Museum Visit

 Yesterday was World Embroidery Day so thought I’d share our visit of July 11th to the Central State Museum of Kazakhstan located in Almaty.

From 1931, the museum was based in a former cathedral (built by A.P. Zenkov between 1904-1907) but a new building was designed and erected in 1985.

 It is said to be one of the biggest museums in Central Asia and houses a collection of more than 300,000 artifacts across 7 main exhibition halls.

My favorite sections of any museum are always those that depict the traditional culture, life, household items and arts and crafts of a place and its people which always includes textiles that are woven or stitched or hooked.

The last exhibit we entered showcased collections of clothing, crafts and other items particular to many of the different Central Asian ethnic groups.

Although the grounds surrounding the museum were a big mess with some sort of revitalization going on, inside everything was very organized and a pleasure to walk through, providing inspiration via the craftsmanship and artistry of long ago 

Hope you enjoyed this quick tour.

Sunday blessings.

Long Time

 Three months since my last post.

Where do I begin?

We traveled to Bishkek, Kyrgystan end of April-early May where I sprained my left wrist while on a hike and that meant I had to abandon the 100 day creativity project.  (It took nearly a month for my wrist to heal.)

(Alamedin Gorge, Bishkek, Kyrgystan, May 2, 2022)

At the end of May, I went to the States for a month to see my boys and to be with my mom when she had wrist surgery.  (She fell months earlier and the bone did not heal properly so surgery was necessary to try to get some movement back in her wrist/hand/fingers.)

(Idaho Springs, Colorado, June 18, 2022)

Just as I got over the jet lag from that trip, we went to Almaty, Kazakhstan for 5 days.  Unfortunately, a nagging eye problem had me in bed our last afternoon there and once back in Kuwait, a doctor's visit was necessary. (Thankfully, the two eyedrops, ointment, and two different pills did the trick after about a week and my eye finally feels fine.) (Statue of Kazakh composer, Mukan Tolebayav, Almaty, Kazakhstan, July 11, 2022)

Yesterday was the first day that I stepped out the front door since we got back from Kazakhstan on the 13th (except for going to the eye doctor).

I met up with my crafty friend, Zhraa, who gifted me with a belated birthday gift (that she apparently had to totally redo -- my birthday was in February).

Traditional granny squares are my favorite and I'm so in love with how colorful and beautiful this sweater is.  She even ordered a special tag to attach to it that is totally awesome and so true since it really did take her freaking forever to finish.

She said she missed my IG posts about my neighborhood walks so I forced myself out the door this morning for a wander which always includes picking up litter and feeding kitties.  Before 9:00 a.m., the temperature is still just below 100 F so I need to get out before then if I'm going to keep this up.

As always, I hope this finds you doing well.

Take care.

Darn!

 I broke my streak.

Completely forgot about posting yesterday.  Actually, I remembered right after I laid my head on my pillow, but it was already 11:30 p.m. and I did not want to get out of bed.  :)

I had something else planned for day 26 of the 100 day creative challenge I am doing but it just didn't work out.  So, the default option is always hearts.

First thing this morning while having coffee and visiting blogs, I saw Maya Kuzman's post for granny stripe circles so that was the first thing on my agenda for day 27.  I thought I'd get a couple more done but had to abandon one due to failing at yarn chicken (was using leftover cotton) and then I just ran out of time.

I really need to plan ahead and get things done earlier.

It's 10:55 p.m. and time for bed, again.

Hope your Wednesday is wonderful.

Quick Stitch

 More major cleaning needed to happen today so I was only able to sit down this evening for a very quick stitch.

The pattern is a Monday motif freebie from the IG account @thetatreezcircle that promotes Palestinian embroidery.  The pattern is coffee beans from Jaffa and Gaza in Palestine.  I just happened to have a little frame that it fit perfectly in.

Best wishes for a new week.

Adding On

 There wasn't much time for crafting today.

