Let's Get Poetic

 I'm writing haiku again and thought I'd turn it into a linkup party.

Here's today's a recent effort:

I've been thinking about an old project that went nowhere fizzled out, the Haiku To My Closet.

My 2019 SpyGirl post included a call for poetry link-up and it's time to revive both!

Composing haiku are kind of addictive - they're a structure of 3 lines with 5/7/5 syllables.
I recently did TWO art collaborations with haiku included in the presentations.

They're traditionally about nature, I just follow the 5/7/5 format.

You will find me walking around muttering to myself and counting down syllables on my fingers.

For now, I'm keeping this link-up open until Labor Day (9/1/25), it may extend longer.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Linking up with

Shelbee On the Edge

Marsha In the Middle

Mend March 2023

 I made a mending linkup in 2021 and I thought I'd do it again.

IG prompts from @visiblemend

I'll elaborate later.
Want to get this going now.

My posts are all from IG

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Linking up with...

What was Your First Selfie?

Inspired by this IG post...

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dr Justine Larbalestier (@drjustinefancypants)

It's time to take a trip down SpyGirl memory lane!

My first post for this blog was a selfie, sort of:

Link to post

I started SpyGirl as a place to post fake visual journal entries for International Fake Journal Month. 

I sketched what I was wearing every day from 3/25 through 4/28/10 in a small Moleskine blank book. I created the fake persona SpyGirl for this fake journal and she has taken me through many blogging adventures!

I crawled through my early posts to find my first documented full figure outfit selfie:

June 14, 2011 link 
I also sketched the outfit.

Well, it took me a while to photograph myself, right? Haha.

That corner of my back patio is now totally overgrown by a Rose Geranium. [gotta do some trimming]

I'm curious -- what was YOUR first "Fashion" selfie? Did you crop your head out? Is it just part of your body (Remember Arm Parties)? Is it an awkward mirror pose? Is it your first blog post? Let's share!

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Linking up with...

Shelbee's On the Edge

Shelbee's Your Own Twist

These Boots and Songful Style Linkup

Songful Style gives you lyrics, music, video, and album artwork to inspire your fashion creativity. You may even find inspiration in a memory triggered by the selected song. It is all open to your own personal interpretation and just a fun way to discover new music and get a little bit more creative with your wardrobe. 

Join me and my cohosts Suzy, Shelbee, Michelle, and Marsha in this month's fun linkup party inspired by Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots are Made for Walkin'"

Boots by Fluevog, Tate 8-Eye

POW!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by anne m bray (@annembray)

Next month's inspiration is "Leather and Lace" by Stevie Nicks and Don Henley.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Linking up with 

Rena's Fine-Whatever

Songful Style Outfit Inspo Collab

What is Songful Style? 

A fun way to explore your closet, inspired by music.

The brainchild of Suzy and Shelbee,  "Songful Style gives you lyrics, music, video, and album artwork to inspire your fashion creativity. You may even find inspiration in a memory triggered by the selected song. It is all open to your own personal interpretation and just a fun way to discover new music and get a little bit more creative with your wardrobe." [lifted from Shelbee] 
Michelle, Marsha, and I are joining in the co-hosting, it will be a Link-up extravaganza!

This will be a monthly link-up every last Monday of the month with our first post coming on Monday, February 28, 2022. We will announce our song choice for the following month at the end of each Songful Style post. 

For our first Songful Style post, we will be sharing outfits inspired by
“These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” by Nancy Sinatra. 

Visit Shelbee's post for loads of inspiration!

Hope to see your interpretation next week!

Linking up with

Michelle's Potpourri

Shelbee's Spread the Kindness

Rena's Fine-Whatever

#MendMarch Update

 Yesterday, I actually FINISHED a mend.

Not being able to see what I'm sewing puts a spin on "blind hem".

And then took a selfie in it.

And was too lazy to post it to Instagram (for various technical reasons).

Did you notice my NEW SHOES?!!!!!

Fluevog Iggy

OMG! They are so beautiful!
I tried them on for sizing at Fluevog Venice, and I'm glad I did.

I needed 8s, which they didn't have in stock.

They took 10 days to arrive from Denver.
Oh, the anticipation!

(This quickly "pivoted" into a post about Fluevogs, didn't it? Haha)

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Linking up with
Shelbee's Spread the Kindness

#MendMarch 2021

Happy March! Have you started your mending yet?
I got a jump start last month by stitching up the front of this Ketzali "kimono" that I got off of Poshmark last April (!!!).

It was a super quick mend/ refurbish. Why did it take almost a year to accomplish? WHY?

This is the reason I participate in #mendMarch. 

I require a good Instagram challenge.

Whether you follow the IG prompts or not, do join in the mending circle below:

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Linking up with [when link parties go live]

Shelbee's On the Edge

Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike

Mend March is coming!

