resurrection fern

A Cake Plate and Memories

I have owned this simple glass plate since before I was married . I think it is scandinavian. If I had to choose one item from my kitchen that holds the most memory and thus is most treasured it would be this plate. It holds the memory of at least 133 cakes and tarts celebrating family birthdays. It has held chocolate fudge cake, almond torte, fruit tarts, lemon cake, berry shortcakes , fruit tortes and most recently one of our favorites chocolate hazelnut torte. It has held a my little pony merry go round cake that went up in flame when lit for Rebekah's 5th birthday and the death star from starwars that was baked in a large round metal bowl ( or at least it was one half of the death star ) for one of Benjamin's birthdays. I wonder if trace elements of the plate were studied what they would find. I do know the surface of the plate is not as transparent as it used to be and has become a little translucent . Will it become opaque in spots after another 133 birthdays. Our memory starts out like that , transparent and clear but over the years it becomes a little less clear and then not clear at all but there will always be little spots where the light will shine through and the memories will flow . We just may need a little more time to find those special areas. This weekend when I am with my mom I am going to search out those spots and find some way to record them so they are not lost forever. I will leave you with a few of the most recent cakes held by the plate . Do you have a special item in your kitchen that you would like to share with me?

The Owl and the Pussycat Explained

I made this for my daughter Rebekah's birthday yesterday and posted a quick picture of it but I felt it really deserves a post of its own to explain it fully. I wanted to make a fiber art boat for her similar to the bluenose ship and the viking ship I had made previously. Rebekah loves to canoe in the summer and has spent many days of lakes and rivers in Ontario. So I decided on making her a cedar strip canoe but instead of cedar to use strips of fabric , trim and vintage lace.

I would normally use vintage fabrics but Rebekah loves liberty tan lawn so instead I used strips of that mainly. She loves the warm greens, browns, golden yellows , dusty pink and teal color palette so I used that to guide my choices. The back ground fabrics are from kirin and co.. I chose two blocks and sewed them together to look like sky and water and then placed the fabric strip canoe at a slight angle as it skims the water.

I like the doily bow of the boat. The boat is not sewn on the top so that it remains open like a pocket. Now I added some embroidered details to the water.

And in the sky I embroidered a line from the poem the owl and the pussycat,, " the owl looked up to the stars above and sang to a small guitar. "

Now my attention was turned to the owl and the pussycat. I remembered the christmas ornaments I made last year for the ornament swap.

These were inspired by the art of one of my favorite artists and all round nice person matte stephens.. The owl and the pussycat with the bird on its head were replicated into softie versions just the right size to fit into the canoe. The owl needed a quitar and I added a harmonica because my daughter's special friend , also a matt plays one as well as a guitar.

The empty canoe now had occupants.

I finished off the back of the hoop by gathering up the fabric, trimming it and then I glued a thick paper back to the hoop. A personal birthday message was inscribed on the paper . It was wrapped and set on the birthday breakfast table awaiting the birthday girl.

I love the idea of making a fabric art piece with removable components and I am hoping to explore this more in the future because who doesn't want to play with their art. Have a great mid week day!!

You My Brown Eyed Girl : Happy Birthday Rebekah

Hey where did we go,
Days when the rains came
Down in the hollow,
Playin' a new game,
Laughing and a running hey, hey
Skipping and a jumping
In the misty morning fog with
Our hearts a thumpin' and you
My brown eyed girl,
You my brown eyed girl.

Whatever happened
To Tuesday and so slow
Going down the old mine
With a transistor radio
Standing in the sunlight laughing,
Hiding behind a rainbow's wall,
Slipping and sliding
All along the water fall, with you
My brown eyed girl,
You my brown eyed girl.

Do you remember when we used to sing,
Sha la la la la la la la la la la te da

So hard to find my way,
Now that I'm all on my own.
I saw you just the other day,
My how you have grown,
Cast my memory back there, Lord
Sometime I'm overcome thinking 'bout
Making love in the green grass
Behind the stadium with you
My brown eyed girl
You my brown eyed girl

Do you remember when we used to sing
Sha la la la la la la la la la la te da.



The snail came out today and sat on the sunflower to sing you a birthday song and this is the song he sang and he is absolutely right , my how you have grown.

Remember how granny used to call you buttons because of your big beautiful brown eyes.

I just love how you put just about every thing on top of your head.

I think you were just trying to protect that amazing brain of yours. Look how you won the spelling bee at the local county fair

You were always an amazing soccer player and look at you now playing soccer at university.

At least you have grown into the soccer shorts. I loved it when you learned how to play the fiddle.

You always came alive in the summer. You love the sun and the warm air it brings.

You love adventure and the great outdoors.

You loved to dress up and put on plays for your family.

Remember when your favorite color was orange .

And your hair was soooo long and you never wanted to brush it.

Happy Birthday Rebekah, our brown eyed girl, from mom, dad, Tamara, Benjamin and Deborah.

Wait a minute someone else wants to play you a tune on his guitar.

