Week 41 in my yearlong sketchbook practice.
sketchbook : week 41
handmade christmas
I had pretty much talked myself out of a Christmas Tree – one more thing to do- that sort of thing……… And then all of a sudden talked myself right back into it. I already had a tree so why not. Last year I got a living tree – a little Norfolk Pine – and it’s still here, a much more charlie brown sort of affair than it was when I got it last December but alive and pretty well. I’m so happy it survived – they often perish post Christmas and I’ve gotten very attached to it. I got it on a whim (down the street at a deli for 30 bucks) without knowing much about Norfolks; hot, dry, semi sunny New York apartments are not ideal environments for them. When it began to struggle last year I got a tip from a reader (thanks Sally!) to give it a cool shower once in a while and that did the trick. Decoration-wise I wanted to be gentle with it so I kept it simple – mostly things I made (pattern resources are listed at the bottom of the post) and a few heirloom treasures like my Mom’s pink glass beads. It’s twinkly and festive and makes me happy. I’m so glad I did it and I hope the tree doesn’t mind to much.
ornament pattern resources:
sketchbook : week 40
Week 40 in my yearlong sketchbook practice.
the honey rose
The Honey Rose (all fabrics courtesy of lovely Sri Threads)
She’s made mostly from kimonos – whispers of fabric layered into something new. My stitches mixed with stitches from other hands and centuries. I’ve been thinking about making her since the big box of kimonos arrived unexpectedly… There is always a point in building this sort of ship that I decide that I am never doing it again – they are insanely labor intensive – maybe the most irrational part of my irrational enterprise. And then it’s done, floating and twirling and casting lovely shadows and I can’t wait to make another.
sewing frenzy and letting go of outcome
This is what a sewing frenzy looks like. I’ve been working on a large ship and I began with a very specific idea of what I wanted it to be. The ship did not cooperate and taught me a lesson about letting go of outcome. Plans are great but sometimes things need to percolate and meander. I un-did most of my work ( painful) and pulled out just about everything – kimonos, gowns, boro – tons of stuff – and camped out for hours experimenting. A ship is emerging – not at all what I expected and I love it. It’s a ship that wanted to be what it wanted to be – each thought, each scrap, building on the next, layering into something new.
Hoping to finish tomorrow and have it in the shop this week. I’m working on a couple owls as well – a big guy and a little guy – both dastardly and made from Edwardian bodices.
sketchbook : week 39
Week 39 in my yearlong sketchbook practice.
gift tags and a caption contest – updated
update 12/17 :
Thanks so much for your wonderful imaginations – so many good captions! And there was – by unanimous decision – a tie – so 2 birds will be awarded. And the winners are:
Debra : “Four calling birds, three acorn caps, two spools of thread, and a pincushion filled with many needle sharps!”.
And Bach Hanes : Everyone ready? Let’s get the flock out of here.
Thanks again to everybody who came up with a caption.
**************************
I sure do like to make a little bird, put an acorn hat on it and take its picture. I love the photos in part because everyday things are transformed into little bird world things – I imagine their perspective and peek into their world and wonder what they are up to…
What do you think they are up to? Make up a caption for the photo above and leave it in the comments of this post. An esteemed panel of judges will choose a winner who get’s their very own bundled up bird. Everyone is welcome to participate.
And gift tags! A little yellow house in the forest – print them on card stock, fold at the roof and add a little glitter and a string or ribbon. Click here to download the little house tags.
A couple notes:
* The red ribbon in the photo above is 4 mm silk ribbon – I love it – you can get it here.
* The pattern for the little birds is here.
* And the little birds in the photo are in the shop now and I restocked a couple bunnies and squirrels too.
my big creative year : can does not equal should
This has always been a sticky spot for me. I make myself very busy with work I CAN do without carefully considering if it is work I SHOULD do, work only I can do, work I am meant to do. A yes to one thing is a stealthy no to something else. A lot of my efforts this year have been around making those choices more carefully or at least more consciously and treating time like the precious resource it is.
I first came across Elizabeth Gilbert through her Ted Talk on Creativity and just lately put her new book Big Magic on my list (have your read it? I’d love to hear what you thought). And there is a companion podcast series to the book – Magic Lessons. You know I love a good podcast and I listened to all 12 episodes during a marathon sewing session. I love the way she talks about ideas, inspiration:
“Inspiration is looking for you, it’s waiting for you patiently while you’re making your mistakes, making the things that must be made on the way to what it has for you, it is a collaboration and a synergy…”
The podcast is a series of interviews with other authors and artists and conversations with women trying to move past fear, procrastination, guilt and busyness into their most truly creative work – their big magic.
Find the podcast – Magic Lessons – here:
sketchbook : week 38
Week 38 in my yearlong sketchbook practice.
very nice mice : pattern and instructions (and it’s free!)
I’ve made you something! A free sewing pattern for some very nice mice. You can download the pattern here and all the instructions are below. So little – just 3 inches tall. They are quick and very easy. And they love to go boating – they are the perfect size to captain my little felt boats.
Support free patterns like very nice mice with a very nice donation.
Click here to add your support.
pattern notes:
I designed this pattern specifically for hand sewing and felt. The seam allowance of 1/8 inch is included. I recommend small, tight, straight stitches with cotton thread.
material list:
felt ( wool or wool blend)
matching sewing thread ( I think cotton works best)
embroidery thread
stuffing ( I like wool)
pencil or disappearing fabric marker and – optionally – pink colored pencil
sewing and embroidery needles ( a sturdy sewing needle is helpful for sewing through multiple layers of felt)
pins
chopstick for turning and stuffing
1. Cut one back and two side pieces from felt.
2. Mark both side pattern pieces with the guide dots on the pattern.
3. Cut out the small pieces – I used a lighter scrap of felt for the tummy oval (textured wool or cotton is nice too).
4. Stitch the side pieces together from the tip of the nose to the bottom guide mark – your stitches should be an 1/8th of an inch from the edge of the felt.
5. Optional – use a colored pencil to add a little pink to the ears.
6. Open the side pieces you sewed together.
7. Place the top of the back piece (the narrow end) in the center, matching the top edges. Insert the needle 1/8th of an inch from the top coming out on one side of the center seam (the side you intend to sew first). Make one tiny stitch and knot tightly.
8. Turn the back piece to one side and begin to match the edges and sew the seam-following the curve and maintaining an even 1/8 inch seam allowance.
9. Stop sewing and knot your thread just before the pattern guide dot on the side piece – leave there needle and thread attached.
10. Fold the bottom of an ear together – with the pink inside.
sketchbook : week 37
Week 37 in my yearlong sketchbook practice.
my big creative year : good ideas
Sometimes ideas are like mosquitos – whispers that won’t leave you alone. Sometimes they are slippery and hard to grasp. Sometimes they’re chaotic, tumbling over each other. Sometimes they are lurking in the shadows, maddeningly half revealed and sometimes they are frightening – too big to hold.
Whether they are big or little, scary, silly, sad, strange, embarrassing or brilliant they are in unlimited supply. You can’t run out.
And this is also true:
“The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.”
Linus Pauling
Lots.
And I would add this – have lots of ideas and write them down, record them, scribble them, sketch them – as soon as they show up.
Volume matters not because you’re bound to get lucky eventually but because asking your brain to generate lots of ideas keeps the wheels turning and the machinery well oiled. It makes you ask the second question and the third and the fourth etc. etc. that will lead you to new places, lead you deeper into your imagination and your magic.
