nature boy

There was a boy
A very strange enchanted boy
They say he wandered very far, very far
Over land and sea
A little shy
And sad of eye
But very wise
Was he

And then one day
A magic day he passed my way
And while we spoke of many things, fools and kings
This he said to me
"The greatest thing
You'll ever learn
Is just to love
And be loved
In return"

----eden ahbez

father

" you and me
in the morningtime
we''ll put our shortenings on
and go down to ska ha lake
and have a swim"

my father tucked me in some nights
and
remind me of
me being smaller
and
me saying this to him

big monster

i am disgusted at myself
i am writing an f---ing blog about my f---ing cats
save me from this

ok that being said
here is peeps, he is a big monster cat (16 pounds)
and he is hanging over the top of the kittens box full of holes trying to keep them away
it just makes them have more fun

tinting

have been playing with tinting fabrics
using "rit" or "tintex" dye from dollar stores..just really cheap stuff
i really like the way the dye gets all blotchy not taking as well in some places
and because i am an old hippie i like to tie a knot or fold the fabric bits
so it can get pretty crazy looking
i use small pieces of natural fibres that i have in the cupboard
bits of old clothing like yokes of my worn out white nightgowns
or even ribbons
and fabrics i dont know the content of
in getting bigger and bigger piles it seems i may make a blanket with them

another blanket

here is the blanket i am working the most on these days
its all handstitched from recycled embroidered bits
tablecloths, doilies, pillowcases
so i have used up all of them that i have had hanging around
some for years
as well there is a thrift store here that sells bags full of what they call "distressed linens" for $3.00
so i do keep picking up more
my next distressed linens blanket will be all white on whites

tyger lily

tyger lily is the kittens mom
and she will be spayed asap

no no
i dont think un-spayed or un-neutered cats and dogs are any kind of good idea

kittens again

kittens are 8 weeks old tomorrow and as far as i am concerned they are ready to go
it is like living in a circus with them tho
the dark tabby is the only male and will be going to live with his auntie at Dennis's house...he will have a happy life
the lighter tabby who i call pom pom may stay here with me and my menagerie
the 2 black females have stripes that you can see in the right light, have no takers yet.
its been fun and anxiety provoking especially litter training

may trees

did i tell you about that time i fell in love?
it was in May
and he
had a May tree in his front yard
the lovely thing was
it had 2 colours
pink and white
and he picked a flower putting it in my curly hair

every May when the may trees bloom i remember it

ken quilt

a couple of weeks ago i go to visit my dear friend and cohort erika
you all know her now and she makes
get this
french toast out of banana bread (home made) and bacon
and then she goes thru some bins of fabrics to find bits for me and the blankets (magic blankets see way below)
and pulling out some rust stained lace and torn bits she says now this would be the perfect ken blanket
ken being a mentor of ours and
a lover of the imperfect
a lover of rusty tin
a lover of old smelly tent canvas
by now my fingers are itchy from going all day without a needle in my hand we we go for it
poor erika has to run around finding needles
but i get to just go.....
so here is the thing
i make my little piece and post it last night
and a comment this morning
from ken on its loveliness
THANK YOU KEN

let make a doll step 9

here i have trimmed a little more around the horns and starting to unravel the fabric to make the tassel things for the end of the horns
this fabric turns out to be fairly closely woven and isnt easy to unravel
so..... i will be back with pics later
you may make the unravel look at any part of your doll
even all the way around
if so i would leave more fabric when trimming

letsmakeadoll maybe step 8

i have trimmed all around the outside at about 1/2 and inch
leaving extra at the end of the "horns"
you see we are NOT going to turn the doll inside out

letsmakeadoll maybe step 7 if i have it right

so here we are
i have done two lines of stitching leaving an inch or more open along a straight line
i did try to do very small stitches and they turned out quite well

kitten update

Dolly-do-along

Hi! It's me, Erika.

I have been following along with the doll steps Gilly laid out for us so far, and have taken some photos documenting a little progress. I was enjoying a nice slow day yesterday, and posted about it on my blog as well. If you're interested, here is the link: erikaoftheisland.blogspot.com

Step 1 - Decide to follow along and make a doll. Pick out some fabric and some thread.



Step 2 - Make a pattern out of an 8 1/2 x 11" piece of paper folded in half.


Step 3 - Trace your pattern onto your fabric. Pin two layers of fabric together with the traced
pattern showing.





Step 4 - Well this is where I may have jumped the queue a little... when I re-read it, I realized it indicates what step 5 might be, but is only eluding to it... and I went ahead andpinned two layers together and stitched around along my traced line... stitching the tiniest possible stitches... so tiny at one point that the stitches could barely be seen, actually, so I went back to a slightly larger stitch...



