resurrection fern

Snowflake Pendant Tutorial

Here is the little tutorial I promised yesterday inspired by the fresh fallen snow on the deep dark brown earth. It can be made in any color and with a simpler design. It could really be adapted to any thing you or your children might be inspired to stitch onto felt.

Materials : box board, template for circles, pencil, scissors, felt, embroidery thread, needles and a length of wool, ribbon or trim.

Step 1 : Trace some circles onto your box board. I used a small espresso shot glass but a small glass would be fine. The fern snow globe one was started in my office and I used my stethoscope as a template:)

 

Step 2:  Cut out the circles.

Step 3: Using your cardboard circles cut out two felt circles for each pendant. Cut the felt about 1/8 th of a inch wider than the cardboard. You will understand why later.

 

Step 4:  You are ready to embroider your snowflake or other pattern onto one of the felt circles. My design uses three simple stitches : outline stitch, chain stitch and the fly stitch. Hint when you are using the fly stitch start at the periphery and work your way inward. A great on-line source of stitch tutorials can be found here.

 

 

Step 5: Now turn it over, place the cardboard circle in the center and cover with the second piece of felt. 

 

Step 6:  Now you are ready to do a blanket stitch all around the edge starting just to the right of the center top of your pendant. Stop about 1/2 " from completing the circle.

 

Step 7:  Take a length of yarn, trim or ribbon at least 2 feet long and tie the ends. Place this knot behind the cardboard at the opening. 

 

 

Step 8:  Now continue the blanket stitch catching the wool as you stitch.

Step 9:  Secure the end of the embroidery thread and try it on.

 

 

Hint:  This could easily become a pendant by adding a pin to the back. It would look lovely on a hat or head band or even attached to a hair clip or pony tail holder. 

 

That of course is the first snow fall version of bench monday. I adore folkloric woolens.

first snow inspired embroidery

On the last post I hinted about a first snow inspired little hand sewing project. I was thinking about how the first snow really rekindles my dwindling inspiration reserves. At the end of autumn , especially when the calendar turns to November, the time changes and the number of daylight hours I am exposed to significantly diminishes, I find myself a little listless. I often feel like curling up with the kitties and taking naps. When I experience the first snow it revives me, unfurls me and gives me the much needed energy to create.

This is how I turned this experience into a small hand sewn felt medallion. It is a resurrection fern snow globe. On one side you see the fern ( me ) curled up with the snow lying on the ground. Then you only need hold it in your hand and shake it and like magic with the snow floating everywhere the fern ( me )  unfurls and awakens.

 

 

 

 

 

The snow melted the next day and we experienced almost summer temperatures on the weekend. The snow may be gone but the inspiration isn't. I already completed my next snow inspired pendant. I love the white snow against the dark brown earth. This will be a simple little tutorial for young and old to sew up some small gifts for special friends. The first snow always means the beginning of christmas gift making in my house. I hope to update my list of tutorials soon for easy access.

 

Have a great start to your week. Remember if you are longing for snow all you need are a needle and some snow white thread and then you will be ready to sew along.

le petit lapin noir

I finished an idea that has been hopping around in my mind for a while now. I wanted to combine some of my favorite things : crocheted lace, embroidery, linen, felt, lockets into something wearable. My eldest daughter said she saw a wild black bunny which is a very rare sighting. The wild rabbits are brown in this region. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The chain is nice and long so I think it will look really lovely worn. I will attempt to get a picture on a model today but for now all the little bunnies in the house are still asleep. I will leave with this beautiful image from just outside my favorite morning coffee shop.

little bits and pieces

It is late when I am writing this post. I just got back from the swell season concert in Toronto which was well , fantastic. I love how the sweetness and raw energetic vocals and instrumentals came together seamlessly. Glen work a typical Canadian toque at the beginning of the concert that he said someone on the street gave him. You can see the large green pom pom in this dim photograph.

 

All I have to show you are a few bits and pieces of things I am working on little by little in the tiny cracks of spare time I have these days. These were photographed in the beautiful bright sunshine this morning before work. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making those little droplet shaped crocheted bits is becoming a little addictive.

Wish me luck with a very long day ahead of me on the H1N1 front lines.

my photography studio

The light is amazing especially in the morning and late in the day. It is completely solar powered. The backdrops are ever so beautiful. It doesn't cost me a penny, it is always open and I only need share it with the local wild things. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every so often I crochet up another covered tea saucer I have found at the thrift store. I almost have enough for a satisfactory wall display. It has been quite the week and I am glad it is drawing to a close. Hope those of you that are have the flu recover quickly and that the rest of you stay well. I leave you with the sun rise on my way to work this morning. There are some wonderful things you see if you must get up early to trod off to the office. I think that sole bird in the tallest tree was singing a good morning song just for me.

this day was for the squirrels

I was going to title this post "going nuts" but thought it a little harsh. Where I live we are in the midst of a very rapid increase in the number of H1N1 cases while at the same time the vaccine to prevent this illness has just started to be distributed. I have been a family physician for over two decades and have never before had to deal with a situation like this. So again my word of the day was "composure". Keeping it together to calm fear, maintain balance and get through it all one day at a time.

I took these pictures last week and they are so bright, colorful and smile inducing. Maybe they will work on you too. Here let me guide you into the forest with my little lantern leading the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really wonder what gossip those sporophytes are sharing with the liberty mushroom. Don't you love the cotton candy slime molds. They were new arrivals in the forest last week. Stay well my friends.

nahanni : a hand knit hat

 

 

 

This is really quick and easy to make. You can finish it in a few hours. 

