Eeeek! Ebaytastic

OK, I have to take a big breath....I have finally hunted down my long lasting obsession on The Bay...Vintage Franshaw State Hankies! I haven't seriously sought after these on a full time basis and frequently forget that I want to own some, but since I have lots of blank walls to fill in my new flat I decided to commit myself to finding souvenir handkerchiefs from States I love.

You see, I am all about framing fabric these days and I have to admit that I got this particular idea from the set design from the movie Julie and Julia...I can't wait to show you the results.
(Psst...I am still bidding on a couple more, for a New England set..fingers crossed).

HANDMADE THERAPY

Project 9: Wreath Decorating

I know it is a little late in the day to start talking about decorating wreaths but the truth is that we bought our wreath some time ago and had committed to decorating it ourselves. Naturally, our good intentions fell slightly by the wayside so it was only today that I managed to deck it out. Probably best to file this post under "For future reference"....

We bought our wreaths (and tree) at the DeCell's Christmas Tree Farm in Weston, Vermont. Since we were mesmerized in by the immense beauty and scale of the 4 foot wreath which is now mounted on the side of our barn, the wreath for the main door had to be downsized. We bought a 14 inch undecorated wreath and I pledged to gussy it up.

So what to do with a bare wreath? Why tie a bow on it of course! At Glebe Mountain Gardens in Londonderry, Vermont the staff will gladly demonstrate how to create the perfect bow for your wreath and if you ask nicely you can make one alongside them and get a professional helping hand in the end result. They have a fabulous selection of ribbon for you to purchase and then you can take pride in the fact that you added the crowning glory to your wreath. The Cowles family who own it are friends of ours and they have a huge assortment of wreaths, trees and other greenery for the festive season.
I think the key to tying your own wreath bow is to choose a wired ribbon with color and pattern (I chose a buffalo check flannel ribbon) to draw attention away from the amateur flaws, but I think I can be justifiably proud of my efforts.

Ta Da!! Ready just in time for Christmas.

HANDMADE THERAPY

Project 8: Tote Bag

I have been dying to post about my latest handmade adventure, but since I am making everything I give as gifts this year I didn't want to spoil the surprise. However, the first handmade tote I created for the festive season was gifted today for my Step Mother's birthday so I can let you have a look now that she has opened it up.

As an aside, I wanted to commit to a handmade Christmas for lots of reasons (I have the time, the fabric stash and the commitment to handmade) but one thing it is NOT, is cheap! I will have spent more money this year than in many others despite not venturing to the stores for my gifts because of buying patterns, trims, threads, equipment (a rotary cutter, ruler and mat blew my budget straight away). Anyway that is not the point. I want all of my loved ones to have something unique, heartfelt and personal and we all know that is the allure of handmade and I fully support it as a philosophy and industry.


So, a reversible tote bag. I bought a wonderfully inspiring book called One Yard Wonders to get me going. There are so many useful projects and many that even I could do with my limited sewing experience. Plus, the presentation of the book and the accessible instructions (and patterns provided) made this a perfect project for me. The pattern was for a basic tote bag that could be rolled up and stashed for easy storage but I took a little creative license with it and made it reversible with no little tab to roll it up. Let's just say it is my interpretation in the spirit of the design!




What I love about projects like this is the opportunity to use beautiful, bold, colourful, fun fabrics, threads and trims. I want the contrasts and choices of the fabrics to make an impact and this tote was a perfect way for me to showcase these gorgeous choices from Amy Butler (I used her Arabesque and Memento designs from the Love collection).

Not to spoil the surprise for my near and/or dear but I guess the secret is kind of out! Tote bags it is, with each one using a carefully and lovingly chosen selection of fabrics and other little details. Some of you might even get a little extra handmade goodness if I can work out how to do anything other than a tote!! Back to the sewing machine....

Handmade Therapy: Knit one, purl one....

Everyone knows by now that knitting is all the rage. No longer the domain of your granny, this craft is taking over. Stitch 'n Bitch anyone? At primary school in Scotland we had a sewing/craft class for many years, but I don't recall ever completing a knitting project although I did try my hand at it. I preferred the sewing projects, until I drove the needle of the machine clean through my finger....another time.

