ULLABENULLA

Beetle Wing Tea Cozy...

Truthfully I would rather wear this as a Hat then put it over my teapot - but thats just me...

Via Hampshire Museum.

Friends...

“I believe that friends are quiet angels who sit on our shoulders and lift our wings when we forget how to fly.”

—Unknown

Delightful WISPIES created by Shena Meadowcroft

Relic's Contained...

Isn't this French 17th century Reliquary Box wonderful?  I love how the embroidery so perfectly frames each relic, and how the softness of the flowers invites us in for a closer look.  Was this kept on a shelf or perhaps carried around when most in need?  A truly stunning treasure!!!  

Found via Le Curieux Petit Lieu. 

Swedish Lace and Simplicity...

Simple and stunning textile work by Pia Aaseby  a Swede living in Provence, above.  

And by Anna Fleberg, another Swedish artist - below.  Via the beautiful blog Hannas Form.

Feathered Tea...

I am enjoying the embroidery of Renie Breskin Adams, especially this one...  Wouldn't you love to have tea with the birds?

Birthing An Alligator - Part 1

When I think of Alligators I think:

*Big

*Powerful

*Frightening

*Primal (thank you Lea for reminding me of this!)

*And in the case of my 'Alligator Wall' - Fun!

So why work on an Alligator right now?  Well, partly once I assembled my 'Alligator Wall' I felt it needed something down in the lower left hand corner...  But I suddenly realized that there is Much Much more to this project then just creating a filler for my wall!  

I have been wanting to get back into TEXTILES for quite a while now.  Textiles is my background, I spent years learning about, playing with and creating with it in the form of wearable art.  I made dolls for many years and loved  'dressing them' the best.  Teaching at the CASTLE pushed my art much more towards PAPER.  I love paper!  But there is something really deep inside of ME that needs to work with fibers and textiles.

So I have started an Alligator...

Not just any alligator, but a BABY Alligator, and I thought you might enjoy hearing about my process as I take this leap back to my roots so to speak.

  

I spent some time looking for a nice Alligator silhouette, and decided I liked the one shown on top of this post the best.  After finding the image, I enlarged it 250%, so its more life-size.  In reality my enlarged version measures about 25 inches from nose to tail.  Feeling the need to stay 'sustainable and green' I also decided to only use fabrics and materials that I already have.  I first cut out the basic Alligator shape of a nice raw cotton batting.   Then I lay this on top of a shrunken wool sweater and traced the shape to re-cut.  But this time I cut the shape about a 1/4 of an inch smaller all the way around.  I'm totally in a grove now, not really thinking why - just doing...

My reasoning for using creamy whites here in the beginning has to do with my love of the 'White Alligator' that lives in San Francisco's California Academy of Sciences.  He is a real beauty and a true must see!

Next I stitched the two layers together with a darker thread, outlining the shape.  I worked fast, and left the loose threads.

At this point I truly wasn't quite sure how to proceed.  After letting it sit for a few hours, I decided to go back to one of my favorite techniques when I was in school - Reverse Applique.

"In reverse applique two layers of fabric are used and the top layer is cut away showing the fabric underneath."

As tempted as I might be to let it be finished now, I still feel it needs more.  I found THIS IMAGE while doing some computer browsing yesterday and something about it just struck a chord!  Partly it was the colors used, but also the simplicity of shapes.   I pulled out my box of Fabric Scraps and started digging - looking for colors that spoke to me.

After finding a few pieces that seem to say Alligator, I began cutting them into tiny squares and circles.  I also went through my button box and dug out a large handful of tiny mother of pearl buttons - harking back to the White Alligator who inspired the initial coloring.  

  

Now the fun part, how to use these little bits and pieces...  Here is what I have lain out so far.  I don't want the initial Applique cuts to disappear, yet I do want something NEW to happen.

I'm feeling inspired by how my embroidery threads happen to be arranged.  Haphazardly but in a definite color range.

Thats as far as I've come.  

I am finding it profound that I chose a 'Baby Alligator' to do this project.  I see this as a Baby Step towards going back to my fiber roots.  I hope you enjoy hearing about my process and following along on this new path...  

More Soon!  

Embroidered Garden...

An antique stumpwork masterpiece garden via Each Little World.

Rabbits and Cabbages - Oh my!

With Easter around the corner, I am loving this textile design by Thornback & Peel!