Owl-ly Baby's Room Decor

I recently painted this tree on the wall in baby Finn's room. Quite a fun project and Mommy and Daddy were pleased also. I love the notion of Finn growing up in this room with a magical tree to keep him company...

Finn's Mom wanted to use owl's as a theme--and I was so pleased that FINALLY I had a home for these two embroidered owls I created about 2 years ago. Now they grace a wall in Finn's room, along with the tree...may he be blessed with both owl wisdom and the love of nature.

Grandma's Pillow

I really have no idea how old this needlepoint pillow is...I found it in my mother's home after she died. She lived in her childhood home ---where I have many fond memories of visiting my extraordinary Grandma almost weekly throughout my childhood.

My Gram (as I called her)  had dining room chairs with identical needlepoint seats--so I just assumed she also made this small pillow---was it a sampler for the chairs? or an after thought made to use up left over yarn? or did she even make all the needlepoint chair seat covers? maybe someone else made them--although family lore attributed them to Gram--so I suspect she did make them. There were at least 8 of these chairs--what a project! I wonder how long it took her to stitch 8 chair covers?

I keep this pillow on my bed because it reminds me of Gram---a very special Grandma who taught me the Golden Rule by embodying it herself in her daily life. My Gram died when I was in my 20's--and in all that time I never heard her make one negative comment about another human--not even politicians.

Not that she was one of those impossibly cheerful women---when my grandfather died I saw her cry for the first time; I remember feeling very sad for her (I was 11)---but really I had no idea then how devastating it must be to loose life long partner. Looking back now I can see she was sad for most of that year, but soon she adjusted to living in the big old house by herself. I stopped almost every day to see her on my way home from school and she ALWAYS had homemade cookies in the cookie jar in the kitchen--a Grandma who never ran out hugs and cookies---she was that kind of Grandma.

Funny how this old pillow can remind me of the smells and feel of her house, the happy times eating cookies and milk while she read me fairy tales from her 12 book series of MY BOOKHOUSE. I always felt safe at her house and loved unconditionally---something all children should feel, but sadly lacking in my parental home.

When I moved away from home at age seventeen I was terribly homesick, but Gram wrote me a long newsy letter with all the family gossip once a week. Those letters became a lifeline for me--I always wondered if she knew that (now I'm sure she did). I also wondered if she wished someone had written her such letters after she traveled to Alaska as a young woman---so far way from her family and the Wisconsin one room schoolhouse where she taught school.

Gram wasn't a feminist or political at all---in fact once in my teens I was reading F. Scott Fitzgerald and asked Gram if she had been a flapper---and she became quite indignant---but she could bluff anyone at poker and she taught me to knit (for which I am eternally grateful). She was adventuresome and loved the Alaskan outdoors, sports fishing, and hiking with her friends and husband.

We also spent many a happy afternoon playing Canasta at her kitchen table. I credit her with my love of card playing and all types of fiber arts....including sewing, embroidery, and knitting. I can only hope that I can be as good a Grandma to my grandsons as she was for her seven grandchildren.

"If I had known how wonderful it would be to have grandchildren, I'd have had them first. " ~Lois Wyse

Inchies + Squared

Four Inchies + mounted on a fabric covered stretched canvas. Working title : "Four-squared Flowers" and yes, they are re-purposed postage stamps, plus beads & other bits. I was aiming for a botanical theme on this one.

Books As Gifts

Only 28 days (yikes!) until that BIG HOLIDAY. Here are some books I think would make great gifts for most Crafters/Artists (most of these are on my wish list):

Kristin Knits by Kristin Nicholas.
Ah! Color for knitters! Noted knitwear designer and color connoisseur Kristin Nicholas encourages knitters to conquer their color inhibitions, learn a little basic color theory, and create personally satisfying fiber palettes. Kristin has created 25 designs for hats, mittens, scarves, socks, and sweaters in sumptious Nashua Handknits Julia Yarn. This book is eye candy I can't wait to own!


Heirloom Buttons to Make: A gallery of decorative fabric, needle-lace, crochet, and ribbon and braid closures you can create by Nancy Nehring. The subtitle says it all here. To quote one Amazon customer review : "If you knit, crochet, or sew and like to give your garments a little extra, this book will give you lots of new ideas."


