Irma

Irma - (Old German for "Noble Person")
... (and twin sister to Alfred)


Enjoys blueberry picking and tea parties.
Likes writing short stories.
Hopes to be a librarian someday.
Wants to know what the ocean smells like.


Irma, her brother Alfred and some of their other school pals are currently available in my Silly BooDilly shop.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Searching for New Paths to Explore

(Local country farm path.)

I've been growing restless again. I finished making the School Photo series, (I will be showing the final ones in the next few posts) and have been hungering for something new to explore. I close my eyes to see what pops up in my imagination and my brain is filled with foggy bits of stitched and patched textile work. Try as I might I couldn't get what I was imagining into focus, and I wasn't sure what to do. I searched the internet, typing in everything I could think of to hopefully find some existing imagery of what I was only being teased with in my mind.

And then finally, yesterday, I found it:


Japanese Boro.
(Patched and mended folk textiles of Japan).

Maybe I should have already known about it, but I am self taught in the school of textiles and still have much to learn.
(Thank goodness, as that keeps it fun!)


These images came from Sri Threads an amazing resource of antique Japanese folk textiles located in Brooklyn, New York. (I must go!)

Finding these images made the fog lift from my head. I think they are beautiful.


I am struck by similarities between the Japanese Boro textiles and the quilts of Gee's Bend.


I am not sure what will come of it, or how long the excitement will last, (I know I can be rather fickle) but for now, (and what else is there?) I know I want to go play and explore this new/old path a bit... who knows where it will lead?

Giveaway Winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered the Quilts, BABY! Giveaway! I loved reading all of your comments on what your most prized childhood possession was. Lots brought back memories, such as "Chatty Cathy", (which for you who were born after the 60's was a rather tall doll that came with tiny records which you stuck into her side, making her talk. My sister had one, and we'd play with her for hours!) Some were funny, such as "my thumb"... I love the simplicity in that one! And many others were just very, very sweet.

Cheryl of Naptime Quilter was the randomly picked lucky winner. Congratulations Cheryl! I with be contacting you today for your address and passing on your shipping info to Lark Books who were the sponsors of this giveaway.

Alfred's School Photo

ALFRED - (Old English for "Wise Counsel"):


Articulate and responsible.
Worries about injustice.
Enjoys solving puzzles.
Wants to be a social worker.



Alfred is currently available in my Silly BooDillyshop along with some of his other stitched School Photos classmates

If you haven't already, be sure to enter my Giveaway for a free copy of Quilts, BABY! The Giveaway is open until 11pm Sunday night and I will be announcing the winner Monday the 25th. Have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone!

Note: Giveaway is now closed!

Alice and Harman

More stitched School Photos...

Alice- (Greek for "Truth")


Excellent in math.
Takes ballet lessons every Tuesday afternoon.
Hopes to be president of the United States one day.
Likes the mingled smell of honeysuckle and wild roses that grow in her grandmother's back yard.


Each School Photo ornament is stitched onto a piece of vintage table linen, (a vintage cloth napkin to be exact) which was backed with some fusible interfacing. Afterwards I paint each one with Japanese made Tsukineko's All purpose Ink, which are great to use on fabric as the colors are nice and vivid, but not thick like regular fabric paint. They act more like a watercolor and come with a pencil like applicator that makes applying the color to small areas very easy.

HARMAN - (Old English for "A Deer Keeper"):


Silent and strong.
Likes cornflakes.
Believes in diplomacy.
Hopes to one day be a forest ranger and to live high up in a tree house.


After stitching, painting and heat setting each piece, the same vintage fabric was used for the back side. A small slit was cut in the backside through which I used to turn the piece right side out, and to stuff the piece. A small cord loop was hand stitched to the backside along with one more piece of the vintage fabric, which was used to neatly cover up the slit and the cord ends. Each piece is signed on the back.


Harman and Alice plus a few of their classmates are currently available in my shop. More next post!

