Lovely World

sewing room

I've been able to spend a fair amount of time in my sewing room lately. I really do love just sitting at my work table, sewing, and listening to music. So much of what I do during the day is scattered - chores, errands, mothering. But, when I am making something I am focused and engaged on one thing. And my brain just simply feels better. I have also come to the conclusion that I am not so keen on multi-tasking. I really don't multi-task when sewing. I do one thing at a time, with my hands.

I also notice that when I spend a lot of time in my sewing room I make a mess of things. More specifically, little messes all around. Piles of unfolded fabric, nests of embroidery threads (as in the above photo), overturned boxes of trim, puffs of fiberfil on the rug. The only area that stays relatively neat is the sewing table (there is a photo of that above as well). Besides my sewing machine, I keep my thread rack, a lamp, and a pair of scissors on it. And that is it. I don't mind all the little messes, though. Cleaning up is always satisfying. I usually do that before I start a new project. I like having a clean slate.

My sewing room is probably one of the nicest spots in the whole house. Not because it is a sewing room, but because it is on the top floor and has windows on three sides, with a view to Mt. Greylock (the tallest mountain in Massachusetts). I often feel that I am in a tree house. And the cats visit often to find a spot in the sun.

Virginia Woolf encouraged women to have a room of their own. I feel so fortunate that I do.

mechanical animals

I just received these amazing little mechanical paper animals from Oh My Cavalier. If you haven't seen the Julianna's lovely art or her blog, Rare Red Bird, you are in for a treat. I was practically swooning the day I found her blog and browsed back through her posts.

These are definitely "grown-up" paper animals. Some have quite a few details, like the deer antlers. I love detailed, fussy sorts of projects, and cutting these out has been quite satisfying. Once the little brad nails are in place, the legs move nicely and the animals can be posed however you like. The set includes a deer, rabbit, dog, elephant, squirrel, and ram.

I received another special treat in the mail this week as well. A package arrived from Alessandra, who lives in the U.K. I sent her some tea a while back, and she sent me a package in return. I just adore the little white covered cup that was tucked in with the tea and cookies. Alessandra has a lovely blog, La Casita. One of these days I'm going to buy one of her clouds. Aren't they so soft and cozy-looking?

 

arctic fox

We finally got some snow here in western Massachusetts. Beautiful, heavy, wet snow that has coated the tree limbs and made our little world here a bit quieter and cozier. It snowed most of the day yesterday, and amazingly it is still coming down today. School is canceled and we are staying home. Secretly, I am happy to have to cancel a few appointments and such that would have filled my day today.

In honor of this lovely snow, I made a new animal yesterday. It is an arctic fox (Alopex lagopus). I have always been fascinated by animals who grow different coats for different seasons. I am also in awe of animals that can survive in extreme environments, such as the arctic. It is so cold, windy, and dark there in the winter. Yet, these little creatures find their way.

I think the legs on this fox should be a little shorter. I've just cut out another animal with shorter legs and will put that together today. I just love the face on this one, though. And his long, puffy tail. As I think I've said before, one of the satisfying things about making these sewn animals is that I really don't know what I'm going to get when I start out. The personality simply emerges on its own.

tyrol hat

Here is the pattern for the tyrol hat (the hat on the right) that so many of you admired when I first posted it a few weeks ago. It is from the special supplement magazine "Woman's Day Granny Squares: 60 Great Designs...All Fun to Do," published in 1973. I can tell you that everything in this magazine is fantastic, so if you can find a copy you won't be disappointed. Ask any older woman in your life - grandmothers, aunts, next door neighbors - if they have a copy stowed away somewhere. My aunt let me borrow this copy. But, I have since found out that my mother has also kept a copy on hand all these years.

I made up a tyrol hat this weekend to test out the pattern. It turned out beautifully. My lovely Miriam is modeling it in the photos above. I have not made the little dolls that attach onto the ends of the ties yet, but they seem pretty straight forward. I have two comments. First, the hat came out sized for a smaller child. Miriam is 9 years old and the hat doesn't really properly cover her ears all the way. If I want to make a larger hat next time, I will probably use a hook one size larger, or a bit of a heavier weight yarn. The blue yarn I used was a fairly lighter weight than the white and orange. Second, for row 9 of the center section, the directions as written weren't totally clear to me on how to accomplish the increase, so I simply placed 2 dc in the first space. I have noted that below in bold in the appropriate spot.