Favorite Socks: 25 Timeless Designs from Interweave by Ann Budd (Editor), Anne Merrow (Editor). These 25 sock patterns are taken from various issues of Interweave Press magazines such as "Interweave Knits" and "Piecework" and "Spin-Off." Many of the original issues of Interweave Knits have gone out of print and Favorite Socks ensures these patterns are accessible for a new generation of knitters. Besides providing many classic patterns, this collection also includes a helpful tutorial on knitting socks on two circular needles, and instructions for both toe-up and top-down knitted socks.. However, I think this sock knitting book is not for the novice sock knitter---but aimed at more veteran sock knitters--if you have never knit socks, or never used 4 double pointed knitting needles you may want to watch a video or take a class to learn to knit a basic sock.


Crochet Jewelry: 40 Beautiful and Unique Designs by Waejong Kim and Anna Pulvermakher. The 40 crochet projects range from easy to complicated. The instructions at the beginning of the book are quite thorough and cover some unusual techniques not usually found in a crochet book such as hairpin crochet and cable techniques. "Featured projects include multicolored bead and crochet necklaces, lacy spider web chokers, delicate yarn and wire bracelets, lively cherry earrings, mohair flower pins, and pretty cocktail rings embellished with beads and stones." I am an avid bead crocheter, so I am quite intrigued by this book of unusual crochet jewelry.

I have just started working in a bookstore again! so I will be blogging about the store and more crafty books soon--now back to knitting those holiday gifts.....

More Inchies!

These are "+ inchies or plus size inchies" since they are 1.5" x 1.5" in size. Sewn with fabrics and laces all layered, then embellished with buttons, beads, stamps---whatever I have that strikes my fancy.






These are so much fun to make, once I get going, I just can't stop! I love making these little miniature works of art---they are fairly quick to make, so I can make about a dozen in a few hours. I have sewn pinbacks onto them, and they are will soon be for sale on my Etsy shop--so if you like any of them, check there! They make lovely pins or brooches to enliven a hat, sweater, or winter coat.

Fabric Inchies!

My friend Kari--from Sitka, Alaska--came for a visit and to play in my studio---we made fabric INCHIES! only ours are "inchie +" because we made ours 1.5" x 1.5" ---instead of 1 inch by 1 inch---so we call them "inchie plus" or "plus size inchies" or just "PSI"....
These were a fun quick project---here are some of mine--or the ones I have finished so far...I'm planning to sew pinbacks on these---and presto! instant holiday gifts ;-)




For those who are wondering--an "inchie" is a 1" x1" (or 1.5" x 1.5") fiber square which you can embellish any way you want. This is great way to use up all those tiny bits of interesting fabrics and papers you just could not throw away. Then pull out your fun beads, buttons, and other trims and embellish away.



For great directions on how to make these--via the Quilting Arts Magazine website-- go here and scroll down--the directions area pdf file available for free.



Besides pins--I can think of so many other ways to use these---on a bag or purse as an accent, or even on a sweater. How about ear rings? or a colorful mobile to hang above a baby crib? they are fun to trade with other artists, also...anyone want to trade? just e-mail me.....

TODAYS QUOTE:

"The single clenched fist lifted and ready,
Or the open hand held out and waiting.
Choose:
For we meet by one or the other."
----Carl Sandburg

Stitch Sampler Revisited

My brother lives in our family home in Alaska--my grandfather built the house, and after my grandparents died and my Mom was a widow she lived there. Recently my brother sent me this stitch sampler he found--something I made in the late 1970's (! ) and gave to my Mother. It was the time I think of as my "lace period" because I had this great book LACE by Virginia Bath (now long out of print), and I spent one whole long cold, dark Alaskan winter exploring the techniques of needle lace.

The most interesting aspect of this sampler to me--was to see the palette I choose back then--I am still attracted to these colors today and use them frequently in my creations. What a strange blast for the past. And, yes, it is sooo seventies ;-)



Here is the book--if you ever see a used copy for sale--buy it! I taught myself needle lace using this book and created some large pieces of needle lace---all long gone out of my life, but I still use the techniques I learned.

TODAYS QUOTE:
"At the birth of a child, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity." -- Eleanor Roosevelt

Repurposed Vintage Tablecloth or BYOB

Still into sewing---this grocery/tote bag (BYOB= bring your own bag!) is made from a '50's vintage flea market table cloth---the table cloth had some holes, so I salvaged the good parts, and viola! a bag. It is lined with a lovely blue and yellow cotton print with bows...our household requested I create a larger grocery bag with two handles, (instead of one* see the bag below), so here it is.