Here are the Mend March prompts from Kate Sekules of @visiblemend

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kate Sekules (@visiblemend)

Oh do I have things to mend or refashion. The piles get bigger and bigger!

I've included three things in the link party below that I abandoned last summer.

Let's have another virtual mending circle -- add future, in progress, or completed mend links below: 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Linking up with 

Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike

Shelbee's Spread the Kindness

#MendMAY One Monthly Goal Challenge

The One Monthly Goal is a new-to-me Linkup Challenge that I discovered via Frédérique, one of my A-Z Blogging buddies.
I'm too late to officially add my goal for May, I'm going to play along anyway.

For Ali Edwards' One Little Word project, I'm making a tactile record of my actions while mending the Crazy Quilt (the endless mend and the cat's new favorite nap station).

This is somewhat disheveled, it makes sense to me!
Just a little behind in stitching things down to the base cloth (bottom part of jeans leg).

I'm snipping bits of the old distressed patches that I'm fixing, mostly by covering up with new patches. I'm taking bits of both and stitching to the piece of denim. Also recording any floss used in visible mends. I'm meandering down the denim, starting in upper left, finishing row, then going down and across from right to left, going down and across left to right, repeating until filled.

These are the One Monthly Challenge rules, in case you want to prep for June:

Select ONE of your creative goals for the month that uses fabric, thread and / or yarn.  This could be to make a few blocks. cutting fabric for a project, sewing on a binding, or finish a quilt top.  Any goal that involves a step in the process of making with thread, fabric or yarn is a valid goal.

Describe your goal in a:

• blog post complete with a photo(s) of your project and a link back to One Monthly Goal. (main event page or to the actual linkup page)

                                                  or

• via Instagram your photo and description of your goal along with the social tag #onemonthlygoal and @elmstreetquilts    (See the tutorial on joining the link-up from Instagram)

                                                  or

• via Flickr complete with a photo(s) of your project and a link back to One Monthly Goal. (link to this main event page or to the actual linkup page)

Add your project to the link-up at the goal setting link-up.  (Each month, the goal-setting link-up will be open from the 1st through the 7th, closing at 11:55 pm ET.)

Then come post again at the end of the month to share your accomplishment in the One Monthly Goal Finish Party.  The finish party which will run for 6 days at the end of the month.

The Mending Linkup is still open, add your mending projects!

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Linking up with:
Frédérique's Patchwork and Quilts

#MendMAY starts tomorrow!

By popular demand, Kate of @visibleMend is doing a second month of mending prompts!

YAY!

After an April full of Stitching the World, I'm ready to get back to my mending.

I'm quite taken with the Tactile accountability chart that I created for Ali Edwards' One Little Word project:

Each circle is a day, each day I sewed the floss that I stitched into Stitching the World

I'm going to do something similar this month, maybe with fabric swatches?
Or do I do a "soft" version? I'll find out tomorrow! Heh.
I'll be posting my daily mending antics on Instagram @annembray, if you're curious.

Hey! Let's have a virtual Mending Circle!

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Let's Haiku. Linkup.

One of my favorite blog reads, Adulting – Second Half, wrote a post with her first stabs at poetry. I remember Shelbee on the Edge also was posting poetry recently. Have you had the urge to get poetic? Or did you write poetry as a teen?

from my high school art and literary magazine, 1972
Heavy influenced by Kenneth Patchen

I sure did. It seemed the best way to organize all those tumultuous teen thoughts.
And perhaps some of you are experiencing peri/menopausal emotions that might be nicely tamed in a poem. (Thanks, hormones). (I know a poem won't subdue the beast within, but it may help channel the energy in a creative way).

My response comment to Kelly got me thinking.

I like writing haiku at times. I was going to do a whole series “Haiku to My Closet” about favorite garments, which hasn’t progressed very far, but never too late to take it up again!
A recent poetry moment was in the final session of a year-long mending workshop: we were asked to sum up our activities as a short haiku-like poem since our prior meeting. It was a fun challenge!
So I introduce myself as a haiku: 

Anne M Bray, artist.
Serene road trip art, wild style,
Body as canvas.

Let's have a Haiku Linkup!
It could be a haiku to something in your closet:

original post

Or introduce yourself, as I did above.
Anything goes, as long as your link has a poem in Haiku format:
A Haiku is a Japanese short poem made up of 3 phrases with 17 syllables in it divided into 5, 7, 5.

This Link Party will stay open until 01/01/2020

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Linking this up with
Shelbee's Spread the Kindness
Catherine's #ShareAllLinkup

#SecondHandSeptember This Week's Thrifty Find

I wore this week's Fluevog thrifty find, the Evers, on Friday.
Maybe I'll wear them today too.
We're having a welcome "cold spell" (SoCal version, 70F).

