resurrection fern

magical

"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found? "                                       J. B. Priestley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think it was lady bird Johnson who said that if the first snowfall of the year doesn't excite you , you have gotten to old. I guess I am not there yet because this morning walking in the forest I had my eyes and imagination wide open just like a child.  This has inspired a small hand stitched craft that I will share with you later.

Happy Friday!!

le petit lapin noir

I finished an idea that has been hopping around in my mind for a while now. I wanted to combine some of my favorite things : crocheted lace, embroidery, linen, felt, lockets into something wearable. My eldest daughter said she saw a wild black bunny which is a very rare sighting. The wild rabbits are brown in this region. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The chain is nice and long so I think it will look really lovely worn. I will attempt to get a picture on a model today but for now all the little bunnies in the house are still asleep. I will leave with this beautiful image from just outside my favorite morning coffee shop.

little bits and pieces

It is late when I am writing this post. I just got back from the swell season concert in Toronto which was well , fantastic. I love how the sweetness and raw energetic vocals and instrumentals came together seamlessly. Glen work a typical Canadian toque at the beginning of the concert that he said someone on the street gave him. You can see the large green pom pom in this dim photograph.

 

All I have to show you are a few bits and pieces of things I am working on little by little in the tiny cracks of spare time I have these days. These were photographed in the beautiful bright sunshine this morning before work. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making those little droplet shaped crocheted bits is becoming a little addictive.

Wish me luck with a very long day ahead of me on the H1N1 front lines.

when you feel the bone structure of the landscape

"I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape - the loneliness of it, 
the dead feeling of winter.  Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show." 
-   Andrew Wyeth

I have always felt that when the layers are peeled away from the forests and road sides in October what is revealed is akin to the underlying skeletal structure. It leaves so much to one's imagination. I really sensed this when driving this past weekend through central Ontario. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although on closer inspection of the rocky outcrops there was still plenty of lush green and color to be explored.

 

 

 

 

There were lots of natural treasures to collect on my travels this weekend. Here is my tribute to November.

 

I am really looking forward to seeing the swell season tonight in Toronto.

well worth the trip

to Montreal to see the largest retrospective of the work of John William Waterhouse. I saw almost all my favorites and so many I had never seen before. There were even a few that I didn't even know existed. I gained a deeper understanding of his inspirations ( religion, mythology, poetry), his interest in ornithology (there were so many wonderful birds in the paintings) and his sense of humour that I saw in the way he signed his work often placing it on the fence or one a row of tiles, like graffiti. I don't think I really noticed this before and certainly would never had I only looked at his paintings in books or online. I was unable to photograph the paintings but here are a few images of our day.

The lady of Shallot riding the bus.

 

I think that bronze horse is falling under the siren's spell.

 

 

Dressing to match the artwork.

 

 

Some images from the museum's windows.

 

Leonard Cohen's hometown.

 

Under construction. Even the art is wearing hard hats.

 

Looks like John William is not the only bird lover in town.

 

Lovely bunny.

 

Amazing scarf at Simons.

 

They have some of the most handsome and talented young chefs.

 

Even the drive home was a work of art.

  

 

We are already planning our trip back in the spring to see the exhibit of Louis Comfort Tiffany but we might have to go to see the Waterhouse exhibit one more time before it leaves Canada.

my photography studio

The light is amazing especially in the morning and late in the day. It is completely solar powered. The backdrops are ever so beautiful. It doesn't cost me a penny, it is always open and I only need share it with the local wild things. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every so often I crochet up another covered tea saucer I have found at the thrift store. I almost have enough for a satisfactory wall display. It has been quite the week and I am glad it is drawing to a close. Hope those of you that are have the flu recover quickly and that the rest of you stay well. I leave you with the sun rise on my way to work this morning. There are some wonderful things you see if you must get up early to trod off to the office. I think that sole bird in the tallest tree was singing a good morning song just for me.

this day was for the squirrels

I was going to title this post "going nuts" but thought it a little harsh. Where I live we are in the midst of a very rapid increase in the number of H1N1 cases while at the same time the vaccine to prevent this illness has just started to be distributed. I have been a family physician for over two decades and have never before had to deal with a situation like this. So again my word of the day was "composure". Keeping it together to calm fear, maintain balance and get through it all one day at a time.

I took these pictures last week and they are so bright, colorful and smile inducing. Maybe they will work on you too. Here let me guide you into the forest with my little lantern leading the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really wonder what gossip those sporophytes are sharing with the liberty mushroom. Don't you love the cotton candy slime molds. They were new arrivals in the forest last week. Stay well my friends.

nahanni : a hand knit hat

 

 

 

This is really quick and easy to make. You can finish it in a few hours. 

