A real original

Through one of those meandering paths one can take, perusing other blogs, I came upon someone who is doing really original work -- someone whose personal style and individual touch comes clearly through. I do not know if this is a man's name or a woman's, although I'd certainly put money on its being a woman (my personal bias showing through, but at least I'm honest) -- tamar mogendorff. I wish there were a blog there, but this is a gallery of this person's work. Please do not stop at least until you've seen the avocado. Brilliant. Tamar has made me start thinking about soft fabric sculptures in a whole new way, and no one I've ever seen does birds as beautifully.

When we left the house this morning, the snow was sparkling like diamonds, shiny and fresh and delightful. Tonight on the way home it all just looked tired and spent -- the story of a sub-freezing night followed by a spring-warm day. I feel promise in the air today, and hope. I am endlessly thrilled by all the points throughout the year when you can feel a new beginning -- a "do-over" right in the midst of things, another chance to start fresh and get it right. Tomorrow I get the 2 names of the people I will send fabric and other treats to in the first online swap I've done in ages. This is a big fresh start for me -- I had given up on this sort of thing when some woman in Australia stole my quilt (we were participating in a round robin, she acknowledged receiving my quilt -- that several other people had worked on at that point -- and she simply decided to keep it and not respond to requests to send it on). It so totally depressed me that it happened, that someone else could actually live with seeing my quilt everyday (unless of course she sold it) and not feel consumed by guilt. I cannot imagine. But I'm giving up on cynicism and believing, again, in all the people who are wonderful and who participate happily and freely in these kinds of exchanges; I'll be mailing my packages out on Friday and watching the mail eagerly thereafter.