Dark brown owls-
The left owl is made from vintage cashmere- I know this because the fabric came from a poncho that my Mother made me in the late 1960’s. I think when I was around 12 years old? It also had horse buttons: I loved it so much!
And the next owl-
These snowy owls are really hard to photograph- the camera picks up a lot more contrast than there actually is, giving the white and cream some tones that I don’t see on the pieces.
The owl on the left is very white. The wings are very slightly cream. The owl on the right is more of a cream color. All the parts are shades of creamy white.
These outdoor nature shots give a better idea of the colors.
I love playing with these black textured woolens. The body has that diamond pattern that seems to be embossed into it? The ears are a black wool corduroy- how amazing it that!
The wings are cut from a very dark gray ribbed wool sweater.
Please excuse that hair on the wing- I never see something like that until it is too late (dark) to fix it!
This owl has all the dark sweater bits.
Winter has finally arrived with snow and cold temps. I’m back in my studio and trying to get my focus back. Sometimes it’s a challenge. There are days I just want to fuss over my houseplants, read my ebooks, or play games on my phone… or all of the above. But, I am working on owls and I’ve finished up a few.
Two black and white patterned owls.
2021 turned out to be a pretty good year for me in my studio. I continue to sell mostly online (through my Etsy shop and direct messaging on Instagram and Facebook) but doing 2 in-person shows was inspiring. Here is my yearly review. I made 24 tiny world pincushions. And thank you to the friends who gave me some beautiful cups this year!
Tiny World 1, 2. Tiny World 2, 3. Woodsy Tiny World 3, 4. Woodsy Tiny World 4, 5. Tiny World Pincushion 5, 6. Tiny World Pincushion 6, 7. Tiny World Flowery House, 8. Tiny World Flowery Houses, 9. More Flowery Tiny Worlds, 10. More Flowery Tiny Worlds, 11. Mushroom Pincushion, 12. flickr mushroom pincushion – 2, 13. flickr mushroom pincushion – 1, 14. lighthouse pincushion, 15. lighthouse pincushion, 16. Blue and White Tiny World 1, 17. Blue and White Tiny World 2, 18. Tiny World with Primroses, 19. Cabin in the Woods Tiny World, 20. Tiny Sheep Farm 1, 21. Tiny Sheep Farm 2, 22. Tiny World Flower Garden cup, 23. Tiny World Fern cup, 24. Tiny World Blue Willow cup
I made lots of new men including Lumberjacks (3), Greenmen (2), Sailors (3), Pirates, Farmers, Men in old-fashioned bathing suits, and of course Mermen.
Beefy Ginger Lumberjack, 2. Lumberjack 2 of 2021, 3. Lumberjack with George Washington Tattoo, 4. Star pants, Skeleton tattoos, 5. Blond Man with Skeleton Tattoos, 6. Ahoy- It’s a Pirate!, 7. Tattooed Big man- Yellow Pants, 8. Chinoiserie Tattoos, 9. Lady-on-his-chest tattoo, 10. Tattooed Man with top knot, 11. Swirly Red hair, 12. Sailor Man, 13. Red Hair and Skeletons, 14. Another Sailor Man, 15. Blond Sailor Doll, 16. Purple Hair Man
Man in a Bathing Suit, 2. Man in a bathing suit 2, 3. Man in a Red Striped Bathing Suit, 4. Man in green striped bathing suit, 5. Big Man in a Bathing suit, 6. Farmer 1, 7. Blond Farmer, 8. Greenman, 9. Greenman 2, 10. Farmer with Vegetable Tattoos, 11. Tattooed Man in Stripes, 12. Man with hunting tattoos, 13. Pirate with skeleton tattoos, 14. Big Tattooed Man, 15. Green-Haired Merman, 16. Green Merman
Yes, 15 mermen!
Blue Merman, 2. Red-haired Merman with Skeletons, 3. Purple Merman, 4. Merman with Classic Tattoos, 5. Merman with Seashell Hair, 6. BIG Merman, 7. Merman (and Mermaid), 8. Merman in December, 9. Merman with Whale Tattoos, 10. More Whale Tattoos Merman, 11. Purple Merman, 12. Brown Merman with twisty beard
One more merman pic, then 18 tattooed ladies (that might be the most I’ve ever made in a year!), and some swaddled babies.