You are my sunshine , my only sunshine . You make me happy when skies are grey.

Butterflies are Free

Yesterday I was planning to go on a butterfly walk in a very special nature reserve about a 30 minute drive from where I live but for one reason or another I was unable to go being without transportation. I must say I started out being very disappointed but the sun came out and I sat in my worn out adirondack chair in the garden working on a secret little project when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye.

It is a good thing I almost always carry my camera in my skirt pocket.

There it was a beautiful eastern black swallowtail and I didn't even have to get off my chair to see it. Later that morning Deborah took this great picture of a monarch . 

I can't really show you what I was working on in that chair but it did involve embroidery so I will show you a little project I made months ago on that long train ride to NYC. 

The moral of the story is that if you grow plants and flowers in your pesticide free garden the butterflies will come.

These taste so good mom, are they organic?

People often ask does organic food taste better? I say if you think so than that is all that matters since you and your family are the ones consuming it. I heard a wine expert on the radio yesterday . Some one phoned in and asked him if a certain wine was a good one. His answer surprised me with its simple honesty. He told the caller if it tastes good to you and you like it then it is a good wine. My children and I think organic foods taste better so that is all that matters, isn't it? It isn't that simple. Even if it tasted the same I think we would try as much as possible to buy organic food for health and environmental reasons. I belong to CAPE , the canadian association of physicians for the environment and we advocate for banning the use of pesticides and non organic fertilizers on the soil. Here are a toronto columnists , Adrian Vasil's top ten reasons to eat organic taken from her fantastic book ECOHOLIC . #1. You don't have to worry about biting into chemicals with every mouthful. #2 Organic food doesn't involve poisoning wildlife, workers and waterways. #3 There's never been a reported case of mad cow disease in organic cattle. #4 Your meat and eggs are drug free. #5 It's the only guarantee that you're not eating genetically modified ingredients. #6 Your food hasn't been zapped or irradiated. #7 Organic farms are hotbeds of life, fostering vibrant biodiversity, not sterile fields. #8 Organic produce is higher in vitamin C and contains 30% more antioxidants. #9 Eating an organic diet may reduce the levels of pesticides coursing through your body. # 10 Organic farmers can actually make a decent living, unlike most conventional Canadian farmers, whose income is in the red and dropping every year. Are you convinced? Maybe these pictures or food from the organic farmers market we went to yesterday will convince you. These vegetables tasted as good as they look.

Just after a delicious organic lunch or the porch. The sky started changing and the wind picked up. Arwen, who has recently taken to wanting to go outdoors wondered what was happening.

Edgar hid in his tent under the porch picnic table.

And then the sky opened and the rain felt down in sheets.

The hail was the size of ping pong balls.

When I was young we would have the rare hail storm and I thought it was exciting when the hail was the size of small marbles. I have never seen hail like this before but unfortunately because of global warming I fear it will become a common sight. Soon after the storm the sun was out again and my daughter was playing with the organic vegetables. In honor of my good friend elsita's return from a family holiday tomorrow I would like to introduce to you elsita purpura organica . Don't forget to play with , sorry I mean eat your vegetables today.

Pastoralism : my Dream of Subsistence Farming

I was thinking last evening about what it might mean for me in a practical way to put the eco back in economics and this lead me to read a little about where the word economics was derived . I already mentioned that it comes from the greek word meaning house or home and used to mean management of a household . Some of the earliest households unless you were of royal blood were actually farms and ancient economies were based on subsistence farming. This means you grow enough food to feed your family and pay your taxes or dues. My husband and I have been talking about buying some land so that we could have a small organic farm that would be self sustaining. I was looking at the different types of subsistence farming and decided my favorite was agro pastoralism which has a farm home base and also a mobile component for the animals and their pastures. Maybe I just liked the name or maybe I am just nomadic by nature. I have always thought it would be very cool to make and live in a yurt but with all the wool required I think I will have to get me a farm first. I have been meaning to share some of my recent photographs of my encounters with farm animals so this seems like a great time to do so. Enjoy and have a great saturday . I am off to the organic farmers market to support the local eco-nomy.

Kind of strange how those sheep were all lined up on that hill. The next photographs are of a fixer upper farm I saw in Quebec when driving up to my sister's cottage. Definitely a pastoral scene happening there.

Printing with Leaves and Flowers

My friend Mary sent me a link in an email this week that she knew I would love. ( thanks Mary). It describes a technique for printing on fabric with ferns. . All you need is some natural, neutral colored fabric , a hammer, a hard, smooth surface and some plant material from your garden to get started. Here is what I did.

Here is some advice. The inclination would be to lay the leaves face down on the fabric but the color comes out far better if you lay them face up. Use a metal hammer not a plastic or wooden one. Start by hitting or tapping softly first to adhere the leaves to the fabric and then you can get a little more aggressive. If you start off too strong you will break the leaves and flowers. With the flowers start tapping at the edge of the petals and work your way to the center.

