Alaskan Eagle Kachina

FINISHED!!!!! With time to spare, and to look at him and maybe add to him or not.  I "finished" the Kachina this AM and sat him on my ironing board to take his picture and my worst nightmare came to be..he fell off on to the floor right on his beak!! I was horror struck and for a few moments all I could do was stand there and look at him lying face down on the floor. I finally made myself pick him up and HALLELUJAH!! He was just fine. What was I thinking by standing him on a soft surface?  Drove home the thought I had earlier that I might need to attach him to a wider base so that he wouldn't be so tippy. Another Blogger "A Half-baked Notion" suggested that I sew his wings (I whined about this on my blog, as you might have read), and that's what I did. I used two layers of ultra-suede, and I'm satisfied with how they turned out. Thanks Half-baked!!  My thoughts ran back to my Raven Dancer while I was staring at him(Kachina) laying on his face on the floor, remember? I had the Raven dancer all done and just had to attach his mask and when I did it snapped right in half! I ended up adding a wider base to him also.  I wonder, should I come up with a feather to put in each of his hands? The Kachina I mean. Hmmmmm....something to ponder on. Half-baked has asked for a side view of the Raven, so I am editing this post to include another picture or two.

Eagle Dancer

Well, I have been working on a Kachina Doll for my Daughter. My problem has been that I have no access to feathers, at least not the one's I have in my mind. I guess I will have to Google feathers and see what I can find. I have been to our local Mercantile store, but they have very little in the fishing section and the Gear Shed has no feathers at all. I have to make wings for him and I really don't want to make them out of clay like the ones I made for his top knot. I am afraid they wont travel well..no pun intended.  I still have to make his sash and moccasins and add a broader base so he wont be tippy. Time is running out......... I used Raindeer beard for the fluff around his neck and in the top knot to make it fuller. He will be a true Alaskan Kachina.  Well, back to the workbench.........we have snow........enough said.

Still Beading

I have been busy, even though I have not posted. I agreed to do an Arts and Crafts Fair with a friend of mine, I don't know why.......the last time I participated in an A&C Fair was with my sister probably 30 years ago. Wow! Could that be right? Well, its been very painful I must say. I've made a few baby bonnets, small card cases which I know should sell,( I've made a lot of these),  beaded 8 Eskimo Angels and made necklaces out of them, made a few polar fleece hats and a few more baby bibs. I'm just at a loss as to what to make. The two or three gals that are sharing the space all do jewelry, so thats not an option as far as I'm concerned. Ah well, what ever sells sells what doesn't...goes to the Gallery next season. I also made a hair barrette for our Granddaughters Birthday which is tomorrow. I also made our Great Granddaughter a Raggedy Ann Doll for her Birthday which was November 1st. So, I have been busy, just not chatty.

Lorilye had a Costume Birthday party, thus the smudge on her nose. Not sure what her costume was, I think she was a puppy, thats just a guess on my part.

And I have also been doing some repair work, some for the Gallery and one for myself. I made this necklace about 15 years ago and wear it a lot, the thread finally gave way so I had to restring the necklace, this time I used wire. Well, that's it for now.

Time to Catch Up and Say Goodbye

Since last I wrote about the Traveling Bracelet, we've been busy. "Abi" has been to work with me, and today we went for coffee with two of my friends referred to here as the "Gallery Girls". Sometimes there's four or five of us sometimes not. Today it was just the three of us, catching up on what's been happening.  Sunday was a quiet day, we went to Church, and out to breakfast, which turned out to be the wrong move. I got up with a headache and the day went downhill from there. So Sunday was a very slow and quiet day. i don't mean it was the wrong move to go to Church, just going out to eat was the wrong move. But all is well today.

"Abi" went to work with me on Monday and visited with some of the beautiful artwork that we have in the Gallery. I thought this photo of "Abi" with one of the native art pieces was very appropriate, since the true name of the Bracelet is the Aboriginal Design. Its always such a wonder to me that when I study native art, how connected it is all around the world. So many similarities in artwork and myths and beliefs. It really is such a small world.

Here  "Abi" is visiting with the very talented Rowan who works at the Gallery. Besides being an artist in watercolors she is also extremely talented in the music field as well as dance. She has a group here called the "Shivering Gypsy's". Rowan is originally from upstate New York.

Today started out very frosty as you can see in the photo. I guess winter is going to come no matter how much I don't want it to. Well, off to coffee we go.

Here are my two friends "The Gallery Girls" at our favorite coffee spot, Two Sisters Bakery just steps away from the shores of Kachemak Bay. Some days we will come for coffee and have to wait in a line three deep. They make wonderful soups, veggi sandwiches and of course bakery goods. Even if you're not hungry when you go there, just step inside and oh my, the wonderful aromas just draw you in and you have to try one of their savory offerings.

Its been fun having "Abi" here this week, however its time to say good bye. Tomorrow I will be bundling  "Abi" up and mailing the package off to my Sister down in the lower 48. She lives in beautiful Newport, Oregon. Another coastal community for "Abi". She is really looking forward to receiving the bracelet and has more adventures to share with the Bracelet. I can't thank Sig enough for choosing me to host her Aborigianl Bracelet. I feel honored, and look forward to reading about Abi and the other Bracelets. Thanks for the Visit "Abi".