Remember, I just began crocheting in late December, so if I can make this hat, so can you!

I will also post the pattern for the bonnet later this week. Some of you have requested that. I think it will be fun to make one up myself!

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TYROL HAT

Size: 6.25" x 14"

Materials: Knitting worsted, 2 ounces blue, 1 ounce each red and white. Crochet hook size F, or size required to crochet to gauge.

GRANNY SQUARE: Starting at center with blue, ch.4. Join with sl st to form ring.

Round 1: Ch 3, work 2 dc in ring, ch1, (3 dc in ring, ch 1) 3 times; join with sl st to top of ch-3. Break off. Always work with same side facing you.

Round 2: Attach white to a ch-1 sp on last rnd; ch 3, in same sp work 2 dc, ch 1 and 3 dc (first group made); *ch 1, in next sp work 3 dc, ch 1 and 3 dc (another corner group made). Repeat from * twice more; ch 1; join.

Round 3: Attach red to a ch-1 sp on a corner group; ch 3, work first corner group in same sp, * ch 1, 3 dc in next ch-1 sp (shell made), ch 1, work corner group in next corner group sp. Repeat from * twice more; ch 1, work shell in next sp, ch 1; join. Break off.

Round 4: Attach white to a corner sp; ch 3, work first corner group in same sp, * (ch 1, shell in next sp) twice; ch 1, corner group in next corner sp. Repeat from * twice more; (ch 1, shell in next sp) twice; ch1; join. Break off.

Round 5: Attach blue to a corner sp, sc in same sp, sc in each dc and sp around; join. Break off. Granny square completed. Make another the same.

CENTER SECTION: Starting at one outside edge with blue, ch 26.

Row 1: Dc in 4th ch from hook and in each ch across (24 dc, counting turning ch as 1 dc); ch 3, turn.

Row 2: Skip first dc, holding back on hook the last lp of each dc, work dc in each of next 2 dc, y o, draw yarn through all 3 lps on hook (1 dc dec), work dc in each dc across; ch 3, turn. Repeat last row 6 times more (17 dc).

Row 9: Dc in first dc (1 dc inc), dc in each dc across; ch 1, turn. Repeat last row 6 times more (24 dc). Break off. Wedge formed at each end of piece. (NOTE: I simply made 2 dc in the first dc space in order to make the increase on each row).

FINISHING: Insert corner of 1 granny square into wedge at one end of center section. With blue, sew sides of wedge to 2 sides of square. Sew other square into wedge at opposite end. (NOTE: I sewed these pieces with single crochet stitch).

Ties: Attach 2 strands blue to corner of granny square at 1 end of cap; crochet 11" chain. Break off. Crochet chain at other end of cap.

Doll: Cut 24 strands blue 6" long. Hold together and tie tightly around middle (top of head), leaving ends to fasten to cap tie. Fold strands in half and tie with red yarn 1" from top of head for neck. Cut four 3" strands of blue for arms; hold together and slide halfway through body of doll just below neck. Tie ends with red yarn for wrists. Tie waist with red yarn 1/2" from neck. Fasten doll to a tie. Make another doll in red and white and fasten to other tie.

camel (and a little crochet)

Another animal has emerged in the menagerie. A very serious camel. He is made of wool and linen, with German mohair trim that I just bought from a fantastic local shop, Twin Hearts. This shop sells primarily yarn, but the shop owner is a wide-ranging fiber artist. We were chatting about making soft sculpture, and she proceeded to open a trunk full of bags of imported German mohair and wool. It wasn't "officially" for sale, but I bought some on the spot. Isn't it great when finds like this come your way?

I really like how the face turned out. I worked on it while I watched the Olympic speed skating and snow boarding events last night. What is it with those snowboarders? They are amazing athletes and fashion models - the long hair, the bandanas, the oddball outfits - all rolled into one.

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For those (many) of you who have admired these crocheted hats, I have decided that I will post the pattern here very soon. I am going to make one up myself and then I'll write the post. So stay-tuned. It will be fun to see who else makes one. Maybe we can even start a flickr group.

deer

Here he is! The next animal that showed up in my sewing room - a deer. I thought at first I was making a horse. But, as so often happens, the animal just asserts itself and out of the fabric it comes. I think that it was the face that declared it a deer. I did not make it square enough to be convincing as a horse. I was a bit disappointed that I would not get to make a horse's mane for this one - but then I realized I could make antlers. The antlers are made of dupioni silk, lightly stuffed, and sewn in place. The body is made of tan wool and white linen. The face is hand-embroidered. I like the pert little tail - showing off the white flag that deer use as a warning.

