Foxy Lady

We're getting down to the wire now, and while the list of possible Halloween costumes was growing daily, nothing we came up with clicked. I thought about just doing this, because the whole mask+ stylish clothing = costume thing appeals to me like crazy. But as birds would be too obvious, and as we're really digging foxes around here, I wanted us to be foxes. Or the fox and the hound? Or the fox and the crow? Last night it hit us like a ton of bricks. Robin Hood and Maid Marian as foxes, a la Disney, but with our own BBC inspired take on it.I have a huge girl crush on Marian from the BBC's Robin Hood, played by Lucy Griffiths. Huge girl crush. Not only is she DARLING, but she's the first Maid Marian to be fierce and adept, instead of wasting away under a veiled dunce cap in a tower. Her costume design is so stellar. It's decidedly modern (hellooo hoodies!) but elegant and a little course (hellooo burlap!)
As for Zion - Quiver? Yes. Tights? No. Though we do have an amazing pair of brown leather pants I'm dying to see him in. We have to rock the whole fox thing, and it's a costume, so it can't be too modern or obscure. All in all, I'm shooting for something in between this...
and this...Mmm... yes please. I'm so excited. It's a good thing payday is soon, because I can't wait to start shopping for this. In fact, Zion should probably hide the car keys until then. I'll post more as things start happening.

Official Memo

We here at Moth and Sparrow would like to apologize for our absence of late, for our absurd busyness, and for those of you who have attempted phone calls, for having left our phone charger in Seattle. We would also beg your patience for us having left our camera there too, so even though we now have a few minutes to blog, we won't have any fresh photos for you, dear readers, until next week. So sorry.

Thanks - The Management

Close Encounters of the Bird Kind

A hawk flew into my urban apartment last night, just before sunset. No, I'm not kidding. No this isn't some fiction writing exercise. He looked a lot like this guy, just a little redder. He came in my kitchen window, I'm assuming to make an evening snack out of my pet finches, and ended up trapped, flapping madly between glass and cage. When I heard the ruckus, I assumed it was a pigeon. I mean, what else would it be in this wonderland of brick and blacktop? I rushed over to usher it back out the open side of the window, when I noticed the size, smooth striped feathers. Like an idiot, I started talking to him, "My god! You're beautiful! What are you?" and so on. He stopped dead, perched on the window sill, and leveled me with a sharp yellow stare. Holy Crap!

Outwardly calmed by some serious inner chaos, I grabbed him with both hands at his shoulders, knowing full well that I'd most likely lose a finger in the process. I held him for just a second, if that, just enough to show him his escape, and let go. He stretched his wingspan, flew to the chimney at the back of the roof, and perched, his lean frame and powerful legs silhouetted. Again like an idiot, I tossed some steak out the window for him, and only succeeded in scaring him away. Well done, Claire, and I don't mean the steak.

My first thought was that it was a red tailed hawk, but I started doubting myself. After consulting the best and brightest bird brain I know, and spending many hours with Google Images, I'm still stumped. I know what you're thinking, What color was his tail? His tail was hidden behind the birdcage while he was trapped, and when I had him in my hands, I assure you I only saw beak and talons. He was small, though, for a red tailed, maybe 15" or 16" long. Had that lovely brownish-red coloring, a compact body and was really leggy. My working theory is young red tailed hawk. I'd love suggestions, though.

This tops the list of crazy/ amazing things things that have happened to me. I'm still buzzing, and trying to even process the event. You can be assured that there will much hawk-inspired madness around here for some time. Including the following bit of spousal conversation...

"Why didn't I take a picture of him?" I sigh, longing for some memento of this wild experience. "Because you're not a complete asshole," my raptor-like husband replies. Touchee. We laugh.

*** Update *** I've now learned that young red tailed hawks have bright yellow eyes that darken with age, and that adults stop feeding their young in late summer, which causes the new fledgling hunters to make, well, amateur mistakes this time of year (i.e. going after caged birds in a human domicile.) They can be as small as my visitor and can have larger leg to body ratios. (Hey, I can relate, puberty legs are hardly unfamiliar to me.) So now, I'm pretty well convinced he was as suspected, a juvenile red tailed hawk.

