resurrection fern

thankful

Happy thanksgiving to all my American friends. I am thankful for all the little moments that make up a day and also for being able to share so many of them here with all of you. I left the house today at 7:30 am and returned 12 hours later. These are some of the little snapshots of my day. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The picture of the embroidered button snail and stones is part of a project organized by Kathreen Ricketson and the very soft elongated alpaca pompom is the first prototype for an idea for making shaped pompoms. This one is pine cone shaped. It was a gloomy grey all day long and then the sun came out ever so briefly just before it disappeared into the horizon. 

Have a wonderful day filled with special moments. 
 
 
  
 
 
 

hurray for pompoms

 

my latest little distraction

Main Entry: ¹pom–pom 

Pronunciation: \ˈpäm-ˌpäm\

Function: noun

Etymology: alteration of pompon

Date: 1873

1 : an ornamental ball or tuft used especially on clothing, caps, or costumes
2 : a handheld usually brightly colored fluffy ball flourished by cheerleaders

There is something strangely exciting about the moment when you cut the edges, pull the drawstring tightly together to reveal the pattern you have unknowingly (well almost) created.  In my mind this makes me thing of protein folding and embryology. One day I hope I have some time to describe why if anyone is interested. For now I only have pretty pictures of my very low tech pompom making method. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't you love the little guardians of the pompoms or perhaps they call them pompons since these are Parisian owls made by Mathyld. They are already world famous, having made it to explore on the weekend. 

Main Entry: pom·pon 

Pronunciation: \ˈpäm-ˌpän\

Function: noun

Etymology: French, from Middle French pompe tuft of ribbons

Date: 1751

1 : ¹pom-pom 1
2 : a chrysanthemum or dahlia with small rounded flower heads

During my brief research I discovered another sort of pom pom. Wouldn't it be amazing if this would shoot beautiful colorful soft pompoms instead of bullets. 

Don't be surprised if you see these colorful creations turning up just about everywhere this holiday season. We have plans....

Hope to see you tomorrow where the BIG SECRET PROJECT will be revealed!!!!

to Paris with love

My parcel is waiting at my door, signed and sealed and ready to drop off at the post office tomorrow. If everything works as planned it should be in the hands of Mathyld early next  week for the big event. I really wish I could attend the Supervente craft market in person because I am sure from the tiny glimpses of loveliness that I have seen I could do most of my christmas shopping there. Here are a some pictures of what I have contributed.

 

Oops, Arwen so wanted to go to Paris but I told her she wouldn't fit in the box:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There you have it on the kitchen table before being packed carefully into the box. My favorite thing was the crochet covered sea glass. When you hold it up to the light it looks very similar to the doilies in ice from last winter.

Have a great start to your week. If you happen to be out and about in Paris in early December please don't forget to attend the event of the season.

a little bit of this and that

Another long wednesday at work and of I am a little on the tired side but I still wanted to thank you all for your feedback about the slide show. It is definitely mixed. Next one I will slow it down and perhaps make it more of a regular slide show that you can stop and start if you want to spend a little more time communing with a certain picture. In my very small periods of "free time" I have been working on some small embroidered works on felt. For so long I have been using a very small number of embroidery stitches ( outline, chain, french knot and blanket stitch). With these small projects I am trying to learn some new stitches. The latest one I think I have mastered is the feather stitch. The delicate bird is made entirely of this new (to me) stitch.  I have also been working on some larger crochet covered stones (thank you nanou) for you don't know what yet. These stones were so beautiful that I chose to leave almost the entire bottoms uncovered so that the natural beauty could shine through.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This one I did on my "stitching" break at work today between seeing all the H1N1 patients and my regular office appointments. Sorry for the artificial lighting in my office but I took a better picture on my short break and walk at suppertime.

 

 

I really love those folkloric style birds. One last picture of the sky just as I was leaving work this evening. I love the crescent moon.

 

thank you in the language of pinecones

Pine tree symbolism includes creativity, life and  longevity . These area all things I wish for you all and my little way of thanking each and every one of you for your continued support here on this place where I share, on flickr and of course in my etsy shop. Thank you once again for a very successful shop update.  After the custom merfish are made and the packages all packed and sent I am going to focus on preparing a parcel to be sent off to Paris, work on my "big secret event" and of course deck the halls, bake some cookies and make some Christmas gifts.  

I have started to collect natural materials and have started to deck the porch a little.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh and that was my bench monday shot on the porch with me wearing my daughter's crazy slippers that I have nicknamed the wild things. I plan on making my own version of these when I get a chance , replacing the fur with large colorful pompoms. 

Distracted by Geninne

Here it was Saturday afternoon and I was just minding my little etsy shop business trying so hard to cover some stones to offer in the pre announced etsy shop update for today when on my flickr screen what does appear but a knock you off your chair , beautiful image from my very talented friend Geninne. Here it is on her first blog update after signing off for a few weeks. I tried to love it and leave it but oh no it just kept distracting me to the point where I had to lay down my crochet hook, thread my embroidery needle with some brown thread and the rest is now history. This is how things ended. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You might recognize that bunting, it was a gift from Geninne along with a great many other fantastic paper goods. I can't wait to decorate everything with her beautiful colorful papers. Geninne, you are the best distraction a friend could ever have. Thank you so much!!

So if I am a few stones short today in my etsy shop update at 5 pm EST you now know why :)

forest, ferns, fiber art

This little snow flake wants to take you on a very brief walk in the forest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There we are back in my office. Here is a sneak peak of some of the new stones I have been crocheting in the evenings. Enjoy your day.

 

 

The large hand-felted stone covered in lace was inspired by the snow of the moss last friday :)

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.