This takes care of the proliferation of those large plastic grocery bags...but what to do about the clear plastic produce bags? we save them and stock our cloth bags with used ones...but they still seem to breed and multiply in the pantry---and washing them can be a pain--so here is a neat device for helping you wash out your used plastic bags in the dishwasher (assuming you have a dishwasher;-)--a Bag-e-wash! and a nice kitchen gadget for drying them ---a plastic bag dryer from reusablebags.com which is a great resource for all sorts of reusable bags, resuable water bottles and more. If anyone has any great ideas for something else to use in place of the clear plastic produce bags--do let me know!

June Bead Journal Update

Awhile ago I joined the Bead Journal Project (you can read more about this project here) -- started by noted beading teacher Robin Atkins---and so here is a peek at how far I am on my June bead journal page. Getting very close to finished--just 1/2 the border around the edge to go...

Yeah--I know, I know--it is July now--but I have resigned myself to the fact that I may not finish each beaded page during the month it is started. We are supposed to make one beaded journal page a month--and I will do this--but the creation of the various pages will undoubtedly overlap some months--and I am ok with that. Some journal pages will probably have more beading on them than others--so will take longer to complete --like this one! which now is about nine-tenth completed. I have decided to not start July's page before the June page is completed, however--because I know myself well enough to know that this one will languish, while I become enamored with the new one I'm working on. I think the Yarn Harlot calls this syndrome "startitus"---and I have the disease bad...always starting new projects, and so have several projects on my "WTBF" (waiting to be finished) shelf. I suffer from "too many ideas--never enough time;-)" and summer traveling, music camps, music festivals and so on seem to get in the way. I just haven't found an easy way to take all the beads and supplies I need for bead embroidery on a trip...it is so much easier to pack some bead crochet, or socks to knit...

and here is a close up (I find beadwork hard to photograph with my point & shoot camera... the colors just are not correct here, and the bead reflect so much light...and this whole piece is really very much greener than this photo--like the lush forest greens of Southeast Alaska)

Knitting Notes & Truth Poem

Today I stumbled across this great website --microRevolt--- with a great tool for crafters. "KnitPro is a web application that translates digital images into knit, crochet, needlepoint and cross-stitch patterns. Just upload jpeg, gif, or png images of whatever you wish---and it will generate the image pattern on a grid sizable for any fiber project. knitPro is based on the tradition of pre-industrial craft circles who freely shared patterns and passed them down from generation to generation." I tried this out--and it generated a good grid of my image---wow! this is a versatile tool for many craft applications.

Crochet or knit for the victims and families of the Virginia Tech tragedy.
- A local yarn shop, University City Blvd. Blacksburg, has posted a call for donations of knitted or crocheted squares to make blankets for the victims and families of the Virginia Tech tragedy. Check out the particulars at the Mosaic Yarn Shop's blog.

For me, this is one tangible way to promote healing--knitting a square or 2 with love and kindness in each stitch. I need another project like I need a hole in my head--but I cannot resist this call--I will be posting my finished square here in a few days.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY: " The only place where housework comes before needlework is in the dictionary. " ~Mary Kurtz

And today's poem (don't ask me how this relates;-)

Truth Serum

by Naomi Shihab Nye

We made it from the ground-up corn in the old back pasture.

Pinched a scent of night jasmine billowing off the fence,

popped it right in.

That frog song wanting nothing but echo?

We used that.

Stirred it widely. Noticed the clouds while stirring.

Called upon our ancient great aunts and their long slow eyes

of summer. Dropped in their names.

Added a mint leaf now and then

to hearten the broth. Added a note of cheer and worry.

Orange butterfly between the claps of thunder?

Perfect. And once we had it,

had smelled and tasted the fragrant syrup,

placing the pan on a back burner for keeping,

the sorrow lifted in small ways.

We boiled down the lies in another pan till they disappeared.

We washed that pan.

White Elephant Finds...

The annual WHITE ELEPHANT SALE in Oakland, California is the biggest garage sale in the Bay Area; of course it is impossible for me to stay away from such a great offering of vintage and used items. This time I mostly bought vintage buttons, linens, beadwork, jewelry, and a lovely old wool crazy quilt. The Oakland Museum docents (who run the sale) in the fabric department had spent alot of time sewing some of the matching vintage buttons onto old playing cards.

Here are some of the playing cards (and one postcard) with buttons attached--lovely, huh?


And here are some vintage buttons on their original cards.




These ones are mixed--some with their original cards, some on old playing cards...the design possibilities are infinite...


Here are some vintage beadwork pieces--cut off old clothing--I just could not resist these! great for embellishing a purse, or jean's jacket...into the creative stash to be used someday....



