turkey feathers

Giving Thanks

I just left the kitchen where we've spent most of the day preparing an abundance of side-dishes for our Thanksgiving feast tomorrow. Grace (bless her heart), was still standing at the sink peeling the last of a ten pound sack of potatoes when I ducked out to give my feet a rest. We'll leave the spuds to soak in cold water, and throw them in the pressure cooker later (in batches) for the best mashed potatoes ever.  I made this flower arrangement out of a pumpkin. I bought a small bouquet of flowers from the market and filled in with clippings from my own backyard. The varigated sage and artemisia added a nice touch.  I was quite pleased with it!

Homespun Quilt

 As the saying goes, "the frost is on the pumpkin." And I regret not having my camera earlier this morning as I opened my eyes at dawn to see the most glorious misty sunrise through the leafless trees outside my window. This peaceful valley has been blanketed in thick, dense fog which gives one the feeling of complete isolation in a wonderous way. The sun is burning through it now, but it was still a chilly 38 degrees when I snapped this picture an hour ago.   So back on the homefront, I've been going through the linen closet gathering tablecloths, napkins, and taking stock of other needs for the Thanksgiving table, and pulled out this little quilt to hang up. It's one I made in the 1990's using Jenni Dobson's book, Sweet & Simple Country Quilts, with designs by Anny Evason, as my guide and inspiration. I believe it is out of print now, but older copies may still be sold by private booksellers online or found in used book stores, which is where I happened to find my copy.  It was a lucky find for I am, as they say, mad for plaid--and adore applique.  I actually prefer it over piecework any day. This was a fun quilt project and I especially enjoyed working on it with all the combinations of plaids, stripes and checks in a sumptuous palette of autumnal tones, completely capturing the season.

Falling Leaves Mobile

Another rain storm kept us home most of the weekend, but it was nice and cozy inside with a little baking and handcrafts. We made baklava (a Turkish/Greek cookie) with ground walnuts & cinnamon between flaky fillo and way too much butter and sugar...yum! Such a dangerous thing to have sitting around on the kitchen counter.  Especially with the addition of chocolate on the top. Thank goodness we only make this once a year.  In the meantime, we finished our falling leaves mobile. Initially we thought a small grapevine wreath would look neat to suspend the felt leaves from, but ended up using a round bamboo purse handle instead.  Which actually worked quite nicely.  The leaves are sewn together with different colors, so that when they turn the colors change. We also used some of the felt beads we made earlier in September, that I shared about in a previous post here. I wanted to keep this simple, but the addition of a few sequins and shiny beads added just enough sparkle, like rain drops and dew. 

Rosemary Sachet

The herb garden is drifting off to sleep now. Here's how it looked this morning when I went out to cut a few springs of sage and thyme to dry for turkey day. Earlier, from the kitchen window I watched a flock of wild finches peck the remaining seeds from stems. I never cut anything down after summer, but leave it all to the birds. We really do enjoy watching them and the other animals that wander by searching for a small tidbit or crumb.   I think Rosemary is my favorite herb. It's an evergreen and therefore always available. Mine has grown into a big woody shrub. The leaves are heavily aromatic and I use them in cooking, but it can also be used to make interesting sachet pillows.  This one is stuffed with several handfuls of dried rosemary leaves (which deter moths and other insects), and will be going into my sweater drawer.

November Notes

A cold snap has us pulling on our sweaters and jeans and warm socks. I've been very very busy but I don't have a lot to show for it...creatively speaking anyway, except for maybe this sweet-smelling bowl of autumn potpourri in the hall. There's been minimal crafting and sewing this past week as I get back on top of laundry, housework, and cooking again.

Autumn Root Children

Weeks of stormy weather seemed to dictate the direction of our current nature table.  Credit also goes to this one hundred year-old German folktale The Story of the Root Children by Sibylle Von Olfers and a few other books (mentioned on a previous post), that provided the basic ideas for creating the dolls and inspiration here.  This is the story of the "root children" living beneath the ground, with Old Mother Earth making colorful clothes for them to wear in the spring as they emerge as "flowers". The insects and the wind guide them along their journey as they travel through the seasons. It's a simple, visual story about the cycles of nature.  Mother Earth gathers up her harvest of "children" and puts them all to sleep for the winter, and this is where we've picked up the story in our diorama:: Summer is over and Autumn is moving toward Winter.

And here is kindly "Grandmother Winter" (my version of early winter) before Old Man Winter moves in and really lowers the boom with snow and ice!    Our dolls are made from pieces of wool, felt, and cotton. The lower half of their bodies are weighted with barley so they perch nicely. The arms are wrapped wire that can be posed or made to hold objects.  Other small animals that gather and store, such as squirrels and mice, are also nice additions. I think these came from Hearthsong a few years ago. The hedgehog is especially cute!

Another beautiful book: When The Root Children Wake Up by Audrey Wood is an updated version of the story. And check out this wonderful diorama made from polymer clay figures here by artist Gwendolyn Holbrow.

Linen Pocket Bag

Much thanks for all the well-wishes, I feel like I've finally turned a corner toward the road to recovery, and just in time to finish this bag last night for Li Li, who lives in Singapore.  It was the least I could do after she sent me so much good stuff, including this amazing little book. I have to say, I'm very pleased with how this bag turned out. Originally, I was thinking of doing a knitted bottom portion, like this one Cassie made, but I don't knit, so when I found this fluffy fleece I just took a chance with it. The striped fabric is actually a (new) woven dishtowel. It's padded and the inside is lined with cotton chenile from a vintage bedspread. A simple applique, mother-of-pearl button, numbers twill-tape, and my "label" add some finishing touches. All the different elements add an interesting textural quality.  I love the over-all effect. I used Velcro strips for the flap closure.   Now off to wrap and ship this package..with a few *surprises* added, since I sort of let the cat out of the bag here.