Birds of Beebe Woods: warbler

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Salley Mavor

I wanted to include a warbler in the Birds of Beebe Woods piece and found that a handful of varieties live in our area, each with their own distinct markings. I liked the look of the black throated green warbler best and thought its color patterns and striped wings would show up against the brownish gold background fabric.

To start, I found many photographs of warblers in books and on the internet and sketched until I found a pose that fit into the scene of birds. After making paper patterns, I cut out the bird’s shape from matt board and cut pieces of white, green, black and yellow from wool felt. Thinking ahead, I glued cheap acrylic felt to the back of the matt board body, so there would be something to grab the stitches while the front felt piece was later being sewn in place. I also basted thick wool felt padding to the top of the matt board piece.

I embroidered the texture and markings on the warbler’s green head. The bead eye is sewn inside a cut out hole in the yellow felt. Periodically, I would hold the bird up against the background fabric, to make sure there was enough contrast.

I used a combination of blanket stitch, fly stitch and lots of little single stitches.

The wing’s stripes were defined by chain stitched lines.

To finish, I made a little felt tail and added thread wrapped wire legs. Then, the black throated green warbler was ready to join the flock.

To see more posts about the making of Birds of Beebe Woods, see the archives here. An 18″ x 24″ poster (pictured at the beginning of this post) is available through my Etsy Shop.

new “Birds” poster on Etsy

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Salley Mavor

The Birds of Beeebe Woods posters have arrived! My sister, Anne Mavor did the classy graphic design. We picked a chocolate-brown background and gold lettering to set off the warm tones of the piece. The 18 x 24 posters are now available at my Etsy shop. I’ll be traveling in Ireland Sept. 11 – 20, so if you want one before I leave, place an order by Sept. 9th. Otherwise, I’ll fill any orders after I return.

Go here for more information and to see posts about making Birds of Beebe Woods.

Birds of Beebe Woods: bluejay

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Salley Mavor

Update: The Birds of Beebe Woods poster is in my Etsy shop .

Now that the piece is finished, I can spend time reviewing how I made some of the parts. Opportunities to see the original piece are listed at the end of this post. The bluejay (life size) was one of the first birds I made, after the crow, because it’s on the large size and I wanted to make sure it would fit. The birds’ arrangement wasn’t set until the very end and I kept moving the critters around. That’s why I like to create separate elements–it’s very much like a collage that way. I have kind of an idea of how it will be, but I want room to maneuver the pieces. Tweaking is good because it brings surprises!

After looking at photos of bluejays, I picked a pose and cut the body shape out of matt board. Then I cut a piece of white felt and stitched a textured pattern on the breast. I cut a whole in the felt for the bead eye, too.

Oh dear, looking at these photo’s, the sequence of steps is not clear to me. You’d think I’d remember, but every time I make a new character or animal, I try different approaches. When I sew, I’m not analyzing what I’m doing, which makes it hard to explain later.

But, I can tell you this much, the bluejay’s wings are made of layered blue and white felt, all embroidered with a few simple stitches, in this case the fly and blanket stitch.

The tail stripe pattern is mostly blanket stitched.

To see other posts about the making of Birds of Beebe Woods, go to the archives here.

Birds of Beebe Woods was made for The Intimate Woods exhibit at Highfield Hall in Falmouth, MA (Cape Cod), which will be shown from Sept. 18 – Nov. 15, 2012.

Also, on December 1st, 2nd, 7th, 8th and 9th, 2012, Birds of Beebe Woods (and 2 original illustrations from Pocketful of Posies) will be displayed during the Fairy Christmas at the Plymouth Antiquarian Society’s Hedge House Museum, Plymouth, MA, when the elegant mansion is transformed into a fairy wonderland.

Birds of Beebe Woods finished!

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Salley Mavor

Yeah! After 4 1/2 months of constant stitching, Birds of Beebe Woods is finished! I know that many of you have been checking in all summer to see its progress. We propped the stretcher on a window sill outside, securing it with duct tape on the top sides. The piece feels heavier than anything I’ve made before. All of that wire adds up in poundage. Over the next few days, my husband Rob will take photographs of it in different lighting conditions outside. For soft shadows, a bright, hazy day, will be perfect. when we get a good photo, I’ll have a poster made to sell in my Etsy shop.

Now that it’s finished, I can bring Birds of Beebe Woods to Mahopac, NY next week, when I give a talk at 7pm at the Mahopac Public Library. This stop on the Pocketful of Posies touring exhibit ends the same day, Wed., August 29th. I hope to see some of you there! To see the full schedule of the tour look here.

Then, the birds piece will be hung with other Beebe Woods inspired artwork at Highfield Hall in Falmouth, MA from Sept. 18 – Nov. 15, 2012, as part if the The Intimate Woods fiber art exhibit. I’m also giving an all day workshop at Highfield Hall in Falmouth on Sat., Oct. 27^th. We’ll make felt banners with wrapped wire lettering. Find out more here.

