resurrection fern

Its a Crewel World Out There

Crewel embroidery has been around for over a thousand years . It is usually thought to be the application of embroidery using wool to fabric. It was an alternative to tapestry which is basically needlepoint and was thought to be a more free form of expression with a needle not being confined to those little boxes as in needlepoint. The oldest example of crewel embroidery that I have seen is the bayeux tapestry . Well I saw most of it . When we visited Normandy my first two children were 2 and 4 years of age and my son wasn't very happy that day since we were having a very difficult time finding his favorite beverage in France (apple juice). All we could find was cider and being a responsible Canadian mom I was having a hard time with the idea of giving my toddler juice with alcohol in it . In the end my husband and daughter saw most of the tapestry and I spent most of the time outside in the cobblestone courtyard with my son. Sorry for the diversion but I am trying to keep this blog personal. I love embroidery ( seeing and doing) and over the years I have collected some fine examples of crewel work at garage sales and thrift stores. I was looking for something on the third floor of my house and I came across some of my treasures so I decided to photograph them and share them with you today. Most of these were picked up for a few dollars a piece and I am sure you can appreciate how long it takes to make something like this. I feel that in sharing these with you the people who worked many hours to create them are some how getting the appreciation they deserve. Here they are in no particular order except my favorite is last and I will tell you why after all the pictures .

I saved my favorite for last. This one was found in a pile of old pictures and frames at the local value village store a few years ago. I was immediately struck by its beauty and amazing craftsmanship. Most of the embroidered pictures you see in the thrift stores are made with kits but this one was unlike anything I had seen before. As I was admiring the embroidery it came loose from its frame and between the fabric and its backing was a hand written note . The writing was obviously that of a very old person and was very difficult to read. It went something like this." This was the last picture that my husband made before he died. I miss him very much . He filled my life with so much joy and he made such beautiful pictures for me to continue to enjoy and love long after he is gone. " This was the first and last time I cried in Value Village. I love this picture so much .

Wet Felting Eggs Tutorial

I am excited to share with you my second tutorial. I first want to make it clear that I am not a felt making expert. I am actually not an expert at any particular craft form but I love to try new things . A number of years ago I learned how to make felt with the age old techniques of wet felting. There are a number of good books and on line tutorials on the subject . These are some of my favorite books on wet felting ( not needle felting or fulling knitted articles) . I am going to show you how to make an egg although the same technique could be used to felt over any hard object that can withstand hot soapy water and friction. You will need a few things : an egg shape ( I use hard plastic eggs from the dollar store but you can use wooden ones or stone eggs ), wool roving , liquid soap ( I use dish soap) , hot water and a place to work ( I use the kitchen ). A wash board or bamboo mat for the friction rub is helpful but not essential. Some people use bubble wrap for this but I don't find that very environmentally friendly.

Not all wool is feltable. My favorite quick felting wool is merino sliver from my favorite Canadian wool company, Fleece Artist of Nova Scotia

Now lets get started. The first step is to fluff up the wool roving and wrap it around the egg in layers. Try to run the layers in different directions . I usually use about 5 layers.

Now cover the egg with some hot soapy water. I use a one part dish soap to two parts water mixture. Gently squeeze the wool egg / soap / water object and press together the fibers so that it doesn't all fall apart at this stage. When it is all warm and soapy you can start to very gently rub the egg with your finger tips .

You will start to feel the wool fibers binding together as you rub . This step is called soft felting .

The next step is fulling which binds the fibers together in a stronger union making it more durable . Some people call this hard felting. I do this by rubbing the soft felted object on a wash board or a bamboo mat. You can continue to use your hands for this step but it takes more time and my hands already feel like leather from all the hand washing I do. You don't need to be gentle on this step and it usually helps to have some music on. I am listening to the Across the Universe soundtrack.

You are almost done. Now rinse out the soap and you have yourself a wet felted egg. Place it somewhere warm to dry . A little warning is that some cats are fascinated with these soft felted things and I have had a few eggs and other felted objects demolished over the years.

After it has dried you can cut it open with sharp scissors if you want to put a little chick or bird inside .

This is a great activity to do with your children and is also excellent therapy for anyone with arthritis in their hands. The finished eggs can be embellished with embroidery , wrapped yarn needle felting or anything else your imagination desires. I will leave with a few pictures for inspiration.

Please leave a comment after this post and next friday I will be drawing a name for a felted gift. Hope you all have a heart felt weekend. ps Valentine's Day is only 6 days away.