Materials:

 about 100 yards of bulky , preferably hand spun yarn. This was yarn I spun last winter. I was so pleased with how it looks knitted up in such a textural pattern.

a 16 inch size 10 mm circular knitting needle or a set of four double pointed needles

a large holed yarn needle for finishing.

Instructions: 

Cast on 40 stitches and join to form a circle. 

Knit one, purl one ribbing for 10 rows. 

The next round knit in the front and back of each stitch thus doubling the number of stitches in a round to 80.

Place a stitch marker at the beginning of the round.

*Wrap the yarn twice (w x 2)  around the needle in your right hand and then knit the next two stitches together ( k2tog) . Continue pattern until you have completed a round. 

Next round knit plain.* Knit the double wrapped stitch as one stitch. This will allow you to maintain the same number of stitches in each row.

Continue these *two rows*  for 4 more sets. ( 8 rows total)

Now **wrap the yarn twice around the right hand needle and then knit the next three stitches together. Continue pattern until you have completed a round.

Knit the next row plain as before.**

Repeat these **two rows** two more times .

Now cut your yarn so you have an 8 inch tail and thread it on yarn needle. 

Thread all your remaining stitches on the thread and pull to gather them together. Sew the remaining threads in firmly.

There you have it your own warm mushroom hat. I am going to make another one , a little longer to give it a more slouchy look. 

Here is a picture I took with the partially knit hat and wool on the page with images from Nahanni National Park. Don't they look great together.

 

 

 

How to Make a Fabric Covered Button Badge

A few of you asked for a tutorial on how to make a covered button badge of your own. It doesn't take much persuasion to get me to do a little tutorial. I see my little blog as a little spring board. Giving some of you that extra little lift to get your crafting life off the ground. Before I start I am going to apologize for the poor photography. I had to use the flash, something I dread. No light when I get home from work these days. The apology out of the way I think the pictures are self explanatory but I will add very brief descriptions of the steps.

1. Gather up your materials. I like to gather up more than I need because once I get into that making mode I hate to get up and look for things. The basic things you need are fabric, a small piece of felt,  covered button kit size 60, one inch wide ribbon or trim, a ruler, needle and thread, scissors and safety pins or brooch fasteners. 

 

2. I cut out vintage fabrics and a lovely moose from fabric Lara Cameron. I decided to use the moose for this little tutorial. Make a covered button using the instructions with your kit.

 

3.  Cut a length of ribbon 12 inches long. 

 

4.  Thread a needle and gather the ribbon. You could use a sewing machine here but I like to sew by hand. Pull the gathering until the length measures 5 inches which is the circumference of the button. Tie a knot to secure the length.

5.  Now sew together the ends of the ribbon to form a gathered circle. 

 

6.  Center this on the back side of the covered button.

 

7.  Now thread the needle again and sew this onto the edge of the fabric covered button. You could probably glue it instead but I rarely use glue so I prefer to hand sew.

 

8.  Now cut a piece of felt into a circle 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Make two little openings and poke a safety pin through. Sew the pin down into place with a few small stitches. 

 

9.  Now center this felt backing on the undersurface of your badge and sew it into place. 

 

10.  Add any detail you would like with a needle and embroidery thread. I added a tiny patch of moose moss to munch. 

 

I attempted to take a picture of it on a top of mine but it is late at night and again I apologize for the poor quality photographs. 

 

That is my closet door:)

 

I hope to have my hat pattern posted tomorrow. It is so quick and easy to knit up. 

 

By the way you will find a little post about me on Whip up and you can purchase my plush you 2009 items here. I think they would make wonderful gifts this holiday season and it would be like the gift that keeps giving since I am donating my portion of the sale to Greenpeace. Both the turtle and Halvard include crochet covered sea stones. 

knitting is golden

 

Nature and its continuously changing display always inspires me. This weekend it was mostly shades of golden yellow with accents of brown, orange and purple. I really needed to knit to give my crocheting tired fingers a rest. I grabbed some wool I spun last winter, my largest knitting needles and made a scarfette using my very own pattern. Instead of vintage buttons I made a fabric covered button from the little purple owl embroidered on liberty tana lawn. I added a trim of velvet ribbon dyed with sumac. 

 

Some of this was knitted on the porch while staying warm drinking butternut squash soup. I am coming to terms with the fact that there are very few porch afternoons left before winter comes.

 

 

 

This project can be completed in only a few hours and only requires one skein of bulky yarn. It is super easy to knit.

 

A few other golden images ( lisa congdon's birch painting and rummage sale finds on the line)  from the weekend and of course since it is monday a very pumpkin filled bench monday shot. Even the hand knit socks ( thanks Bekki) match the post. 

 

  

turning a little accident into a thing of warmth and beauty

If you have ever seen one of my crochet covered stones you would see that the cover is crocheted very tightly to the stone. So tight that it is not removable. I almost only use thrift store purchased vintage crochet or tatting threads and sometimes these are not the strongest threads in the world. I had just finished making a beautiful, very fine thread cover for a stone and was pulling very hard on the threads to make them as snug as possible and for the first time in my stone covering career the material tore, leaving a very large hole in the pattern. Rather than toss it into the compost, I decided to wet felt a cover on the stone and then open it up ever so slightly to reveal the lace pattern, hopefully in the none ripped area, beneath. This is very similar to how I made my matryoshka stones last year. 

 

 

I love these blues and off whites.

Quite the contrast to the continued explosion of color in the forest. 

 

The fields are very muted, golden and beautiful on my drives to and from work. Although I wish I could walk or use public transit to get to my office there is definitely some wonderful scenery to enjoy every day.

 

I do so hope your weekend glows.