Category Archives: Fabric Relief

Horn Book poster winner!

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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.

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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!

Close-ups (winter solstice)

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The Shortest Day by Susan Cooper

And so the Shortest Day came and the year died
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.

Salley, age 8

They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive.

detail from “One Misty, Moisty Morning” in “Pocketful of Posies” 2010

And when the new year’s sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, reveling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us – listen!

detail from “Little Jack Horner” in “Pocketful of Posies” 2010

All the long echoes, sing the same delight,
This Shortest Day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.

detail of balsam pillow in “Felt Wee Folk” 2003

And now so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.

detail from “Little Jack Horner” in “Pocketful of Posies” 2010

Autographed copies of Pocketful of Posies are available from my Esty Shop.

Felt Wee Folk around the kitchen table

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fairies from "Felt Wee Folk"

fairies from “Felt Wee Folk”

Sometimes I look at my blog statistics to find out how people find me. Quite frequently searches like “pipe cleaner dolls”or “wee felt people” bring them here. This week’s wordy favorite was “how to wrap embroidery floss around pipe cleaners for fairies”.

Last week, I received the most wonderful e-mail message from Michele in Nebraska, who wrote, “I didn’t do anything else yesterday evening except enjoy every single thing on your blog.” She went on describe how she and her family have enjoyed the doll projects in Felt Wee Folk.

“I purchased your book when my daughter was 15 (she is now 20 and a new mother). She had a close friend spend the night once that year and I brought my new book, along with lots of felt, threads, combed wool (I spin) and all manner of goodies, into the kitchen with the two girls and announced we were going to make tiny dolls. You should have seen their teenage faces! At first hesitant and then fascinated and completely absorbed, those two girls insisted on staying up till 2:30 in the morning so their little people could be finished! We talked about everything and laughed and laughed and when we were done, we sat and looked at our little people with the greatest satisfaction and joy. Just recently, my daughter’s same good friend came to our house to visit and told me that night spent here was the most fun she has ever had and that she felt so much love in our home. She has her little Wee Folk doll still and wants to make more with her children when she has them.

I just thought you might like to hear that your art has the most profound effect on others in such a positive and loving way. Thank you for your years of sharing. Thank you for leaving your examples of doll art on your website as inspiration for those of us who cannot get enough of them. I am sure you will be blessed in all your new endeavors.

And finally thank you for being true to yourself, for in doing that, what you have created is truly magical.”

Stories like Michele’s make me feel that sharing my fantasy/play world is truly worth it. It warms my heart to think of kitchen tables around the world scattered with silk flower petals, pipe cleaners and acorn caps. I can imagine faces of all ages and colors bowed in concentration and busy hands engrossed in making wee dolls. It’s been almost 9 years since Felt Wee Folk was released by C&T Publishing. Since 2003, the book has been reprinted many times, selling over 50,000 copies, which is way more than any of my children’s books.

book signing at NE Quilt Museum

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This Saturday, Dec. 10th, I’ll be signing books from 1:00 to 3:00pm at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts. This will be the last event of the year, professionally, that is. Some original illustrations from Pocketful of Posies will be displayed during my visit. The old woman who lived in a shoe will be there, as well as Peter the pumpkin eater.

I’ll also bring the orignal illustration I made for the Horn Book Magazine. To see a preview of the Jan/Feb magazine cover, go here. I hope to meet some of you at the Quilt Museum this Saturday! 

RISD Holiday Art Sale

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I will be selling and signing books at booth #110 at the RISD Holiday Art Sale , this Saturday, December 3, from 10am – 5pm, at the Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence, RI 

 

Posters for the first 25 customers who buy a copy of Pocketful of Posies. Free notecard with every book purchase. Out-of-print books for sale: In the Heart, Mary Had a Little Lamb and Wee Willie Winkie. Original fabric relief illustrations on display. I hope to see you there!

Connecticut Book Fair

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This past Saturday I gave a talk and signed books at the Connecticut Children’s Book Fair, which is held every year at the UConn campus in Storrs. It’s a big affair, with about 20 different authors and illustrators giving presentations. Just before my slide talk was about to start, I learned that the ordered cartons of my book, Pocketful of Posies, had not arrived. They had a few copies of Posies (from the UConn Coop), some Felt Wee Folk and Hey, Diddle, Diddle!, but that would be it. I was stunned for about 30 seconds and then decided that I wasn’t going to let this taint my weekend at the fair. People had come to see me and I would give my talk and spend time meeting them even if there wasn’t a stack of books to sign. I had brought posters, so I signed those instead of the Posies book. I met some really nice people and one woman told me that she drove 3 hours to come see my exhibit and hear my 10:15 am talk! And my husband Rob had a great time schmoozing with the other authors and illustrators and their spouses. Oh, see my new leather and carpet purse from Turkey on the table next to me.

