~ in the studio: getting there! ~

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Welcome to the studio!

Looks a little better than before, doesn't it?

The first day was less-than-glamorous.

Towering stacks of boxes that needed to be sorted and put in storage.

Children's clothing had to be moved and put in their new closet.

A bed and frame to be broken down and stuffed in the closet.

One old sewing machine from my uncle's mother finds her home!

A small stack of items still need sorting, but the hard part is done!

The 2nd story window gets great morning sunlight, 

and looks into the backyard.

That old vanity was in my childhood bedroom,

and reflects my new machine and pegboard.

More mess piles are revealed!

The full size bed just barely fit in the shallow closet.

When we have guests, we'll pull it out and set it up.

But in such a small room, where space is at a premium,

it doesn't make sense to leave it out,

unused for 99% of the time.

The little wall to the left of the closet, to the right of the door,

seems like the perfect place for yarn storage.....

My fabric is destined for those two temporary shelves.

They came out of the closet when the bed went in!

Hmmm, that vanity just doesn't seem to be very useful there.....

My newish machine, pegboard of notions and the man who helped make it possible. 

Looks like a pretty good start,

but there's more work to do!

I'm so grateful to have a space for creativity!

It's been a long time since I felt well enough to put my meager talents to good use.

But now that I'm better, I'm looking forward to making up for lost time.  

~carrie~

~ sunday hike: mcdowell nature preserve ~

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Well, we decided to take our Sunday Hike on Saturday,

and I decided I didn't feel like posting it until Wednesday.

We hiked the Shady Hollow Trail at McDowell Nature Preserve,

and then connected with the Cove Trail, 

for a nice, long (for kids) hike.

We found some of the first Spring ephemeral wildflowers!

I could go on and on about these, 

but I think I'll save botanical stuff for a separate post.  

Maybe I'll even get an in-focus picture of these little beauties, eh? 

Daddy knocks on this hollowed out tree to see if anyone is home.

It looks like the perfect flying squirrel residence, but we didn't see anyone.

Dead standing trees, called snags, are a very important part of the ecosystem.

Winter allows you to gaze through the forest.

This forest is not that old, 

but the fact that it isn't choked with saplings and invasive species is a good thing.

We come down the hill and walk along the shore of Lake Wylie for the rest of the hike.

Lela and Liv ran ahead, while Laurel took her time to poke among the stumps at the water's edge.

We pause to play and explore in a little cove.

Lela has found a catkin of some sort, washed up on the shore.

It was a bit more of a reddish color than this picture shows.

Many different trees produce flowers like these, and they're a lot of fun to play with!

In the little cove, the banks are steep and covered with beautiful mosses and lichens.

Their forms are exquisite and near-endless in variation. 

Below, little reproductive stalks lift the moss spores above the fray. 

Mosses have an other-worldly quality, at least to me.

I get my nose as close down to them as eyesight will allow,

and notice spider silk floating over what I imagine are tiny trails and burrows.

I feel as if I could stare at it for hours, 

gently probing,

and feel certain a little faery would poke her head up.

The mosses and lichens crowd each other, 

growing as closely to one another as they can.

Lichens are a fungus and an algae, growing together for mutual gain.

I imagine that their cooperative spirit is contagious, 

and the resulting neighborhood is friendly and helpful.

Maybe this little lichen sends up its little spore stalk (the cup-like object near the middle)

that can also double as a bird-bath for tiny faery-birds.

I can definitely see little pixies lounging around this acorn cap hot tub!

I have to move on from my magical macro world,

and unscrunch my back and legs.

Zelda is always watchful, and keeps her eyes on the girls.

She's just about the best dog in the world!

Laurel finds more spring wildflowers!

  A beaver scent mound marks territory....we're getting close to their dams! 

  

About the point on our hike, I ripped the end of my toe badly with a stick.

My eagerness to wear my Chacos on this warm afternoon.......

Walking around in a bloody sandal (yuck) 

meant that I missed taking pictures of the vast beaver activity along the creek.

Another post.....

Even more spring ephemerals!

I will be sharing more about these beauties soon.

  

 We rounded off our hike with a few minutes of creek exploration.....

 ......and grapevine swinging!

This is such a great park! 

If you're in the Charlotte area, you should definitely visit McDowell Nature Preserve!

~carrie~

~ in the studio: a work-in-progress ~

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What?

This doesn't look like a studio to you???

Me either!

Our little home has 3 bedrooms.

A very large bedroom with bathroom for the adults.

A tiny blue room for the children.

And a larger yellow room that has been a work-in-progress for way too long.

Now, the children are moved out of their tiny blue room,

and into their fresh, beautiful new *PINK* room.

The full size bed had been shared by the little ones, 

and where you see tools and boxes, 

there was a twin bed for the eldest.

Just a few short days ago,

the tiny blue room looked like this,

with some of the children's clothes still left in the closet.

This is my *new* studio! 

Well, maybe it's just *my studio* since there was never an old one.

Unless you count this:

 A tiny cluttered sewing desk, in our bedroom, that doubles as my nightstand.

The pegboard with my threads that my awesome partner made for me the Winter before last.

My fabrics are stored in the drawers of this (below) dresser.

Hmmmmm, maybe instead of a studio,

I should have made it a laundry room?

Finding the fabric you're looking for in a deep drawer?
Frustrating and messy!

My other notions and such were in baskets in the closet.

(That loom that is slightly buried in the laundry mountain

will eventually reside in my studio.)

So, not really much of a studio so far!

But in the few short days there has been much rearranging, 

and organizing,

and shuffling,

so that today things in that little blue room look much different!

Please stay tuned for pictures of the transformation!

~carrie~