my previous post was the front of my island girl doll. this is the back. she features shells, seed beads, vintage and contemporary pressed glass beads, alphabet beads, a vintage glass scarab, and coral.
click on the thumbnail to see larger!
One of Camilla's dolls reminded me of my own Island Girl doll. This doll is about 10" long. She was inspired by my childhood on Vashon Island. The face was created by Diane Bregleb.
i love my little wooden animals. this is a little scene on my bedside table.
my tree is awesome. and i have not even put any ornaments i made on yet. well, for this year. but i may end up making some ornaments for me AFTER christmas. anyway i love my copper tree and all the earthy colors. + i decorated it with some of my little toys!
bree molinar made the bird on top, and someone, i think andy stern or emmy? made the mouse in the nest. i am not sure who made the hedgehog, but he is needle felted. the tiny tiny birds have magnets in them and they cling to the wire that is the core of the tree. i used lots of little "picks" from jo-anne's. the tree skirt is batik my sister brought back from.. mm, turkey, maybe? i am not sure. it's really beautiful and the orange and purple set off the tree well.
this is what i have been working on lately.. a commission. someone saw my little red riding hood and wanted one in blues. so here we have it! it's not done yet, though.
i will be off soon to have thanksgiving dinner with my mother, stepfather, and good old taser, the schnauzer.
have a wonderful thanksgiving!
Camilla blogged her "nest" so i thought i would blog mine. this is my bed. a 1920s bed. The quilt is the Haberdashery pattern from Pottery Barn. The Blanket is from
Pendleton Mills (I need to press it!) I believe it is called Spirit Quest -- it is a pretty recent design. You can see a number of prints on the walls -- Naomi Novak, Audrey Kawasaki.. three originals by Anna Barrow are on the little table. The Watercolor on the mantle and the pen and inks were by me. The Native American Girl is a Curtis Print -- not a very good one. I would love to own that photogravure some day. It's my favorite of all his photos and is called Mosa Mohave. (Mohave Girl).
this was so much fun to bead. i made it for an on-line friend, but now i want to make more and i have some other ideas that were inspired by this! as you probably know, i grew up on and island. and i am so glad i live in the pacific northwest, where the beach is never that far away. this shell was one from my little hoard. i am pretty sure it came from a place called hoko, on the strait of juan de fuca.
with tiny wooden hedgehog. that little fluff at the top is the hanger..
cute, aren't they?
the mushroom is crocheted and the spots are transparent iridescent sequins with beads.
i listed some of my little critters on etsy if you are interested. they are even cuter in person.
2 days back at work full time. i am tired but maybe not any more tired than usual, not sure. back for a check up at the dr. tomorrow.
this is a little painting i did last year..
most of what i am working on now is either in progress or secret for now. that holidays thing. but i find it interesting.. perhaps there is something about having scar tissue scraped off your uterus, but i have been getting tons and tons of ideas for art this whole time. most of the ones from the first day or two i can't remember, though i am trying to get them all written down now. of course i will never have time for all this art, but i cant try anyway...
yesterday was a bad pain day, but fortunately i got some chores done before it hit. and i sat on the sofa and crafted later. hopefully today will be better pain-wise. i had to stop taking painkillers because of my poor sensitive tummy.
off to make something...
for those keeping track, i went back to work for a half day yesterday and most of the day today. i must say, being a productive member of society is quite draining and i would rather be a cat.
i have crocheted a few mushrooms lately. also this is a new acorn, from the pattern here.
click this photo to see more mushrooms on flickr!
this is not the greatest photo.. but i wanted to show you an alternate way to make the unicorn horn. the original tutorial for the unicorn ornament is here:
unicorn pattern.
if you do not want to make the horn from polymer, you can cut a piece of WOOL felt that is pendant shaped, with a little nip out of the side as shown. then start rolling the pendant up, starting at the wider end. i sewed the horn up to share it using thread to match the felt, sewing beads and star sequins on as i went. i inserted a piece of a toothpick into the horn that i will use to insert the horn into the seam at the unicorn's forehead (adding a dab of glue.)
if you read my previous post, i did not feel right posting a picture of my parents without the 3rd member of their little family. taser also wishes you happy anniversary and he also hopes you are having steak for dinner. hi, taser.
happy 19th wedding anniversary to my wonderful mother and stepfather. sorry i did not get my atc together and send a card! i hope you are having steak for dinner tonight!
xo megan
i like the nest, i made 5 of them last week, but i think i am still working on the owl. i might like a knit or crocheted owl better. what do you think? he is made of wool felt, which i distressed by getting it damp and tossing in a hot dryer for 30 minutes. this causes it to fluff a bit and the texture is more organic. always dry light colors together and dark colors together to prevent colors bleeding on each other.
sometime in the next week or so i will have a tutorial for you on making holiday felt ornaments wherein i show you how to tea dye felt. i will finish putting that tutorial together when i feel better. in the meantime you can look back to Oct 30 to see my tutorial on making a wool felt unicorn with jointed limbs.
i need to do more freeform knitting next year. i followed a lot of patterns this year. that's fun too, but in a different way. my favorite free-form knitter is jane thornley. see her recent blog posts about knitting in italy and my favorite - autumn inspired knitting. this vest is my version of the painter's vest. i am very happy with how it turned out but would also like to do a longer one.
the little red riding hood cape (see my post Nov 1) that i knit for halloween was thornley inspired - but i created the pattern as i went - which i guess is thornleyesque too. if you are on ravelry, check out the jane thornley group, in which jane herself is active.
audin malmin took this photo last summer. click the photo to go to flickr and see a photo of the front.
i made this last weekend. mouse in her nest. i might make more to sell on etsy -- or if you are interested in one maybe just let me know. i was thinking around $15. isn't she cute? they are tiny, the mouse is about the size of a walnut.
i saw this near the ferry dock on bainbridge and it was so beautiful that i had to take a picture. i love japanese maples, anyway.
i have been a bit under the weather, as is so often the case, and i am sorry i am behind on my blogging, reading blogs, and answering comments! i will catch up and i thank all my readers for their patience! :)
i am going to lie low and get some rest this week, then i am having a laparoscopy on thurdsday, a procedure that is probably long overdue. i hope i don't take too long to bounce back -- i am told 2 days -- 2 weeks depending on the person and what they end up finding. so if i am quiet for a bit, you know why. on the other hand i might blog to distract myself from fetting, one never knows.
happy november, in any case.
little red riding hood from the back.
i made up the cape pattern as i went.
little red riding hood from the front.
i made up the cape pattern as i went.
