Chapter's end

When packing house, I always seem to leave alot of things until the last minute, because I just can't bare to stuff it away in a box.

But packed they must be, and the house must be emptied. This is a hard time of year to move, everything around me is so exquisitely beautiful here in the autumn, it makes it very hard to remember why I have to move!

But I know that where I'm going is beautiful too.

And safe. And friendly. And when we are centered within ourselves, anywhere can be a nest.

(nest art installation by anawojak, all other images mine.)

Rust never sleeps

The front page of Etsy was lovely today, I'm glad I caught it! (click to see bigger)

'Sally In the Woods'
a new wrist cuff ready for listing tonight; hand-dyed crochet scraps, vintage sequin-sprinkled netting, custom-dyed eyelet lace trim, Victorian medieval style button, vintage embellishments, 1930s coat lining.

The costumes of A Series of Unfortunate Events (I love the production design in this entire movie- oh to live at Olaf's mansion!)

'Savoy' by Langley

'Shady Lane' by Midwinter

1970s-1980s farmhouse kitchen style. None of the gingham and raffia, all of the iron and stone. I especially love the second plate with the cow parsley; silhouettes of trees and dried grasses are really getting to me lately- I can't shake the feeling and nor do I want to, there's something comforting in it that echoes my early childhood.

One more thing- a new discovery- Locationworks.com They have the most amazing online database of house available for filming, the rustic/ruined/abandoned locations are absolutely breath-taking.

One house I have fallen in love with I have dubbed Greenhall Manor.

I love looking at this site (and haven't finished exploring it by half) but I must admit I cannot drift around it for too long without my heart breaking at these gorgeous old houses going to wreck and ruin. I know they cost a king's ransom to heat (though a few solar panels on the roof would solve that!) and upkeep- I just hope whoever owns them is using the location fees to ensure that the house never actually crumbles, despite it looking so. That would be my perfect house.

Dead Men tell no tales...

Avast! Hold still yer tongue and sit ye down a while, I have tell of a tale that I would share on this day.

'Twere not so long ago- though longer now that I ought to feel right with- that I were taken as it were by the spirit of the buccaneer. A young thing of eleven years only, I was, when first came to me a dread pirate by the name of One-Eyed Willie.

He were mighty sort- though a little boney- who ruled the sea in his day on a great furl-sailed beast, the Inferno. She were a proud ship, proud as her master, and I loved her the moment I saw 'er.

Since Willy's time (well it was 1985!) there have been many pirate movies I did take a liking too:

(well, not all pirates sail the earth!)

But listen now, and here the next chapter, for I'm not done yet. Not but a short time ago, there came another, and his capture of my heart was almost more than a lass ought to bare. He wiped out all other pirates- aye, even Captain Hook!- and stood highest in my mind as the bestest pirate ever:

And his name were not Sparrow.

Fond as I am for takin' up with the villain, I naturally took straight away to this brave sea dog (though the act of him being Geoffrey Rush in a pirate costume no doubt did all the work)! And it's this handsome and rugged pirate lord who inspired my fine creation for this grand event....

The Swashbuckler Soiree!

Transalation for those who don't speak buccaneer:


I've always loved pirates. The Goonies was and still is my ultimate all time favourite movie ever. It's a generation thing I think, I'll be honest and say it's no great feat of cinema, but there's something about it's mixture of piracy, inept criminals, smart-mouthed kids and the breath-taking Oregon coastline scenery that combines to make something I love.


Since Goonies there have been other movies that feature pirates, though none of them particularly smashing. Cutthroat Island is too cheesy, Muppet Treasure Island is wonderful though not nearly enough Tim Curry, and Treasure Planet is...well, pretty good actually. And then there's Hook. I like Hook, but only the bits with Captain Hook himself, because I seem to have a thing for the villain.


Moving on...Donna set the challenge simply as 'pirates', and that we should interpret this as we will. So in addition to creating a post on my life-long geekery for the filthy brigands, I made me a hat!




I've had the black hat base laying around for ages. To the mortal eye it appeared a simple flat, wide brimmed hat, but it didn't take my keen 'I can do something with that' brain to realise if you flipped up the sides, it became a tri-corn.

(Aren't I fetching? Chaos of studio blurred out for your protection.) Once I'd gathered up the materials it was a simple task of shoving them all in the hat. Sort of.

You can't even see the hat part anymore, it's just a big festival of feathers and lace!

With a needle and thread I stitched the lace trim around the edge, and then quite alot of swearing ensued as I traipsed all over the house for 'the right bits'. But I'm pleased with the result. I added a few bits of dried cow parsley in there as well- not strictly piratey, but I can't seem to help adding a dash of faery to these sorts of things, so let's called it a faery pirate hat!

As seen here, modelled by the lovely Bellatrix (points for guessing my other geek interest!) -a 1930s dress shop mannequin.