Where is Polly Doll going next?

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Salley Mavor

Polly Doll is going on a trip next month and her regular outfit will not do! She loved Oregon (see here) and San Francisco (see here), but missed the flight to Ireland. For this next excursion, she is determined to go along. She will need to bring some warm clothes to wear. Can you guess where she’s going?

She’ll be leaving her straw hat at home and will wear her new red coat and hat, warm mittens and Ugg style boots (size 3/4″).

This is a clue: Polly will be heading south from her home on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The first person to answer correctly (on this blog) before she leaves in a week, gets a prize. International contestants are welcome!

The prize is…

an autographed paperback copy of my book, Mary Had a Little Lamb. Good Luck! Oh, and I will be tagging along, too. That means my Etsy shop will be on vacation from Dec. 6 to 20, so order early for Christmas!

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Open Studio Nov. 18th

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Salley Mavor

Everyone is invited to come to my studio in Falmouth, MA (Cape Cod) on Sunday, November 18th, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. Every few years, I like to open my studio to the public when there’s something special to show, usually when a big project is complete. That way people in my area can get a preview before my work is delivered elsewhere. I’m almost finished making decorations for a tree based on my book Pocketful of Posies, which will be included in Family Trees: A Celebration of Children’s Literature at the Concord Museum, Concord, MA. Several friends have asked if they can see the tree before I bring it to Concord, so I spontaneously decided to invite the world over, too. The picture above was taken a week ago and I’ve made more decorations since then, so by the 18th, the tree will be full of dolls and strung with garlands made of thread spools!

Oh, my, what have I done? This means I have a week to finish the tree and clean up the studio! Not too much fixing up, though–it will still look like a busy work place. Birds of Beebe Woods will be in the studio, too, before it is delivered to the Plymouth Antiquarian Society’s Hedge House Museum for their Fairy Christmas celebration. By the way, the Pocketful of Posies traveling exhibit will be there next summer.

new “Birds of Beebe Woods” cards

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Salley Mavor

New Birds of Beebe Woods note cards just arrived from the printer and I’ve added them to the other cards, posters and books in my Etsy Shop. I picked two detailed images from the larger piece, one of the crow, surrounded by smaller birds and the other features the blue jay and gold finch. I’m pleased with how the cards came out and think they show the embroidered patterns and textures of the birds quite well.

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

a banner day

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Salley Mavor

Last Saturday, a group of lovely women gathered at Highfield Hall in Falmouth for my felt banner workshop. Lynn and Christy treated the workshop as a destination event. They drove down from Vermont a day ahead and spent the afternoon riding their bicycles on our prized Shining Sea bike path. The next morning, they were eager and ready to go before we officially started at 9:30.

I brought wool felt and other supplies like thread, wire and an alphabet guide. The class was made up of stitchers and quilters who felt very comfortable with a needle and thread. Everyone came with an idea of what kind of banner they wanted to make, so they got right to work. There were holiday signs, a baby banner, a Chinese proverb, a sewing room sign, and one woman made personalized tooth pillows for her nieces. The first challenge was selecting felt and thread colors. Then, I showed them how to form and wrap the wire letters. This is a technique I’ve been developing for some time, but I’ve never explained or demonstrated how to do it.

The wrapping technique can be quite tedious and fussy, but this group picked it up quickly. They didn’t seem frustrated and became engrossed in the process, asking questions along the way.

Lynn wanted to make a wire plant instead of words, so I showed her how to form and wrap branches.

Christy started a cheerful purple Christmas banner, which will include felt holly and other embellishments. The hours passed quickly and by closing time at 4:30, everyone’s project was progressing well, but nothing was completed. I know that Christy is working on hers at home, because she wrote to ask some questions yesterday.

Will I teach any more classes? I’m striving for the right balance between time out in the world and time creating in my studio. With so many projects planned, I hesitate to commit to teaching workshops, especially if it involves travel. I find it difficult to do my artwork if I’m constantly coming and going, preparing and recovering. Teaching at a venue close to home makes the idea sound more manageable, but I still guard my studio time like a mother bear!

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 acid free 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) and note cards are available through my Etsy Shop.

warbler1WM

Birds of Beebe Woods: cardinals

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Salley Mavor

Poster – Birds of Beebe Woods

See other posts about making Birds of Beebe Woods here. A poster is available from my Etsy Shop.

Most of the birds in Birds of Beebe Woods are the colorful male variety, but I decided to add a pair of cardinals to the mix. The female is shown in her nest, which is made of florist’s rafia-like straw.

After consulting photographs of cardinals, I did a simple drawing to follow. The basic shape is cut out of matt board and the padding is basted in place. I don’t know what the padding material is made of— a friend gave me a bunch. In this case, I made a felt hood and embroidered feather patterns with variegated thread.

Then, I stitched the beak and surrounded the bead eye with several rows of black blanket stitching.

The tail has a wire armature to help keep its shape.

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.

Felt Banner Workshop

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Salley Mavor

I’m happy to announce that I’ll be teaching a workshop in my home town of Falmouth, Massachusetts later this fall. We’ll make wool felt banners with wrapped wire lettering, the same as I’ve shown several times on this blog (see archives here). Students can make their own personalized keepsake to celebrate a wedding or baby’s birth. It doesn’t have to be a wedding or baby banner. You can also make a welcome sign or write out a short phrase or proverb such as Home Sweet Home or Be Here Now. Update: the workshop is full, but there is a waiting list.

Birds of Beebe Woods

I’m usually too busy to teach classes, but couldn’t resist the opportunity to add a hands-on element to the Intimate Woods exhibit (Sept. 18 – Nov. 15, 2012), which will include my piece, Birds of Beebe Woods. (see posts about the piece here)

An 18″ x 24″ poster of Birds of Beebe Woods is available from my Etsy Shop.

Of course it doesn’t hurt that Highfield Hall is less than a mile from my house and we’ll have a large well-lit space to spread out and work. What could be more fun than spending all day stitching and wrapping thread in the company of other like-minded folk? More info about the workshop is on the bottom of this post.

(Workshop is full) FELT BANNER WORKSHOP – Sat., Oct. 27th , 2012 – 9:30am to 4:30pm Highfield Hall , Falmouth, MA. To find out more and to register, go to this link and scroll down to Felt Banner Workshop. The skill level is intermediate. I’ll provide materials including wool felt, wire, thread, beads and buttons, but students should bring a sewing kit and any special beads, charms and other embellishments from their personal stash. The class size is limited to 10, so sign up soon if you’re interested. For those of you will travel a distance, there are plenty of Inns and Bed and Breakfasts nearby (even within walking distance). Buses from New York or Boston drop off within a short walking distance, too.

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.