Inspirations profile

Posted on November 15, 2015 by Salley Mavor

I am excited to let you know that my work is featured in the current issue (88) of Inspirations Magazine, which is published in Australia. The profile, titled “A Wonderful World”, is a 3 page interview with lots of photos. The whole magazine is beautifully produced and lives up to its reputation as “the world’s most beautiful embroidery magazine”.

I’m so impressed with the article layout and am thrilled to have a spread about textile super star Kaffe Fassett on the facing page! A big thank you to the editors at Inspirations for inviting me to tell my story and share my work with a wider audience of embroidery enthusiasts.

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Nativity Scene photo shoot

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Salley Mavor

I know it’s rushing the season, but for those of you who celebrate Christmas, it’s time to get started on making a nativity scene, so that you have it ready to display during the holidays. This set is from my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk – New Adventures, which has patterns and directions for making Mary, Joseph, the infant Jesus, 3 Kings and a shepherd and his sheep.

In this post, I show what the scene looked like in my studio, before we took photos for the book.

The nativity figures are fun to make and can be as simple or decorative as you want. I especially enjoyed coming up with the costumes for the three kings. Their gifts are different beads that look liked containers.

nativity project from Felt Wee Folk

For the photo shoot, I made the manger from curved pieces of driftwood, creating an arched structure. The back drop is a dark purple piece of felt with sewed on star sequins.

Bayberry branches and dried foliage were the right scale for trees and brush. I used beach stones to fill gaps and build up the surrounding landscape. A pail full of beach sand covered the plywood base and the straw bedding was dried beach grass.

The photo below is the one Rob and I chose for the book. We used a different photography method, which gives a more dramatic nighttime effect. We took the photo at night, in a completely dark room. During a long expose time of about 10 seconds, Rob “painted with light”, pointing and moving a small flash light around the areas he wanted lit up. We repeated that many times, until we had a good selection of photos from which to choose.

I’ve already heard from several enthusiastic people who are in the process of making or have competed a Nativity of their own. And I’m sure that each set of characters will be as unique as their maker!

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Scotland, Oct 2015 (Plockton)

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Salley Mavor

On the west coast of Scotland, not far from the bridge to the Isle of Skye is Plockton, the most charming, picturesque village I’ve ever seen.

The early morning light was the best, with the mist creating a magical scene in every direction!

Scotland_Oct15r

Scotland (Oct. 2015): Abbotsford

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Salley Mavor

In the Scottish lowlands, we visited Abbotsford, the home of 19th century author Sir Walter Scott, who’s historical novels were influential in popularizing and romanticizing Scotland’s past.

The building and gardens were impressive. Rosie got a good view from high up with the hollyhocks.

The interior rooms held an even more amazing collection of treasures, my favorites being the entryway full of armor and wooden sculpture and the sitting room, with its hand painted Chinese wallpaper.

Scotland, Oct. 2015 ~ Rosie & Polly

Posted on October 25, 2015 by Salley Mavor

Remember when Polly went missing and I had to come up with a replacement traveler? Well, Rosie was a great sport to fill in and she ended up having a great trip. But low and behold, who did she find in Scotland but Polly! After she got over the shock of seeing her bedraggled cousin in the heather, Rosie listened to Polly’s story. Polly told the harrowing tale of how she stowed away in a backpack, making it through airport security and the trans Atlantic flight. She barely survived being crammed inside a pocket with a pair of sun glasses and a bottle of aspirin. But, she was glad to not be left behind! From then on, Polly and Rosie were inseparable. They climbed stone walls at Urquhart Castle…

visited Melrose Abbey…

traipsed through moss at The Falls of Bruar…

petted Greenfriar’s Bobby and walked the street of Edinburgh.

They hiked through magical woods…

and visited the site of the Battle of Culloden. Polly and Rosie made it home safely and will rest a bit before their next adventure!

Scotland, Oct. 2015 ~ Rosie

Posted on October 18, 2015 by Salley Mavor

Rosie’s trip to Scotland began with a dramatic encounter with a local bear at a road side pub between Glasgow and Oban. With a combination of perseverance and ingenuity, she was able to excuse herself after lunch and continued on her journey.

She took a boat to the Island of Iona, where she said hello to some sweet cows and drank heather ale.

She loved visiting Sir Walter Scott’s magnificent home, Abbotsford…

and Eilean Donan castle.

She met a piper…

and posed with sets of armor and a stained glass window at Edinburgh castle. Stay tuned for future posts ~ Rosie’s travels will continue here, with an exciting discovery!