We've had a lot of hazy, dusty weather lately with the air quality today rated as "hazardous".  So, even though my husband thinks I'm crazy for dusting when it's dusty outside, I have to clean when the mood strikes and today was the day for some deep cleaning.

This evening I sat down to add a few rows to a simple granny square, my favorite to make.  I have loads started and whenever I come across an odd ball of yarn, I'll find a square where the color will match best and then do as many rounds as I can.

Sometimes simple is best.

Sunday blessings.

A Better Square

 Today's tapestry crochet square was much easier than yesterday's mosaic crochet.

I'm satisfied with the results, though I would sometimes forget to change color in the right spot and need to work on better tension when working over the yarn being carried across the row.The design is the dove afghan square by Lisa Hamblin which can be found at crochetnmore.com

Tomorrow is the release of the 4th pattern.

If you are on Instagram you can check @alessiafiberart or @bokkyshome for updates.

World peace must develop from inner peace. Peace is not just mere absence of violence. Peace is, I think, the manifestation of human compassion.
(Dalai Lama XIV)

Have a good day.

No. 2 of the Peace CAL

 Well friends, I did try, but mosaic crochet is not for me.

The design is by Tinna Thorudottir Thorvaldar who is the queen of mosaic crochet.  You can find her on YouTube or on Instagram @tinnahekl 

Her work is truly incredible.

The YouTube tutorial she made was excellent.

My skills are not.

It does look the way it's supposed to; it's just not very neatly done.  The white yarn I used was too thin and hard to work with.

I may try again with better yarn but truthfully, the tutorial was an hour and a half so it obviously took way longer than that since I stopped and started and rewound it quite often.

I much prefer the satisfaction of quick and easy projects.

Peace Sign Crochet

There's a crochet for peace cal (crochet-along) taking place on Instagram with a new pattern being released every Sunday for 9 weeks.

The peace sign was the first one posted 3 Sundays ago.  I wasn't sure if I was going to join the cal but decided to give it a go today (even though color changes are not my favorite thing to do)

It wasn't too bad.  Wish I had used different yarn but I just grabbed what I had on hand that I thought might work.

Now the question is, will I give the other two patterns a go (one is mosaic crochet and the other is tapestry) before the next one is released this coming Sunday?

More Peace

Peace may sound simple - one beautiful word - but it requires everything we have, every quality, every strength, every dream, every high ideal.

 (Yehudi Menuhin)

Have a peaceful day.

May Peace Abide

 Selenophile.
A person who is fond of the moon.

My husband called me more than once this month to tell me to go outside and look at the moon.

Came across this quote by Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 Astronaut, that accurately describes how I feel about politics and all disrupters of peace in this world.

You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say,

‘Look at that, you son of a bitch.”

Made a very small start on a free cross-stitch pattern from Beth Twist at Heartstrings Samplery who modified her original design that said "Within this house may peace abide" to "Around the world may peace abide".

More to come.

Take care.

The Color of Cheer

 Today was all about the color yellow.

Always easy to find in our surroundings.

We find from experience that yellow excites a warm and agreeable impression … The eye is gladdened, the heart expanded and cheered, a glow seems at once to breathe toward us.

(Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe)

Can you spot what's in the next photo waiting to ambush unsuspecting insects?

It's a crab spider.

Over several days, they are able to take on the color of the flower so that they blend in.

It sure worked because I didn't notice it was there until I got home and looked at the pictures up close.

Happy Monday.

Not So Quick After All

 It is way past my bedtime.

This little egg should have been a quick project but I had to put it down and pick it back up again many times throughout the day and night, so didn't finish until 10:05 p.m.

And then I had to call my mom.  And now it's 11:24 p.m.

(I'm an early bird, not a night owl.)

Blessings to all.

Goodnight.

Found on the Ground

 I often find plastic curtain rings when I am out on my walks and when I do I always pick them up.Of course, I wash them when I get home, but once the crochet is added you'd never know they were meant for the trash.

