Aug 30th, 2010 Posted in etsy, weaving | 4 comments »
If you read Andy’s blog, then you got a behind-the-scenes sneak peak of these in progress. These are two of my new items for the holidays! Tiny weaving loom and drop spindle ornaments.
Weaving Looms: The looms are about 1 5/8 in high x 2 1/4 wide, warp and weft from sock yarn. The tiny shuttle is wound with the remaining yarn and attached to the loom. They will hang from loops of perle cotton.
Drop Spindles: The base of the drop spindle is almost exactly the size of a nickel.
Both are made from bamboo, laser cut by Ponoko.com. Andy designed and set up the file, sent it off to them and we got a whole sheet of laser cut bamboo a few weeks later.
These will be for sale in my etsy shop in just a few days and available at the Textile Center in November & December.
Feb 23rd, 2010 Posted in etsy | 4 comments »
This very well might be my favorite thing I have ever found on etsy. I am so completely and totally in love. The artist is Virginia from StickManJewelry. (Her shop is on vacation if you click over there right now, but she’ll be back soon. Browse the sold items.) My dragon is tiny (1/2 inch) and perfect. I have loved dragons for just about forever, so it took very little deliberation (about 13 seconds) before I bought this one.
Jan 14th, 2010 Posted in embroidery, etsy, sewing | 5 comments »
I love paisley. I think paisley was one of the first patterns that I can remember being able to identify. It’s like when you realize that a robin is a robin and not just another generic brown bird. I can remember a time when I would look for paisley when we were out shopping just to see if I could find any. Anyhow, a friend asked me yesterday what I was working on after the holiday frenzy and this is it.
Paisley brooches. They are made from a couple of layers of nice wool felt, with a sort of reverse applique where I have cut patterns out of the top layer so you can see the color underneath. Then stitched with beads. I have been on a kick for brooches lately. Something about wearing a lot of cardigans with turtlenecks, they seem to beg for a fun pin. (I got the most amazing wooden owl one for Christmas from my mom & dad – I will show you that later!) I am not sure that everyone is as charmed by pins & brooches as I am, so who knows if anyone will want to buy them, but I am getting ready to put a few in my etsy shop and I might take them to the Textile Center shop as well. (I’d love to hear your opinions!)
Nov 15th, 2009 Posted in backyard wildlife, embroidery, etsy, quilts, sewing | 3 comments »
Symphony No 5 in C Minor (Chickadee)
2009
8 x 8 inches
Materials: cotton fabrics, fine tulle netting, perle cotton thread, crystal bead
Techniques: sun painted fabric, raw edge applique, hand embroidery
Artist’s Statement:
There is rumor that the opening bars of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony were inspired by the song of a german cousin to the chickadee. After hearing a concert performance of the 5th, my husband and I joked that it must be “some big chickadee” to inspire music on that scale. Later, that conversation came to mind and I let this chickadee grow a little oversized and listened to a little Beethoven as I stitched.
This is the piece that I made and donated to the Dahl FIne Arts Center “The Goods” auction. A very nice lady took it home with her (according to my mom-in-law who attended the event).
Click the images to see them bigger.
The image is made with many small pieces of cut fabric. This is a technique I had seen and finally had the excuse to try it. First, the background and the spruce branches I cut from the same fabric, but the background I painted over to make it darker. There are faint sunprinted outlines of other branches on the background fabric. Then, since the cut branches are such tiny pieces of fabric, the whole background is covered with a layer of bridal tulle and then machine stitched over to make branches and stems and other details. The tulle helps hold everything in place and gives it a little texture. I then stitched the chickadee on top, first with machine stitching and then embroidered the details by hand. The eye is a little black crystal, so it has a little sparkle.
Oct 16th, 2009 Posted in embroidery, etsy, spoonflower | Comments Off
You can now purchase my designs on fabric from Spoonflower!
Go to Becka’s Spoonflower Profile and you can see the 6 designs I have available. Order a swatch or even several yards to use for your projects.
- I have 2 designs inspired by 1930′s quilt fabrics. Myrtle is my favorite. The colors are warm and cheery.
- Two are based on my Animal Outlines embroidery designs (which you can find in my etsy shop.) You could coordinate a hand embroidered t-shirt with a pair of pants all with a wild west theme! How cool would that be?
- The oboe print is for Andy.
- The fishes are because, well just because I always have to have fishes.
- More on the way soon.
Jun 24th, 2009 Posted in etsy, sewing | Comments Off
I love letters. Fonts, typefaces, alphabet books. I have made a bunch of “Impromptu Alphabet” pieces and wondered if I had enough letters to spell something. Sure enough! These are some of the most fun things to make. I have a scrap bin that lives on a table next to my sewing machine. Everything that is too-small-to-fold-up but too-big-to-throw-away ends up in the bin. For these I pull out whatever I put my hands on and see if I can make a letter. There’s never a pattern and I have learned that some letters are easier than others.
Sep 21st, 2008 Posted in etsy | Comments Off
Ok, I do really seriously want your roommate stories! Come on people.
A co-worker of mine told me about her roommate “Rosemary”. To make a long story short, it seems that dear sweet Rosemary had imaginary friends. She had a friend who died and she had to speak at his funeral, she went to London to visit her ultra-cute boyfriend who had a freak accident and was hospitalized there and sent long email conversations to her friends. All made up and ultimately confessed to. 2 years of total fiction. Wow. Beat that!
If you really don’t have anything to share, then go check out my new vintage rabbit ornament kits. I love to design projects and these turned out so cute! The kit has all the instructions and materials you need to make a cute cameo style rabbit ornament. I even put in some of my little stash of vintage fabrics.
Aug 5th, 2008 Posted in etsy | Comments Off
Out of curiousity, I counted how many silk cuffs I have sold though my etsy shop and came up to more than 70. Wow! I looked back through the photos and thought about how much I really like making these. Each one is different, but all beautiful.
Jun 4th, 2008 Posted in etsy | 3 comments »
Back when I worked at a summer childrens’ theater, we did a production of the Three Billy Goats Gruff. Because I had a friend (through my dad) who was from Romania, we had her translate the goats’ dialogue in to Romanian. The troll spoke English. It has always been one of my favorite shows. It was silly, but so fun. The story has a happy ending where they all order vegetarian pizza. We built a huge bridge set piece that we could walk over. We spent a few minutes at the beginning of the show teaching the audience a bunch of the Romanian words (iarba is grass!) and they helped the troll figure out what was happening. I got to be the “Great Big Billy Goat”, which if you know me is pretty comical all by itself.
So when I saw this “O Capra Mititika” (Little Billy Goat), I HAD to have him. He is crafted by Mark at MNSCeramics.etsy.com. ( I also have a verdegris colored rhinocerous by Mark and my sister has a pair of bears)
