{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Join in the fun here.
review: books for young artists
We’ve been doing a lot of reading lately and the main subject has been art. Since it’s too soon to write about my holiday projects, I thought I’d share some of the books we’ve been enjoying. (All book links go to amazon.com)
Matisse the King of Color: This was a spur of the moment choice from a display at the library. I didn’t expect my daughter to devour the pages with such interest. It’s the story of Matisse’s friendship with his nurse Monique, who later becomes a nun and inspires him to create the Chapelle du Rosaire. The book is illustrated in his bold, colorful style. It’s also part of a series of books about artists written by Laurence Anholt. We will definitely be checking out others in the collection.
Me, Frida: My daughter first learned about Frida Kahlo from an online resource at school called PebbleGo and was excited when I brought this home. The book focuses on Kahlo’s time in San Francisco with Diego Rivera, in which she became more sure of herself, her artistic style and her talent. It doesn’t mention how her health problems influenced her art, although my daughter already knew about that from PebbleGo.
Through Georgia’s Eyes: My daughter also learned about Georgia O’Keeffe from PebbleGo. This short book fits in a lot of history, starting with O’Keeffe’s artistic aspirations as a child all the way up through her life at Ghost Ranch. I really like how this book emphasizes her determination to earn a living as a painter despite being told that only boys became artists. A girl wishing to be one was “scandalous!”
When Pigasso Met Mootisse: This book was a recommendation from the school librarian, who knows how much my daughter loves art. The story is loosely based on the real-life relationship between Matisse and Picasso and does a good job comparing and contrasting their styles. Plus, it will make you laugh out loud. Seriously!
Do you have any favorite art books for kids? Post your links in the comments!
handmade glycerin soap
Over the weekend I made glycerin soap a la Martha Stewart. I had only planned to make lemon, but on a whim I made some peppermint, too. I can’t believe how nice they turned out — and how easy it was. I’ll be posting pics of the final soaps with materials and tips soon.
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Congratulations to Lawana on winning the sewing book!
this moment
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Join in the fun here.
review: notes from my travels
What do you know about Angelina Jolie? Even if you don’t read gossip websites or magazines, I bet you know she had crazy relationship with Billy Bob, has lots of tattoos and stole Brad away from Jennifer. It’s amazing what you can learn from the headlines in the grocery checkout line. It’s also amazing to find out what the tabloids don’t tell you.
Jolie has been a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) since 2001. She has been on field missions around the world and met with internally displaced persons in more than 30 countries. Her mission is to bring awareness to the plight of over 35 million refugees in the world.
When I picked up Notes from My Travels, I didn’t know what to expect. The journals from Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Pakistan, Cambodia and Ecuador are thoughtful, moving and surprisingly unbiased. She reports on what she sees and experiences. She writes the stories people tell her. She mentions how grateful she is for what she has many times throughout the book. I found myself saying the same thing, and still do.
This book will stay with you. Parts of it are hard to read. The accounts are raw and from the heart. Families, communities, mothers and children have all suffered horrible, terrible things.
You may be thinking, why would I want to read this? In fact, my husband asked me that very question. All I can tell you is that amidst all of the sadness, there is a great sense of hope.
- People who plan to rebuild their lives after losing literally everything, even knowing it could all be taken away again.
- Children who have nothing but their torn clothes who still smile and dance and sing.
- Neighbors, one blind and the other an amputee, sharing each others’ eyes and hands to work a small farm that may not even be cleared of mines.
Jolie says in her book, “These problems do not disappear just because we do not hear about them. There is so much more happening around the world than what is communicated to us about the top stories we do hear. We all need to look deeper and discover for ourselves…. What is the problem? Where is it? How can we help to solve it?”
Over the past few months, people have taken to the streets to protest the imbalance of wealth in our country. This book will make you think about the imbalance of wealth in our world.
related links:
- Jolie is on the cover of Newsweek this week for her film about Bosnia.
