More About the Inkberry Holly…

I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t find any green stems with berries, but I’ve just discovered, via some web research, that only the male plants stay green all winter, while the female plants do not. Although the berries are poisonous to humans, they are enjoyed by birds. I’ve also learned that the inkberry holly can be used as a foundation plant, as a substitute for boxwood – and can stand heavy pruning. It’s a versatile plant, indeed.

Nature Journal Sketch: Inkberry Holly (Ilex glabra)

Just wanted to paint something green today and dream of spring… This is a stem of an evergreen shrub that grows all over the yard. The leaves have a notch on the top edge (which I now notice I have exaggerated just a bit!).

A Jacket to Match...

I made this jacket for Ellowyne to match her hat, adapting a pattern that I had originally purchased for my Gene dolls. The embellisher imbues the felt with the look of (doll-scaled) boiled wool. I can definitely see Santa outfit applications.

The model is the same Ellowyne doll as in the previous post but she’s wearing her auburn wig. She came with three wigs and looks completely different in each one. I am thoroughly enchanted with her…

A Funky Hat…

One of my Christmas gifts was a beautiful Ellowyne Wilde doll designed by Robert Tonner. Since she arrived only wearing her skivvies, I thought I’d better start sewing for her. I made this hat yesterday from a cute pattern I purchased on EBAY. Using a paper punch, I punched out circles of brightly colored felt and randomly placed them on plain black felt. Then I used the embellisher machine from both sides to completely enmesh them into the background. The hat doesn’t call for a lining but since the felt was thin, I decided to line it and blanket stitch the edges. Now I need to make her an outfit to go with the hat!

A Felted and Embroidered ATC…

Although I’m not participating in the TIF challenge this year, I must say I fell in love with this month’s color palette. So, I gathered up a few scraps from my stash and made this little ATC.

Painting on Collaged Papers...

This is a little painting I’ve been working on the past few days. It’s from Kelly Rae Roberts' “Patch it Together” project in the November/December issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors. I had wanted to try this collage technique since I first saw it - before the holidays. And I may play with it some more…

The Morning After...

Hmmm, this morning I noticed that I lost a serif on the letter “y” of the word “happy” in the previous post. (And all I had to drink last night was sparkling cider!) If I delete the post, it will never really go away – it will forever reside in the bloggy mists of Bloglines. (Why is there no delete function in Bloglines?) So, the only thing to do is just publish a new post with the correct version of the cut… I'm much happier now...

Happy New Year!

Well, I just had another birthday (Christmas Eve) and I love this quote from journalist Mary Schmich, “Like many women my age, I’m twenty-eight years old.” Hehe! DH surprised me completely with a gadget called the Klic-N-Kut Element. I had never even heard of it, but it is a personal die cutter. While I’ve never done scrapbooking, I can definitely see uses for a die cutter in altered art and collage work. Best of all, I can create my own images in any graphics program and import them into the machine. It will cut fabric, felt, foam, cardstock, vinyl, chipboard, etc., and will emboss metal. Here is an example of text I created in Corel and then imported to the Klic-N-Kut. It was cut from a metallic finished cardstock. This is definitely a fun little toy...

Happy Holidays to All!

This vintage postcard was an irresistible Ebay find…

The Last of the TAST: Chained Bar & Spanish Feather Stitches

Hallelujah! I did it! From left to right: whipped Spanish feather stitch, zigzag chain over rickrack, chained bar (over rayon floss), whipped Spanish feather stitch, buttonholed arrow stitch whipped with rayon ribbon, two rows buttonholed chevron stitch. I think the Spanish feather stitch may be one of my favorites, but it always seems to beg to be whipped!

TAST: Knotted Cable Chain, Berry & Pistil Stitches

I added more stitches to my little sampler: The fourth row consists of a single line of knotted cable chain stitches laced with perle cotton. Next is a double row of knotted cable chain stitches interlaced with heavy novelty thread, used to “couch” a length of silk ribbon. The last row consists of berry and pistil stitches.

Take it Further...

