The Nativity - A Miniature Christmas Scene

I had such fun making this tiny nativity scene.  I painted all the little wooden people and then made clothing for them, the animals are all miniaturised versions of the animals in Karin Neuschutz's 'Sew Soft Toys'.  I can't find an internet link but I know that l'uccello stock this book.  I just photocopied the patterns at 25% and cut them without a seam allowance as I stitched by hand in blanket stitch rather than sewing right sides together and bagging out.  They were too tiny for that.  The only things I didn't make were the gifts from the wise men, though the gold is not right and I'll have to see if I can find something better next year.  I put these in our nativity calendar and the girls took it in turns opening a drawer each day.  Luckily four goes evenly into 24 or there would be fights.  I snuck a mouse in - not traditional I know, but Nina adores mice and I reckon there would be one near a stable.  I was so pleased with how it turned out  - exactly as I had hoped, which is a very rare thing. 

Craft Camp



Lily's interpretation of Craft Camp - lots of stairs and stars apparently



Suse's beautiful old Singer. Similar vintage to my old Singer from my banner



A peek under the table




Laying out my drunkard's path quilt



By the end of camp I had 4 unfinished objects

 

A lot of work and a bit of unpicking needed before this one is finished



Turns out socks are excellent thread magnets

First night after craft camp I had one finished object

What is the oppostie of a vanguard? That is me. Late to blogging, late to Instagram, never joined Facebook, or Pinterest, tipped a toe in twitter but it wasn't for me. I'm not an early adpoter, I couldn't predict a trend, I know nothing about fashion in any form. When I started reading blogs, they were probably already on the wane. The hey day of local crafters connecting through the internet had, no doubt, already occurred. Certainly by the time I started blogging myself I noticed that some of the blogs I'd read had fewer and fewer posts, interspersed with the occasional note of apology or a promise to 'do better' and sometimes just a post to say 'thanks folks but this is it'. The fading of 'the blog' seems to have accelerated recently, possibly as a result of the rise of Instagram and other forms of social media. On how many platforms can one be bothered to remain engaged?

This weekend just past I discovered that those crafters no longer on the blogging landscape, some whom have even (gasp) deleted their blogs, are kicking on crafting and connecting in all sorts of lovely and interesting ways. I was lucky enough to get an invite to Sewjourn, which I'd seen on many a blog over the years and which seemed a sort of crafty nirvana to me - uninterrupted sewing time with like minded people in a dedicated space. It was all those things and more; such good people, such crazy skills, such abundant talent. I liked that people sang along to the music and no one cared. I liked that the food was delicious but not intimidating. I liked that everyone kindly blamed the oven when my cake didn't rise. I liked that some poeple made a zillion things and others made a couple and some people took naps or baths or drew or read. I liked that apostrophes mattered and hair/clothes/makeup didn't. I liked that these women were as keen to get into their pyjamas and get down to some handwork as me. I liked that everyone drank lots and lots of tea - real tea, with milk or not, with sugar or not, but actual tea. In a pot. I liked that everyone now calls their overlocker 'The Overlord' courtesy of Kate's little boy. I liked hearing stories - of families and mothers and the blogging/crafty world I know only a fraction of, of jobs and passions and children and fan fiction and auditioning for 'Stomp' without ever having learn to tap dance.

Such a nice weekend, so hard to return to real life. Upon returning home I sewed up the binding on one little quilt, finished another bunny from the 'Posie Gets Cozy' pattern and wished myself back at Craft Camp.

Tiny happy people

I've become a little bit obsessed with these tiny little wooden dolls lately. It's something about the very easy versatility of the wooden form - a few dots and a dash, there's a face, a lick of paint for a dress. It's also something about the little scraps of felt or lace or linen that it takes to make them undressable.  Nothing is quite so frustrating as a glued-on hat to a child. But truthfully it's just the tinyness of it all. I'm rediscovering my lifelong love of the titchy tiny, a love I had largely shelved until I had children.  Nina's thrill over (for example) the mini toothpaste you get given on airplanes, reminds me of my first visit to Southeast Asia and where I discovered pharmacies full of tiny products - mini shampoos and tiny packets of band aids and single cough drops for sale.  I can't really explain why these things are appealing. I can't understand myself why I can spend hours sewing a tiny red linen cape lined in grey with a tiny buttonhole, when I often can't be bothered measuring things properly. Why do I like cutting out tiny autumn leaves, or making miniature cucumber sandwiches but hate making sure my lines are straight? One sort of attention to detail I am all over, the other totally not. 

Fantastic Mister Fox

I saw a pattern for Felix Fox, by Cynthia Treen Studio at my local fabric stop in Jamaica Plain last year.  How far away and long ago that already seems.  I bought the pattern, meaning to make it for Nina for Christmas but there were visits to New York and Washington and things to do that meant sewing took a back seat.  Also the pattern called for pipe cleaners to be inserted in the arms and legs for positioning and I couldn't for the life of me figure out where to buy pipe cleaners in Boston.

Instead I sewed him up for her birthday - I would have liked him to be a bit more orangey, but the only orange felt available at the time was a bit bright, so he is brown instead.  And for some reason his smart red suit looks rather like pyjamas, but that's okay.

