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seed pod #15
© Copyright 1997 Maria Pahls
the fence post
(editor's letter)
dear friends:
i've been busy! i just painted some bird houses that i haven't been able to sell with their original look. now they are all dirty looking and i made tin cut outs to nail on the fronts. the new look is much better!
i have also been painting some little papier mache jewelry boxes. (the kind that they give you in department when you purchase something.) i first coat them with gesso, then sand,(it usually takes 3 coats). then use an "ugly" color like mustard or kaki and rub it into the box. it gives a nice uneven worn look. next i paint a garden theme like bees or butterflies or a garden angel on the front. its a great way to recycle those little boxes.
also some misfit dolls that i couldn't sell. i just stripped them down,pulled off their hair and went to work. they now are painted over the muslin arms,legs & heads with wonderful new faces. i just have to decide on clothes and hair. they look alot better,even unfinished.
i also have been making wool baggies (like in kindred spirits) with a primitive embroidered vine heart and small wool pieces sewn on (attached with french knots-or in my case "nots" since i usually have to do them twice). then a button stitch around the bag with some embroidery floss that is in a clashing color and an antique button to close it. i use roping for the handle (is it a handle?).
lastly, a small purse that i am repairing. i made a new front for it (rest is black). it is like a quilt with mustard,pumpkin orange & gold and little pieces of garden print (watering cans,seed packs etc) and another odd fabric that had cats & vegetables on it. i have the piece done but not quilted. i may just run black embroidery floss thru it to look primitive.
hope you have some great inspirations this spring!
primitively yours,
maria pahls
miscellaneous letters sent in by readers
anita received her angel from the one of our first "swaps":
"maria, your angel arrived today and i love her. she is perfect!!! i love everything about her! did you make the bee hive? i hope that you like the one i made for you,it seems plain compared to the one you made me. my angel has a place of honor, hanging in my living room. thank you!"
bobbi was telling me about a doll bee she went to:
"Actually the doll bee wasn't much of a doll bee. Five women from this area met at one of the Austin Dollink's member's houses and we each brought something to work on. I brought three dolls that each needed little stuff done to them to get them finished. One woman was making handmade bobbin lace to use on her Santas and dolls, one was hemming a jacket, one just sat there watching, and the other was working on a quilt! So, it was more of a sewing bee than a doll bee--but it was fun anyway!"
marlene tells of her latest work and also has a few questions:
"What am I currently working on? Well I am in the process of starting my sewing for my very first craft show in November. I decided to start by making a few Christmas dolls so I am about halfway done with 3 angels. I was trying to come up with some sort of plan for the craft show on what type of dolls to make. So my idea is to have a section for seasonal dolls (angels, snowmen, santa's etc.), a section for plain old country dolls and now I think a small section for the really primitive dolls as well."
primitive ponderings
questions asked by readers, then replied upon in later issues.
new question . . .
joann wants to know what she can use for hair (besides moss).
hair question (this issue) maria:
" i use all kinds of stuff, sometimes wire, ripped fabric that i thread thru the head & knot, yarn that i unravel to get the effect of curls. try spices like cloves, cinnamon sticks that are broken into little pieces, etc. most of the time my dolls are bald!!"
marlene would like some ideas for displaying & her booth.
# # # # # # # #
tips & techniques
highlights of tips sent in by readers
(future issues)
F E F E F E F E
burlap sack
mail order resources section
sharon andrews & company now has patterns!
362 windemere drive
westerville, ohio 43082
catalog $2.50 (adds you to mailing list)
Stillwater River Valley
7600 Elin Court
Dayton, Ohio 45415-1103
(513) 836-3617
$2.00
book reviews
&
books of interest
web sites of members & other sites of interest
Simply Nantucket (country type patterns)
http://www.flex.net/users/nancy/snpatterns.html
kindred spirits catalog page on Homespun Peddler.
O P O P O P "Well done is better than well said. "
prose
poetry and verses to use for samplers etc.
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
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