I'm trying to decide about a "costume," some personal detail that will define him within the Lovely World Kingdom. I've got a few ideas in mind, but would love to hear any thoughts you might have.

On an unrelated matter, the stomach bug has visited both of my children over the past few days. My boy, in particular, has been hard hit. I have been up through the last two nights with him. I'm beginning to sense that new infant in the home sleep deprivation. To all those moms out there with little ones - my empathy is with you!

royalty

I just finished up this royal pair of giraffes. I really enjoyed making them. It is interesting how a sewn animal or doll takes on its own personality and look, no matter what your intentions on the outset. I was thinking along a circus theme as I began these. Then, the idea of making the little crowns came to me, and it was irresistible. As I was stitching on the first crown, my daughter waltzed into the room. "He needs a cape," she said, and waltzed away. I always trust Miriam, so a cape it was. They are made from wool, dupioni silk, linen, lace, and have braided yarn tails. The capes are fully lined, and the pink one is hand embroidered.

I came up with names for them this morning while helping my son get ready for school. Today is Adam's half birthday. Because he has a summer birthday, we decided that he could celebrate his birthday with his class today instead. (Bringing cupcakes to school and being the center of attention during snack time holds wide appeal when you are 6 and a half years old). As I was helping Adam with his shoes, we started talking about how a child's half birthday is his or her imaginary friend's REAL birthday (I made this up, but the kids thought it was great). Adam has two significant imaginary friends, Arlo and BeBe. Arlo was the name we had picked out to give to my daughter had she been born a boy. Adam came up with BeBe on his own.

So, I present to you King Arlo and Queen BeBe. They are kind and generous to all in their Kingdom. I'm curious to meet others who live in their Kingdom. I'd better get back to my sewing room and see if I can find them!

Have a nice weekend everyone. XO MARIBETH

 

mushrooms again

I just wanted folks to know that I have put a couple of my woodland mushrooms in my etsy shop. I have a few others as well. If anyone wants to take a look at those, leave me a comment and I can email you a photo.

Many thanks for taking a look. XO Maribeth

valentines

Valentine's Day is creeping up. I so very much wanted to avoid the last minute card making that has gone on here the last few years. When we wait until the last minute, no one has fun and sometimes we end up with a child in tears. Adam's handwriting has become so much better over the course of first grade, but he often tells me that writing is SO much work and that it tires him out. Therefore, my plan is to make the cards one day, and then spend the next few writing the names on them. Miriam has a different problem when it comes to waiting until the last minute. She fiddles around trying to figure out what she wants the card to look like, and then comes up with some complicated crafting that just can't be accomplished in the time left.

So, yesterday afternoon we made the cards. I convinced them both that making prints would be fun, and also allow them to easily make as many cards as they wanted. They both drew a design after a little chat about positive and negative space (of course Miriam drew oodles of ideas before she settled on one, fretting all the while whether it was the best one). I love that Adam's design is in positive space, Miriam's in negative. Then, I transferred the design onto a Speedball brand "Speedy Cut" rubber block. We then cut out the designs with a linoleum carving set. The rubber blocks are so easy to cut that Miriam did some of the carving without any problems. I had several colors of block printing ink on hand, so we all had fun choosing paper and ink combinations.

What you see in the photos are just a few of the dozens of cards we ended up printing. And we still have three days left to write out the names!

forest floor

Did you ever just want to sew the world? I have been thinking a lot about sewing many of the things that I see around me, particularly when I am out in the woods. I know there are a number of stitch artists out there that explore this same terrain. It is always inspiring to stumble upon the sewn animals and natural objects that talented folks are making.

I made these mushrooms over the weekend. They are an improvement over the first mushroom I made a few weeks ago. They are much sturdier, and stand nicely on their own. I filled the bottom of the stem with some small stones. I am also playing around with embroidery for texture.

I keep coming back to an old book I recently acquired. It is "Fieldbook of Natural History" by E. Laurence Palmer. It was published in 1949. Mr. Palmer was Professor of Nature and Science Education at Cornell and worked at Nature Magazine. Amazingly, he touches upon everything you might want to know about the natural world, from the solar system to minerals to the animal kingdom. The drawings are perfect.