Calamity Kim

Coming soon to a theater near you...

Can't wait to see Fantastic Mr Fox....something to be Thankful for...cuss, yeah!

Amazing Quilts Carved from Wood by Fraser Smith

This is Fraser Smith.

He likes to carve clothing and quilts from wood.

His work blows me away! Tomorrow I am going on a field trip to the Florida International Museum at St Petersburg College to hear him talk about his work. It's part of the exhibit featuring Art Quilts from the Rocky Mountain Quilt museum on display from Nov 6, 2009 until January 10, 2010. They have speakers every Sat (and a few on Sundays). The events schedule is here so check it out and maybe plan a field trip of your own!

Happy Saturday!

Calamity Kim

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

You know I love a good novelty item.
Yes, I love kitsch!
Maybe it's tacky to you, but to a small town country girl like me, there's nothing better than dreaming of Paris at breakfast time!

Not only is this crazy fun but it allows me to stamp while I'm cooking!
What the French Toast??!! That's double fun, silly willy, Awesome!
I can only think of thing better than this.

And that's french toast with a side order of skullions!
What Would Julia Do?
She'd say: Bonjour! and Bon Appetit!

Check out Fred and Friends for more good clean fun. I love Fred! I think I'll marry him! Oh, wait, I already have a Fred Husband! Well- maybe I'll just admire him from a distance...

A Certain Coolness To The Breeze

"Then summer fades and passes and October comes. We'll smell smoke then, 
and feel an unexpected sharpness, a thrill of nervousness, swift elation, a  sense of sadness and departure."
-   Thomas Wolfe

Sitting here, drinking coffee, watching the sun reach for the top of the sky, I hear leaves dropping from the ficus tree in the backyard and I welcome the fall.

Fred opens the windows and says it's cool outside.

Disbelieving, I open the door to the back patio, scaring the squirrel eating his breakfast.

He chatters loudly.

The parrot in the neighbors lanai can whistle like a phone ringing and he always makes me smile.

The leaves are everywhere and continue to fall but never completely undress the tree. My yard looks abandoned. What witch lives here and never wanders out to pull weeds and plant herbs or gather mushrooms?

Even the spiders seem to have grown tired of their webs and forgotten this place. Waiting for the coolness of "winter" is an endless exercise in patience for most Floridians. It's wonderful to have warmth in the winter but summer almost dries you out, so completely, that it's difficult to remember that when it's in the 90's and 100% humid outside.

It's quiet without the noise of the air conditioner.

The breeze blows through the cattails and the light seems different somehow.

Less intense.

Softer, perhaps.

I was using Stumble Upon and I found soft sculpture by Melissa Sue Stanley and I feel inspired to go thread a needle and create something.

Thankful for the change that only this new season can bring.

Can it be the 6th of November already?

I feel time quickening, running faster to get to the end of this year and on to the next. Twenty Ten awaits.

I never thought I'd live this long.

Where are the flying cars?

The Barbarella suits?

Have a lovely weekend my friends.

love,

Calamity Kim and Earl the squirrel

Looking for Fall

"Delicious autumn!  My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth
seeking the successive autumns."

-   George Eliot

I miss Fall. Every year I put out the Halloween decorations and then take them down and look around for something Thankgiving-ish and despair at my lack of turkeys, pilgrims or Indians. I have a few fake leaves lying about. My friend Sara mailed me some leaves and acorns but the leaves turned from a gorgeous red to dark brown.So, there go the fake leaves...

Remove the spiders and BAM! It's suddenly Fall. Oh, I'm cheating! I should be buying some dang ol cornucopias and indian corn and making corn husk dolls. A few years ago I would have been doing those things and now I feel as though I have to channel my energy wisely. Put forth the greatest effort doing what really needs to be done. Like the laundry, the dishes, the housework. Like spinning wool and getting things made for Atomic Holiday Bazaar. Purses, tote bags, dolls, sock monkeys. Some kind of ornament for this year- maybe wool baby shoes. I've been thinking about all of that. The lighting is bad today and I can't summon the energy to fix that. There is a subtle coolness in the air. Like if you stand very still you can feel it. Once you move, the sweat starts to run again and the moment is lost. We went for a walk last night, breathing deep the different air, less humidity. wonderful. My sister said its cold in Pittsburgh. Its always cold there. I wish it were cold here. At least I got the table cleared and the Halloween decorations put away. I'm leaving it like that for this week. Maybe next week I can get my Pilgrim on. I haven't made corn husk dolls in many a year...how bout you? Ever make any?

