Friday, May 01, 2009

Garden Mouse of May


'But I must gather knots of flowers,

And buds and garlands gay,
For I'm to be Queen o' the May, mother,
I'm to be Queen o' the May.'

~ Alfred Lord Tennyson

For most persons, old sweaters may be cast aside and taken to the thrift store. But in my world, a wool sweater hanging sadly on a rack in a thrift store is a treasure. I have to know it's 100% wool, will it felt, and is the color perfect for my artwork.

About a month ago, I found this wonderful lime green sweater at the Salvation Army. I washed it in the hottest water with a little detergent in my washing machine, and then dried it in the dryer. Usually I then cut the side seams and up through the underside of the sleeves. This gives me the maximum area to begin cutting out shapes.

This sweet mouse (pattern created by Debra Abel from "It's All Good") is setting on my felted sweater pincushion, surrounded by a few silk posies, and a vine snapped from a silk flowered garland. I used a couple of circular shapes from my kitchen dishes to make a huge pincushion. Then all you do is sew around the rounded edge (remember to leave an opening), stuff with fiberfill, and embellish!

Have a magical day!

Nancy

7 comments:

Terri said...

Nance, she came out wonderfully!

Willnnabel said...

So very sweet,......and thank you Nancy!

Anonymous said...

Hi Nancy! Your little mousie is a dear!

Found a package slip in my mailbox yesterday and will be at the post office today to see what treasure is there! I am off to DC this evening (a whole week awaay from home...bummer)and will give you a shout when I return.

Blessings ~ Eileen @ Star's Fault

Unknown said...

Oh Nancy I JUST LOVE THIS!!!! I have a special place hidden in my heart for mice:)

XXXX
Becky

JANN said...

OH NANCY
your little mouse pin-cushion is a adorable work of art. I think you did a fabulous job on the creating of this cutie. I love little mice :)
great way to recycle sweaters also.
I made a Christmas stocking using a old soft sweater on year.
THANK YOU for visiting my blog and your appreciated comments.
Looks like we both have a birthday soon. Did you know that Becky of
WHYMSICALMUSINGS BITHDAY IS ON THE 11TH. OF MAY ????
WE SHOULD GET TOGETHER AND P-A-R-T-Y-Y-Y

Nancy said...

Hi Nancy, I just LOVE the mouse. I will have to try something like this, perhaps with a cat. As luck would have it, my daughter just went through her closet to clean it out. She asked me to see if there was anything I wanted before she takes it to the Salvation Army. Hopefully I'll find a wool sweater or two. I go to the Salvation Army about once a week, perhaps I'll see you there.

Papermoonies said...

you have such a lovely family. I love your little creations they are so vintage. Is that a photo of your home? what a nice home and your girls are naturally beautiful.
I follow you now..
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http://www.papermoonies.blogspot.com