I also love vintage embroidered linens--I love to "repurpose" the embroideries into a nice blouse, or or a tea cozy.

First Blog ANNIVERSARY

CONGRATS TO ME!

According to my records--today I have been blogging here 1 (yes, one!) whole year! I want to thank all of you who have left comments, e-mailed me or signed up on my "Buddy Map" (scroll down to the bottom for this goodie). Happy Valentines Day to you all! I am pleased to be participating in this world-wide craft and art bloggers community. Art is alive in well all over the globe---and the internet allows us to connect with fellow artists more and more. Is this a wonder of our century?

For instance, I recently visited family in Portland, Oregon---while there I also "met up" with 2 fellow art quilt bloggers, who I met online. We would not have had this meeting face to face without the connection via the Art Quilts List and blogs online; without the net I may never have known they existed, and missed the enjoyable afternoon we spent getting acquainted.

Yesterday, I mailed off my first internet SWAP---thanks to Mandi at the Bead Circle I swapped beads with 11 other beaders--all set up and managed via the web. Here's how it worked: She sent a few tubes of seed beads and a few plastic bags with some other types of beads (fringe beads/fire polish beads, stone donut/pendant etc.) to the first participant on the list. Each beader then took what they wanted out of the stash and refilled it with something else, then mailed the package on to the next person. We had one week to decide before we mailed the package to the next person. Everyone agreed to using their best judgement for swapping and make "fair trades." I am very pleased with the beads I kept from this SWAP---would this have been possible without those net connections? ah, another wonder!

As I mention in the previous post, I knit a square for an internet knit-a-long while traveling --- we are all so net connected now that I had no trouble finding a computer to check the site sponsoring the knit-a-long, and knit the square (in train stations and airports mostly), and send it off in the nick of time. At the same time, I found computers everywhere (even the lobby of the Seattle hotel where we stayed had one) so I could read my favorite knitting blogs : Yarnstorm, and Yarn Harlot. The third wonder of this net century--blog anywhere, anytime.

So, hugs to me for figuring out how to blog , and hugs to everyone who visits here and reads my blog--we are all wonders of the 21st century!

A note on comments: if you visit my blog and want to comment, please do! I love hearing from you and try to answer all comments that I can. I see that over 240 folks have looked at the Buddy Map (scroll down)--but only 39 people so far have added themselves to the map--I think it is fun to see where folks are from, and it only takes a minute to sign up--- no promotions or anything will be sent to you if you do put yourself on the map, so map yourself today!

Knitting and Community

(I am still on vacation!) So far, what an enjoyable trip I am on! I am knitting away on each leg of the journey--nothing like train and jet travel and train stations and airports to help one catch up on knitting projects. I find I enjoy knitting while watching and listening to people (all strangers) in both train stations and airports. Knitting also seems a great way to break the ice---folks who would normally not notice me as they wait for their airplane--let along talk with me--now ask me: "What are you making?" and then we get nicely acquainted. Since I am convinced that alienation from others is one reason our country and culture is so seemingly neurotic and violent, I am pleased when my creativity sparks conversations with strangers in public spaces. Hooray for knitting! if it helps foster a sense of community--even in an airport.

Yesterday I was sitting in a small Cafe--above a a nice local independent Bookstore---enjoying some tea while I knit, and two women approached me with their knitting bags and said--"We just had our knitting group meeting downstairs--you should join us!" they seemed quite disappointed when I told them I did not live there, but was only visiting. Ah! we are now everywhere...no longer do we feel we must hide out at home in front of the telly--but we proudly knit in public! and then we talk to anyone who will listen about our knitting. Who knew that a knitting revival could make such a difference? (well, maybe Elizabeth Zimmerman knew this) I feel blessed to be able to help spread the word how knitting together can help heal our fractured culture.

My own needlecraft group--which meets once a month at my house---very often is a time of healing or supportive advice for one of us, as well as a place where we help each other with our knitting or other needlecraft. I have now begun to knit with my ritual morning coffee---knitting while awakening is quite a meditative process, and a pleasant way to begin the day. I like beginning the day with a project where I can see immediate tangible progress accomplished. (oh! look! another 2 inches knit!)

Needleworkers Unite!

A small mixed media art quilt to honor our Needlework Salon or "Sewing Circle", which meets monthly at my house. The central image is the cover from an old set of needles I inherited from my mother-in-law, who was quite the seamstress. I do love those old vintage needle cases! Pieced on the machine and then embellished with embroidery.