I still need to add the finishing touches, like these I made in March.

Maybe I'll cross-stitch flowers this time.

Find a bag, fill a bag.

There's always plastic bags floating around so I'll grab it and fill it, then find the nearest trashcan.

When I was heading back towards home, I came across a pile of rubble with a pretty painted wooden bucket tossed on top so, of course, I grabbed it.  The wood is cracked at the bottom, but other than that, it's still definitely usable.

One man's trash is another (wo)man's treasure.

Happy Saturday!

Color X's 4

 While going through some papers, I found a hastily written crochet pattern on the corner of an old bank statement so grabbed my hook and some thick cotton (the same I use for my crocheted hearts)  and made the pattern in 4 different colors.  I have no idea why or when I wrote it or where I even got it from.

When  I took a  late morning walk, I decided to find things that matched the colors I had used - purple, pink, blue and beige - and also left a little love along the way.

Wishing you  a very good Friday!

Adding Color

While going through an overflowing basket full of craft supplies, I found an old coffee can stuffed with yarn scraps.

There wasn't too much of any one color so I had to think small.  Started with some flowers, a couple of leaves and then the rest of the yarn was tied together and worked in the round then attached all together.

It added some color to our dusty day along with the flowers I saw on my walk.

Flowers are like friends, they bring color to your world.

(Unknown)

Did some plalking (picking up litter while walking) at and around the park.

Saw a golden glow through my bedroom window so captured the sunset.

Then followed the moon around on a quick evening walk.

Always love when it's positioned right above the minaret.

May your day be filled with happy moments.

Simple and Stripey

 Today's project is a washcloth.

I watched a video tutorial on the Instagram account of Sutton Foster in which she was teaching the basics of crochet.  Although I do know the basics, she makes me laugh and we could all use some joy,  humor and inspiration right now.

If you've not heard of her, she just did the Broadway Show The Music Man with Hugh Jackman.  She's also written a book called HOOKED: How Crafting Saved My Life that I would really like to read some day.  We have small bookstores here with very limited selections so I'll have to wait until I travel to the States sometime this summer.

I am late posting and it's already past my bedtime so goodnight from here.

Love Always Wins

 A quick cross-stitch for today.

A photo snapped on one of my neighborhood walks.

And a picture I took at a store when we were in Colombo, Sri Lanka at the end of February.

Sending love to all.

Marveling and Making

 I had a different creative project in mind for today, but after a walk to the park, I decided to crochet a little nest.

I found a tiny, precious fledgling that sadly had fallen to the sidewalk so dug a hole nearby to bury it.  And then when I was cleaning up some trash along the fence, I found a bird's nest on the ground.  I'm not sure the pictures show just how wonderfully woven it is with bits of nature and (unfortunately) some plastic, too.  Such incredible work those little birdies can do.

I put some pretty painted eggs in my nest.

And also used it to collect some tiny potatoes that grew from sprouted spuds.  

Have a marvelous Monday.

Keeping it Simple

 Day 10 of the 100 days of creativity challenge.
1/10th of the way through.
Anyone think I can stay the course?

I took the yarn scraps from yesterday's projects and tied them all together, rolled them up into a ball, and then held that double with thin black cotton to make a very simple coaster.

We've had dusty weather for 4 days now, but I finally decided I needed to venture out anyways.  A quick walk to the park to check on some of my favorite kitties and, as always, finding a plastic bag on the loose and filling it up with trash.

Hope you're having a good weekend.

Sunday blessings.

Stars and Stashbusting

 Found a gold star on a walk the other day that inspired today's crochet.  

All it took was a little bit of white yarn held double with some golden thread to make several little sparkly stars.

The white acrylic I used was found in a mess of yarn stuffed into a bag, so I went to work untangling it all and figuring out what I could do with it.

So nice to actually make something useful from the mess.

Hope your Saturday is a good one.