling in at 12 pm, and the plants will most likely be denied their full sunshine of the afternoon that they so desperately need. These shifts in weather don't deter the birds though. They seem to be getting more and more used to me sitting and watching them on the patio through the open balcony doors.

In recent days, I have been trying to dive into making the embroidered belt. It is rather nerve racking as I have spent significant hours working on the pieces and I would be so sad to ruin them when constructing the belt. I guess the best thing is to just dive in, but I am still really nervous. In all the thinking and procrastination time I have managed to catch up on my way over due personal check balancing and also discovered some supplies for destashing on the Etsy shop. It has been fun thinking about the belt issues while creating decorative displays out of unused mirrors and jewelry findings.



I am getting rid of this circle cutting mat since I don't need it after the upgrade to my Olfa circle cutter.



There are also sets of mirrors both small and medium sized that would be great for mosaic work or making shrines or some other crafts.



There are also many jewelry findings that I am taking pictures of as well. I will be slowly uploading all the items over the next few days as I need breaks from all the hand sewing and work I am doing. I also will have a big announcement for me in the next week. I still have some things to confirm before I can talk about the details.

Today I am on usual Friday housework schedule as well as cutting out the pieces for the belt and a pair of pants. I would like to fix a choli of mine that I managed to rip, but I will leave that as a "reward" if I get down to work. I guess I better get to it all if I want to get my things repaired!