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

Spring Prims In My Work Basket

My studio work basket is full of brightly colored farm life this week. Prim pigs, sheep and mice are ruling the roost with folk art flair.

Bubbles the Pig is back in production after being well received on his first run.  With thrifted winter woolies scarce in the hot Texas spring and summer months, I am thinking of making a summer linen version to keep the piggies happy.

Inspired by the colors of spring, these sheep are made from felted wool in teals.  They lumber quietly about the studio- lending a shady resting spot for wee mice.

Bubbles will soon be joined by his newest pen pal, Edna. Together they will laze about the pasture in the warm spring sun day dreaming under blue country skies.

 

Today is a gray day outside the studio windows so these colors should make for cheerful work.

 

LOVE  &  WORK BASKETS!

Bagging The Birds

Festive feathers are flying here!  Though spring is cracking the winter cold, pastels are ruling the day, and autumn is almost a bad word- it is time to send off some birds in high hopes of earning a spot in upcoming holiday publications.

 

 

Last summer I sent my first submission to Somerset Studios and was floored when not only was my work published in Prims, but I was asked to write an accompanying article. (Smelling salts have since been a staple in my supply closet!)  The seashore primitives have returned from their grand journey with stars in their eyes and tall tales on their tongues, whipping up a whirr of excitement in the studio.

First to raise a wing and shout, "Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!!" were the scrawny turkeys.  So happy to be out of the sleepy storage bin, the Drumstick brothers, Edgar and Earnest,  have packed their credentials and jumped in the shipping box; showing off their up-cycled woolens and making the Up-cycle Nation oh so proud!

Joining the Drumstick brothers is Buzz the Vegan Vulture.  He is labeled, bagged, and ready to roll! In recycled wool, cashmere, and vintage fur, Buzz proudly represents the Up-cycle Nation as well.

Hopefully, their dreams of fame and fortune in the big city will be realized- and in time they too will return with magical stories of their own.

 

LOVE  &  OFF WE GO!

 

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!

 

Strippin' It Down!

There comes a time in every fiber artist's life, usually a few times a year, when the stash closet doors won't shut and the pile of storage bins is stacked so high and deep the garage door is rendered useless.  Reluctantly we know it's time to get back to the bare minimum and give up all those scraps accumulated for the sheer pleasure of collecting.

 

 

My wool scraps are the worst space suckers simply due to their over abundance.  It is in these bins I begin the task of cutting usable pieces from the chaos, grouping them with like colors and setting them aside for sale.  What fun is a stash if no one else can play with it?

 

 

Lamb In A Can and Sack-o-Lamb are created from the wee collections set aside.  Fun snippets of color, texture and patterns to ignite that creative spark in far away studios.  All tucked into a recycled coffee or tomato can- it's an eco-friendly up-cycler's playground!

Because I love the victorious feel of a bargain, I offer my wool scraps on Ebay with a very low starting price.  This eases my storage burden quickly and gives the buyer a chance to share the love! Look for new listings weekly at Hand*of*Bela*Peck on Ebay!

LOVE  &  DESTASH!

Millie In The Making

 

 Millie is a old girl who loves her quiet life on the sheep farm.  She is kind, introspective and always willing to help a neighbor in need.  This time of year she is anxious for the snowflakes to subside and to see stubby green growth of the daffodils peeking their leaves through the crispy leaves that cover her gardens.  She wanted to see what life was like in New England, so she made the trip from Texas with me.

 

Millie is made from a doll form I found at a garage sale.  I coffee stained her for proper age, needle sculpted her features and finished her with local goods here in Connecticut. I gave her a head of alpaca wool hair from Sixpaca, farm up the road in Bozrah, Connecticut.  Her simple dress is made from fabrics purchased at Colchester Mills while on my visit here. 

 

 

Millie will get a few more details on today's flight back to Texas, and will be completed back in my studio tomorrow.  She has an important debut on Olde Primitive Peddler on the 15th- so I better keep my needle cranked up to zoooom speed!

 

I have so enjoyed my time in Connecticut and sad to see it come to an end.  I know Millie is sad to leave as well.  She had grown fond of the alpaca farm.  But just like me, Millie will always have Connecticut in her heart and soul.

 

LOVE  &  TIME TO FLY!