Here is the tiniest stitches:


Step 4 1/2 - Have a rest and a drink. In my case, it was a latte and a moment gazing out my window at one of the little orange headed finches that lives in a tree out the side of my house.



And then I continued stitching... all the way around until there was about a 2 inch opening left.

Step 5 - It seems this step was to wait for Amy and I to get going on our dolls (you can only imagine the pressure as you're all waiting with baited breath for the next step...) so I apologize for keeping anyone waiting.

The next day, I was over at Gilly's house, and saw her doll in progress, and realized that she had done a SECOND row of stitches very close (mmm... maybe 3/16ths of an inch) around the outside of the first stitched row... so I went home and did what I like to call:

Step 6 - Do two rows of stitching close together along the traced line of your pattern, leaving a small opening (at least 2 inches) along a side or at a straight-ish part of the seam.

Here's what mine looks like at this point:

Thats it so far... and now we wait for Step 7! Have fun!
Back over to you Gilly!

back to dolls

so this is where we stand now

erika will be a guest reporter on here with reprts and photos about her doll to this point in the next little while

i have stitched mine and will add pics and directions tomorrow

and the AMAZINGFAITH has finished her doll
attached is a pic and i am hoping she will be a guest reporter as well
telling us about her process and all.
will you darling faith?
please

and amy will catch up as she can

kittens

thank you tina for the pics

mothers day

Mother's Day Proclamation
by Julia Ward Howe*, 1870

The First Mother's Day proclaimed in 1870 by Julia Ward Howe
was a passionate demand for disarmament and peace.

Arise, then, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be that of water or tears!

Say firmly: "We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have taught them of charity, mercy and patience. We women of one country will be too tender of those of another to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."

From the bosom of the devastated earth, a voice goes up with our own. It says, "Disarm, Disarm!"

The sword of murder is not the balance of justice. Blood not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession. As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first, as women, to bewail & commemorate the dead. Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesars but of God.

In the name of womanhood and of humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality may be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace.

the link for this was on soulmama's blog this morning
very powerful

let make a doll step 6

ok step 6 is waiting for erika and amy to start theirs
tomorrow i will post faith's doll that she finished with only getting to step 5
i love the rebellious spirit as up rebels are so creative
anyone else joining still?

hanging bags

on the right a couple of my new bags made from "shrunkded" sweater
sort of built like a pinch pot

on the left an old bridebag of the kind i use to sell
after a pot of red Rit dye...i love the way the dye pics up differently on each fabric and even some of the beads
hey and the chinese cupboard from behind that helps me fantasizing about living in a yurt

waking

oooh the feeling of the kittens running
and
chasing each other all over the bed
and
me barely awake under the covers
my body
making a mountain for then to hide behind
and
walk the ridge of

if you like crows

i added Faith's poem "Crows" to a blog i have that is just random crow and raven stuff
if you like crows have a look here

the world at the top of the cupboard

sewing room

leonard cohen

saw leonard cohen live last week
was my first time seeing him

it was a respectful brilliant and very tight show

he skipped on and off the stage and his 2 encores added up to 5 songs

i feel so fortunate to have been there

rings the bells that still can ring
forget your perfect offering
there is a crack in everything
that's how the light gets in
----lc

meanwhile the babies are growing

lets make a doll

anyone that is actually trying this with me
maybe Faith is if my log gaps in posting havnt made her lose interest
how about some of you others
Ken Erika Amy Lisa?
would you email me photos of your dolls as you go along?
that would make it fun...yes?
fatfairie@gmail.com

lets make a doll step 4

so here is the doll pattern drawn on the fabric
pinned together on the insides of the line
you may want to use more pins than i did
leave a fair amount of fabric on the outsides of the line
i have chosen a straight area along one leg to leave open to fill the doll with
we will actually start stitching next
so get together cotton embroidery thread and a nice sharp needle or two
we will be using a running stitch the will show when the doll is finished
so we will be trying to make the smallest stitches that we possibly can
your thread can match and blend in
or be a colour that will show all the stitching....so gear up...

lets make a doll step 3

layout pattern onto a double thickness of fabric and draw around it
leave an inch and a half or more of excess fabric on the outside of the line
i used a sharpy pen...its permanent ...and it will be covered by the stitches
i am using some 100% cotton ...washed and soft
indigo dyed that i bought at maiwa handprints on granville island in vancouver
it should be very easy to stitch