Lovely World

friday

Lovely, lovely Margie of Resurrection Fern sent me this medicine bundle she made with some of her naturally-dyed fabric. Inside is a special stone. I am so happy to have this to enjoy. Margie has some recent posts up about natural dyes - go take a look. She also has a give-away going on for some of the fabrics she has made. Thank you for being a wonderful blog friend, Margie.

A few close-ups from around the house today. Happy weekend to you. I'm hoping to go to a dinner and moonlit ski at a local x-country ski center tomorrow night.

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Fear is a contraction, love is diffusion. -the Bnei Yissoscher

When I was young I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people. - Abraham Joshua Heschel

bird

I worked out this bird over the weekend. As I made the legs, figuring how to provide support and balance for the bird, I came to appreciate how tiny bird legs and feet truly are. They obviously want to be able to tuck their feet away while in flight, so small is better. And the "toes" have a powerful grip for staying put while in a tree or the brush. Aquatic birds have bigger feet, adapted for swimming. Yet, even these flipper-like feet become aerodynamic when the bird flies. Such fine adaptation is seen throughout the natural world.

My daughter found the feather on a walk yesterday. I think it belongs to a turkey. We have been seeing many turkeys in the yard and the woods lately.

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Thank you all for joining in for the give-away. Your happy wishes were very much appreciated.

The winners:

The stone -  #9 Grace

The fish - #15 Chrissie Grace

 

celebratory give-away

This is my 200th post, and September marks the second-year anniversary of my LOVELY blog. I very much enjoy this space. It is a creative outlet, a place to organize my thinking, and a connection to many, many wonderful people.

I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking for when I began this blog. I was in transition, just finishing treatment for breast cancer. On somewhat of a whim, I purchased a brand new Bernina sewing machine. I had done a lot of crafting and sewing in college and had made quilts through my twenties. But, my creative life had just about dried up as I focused on my work as a midwife and began raising my children. Perhaps it was the cancer diagnosis that led me to reexamine my life and priorities. Perhaps it was the fact that my children had grown out of babyhood and the intensity of mothering had calmed a bit. Whatever the case, I am thankful for the time I now spend on my creative work as well as exploring the loveliness of the world around me - be that a perfect pinecone I find on a walk in the woods or an old art book I come across at a secondhand bookshop. It is this attitude and perspective that I want to share in my blog.

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To help me celebrate this little blog anniversary, I would like to give away two items I have made:

Shimmering Fabric Fish

and

Starburst Crochet-Covered Stone

There will be two winners - one for the fish and one for the stone.

Please leave a comment with a way to contact you if you would like to be included in the give-away. Also, please feel free to share a link back to this on your own blog. I would like to include as many people as possible in my blog party! I will choose the winners on Sunday, September 5.

Thank you, dear readers! XO Maribeth

(PS. My fish is flying under the lovely cloud I purchased from La Casita!)

*****THE COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED. I'LL BE BACK WITH THE WINNERS IN THE MORNING!*****

eskimo print redo, and a give-away

I'm excited to tell you that Erin over at Bluebird Baby is doing a give-away of one of my sewn mushrooms. Go check it out, and enjoy her lovely blog while you are there. Thank you so much, Erin!

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I'm glad so many of you enjoyed seeing those beautiful Eskimo prints that I posted about yesterday. I wanted to show you how I ended up framing the paper cut I had made based on one of the prints in the book. I think it looks much better on the black paper than it did on the green.

You can also see my new black bear there checking out the print, as if he is visiting an art gallery. I made the pattern based on the print of the polar bear above. That print is a stone cut by Lucy of Baffin Island. The author says of Lucy, "Lucy is a woman, an observer, not a hunter of polar bears. Her bear is strong, thin headed, well fed, well understood, with big splayed feet to carry it over the thin ice. It seems to wait, full of indecision, and sniff the air so full of human scent. The fur of the bear is indicated with precise and loving care, for Lucy thinks of the bear as a sleeping skin." I am going to make this pattern again, but with white wool for a polar bear.

give-away for you

To thank all the folks who come to this space and share such kind words, I am having a New Year's give-away!

Here is what is included in the give-away:

 

1. A copy of Rashida Coleman-Hale's brand new book "I Love Patchwork: 21 Irresistable Zakka Projects to Sew." This is a lovely book, with beautifully designed projects and easy to follow directions. I was happy to see that she included a pattern for her popular Blossom Pincushion. I have had my eye on them in her shop for a while, and now I can make my own. Rashida blogs at I Heart Linen. Check her out.

2. An embroidered felt brooch hand sewn by me. It features a mellow red and blue flower garden on an ivory background.

If you would like to be included in the give-away, please leave a comment on this post. I will close the comments and draw the name of the winner Wednesday morning 1/6/10, at 9:00 AM. International friends - I will ship to you as well, so please join in!