I added the satchel, felt envelop with letter from Mousie Brown, and folder with tiny presonalised pencil and miniature note pad.  This is so very up Nina's alley (and also so very up mine).  I did try to make a cat (but without a pattern) for Ruby, but that is still a work in progress.  My first attempt came out as a possum/rat/bilby cross.  Definitely not feline.

Tiny Mice

I walked home yesterday in the gloom. It wasn't late but it gets dark so early. The streets were empty, the snow mostly gone but for a few dirty piles.  I could smell smoke from a wood fire, a smell that reminds me of chilly childhood winter afternoons at my grandparents place, wet shoes, walks in Sherbrooke Forest.  For some reason, wet days and wood smoke make me feel lonely, or perhaps not lonely so much as yearning for a warm house full of people and food to share. It's a funny feeling because of course I was returning to exactly that.

It's been a lazy week for us here in Boston.  After all the excitement of Nana and Pa arriving, Manhattan and Christmas I think we all felt like doing nothing much for a few days. The past week we've visited the Arnold Arboretum (a sort of Botanic Gardens run by Harvard University on a thousand year lease) for a lovely winter walk through their woods, gone ice skating, seen 'Frozen' on a particularly wet and miserable day and had dumplings at our favourite place for xiao long bao.  After a few days I was feeling a bit strange, melancholy nearly, and realised that I hadn't done anything with my hands for some weeks. 

The next day the girls and I made these little felt mice, inspired by a few I saw on Pinterest and in particular one that I can't find anymore so can't include the link. I felt a bit better but am now missing my sewing machine. I'm filling the void by purchasing fabric online...

Up till now we had largely planned our time, but from here till the end of January, we've nothing organised, which is quite exciting as there are so many possibilities.  The weather means a few things are off the table - a ten hour tour of Gettysburg in sub-zero temperatures won't be welcomed by the girls for example- but also puts a few things on the table, like a ski trip to one or more of the many small ski fields New England offers.  Tomorrow is New Years Eve and we will be going along to some of the First Night activities.  I suppose the end of a year always calls for some reflection but I am not yet sure what to make of this year of 2013. Certainly the end has been a highlight, but the rest of it is a bit of a blur. I have much thinking to do about it all before I can adequately summarise it.  For those of you for whom the end of 2013 has already arrived, Happy New Year. Here's to 2014.

The Tree

It's a very different Christmas this year. I have so been looking forward to a white Christmas, and indeed we have snow on the ground and rosy cheeks on the girls. It is lovely. But I had thought that all the time I am spending not working would be available for creating instead.  Of course it hasn't turned out like that. Our trip to the South West took two weeks and we are in New York for the week leading up to Christmas. Back in Boston the weather and lack of a car means it's pretty easy to spend a whole day doing something like buying snow boots for the kids (3 trains each way, a stop for lunch and donuts and it's dinner time upon our return.) I also came here without any kit at all. I've bought scissors, needles and thread as well as some felt and fabric, but with no sewing machine and no permanent work space it is less likely I'll spend the evening sewing as I usually do. So my dream of a tree entirely decorated in hand made ornaments has not been realised. We did spend a snowy Tuesday making felt decorations - you can see the girls efforts above. We've also bought a few decorations as souvenirs, like the American Presidents one above (which I adore),  and our landlord kindly invited us to use some of her decorations, which we found in the basement.  I'm not fussed about the lack of handmade, nor the variance of reality from expectation. I thought somehow in the absence of a long work day I'd be incredibly productive, but actually  I am realising the truth of that saying 'if you want something done, give it to a busy person'. Busy-ness begets efficiency, at least for me. Plus I use sewing as a meditative wind-down from work. In the absence of any stress beyond the perennial search for 'restrooms' that travelling with four young girls invariably entails, I don't seem to have quite the same need to craft. I still want to sew but the need to get a finished object out of it has diminished somewhat. Isn't that curious? Perhaps this is a bit of justification and I have merely fallen into laziness. It's certainly true that I'm falling back into sleeping patterns unknown to me since before children - going to bed in the early hours of the morning, getting up after 9.

Whatever the reason, our tree is unadorned by a single object I've made and, regardless, delights me. It's a fir tree and the look and smell is different from whatever we get at home (pine? I've never    really known). 

The Museum of Felted Wool Jewellry

If you like handcrafted jewellry and sipping tea while looking at handcrafted jewellry then the 'Museum of Felted Wool Jewellry' is just the place for you!

Take a look at our beautiful jewellry while drinking free refreshments.  Try your favourite peice of jewellry on and share a laugh with a friend or family member.  Meet the crafters and have fun all day long.

Bracelet of Water

Headband of peace

Braclet of Faith

There was great debate over whether the final piece should be devoted to justice or hope.  Which would you have chosen?

I was hoping for the ring of truth but no, it turns out it's a bracelet

Have we been taking the kids to too many museums?  I guess it's not that surprising that they decided to make their own.  The opening ceremony was a song and dance routine which required a lot of chanting of 'i'm a crafter' 'yeah' and so on.  I am a crafter but I'm not sure that chanting it in a quasi-rap is quite my preferred way of expressing that fact.

Our experience with museums has been a bit mixed.  Ones aimed at kids are a hit with them but interest me less.  The ones that I want to spend hours in hold their interest for only a fraction of the time I want there.  This results in a slightly rushed and anxious visit - I don't want to dawdle over the early musical instruments when there are are ancient and modern masters to be viewed and the pin has been pulled on the Lily-grenande.