Enjoy the day,

love & wishes for cold weather...

calamity kim

Happy November

Wow! October went rushing by, like a water skiing squirrel after 2 double espresso's.

Did you remember to turn your clocks back an hour? My Sister forgot to remind me, like she did this Spring when we turned them forward. That's OK, because Yahoo homepage told me so, it's all good.

I was just browsing Anthropologie as I am want to do on occasion and I spied this:

Magpie Chandelier

Be the first to write a review.

Found objects, trinkets and cast-offs revel in their new role as exuberant participants in this celebratory fixture. Each is a bespoke creation crafted by hand of reclaimed materials, so no two will be exactly alike. Created by Shane Petzer, Scott Hart, Sean Daniel and Richard Panaino, the members of the Magpie Art Collective.

• Professional hardwiring required
• Recycled plastic, galvanized wire, string
• 100 watt max
• 117" chain; 120" cord
• 82"H, 66" diameter
• Handmade in South Africa

An additional $250 will be added for shipping and handling. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. This item is only available for delivery within the continental United States. Shipment to international locations, U.S. territories, AK, HI, P.O. boxes, APO/FPO addresses and express ship methods are unavailable for this item.

style #960029

$4,800.00

Now, come on, we can make that! Seriously, $4,800 dollars? For flowers cut from soda bottles and plastic creamer containers?

It was enough to make me stop browsing and get up and go do the dishes! (I only enjoy housework when I am upset- it helps me work it off)

******

We went to see Law Abiding Citizen last night and my sweet Gerard Butler looked great in that one scene when he stripped down buck naked (for plot development? Character enhancement? who knows why it happened, but thanks for that) and it was a sad commentary on our Justice System. It was rough at the beginning and I had to shut my eyes- I can do zombies all day long because I know they aren't real (not yet, anyway) but murder and mayhem is not my cup of tea. It's a guy movie and ya know, I really would rather see Gerard do another romance (with anyone but Hilary Swank- talk about no chemistry).

Oh well, this just makes me want to go for a swim...

Have a great day, and let's start November off right! Go make something artsy/craftsy.

Love and not too many stitches,

xo, calamity kim

How to recycle a small decorative pumpkin into a bird-feeder

How to recycle a small decorative pumpkin into a bird-feeder, originally uploaded by Sakurako Kitsa.

This has got to be the best idea I have ever seen for pumpkins- well, with the exception of pie, of course!
Click on the photo for more info and how to .
Happy Halloween!

went to sea

went to sea, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

In between working on different projects I signed up for the placemat swap again- I set aside some time to work on it today.

I posted some sneak peeks over at Flickr- I like how it's coming together.

I enjoy staying home and working the day away- it goes by fast and before I know it- there's the Mr Husband and it's time for dinner.

There are just not enough hours in the day!!!
I'm almost finished and then I'll show it after my swap partner has received it.
Hope you had a great day too!
xo,
calamity kim

Broomhilda Bench Monday

Broomhilda Bench Monday, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

A gypsy fire is on the hearth,
Sign of the carnival of mirth;
Through the dun fields and from the glade
Flash merry folk in masquerade,
For this is Halloween!

I don't know what I'm going to dress up as but my fingers have it all worked out!

I don't know what I'm going to dress up as but my fingers have it all worked out!, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

Thank you to my Sister who sent me the cutest Halloween card!
Also Happy Birthday to her today!
Wishing you many, many more!
Scary, huh?

some things should last forever

I was Googling French Circus Images and found this work by Kathy Ruttenberg. At first I thought it was paper but it is really made from clay. Check out her website and be sure to look at the Macy's Window- it will blow you away!

Isn't it funny how we put things in categories and then attach value to them based on their composition? Paper doesn't last as long as clay but I could imagine these "sculptures" as dolls made from cloth or felt just as easily. Why aren't they still sculptures then? Surely taking flat cloth and using it to create a 3 dimensional form is just as wondrous and magical as using clay and fire to bring about the same object. Cloth can rot and mildew. Pottery lasts so much longer.

I think that Kathy Ruttenberg has talent beyond any words I could possibly string together to lay a mantle of praise around her shoulders.

I am smitten.

oh, the calamity...