Pancake Day Update

Some photographs to share with you on Pancake Day 2008.

The last picture of the pancakes cooking shows some of the little spatter pancakes that my father would call fairy pancakes. He told us that if you were lucky to receive and eat a fairy pancake that wonderful magical things would happen to you. I didn't take a picture of our very full bellies after eating the delicious blueberry pancakes with maple syrup, whipped cream with a side of fresh raspberries and strawberries.

Tomorrow is Pancake Day

Tomorrow is Pancake Day in my household and according to my children one of their favorite days of the year. It is also known as Shrove Tuesday , the day before Ash Wednesday and Mardi Gras. It is our family tradition , handed down from my mother's family to have a supper of pancakes on this day. These are not just ordinary pancakes for each one has hidden inside a small surprise. When I was a child we would find small surprises wrapped in foil inside each pancake. Things like coins, small rings, a pin , buttons, charms, etc. Each one would have a certain meaning. For example if you found a coin you would grow up to wealthy. A ring meant you would one day marry. No one wanted to get a button because it meant you would be an old maid. In a household with 6 girls you can imagine the teasing that followed. In my home I gather some very small gifts that withstand heat and wrap them in foil and place one in each pancake as they are cooking in the skillet. Over the years this has included small toy cars, toy knights or fantasy figurines , pins, rings, earings, necklaces, special coins, key chains, stickers , polished gems, etc. It is actually quite amazing what can be hidden in a pancake. The children eat quite a few as you can imagine. My daughter at university told me yesterday that she bought all the ingredients and is gathering up some surprises to serve a Pancake day supper to her house mates tomorrow. This tradition came about when people wanted to use up all the rich ingredients in their pantry like eggs, milk, sugar and oil prior to beginning the fasting for the 40 days leading up to Easter Sunday. The villages would hold all sorts of pancake theme festivities on this day like pancake races, pancake tosses and my favorite pancake football. I wanted to post this today just incase you wanted to find a few surprises of your own and make pancakes for supper tomorrow. When Pancake Day arrives , spring and Easter will soon follow. I don't have any pictures to accompany this post so I am going to show you some easter colored wool I am knitting with and a vintage easter postcard from my collection.

Happy Rooster Day

Today is Groundhog day in North America but it is Rooster Day in some parts of Eastern Europe. So I want to celebrate the rooster today. I am in love with anything folkloric in costume , textiles and houseware. The rooster is a very common component of these designs. It is a pre christian symbol of ever resurrecting life and has developed into a representation of the dawn of a new day or to signify the joyful embrace of life. It is the national symbol of Portugal where it is symbolizes honesty, integrity, trust and honor. I have nothing against groundhogs but it seems like the virtues of the rooster are more worthy of celebration . Here are some photographs of roosters from Portugal .

I love polish papercuts (wycinanki).

I want to share some of my favorite rooster art. First up the talented diana fayt.

. Then there is camilla engman

Last up is one of my favorites but I really thought I had seen a rooster in her portfolio but couldn't find one so her other amazing birds will do . The artists name is sanna annukka

This week I used all this inspiration and crafted my own roosters, one embroidered piece inspired by the papercuts of my father's homeland (Poland) .

The other a wool felt rooster inspired by the galo of Portugal.

I grew up in Ottawa, the capital city of Canada, and every morning I woke up to the wonderful sound of a rooster crowing. At the end of my residential street was a wonderful family. They had converted their garage into a hen house and they provided all their neighbors with fresh eggs. The city had bylaws that disallowed the keeping of animals other than pets inside the city boundaries but since this family had been doing this for along time they were allowed to continue to do so . I am very fortunate to be given fresh eggs by some of my patient farmers but I often think how nice it would be to have a rooster and hens in my shed announcing the new day and the hope it brings.

Housecalls

I think the favorite part of my work week is heading out of my small busy office , down some beautiful country roads on a housecall. Often stopping to look at some interesting landmarks.

The fields look so beautiful in the winter.

Then I arrive at the home of my housebound patient.

I spend a hour examining the patient, talking to her and her family members, call the home care nurses to update the orders and then I pack up and head back to the office stopping to take a few photographs of the farm.

I make housecalls several times a week and the patients I see usually fall into two categories : the frail housebound elderly or palliative care patients. These visits help me deliver better care by deepening my understanding and knowledge of and connection to these families. These visits are not always easy but they are always rewarding. Whereas most family physicians in Canada have stopped doing housecalls I think that it will always be a part of my practice. In the future I would even consider increasing the home visits as my patient population ages.