PILLOW TALK

I have very few pillows left in my shop and so have been making a few while also playing with my newly made screen print stencils. I'm really into the nature theme these days. I guess I always have been but I seem more driven to have birds, nests and insects in my projects right now! Is it because it seems like winter is never going to end? Maybe! Also have to get some pillows ready for Kane next week. I'm really looking forward to that because it is such a fun show with very nice dealers and great stuff! And of course, appreciative customers!

Some silk screen samples on raw silk. The nest is a new one!

I MUST HAVE SPRING FEVER

All I want to make these days is spring, nature, and birdie things! Last week I learned how to make my own screen print stencils. I think it is a printing method that is going to be making a come back, along with block printing. I only managed to design two, a bird on a leafy branch and a chubby, little bumble bee. Oh, I forgot about the moth. I made these spring, nature banners out of the sample pieces that I printed, along with some rubber stamps of leaves and hand printing. ( In England, they are called buntings). They look rather raw and raggedy, but that's what I like. I'm going to be making more in different color themes, hopefully with more bird designs and nests. Some of them will make their way to the Kane Co. Flea Market in 2 weeks. This is my 146th post! after 4 more posts, I will do the drawing! So get as many comments in as you can so that your chances of winning will be greater! And remember, if you tell others about this give-away on your blog, you will earn 5 more chances to win! And to all of you who have been commenting and telling others, THANK YOU! I have been meeting a lot of new bloggers and they are all great! One of the flags has a tatted butterfly on it.

This will end up being a pillow. Believe me, I held my breath when I added these to the pillow top! One mistake and it's ruined! Pheww!

ONE RAINY SUMMER DAY............

...........while on holiday in England, I decided to snuggle up in my cottage with tea, the tellie, and a fun project. It just seemed a perfect day to not shop or sight see. The previous day I had purchased a kit that had all the components that I needed for a felted wrap, so I decided to play with it. I also decided it was a good time to experiment with some lace bits that I had. As it turned out, I had enough materials to make the wrap and a scarf. (I don't know what just happened with the font change, nor do I know how to fix it!) Sorry. Any way these are the results. The scarf has a long length of wispy lace as the base and I think it turned out pretty good.

This is the wrap which has a hand dyed silk scarf base with bits and lengths of lace embedded in the hand dyed wool. Some time this week-end I will put these in my etsy shop.

SNEAK PREVIEW

I was delighted to receive this comp issue in the mail the other day! While excitingly flipping through the pages to find my submission, I stopped again and again, intrigued by the wonderful projects that the talented Senior Managing Editor, Amanda Crabtree, had chosen for this issue! Since I couldn't get my scanner to work today, I had to take pictures of the pages for this post. I know it's not the best way, but was the only option that I had. Sorry! This March/April issue should on the news stands soon, and I'm positive you will enjoy it's delightful projects!

BIRDS MAKE THE NESTS THE BEST!

I can't seem to put away my bag of white wool and boxes of vintage lace! For some reason I'm having a great time playing with all the possibilities. I'm still sorting through the larger lengths and pieces to make wraps and scarves, but in running across all the little bits, I decided they need to be appreciated too. In a previous post, I blogged about a fantastic nest that was made mostly out of fur and hair of the animals of my friend's farmette. So I thought I would take a page out of the birdie's book, and make nests with what was available! There is no contest, of course, the birds win hands down! My nests would never survive a rain storm or high winds, or be able to raise a family, but I think they're kinda cute for home decor. I think I will make more of these and take them to the Kane County Flea Market in 2 weeks. I certainly have enough lace to do so!

WHITE WEDNESDAY COUTURE

Recently, I have been looking at the boxes and boxes of old lace and lace pieces that I have and have been wanting to put them to use. Elevate their status from stained, torn and forgotten, to the beauty and elegance that they once enjoyed in our ancestor's house holds. Their beauty came from the hands of hard working women who enjoyed needle work as a way to soften the edges of home and person. Wet felting allowed me to use pieces of netting and old curtains and scarves as a foundation, to which I embedded these bits and pieces of lace and tatting. It is really hard work to get the wool to felt, (I didn't know I had so many muscles in the back of my arms!) but I am happy with the results of these scarves/shawls. I feel that I have achieved my goal and it was certainly worth the effort.

I SAW RED!!!!!

While surfing new and fav blogs this morning, I noticed a lot of red. Perhaps as a nod to valentines day! I have a few red treasures that I really like, but never have on display. That's too bad cause they need to be enjoyed. In view of this I thought I would contribute to all the red that I saw this morning! These little red shoes will probably go to my little Alice, but..........This wonderful, old velvet frame that I picked up in England will be in my Etsy Shop, and....

So will this fabulous, vintage, French doll lamp. She has some issues, as she is tattered and torn, but I loved her any way! In fact, I think the only thing I would change on her is to have her rewired. She would give off a sultry, romantic glow with a low watt bulb, while displaying her shabby stuff!