resurrection fern

hoping to get outside

Thanks again for such a wonderful etsy shop update. I am going to get some fresh air and exercise before I start packing up the orders so they will all be mailed out early next week. It is a beautiful day after the violent storms that struck near our area last evening. We are expecting some more unsettled weather tonight so I need to get outside while the getting is good. I leave you with my best wishes for a weekend filled with nature and creativity. ( okay and a few chores)

that last picture is my new favorite!!

Don't Waste the Miracle

A great many years ago I gave a talk to a women's group that I titled Don't Waste the Miracle. At that time I discussed how precious life was and how none of us at any time should ever take it for granted. I used as an example a precious little baby girl that was born on christmas day at only 26 weeks gestation. She weighed just over 1 pound and fit in her mother's hand. She survived , miraculously , with love and amazing medical care and now she is a happy, healthy , super smart teenager. I had my own very personal lesson exactly one year ago. I was driving to visit my mom in Ottawa after having stopped off in the small town along the way that my daughter Rebekah ( she doesn't seem to want to be called Bekki anymore) goes to university in. It was beautiful weather and I was enjoying the drive when I was going through a small town. Suddenly I noticed a pickup truck pull out of a pizza joint and they made a quick left hand turn right in front of me. I didn't have anytime to avoid hitting them so I decided to at least hit them square on to distribute the force of impact evenly. You can see what happened. Mine is the once lovely red car that was written off by the insurance company after that accident. If you look really closely you can see the box with pizza under the truck. Those kids were really upset about loosing their lunch and also about wrecking someone's parents truck. Although my car was badly damaged I walked away from this accident with absolutely no injuries, not even a muscle ache. I had the car towed back to my daughter's university town, talked with the insurance company, rented a car and continued on my way to visit my mom. I really felt other than a little inconvenience and delay that really there had been no consequence to this accident for me but I later found out that this wasn't exactly true. True there was no negative consequence other than having to find myself another car. I ended up purchasing exactly the same vehicle but a newer model. I really felt it had proven itself in the collision test. What I came to realize over the next weeks, months and now almost one full year since this event was that somehow it changed me without me even knowing this at first. I started to become more aware of things especially visually. I felt like I had been given a new set of eyes or at least an occipital cortex through which to interpret what I was seeing. I started borrowing my daughters camera ( I didn't have one of my own then) I fell in love with photography, mainly because it seemed to be the only way I could share with my family what I was seeing. I have always found it difficult to find the words to describe things well. I felt like I had been trapped under ice but now the ice had melted. Everything appeared fresh and green not matter where I looked. I saw beauty everywhere. And patterns where I don't think I was aware they existed. My heart was opened to a deeper care and concern for small living things. At the same time I started to be creative everyday. It started with little things like making wonderful gingerbread cookies and ornaments last christmas. I have made so many wonderful things this past year and every day I have new ideas that pop into my head , sometimes at the strangest times for things I want to make. Life is so wonderful and nature so miraculous. If I have one objective in writing this little insignificant blog it is that I would instill a sense of wonderment in each and everyone of my readers to go out into their worlds and start to notice the things that most people don't even see. Look far away at the horizon and savour the beautiful sky that is painted for you every day. Then look across the road or along the roadside when you are driving or walking. Take notice of the colors in nature. I have been really loving the reds I have been seeing this week, accentuated by the pure whiteness of the newly fallen snow. Nature is a gift no one needed to buy or make but we should be thankful for it. It asks nothing of us in return but we should want to protect it. I have been wanting to write this post for a very long time but today it seemed to crystalize in my mind and I had to share it with you. It has been a wonderful year . Thanks for listening. Margie

Please Mr Postman Handle the Little Bears With Care

It was just one week ago when I started my Plush You 2008 project although it definitely started in my mind the moment I found out that I was accepted. I worked at my real job every day this week but in my free time here is what happened. I started with an inspiration board .
Then a very busy work table .

After about 5 evenings of work this is what I ended up with. In the words of Helen Keller "Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost".

The finishing touch was to make some fabric sacs with my " trade mark" , resurrection fern name attached and a short explanation printed on 100% recycled paper to insert in each sac. I said goodbye to each little bear and packed then up for their journey. You won't believe how hard it was to hand the parcel over to the postman. I have decided that when I get the chance I will make some for myself, especially the last little green bear with the tear on his cheek. He is deeply imprinted in my heart and soul.

If you would like to purchase any or all of these bears ( I have dream that they might actually stay together forever) I believe they will be for sale after the opening on October 10th. I decided to price them all the same even though the mother bear and child took more time to design and make. They will be affordable to anyone who wants to give them a good home and remember my portion of the sale will go to my favorite environmental group. That reminds me wasn't Obama's speech filled with hope for my american friends and really the world. He would definitely get my vote !!!
Thanks for all the amazing comments this week and I will leave the comments open until Monday, at which time I will combine them all and draw a name for special present. Without you my inspiration would starve. Thanks so much. I have decided since september is traditionally back to school month I am planning loads of tutorials for the month including, crochet button mushrooms, the lazy girl ( or boy)'s method to felt rocks, crochet soft trees, knitted trees to name a few. I also have a new guess the nature inspiration post planned. All this intermingled with photographs of the changing season, it's happening so early and fast this year. Fall is traditionally one of my favorite times of year and I plan to celebrate its breathtaking beauty.

