etc.

Thank you for your kind words about Cavity! I forgot to mention that as soon as I finished stitching him together, I presented him to the mister for critical evaluation (the mister buys toys for a living, you see), and he sailed through with full marks and a few words of praise! He’s promised to give him a home on this desk at work (which is not the barren wasteland that many other office spaces are, the mister’s desk is surrounded by toys. Real, professional ones! Made in factories!) but not before I’ve made him a companion or two. Lovely! More monsters have been commissioned! Next up: Gingivitis and Gum Disease.

Well, not really. For the next few monsters, I’m going to try and stay away from oral bacteria and diseased organisms.

Today I bought two books. It has been ages (months, I think; the last book purchases might well have been in New York!) since I’ve bought a book, which is why two new books in one day is newsworthy. You Grow Girl was a bit of a necessity since I don’t own a single gardening book and the mister and I are putting in a garden this Spring, not to mention the fact that I am a big fan of the Web site and Gayla is local, so I must do my absolute best to support the locals. And The Artist’s Way is one of those books that I have been hearing and reading about for a couple of years, and whenever I hear of or read about an artist throwing in a pitch for it, I make a mental note to get my hands on a copy, and today I finally cleared out those backlogged mental notes. I have four days off at the end of next week and these two books, along with the five I have from the library (as well as the assorted holds I’ve placed in the past 24 hours on dollmaking, which will likely come in over the next 48) will be my well-appreciated and much-enjoyed companions.

Finally, I submit that my new sewing fixation has grown out of a fabric fixation that I have secretly been cultivating, lo these many weeks. Here are a few fabric designers and retailers whose work sets my heart aflutter:

• Amy Butler – wonderful vintage-inspired patterns, and colours that are just candy!
• Marimekko – abstracts that command your attention whether you like it or not (I like it).
• Lotta Jansdotter – fabric zen.
• Kaffe Fassett (prints here) – the world in colour! I would very much like to see through Kaffe Fassett’s eyes for just a day.
• Alexander Henry – quirky as all get out. Just try not to smile when you look at his prints.