Lovely World

more dolls and inspiration

I finished a few more Astrid dolls over the weekend. I was happy to find some (semi-) uninterrupted moments to myself after a flurry of busy events last week. Both of my kids are attending a ceramics day camp this week, so I'm hoping to catch up on some half-finished projects laying about my sewing room. The transition from school to summer is a bit strange, since we have suddenly gone from a structured schedule to a very free-form day. I feel that much of my personal creative and self-care time has taken a back burner. I'm sure I'm not alone!

I recently found these tiny boxes of sewing notions at my mother's house. I love how they look like a little library of books. They stand about 2 1/2 inches tall. One of my favorite parts is the fancy lady in silhouette on the front. It is hard to tell, but I believe she is holding her sewing.

That silhouette reminds me that I really want to try some paper cutting. I recently picked up a x-acto knife with this in mind. I am inspired by Elsita and her "The Heart of Papercuts" blog. Be sure to check out this spectacular Frida Kahlo necklace she cut. I am also constantly amazed by the work of my friend Anna Kronick. She is a well known, professionally-trained papercutter from Russia. Her work emphasizes Jewish themes, but not exclusively. We own a cut she did of the biblical Miriam in joyous dance that was given to us when our own Miriam was born 9 years ago.

quotable sunday

Faith

is the bird

that feels the 

light

and sings when

the dawn is still

dark.

Rabindranath Tagore

nine

Happy Birthday to my little girl who is becoming a big girl. You were born nine years ago in the wee hours of the morning after a firefly-filled night of quick labor. Magic.

new dolls

This doll is made from the "Kit, Chloe, and Louise" pattern by Hillary Lang over at Wee Wonderfuls. It is a birthday gift for my daughter, who is turning 9 tomorrow. I enjoyed making the doll and learned a few useful things from the process. Most significant was making the yarn hair. I had never done this before, and Hillary's pattern gave me a feel for what is involved in making a good "wig" and making it stay neatly in place. I would recommend this pattern to anyone looking to learn about yarn hair, as she goes into detail about this in her instructions.

The doll has an undersuit, which I made out of the green and pink dotted cotton. The blouse has sweet zigzag topstitching. I made the jumper out of red linen, lined with a pink cotton. I added the little bird embroidery to the front of the jumper. Hillary provides a cat face pattern for the embroidery, but I wanted to do something a little different. Finally, the shoes are made from black felt. They are very cute, but I'm not sure they fit that well even though I followed the pattern closely. I would recommend the pattern to any of you who are experienced sewers. This is definitely not for beginners. There are two other dolls in the set, so there are two other hairdos and two other sets of clothes to make.

This is one of my new dolls, which I'm calling the "Astrid" doll. Astrid Lindgren is one of our very favorite authors, and the name is in honor of her. Many know of her Pippi Longstocking stories, but she has written so much more! Some of our favorites are "Ronia, the Robber's Daughter," "Seacrow Island," "Happy Times in Noisy Village," "Bill Bergson, Master Detective," and any of the Karlson or Lotta books.

My previous dolls do not have a nose. I experimented with some possible nose configurations and decided on this one. I think it completes the face in a pleasing fashion. For my local friends, I will be selling these dolls at the Williamstown "Sundays at 6" events in July. For those not-so-local, I'm hoping to have my etsy store up and running before too long, so stay tuned.

upping the stakes

I have just finished reading a provocative essay by Derrick Jensen in the latest issue of Orion magazine. Jensen has a new bimonthly column entitled "Upping the Stakes" in which he explores the deeper issues at stake in the climate change debate. The current essay is "Forget Shorter Showers: Why Personal Change Does Not Equal Political Change." Here is a taste of what he writes:

Would any sane person think dumpster diving would have stopped Hitler, or that composting would have ended slavery or brought about the eight-hour workday, or that chopping wood and carrying water would have gotten people out of Tsarist prisons, or that dancing naked around a fire would have helped put in place the Voting Rights Act of 1957 or the Civil Rights Act of 1964? Then why now, with all the world at stake, do so many people retreat into these entirely personal "solutions"?

Part of the problem is that we've been victims of a campaign of systematic misdirection. Consumer culture and capitalist mindset have taught us to substitute acts of personal consumption (or enlightenment) for organized political resistance. "An Inconvenient Truth" helped raise consciousness about global warming. But did you notice all of the solutions presented had to do with personal consumption - changing light bulbs, inflating tires, driving half as much - and had nothing to do with shifting power away from corporations, or stopping the growth economy that is destroying the planet? Even if every person in the United States did everything the movie suggested, U.S. carbon emissions would fall by only 22 percent. Scientific consensus is that emissions must be reduced by at least 75 percent worldwide.

