.: August 2007

Monday, August 20, 2007

School's In Session....

Saturday morning wearing her happy bunny pajamas, a smile and holding four of those hideous black and white composition notebooks required this year by her teachers, my daughter approached me and asked me if I could "do something with these ugly notebooks." I laughed and asked her what her deadline for notebook beautification was -- and she laughed and said -- "by Sunday night."

I told her to go and pick out four fabrics, lay them out on my worktable and I would get to them as soon as I can. Well, it took me most of my Saturday evening, and a good part of the day Sunday, and they are not as perfect as I would like them to be -- but they are finished. When I presented them to her I was told that I am the most "awesome" mom, was given a huge kiss -- and a promise of straight A's. Not bad compensation for a day's work!!

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

I Feel a Creative Streak Coming On.....

Sabrina and I just got back from our favorite quilt shop, Quilts Like Crazy (and knit too!) in Wake Forest, NC. http://www.quiltslikecrazy.com/ I am making a sunflower wallhanging and needed some shades of yellow roving.

While we were there Sabrina picked up some beautiful variegated purple kettle dyed wool that she fell in love with. I am envisioning a purple scarf -- perhaps felted!!

Monday, August 13, 2007

Handmade with Love from Sabrina

Here is a picture of the lovely needle case Sabrina made me for my birthday. She waited until I went to bed one evening and locked herself in our craft room until the wee hours working on this beautiful (yet functional) piece of art. She selected a silk dupioni for the inside,

and a machine embroidered fabric for the outside. She cut wool signatures for the needle pages and satin stitched the edges with a camel rayon thread. I will treasure it always!!

Felted Journal Cover

My first project! Using wool roving, funky yarn, tulle, organza and sateens,I I felted a cover for my "ideas" journal. After felting fibers and fabrics on to a piece of kunin felt, I satin stitched around the edges with rayon thread, used a leather punch to punch holes in the felted piece to line up with the spine spirals and put the cover on my journal. I am pleased with how this turned out -- with one exeption....... as I felted the cover -- it shrank! I knew that would happen to some extent from watching the dvd that came with my machine, however I did not allow enough "shrinkage" room and my cover is a bit shy of the pages. But I love it anyway!!

I want to hide something from the humans until they are ready for it. It is the realisation that they create their own reality". The Eagle said, "Give it to me, i will take it to the moon".The creator said, "No, one day they will go there and find it".The salmon said, "I will bury it at the bottom of the ocean".The creator said, " No they will go there too".The buffalo said, "I will bury it on the great plains".The creator said, " No, they will cut the skin of the Earth and find it even there".Grandmother mole, who lives in the breast of Mother earth, and who has no physical eyes but sees with spiritual eyes said, "Put it inside of them".And the creator said, "It is done!"

Native American (Sioux) Proverb

Everything the Power of World Does - is done in a Circle....

The sky is round and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood. And so it is in everything where power moves.

Black Elk 1863-1950