Lovely World

merlin

I found this dead bird on the ground in front of my house when I went out to take my walk yesterday. Right next to it was the smaller bird. I believe that the larger bird is a Merlin and the smaller one is a juvenile Blue Jay. The Merlin was right in the position you see here, as if still in flight. My house has very large windows. It appears that the Merlin had just caught his lunch and was flying to some safe spot to eat it when he flew into a window. There were a few small feathers stuck to the window above so I am fairly sure this is what happened.

Merlin's are small falcons, about 10 inches tall with a wing span of 24 inches. They do not live here in Western Massachusetts, so I assume this bird was migrating South from Canada, its summer home. It eats primarily small birds. It likes forests with open areas (precisely the type of spot I live in).

I called a taxidermist to see if he could help me preserve this bird. He is so beautiful and no injury is evident. I have never used the services of a taxidermist before. He is not sure if we will be able to preserve the bird because the State of Massachusetts has rules about what animals a taxidermist can preserve. A falcon may be out of the question. I will know more by the end of the week I think.

coral

I finished this coral soft sculpture yesterday. I made the pieces of coral months ago (see bottom photo), but hadn't gotten to mounting them on a base until now. I am very happy with how it turned out. It is very sturdy, as the base has small stones to anchor it. I used some of my hand-dyed wool for the base - I love the golden colors. Reminds me of the autumn foliage.

french song book

 

A very sweet French children's songbook was sent to me by Patty-Jean of Little Quiver. She sent it to me after we had participated in the Vintage Swap. I was surprised to receive such a thoughtful package weeks after the swap had ended.

Settling into a quiet Sunday evening. Some hand-sewing and PBS "Mystery." Does anyone else have a crush on Inspector Lewis's assistant James Hathaway?

quiet

There is quiet in the house even when the house isn't quiet. Look for spots of stillness. Not always an easy practice.

These are good:

Wooden Toy Animal Print

Helicopter 6

Iris Schwarz

Happy weekend.

pinecones

I wonder if I've begun to smell a bit like pine - that wonderful aroma of a dense evergreen forest.

I have been hand sewing these pinecones for a few weeks now, after my initial foray into cone-making over the summer. I must say this is one of the most meditative things I've made in a while. First I make the base and stuff it with fiberfill. Then I cut many, many, many little cone scales out of whatever colorway of wool I am working with. (By the way, I didn't know that this part of the cone was called a scale - I had to look it up. I had been calling them alternately petals or leaves.)  Next, I stitch by hand each scale, from the top down, to the base. Round and round, until the base is no longer visible.

A while back I purchased a large bag of pieces of hand-dyed 100% wool from a very creative woman who owns the local yarn shop. I really like the look and feel of this fabric and have been using it to full advantage - on these cones, and on the birds I have been making.

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I cleaned my work table today. Sort of. Trust me, this is a huge improvement on what it looked like this morning. This is my Zen.

lotte reiniger

 

I recently purchased a vintage folio of print stills from the Lotte Reiniger animated film "The Adventures of Prince Achmed." The film is considered the oldest extant animated feature, made in 1926. Reiniger was a German animator and is known as an inventor of the silhouette film. She hand cut all of the silhouettes. The story comes from the "Arabian Nights," and details the story of a wicked sorcerer who tricks Prince Achmed into mounting a magical horse which sends the rider off on a flight to his death. I love the score, which you can hear if you watch the Youtube video.

I also just found this sweet little silhouette film:

 

Happy Weekend.

new fox

I enjoyed making the polar bear's blanket so much that I made a handsome coat for this arctic fox. I used a beautiful french fabric in red with a tan motif. I then embroidered on it in blue and bright green. It is backed with a yellow-green silk. I think he looks so fancy, and warm against that arctic snow and wind.

I'm liking:

kickcan and conkers

paola zakimi

diana sudyka especially this print

okay for now! x Maribeth

polar bear

I made my first polar bear a while back. This is my second go at my pattern and I am very happy with how it turned out. I have been working out embellishments for my animals. I want them to have a bit of quiet fantasy about them, but I don't want them to become overly "precious." This bear has a blanket made of silk, with hand embroidery. There is a pale pink velvet ribbon encircling the belly, holding the blanket in place. I wish that showed better in these photos.

While making it I began to think about Iorek Byrnison, the great armored bear that befriends Lyra in "The Golden Compass." Wouldn't it be great to design and make bear armor? Something for later.

Hope your week is pleasant. Thank you all for the positive comments about the birds. I have made some more, and enjoy making them. x Maribeth

pictures

My bulletin board

My daughter's bulletin board

The corner of a poster by Studio Violet.

Lots of pictures to interest the eye and the mind. I have so many scraps of paper with images and words that I want to capture and collect. But, what to do with them all! Perhaps I have to let some of them go and start the collecting all over again. Does anyone else have this problem?

sweet new year

Rosh Hashanah begins this evening and I am feeling a sense of anticipation for this week of Jewish Holy Days. We are hosting the Rabbi and his family, as well as the assistant Rabbi/Cantor for dinner this evening before services. We were very honored to be asked to provide this meal, and my children are excited because they are friends with the Rabbi's children.

Rosh Hashanah brings me a sense of renewal at this harvest time. It also begins a week or so of personal review and soul searching, which culminates on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. The shofar, a ram's horn, is blown on Rosh Hashanah to symbolically "awaken" Jews from their complacent sleep to prepare for the judgement to come. The work of the Jew during these "Days of Awe" is to review one's behavior and to seek forgiveness for wrongs committed against God and against other people. On Yom Kippur, the goal is to be written in the Book of Life for another year.

My daughter borrowed one of the shofars from the synagogue last week. We have been listening to her blow it randomly all week. Sometimes it sounds pretty good. Sometimes it sounds like a sick cow, or worse. I'm hoping she will work up the will to blow it during services, if not this year, maybe next.

I added wings to my red bird, and made another bird in shades of brown. I am enjoying these little creatures, and I am so satisfied that they stand so well on those wire legs. Previous attempts at making bird legs did not go so well. I learn again that I have to make something a number of times to "figure out" how to truly make it.