Heather K Powers

Wednesday Words::Disiderata a Poem

October 5, 2011 by Heather Filed Under: Inspiration & Education 1 Comment

Go placidly, amid the noise and the haste and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly and listen to others even the dull and ignorant, they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble, it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of times.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery.

But let not this blind you to what virtue there is, many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself especially do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentile with yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God; whatever you conceive him to be.

And whatever your labor and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all it’s sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

I found this poem in a book not so long ago, it was written in 1927 by Max Ehrmann. I enjoy the somewhat outdated language and the universal message, I hope you do too.

Textile Tuesday::Experiments with Bits of Cloth and Thread

October 4, 2011 by Heather Filed Under: Art & Design, Handmade, Inspiration & Education, Textiles & Pattern 1 Comment

In the midst of the moving madness I’ve managed to continue to do a bit of textile work. Expanding upon my rust experiments I’ve done some rust dyeing on silk scarves, which I realize may compromise them in the long run but I couldn’t resist the rust!

This is a detail of one end of a long narrow scarf. I am so intrigued by the metallic shades, rainbows and oxidation that occurs on the fabrics. The effect here partially washed away after I rinsed the fabric.

I’m embarking upon the exploration of natural dying, slowly trying to learn a bit more about it because I’ve never really done much of it but am now very interested. It seems a natural progression bringing together my interests in gardening, sustainability and textiles. I’ve started with onion skin collected (from my local CSA) over the last couple years (because I don’t need to MOVE them!), both yellow and red.

I got a variety of hues and shades on both fabric and yarn varying from a green gold to a warm pale brown. I experimented with silk, cotton, wool and linen and used alum as a mordant.

I’ve also been experimenting with the process of natural dying via bundling bits of dirt, bark, lichen, leaves and other debris in fabric Ala India Flint. These experiments haven’t been tremendously successful but it’s new and fascinating to me so I’m enjoying the process. I think it’s time I get India’s Book “Eco Color” though so I don’t waste too much time and fabric in the learning process. I did have some faint success with fern leaves and with mud so far though.

Finally I’ve been trying my hand with a little textile and mixed media assemblage. This is a work in progress that I’m playing around with.

Bits of Cloth and Thread

…PS…Knitting season has returned (I usually put down the needles in the summer) so I’ve picked up the needles again and have a couple projects going (they are gifts so I can’t show them yet).

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Moving Monday::Where to Begin with Packing

October 3, 2011 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Organizing Projects, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources 2 Comments

Okay, it’s time for my weekly check in on our moving progress. I’m excited to share that the house is on the market and has shown a few times. It’s got to be kept spic and span which is a challenge in this state of affairs but it’s kind of nice! I’m enjoying having things looking neat and clean for our last amount of time here.

A few more items have made their way onto Craigslist and the flea market is behind us now. It was a wash out but we made a little money before it started pouring and the remaining non valuables went directly to donation. So, what’s the next step? Packing of course! When it comes to packing I wanted to share a little of my strategy. I have a list week by week of what I will be packing by category. I’m sure there will be a little overlap but it’s a plan and it creates weekly goals for our packing which will help keep us on track and feeling less overwhelmed.

Pictures and artwork, especially personal photo’s (those came down before we started to show the house). Next, all the small artwork come off the walls. I pack smaller photo’s and artwork in medium size boxes with newsprint wrapped around each and bubble wrap or cardboard between them.

Small decorative non function items. Otherwise known as Nicknacks:)

Formal china, stemware, crystal and serving pieces. I’m not planning to do any formal entertaining before we leave so these things won’t be needed. We don’t have a lot of it but what there is will go in boxes this week.

Any books I know I won’t be referring to.

By next week it will begin looking a bit more bare around here. This is the part I don’t like very much but I’m hoping to embrace the empty space and enjoy the simplicity of living with less.

Moving Monday::6 Week Countdown (hkpowerstudio.wordpress.com)
Moving Monday::House Tour (hkpowerstudio.wordpress.com)

Follow this Friday::Reuse and Organize

September 30, 2011 by Heather Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Organize, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources 2 Comments

Here are a few favorite things I found this week that fall into the categories of reuse and organizing. You can’t beat that combo!Suitcase Side tables from Cupcakes and Cashmere

Crate’s are popping up everywhere and here are a few ideas for their use.

Crate Side table from Neet Magazine

Crate Shelves from Design sponge

Reuse and Organize

Various shelves and organization by way of re-purposed crates, suitcases etc from Recreate

To see more ideas for re-using everyday stuff check out my Pinterest Re-Use It board. If you would like to follow my boards click Here.

There is a lot of discussion these days about how images collected on Pinterest are attributed, in my case I always try to link back to the original makers. In some cases, these items are for sale but may not be available. In other cases, they are simple ideas that no one would mind you reusing in your own way. In any case, I hope you will give credit to the creative makers who inspire us with their DIY inventions!

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Moving Monday::House Tour

September 26, 2011 by Heather Filed Under: Photography 1 Comment

Whaaaa, moving is so much work! Okay so we haven’t really begun to pack yet because our focus has been on the purging, organizing, sorting and getting the house in ship shape for showing. Since I took the photo’s the realtor will be using I thought I would share a behind the scenes tour of our home.

Welcome, please come on in!

Half Bath

The Kitchen

Our Back deck with my jungle of plants, sadly some will not be coming with us.

The Dining Room looking towards the back deck and the kitchen.

The living room

The living room from the dining room, as you can see the first floor has a very open floor plan and great windows!

The Master Bedroom

What use to be our guestroom is now our staging area with packing supplies at the ready.

2nd Bath

The Office

This pretty well concludes the tour of our home for the past 6 years. I’ve left out a few areas including the full basement because it’s not much to look at right now. Below is what it use to look like when I had my carpet design office down there, now it’s another staging and storage area but will be a great space for whomever move in here next.

There is still a lot to do, including getting stuff out of here which we are continuing to sell. Rather than a yard sale we will be participating in a Flea Market to sell the remaining items this coming weekend. A few furniture pieces, art and craft items, tires, tools, electronics and other odds and ends will be going. Now that the house is pretty much ready to show we will on alert to vacate for the realtors at a moments notice. I’m sure that’s going to be fun! I’m trying to keep a positive attitude but the limbo part of this process is particularly tough on me. I’m a very home based person so I feel I’m being invaded but it’s what we must do to move on. I’ll be back next week with reports on the flea market and the realtor’s listing info. If you know anyone who you think would love to live in this house in Gaithersburg, MD please get in touch!