collector collaboration

this set of forest creatures is a collaboration between Abby Glassenberg and i. both are stitched from hand dyed brown wool and vintage flour sack. the owl measures 6.5" tall, and the deer 16". these are one of a kind creatures and a collector's set made by two artists. you can read more details about this set here.

this collector's set is available for $120 plus shipping. if you would like to bring these pieces home, you can buy them right here:

the ocean set of a rock crab by me and fish by Abby is available over on Abby's blog. they are constructed from cottons and linens hand dyed by me with madder (plus a few accent fabrics).

i love how the pieces for each set are complimentary, but each reflect our own style of construction. it was really neat to see another maker's style and sewing techniques.

thanks so much for following along on our collaboration!

collaboration: forest set

over the past couple months, i have been working on a collaboration with Abby Glassenberg. we had decided to make two sets of creatures - an ocean set and a forest set. we each prepared some fabrics and sent half to each other. then we each made a creature with these fabrics - me an ocean crab and Abby made a woodland deer. we then sent these creatures across the continent to each other, with the plan that we would each make a creature to pair with the other's, out of the same fabrics. Abby finished first, making a cool fish to go with my crab. and now here is my piece to go with her deer: a little owl, inspired by the ones i have been lucky enough to spot in the woods lately.

as you know, i had a bit of trouble deciding on a creature to pair with the deer. i contemplated many different ideas, but then the owls decided for me. in the end, i am very happy with how he turned out, and think he makes a good companion for the deer. see that last shot - they are ready to head out on an adventure together! i made a flying owl sometime ago, but this little perching guy is better suited to hang with his stag friend. i especially like his little feet.

working with Abby has been great fun - and a great challenge. i'm usually such a solitary sort, particularly in my work, and so i have enjoyed bouncing ideas off of someone else and seeing how another maker builds creatures. (i especially love the eyelashes on that deer - can you see them in the last photo?). thanks Abby for asking me!

if you are interested in bringing home this collector set - or the ocean set for that matter - please check back here tomorrow. i will be offering the forest pair here and Abby will offer the ocean set on her blog.

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now back to mandolin practice. good thing A is away for the week, so no one needs to hear my awkward attempts at playing this pop classic. my hope is that it will be a passable version of at least the intro by the time he gets home.

and i can smell that my beer bread is ready to come out of the oven - good fuel for mandolin strumming, i do believe. happy sunday to you all.

feelin' crabby*

* not really

today has started off pretty well, just back home after running errands around town. a visit to the farmers market to pick up a few treats (kale, other greens, fresh beet pasta, eggs, and some red begonias). a pop over to my favourite nettle spot to do one last pick for the season. i filled a good bag with tender tops, but the plants are getting big and woody and i will leave them be now. the fibrous stems can also be irritating to the kidneys and urethra as the plants get older. on my way home i sent a little fog and swell package off in the post.

but in between there me and my crabby friend went to the beach! it was a beautiful morning on the shore, the tide ebbing and only a few other wanderers to be seen. this little crab was eager to explore the wide stretches of sand, but he also kept a careful eye on the gulls, should they decide he'd make a good early lunch.

if you missed it, this is my first piece for my collaboration with Abby. a red rock crab, stitched together in madder dyed linens. i also used a little bit of wool for those black-tipped claws, a distinctive feature of this particular species. and you might be wondering if this crab is a boy or a girl (or did you already figure it out from the photo above?) - because i'm just that dorky, i decided this crab had to be a boy. in the world of crab fishing, only the males are keepers, the ones you take home. the females get thrown back, to make more little crabbies. when i was a kid, we were taught (mainly with the little purple shore crabs, but occasionally with big ones brought home for dinner) that if a crab had a lighthouse shape on it's belly, it was a boy; if it had a beehive shape instead, it was a female. i know there are other associations for the shapes, but lighthouse and beehive was what i was taught. so this crab has a lighthouse shape rising up on the underside of his carapace. this little crab will hang out with me for a bit, but soon enough he will be sent off on a cross-continent journey to Abby to pair with whatever ocean creature she dreams up.

now i think i'll go sit outside again and enjoy the sunshine, perhaps with some crafting in hand. this evening i am headed up to the alpine for an evening event, and hopefully i'll catch a few mountain sunset shots with my camera. wishing you all a wonderful Saturday.