Another eBay score.
I admired these when they were still available from Fluevog.
Pounced on them when they came up in my "Fluevog 7.5" watchlist. $299 retail/ $60 used.

The socks are new, by K. Bell. Purchased at The Sock Man, NYC.

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Linking up with
Patti's Visible Monday

#SecondHandSeptember £10/ $10 Charity Shop Challenge

Ah, here we go again. $10 not spent thrift shopping.

In fact, I FOUND $10 while cleaning up the living room to make room for the flat files.
$10 from my sister! Thanks, Laura!

And, when you think about it, money is usually second hand. I mean the physical bills and coins. How rare to get a crisp, clean paper bill from the bank. (Who still goes to the bank these days?)

That's my $10 tangent for today.
Enjoy the weekend!

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#SecondHandSeptember Kitchenware

Behold one of my oldest second hand kitchenware items:

I got it in 1976 at a thrift store that was on the northwest corner of Colorado and Fair Oaks in Pasadena.
Before Old Town happened.

I also have a collection of "weird old kitchen things".

This item I got in Clayton, Georgia. I know it's supposed to squish something, but what?
I tried a lemon wedge in there, it didn't go well.

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#SecondHandSeptember Charity Shop of the Week

Calling all treasure seekers!

One more visit to a shop of second hand wonders!
Again, it's in Providence:
Nostalgia, at 236 Wickenden St.

In 2016, I shopped with my camera:

Which items did I buy?

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#SecondHandSeptember Tips for Reselling

Let's hear from an expert Etsy seller, Suzanne Carillo.
Her shop is Vintage by Suzanne

These are my tips to reselling...

• Take the best photos possible in natural light.

• I clean and or iron/steam all of my items for sale so they photograph well.

• Take multiple photos, close up, all sides, and full length on a mannequin or model so they can see what it looks like on a body and not just a hanger.

• Give accurate complete measurements.

• State brand/label and where it was made.

• State fabric contents so they know how to clean it.

• Show satisfied customer comments. It proves you are trustworthy.

• Ship as soon as possible. If there is going to be a delay in shipping let you customer know.

• Stay in communication with your buyers. Let them know what's going on, when the item's shipped and if it has a tracking number.

• Disclose and photograph any issues with the item, stains, holes etc. People don't want to be taken by surprise. This includes bad smells.

• Consider sending a handwritten note with the order. People appreciate it when you show you care.

• I try to consider what I expect when I shop for vintage/used clothing and then provide it for my customers.

Thanks for those great tips, Suzanne!

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#SecondHandSeptember This Week's Thrifty Find

And what is this week's second hand Fluevog? It's one that I didn't buy!

Here is the listing on eBay (link):

Yes, I have remained on the Fluevog 7.5 watchlist. This beauty came up on Wednesday morning.

I liked this but wasn't entirely sure. My "western style" mules don't get worn that often.
I made a counter offer, and the seller countered back.
I was this close to hitting Buy It Now

and then

I thought to check the Fluevog site to see what they originally sold for.
And guess what?
NEW ONES are currently in stock and ON SALE for $119.!!!!!!

I know this is not in the spirit of #SecondHandSeptember, of buying only second hand, but hey, with shoes, new IS better than used, if possible. Sorry, not sorry.

So far, I've done no buying of these at all. The heel height is a little beyond my comfort zone and I need to go to my local Fluevog shop and try them on, or try on a cousin in the same family.
Such as:

(insert drool emoji) (fortunately for my pocketbook, unavailable in my size) (unless I require an 8)

So the "thrifty" find this week is in the sense of saving money thrifty, not thrift store thrifty, and learning the lesson of "research the Fluevogs before spending over $100 on used"

Lastly, here's a link to an older post, regarding a previous western style mule thrift store find that was perhaps my most thriftiest find ever!

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#SecondHandSeptember Antiques

Antiques. The family china that you inherited. The stuff "they" say millennials don't want to deal with when you're gone.
Concerned that the Bray china will be tossed, I Facebooked an image to my nieces:

Ashley says she wants it, next challenge is getting it to her, since she's on the opposite side of the country!

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#SecondHandSeptember Books

Oooooh! I love books!
The used book store -- yet another type of shop I avoid in order to save money.
So many good books, so little time!

Locally, I find the Little Free Library very handy.

The one I walk by when I go to the Mar Vista Farmer's Market

Individuals register and set up the boxes on their property with a "give one, take one" model.

Latest batch that I gave.

What I took.

I found this on their site:

Join Us for Give A Good Read Week September 16 – 22

As part of our 10th Anniversary Celebration, we’ve partnered with our friends at Goodreads for a global book-sharing event starting Monday! To participate, visit a Little Free Library book-sharing box, share your latest good read, then snap a photo and post it social with #LFL10 and #GiveAGoodRead. Learn more about Give A Good Read Week.

My latest good read:

Here's a MAP LINK to find a Little Free Library near you.

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