Merman with kelp beard, 2. Tattooed Lady, 3. Tattooed Lady 2, 4. tattooed lady 3, 5. tattooed lady 4, 6. Green Lady, 7. Polka Dots and Stripes Tattooed Lady, 8. So many ladies!, 9. Snow Crone, 10. tattooed Blond lady, 11. Flowers in her hair, 12. ed Hair and Skeleton Tattoos, 13. Red-Haired Tattooed Lady, 14. Lady with Skeleton Tattoos, 15. Christmas Tattoo Lady, 16. Big Hair Tattooed Lady, 17. Tattooed lady- white hair, tutu, skeletons, 18. Tattooed Lady doll, 19. Green Lady 2, 20. Swaddled Baby purple and Yellow, 21. Bright and Beautiful Flower Baby, 22. Butterfly Baby 1, 23. Butterfly Baby 2, 24. Bird Baby
Lots and lots of fish- 29 in all.
Red Wool fish pillow 1, 2. Red Wool fish pillow 2, 3. 2 Blue Sweater Fish Pillow, 4. Yellow Green Fish, 5. Orange-Yellow Fish, 6. Blue Fish woth russet, 7. Blue Fish with yellow, 8. 2 Light Blue Fish Pillows, 9. 2 More Blue Fish, 10. 2 Green Fish Pillows, 11. 2 Red Fish Pillows, 12. 2 purple-red fish pillows, 13. Last 3 Fish, 14. Last 3 Fish, 15. Two Blue Fish pillow dolls, 16. 2 Orange Plaid Fish pillows
14 pillow ladies-
Two More fish, 2. 2 Yellow Fish Pillows, 3. Bluebird Lady Pillow doll, 4. City Lady Pillow Doll, 5. Cat Lady Pillow Doll, 6. Cat Lady 2, 7. Red Flowers and Yellow Birds, 8. Yellow Flower Pillow Lady, 9. Bright and Beautiful Flower Lady, 10. Butterfly Garden Lady, 11. Cat Lady Pillow Doll, 12. Butterfly Lady pillow doll, 13. Flower Lady Pillow doll, 14. Blue Flowers and Butterflies, 15. Garden Lady, 16. City Lady Pillow Doll
4 dogs and 14 owls-
Winter Girl Dog, 2. Detective Dog, 3. Shaggy-haired gardening dog, 4. Hiker Dog, 5. Gray Owl 1, 6. Gray Owl 2, 7. Gray Owl 3, 8. 2 Brown Owls, 9. Snowy Owl 1, 10. Snowy Owl 2, 11. Black Owl, 12. Grey Owl, so many patterns!, 13. Grey (plaid) Owl, 14. 2 more Brown Owls, 15. Rusty Brown Owl, 16. Brown Owl
That equals 129 dolls and 24 Tiny Worlds! I thought the number was 128 from my Flickr count but found I’d made an error in my numbers. Oh well, I’m not going back and editing them all!
I’m back to work- first up owls. I’m also working on some quilt projects. I will be doing my first in-person show of 2022 in March at Paradise City in Marlborough MA. Happy New Year everyone!
This is the last merman and the last doll of 2021. My etsy shop will be closed for shipped items from 12/21 to 1/1/2022.
This hair fabric has always looked like kelp to me so perfect for a merman’s hair.
He has another one of the bone buttons.
He has big fish on his tail.
I’m trying all kinds of experiments with these long bearded or haired fellows.
He has a large-holed bone button. I have a lot of these- they were commonly used on underwear around 1900.
Skeleton pirate tattoos-
He has a very fancy beard.
You might not see how I got here but I was very inspired by how Bisa Butler uses color.
I found a blue “jewel” button in my vast collection. Perfect!
This fellow’s hair looks like topiary to me 😆 I’m not sure how that fits with a merman!
Whales and a narwhal, seaweed and a turtle…
I will be putting these first 2 into my etsy shop today.
Here he is, hanging out with all the books.
