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I’m suffering from a bad case of crafter’s block, or perhaps it is aesthetic intimidation caused by reading too many blogs. Each of these projects was started with a burst of enthusiasm, but for various reasons, I had to stop before I was done and now I can’t decide how to “finish” them.

This apron is made from a dishtowel and some grosgrain ribbon thrifted on Mother’s Day weekend. My original intention was to add a pocket just like this, à la Lotta Jansdotter’s Café Apron, or perhaps a patch pocket with a freezer paper stencil applique, but I just can’t picture the right “thing”. Where has my muse gone?

The inspiration for this little scissor hanger hit on Mother’s Day as well, but the ribbons aren’t exactly right, there isn’t enough room to include my rotary cutter, and the whole thing needs some interfacing or Timtex to make more rigid. Perhaps a more densely fulled piece of felt would be a better choice because the pinking shears make the bottom skew away from the top. This project is screaming do-over, but now that the bug to make it has evaporated, I’m lacking in motivation.

This lambswool and angora sweater was acquired at the clothing swap in West Seattle, but I couldn’t bear to rip it apart because it is so warm and fuzzy. Small tears at the neck in the shoulder seams needed to be repaired this week, so I embroidered a vine across the neck and down each shoulder, but this isn’t done either. More or less?

The most exciting discovery at Goodwill on Monday was a wool blanket and a huge bundle of Paternayans yarn, the wool of choice for Kristin Nicholas‘ embroidery. It was hard to keep it all on the blanket and show just how many colors I found; there are lots of browns, greens and blues, plus lots of other colors for variety.

I’m tempted to over-dye the blanket and then sew it into a lined cape, but I don’t know if it will have the drape I crave. I’m scared it will turn into another shoulder rug. I love this fabric, but haven’t made the plunge yet.

Last week, a friend was sitting on the floor behind me during our sons’ aikido class.

“You have a hole in your sweater,” she commented.  “You better fix that.”

“Why?” her three year old daughter asked.

“So it doesn’t get bigger,” she answered.

 ”Oh. She got another one on her arm. Better fix that, ” Rosie offered in her most helpful voice.

“Thanks, Rosie. I will fix it right away,” I replied.

“Why?” she asked in the way that only a three year old can ask the same question again and again.

Despite a severe drought last summer when our house-sitter forgot to water the planters, and persistent frosty nights through December and January, the first signs of spring are poking out of my baskets.

Bronze fennel. Tiny fennel, so delicate, so sweet.

I drew this illustration after discovering Tricia Guild through Kristin Nicholas. I checked out all the Tricia Guild titles from our local library, including a very 80’s book on flower arranging. The spreads were a bit Victorian for my taste, but the illustrated reference of cut flowers in the appendix was fantastic. I was inspired to draw this flower, which reminded me of fennel gone to seed.

Noticing the illustration on my toothpaste put me over the edge.

I can’t wait to show Rosie.

Our friends, Erika and Jeremy Carlson, had a beautiful baby girl almost two years ago. Inspired by a picture in Kristin Nicholas’ book Colorful Stitchery, my daughter, Sophie, decided she wanted to make a special toy as a first birthday present for little Anna. She drew the shape of the doll on paper, traced her pattern onto felt and then cut it out. I embroidered the face on the front, and then blanket stitched the two together

Continue reading in you are interested in Chapter 2 of this story.

One of the required courses for my Communications degree at Concordia University, was a study of space, a very nebulous concept at best. For three credits, we had to attend one class and complete one assignment. A relief for your first semester of university on the one hand, but on the other hand, a lot of pressure.

I chose the Musée des Beaux-Arts, in particular, an exhibit called Out of the Drawings of Children, in which children’s drawings were faithfully turned into velvet dolls with embroidered features, much like Sophie’s monster doll. The exhibit was created by Claude Bouchard, a researcher interested in studying children’s perceptions of themselves and world they inhabited.

I should say, that this exhibit and my study of it took place in Montreal thirteen years ago, so my recollection of the specifics is a little sketchy. A very helpful archivist at the musée, Danielle Blanchette, provided me with the details. She also mentioned that there was a report in their files submitted by Carole Leah Dawe. Imagine that!

I spent a lot of time at the musée that semester, getting as much as I could out of my free pass. The dolls captured my imagination at the time, and have stayed with me ever since. I’m still delighted when Sophie draws something as she sees it, instead of the way other children draw, or as she has been shown to draw it.