Birds of Beebe Woods: goldfinch, nuthatch & chickadee

Posted on August 5, 2012 by Salley Mavor

I made my week’s goal of sewing 3 new birds to add to Birds of Beebe Woods! I was so determined to get them done, that I didn’t pause to take photos along the way. They are all approximately life-size. Here’s the show-off male goldfinch.

I love the way the little nuthatch hangs on facing downwards.

And our own Massachusetts state bird, the darling chickadee. It’s time to work on the background now. I’ll be checking in as the piece progresses.

Birds of Beebe Woods: cedar waxwing

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Salley Mavor

More and more birds are emerging in Birds of Beebe Woods, including this 6″ long cedar waxwing. Here are the felt parts before they were all embroidered and attached.

I like stitching the feather patterns and textures.

The September deadline for the Intimate Woods exhibit at Highfield Hall is approaching, so my goal is to make 3 small birds this week and more after that, if I have time. Then I have to attach everything to a stretched background, which usually takes longer than I think.

Birds of Beebe Woods (crow)

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Salley Mavor

I’ve emerged from my months-long blissful state of stitching Birds of Beebe Woods, just long enough to show some process pictures of the crow, whom I’ve named Argyle.

He’s about 13″ from head to tail, with about 2 weeks worth of hand embroidery on his wool felt body.

From time to time, I’ll be posting photos of the other birds in the scene. See the introductory post about Birds of Beebe Woods here. This is a brief report–the birds are calling out, “September deadline, September deadline!”

Etsy shop open for business

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Salley Mavor

I’ve finally joined the rest of the world by opening an Etsy shop! It’s taken a while for me to figure out what kind of items to sell, since I’ve given up mass-producing dolls and kits, etc. I could have really used a service like this 30 years ago, or even 10 years ago. At the moment, I’m happy to offer three brand new posters of some of my more popular fabric relief pieces; Self Portrait: A Personal History of Fashion, Rabbitat and On Halloween.

The 18″ x 24″ posters are high quality reproductions, printed on sturdy 100 lb. paper. My sister, Anne Mavor did a beautiful job with the graphic design–so tastefully done. I’m very excited to be offering these, so please visit my shop!

Close-ups (sheep)

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Salley Mavor

It’s time to bring back the Close-ups. I started the series 2 years ago, when I fell off a ladder and broke my wrist. Using one hand, I wrote about and showed pictures of past projects, organized by theme. It helped me get through the 4 month recovery period, when I couldn’t sew. See the whole Close-ups series here.

Right now, I’m in hibernation, making parts that will be used in an animation my husband Rob and I are doing. This “little” project is growing into more than a winter activity, though, and it will be a long while before we’re finished. I want to wait until we have a finished film (probably a few minutes long) before we show anything, including process photos. I’ve got other art related commitments to take care of this year, so I’ll soon have to put the animation project aside until I have more time to get totally immersed.

Back to sheep–which are giving birth at this time of year. Maybe it’s their expressions, or their ears, or their white fluffy body balls with stick legs, but sheep are very satisfying to portray. This first image at the top of the post is a detail from my picture book Mary Had a Little Lamb. See more pictures from the book here. The one below is part of an embroidered piece I made in art school in 1974.

These sheep from my 1986 Noah’s Ark fabric relief, show the beginning of my love affair with French knots.

Here’s a simpler, appliqued version, which decorates a felt purse in my 2003 how-to book, Felt Wee Folk.

Then, there are several details from nursery rhymes in my 2010 picture book, Pocketful of Posies.

Horn Book poster winner!

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Salley Mavor

I am overwhelmed by the response to the Horn Book poster giveaway! Thank you to everyone (107) who entered. I am very touched by so many lengthy, thoughtful and generous comments on the giveaway post, well beyond the usual minimal missives.

Drum roll, please. The winner is Marianne Monaghan! I’ll notify her by e-mail and find out where to send the poster. Anyone who’d like to buy posters ($7 within the US, $10 outside the US) from the Horn Book can call (Eastern Standard Time) or email any of the following:

800-325-9558 ext 7942, 614-873-7942, info@hbook.com

I gave a poster to Woods Hole Library Director Margaret McCormick, to hang up in our library.

I just had to show you this picture of one-year-old Helen dressed as a lamb, which was in the most recent Woods Hole Library newsletter. Her mother, Kellie Porter was working at the desk in the library when I brought in the poster. Kellie and I were both surprised to see the similarity between her daughter/lamb and my little girl/lamb swinging from the tree in the poster. I made the artwork for the magazine this past summer and Kellie hadn’t seen the Horn Book cover until I showed her the poster, so the resemblance was unexpected. By the way, Helen’s costume is not homemade, but I think it could easily be copied. I wish I had thought to add a collar and bell!