I’m sure anyone reading this already knows about Sharon B’s challenge for 2008, Take it Further. I loved Take a Stitch Tuesday and feel as though I really learned a lot. Being in the group motivated me to push beyond my comfort zone to learn some stitches that I found particularly difficult. Although I’m sorely tempted to participate in next year’s challenge, I’m not sure whether I’ll be able to take the time to complete an extra project per month. In addition to meeting ad deadlines, I have so many projects lined up for 2008... I want to add a new line of Santas with more elaborate costumes, combining embroidery and other embellishments. And both of my web sites are in dire need of some design attention. I would also like to finally launch my Etsy shop. I set it up about a year and a half ago, and still haven’t listed anything. I have pieces that are near completion but just need some final touches… I’m pretty sure the only way to participate in next year’s challenge is if I can, somehow, incorporate the monthly theme into a project on which I’m already working… If that’s not possible, you can be sure I’ll be following along closely, cheering everyone on…

This is Walter...

Walter’s name is of German origin and means “ruler of army.” I realize he’s not your stereotypical military-looking guy, with his pink chenille jacket and floral plissé pants. But he’s carrying a worn old Bible (copyright 1941) and, clearly printed right inside the cover, is the name Walter H. Brown. And he claims that’s him!

His entire outfit is made from vintage textiles, trims, lace and buttons. I added some primitive-looking buttonhole stitches to the seam binding (from my mom’s old sewing box) decorating the hem of his pants.

I experimented with a different kind of wool (Cotswold) for Walter’s beard and am very pleased with it. I liked the other wool I was using very much but there was some fluffy waste – and it gets a little expensive when you can’t use it all. There was no waste at all with this wool.

TAST: Braid Chain Stitch

Yay! I finally did it! And I’m doin’ the happy dance! May it never be said I was defeated by a needle and thread – Oooh, I wax poetic – hehe! I think the trick is to make sure to do the little backward loop at the top of each stitch. If you look at this illustration, you can clearly see that the part of the thread that carries the needle needs to go behind the part of the thread that advances the stitch… It’s an awkward and counterintuitive maneuver for me (maybe because of being left-handed?).

CUTENESS ALERT!!!

DH just photographed this little possum (Didelphis virginiana) in the back yard. Just look at those tender little pink toes… The possum is the only marsupial found in North America.

TAST: Thorn Stitch

This is just a fun stitch! Notice how I skipped right over the chain braid stitch challenge? Well, I did try it - and had disastrous results! I have tried to do it every which way and it just falls apart on me…argh!

TAST: Pekinese Stitch

What a lovely day – very mild – around 70 degrees! I am a little behind on my TAST stitches but was able to take a little time today to play with the pleasantly relaxing Pekinese stitch. In the example below, I used two rows, laced together, to couch down a ribbon.

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

Tomorrow, DH and I will be having our traditional veggie lasagna and sparkling cider (we are such party animals!) - and watching our favorite movie (Bernard and the Genie)! I usually put the big Christmas tree up on Thanksgiving Day but we’re not putting it in the living room this year – too much temptation for tiny kittens! It’s going to have to go in another room – with the door closed!

Here is a link to the Flickr group of vintage holiday postcards. There are some beautiful Thanksgiving greetings there… Wow! I just realized there are nearly 2.000 postcards from various holidays in the photo pool!

Birder Santa...

Here's my latest boy. His arms and legs are wired to give him a bit more pose ability. I was fortunate to find the cute camera and binoculars in a Christmas shop in Ocean City last summer. The miniature Audubon book is an EBAY find. Santa will eventually rest on a birch “stump” (as soon as DH cuts it down to size) and then he’ll be photographed for the web site.

Meet Colvert...

His name is English and it means “seaman.” His outfit is made from tea-dyed vintage chenille trimmed with vintage fringe. His hat is trimmed with a scrap of vintage upholstery trim. I found the coolest old coat button with an anchor design in a box of antique buttons from the Florida Keys. I sewed it to an old doily with tatting around the edges and affixed that to his jacket. He is holding a red, white and blue striped buoy and an antique Tuck patriotic naval themed postcard (postmarked 1908). The card is technically a “Decoration Day” card. “Decoration Day” originated shortly after the American Civil War as a day when flowers would be placed on the graves of soldiers to honor them.