Wednesday, March 31, 2010

What's Happening : :

New owl ~ For this one I used a little of the Jeanne Morrison Fireworks fabric, that I also used here, for her wings and a little Heather Bailey for the belly. I did a neat new embroidery technique around her face. She's a chubby little gal and we like her.
New friends : :
New silliness : : This is something new that Haila is doing...
She writes pages of these little squiggles, as carefully and thoughtfully as she can. Stopping to think, every so often, before continuing on. Then, she hands it over to have me read her "story." I, of course, quickly make something up and ramble on about it until she says, "that's not what it says!" And then she takes it from me, reads what it actually says (which is usually pretty similar to what I have guessed it says). Ahem.
And, then continues writing and so on and so forth...
Now, how cute is that!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Saturday Sewing : :

This past Saturday I kept busy working on a few new pillows for my sister, Biz. I'm using Good Folks Fabrics, naturally. Still hanging onto the little folks, but I'm awfully siked on a few new ideas and requests for those sweet bundles.

A pillow this will be, but I'm still uncertain on where I'm going with the embroidery yet. I just love the dark teal against the yellow! 


The finished few in the : Biz Collection : Many more to come.

: : A little Byzantine Sun patchwork : :

: : Our sweet Lily taking a nap in the sunniest corner in our home : :

Monday, March 29, 2010

My Fabulous Friend : :

This post is to show off some of the work of my dearest friend, Cynthia Taylor. She is warm and friendly and amazingly creative and inspiring. She is the great friend who kindly listens to me ramble about all my ideas. The friend who I have to show everything I make first. The friend that loves to feed me (I know, I'm lucky). And, I happen to love her - as much as I love her kind ears, her great taste, and delicious food! Well, almost. I just completely adore her and her family (and her house!) Maybe one day I'll get a chance to photograph and share Cynthia's home here. But for now, it will just be a few of this other creative mama's newest creations.

This lovely star mobile, that makes me SO happy : :

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And this shelf, that she built all by her self! It's based on a shelf design from Pottery Barn, that usually retails for hundreds. But, because Cynthia is awesome and wonderfully frugal - she built it for around $100. And, it only took her 2 hours! Now, come on - that's just AMAZING!! I just love it and the whole idea of it. Love, Love, Love...
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Cynthia ~ you rock!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Flickr and Blankets : :

I just joined Flickr and stayed up WAY too late last night uploading photos. If there's a secret out there to speeding that whole process up - I'd love to hear it??? Anywho, so you now can view a little slide-show to your right and visit me there. If you are a member or have a group that I should know about and join, send me that info - PLEASE! - As I am still trying to figure it all out.

This week one of my projects was to make a simple baby blanket for an expecting friend. I used some of my old new Anna Maria in a patchwork pattern for the front. For the back - an old, very soft, receiving blanket from when my Haila was just a little babe. Like usual, I wasn't quite sure what I was doing. I kept it simple, making a simple brick pattern with a little stripe of pink to break up all the lovely good folks fabrics and match the pale pink of the receiving blanket. I really hope she loves it!

While looking through photos of old projects to add to my Flickr, I found lots of this old blanket. I made it maybe two-three years ago. It was when I was first starting to knit things other than scarves and simple shawls and I wasn't 100% confident yet in making my own creations, with my own yarn choices, so I picked these yarns based on a sample poncho that was in the yarn shop.
Some are novelty yarns, but most of the yarns I used are silk skeins made of recycled sari's and I just fell in love with the texture, color, and beauty of those yarns.

The blanket is definitely too funky for me, but it's perfect for Haila and perfect for twirling.

