Girl Party--and a Loon

With a few clear days on our calendar, Annabelle and I invited our best girls (Hi, J! Hi, G!) for a little extended sleep over. They were also coming to fetch a special gift I made for their loved one's birthday (a portrait of the "new family camp" alongside the "old family camp").
When I was not stitching up add-ons (like this loon A. and G. insisted was absolutely necessary at the zero hour), we could be found eating diner food, singing along to fifties tunes (think "Cupid" and "Next Door to an Angel"), and making jersey snoods for ourselves in shades of red, gray, and mossy green.
There was a little terminology confusion when I suggested the scarf project--my best friend of over 20 years thought I was proposing we make little knit bags for our hair. What? We cleared it up, though, and she went home with a warm and stylish neck and a clarified notion of my personal style, thanks very much. (I don't even have long hair. What?)

Home's Cool

Home-school-wise, the past week has been really lovely (despite the fact that near-twelvishness seems to be producing some moods I could live without).

We enjoyed a little harvest--the excitement of picking these full-grown oyster mushrooms and immediately chopping and tossing them into the pan. A bit of garlic, a drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of chili powder...
I've quite honestly never seen Annabelle enjoy her lunch more--I'm resolved to encourage her interest in growing food, despite my own, shall we say, black thumb?
She is also currently very interested in silver foxes--can't wait to see how this one turns out. (My fellow cheapskates might like this tip: A. has two or three canvases for her bedroom walls, and as her tastes change, we take 'em down, paint over 'em with white acrylic, and she makes "new" art. This one used to be covered with jellyfish, which apparently are now out with her.)

We've just reached the Civil War in our American history studies, and we're enjoying a biography of Lincoln in the context of the conflict. Annabelle asked me to read more of it aloud this afternoon when we'd already completed our daily dose. Nice.

This week, I feel like I'm doing some things right--always a good feeling.

Handin' it Over: Annabelle Crowe, Guest Blogger

Hello there! Annabelle speaking. My mother's blog is today's stop on the blog tour for Abby Glassenberg's new book, The Artful Bird. On each page of this intriguing book, cocky little birds grab at your attention, while the majestic owl with the wise eyes simply radiates awe. The earnest penguin grows a bit shy at so much attention. Whatever their attitude, each bird has a very distinct personality, an almost tangible story. In short, fascinating.

I have had the pleasure of interviewing this extremely talented woman! Below is our virtual chat.

Annabelle: What is your favorite type of bird?

Abby: I don't know that I have a favorite bird overall, but among the birds featured in the book I like the penguin the best. He was the very last bird I made after 8 months of solid work and when he was finished I just felt so pleased with his expression. He is looking down at his feet and I am well-known for always looking down at my feet. I have missed many cool things because I am always looking down (including nude men on a nude beach on Cape Cod), but then again, I've also found many cool things that other people missed (including several $20 bill over the years). Me and that penguin, we're two of a kind.

Annabelle: How do you learn about what the birds look like before you make them? Do you use the internet? Bird watch?

Abby: I have the Sibley's Guide to Birds on my desk, among other bird and nature reference books, and I use those when I am making sketches for a new bird design. I don't think the birds I make are an attempt at realism, though. They have recognizable features, for sure, but they are my artistic interpretation of a particular species of bird. In no way am I attempting to create a real scale model. I kind of like to use an imaginative set of colors and textures for fabric birds.

Annabelle: Where do you get vintage fabrics?

Abby: I live in Wellesley, Massachusetts, where one Saturday each year all the big church's in town hold rummage sales. It is a crazy day for me! I go from church to church and I have the most fabulous time. I always head straight to the linens and I check out the holiday section, too, because that is often where miscellaneous craft supplies end up. I have found and bought the scrap bags of many church women who, for one reason or another, no longer sew. I even found an amazing box of vintage feedsack at our town dump's take-it-or-leave-it section recently. Finding vintage fabric that costs only pennies, or is entirely free, is like winning the lottery. I just get so much joy from giving all that material new life.

Annabelle: What was the first bird you made? Why/when did you start making birds?

Abby: I had a show at the local library about three years ago. At that time I was making all kinds of stuffed animals. I made over fifty finished pieces for the show, including three long-legged birds. Those were the first birds I ever made. It's funny because the long-legged wading birds are among the hardest birds to balance. I find them frustrating at times, even after so many years of bird-making. I guess I like the start with a challenge! The long-legged birds in the library show got a really warm reception from everyone who walked by the display cases. I had them set up to look like they were standing in a marsh full of reeds, like in a display in a natural history museum. Seeing them there and watching people's reaction spurred me on to explore fabric birds in earnest for the next several years.

Annabelle: Do you have any advice for aspiring fabric artists?

