Busy Hands

Even though Baby Girl is only a few days shy of 18, when she is sick at home snoozing the day away on the couch, I can't help but pass the day by her side. I pull up the work basket, put on an animated movie and stitch as she sleeps.

So many projects needed just a few final embellishments: an eye, a snout, a few color touches.

I wasn't sure about Bubbles' snout- but with a few tips from my bestie, Ashlie Blake of Painting Bliss- he will soon suit my fancy.

The sheep chose just the right vintage leather glove for their faces.  This morning, now that yesterday's rain has passed, they are in the garden choosing their legs and then they will be ready for their Etsy slots.

I even had time to start another whimsical work.  I've ben wanting to do a pillow version of my mice using the dreamy alpaca roving I picked up on my trip to Connecticut in March.  It is like sculpting with buttah!

This wee piece will travel with me as I like to always have a project on hand.  Traffic jams, Starbucks drive thru lines, prescription pick up waits- all good times to punch in more wool and fill my need to never waste a second in this creative life.

 

LOVE  &  BUSY HANDS

The Simple Rabbit

Some times life calls for something simple; a slow down, a yield sign, a gentle rain on fresh spring flowers.  My studio cycles much the same.  The complicated doll dresses, the microscopic turns of linen starfish, and busy wool applique patterns give way to a yearn for prim minimalism.

Robyn Pandolph's leaping bunny is my primitive spring go-to pattern when I want to play with fabric but not be bogged down in my own designs. 

 These bunnies are quick!  They multiply fast!  And it gives the fabric a chance to really pop! Simple rabbits also help to keep my scrap piles dwindling to a manageable chaos.

Popping up everywhere, you can see the finished guys available for purchase in the Early Work Mercantile, my Etsy shop, or swing by Hendley Market on The Strand in Galveston.

LOVE  &  APRIL SHOWERS!

 

Everywhere A Hare

As certain as freshly sprouting garden seeds, rabbits are also a sure sign of spring!  Here in the studio bunnies of all shapes and sizes are peeking their noses through the embellishment bins and finding their way through my primitive whimsy process.

 

There are bunny busts in grungy velveteen and painted linen picking our their baskets in which to nestle.  The velveteen addition is new this year and I am just loving the texture!  Her basket is a perfectly romantic one- but her finish will be a surprise debut in Olde Primitve Peddler mid March.

 

 

One of my all time fave bunnies is from Robyn Pandolph's Stitched With Love quilting genius! I was so spoiled to have her studio shop right here in Galveston until last year!  I loved to pop in just to chat, see her works in progress, and sneak a peek at her latest fabric line. Because I am not a quilter, I adapt elements of her patterns to wool applique.

 

Spring is not the same without one fat bunny!  This roly-poly rabbit is made from up-cycled wool and wool roving.  I haven't quite figured out her feet situation so for now she stands a bit like a weeble. 

 

Then there are the smalls.  If you ever wonder why something so small is so expensive- ask an artist!  It's so much easier to make something bigger with easily stitched corners and ample stuffing cavities! Add using an old mohair blend fabric and oh what a tangled web it weaves!  There was some satisfaction in impaling this wee bunny with a stick!  And covering a wooden egg with paper maiche? Holy Mother Mary Vodka!

 

 

These are just a few of the projects awaiting completion in today's work basket.  What's on your table today?

 

LOVE  &  COTTON TAILS!