Lunch With Baby Arwyn and Mom

So lunch went well with the new baby, she is absolutely beautiful and slept the entire time we were there. She looked beautiful in the Bonnet and shoes, but then she's beautiful without them anyway. (The Tiny shoes I made were just a little big, but they looked cute on her.) Mommy Miriam looks just beautiful also. She waited just a little too long to call the Midwife, and Mom and Dad delivered the Baby Girl themselves. She said it was a little scarey, but what are you going to do, there's no stopping it once its underway. They both came through it just fine, and Dad stayed pretty cool through the whole event.
Miriam thought the story of the Bracelet was pretty cool. She is an amazing young woman, Hunter, Fisherwoman, Carver, and Jewelry maker. I have known Miriam since she was in High School. Very self assured and quite the businesswoman. She has her own small Gallery out on the Spit. It is only open full time in the summer, but she keeps it open on the weekends until Christmas, then re-opens mid-April. She sells her carvings, watercolors, and jewelry as well as her Husbands Ulu's and Knives. She also carries some Native made art .

Hubby was not feeling well today, so Abi's adventure today was pretty quiet once we came home, but everyone was pretty impressed with the Bracelet and the story behind it. Tomorrow..off to work, and Abi will go along. One more picture of beautiful little Arwyn and then its good night.

Change of Plans

So I had planned on going to the Bead store Wednesday, but received a call from Rowan at the Gallery to tell me that since we had missed out on the Baby Shower for a friend of ours, everyone decided to have a "Baby Lunch" on Friday, so up to the sewing room I scrambled to make a gift to take along. Abi went with me, poor thing, had to listen to me mumble and grumble until I decided to make a bonnet and a pair of tiny shoes. The Bonnet was no problem, I've made a lot of them, and love doing it. The tiny shoes on the other hand were a bit of a challenge, but I finally finished them after much agony. Can't wait to meet the little miss. I just love her "older" brother Griffin. He is just all boy and rules the roost at age 2.

So today I finally made it over to the Bead store for a visit with Gig and to show her the Bracelet, and of course pick up a few beads.

We had a few laughs, bought a few beads and then off we went to see if the Swans were at the head of the little lake that is behind our house. Can't waste the sunshine, its a rule, or maybe its a law.

The trees have grown up so that you can barely see the lake from this viewpoint. But .. no Swans. So off we went out to the Spit to enjoy the sunshine some more. Not much going on out there this time of year, you can actually find plenty of parking places...of course none of the shops are open, but who cares, we have sunshine to enjoy. Drove over to look at the Jack-up Rig that's causing so much controversy with some folks around town. It was brought in for repair work and was supposed to be gone by now, but rumor has it that it might be wintering here.

Back home, have to get out my paper supply and make a card to go along with the Baby gift.

Left Abi to rest on the lap of my "non-traditional" self-portrait. Off to lunch tomorrow!

"Abi" Has Arrived!!

Today I received "Abi" in the mail. I was so excited to get this package from Sig Wynne-Evans. It was sort of by default when the person who was supposed to receive this bracelet was unable to fulfill the agreement of being host to one of Sig's Traveling Bracelets. I hope she will be able to host one of the other bracelets before their journey's are over. While recovering from a major surgery Sig decided to bead a bracelet and send it on to someone else with good positive thoughts and healing wishes, and maybe they too could re-inforce these positive energies with some of their own and pass it on again. She intended to make only one, but now has 12 Bracelets traveling the Globe spreading positive energy to all who receive  or have contact with them. She will be starting the journey of her 12th Bracelet, named Machu Picchu, in November in where else but Machu Picchu. How fun is that. I didn't mention that "Abi" is short for Aboriginal. "Abi" has a cute little "Joey" as the main figure in the design. Its just beautiful. And as fitting as Machu Picchu, ":Abi" has been to Australia as well as Colorado and California. I believe this is the first of the Traveling Bracelets to come to Alaska.
We started "Abi's" Alaska visit with a long walk on the beach of Kachemak Bay, a visit to the Seafarer's Memorial, and of course did a bit of "Shell Seeking". Tomorrow we plan to visit the Bead store and share some time with Gig. Each day will decide for itself what we do, but we will stay busy. You can visit the other bracelets and read of their travels on Sig's blog: http//travelingbracelets.blogspot.com.

I took this photo of "Abi" on the old piling down from Mariner Park. I love walking the beach in this area, I always find great "Tiny Treasures" when I walk there.

The next stop was at the Seafarer's Memorial and then on to more beach walking. By then our little "Joey", (our step-dog) was starting to limp a little so we headed for home. Joey is getting along in years (aren't we all) and has arthritis in his hip. He loves to walk the beach with me, but I think it was a little to cool for him. The sun finally came out, but he was ready to head home by then. (Did you spot "Abi" in this photo?)

The "Tiny Treasures" from our walk. I even found a piece of sea glass. Must have been the good Karma coming from the Bracelet.

Home for a rest in the Bead Cabinet. I thought a fitting place to rest would be on my beaded shoe "Alaska Shores". What fun!!! Hope everyone everywhere had as fine a day as we had. (I am hoping for sunshine tomorrow).