Waiting for Ruby

Collages

Using sample wallpaper pieces that I ordered from Louise Body(a long time ago-so I am glad to finally use them!),Liberty's mim and another purple ditsy print,buttons,ric rac, and my favorite part-purple dyed doilies,I made collage-pictures for our bathroom. I reused frames from old pictures,and just repainted them black. I was inspired to dye doilies to use in several projects after I saw pillows on Soulemama, onto which she attached green doilies.I never come across colorful doilies,so I started dying vintage cream-colored ones-It can become addicting! I would love to dye doilies in several colors and sew them onto a skirt-wouldn't that be so sweet? Forgive my pictures,as usual-there is a lot of glaring,but I did my best!

 

I am glad I didn't strike out...

   

Yay! The lovely Nathalie from Innamorata left a comment on my post about French blogs, and I was able to contact her through her blog and order some of that wondrous fabric! She replied to my e-mails but for some reason(they didn't go to my spam folder) I didn't receive them. I have had this pillow design in my head for oh so long, ever since I saw the fabric on French blogs,and I have been working little by little for days, anxious to complete them!

   

I hand-stitched felt onto the corners of circles of fabric ,mimicking the design on the fabric.For the purple center circles,I embroidered a rustic flower design onto deep eggplant-colored felt.

My husband didn't even groan when I told him about the pillows because he knew how much I wanted to make them(although that doesn't mean he won't throw them onto the chair with the others when a game is on and he wants to lay on the couch!). When they were finished he said the hand-stitched circles reminded him of baseballs. I guess in that case these are pillows we both can enjoy!

Oilily Kimono Cushions

I have brass ones sometimes, I cut into fabrics that I have no business cutting into! Liberties,for sure, and this time-Oilily's Kimono. But I think the most beautiful fabrics can be the most forgiving when you have no idea what you are doing, because they are so pretty,the projects look nice just for that reason.

I was so looking forward to sewing my first article of clothing,but I can't find the fabric that I want anywhere. It has to be gray seersucker or something similar,I have my heart set on it!

Our dining chairs appealed to me because I think they look like hobbit chairs. I don't know why,probably because they are small. Well,the hobbit chairs got new cushions,and they are not what I think a hobbit would go for at all! I think a hobbit would prefer something a bit more traditional and neutral.

But there are no hobbits living here! Just a couple of crazy kids.

I used linen for the bottom. For the ties I used 2 different colors for a streamer-like look using raspberry and pale blue ribbons.

I took some advice from a favorite blog and ignored the housework today. I just pretended that those cat-hair tumbleweeds weren't there and sewed happily. Okay,not happily(I have a cold and didn't have my usual patience)but I did manage to complete them(I need to make 2 more when I receive more of this fabric in the mail),and when I was done,then I was happy!

Nostalgic Bike Ride

Dear Ruby Claire,

Spring is here and it is time once again for Dad and I to get back onto our bikes. The park here is so beautiful and vast,there is even a covered bridge to ride through.

I loved riding my bike around our cul-de-sac  when I was small. Especially if a neighbor had their sprinklers on-that was the best! I loved timing my ride so that the sprinkler would spray me as I rode by!

And speaking of "water fun":As comedian Bob Marley puts it "Nothing says success like the above ground pool". Well,when we got ours,and your Grandpa wasn't too tired to clean it,we certainly thought so!

Of course,our favorite water activity was our slip-n-slide! We wore that thing out terribly! Nana has the best sloped yard for a slip-n-slide-I can't wait for an excuse to buy one and use one in her yard!

More things to look forward to......

Love,

Mom

What is missing from this picture!? A bike basket! I am waiting to find a small chip basket! When I find one,I will paint it white and add little felt flowers to it,vintage style. That is how it will be in the shop.Originally,I thought I would sew the "spokes" like patchwork,but I will save that for another since this one is so busy as it is!

I resisted the urge to add one of these. If you grew up in the 1980's I am sure you had one that either had your name or said Super Kid USA!

This is the first patchwork painting that I sat down and painted without inspiration from other fabrics and wallpapers. I thought about things from childhood,and what would be in people's front and backyards and went from there.

Circles Patchwork Painting

Well,here is the first patchwork painting that will be in the shop. When I saw the Purl loops I was inspired to paint a different style of patchwork painting,with the patchwork framed in hoops.

Perhaps it is a portion of someone's wall? Wallpaper behind their embroidery?

Everything is handpainted,except for the felt bird swinging on his "perch" and the bottom left corner snippet of Liberty birdsong fabric. The hoops aren't attached to the painting yet,they will be neatly attached after a print is made. The print won't make too much sense without the hoops,I know,but I have other ideas. I decided to have prints made because the original painting will be costly,as it takes a lot of time to redesign inspiration wallpaper and fabrics for the prints,and then the time they take to paint.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Birds of a Feather Stitched Together

Another "bird themed" patchwork project! This time a pillow to coordinate with my patchwork ottoman cover. I embroidered feathers in one corner,and a simple bird on the center patch. Bubba Chic made a patchwork pillow with embroidered birds,and I was inspired to make one for myself!

