Saturday, September 8, 2012

It's Hard to Get a Head...

...unless you have $5, that is, in which case all you have to do is find the right yard sale.  I found this plaster head at just such a yard sale today just when what I needed most was a life-size head that weighs enough that the wind won't blow it over.  We were at the farmers' market again, Sue and I, and the wind was exceptional.  But thanks to my fortuitous find, I was able to stop picking up my prairie bonnet every two minutes.  The previous owner of the head informed me that she made this head in sculpting class at URI, and it made her happy that it found a new home.  I think it's a great job.  I do have to paint it though, it's got some discolorations on it, but I'm thinking I'm going to leave it white. Right now I really can't tell its gender, and I think for my purposes that's a good thing.  He/she is going to live in my shop in between shows, and for now showcase Sue's hats as they're kind of heavy and the styrofoam heads tend to be too tippy.  Besides, those wig heads have no personality whereas THIS one has loads of it!

While that one may remain white and undecorated (that may be hard for me to do), I also bought a doll bed at the same yard sale which is destined for...I don't quite know yet, but not white.  Marked at $3, it was a simply constructed box with a headboard and footboard with a cutout heart at each end.  It spoke to me.  It's American Girl size, and I envision it with a mattress and pillow, fitted and flat sheet and pillowcases, and patchwork quilt.  When I was little, one of my favorite things was a doll bed that my grandfather made, and all the linens, ruffled pillowcases and pieced quilt that my grandmother (or was it my mother?) made to go with it.  I still have all that stuff. 

Monday, September 3, 2012

Getting my Gaelic On

My latest project, whatever it happens to be, is always my favorite.  Today's latest project--or rather tonight's, as earlier in the day I was into something else--is a welcome banner.  I have made these in various forms for years, the most popular being a celtic knot, but I've had requests for all sorts of random images and sayings.  I'm not sure what inspired me to do this one, although it may have been the humungous thistle Sue has growing in her garden.  I always eradicate the thistles from my garden, and I always feel a little bad about it; in spite of their prickly disadvantages, they're really quite beautiful and attract goldfinches and assorted other critters.  But they tend to take up a large amount of real estate, and my garden is small.  Anyway, Sue and Frank allowed theirs to grow, and it's quite magnificent...easily taller than me and bigger around than my dining room table.

So this banner has been kicking around in my head for weeks, and today was the day to actually begin it.  What you see here is, of course, not the finished product but just the basic shapes ironed on to the backing.  With any luck at all, I'll finish it by the weekend.  If you care to broaden your horizons and pronounce it, it's FAHL-cha.  Much easier to pronounce than most Gaelic; I will never attempt to learn the language of my ancestors, I envision getting cramps in my tongue.