- Touching photos from Jolie’s work over the past 10 years.
- More information about Jolie’s humanitarian work.
- You can read excerpts from the book on amazon.
toto the potholder: take three
I’ll admit it. My first real fair isle project after my retreat last year probably shouldn’t have been using kitchen cotton doubled stranded. The first attempt was incredibly puckered. The second attempt was off gauge and a tight fit, even for my small hand.
The third time is looking like a charm, though. A friend advised me to knit my work inside out. The strands have a longer distance to travel and it forces you to loosen up. Brilliant!
I hope to have a finished photo to share soon.
pattern: Toto the Extremely Useful and Cute Potholder (ravelry link) from Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines (amazon link).
craft book giveaway: gifts to sew for special occasions
Comments closed. Congratulations Lawana!
Let’s start the week with a giveaway!
Gifts to Sew for Special Occasions is filled with lots of different great stuff. First off, if you’ve been swooning over the teepee on the cover of Growing Up Sew Liberated, you’ll find a very similar pattern in this book. Some of my other favorite projects are:
• drawstring gift bag with circular base
• fabric roses
• teddy bear
• rag doll
• clothes for the rag doll
• hobby horse
There are also some cool projects to get your creative juices flowing:
• making embroidered brooches
• sewing with canvaswork
• sewing accessories out of grosgrain ribbon
• Italian quilting
• heirloom sewing
You can take a look at the table of contents and index on amazon.com.
How to enter: Leave a comment on this post. Just say hello or let me know how the weather is in your neck of the woods. It’s cold and snowy over here.
Bonus entry: Share this giveaway on facebook, twitter, [insert your favorite social networking site here] and leave another comment.
I’ll close comments on Saturday, December 10th. Shipping is free within the U.S. International folks are welcome to enter, but I’ll need a few bucks via paypal to cover sending it overseas.
this moment
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Join in the fun here.
recycle: how to make felted beads from yarn scraps
I’m going to say something silly, but I’m sure there are others out there feel the same. I have a hard time throwing out wool scraps. I don’t feel the same about cotton or acrylic yarn and I’m not sure why. There’s just something about the wooly ends. It pains me to toss them.
One night after amassing a large pile of granny square ends, I had an idea. I pulled the plies apart, walked over to the sink where my husband was doing dishes, and doused them with hot water. I added a tiny drop of soap and started rolling them in my hands. Within seconds I had the most adorable little felted bead! Just recently, I made some while the camera was out, and decided to take a few pics for the blog.
How to Make Felted Beads
1. Collect your wool ends. Here are a few from recent projects.
2. Separate the plies. Skip this step with single ply yarn.
3. Pull apart the individual plies until you’ve got a fluffy ball of wool. The fluffier the ball, the more even it will felt.
4. Felt them by hand. Sometimes I use hot water from the tap. Other times I heat a small mug of water in the microwave. Get the wool wet and then squeeze out the excess water. Roll the wool between your palms until it starts to felt. Sometimes a little bit of soap helps get the process going.
Rinse out the soap and you’re left with these little cuties:
I have great ideas for these, but I must admit that they are currently in a jar with a rainbow of other colors. I’d like to make a bracelet or necklace with them. I’d also like to use one as a center for a crochet flower hair tie. In the meantime, I just keep felting and collecting, happy that I’ve found a use for my wooly ends.
What do you do with your yarn scraps?
send a card to a service member
Have you heard of Holiday Mail for Heros? It’s a program sponsored by the American Red Cross to send a touch of home to members of our U.S. military, veterans and their families, many of whom will be far away from home this holiday season.
My daughter’s school is collecting cards this week and she made her card today. I wasn’t sure she really understood the concept behind this, but once again I underestimated her.
Pretty darn awesome.
Anyone can participate in this program. You can find more information at the Red Cross website. Make sure you scroll down and read the guidelines for making your card and get them in the mail by December 9th.