[One problem with perceiving simple living as a solution to climate change] is that it accepts capitalism's redefinition of us from citizens to consumers. By accepting this redefinition, we reduce our potential forms of resistance to consuming and not consuming. Citizens have a much wider range of available resistance tactics, including voting, running for office, pamphleting, boycotting, organizing, lobbying, protesting, and, when the government becomes destructive of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we have the right to alter or abolish it.

I found the essay a useful reminder that I am just a small part of the larger world community. I do believe that making smart, informed, healthy lifestyle choices on a personal level is important, but it is not enough. It is just a piece of what needs to be accomplished to bring balance back to the relationship between humans and the rest of the living world. So, yes, I will continue to seek out local foods, to compost, to resist consumer culture's pressure to buy the next best gadget or gizmo, to bring my kids outside as much as possible and teach them the best I can about our responsibilities to the planet. But, I think I will begin looking for opportunities to "up the stakes." Profound and lasting change rarely comes easy. But, as I look at my children, I want one simple thing for them - a healthy, secure home here on planet earth where they can commit themselves to a life well lived.

quotable sunday

I'm joining in with "Quotable Sundays" hosted by Kyrie Mead over at Are So Happy. Thanks Kyrie.

I can scarcely wait till tomorrow

when a new life begins for me,

as it does each day,

as it does each day.

from "The Round"

by Stanley Kunitz

**********************************

The wonderful poet and American icon Stanley Kunitz wrote a book called "The Wild Braid: A Poet Reflects on a Century in the Garden." Do yourself a favor and read it.

print love

I've ordered a few things from etsy and big cartel shops recently. Although I love the things I ordered (prints to frame and hang in my home), I must say that the little cards and notes that the artists sent along with my purchases have pleased me equally. The above cards are from Amy Blackwell. I bought this, this, and this from her.

These here are from the talented Black Apple, Emily Martin. The card on the right is her business card. The one on the left is a card she designed for the Pinball Publishing's designer card series. Pretty cool stuff. I ordered this and this from Emily.

This card is from Studio Violet. Camilla Engman and Elisabeth Dunker are two creative women in Sweden, and this is what I bought from them. I'm really loving enjoying Elisabeth's Fine Little Day.

mountains

We have just returned from our hiking trip to New Hampshire's White Mountains. Amazingly, the kids did great and there was very little complaining. (Trust me, complaining is not unfamiliar to my children, so the fact that they were pleasant so much of the time was quite a treat.) We hiked the Franconia Ridge loop, staying at the Appalachian Mountain Club's Greenleaf Hut for a night. The hut system in the White Mountains draws an international crowd. There were folks from Canada, Georgia, and Minnesota staying at the hut the same night as we did.

And the highlight of the trip for a five-year-old boy? This old Swiss Army jackknife found buried in the first aid/safety kit. He carried it in his pocket and spent every resting moment whittling away at the end of sticks he collected in the woods (you can see him holding two of the sticks in the top photo).

this and that

It has been busy around here with end-of-school activities and the like. I have found it difficult to find the time to get to this space. I guess that taking breaks every so often can be a good thing. It can provide perspective and renewed energy. I have also found that on-line activities such as reading and writing blogs can take time away from the things happening in "real" time. We all have so much to balance in our lives. It is a continual process of adjusting and readjusting to what life presents to us.

I have been busy sewing. I made all of the thank you gifts for my kids teachers, and am working on a new doll pattern. You can see two versions of this work in progress in the above photo. I really like the felt caps with rick-rack trim.

We are off on a camping and backpacking trip to the White Mountains in New Hampshire tomorrow. David and I used to camp and backpack so often (before kids) that it felt like second nature. Now, with kids, it feels like an ambitious undertaking.

Have a nice weekend. XO Maribeth

spools

I stopped off at an estate sale yesterday. The entire contents of a home were up for sale. I always find it a bit odd to walk through an estate sale, with scores of other people, looking at, touching, and possibly taking home remnants of a family's life. The kitchen cupboards and the linen and clothes closets were open for inspection. To me, these are personal spaces, places we keep the everyday objects that are uniquely our own. Looking in them, I felt like a voyeur.

Down in the basement I found boxes filled with old spools of thread. Each box was sealed in a gallon-sized ziplock bag. I was a bit amazed that someone had the time to create these little packages of spools, with all the other work it must have taken to prepare for the sale.

I've enjoyed examining the spools. Most are wooden. The threads are cotton, silk, and nylon. Some of the spools have the company and thread information stamped into the wood. Others have seals on the end. They are all at least half the size of the spools of thread I buy for my own sewing. Most of the thread was made here in the U.S. A fair number of the spools are from the A. H. Rice Company, right in nearby in Pittsfield, MA. A quick internet search revealed that they are still manufacturing thread today!