Heat fix the printed fabric with a hot iron and enjoy the beautiful natural patterns you have made.

The next one shows a print made from the fibonacci pattern on the bottom of a pinecone. I used a paintbrush and brushed the surface with some fabric paint and pressed it onto the fabric using my hand behind to get more pattern since the pinecones are not flat. I love the pattern it made and will definitely be exploring this more later in the summer.

I headed to my newly painted sewing room ( thank you deborah, sweetheart) to see what I could make with this plant printed fabric.

Here is a little sneak peek of what I made. Shhhh !!!! Some one has a birthday soon so I don't want to give it all away.

It has been so long since I have shared any thrift store treasures with you. I found this fantastic coffee table made in Denmark at Goodwill a few days ago.

I wish you all a great weekend and just want to leave with a thought economics and ecology are based on the same root word, eco, from the Greek oikos, meaning "home". Ecology is the study of home while economics is its management. If we are to find a truly sustainable future, we have to put the eco back into economics and the logic back into ecology.

What I came Off My Hook at the Beach

No , I didn't go fishing of course I was continuing my crochet covered rocks exploration. I am running out of smooth natural stones but I had a few that I found near my sister's cottage in Quebec. One of them was about 5 cm long and narrow on one end. As I was running my fingers over the stone it dawned on me that its shape was very matryoshka like. I decided to try to transform it.

I started out by embroidering a very small face on some natural linen and then made a covering for the rock using my usual method starting from the what would become the bottom of the rock doll.

I was very lazy about snapping pictures along the way but when I approached what would be her head I switched thread to olive green for the back of the head, scarf area and off white for the face . I added a little triangular addition to the bottom back of the head to make it look like a scarf and then I added a golden yellow bib area in the front similar to the what the dolls have. I crocheted little chains on either side of the scarf so it could appear to be tied and then I cut, frayed and sewed on the little face to the crochet covered rock. Then she was all ready for a little beach photography session.

I seem to have forgotten to take a picture of her back , sorry about that. That same afternoon, I made another little mushroom and that crochet pinecone necklace I showed you in an earlier post. I hope your week is going well. We had record rainfalls in the Toronto area yesterday and they are calling for more rain today. It is a good thing we own a canoe. Tomorrow I will share some natural cloth printing projects I am working on unless they get washed away with the rain.

How to Print on Seam Binding Using a Inkjet Printer: A Tutorial

Ever since this jacket I named the bluenose ghost made a splash in May I have received questions about how do I print type onto seam binding to make the labels for my jackets and other items like the labels for this jacket.

Before I describe this very easy process I want to show you a few other examples from my other jackets in case you are new to reading this blog and missed the earlier posts.

Here is what you will need for this project: some seam binding ( I prefer the vintage , silk type), plain paper, tape, scissors and a computer with an inkjet printer. First choose a line from a song , poem or anything else you might want to print on a ribbon. Open your word processing program on your computer and type it using whatever script you want and a size that will fit on the ribbon leaving a space above and below the type. Here is my example, a line from my favorite Iron and Wine Song, resurrection fern.

The size that worked for me was 16, so you may want to start there. I had to divide this into two lines because when I printed it didn't fit on one line.

Print a sample of this on a plain white paper.

Now take your seam binding and place it over the printed lines as straight as you can. Now tape the top and bottom as close to the edge as you can being careful not to pucker or crease the seam binding.

Now trim the edge of the seam binding and tape so that they are smooth and flush with the paper. This and the smoothness of your taping will prevent any paper jams. Now place this paper back into the feeder of your printer making sure it is placed so that the printing will occur on the ribbon side and on the top of the page where your sample was. Here is the result.

I will use these ribbons on a little project I am working on involving printing with ferns and other plant material. Here is a sneak peak.

That might be the subject of a future post or tutorial. I want to show you a new little friend of mine before I head off to work .

The Snails Have Been Busy

Here are my snail observations for the midsummer. Some of the snails are very interested in the flowers blooming in the garden at this time of year.

Then there are the woodsy , nature loving snails.

There are snails who want to be models in magazines with a retro look.

There are the helper snails, like this one helping me to do some writing.

This is the new snail on the block, a pond snail.

There are water loving snails that are not aquatic snails.

My little artist snail actually wanted to use paints yesterday but I would only let her use the white paint so we could clean her up easily afterwards. She spent a long time painting this complex rock painting for me.

I am not sure how to interpret this painting but I think the last view looks like two mountains with a river running beneath. Maybe it is a place I will be visiting on my summer vacation.
Some of the snails are giving up their homes to shelter other little creatures from the rain, like this little moth.

My daughter loves snails almost as much as I do and she painted a tribute to them on a beaten up vintage suitcase she found . I love the colors she used in the shell and the button eyes definitely make me smile.

So there you have a full report on what my garden snails have been doing on their summer vacation. I almost forgot to mention that the snail that wanted to help me with my writing spent some time on the palm of my hand and started nibbling on me. It felt sweet and ticklish like minnows nibbling on your toes in the river or lake.