The highlight of the evening banquet was seeing my former teacher, David Macaulay. He was one of the authors at the fair and I was hoping to have a chance to talk to him. It had been about a dozen years since we saw each other last, so we had a really nice chat, catching up and reminiscing about RISD days. I was surprised when he pointed to his lapel pin, which looked vaguely familiar. It was a stuffed cloth pyramid that I gave him when I was his student in about 1977!  His Pyramid book came out around that time. 

I had completely forgotten about making it. He knew I was going to be at the fair, so he wore it! I was so touched by his thoughtfulness. I spent the rest of the evening floating on air. Read about my pins here.

We saw the exhibit of my original illustrations from Pocketful of Posies on campus, at the Dodd Center.

Here’s the sign at the entrance to the gallery.

The space is perfect for small work, with lots of cases and good lighting. The curator, Terri Goldich did a great job fitting 39 illustrations into the gallery. There are some comfy chairs and a small TV at the back where you can sit and watch my Rabbitat film, too. 

Posies exhibit at UConn

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Travel Update: I just want to assure you that we are safe in the Mediterranean, off the coast of southwestern Turkey, far away from the earthquake. We heard about it from friends who have e-mailed. No one has said a word (in english) about it at any ports we’ve stayed at.  We’re having a wonderful time, by the way.
Travel Notice: I’m going on a trip to Turkey! So, see you back here in about 3 weeks (with pictures).
Radio Story:  Our local NPR station (WCAI) broadcasted a story about my work. Hear it here.

detail from "There was a Crooked Man"

We’ve delivered 39 framed original illustrations from my book Pocketful of Posies to the next stop on the tour. The work will be exhibited through Dec. 16 at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center Gallery at the University of Connecticut – Storrs. On Saturday, Nov. 12th, I will be giving a presentation at 10:15 am and signing books throughout the day, during the Connecticut Children’s Book Fair on campus. The Dodd Center isn’t normally open on weekends, but because I’ll be there on the 12th, the gallery will be open for visitors from 12 noon to 3pm. So, if you can only come during the weekend, this is your chance!
Storrs is about 3 hours from our home on Cape Cod, so we wrapped the artwork in bubble wrap and drove it over in our car. Terri Goldich, the curator and my husband Rob helped load the cart.
The gallery is a beautiful, clean space with wall and floor display cases. We tested the DVD of my Rabbitat film to make sure it played on their TV in the corner.  Terri hung the show after we left and it’s now open to the public Monday through Friday 8:30 am – 4:30 pm., through Dec. 16th. Again, the gallery will be open from 12 noon to 3pm on Saturday, Nov. 12th, when I’m at the book fair.
I’ll be away on a trip to Turkey, so there won’t be any new posts for about 3 weeks. But, I’ll bring back plenty of pictures!

Rabbitat – part 6 (rabbit characters)

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Originally, I was going to make human characters living in the drift wood house, but I kept imagining long ears sticking up from their heads, so they changed into a rabbit family. Hence the name Rabbitat (see film here). The mother and father dolls are about 4 inches tall and made with a bendable pipe-cleaner armature. The heads are made from wooden beads covered with wool felt. There’s a seam down the front of the face, under the embroidered nose.

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As soon as I added front teeth, they lost their bland cuteness and took on personality, or should I say rabbitality?

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Maybe I just identified with them more, having been a buck toothed child.

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The faces are embroidered, with glass bead eyes.

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The ears have fine wire sewn around the outside edge, so they can be bent expressively.

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The baby carriage is made from this wire, which is covered with a bark-like natural material I found at a florist supply business. The wheels are acorn caps with holes drilled in the center.

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I embroidered a carrot motif on the clothing.

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And let’s not forget the biggest character of all — the rabbit topiary.

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To see more posts in this series and to view the Rabbitat film click here.

Rabbitat – part 5 (garden gate)

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I added the garden gate about half way through the process of making Rabbitat. Since I changed the design from horizontal to vertical, I needed something in the lower right to balance the rabbit topiary on the left. I also wanted to create  a transition from the foreground to the background and make an an entrance into the rabbit world.

I selected some driftwood and carved joints into the pieces. I then drilled holes in the joints and glued the pieces together with wire in the holes for reinforcement.

On a jig saw, I cut out a wooden rabbit shape to put on top of the gate.

I wanted bars in the gate, so I bent some 32 gauge cloth-covered wire and wrapped it with embroidery floss.

Then I had to figure out what to use for hinges and a latch. I got out my collection of little metal do-dads, but wasn’t satisfied with how they looked. Shiny metal didn’t seem to fit in the rabbit’s world. I ended up using clay tube beads for the hinges and wrapped wire for the latch.

I worked around the gate for many weeks, sewing the tree and constructing parts of the scene’s landscape.

I created a felt stone pathway leading to the gate, with french knot moss. Thinking ahead, I stitched my initials into the design on the right hand corner.

To see more posts in this series and to view the Rabbitat film click here.