Materials:

 about 100 yards of bulky , preferably hand spun yarn. This was yarn I spun last winter. I was so pleased with how it looks knitted up in such a textural pattern.

a 16 inch size 10 mm circular knitting needle or a set of four double pointed needles

a large holed yarn needle for finishing.

Instructions: 

Cast on 40 stitches and join to form a circle. 

Knit one, purl one ribbing for 10 rows. 

The next round knit in the front and back of each stitch thus doubling the number of stitches in a round to 80.

Place a stitch marker at the beginning of the round.

*Wrap the yarn twice (w x 2)  around the needle in your right hand and then knit the next two stitches together ( k2tog) . Continue pattern until you have completed a round. 

Next round knit plain.* Knit the double wrapped stitch as one stitch. This will allow you to maintain the same number of stitches in each row.

Continue these *two rows*  for 4 more sets. ( 8 rows total)

Now **wrap the yarn twice around the right hand needle and then knit the next three stitches together. Continue pattern until you have completed a round.

Knit the next row plain as before.**

Repeat these **two rows** two more times .

Now cut your yarn so you have an 8 inch tail and thread it on yarn needle. 

Thread all your remaining stitches on the thread and pull to gather them together. Sew the remaining threads in firmly.

There you have it your own warm mushroom hat. I am going to make another one , a little longer to give it a more slouchy look. 

Here is a picture I took with the partially knit hat and wool on the page with images from Nahanni National Park. Don't they look great together.

 

 

 

How to Make a Fabric Covered Button Badge

A few of you asked for a tutorial on how to make a covered button badge of your own. It doesn't take much persuasion to get me to do a little tutorial. I see my little blog as a little spring board. Giving some of you that extra little lift to get your crafting life off the ground. Before I start I am going to apologize for the poor photography. I had to use the flash, something I dread. No light when I get home from work these days. The apology out of the way I think the pictures are self explanatory but I will add very brief descriptions of the steps.

1. Gather up your materials. I like to gather up more than I need because once I get into that making mode I hate to get up and look for things. The basic things you need are fabric, a small piece of felt,  covered button kit size 60, one inch wide ribbon or trim, a ruler, needle and thread, scissors and safety pins or brooch fasteners. 

 

2. I cut out vintage fabrics and a lovely moose from fabric Lara Cameron. I decided to use the moose for this little tutorial. Make a covered button using the instructions with your kit.

 

3.  Cut a length of ribbon 12 inches long. 

 

4.  Thread a needle and gather the ribbon. You could use a sewing machine here but I like to sew by hand. Pull the gathering until the length measures 5 inches which is the circumference of the button. Tie a knot to secure the length.

5.  Now sew together the ends of the ribbon to form a gathered circle. 

 

6.  Center this on the back side of the covered button.

 

7.  Now thread the needle again and sew this onto the edge of the fabric covered button. You could probably glue it instead but I rarely use glue so I prefer to hand sew.

 

8.  Now cut a piece of felt into a circle 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Make two little openings and poke a safety pin through. Sew the pin down into place with a few small stitches. 

 

9.  Now center this felt backing on the undersurface of your badge and sew it into place. 

 

10.  Add any detail you would like with a needle and embroidery thread. I added a tiny patch of moose moss to munch. 

 

I attempted to take a picture of it on a top of mine but it is late at night and again I apologize for the poor quality photographs. 

 

That is my closet door:)

 

I hope to have my hat pattern posted tomorrow. It is so quick and easy to knit up. 

 

By the way you will find a little post about me on Whip up and you can purchase my plush you 2009 items here. I think they would make wonderful gifts this holiday season and it would be like the gift that keeps giving since I am donating my portion of the sale to Greenpeace. Both the turtle and Halvard include crochet covered sea stones. 

knitting is golden

 

Nature and its continuously changing display always inspires me. This weekend it was mostly shades of golden yellow with accents of brown, orange and purple. I really needed to knit to give my crocheting tired fingers a rest. I grabbed some wool I spun last winter, my largest knitting needles and made a scarfette using my very own pattern. Instead of vintage buttons I made a fabric covered button from the little purple owl embroidered on liberty tana lawn. I added a trim of velvet ribbon dyed with sumac. 

 

Some of this was knitted on the porch while staying warm drinking butternut squash soup. I am coming to terms with the fact that there are very few porch afternoons left before winter comes.

 

 

 

This project can be completed in only a few hours and only requires one skein of bulky yarn. It is super easy to knit.

 

A few other golden images ( lisa congdon's birch painting and rummage sale finds on the line)  from the weekend and of course since it is monday a very pumpkin filled bench monday shot. Even the hand knit socks ( thanks Bekki) match the post.