Patchwork Dreaming

Dear Ruby Claire,

This is a picture of me when I was four years old,wearing my favorite skirt. It had many different pastel colors,sewn like patchwork strips. I guess I have always loved patchwork. I wonder what your favorite item of clothing will be? Will you like to wear dresses or will you prefer to wear stretch pants and t-shirts? When I was little I only wanted to wear skirts and dresses,it drove Nana nuts!

I have been painting patchwork tile back-splashes,painting patchwork furniture,patchwork paintings,begging Nana to help me sew patchwork slipcovers for furniture,and sewing patchwork pillows and small crafts for at least ten years now. So it was no surprise that when I made an outline of things that I wanted to compile for my shop,they all contained elements of patchwork!

The first piece that I am showing in this space,that will be for sale in my shop,is this room scene that comes with a mini felt doll. It is made on a canvas,with 3-D elements. It is artwork that can be gently played with. I tried to incorporate all the things that I have loved,and continue to love doing with crafts. Of course,there is a lot of patchwork,with some Liberty and vintage fabrics. The mini doll is Waldorf inspired,and she wears a removable patchwork strip skirt,reminiscent of my favorite skirt. The "floor" in the room is made out of popsicle sticks that I have clipped the ends off of(when I was little I made cardboard dollhouses and used popsicle sticks for the floors and mouldings-and when I was not so little-Confession-I still made some elaborate ones as a teenager). The "wall" is hand painted,cardinal red with white polka dots. Some other details are the rug,it is made from all natural hand dyed yarn,and the doll carriage,it is like a pocket,so that the doll can be taken out to play with.

 

My favorite thing about this artwork is what I came up with for the mini doll's hair. I threaded ribbons through buttons,and then I braided the ribbons.

So,Ruby,what do you think ;) ? I wonder,will you like to play with dolls and dollhouses,or will you enjoy something else? When I was little I liked to play with dolls but especially dollhouses,and cars,but my favorite thing to do was to play in the dirt(and make dirt house villages) in my skirts and dresses!

I can't wait to find out what you love!

Love,

Mom

 

Spring Ahead

I feel so Springy but yet not,springy. I have been under the weather, but thinking of Spring weather.

My butterfly paintings,inspired by paintings that I saw that cost $600 each,prove that you can make something beautiful for next to nothing. I used scrap plywood,moulding,and paint and ended up with these.

I have been thinking about making paper flowers for so long,so when I saw Martha Stewart's paper flower kits at Michaels I had to get one. They are all so pretty,but I chose the dogwood blooms. They were so much fun to make!

Sorry about the blurry picture,for some reason every picture I took came out this way....

Be my Valentine... for just a little while

Dear Ruby,

Dad and I make dinner together and have strawberry cupcakes with strawberry frosting for Valentine's Day but we don't exchange gifts. It may sound corny,but the memories of doing things together is so much better than a tangible item. When you are finally with us,and you are old enough to stand,you will make this tradition a little messier,but a whole lot more fun!

My favorite part of Valentine's day is putting up cutesy decorations that you wouldn't want to look at for more than a few days! I can't live with clutter and little things all over the place, it drives me crazy. When you are old enough to read this,you will know that already! But maybe,when you are old enough to read this,I will have changed because I learned to deal with that better by having a child around,I hope this is the case.

I made this heart garland with a vintage pillowcase,two liberty prints,and felt. I also used an embroidered rose that was cut from a damaged needlepoint purse. I long for the day that you tug at my sleeve and ask me if you can help me decorate. My little love, I am thinking of you always.

Love,

Mom

Happy Chinese New Year!

 

2008 is the year of the Rat in the Chinese zodiac. I think it is really really important to teach children about all the holidays the world celebrates. Though our daughter will be of Chinese descent,we will not only focus on American and Chinese holidays,but also the holidays celebrated by other cultures as well. We will try our best of course, because things do get lost in translation.If you are interested in teaching your child about other cultures as we are, Creative Diversity is a catalog that carries many books and toys that can help. One of my favorite things from their catalog is a poster that shows pictures of people's homes around the world, it always hung in my pre-school classrooms. I also had the wonderful opportunity to work at a Jewish pre-school for a couple of years and I learned so many things to share with Ruby.

This weekend we will celebrate Chinese New Year in Boston, my cousin is throwing a party in honor of the occasion.

I wanted to make some things to bring with us.I crafted felt fortune cookies that I spotted over at Shim + Sons blog, she was inspired by Martha.

I searched the internet for Buddhist proverbs, and I did use many, but I also used Irish,Native American, and American Folk proverbs as well for the fortune sayings. I have red mints and sesame-honey candy to put inside along with the fortunes.

One of the big things for Chinese New Year is to give friends and family money in red envelopes. My cousin is having a lottery for her party. Everyone will bring a small amount of money that we will pool and the winner will take all. I made two envelopes with red and gold embossed paper lined in gold,to hold all of the money. I took an envelope apart to use as a template,my paper was just a little short,so I decided to punch holes and thread ribbon through to tie it together. I think it looks nicer that way-a happy "accident" !