Plush You 2008 : Last Pictures Before They Fly to Seattle

It is all done now except for some little cloth bags and tags I want to make for them ( after all I am now officially in the plush business , giggle ) . Tonight I will pack them up in a large box and send them express to Seattle. They will be available to purchase at the opening on October 10th and also online from what I understand. You could contact Kristen , the organizer of this fabulous event if you need any further information. Remember I will be donating my money to the David Suzuki Foundation for its work in the area of global warming. I will miss these little bears and really hope they end up being adopted into a home where there is a strong love for the natural world. I hope you like the pictures. I think they would make fantastic cards and if I ever get around to opening my etsy shop ( hopefully this fall ) I think I might sell some sets there. I might even have to make up some more bears so I can take pictures of them in real snow this winter.

Did you notice the picture where I switched the wool suits of the white and green bears? I was having way too much fun. Do you have a favorite? Don't forget you have until the end of the week to leave a comment of any of the plush you 2008 posts and a chance to win one of those little inspiration ornaments that were posted on my board . If you missed it or forget what I mean check the first post in this series. Thanks for all the wonderful comments so far. They have really helped energize me to get this project done in record time . You guys are the best !!!

The Polar Bears are Turning Green #3 : PLUSH YOU 2008

Here is my final entry in the PLUSH YOU 2008 show in Seattle opening October 10th. If you have been following along this week you will know that this is the last one in the series of three and is the one where the little green cub born to the white mother has grown up and has seen the dramatic effects of global warming on the polar ice and the arctic environment. His iceberg that his mother so carefully used to place him on to play has melted and all that remains is a very small patch on snow and ice on the tundra.
He was made from all natural materials in the same way as the first white bear with a removable hand knit woolen suit. His platform is a hand felted stone from Nova Scotia . I used the wet felting technique blogged about in the tutorial about felting easter eggs. I added the melted iceberg details with needle felting. This little guy really melted my heart when he was finished . I hope he does the same to yours.

I will be taking a few more pictures and then packing them carefully in a box to send them to Seattle.

The Polar Bears are Turning Green #1 : PLUSH YOU 2008

The title may seem confusing if you haven't read the last two posts because the first little bear is not green at all. She is all ivory white and is in my conceptualization of this project the mother in number 2 as a child in the arctic. She is hand stitched from wool felt with embroidered details and stuffed with wool roving. Her wooly coat was knit in one piece on sock needles with suri alpaca yarn ( sooo soft) and is removable. Her iceberg was made in the same fashion as the one for the mother bear and it larger .

I am having way to much fun photographing these bears and icebergs. The knitted trees are something I made last winter , my own designs , and I noticed them on my bookshelf and thought they wood look great in the photographs although I know trees like that don't grow in the arctic. Tomorrow I will be back with the last plush for the show. I had better go warm up , all that ice and snow has given me the shivers.

Starting In the Middle for Plush You 2008

In the last post I showed you my inspiration, discussed my concept and gave you a glimpse into my creative process. Some people start their work at the beginning or at the end ( I have heard a number of writers do this), well I start in the middle. It is a good thing that in having to make only 3 items , there is a definite middle. I felt that if I could accomplish what I set out to with the mother / child bears that numbers 1 and 2 would be easier. I wanted the white mother pair to be strong , yet soft to the touch and the child to be green , not yet furry and very vulnerable on its own. I wanted the mother to carry the child . I have always loved the inuit packing dolls and set out to have mine carry her child in a similar way, in the hood of a wool felt hand sewn parka. The mother was knit using my own design with very soft ivory colored suri alpaca wool and stuffed with wool roving. Her parka was hand sewn from 100% wool felt and the trim if hand dyed boucle mohair.
The little green cub was made from wool felt, stuffed with roving and the details were embroidered on with cotton embroidery thread. The cub fits perfectly in the hood of the mother's parka.

This is what the floor looks like so far just before I break for some nourishment, yummy chicken curry on rice.

Before I move on to making number 1 and 3 I start working on the icebergs. I wanted to wet felt the basic iceberg and then add details with needle felting. I searched the yard and home for iceberg looking objects to felt but couldn't readily find them until I opened the wooden toy bin in the basement. I covered the wood with duct tape so as not to damage it with hot soapy water and then I felted them with natural wool roving.

I am so sorry I forgot to take pictures of the icebergs before adding the details. The last one was felted over a large oval stone and was done in shades of green , blue and natural wool . You will see what I mean later right now I only want to show you the iceberg for number 2 . Here it is with the details added and I needle felted a small depression in one side for the little green cub to rest in when the mother wanted to set him down.

There you have it the finished item titled The Polar Bears are Turning Green #2. If you visit the show in seattle in October that is what you will see displayed and available for purchase with my portion of the funds going to my favorite environmental group in Canada , the David Suzuki Foundation. Tomorrow I will show you number 1 and then hopefully number 3 on wednesday before they get packed up in a box and mailed to Seattle. I would really appreciate your feedback. I have never sold anything I have made let alone participate in a show before. How am I doing so far ???