Friday, March 26, 2010

I'm In Love : :

: : And completely stumped! When I put in my order for some of Anna Maria's new voile, I had big plans. I planned to make an absurd amount of new pillows, to try my hand at a simple first quilt project, and to use every little scrap left over from those - for the felted toys I make. Then it came...and I saw it up-close, in person...and I felt it...and it is SO beautiful! So beautiful, that I am perfectly happy just staring away at it all still in these perfect little bundles. I can't really describe how amazing it feels, I actually used the word "dreamy" when I was attempting to describe it over the phone to my sister.
So, for now I am just going to stare at them and practice a little on some baby quilts for a friend who is expecting, before I cut into these. Throughout the days I do lots of flipping through these lovely little piles and one of these days they'll become something.
If anyone has any ideas - I'd love to hear them.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Sewing and Felting : :

I finished this new owl doll in the beginning of the week. I think I may have been inspired by all of the blogs I follow that have been sharing beautiful pictures of the apple, magnolia, and dogwood blossoms. None of that is happening yet where I live, but soon - very soon.

I am totally loving the
Nicey Jane Fabric collection by Heather Bailey. I purchased a few fat quarter bundles from The Fabric Shoppe, one of my favorite etsy shops that I visit, too frequently. I used a little for this pillow and decided to use a little more on this owl, a little swing toss and a little lindy leaf, in pink! I am really enjoying incorporating sewing into the process of making my dolls and I love the added color that come with using all of these beautiful fabrics.
They look just a little more finished to me, a little bit softer, and even more playful ~ my children's favorite thing to do is to have them soar around the house with their wings spread out from hand to hand. I haven't been able to capture that yet on camera, so a video may be in order. It's so very sweet for me to watch.
Today I caught Haila playing peek-a-boo with the owl doll I finished this morning, it was too much. I can't explain it, but there is something so heartwarming about watching my (or any) child play with something I've created. It touches me beyond explanation and is a big part of what keeps me creating more.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Taking it in : :

That's just what we did this past weekend. I think this picture of Haila describes that well. It was so sweet to watch all of the kids close their eyes, enjoy the warmth from the sun, listen to the sounds of spring awaking, breath in those great smells of all that's green beginning to grow, and to feel the cool breezes. Yes, there's nothing quite like Spring and I love the feeling it gives us.
Spring for Jacob means getting out the bikes! (The band-aid, I assure you, was just for decoration and to complete the look of the "tough bike rider" that Jacob was going for - no bike riding boo-boos yet.)
Spring for Kaiden is all about swinging, hunting for fairies and gnomes, and for gathering and constructing lots of little dwellings for such creatures, to welcome them to our yard.
I sat outside watching the kids take it in, while I browsed through these, and did the same.
Wishing you all a lovely day!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Thank you : :

I received some kind words and fun awards for my blog recently and I just wanted to say thank you! It's very nice to know that people stop to visit me here and appreciate what I am doing. The first was the Sunshine Blog award, given by Deb Hall from Zur Designs
~ Thank you for the nomination Deb ~

The second came from Kate(geschichtenvonkat) over at the story of kat. Thank you lady, I appreciate so much your many comments here on my blog. : )
My duties now as the recipient of these awards, is to nominate some of the blogs I love to follow and to share a few little things about myself that my followers may not know (Yikes!).

First, the blog roll : :

Crafty Bird
a designer obsessed with pretty things, beautiful spaces, interesting places and...handbags!
The Lark
Plush Art, Softies, Plush Toys, and Beyond - TheNeedle.org
Stivers Art
feeling stitchy

As for a few things you may not know : :
1. I do not drive, therefore I do not have a driver's license and no intention of getting one.
2.
I have loved my husband for almost 18 years.
3.
I have four brothers and three sister.
4.
I am not a singer, but I LOVE to sing.
5.
My children are my best friends.
6.
I love to cook and never follow recipes.
7.
I hide behind my camera.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Embroidery Inspired by Good Folks : :

In my opinion (Ahem) there is no better fabric designer than Anna Maria Horner. She is an extremely talented super Mom, that creates the most beautiful and organic graphics, complimented by an even stronger use of the most brilliant colors I've ever seen in fabric designs. Anna's Good Folks collection was released more than a year ago, so this may be old news to some of you, but hey - I just started sewing again, so I am super siked on her fabrics from this collection and her most recently released collection Little Folks (more on that collection soon).
A little more than a week ago, I ordered a few of my favorites, and in anticipation of their arrival, I decided to get busy on this ~ a new embroidery, inspired by my favorite design from
Good Folks.

