nanke's stuff

Well, I did it!  I finished the mobile for my soon-to-be-born grandbaby.    Every knot is double-tied and glued, and it's ready to be shipped.  I had a hard time knowing when to stop adding things to it.  I have several other things to choose from, and each has its own charm:  very tiny (1/4") shells, a gold-colored locket in the shape of a clam shell,  a dolphin (which I haven't made yet, but it wouldn't be that hard), and a tiny, golden seahorse, which I thought I might put in with the fish.  This was a wonderful project - full of fun and interest, educational, and very entertaining.

I've already talked about some of the challenges making the various creatures for it.   While making them, I was also thinking about how I wanted to actually construct it.  I considered using wooden dowels and doing the balancing thing with an animal on each end of them.  I like how that type of construction is so, well, mobile!  They seem to be in constant motion, and I thought it would be very captivating for a baby.  Ultimately I decided to go with a similar method that I used for his brother's mobile - a ribbon-covered embroidery hoop, so I could add a few more things than just the critters.   I didn't want it to be exactly like the other one, so I decided to use 2 hoops, 1 above the other.

That proved to be way more difficult than I anticipated.  After covering the hoops and putting the beading around them,  I had to decide how I wanted to connect them, as well as what to use as the  hanger thingy.   I'm not a math whiz (a total understatement), and I found that lining up the 2 circles and then getting the connection ribbons just the right length so that they both hung evenly is difficult to do just by looking at them.  I had no idea how to figure it out using math, so I just went for it.  It was crooked, but the more I fiddled with it, the worse it got, so I decided to just leave it and view it as "that's how you know it's hand made".  I got it all finished - everything glued in place, and it was driving me crazy that it hung unevenly.  One connecting ribbon was about 1/4" too long.

Being a very stubborn bear,  I decided to risk undoing one end of the offending ribbon to see what I could do.  Of course, the knot was glued and it was rather tricky undoing it, but I finally got it undone.  Then, after much fiddling and muttering, voila!  It's not perfectly even, but it's oh so much better than it was!  All in all, I'm pleased with it.  The little metal fish at the top make a very pleasant sound when they gently tap against each other as the mobile moves.

Now all I have to do is figure out how to wrap it and pack well enough for it to make its journey safely to Nashville!  We're flying there next month, but my sweetie thinks (correctly, I'm sure) that with all the TSA rules & regs, it would really be a hassle to take with us.  So, USPS or UPS it is .... sorry Fed Ex - my heart belongs to the other two.

We had a busy, fun, weekend with the visit of long-time friends.  They came to the local Bed and Breakfast to stay (our house), and stayed Sat. and Sunday nites.  We stayed up late (for us), ate and laughed and ate some more.  On Sunday we went into Ann Arbor to meet their son and daughter in law to celebrate a birthday.  We ate at an Ethiopian restaurant which I had been wanting to try for years.  It was a most interesting place inside - hand-painted light fixtures, native art on the walls, "basket" tables, and very intriguing food.  Our server wore what I assume to be an Ethiopian dress, and she looked quite charming.  We had a great time!  An added bonus was the discovery of a chocolate shop where all the chocolate is made right there on the premises.  Of course I had to get some.  I have 1 piece left that I so want to eat, but then it will be Gone!!  lol

Needless to say, I didn't do anything on the mobile, but last nite I finished the seahorse (I think).  It's made of suede, and the entire thing is hand-stitched.  Now it's true that it isn't very big, but sewing something this small took me quite awhile to do, and stuffing it  (I had to stuff it as I went along, rather than wait until the whole thing was finished) was a bit of a challenge as well.  I waited too long to begin stuffing the tail, and couldn't quite get the stuffing right into the end of it, but I decided that was going to be OK.  When I finished sewing and stuffing it, I decided to put some beads on it.  That's the part I'm not sure I'm finished with.  I rather like the simplicity of it, but I also have a nagging sense that its poor tail needs a bit of embellishment.  I'm thinking of maybe putting a line of the little green beads on it.  I think I might also put a single bead in each of the curvy things on the top of its head.  What do you think?

Oh, and for some reason, every photo I took is a bit blurry, so I finally said, "what the heck!" and moved on!  Anyhow, here she is!

Well, here are 3 more of the ATCs I've made to send to the Canadian exhibit. The one on the top is made from a scrap of denim material that I cut from an old pair of jeans I was getting rid of. I embroidered the clouds, flowers, and grass, added the sheep and sun charms, then used a blanket stitch to both attach the backing fabric and to keep it from fraying. I wasn't sure how I was going to add all the info to the back of this one, so what I ended up doing was spraying the fabric with workable fixative and then using my trusty Micron Pen. It worked really well!

The one on the bottom left has a page of text from an old book, a snippet of an old letter (I bought a pack of old letters at a garage sale), 2 old foreign postage stamps, and a packing tape transfer. I forget whose face it is, but I think he was a contemporary of Queen Elizabeth I ..... sorry about that, old chap.

The last one is ink and colored pencil. The shells were collected in Florida by a friend of mine who generously shared them with me .... Thanks Judy!

I'm fortunate to have several dear friends who are very talented people. Today with her permission, I'd like to showcase my friend, Julia, who is an amazing woman. When I first moved out here to the country, a neighbor said to me, "there's a woman down the road who does nothing but garden". Boy, was he ever wrong! Julia is a most wonderful gardener, to be sure, but that is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to her many accomplishments. She is a spinner, weaver, wonderful gardener (for another post!), seamstress, tailor, and an innovative and creative cook. She is the grandmother of 2 beautiful children who simply adore her (as do her 3 dogs and 2 cats). She is generous with her time and energy and has helped me out immensely during some very difficult times.
One of her most recent projects is so remarkable to me that I just had to share it with you. She made 2 dolls (a big sister and a baby-doll), clothing for each, little baby quilt, and most amazing of all, a doll bed! She spent countless hours adding the most charming details and finishes that only a woman with her talent could achieve. Her patience, devotion and love is apparent in every single stitch, and I am in awe of what she has done. I think you will be, too!