While She Naps

"Porthole"
(box is 9" tall and bird adds another 6")

A new mixed media shadow box.  The inside is three separate compartments with vintage wooden spools of thread, wooden rings, a painted wooden ball, and various papers.  Perched above is a bird soft sculpture holding the tail end of thread from a wooden spool in her beak.


I really enjoyed thinking about this one. It took several days to piece together and there were many elements both added and discarded before I was satisfied.  I am enjoying this combination of mustardy yellow with black and dark gray, with a tiny accent of scarlet red.

I went to the gym this morning for a Total Body Conditioning class which was great, but now my total body is exhausted. Charlie is coming home at 10:30 pm this evening so I think a tall ice coffee is in order.

(This piece is now listed in my shop.) SOLD. Thank you!

a new owl, Hawaii style

Okay, so here is the amazing yard of fabric I found a week and a half ago at a church rummage sale. It was buried under lots of old plaid flannel and other yucko stuff and I couldn't believe it when I pulled this out.  "From Hawaii with Aloha" and look at those '70's lovers.  It is a textured cotton, very tightly woven and not too thick.  And it was .50 cents. I know. Wow.

It lasted half a day, from lunch until after dinner when I had some time to myself, and then I cut it to bits.  I have a good 1/4 yard left, but the rest became this owl.

Just a quick note...

to say that the shop has now been updated and is fully stocked.  Birds galore and a few other treats.  Have a great day!

Birds and more for sale on Wednesday

This is the second half of what the shop update will include.  18 items in total.  Everything will go up on Wednesday (that's May 14) at 11:30 am EST.  Prices will range from $110 for the smaller birds to $350 for the owl.  Everything else will be somewhere in between (although the two animals will be $45 each). I hope you'll stop by!

My sister, Rachel, was in town over the weekend which was awesome.   She is six years younger than me, and she's a lawyer now.  So crazy.  We have a great time together.  Now it is back to the sewing machine for me.  That incredible piece of fabric I found is slowly being transformed so stay tuned.

I had a great Mother's Day.  The weather in Boston was 60 degrees and sunny and perfect for a morning 1/2 mile hike here in Wellesley (just the right length for a 2 year old and a 4 year old to complete without wining about being tired).

My sister and I got pedicures - always a nice treat! 

And we spent the afternoon at Cairn Croft, a private garden in Dover, MA, that shows outdoor sculpture and is open one weekend a year. This is the third year we've gone and it is always amazing - incredible landscape design and breathtaking sculpture.   

All in all, a great day.   I hope you had a good one, too.

Shop Update Next Week!

Next Wednesday, May 14, at 11:30 am EST I will update my shop.  These and many others will be listed.  I'm really excited to have new, fresh things in the shop and I hope you'll check it out!  Meanwhile I am having a bit of a studio clearance sale now so if there is something you've been eyeing now might be the time.

I went to three church rummage sales on Saturday morning, by myself, and found some excellent fabric.  One piece is perhaps the best yard of fabric I have ever owned.  Needless to say it has already been cut up and is becoming a member of the aviary. 

animal

I was possessed by some kind of footloose and fancy free mood yesterday evening and made this animal.

He says hello to you.  He will be part of mid-May shop update. 

Thank you to everyone who recommended Google Reader. I have officially said good-bye to Kinja, the switch over is complete, and I'm in love.  Why didn't I do this a year ago?  The only thing I am still getting used to is that in order to comment you have to scroll back up and actually click over to the blog itself.  Sometimes this is an extra step that I don't have time to make, but otherwise I'm totally happy.

Mimi is coming over to play tomorrow morning.  Yipee!

a little flock

I finished the bird in the middle this morning.  He is all neutrals and very mod.  These three are like a little flock now.

We gave Stella a Cotton Monster for her birthday and it is such an amazing toy.  His mouth is a big pocket for all your treasures and it is just so satisfying to stick your arm down his throat!  Perfectly made and so great to look at.  We like to pose him on our black chair with his long arms wrapped around Mimi's tiki.  They're best buddies now.

Do you like the new blog banner?  And check out my new Etsy shop banner!  I recently discovered Picnik and now I feel so tech savvy. 

I'm working away at more and more birds for a good sized shop update in mid-May. 

birds and a birthday

I finished a second bird with a crimson breast this morning.  These two look very fine together, I think.

I have been putting a lot of thought into my Etsy shop this week.  I am hoping to give it some major attention over the summer, with bigger, scheduled updates.  The first will be in early May and there will be birds of many varieties. I'm pretty excited about this.

I'm a bit disdressed because Kinja, the blog reader that I've used for the last three years, is closing down at the end of the month.  I follow nearly 100 blogs, as I'm sure many of you do, too, and I need to find a new way to keep track of them.  I tried to sign up for Bloglines, but they refuse to send me a confirmation email which I need to verify my account.  Are there any other good options out there?  I would be so grateful if you could give me some ideas.

Today Stella turns 2.  Here she is, nearly two years ago, blissfully asleep on our bed while I sewed.

And here she is last week, big girl Stella, on a hike with her big sister.

Stella has such a sweet disposition.  She is caring and funny and she knows what she wants.  We feel so lucky that she is here. She makes all of us happy every day.   Happy Birthday to my second baby!

Ellie - before and after

Roxanne's classmate and friend, Z., is very attached to a little stuffed elephant, Ellie, that has been with him since he was a baby.  Four years of constant love and companionship, plus many many washings, had made poor Ellie totally threadbare.  You could literally see the stuffing through his body and he was falling apart in Z.'s hands. 

Of course, this particular elephant is no longer in production and is not available anywhere, not even on eBay.  Z.'s parents asked me to see what could be done to save Ellie and today they dropped him off for some major surgery.

Here are Ellie's before and after pictures

His head, legs and tail seemed to me to be in alright condition.  I cut his body along the seam lines and then used the pieces to create new panels in soft blue fleece  and yellow jersey that Z. and his mom had picked out. I sewed them together, creating an entirely new body, catching the legs and tail in the seams.  I then restuffed him with brand new stuffing, keeping that squishy feel of a well-loved toy, and finally reattached Ellie's head with doubled extra-stong thread.  I couldn't resist this shot of Ellie's head before I reattached it

I hope Z. doesn't see this because that might totally freak him out. 

I only had an hour and a half to work on this because it had to be finished before Z.'s nap time.  I wrote this note to Z. when I returned the finished Ellie to him:

"Dear Z.,

Thank you for having me repaired. I was a very brave elephant! I may look a little bit different now, but I feel so much better. I hope you will still love me as much as you always have.  I love you.

-Ellie"

a red-breasted bird

We walked into town this morning and sat on the grass and watched the Boston Marathon.

One of the few things I love about living in the Wellesley is our proximity to the half-way point of the Marathon.  The fighter jets fly right over our neighborhood and in the years when it is good weather, like it is this year, it makes for such a lovely morning cheering for the runners and having a picnic on the lawn near town hall.

(The other two things I like about living in Wellesley? The incredible occupational and physical therapists at the public preschool where Roxanne spends many afternoon hours and...the dump, of course.)

I finished this little red-breasted bird after we came home today. 

I love this crimson and cream combination.