Fiona – new ltd. edition fairy

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Salley Mavor

Even though I’ve said that I don’t sell them, every once in a while I offer a ltd. edition of dolls similar to the ones in my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk. You see, I only work on them while traveling, so it’s an ongoing project that takes time. This year I made a set of 25 fairy dolls while waiting in airports, flying in planes and riding in trains. I like to keep my hands busy, so this is a way of producing something, as well as keeping contented while sitting.

Update 10/17/15 ~ The fairy dolls sold out very quickly. Thank you to all of you who were ready at 10 am, logged into my Etsy Shop. Will there be more opportunities to buy dolls in the future? Perhaps, but it depends on how much time I spend traveling.

Some of the finish work that’s not as portable, I do in my studio. I have to limit the time I spend working on these because otherwise I would spend all of my time in fairy land, constructing dolls, night and day. That isn’t such a bad thing, but then, I would never take on making new, more involved pieces.

In an effort to be fair to everyone, I am announcing on this blog and Facebook that 25 “Fiona” fairies will be for sale in my Etsy Shop on Saturday, Oct. 17th at 10am, eastern US time. That gives more people a chance to read about it in advance, so they can plan on being ready to shop. Last year’s dolls sold out very quickly, so if you really want one, act fast! Sorry, no reservations ahead of time. The dolls will be sold on a first come first served basis. Update 10/17/15 2:00pm ~ The Fiona fairies are all sold.

Scotland, Oct. 2015 (phone booths)

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Salley Mavor

Were back from Scotland, with many photos to share. This trip was another wonderful Celtic music learning tour with Boston’s public radio station WGBH. We’ve gone on two of their previous trips to Ireland (see archived posts here) and jumped at the chance to join their tour of Scotland.

I’ll begin by showing a series of iconic red UK phone booths we saw in different areas of the country. Somehow, it was reassuring to see the old fashioned booths wherever we went.The first two were spotted in the beautiful village of Plockton, on the west coast.

And on this charming street corner in Melrose…

And more on the streets of Edinburgh.

opportunities to see original artwork

Posted on October 11, 2015 by Salley Mavor

I am excited to share the news that there will be opportunities to see my original fabric-relief artwork in different parts of the country this fall and winter. The Pocketful of Posies exhibit, will be at the Upcountry Museum – Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, Oct. 17, 2015 – Feb. 14, 2016. Next month I will head down to Greenville to give a talk about my work on Thurs., Nov. 19th at 7:00 pm. This is the last scheduled exhibit on the 5 year tour and I hope that many of you can make the trip to see the show!

: “Hickety pickety my black hen” detail 2010

: Little Boy Blue

And, 2 of my larger pieces will be included in Insects to Elephants: Mother Nature’s Menagerie at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Birds of Beebe Woods and Rabbitat will be displayed from Oct 21. 2015 – January 10, 2016.

Also, my piece, FaceTime is part of the group show, Entangled at Some Things Looming in Reading Pennsylvania until Oct. 24th.

introducing Polly’s cousin Rosie

Posted on September 27, 2015 by Salley Mavor

Before introducing Rosie, I’d like to say a little something about her cousin Polly. Since Polly has a history of dawdling and missing her ride to the airport, I thought I’d better get her ready for our next trip. I’ve looked in all her usual resting places, but she’s nowhere to be seen! Maybe she’s tired of being hauled around in the bottom of my purse and doesn’t want to go to Scotland again. She’s survived many adventures, from standing on a boat railing in Antarctica to wandering the streets of Havana, to climbing stones in Ireland.

Cuba

Ireland

France

Edinburgh, Scotland

It could be that she’s had enough excitement and wants a calmer existence. I trust that she will appear when she’s good and ready to come out of hiding. Luckily, Polly liked to have her picture taken– you can see her travels here.

Despite being so young (she was born yesterday), her cousin Rosie is ready and willing to fill in for her. She’s in a bit of a shock that all Polly left behind were her discarded travel costumes. Rosie’s outfit of a plaid skirt and wool sweater should be well suited for the coolish Scottish weather this autumn.

Rosie may come across as shy and timid at first, but I have a feeling that she will surprise us all. She’s already packed and ready, which either shows her excitement or anxiety, or both!

To keep up with new posts, subscribe to this blog (top right column on the home page). Your contact info will not be sold or shared. If you’d like to see more frequent photos tracking the projects in my studio, please follow me on Facebook and/or Instagram.