In the newsletter, I shared this photo of some old whisks I found at the flea market in town. I couldn't help but see the curly hair in the one on the far left and so I've been trying to develop a plan for turning them all into little ladies. It's a vision in progress.
In the meantime, I also found a few strainers and started playing around with some embroidery and weaving.
The rose is a classic. Nothing says welcome home like a rose on a vintage kitchen utensil.
But what says kitchen like nothing else? How about a woven fried egg? This is just the beginning. I've now gotten almost all the white done and will add a bit of burned edge.
Each of the whisks takes about 8 hours to complete. Phew! That's a lot of stitching. But, hey, I have said I'm a needle and thread addict and it gives me an excuse to listen to (because I only have two eyes) TV shows I've never seen before. I don't have a TV; haven't for 20 years. Enter the magic of Netflix!
I've also been taking my home seriously. It's just a wonky old cottage with more problems than our government. But as long as it's still standing - and my mother-in-law is due to visit in October - I've started the long list of simple projects that are already turning blank, lifeless rooms into works of art.
The kitchen got curtain therapy and the bedroom walls are going to display two red and white crib-size quilts. I found the completely hand stitched tops in a thrift store in Maleny, Queensland (Australia). I finally backed them and yesterday finished machine quilting and binding the checkerboard one. I have high hopes of adding a large floral applique in a lower corner. Someday.
I feel terribly domestic. I even baked shortbread cookies yesterday. Four ingredients and they are melt-in-your-mouth delish! Come on over and bring a whisk, thread, and a wish to go blind.
It may be true that we can't judge a book by its cover, but an enticing cover can be enough of a miracle all its own sometimes. The artistry of book design is obvious in young children's books. The illustrator is on equal ground with the writer. The book must come alive visually to spark possibilities of perception in tiny minds, to engage imagination beyond the known vistas of home and playground.
As we move on to chapter books with few to no pictures, we develop the ability to apply images in our own minds. But we have been primed from day one with color, line, shadow and light, and style.
Lately I came across some "Green Eggs and Ham" recipes published by the NPR (National Public Radio). Of course, these were inspired by the famous Dr. Suess book. (There's a whole list of crazy cool links of recipes inspired by book in my newsletter.) But the article reminded me of several artists who have taken textile work to the library and designed book covers or created mixed media works or book related crafts using embroidery and I thought to just lay them out for you to enjoy. You won't even need a library card!
Jillian Tamaki is a Canadian artist who has designed and stitched numerous book covers.
Rachel Sumpter is another artist who has taken to embroidering book covers.
Jenny Hart
Brenda Riddle
There is a long historical tradition for creating needlework book covers such as this one dated 1765.
And an entire body of embroidered and couched covers.
For a more modern take on mixed media and books, there are the many tutorials for how to embroider a journal cover.
This is one of my favorite tutorials for how to recover an older book with a lovely embroidered cover.
And of course, this is just accessible to anyone who wants to journal in threads while enjoying a lovely cuppa while out and about. Check out all of the entries by One Sheepish Girl, Meredith Crawford.
