Lovely World

edward gorey

I have always loved Edward Gorey. I first remember him from the opening of PBS's "Mystery!" when I was a kid. His whimsically odd characters were always running into one sort of trouble or another. He worked in that scratchy pen-and-ink style, very eccentric, sinister, and poetic rolled into one. His many books, such as The Gashlycrumb Tinies and Amphigorey are such a treat because they are so very different in style and content from anything else I can think of.

Edward Gorey died at age 75 in 2000. A week after he died, friend Kevin McDermott visited Gorey's home, known as Elephant House, to take photographs. Those photographs became a beautiful book, "Elephant House or, The Home of Edward Gorey." The photos detail all of the collections that Gorey made over the years. These are fascinating in that they so closely relate to the aesthetic of his art work. You can visit Edward Gorey's House in Yarmouthport, Massachusetts. It is now a museum.

Happy weekend everyone. For those here in New England - stay warm! XO Maribeth

new pillow

I've been meaning to make this pillow for a while now. This couch is in our upstairs hallway. The kids usually hang out here in this space reading books or playing with legos, blocks, and other sorts of building toys. The couch is a neutral beige and needed a punch of color. I used some red linen and a few fabrics from a Moda charm pack I bought a while back. I can't remember the name of the collection, as I had thrown out the label. I must say, those charm packs can be a lot of fun to use. You get a lot of different fabrics, but in a limited size (5"x5") so that you don't get sick of them.

As you can see, I had some help from dear Mr. Whiskers, our "kitten." Mr. Whiskers is really not a kitten anymore; he is almost 2 years old. But, as we got him as a tiny kitten, I think we will always somehow refer to him that way. Sort of like the youngest child in the family is always the "baby." For years my younger brother was known as "Babe." He had been given our father's name, and I think this nickname helped differentiate him from my dad, as well as note the fact he was the youngest (at least for the seven years until my "baby" sister was born).

 

on the beach

 

 

It is good to be back home, but I do miss the warmth of the Caribbean Sea. We arrived home from our trip just in time for some of New England's best cold winter rain. We spent a lot of time on the beach. Beach combing in the Caribbean yielded different treasures than our usual beach combing on New England beaches. Instead of the smooth rocks and occasional shellfish we find here at home, on our trip we found a lot of coral and a surprising amount of sea glass. In the photos above you can see some of the coral, plus two stones I covered in crochet (inspired by Margie over at Resurrection Fern). I am really enjoying all that I can do with crochet. It was interesting to fully enclose an object within the stitches. And, I was able to do this crocheting on the airplane. Yes, knitting needles and crochet hooks are allowed again on airplanes.

My husband and I felt a bit odd having a relaxing holiday in such close proximity to Haiti. We are both medically trained. I'm a certified nurse-midwife (CNM) and my husband is a physician. We wondered for a brief time if there was a way my husband, in particular, could go to Haiti to help. But, medical staff has to be integrated into an organization that has an established presence on the ground. It is amazing what these groups can accomplish. My husband once went on a medical trip to Ecuador with a group that performed surgeries on individuals with facial deformities such as cleft lip and palate. All I can say is that we take so much for granted here in the U.S. 

away

I will be away from home visiting a warm place this week. See you all back here in a week. Take good care. XO Maribeth

 

Haiti

The earthquake in Haiti has brought such devastation to the people there. I am donating relief money through Partners in Health, a group with a strong, integral presence in Haiti. You may know about this organization if you read Tracy Kidder's bestseller "Mountains Beyond Mountains" that came out a few years ago. I am confident this group will put all the money into direct relief. Also, look at this website, Stand With Haiti, that Partners in Health has put together.

new things

 

I have been poking around my workroom, trying to clear out some old clutter that I don't seem to use. It is amazing how stuff accumulates all by itself. Sometimes I hold on to things because I think I might need them in the future. Sometimes this is true, most of the time it isn't. I know that I have this tendency because of my mother. She saves everything. Yes, she always has what you need, but she also has a clutter problem. Someone once told me that it is fine to let go of things that would be easy to acquire again in the future if you need them. Most of my accumulations seem to fit this category. So, I'll continue to weed out. I was thinking of posting some mixed fabric bundles weeded out of my stash in my etsy shop. Would anyone be interested in this?