Abby: Don't be afraid to make your own patterns! If you have an idea for a bird or animal that you'd like to make, don't feel like you have to find a published pattern, either in a book or on the web, in order to make it. You can draft a pattern and do it yourself! In The Artful Bird I give some tips and techniques to help you draft your own, original patterns for fabric birds and I'm doing a series on my blog right now that explores the basic elements of soft toy design. So get out some paper and pencil and see if you can draw out your very own pattern. It might not work the first time, but you'll learn so much along the way and when you do finally figure out a pattern that works, you will be so proud of yourself!

Thanks, Abby!

Wonky but Well Meant

I'm not super crazy about Valentines Day (not a hater, but not a follower either)--
but I am super crazy about my girl--
--so I made her this quickie Valentine today.

P.S. My favorite part of Valentine's Day? You guessed it--the puns. I'm thinking A. probably doesn't understand all the layers of my message, but you might. (She's 2 and 1/2 inches taller than last time I measured her, and she told me this today: "Mom, I don't care for fart jokes. I like sophisticated humor.")

Two WIPS, a Deer, and an Accidental Pun(kin)

Here you see the two "works in progress" currently taking up half my dining table--a huge Edward Gorey puzzle we got for Christmas and a little felt forest scene. I'm experimenting with some new ways of making wall hangings as I think about my upcoming show at Wintergreen Arts Center. Said experiments involve drilling lots of holes with my Dremel. Frankly, I've just been looking for an excuse to drill holes with my Dremel. Sometimes I just drill holes in an old board, and once I used it to carve a pumpkin. I'm hoping this application proves more fruitful. (Oh, my--that was an accidental pun. I promise.)

Shroomin' at the Crowe School

Her shrooms (misted daily and watched closely):

My shrooms:
There's been a great deal of symmetry in our work today, actually. As I sat at the computer trying to explain Donna Haraway's use of the cyborg as a metaphor for political hybridity to my online Lit Theory students, Annabelle was calling to me from the sofa, where she lay with a sci-fi novel. She wanted to read me a passage depicting consumerism and its effects on the human mind. (She said, "They take something we all think inside and make it so real and creepy.") She also wanted to know what inept means. Looks like I'm always teaching. Which is pretty cool.
Makes me feel very "ept." ;-)

Full-fledged Bride and Groom

Everybody finally has a head, complete with requisite facial features. I must confess I love making wedding portraits--I strive to capture a feeling of intimacy and hope and joy that I see in the photos themselves, and when I get it right, I feel pretty-darned pleased with myself.
These folks are just plain gorgeous, which made my work easier, and then there's the amazing clothes and the idyllic backdrop. Possible new job title: Melissa Crowe, Wedding Feltifier. What do you think?

Where the Magic Happens (ahem)

When your "studio" is situated two paces from the front door (whether or not that's your main in-and-out, housewise), you feel some pressure to keep it neat. I do manage this most of the time--but the current state of neatness reveals how little work I've been doing since the mad rush of Christmas passed.
When I knew I'd have to move to a smaller apartment to squeeze more blood out of the turnip that is my budget, I have to admit I was grumpy (well, sad really) about losing my full-fledged third-bedroom studio, the only one I've ever had. That's why, upon first entering this apartment--through that now-fairly-unused front door--upon seeing the pink-dotted light fixture and pure spaciousness of this foyer, I knew I was home. There was the matter of convincing Mark, who knows things less quickly than I do (what he likes to refer to as "logic"--whatevs), but I'm pretty good at leading a horse to water and making him drink, so...
Most of my heavy-duty supplies live either in the closet to the left of my desk (felt yardage, hoops, mailing supplies) or in the library card catalogue you'll see in our dining room later on, but in my foyer-studio-professorish-office, I keep some of my books, my most-used fabrics, my smaller felt pieces, my thread, my sewing machine. Oh, how I love that sewing machine.
That vintage, robin's-egg-blue Samsonite traveller was a Christmas gift from my smart mom last year.
My comfort-for-clutter level is highest in this space, I'd say, where I do need stuff to look at--color, shape, texture, the art-and-craft flotsam that keeps me energized and interested when I'm sitting at my work table.
That door leads to my bedroom, and when I work in the wee hours of the night, I can leave it open and listen to my beloved's endearing (or distracting, depending on whether or not I have PMS) snores.

All the bits and pieces I find and just can't jettison end up pinned to this board. I think it's the one place where chaos totally works for me. When I look at it, I want to make stuff--bad. Maybe I need one in every room!
The stuff lowdown in this room? I bought the chair and table at Ikea (well under $100 for both, I think). Mark made me the bookshelf in a friend's workshop, and the storage bins were very cheap. Pretty much everything else was made by A. or me or my mom or was a gift. I truly adore each object here, and I spent almost nothing to create this space. Often I actually work in the living room or dining room, alongside Miss A., but just knowing it's there, that it exists, and that my family has no problem with me having carved it out as my own, fills me with happiness. Do you have a corner like this in your home? I'd love to hear about it.