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my big creative year : youness

December 31, 2015

by annwood

“No one is youer than you.” – Dr. Seuss

So lovely and simple and true. A perfect message for a child or grownup. And the idea that is at the heart of all that is creative.

I think the youness is worth exploring deeply and sharing as fully as possible. The world only has one chance at what’s in there – one chance at you. I think it’s worth time, energy, embarrassment, failure and disappointment to work your way through to the deepest, most truly creative work you can do – the youest – the work of your utterly unique, snowflake of an imagination.

My Big Creative Year moved me closer to that work, closer to my youness. Some of the things that helped:

Showing up – whether I wanted to or not.

Failing and starting again, and again and again….

Intention – making experimenting a priority – making room for it.

Learning more about how I work (one of the benefits of working) – following my energy.

Listening carefully for the magic – I do believe it is there- waiting to be noticed…. Listening is part of the work and that kind of listening takes practice and patience and the afore mentioned showing up.

I got more tuned in to recognizing where I stumble – I see more clearly what is in the way, what trips me – again and again – this continues to be my biggest sticking point.

And what’s ahead for 2016:

Blog-wise nothing programmed – except the sketchbook – I need to freestyle for a while- post as the spirit moves me. And work-wise – I have a lot of ideas for the coming year – new patterns and for the first time kits! are on the horizon. Also, Some projects came to me at the end of 2015 that hit me right in my youness – work I’ve been enjoying immensely – I’ll share some of that soon.

And for you, for 2016, I hope you’ll continue to visit here – I am grateful that you do. I wish you a happy, healthy and creative year. I wish you a year of magnificent youness.

houses for mouses

December 30, 2015

by annwood

So many nice mice! I love seeing what you make. Check out the fantastic mouses and houses!! by readers below – I love them – every little detail. This multi level affair is by Maura for her son – I can’t stop looking at it.

And A little house in a box by Mama with a Needle and Thread for her little girl – so freakin sweet. Good night little mouse!

Susan added little wooden bases to her dinner place card mice – it’s such a happy crew.

They survived a perilous journey across the couch – stay in a group little mice, stay in a group!

And finally from Larissa – mmmcrafts – slippers, mittens and snowballs – I love it.

Do you get my free weekly-ish newsletter? There are tips and tricks, ideas, stuff to try, all the latest news and blogposts and extra stuff, just for subscribers, delivered mostly on Friday. Pretty much.

sketchbook : week 41

December 27, 2015

by annwood

Week 41 in my yearlong sketchbook practice.

handmade christmas

December 21, 2015

by annwood

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

December 20, 2015

by annwood

Week 40 in my yearlong sketchbook practice.

the honey rose

December 17, 2015

by annwood

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

December 13, 2015

by annwood

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

December 13, 2015

by annwood

Week 39 in my yearlong sketchbook practice.

gift tags and a caption contest – updated

December 9, 2015

by annwood

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.

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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

December 8, 2015

by annwood

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:

http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/magic-lessons/

sketchbook : week 38

December 6, 2015

by annwood

Week 38 in my yearlong sketchbook practice.

very nice mice : pattern and instructions (and it’s free!)

December 3, 2015

by annwood

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:

pdf pattern

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.