If you haven't already, don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY and win a free copy of Quilts, BABY! from Lark Books!

Henry and Matilda

Here are the next two pieces in my School Photo series...

HENRY - (Old German for "Ruler of the Estate"):


Serious and quiet.
Dislikes piano lessons.
Wants to be an architect.
Loves his dog with all his heart.



MATILDA - (Old German for "Mighty Battlemaid"):



Enjoys eating blueberries.
Daydreams while listening to Billie Holiday.
Wants to be a microbiologist.
Often can't sleep due to concerns over why honey bees are mysteriously dying.


Each School Photo piece is stitched on the machine, free-motion style using Premium Sulky 30 wt. cotton black thread. I make them up as I go along. I like the surprise of watching them develop... their faces and their personalities emerge and make me smile... I'll be showing more school photos and sharing more of the process in my next post.

Hey! If you haven't already, don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY and win a free copy of Quilts, BABY! from Lark Books!

GIVEAWAY and New Work!

Hi Everyone! My goodness, those two weeks went by quick! I'd love to say that I feel all pulled together now, but I see clearly that it would take more then a mere two week blog break to do that. I now think it would take a full time maid, cook, accountant, masseuse and pool boy to do that. (And the funny thing is I don't even have a pool!) But I am feeling a wee bit more on track and I'm am happy to be back! I am kicking things off with a look at some new work and a GIVEAWAY! (And who doesn't love a giveaway!) We'll start things off with the new work:


This is Petula. She is part of a series of 10 small stitched, painted and stuffed works based on those little school photos we have all had.

Here's a little bit about her...


PETULA - (Latin for "Searcher"):

Gentle and soft spoken.
Reads Aristotle and Plato.
Wants to study art and philosophy.
Worries about ant hills flooding in the rain.


Petula is available in my shop, along with a few others that I've listed. There's more to come and I'll be listing the rest soon, and sharing all from this series over the next several posts, but right now I am anxious to let you all know about the GIVEAWAY!!!!


The kind folks over at Lark Books have offered one of my blog readers a free copy of their new Quilts, BABY! book! Yippee!!

As I have said before this is a fabulous book to have for anyone who likes to sew. Even if I weren't in it, (but I am so happy that I am!) I'd still want a copy because it is filled with such talented artists, many of whom you will recognize, and the projects are all wonderfully creative and would be great whether you have a baby in your life or not! All you have to do is leave a comment, and just for fun you can tell me what your most cherished childhood possession was. (Mine was a stuffed pink and white bunny, which I still have and still cherish!) The giveaway will be open all week. One comment per person please! (And make sure I have a way of contacting you!) I will be randomly picking a winner Sunday night and posting who the lucky duck is next Monday morning. Good Luck!

Note: Giveaway is now closed. Thanks to everyone who entered!

Falling Apart at the Seams

Certain things seem to be piling up around here, like paper work, weedy gardens, laundry and dust... all of which is effecting my ability to relax and create. So, I've decided to free up some hours over the next couple of weeks to tend to these things. If I don't then I fear that I, (and the home) shall start falling apart at the seams... such as this old barn right outside my neighborhood. Taking a blog break, seemed to be the logical, (but truthfully difficult) choice. So for the next two weeks I won't be posting, nor will I be commenting on your blogs, (though I may occasionally lurk!) I will still be tending to my Etsy shops, and checking email if anyone needs to contact me. See you all soon! xo

PS. Thanks to all who have been sending me their well wishes for Mo and asking about how she is doing. My little sweetie-pie is still hanging in there, and seems to be completely recovered from her stroke. Unfortunately the sinus tumor is growing, it is actually slightly distorting her snout now, and is causing a lot of congestion, some bleeding and trouble with her breathing. Low doses of Predisone seem to be helping. However, Molasses still shows amazing enthusiasm for each day and overall seems very happy. We just keep playing it by ear, taking it one day at a time and enjoying each others company all that we can.