Anyway, the ladies in my family have all been knitters and both my Grannies were into it. Granny Fox managed to knit full outfits for us all from our own wool provided by a couple of sheep in our back garden in Vermont. I am talking rompers, cardigans, footed leggings, hats, scarves, gloves.....I am allergic. The latest of the clan to resurrect this craft is my mother. Her philosophy is to keep it simple, and create pieces that will have lasting use and a uniqueness to them that just couldn't be bought. Her signature is the baby blanket, and she has created a beautiful piece for each of her 4 grandchildren, most recently for Isobel who arrived less than two weeks ago. I love that they all have a piece of De Oma (her Granny name) to snuggle up with.

I'll let her tell you more...
"I learned to knit at primary school in the north of Scotland (Distant memories of grey woollen socks on different needles -not the easiest thing to start on but we had a stash of sweets in our apron lap bags to keep us going!). I didn't get back into knitting again until the prospective arrival of the first grandchild and thought I would have a go at a patchwork square blanket."

For Oliver, the first born.

"Knitting was becoming fashionable again and I was inspired by my mother-in law who could knit a pair of bootees by tea time and made all the hand knits for our children. Leggings and hooded coats with rabbit ears and bonnets and mittens on a string as well for sleeping outside in the big pram-those were the days!"

F is for FOX, for Noah. Seriously..monogramming? Love it.

"Knitting is a kind of Meditation for me, something centred that I can always pick up and go back to. I knit in soft cashmere or cotton mix as I like the feel of this wool particularly with wooden needles for smaller projects. You can knit on a train (though no longer on a plane), take it with you to fill in the hours wherever you are and the latest pattern is always something to look forward to-a few rows at a time is the rhythm."

A touch of Pink for the first Granddaughter, Honor (the addition of colour was saved until the birth as we didn't yet know what sex she would be).

"I stick to simple garter, stocking and moss stitch but have just mastered cable! Start with something simple (no point in labouring over a complicated cardigan you can buy in Baby Gap). A white silk Lavender sachet with ribbon or cosy hot water bottle cover are both within the grasp of first time knitters.

A simple knitted square pinned to a New Baby card is the equivalent of baking home made cookies wrapped up in a paper bag with ribbon - your time and effort make a gift money cannot buy. Simple knits for Cherished Babies by Erika Knight is a constant inspiration and worth it for the photos alone."

Hot off the press! The latest blanket for the latest Grandchild, Isobel.

"Now that baby blanket 4 is finished, I am on to the next project- cashmere wrist warmers -first time on 3 needles for a while so watch this space!

Happy Knitting "

One of the first books my mother bought in recent years on knitting was Debbie Bliss's Baby Knits for Beginners. That was where she got the patchwork pattern for the first blanket (below).


The images are the cutest (don't you just want to eat that baby up?) and the projects seemingly simple. They almost make me feel like picking up the needles again. Although I am inclined to leave it to the experts! Thanks Mutt. x

H is for Handmade

It just couldn't be anything else could it? The fundamental inspiration for this blog is my utter admiration for the handmade movement, the people who have carved out their unique niches and the glorious array of beautiful things they create.

If you haven't read the book Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Craft and Design or seen the documentary that inspired it, then do it...NOW. It is an inspiring and energizing look at some of the very best in the handmade movement.

I have tried my hand at various handmade projects, the results of which I have posted here as part of my Handmade Therapy series on Apothecary Fox.

Framed Fabric gives an instant and ever changing splash of colour and design to any space...


Ukranian Pysanky eggs, delicately etched to create intricate patterns...


Inspiration boards to capture your thoughts, dreams and inspirations...


Floral displays that express personal character and compliment the rustic feel of an event...

But I am not a professional by any means, just an enthusiast and I love to support handmade whenever possible hence my Etsy infatuation. You see, when you buy handmade you are not only getting a unique item to treasure, but you are directly supporting an individual in their pursuit of their own passion and that is a truly satisfying thing. So go on, Buy Handmade today!

HANDMADE THERAPY

PROJECT 7: Flower arranging

Friends of ours are getting married tomorrow, and the bride asked us girls if we would contribute the flowers for the big day. I am no gardener, so my offer was to arrange the flowers if others would grow them. I have to say that everyone came through in big style for today's session of arranging and the results are spectacular. Claudia (the bride) stressed that she wanted each person to be able to express their own style and flair in their arrangements, so it took the pressure off a little and resulted in a wonderful variety of baskets, vases, sap buckets (obligatory flower vessels here in Vermont) and urns.

The raw materials...


Some of the gang, working their magic...


The fruits of our labours...




In our own little way we all get to be a part of the celebration and give something of ourselves in support of the happy couple, over and above just attending and I was honored to be asked. It promises to be a fabulous day....Congratulations Claudia and John!