The picture story : :


I may have gotten a bit carried away, but I am using these projects as a way to learn, as well as try my own ideas for new embroidery stitches and techniques.

I added a simple patchwork border using some of the fabrics from Gypsy Camp and added some burnt orange piping, my very first time ever sewing piping into anything. I think I held my breath the entire time.
Even though the front was so much work and I am really pleased with how everything turned out and came together ~ I just LOVE this fabric on the back! And, it feels so incredibly wonderful!
Anna Maria Horner's Good Folk Collection : :
(Anna Maria Horner ~ Good Folks – Byzantine Palette)
(Anna Maria Horner ~ Good Folks – Adriatic Palette)

Friday, March 19, 2010

Spring is here : :

Here's two of the new dolls I finished earlier this week. The alien was a custom order and the owl is so little compared to my usual owls, this one only eight inches. I had to use some of the new fabrics I got from the Fabric Shoppe ~ I used a little Jeanne Morrison Fireworks on my "I Come In Peace" Alien!

 
And some Bloom and Grow Fabric by Riley Blake on the Mini Owl. I wanted to play around a little with making different sized dolls, since I typically stick to the same size pattern I have created for each type of doll I make.

 
We did some more Spring exploring last night and made some new, very cute, little friends. I wanted to holler for the boys so bad, but I would have ruined the moment. We were watching one from afar and being the "curiouser and curiouser" girls that we are, we decided to follow the white rabbit! Here's a video from our adventures!


Wishing you all a beautiful Spring day!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

A Little Break : :

The kids had spring break this past weekend, which ended up being four dark, rainy days that didn't allow for much outside exploring and springtime adventuring (or blogging). We had a little taste early in the week, but their spring break just didn't cooperate with the plans we hoped to have. So, instead we did some of this : :
Checker's for us Cracknell's isn't so much about getting four in a row (that is the point, right?), than it is about making a pretty pattern : :
I started working on this new hoop (and I'm always ~knitting~), in anticipation of a bundle of new Anna Maria Horner : :
But mostly, we kept busy doing fun indoor things, like this : :
And, before we new it, spring break zoomed by : :

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Something Special : :

One of the most amazing things to me about this handmade business I am starting, is the connections made through it. And how in so very many ways, it makes the world feel a bit smaller to me. Sometimes that manifests in connecting with someone right across town, and sometimes it means connecting with someone, I never would have otherwise met, clear across the country. Such was the case with Renee & Jeremy.

I am so honored to have worked with them. My kids and I are quite in love with their music. I have been talking about my collaboration with them for some time now, but I'm happy to tell you that the limited toy line I made, based on their video for "It's a Big world"and the illustrations of Hsinping Pan, are now available for sale on their website! They are a fantastic price and are amongst my favorite and the most special items I have made. If you would like more info on what's available, you can send me a message or leave a comment right here, and I will happily answer any questions you have. Thanks everyone!

Much Love,
Maureen

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Quilted Dollhouse : :

Well, kind of? I don't know much about quilting, but I am trying to learn...
This was the first dollhouse that I made little sewn appliques to use as some of the details : the doorway, a couple of windows, the shutters, a little tree, and a sweet little bird...
I added little yo-yo fabric flowers and a fabric lining to the inside of the house (something I plan on doing with all future "felts like home" dollhouses).... because I absolutely love the way it turned out!
This one is definitely one of my favorites. And, yes, I'm aware of my personal bias in this situation, but I still think it's special. I think I'm allowed to say that, right?

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

The Emmy Owl : :

I love stories like this and I love little helpers ~ so I have to share : :
A few weeks ago a Facebook friend sent me a photo of her adorable little daughter, Emmy, holding this sign, asking for an owl : :
Ridiculously cute, right!?!

So, I asked for Emmy's help, the same way I ask my own children, and she designed this : :


I followed the design as closely as I could, with the materials I had and I think it came out pretty close : :
Oh, I love stories like that!

On another note : : The music group Renee & Jeremy, who I talk about Here, contacted me yesterday to let me know that they will be including some information about me and my work in their next newsletter. I would love for my blogging friends and followers to visit their site, join, give a little listen, and check it out.

Wishing you all a beautiful day!