Pic of the Week

Come On In, the Kool-Aid's Fine

Picking up books from the library's hold shelf, I noticed a remarkable "B" shelf co-inhabitant. Bopp, Hailey R. Now, I'm sure that Mrs./Ms. Bopp gets this all the time, but as she's a stranger to me and I to her, I couldn't help but be wildly amused. Here's to you, Hailey Bopp, thanks for making my day. I needed it.

(For those readers well versed in cult mass suicides, I apologize for my post title's mixed reference. I know that was Jonestown and not Heaven's Gate, but "Come on in, the vodka's fine" just doesn't have the same resonance.)

My Neighbor Totoro

Check out this friendly spirit of the forest Zion and I happened upon whilst trekking through the woods at Larrabee State Park today.I made the egregious error of talking to B about Halloween a full 2 months early. Woops. He was absolutely thrilled at the prospect of dressing up as Totoro, (his current favorite character) and absolutely devastated that he had to wait for his costume. So, to tide him over, I put Totoro's face onto an old hoodie.
It's just felt and a pair of buttons, all stuff I had around. This is the kind of work I'd have normally done by hand, but since I've been getting so friendly with my machine lately, I gave it a go and it totally paid off. I was able to do this whole thing, from first sketch to last stitch, in the duration of one nap (and surprise the hell out of my son.)
He had what one might call a spaz attack - running to the mirror, squealing with delight, and then demanding that I sing the Totoro theme while he jumped on the bed. He patently refused to take it off, only agreeing to lower the hood on rare (and often sweaty) moments. This is easily the most successful 45 minutes I've spent in some time. Maybe ever. Did I mention the squealing?

In Stitches

I may be an artist, but I am no craftsman. Most of my sewing is something more like Pacific Campaign medical tent sutures. But this is the first time I've made a series of garments instead of sending my sewing machine back to the closet abyss after the first passionate and fumbling project. Lo and behold, I'm friggin' improving. I can actually sew a straight line today, which I couldn't last week. My pattern drafting is getting better, too. So today, I made this skirt. It's corduroy. Made with 6 skirt panels and a waist band, and even features ornamental stitching (which I definitely couldn't do last week.)

Round 2

Here's my second attempt at a top. Much more successful. I'll actually wear this baby out into the world. I did the bulk of the work on this last week, and stared at it for 5 or 6 days. It's pretty cute, but it's also pretty rough. Particularly when you compare it to the skirt I made today. Which I can't wait to post, so I think I'll do that right now.

Everything That Can Go Wrong...

Over 5 weeks ago the quintessential clothes horse, Amelia, started this new experiment. No buying clothes. Which, for her, has been torture, and as she's my #1 partner in shopping crime, it's been a little bleak for me, too. But it has kicked started this whole sewing frenzy, making new things, altering old ones, and updating a few bargain thrift finds. Unfortunately, this first attempt was an epic disaster. I'm talking the Day After Tomorrow of sewing projects. Seriously. At one point, the tidal wave in Manhattan point, my machine started hemorrhaging vital steel organs. To make matters worse, I had cut into this fabric that I'd been hording for years, so I couldn't just throw in the towel. I stuck with it and, many choice expletives later, I had this top. It's cute on the hanger, not quite cute on the body, and nowhere near cute enough to be worth the ordeal, but it's done. At this particular era of my life, that's a tremendous achievement.

Color Theory

So, I promised myself I wouldn't post again until I had legitimately made something. And, while I still haven't technically made anything, I have started many many things. I suppose that's close enough. After a few trips to thrift stores and a thorough delve into my own closet, I have a number of alteration projects going, plus a few "from scratch"sewing machine battles currently being staged. I even busted out the RIT dye today which, maybe more than anything else, makes me feel like my old self again.

What's extra fun is that the majority of these things are within a certain color concept, making me feel like I'm working on a Fall Collection, instead of a housewife's to-do list. I'll post more as these things reach completion.