HANDMADE THERAPY UPDATE

PROJECT 2: FRAMED FABRIC !!UPDATED!!

I am not going to rehash the details of this embroidery hoop framed fabric project I did sometime ago. You can see my original post here. I will add to that post, that this time around I trimmed the fabric on the back away completely, allowing the hoops to hang flush to the wall. Much better.

I just wanted to show you my new additions to this collection, since I was feeling the need to change things up a little and introduce some new fabrics to my bedroom. And, even though I deliberately contrast colour and pattern when I accessorize/decorate, I felt that I could have done a better job the first time around.

I love this combo of more muted greens and pinks, and gingham is just too fabulous.

Oh yeah, and I decided to hang one of my patchwork quilts on the wall too! I swear your head is probably spinning from the amount of colour and pattern I have on my walls now, but I just love it.

HANDMADE THERAPY

PROJECT 5: FABRIC WALL ART

Watch out, I am positively BURSTING with creativity this week!!

Still limiting myself to No-Sew projects with maximum impact/minimum effort, today I created beautiful fabric wall art. Basically, I took some fat quarters of insanely gorgeous Heather Bailey fabric ($2.75 each...can't beat it!) and stretched and tacked them over artist's canvases I bought at Michael's for about $5 each. Simple!

It is basically like gift wrapping a book, tucking in the edges and tacking them down. I wouldn't say I was as neat as I could have been, but I figure no-one sees the back anyway! Just make sure you keep the right amount of tension on the fabric to leave the finished piece wrinkle free.

Don't you just love how simple this is and how easily you can add colour/pattern to a room using this technique? Total cost per framed fabric piece...$7. Love it.

Ta Da!! My newly decorated bedroom wall...notice the Liberty for Target candle? Yum!

HANDMADE THERAPY

PROJECT 4: EGG DECORATING

It has been a while since I have tried my hand at any kind of crafty thing, so when a friend of mine (Thanks Virginia!) told me about Egg Painting classes last weekend I jumped at the chance to get involved. Our hens lay 14+ eggs a day so I am not short of a blank canvas in that area. We gathered in the upstairs office of The Taylor Farm, in nearby Londonderry Vermont, to learn the Art of Pysanky, the Ukranian tradition of decorating eggs. Traditionally, Ukranian women would gather in secret, decorating these eggs at night, with the belief that they could transfer goodness to the design and therefore ward off evil. By giving a pysanka you give a symbolic gift of life, with the design of each pysanka chosen to match the character of the recipient.

Pysanky Eggs, both modern and traditional.

Symbols used to decorate these eggs vary, from birds (fertility and the fulfilment of good wishes), horses (wealth and prosperity) and flowers (wisdom, elegance and beauty) to geometric forms (relate to Christian beliefs such as the triangle representing the Holy Trinity) and the Sun (life, warmth and the eternal love of God). As this tradition dates back to Pagan times, these symbols' meanings have developed into Christian beliefs.

Ukranians have been decorating eggs in the Pysanky (taken from the verb pysaty 'to write') tradition for thousands of years. The decoration is created by writing on the egg with beeswax using a kystka (stylus). A small amount of wax is inserted into a small hole on the top, that allows the wax to drip through the point of the kystka as it is heated, allowing fine lines to be drawn on the egg. This is essentiallly a batik-style method that requires overlaying of light to dark colours of dye in stages after each element of the design is drawn onto the egg with wax. The overall effect is a detailed and vibrantly coloured pattern that transforms the egg into a veritable work of art.

So, once you have drawn on your first pattern with wax, the egg is dipped in dye.

Once the dye has been cast, the egg has to sit out and dry before you can write on it again with your next pattern element.

Once you have drawn on each element of your desired pattern, and dyed the egg accordingly, it goes into a low temperature oven to melt all the wax off...

...and reveal your finished design!

Ta Da!! Apothecary Fox Pysanky. I have to state here that they look WAY better in the flesh as I am a terrible photographer.

Now, let me make it very clear. We were NEVER going to get even remotely close to the kind of detailed decorations on these jewel like creations, but we certainly left with an intense respect for the craft of this ancient art form. Tricky, fiddly, frustratingly time consuming and unbelievably addictive! I won't begin to give you a tutorial but I found a really simple and useful guide here if you would like to have a go. I promise you will love it.

