mountains from molehills

I have piles of vintage linen, lace and scrap cotton which I keep in the back of my mind, and brainstorm projects. A few weeks ago, I got an idea and left it to incubate. Finally, on a free evening I began. Here's a bit. More to follow:

liking lichen

In early April before the flowers open on the forest floor, lichen is the real delicacy.

I'm not sure the simile is perfect, but on one of my late afternoon traipses through the woods, I decided lichen is to mushrooms what lace is to fabric.

I like all of the above, but I find lace and lichen particularly fetching. Tiny creations of intricate design.

and the color is always that perfect cool gray to blue to green.

fields into fabrics

This morning I had a nice long call with Sophie, my best friend from newly-born-day three. My memories of being young are flooded with memories of me and Sophie - the back yards and mossy forests of Vermont. We were wild and curious and lucky enough to be surrounded with art.  Projects filled our days, our thoughts and our living rooms.

I know, talking about Vermont childhoods with those born elsewhere can usher in waves of eye-rolling. We didn't have perfect early lives by any stretch, but we had rich playgrounds; a thick underbrush of finely crafted stories, homemade characters and sweet chilly streams.
It was hard not to be nurtured.

I recently finished a swaddling blanket for a friend who is due any minute now(!) and it reminded me of how much I love the fabrics of Heather Ross.

I found Heather's fabrics a few years back and fell in love. They're whimsical and baby soft and were born from her early days at West Hill, Vermont. I never regret having a great stash around.

I didn't think about fabric design until recently. Now, in the woods behind our house, it's easy to get lost remembering what branches, moss and lichen looked like to seven year old me and wanting immediately to capture it. Once last month I brought my camera and began to chronicle.

Happy Monday afternoon, I've decided this week, the beginning of April's lamb-like days, will serve as a week-long forest study. Starting with birchbark maybe, or lichen.

Happiness is a (hot glue) gun.

I don't know why I haven't used my hot glue gun yet. I just found this recipe for fabric pompoms. Supplies needed include: fabric, scissors, a hot glue gun and paper lanterns (I used styrofoam balls). How can you not love that supply list. After the fabric was cut, I whipped these up in 30 minutes. I added a few circles of vintage sheet music too. Simple, fluttery and another recipe that works for fabric & paper. My favorite.

Beware the hot glue gun though. You know the saying: When you have a hammer everything looks like a nail? So goes the hot glue gun. When you have one, everything looks like it should be bound.

Peonies: Real & Sewn

I bought peonies a few weeks ago. I love bulbous fluttery flowers and peonies never let me down. I snapped a few photos to catch them as the petals started threatening to fall:
They managed to photograph with a lot of fluttery drama, which is saying something considering the lame cantaloupe color of our kitchen (of which I am really not a fan) and the fact that in person they were well on their way to decay. Never underestimate the beauty you can get with $9 at the grocery store.

Since taking them, I've wanted to recreate some textile peonies in some way and started a little project. First up, some 3-d petals wired together to make flowers (or, more accurately: A flower)
Project two: sewn peony pillows. They took some planning, but managed to stay pretty organic and roughly formed:

Each petal is topstiched to the linen. Here's a shot of the underside that belies the process a little: