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Angel:
© Shari Lutz |
primitive pals #020
© Copyright 1997 Maria Pahls
the fence post
(editor's letter)
dear friends: (old letter)
right now i am working on an order to make about 20 signs that my cousin is taking to her husband's family in ireland. i take wood scraps,drill holes then string wire in them. people use them in kitchens,gardens and as welcome signs. the only set back with these is that they are going to the same family so they all need to be different. plus she has asked me to put their names on them. lots of interesting irish names i might add. once a person bought a sign i made at a show and was planning to send it off to france...it 's neat to know that my "stuff" is in other countries like that.
primitively yours,
maria pahls
miscellaneous letters sent in by readers
dian crayne sent in this note:
"I collected some bones from around the place yesterday (I live out in the hills, so there are always "leavings" around) and decided to dye them. The bones that I find around here -- mostly turkey and deer --. When I finished dyeing the bones, I fished them out of the plastic bag and dumped in -- briefly -- six of my little country and primitive prototypes. They're now wrung out, creased, and sitting in the sun to poach. Next time I have a batch of them, I think I'll give them a mud bath in our nice iron-red clay."
when i first received rebecca's profile it had a little something about "stone house" typed in it...i asked her to tell me the story of stone house & here it is:
"I'd be happy to tell you about my 'stone house' business, but I'm not in my little stone house yet. Right now, I'm crazily making stuff so that I can some day (soon, I hope) have enough money to be in it.
I live in Houghton, Michigan (in Michigan's beautiful Upper Peninsula) and there used to be many copper mines in the area. My family bought a house almost four years ago and there was a small (probably about 20' x 20' or maybe a little bigger) mining building still left. It is very solidly made -- the walls are 22 inches thick! Anyway, the building needs lots of work, like a new roof, floor, door, windows, electricity, etc. and I don't have the money to do it. I'm trying to save money from my shows to fix it up. Some day, I hope to sell my stuff there and also to have either a cross stitch shop or either sell stuff on consignment for my friends. At the rate I'm going, who knows how long it will take. We have been told by neighbors that college students once lived in the building (Houghton is a college town -home of Michigan Technological University, which is also where I work), even though there is no water. You can still see the remnants of power and phone lines that came into the building. Well, that's the story of my little stone house. Hopefully, we can get it fixed up before it deteriorates beyond being able to be repaired."
primitive ponderings
questions asked by readers, then replied upon in later issues.
question on felt use & tips (issue 19)
"Almost any fabric can be used for primitives, I think color is more important than fabric. Just stay away from cutesy prints and bright colors and you'll be ok. Strive for an earthy look. Tea or coffee dye anything for an aged look. There are some great felts out now with a mottled look. I have some of the orange and it is perfect as is. Doesn't need to be treated to look aged." lynne
on advise for country dolls,making them look more primitive (issue 19):
" Forget what you learned in sewing class! I was a Home Economics major in college and sometimes this is hard for me. Just do everything WRONG. Sew button eyes on crooked. Sew seams so raw edges are outside. Tea or coffee dye everything. If you dye and then throw things in the dryer you get a nice even dye. If you want it to have the blotchy or burned look, lay it outside to dry in the sun. All the tea/coffee seems to come to the surface. Hand stitch edges with a blanket or button hole stitch using contrasting thread. Use seeds, patches, buttons for accents. Make VERY simple faces. 2 dots for eyes and a vertical line for nose." -lynn
# # # # # # # #
tips & techniques
highlights of tips sent in by readers
F E F E F E F E kimberly house
burlap sack
mail order resources section
they sell metal miniatures that can be used for dolls, garden tools and all sorts of other stuff. made from pot metal...i ordered watering cans and tea pots and one of the watering cans is so tiny it is the size,well maybe a bit bigger, of a little brown ant!
kimberly house
1775 east tropicana #10
las vegas,nv 89119
book reviews
&
books of interest
web sites of members & other sites of interest dian crayne's web site: http://www.pacific.net/~ccrayne/dian.htm.
Homespun Treasures - http://members.aol.com/homespuntr/index.html
O P O P O P
prose
poetry and verses to use for samplers etc.
"...round the corner there may wait
a new road or secret gate,
and though we pass the by today,
tomorrow we may come this way
and take the hidden paths that run
towards the moon or to the sun..."
j.r.r. tolkien
"the fellowship of the ring"
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