Part of my cleaning included making some new things to take the place of old things I was sick of looking at. (I thought that acquiring new things by making them out of supplies I had on hand seemed okay.) For example, pin cushions. I have had the same old (store-bought no less) ones for so long, I thought it was time to say goodbye. Pin cushions are easy to make, and I really enjoyed putting that little bit of embroidery on the one shown above. Making pin cushions reminded me of the Travel Sewing Kit pattern in Rashida's book "I Love Patchwork." So I made that too. I used a few different French General Rouenneries prints (by Moda) in that project. It is such a beautiful line.

I hope you have a nice weekend.

snowflake

 

 

 

The crocheting is moving right along. As I mentioned before, I have become very interested in the ways that crochet allows you to draw or sculpt a shape out of simple yarn or thread. I have spent quite a few evenings practicing with different-sized needles and threads to see how it all works. I am feeling more comfortable with the rhythm of the stitches, and am able to relax into the process. Actually, I find crocheting VERY relaxing.

I have had fun looking at crochet motif patterns. It is truly limitless what you can create - sort of like snowflakes. My favorite so far is the one in the top photo. It is called water wheel. It has felt quite fitting to be working out all these snowflake-like motif patterns in white crochet thread, as we have had a whole lot of snow and very cold temperatures. The bottom photo shows the view out the front of the house. The whole top of the mountain has been covered in snow, like icing on a cupcake. So beautiful.

 

mushroom

I have been wanting to make a fabric mushroom for a long time. It is very satisfying to reproduce something from the natural world in fiber - whether fabric or yarn. I have seen some of the mushrooms made by Stephanie, which are quite lovely.

I made this out of cotton, linen, and felt. I used bamboo fill to stuff it. I had never used this type of fill before. It has a very different texture to fiber-fill. I'm not sure if I like it or not, as it tended to pull out of the fabric if I did any stitching over it after stuffing. Next time I will put a few small stones into the base to give it a good foundation so it can stand alone.

Have a good beginning to the week everyone. XO Maribeth

 

starfish

As I have mentioned a couple of times in my last few posts, I began crocheting a couple of weeks ago. My mother gave me an introductory crochet book and a package of various sized hooks over the holidays. I had crocheted a bit as a child, mostly making many long chain stitch ropes that I used to decorate wrapped gifts. But, my mother and aunt crochet a lot. Afghans, garments, many granny squares. I have had the intention to learn more myself, but never got around to it. I think my mother finally thought it was time for me to get going. Thanks mom.

So, you might think that a beginning crocheter would start with the basics. But, no. I have been fascinated by the unusual shapes and intricate patterning, so I've jumped right in. I made granny squares to start, sitting side-by-side with my aunt to get going. But I've branched out into all kinds of motifs, and have become a bit obsessed with delicate crochet cottons and tiny needles.

What I'm showing here are some starfish I made. I used the same number of stitches for all of them, simply varied the yarns and needle sizes. I'm thinking about sewing them onto a sweater or skirt.

I love organic shapes, and find much inspiration in the natural world. This morning my daughter and I read about starfish in my Golden Guide to Seashores (Golden Guides are ALWAYS handy) and The Anatomy of the Sea books. I was mainly interested in how many arms I could put on the crocheted starfish. We learned that they can have 5 to 10 or more arms. The gorgeous sunflower sea star has 20 arms. Did you know that starfish eat clams? They grip onto the clam shell, use suction to force it open, and then eat the clam right there in its own shell. Amazing!

Note: The gold yarn is the Classic Elite Bazic Wool. I highly recommend this wool. It feels great and comes in gorgeous colors.

breakfast colors

 

This was my pretty breakfast the other morning. As I ate, I admired the yellow yolk and the orange clementine against the bright blue plate.

Later on, I was poking through my fabrics to find the right combination to make the Cosmetics Pouch in Rashida Cloeman-Hale's "I Love Patchwork" book. I thought back to the yellow, orange, and blue and knew just what to choose. The dark "denim" linen is a fantastic fabric I got at Grayline Linen in NYC. That store is listed in Rashida's resources at the back of her book, as well as a resource in many sewing (especially Japanese Zakka) books. If you can visit there sometime, you will not be disappointed. And the prices are so reasonable.

I will not be using this pouch for cosmetics. I will be using it for my crochet. I began crocheting a few weeks ago and am finding it has turned into a small addiction. I like to knit, but crochet is different. I like the way crochet feels like sculpting or drawing something. I have also found myself drawn to the fine crochet cotton and tiny needles. It is like magic to watch the design appear in such tiny scale. I'll be posting some of my work soon, so stay tuned.