May 18, 2008

World Beach Project

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The website for the Victoria & Albert Museum in London is top-notch.  It is has a wealth of information and free patterns.  What caught my eye today is a project devised by Sue Lawty, the museum artist-in-residence.  It is called the World Beach Project.  On the site it is described as a world-wide artproject wherein folks can decorate a beach area with patterns using stones.  Everyone is invited to participate.  Full information can be found at:  World Beach Project  My "beach" on the river measures about twelve feet.  Plenty of room for a project.

May 17, 2008

Why Do Hummingbirds Hum?

May2008_049 Because they don't know the words!  I bought myself my first hummingbird feeder today.  Around here, I'm told, it needs to be installed on Mother's Day.  That puts me a week behind, but I'm hoping for the best.  I plan to plant some hollyhocks near the feeder. I read that my chances of luring the itty bitty birdies would be enhanced if I did that.  Here's hoping.

May 16, 2008

Hey! I Own This Book!

Bookever I bought this book when it first came out in November.  Have I made one!???!?  No.  Hopefully this weekend.

May 15, 2008

Making Faces

May2008_040 This is my step-by-step method for making faces on wooden beads.  The beads shown measure half an inch.  Put the bead on a pipe cleaner to make it easier to handle.  Being that they are made of wood, if you look at it, you will see the woodgrain appears as concentric circles.  These circles will aid in your placement of the features.  Imagining an equator on the bead gives you another guideline.  I use pigma micron pens to draw the face.  First the eyes:  Just above the imaginary equator line make dots for the eyes.  You will see that the concentric circles aid in spacing the eyes. Enlarge the dots a little bit at a time taking care to make them match.  Add eyebrows with a brown pen, one stroke for each starting at the inner eye for each one.  The nose starts on the equator line.  It is a 45 degree angle, again, made with one stroke.  With a red pen make a tiny arc for the mouth.  A pink prismacolor pencil adds a hint of a blush.  Simple as that!

As an added bonus, I will now reveal a mystery of life.  Ever have a pencil (particularly a colored pencil) break, you sharpen it, it immediately breaks again and you sharpen it again, it breaks again... ?  Well, what is probably happening is that sometimes in the pencil's life, it has been dropped or has fallen off a table and the lead in the pencil has broken inside the pencil. Now you know.

This is What a Hero Looks Like

13sendler190_2 The world has lost a great person.  Irena Sendler has died.  She was a hero during the Holocaust. 

May 14, 2008

Play With Your Food

14carve600 The New York Times featured a story on carving fruits and vegetables.  What the article describes goes way beyond the tomato skin roses I use to pretty up my potato salad. Take a peek here .

Addendum:  Make sure you look at the slideshow of decorative carvings:  here.

May 13, 2008

We Made a Village

May2008_023 These darling cottage tea cozies were made with thrift store sweaters.  The sweaters were washed and dried to felt them.  Fair isle patters end up being very subtle and lovely.  The windows and doors are applied with a straight stitch.  We tried using a wide zig-zag, but the fabric had enough stretch left in it to get very distorted.  Small matter as the fulled wool isn't inclined to unravel. We used a variation of the pattern I made mid-January (which I couldn't link onto to save my soul).  We also had time, much to my aunt's delight, to make some flower fairies.  Cottages were sewn, fairies were made, lasagna was consumed.  With rhubarb crumble for dessert. A really fine day.

May 12, 2008

Sewing Circle Tomorrow

Sewing Tomorrow my mother, aunt, cousin and I will be getting together for a sewing bee to do some long-overdue crafting. 

May 11, 2008

Live It Up, Miss Pettigrew!

I went to see this movie tonight.  Loved it!Misspettigrewposter_2 (Now I need to read the book.

Let's Assume He Had Fun

May2008_021 Mother:  Where did you go yesterday?

Son: Oh, a group got together to go off-roading.

(The jeep is, under the mud, bright red)