HANDMADE THERAPY

PROJECT 3: INSPIRATION BOARD
I have wanted to put together an Inspiration Board for as long as I have been blogging. For those who don’t already know, these are a collection of images, fabrics, embellishments…whatever inspires you, put together on a board, piece of paper or anything that you can mount on a wall. The idea is that you can create a collage that can serve to inspire your actions and feelings. I have always believed that these can be helpful to energise your thoughts and plans, not to mention a cute and pretty way to decorate a wall. Until now I have only thought about creating one, and today that changed.

My challenge was to try and create a board that reflected my passions, character and aspirations. My main goal was to have this board visually represent my very own Apothecary Fox. Here’s the result…

I generally struggle with the need to have ordered images, and really tried to let this board flow and be less constrained. I also wanted it to be three dimensional, and tactile.

I used a paper folder as the framework and covered this in a piece of pink wallpaper with a bold black and silver rose pattern, which I think really anchors this board to my overriding passion for beautiful vintage patterns and designs. And of course the whole concept of Handmade in this project relates deeply to the main focus of Apothecary Fox and the things I love most.

Along with scraps of fabrics I love and images that spark interest, I included family pictures, nods to my British/American identity, and inspirational quotes and words. These are all things that deeply drive my own life and spark my thoughts, dreams and actions. I love to embellish with different ribbons, stickers and tape. It reminds me of when I used to collect stickers as a kid and carefully put them in albums. Actually, sometimes I would just keep the sheets of stickers in a folder, thinking they were too pretty to ruin by sticking them on something. Well, I got to indulge my inner child here!

Yeah!! I really do feel inspired by this. I can't wait to explore this world of inspiration some more...another fabulous excuse to get some new magazines!

I hope that you think I have captured the eclectic and visual aspect of Apothecary Fox. Personally I love it, but then it was kind of a labour of love. Either way, please take time to comment as I would love to know your thoughts.

HANDMADE THERAPY

PROJECT 2: FRAMED FABRIC
I am ridiculously excited about this project as it is so simple and creates a fabulous effect. I discovered this great trick of framing beautiful fabric in embroidery hoops to hang on the wall providing an instant burst of colour and pattern easily, and more importantly cheaply. My talent is firmly in the "No Sew" arena so it is right up my street. Your choice of fabric does all the work, and there is no shortage of beautiful choices out there. As you can see my wall needs a huge splash of colour!

Yikes! This wall needs serious help.

Simply buy a scrap or fat quarter of fabrics you love. No piece that I chose cost more than $3.00, and I had some left over (next project: what to do with scraps of fabric?). Heather Bailey, Amy Butler and Kaffe Fassett have fabrics that I would gladly sell my soul for.

Embroidery Hoops: I used both Plywood (top) and Hoop-La (bottom) hoops.

Embroidery hoops come in all shapes and sizes, as well as prices. I can't see a reason to spend anymore than $3 on a simple wooden hoop that is up to 12" in diameter. Try Michaels for a great selection. If you want to splurge and create a different effect, then go for the Bates Hoop-La range in vibrant candy colours (the biggest are only just over $3.00). These are also much sturdier and make more of a feature of the frame.

Once you have your chosen fabrics and hoops, simply layout the fabric over the inner hoop and pass this inside the outer hoop. Tighten the screw at the top to create the right amount of tension on the fabric and then tidy up any wrinkles in the framed fabric by pulling gently from behind.

If the fabric has an irregular pattern you will want to make sure that the frame encloses the area you like the most. Remember, the screw at the top will be your hanging hook. Your pattern should be placed the right way up when framing it, so that it hangs correctly in the end.

Turn over the frame and trim off the excess fabric, leaving approximately an inch that will later be tucked behind the frame when you hang it up. Alternatively you can trim away all the fabric neatly so you have no bulk or stray threads.

My fabric choices, framed up and ready to hang.

I am literally like a kid in a candy store when it comes to choosing fabric. I have a bundle of gorgeous fabrics I bought from Purl Soho that I am dying to do this project with, but they are currently on a boat somewhere across the Atlantic. For my fabrics I went to the Waterwheel House Quilt Shop in my neighbouring town of Londonderry, Vermont. I promise you I will do a feature on them as they really do have a spectacular range of fabrics and create the most amazing quilts with them. Anyway, I ended up choosing a range that didn't exactly compliment each other in their contrast but they will have to do for now.

The Finished Look!

As you can see, I don't get allot of natural light sleeping up in the eaves of our house. I do love how this came out and can't wait to try our different colour combinations and patterns. Can you believe each of these framed pieces cost on average no more than $3? I am discovering my inner-thrift and loving it.

All right, I think I am on a roll now...Next Project?