Wooden Thread Spool Ornaments

(Above: Group 1)
ORNAMENTS!
This blog post includes 52 groups of wrapped-and-stitched vintage wooden thread spool holiday ornaments.  They are also posted on Facebook. Over the summer and fall, I made hundreds.  Dozens and dozens were sold at the recent Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show. Every day, more were made available but not everyone of them actually made it out into the booth for sale. (Limited space!) These are the ones that are left. At the PMA Show, I sold three for $40. I am offering each group of three for $47 including tax and shipping anywhere in the USA. (South Carolina actually charges tax even on out-of-state sales!) To make a purchase, send me a private Facebook message or email at mouse_house@prodigy.net stating which group you'd like.  

PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS. 

I will send a PayPal invoice. Once paid, I will ship immediately and mark the group "SOLD" both here and on Facebook. You do NOT have to have a PayPal account to pay the invoice! You can also call me at Mouse House at (803) 254-0842 to pay by credit card. My regular hours are 9:30 - 5:00. If you purchase more than one group, the shipping will only be $7 regardless of quantity. Thanks! Susan

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SOLD !!!

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SOLD !!!

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(Above: Group 17.  SOLD !!!)

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 (Above: Group 21  SOLD !!!)

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(Above: Group 27  SOLD !!!)

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(Above: Group 44  SOLD !!!)

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(Above: Group 51)  SOLD !!!

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Success at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show

 (Above:  Roadside Madonna, detail.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

Last weekend was wonderful in too many ways to count. Booth 119 stayed very busy during the entire run of the 42nd annual Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show.  I couldn't have managed without my husband Steve.  He drove, worked, rang up almost every sale, and cooked dinner in our AirBnB apartment. Together, we saw old friends, new friends, a celebrity, and several fiber enthusiasts.  Best of all, we sold several pieces and lots and lots of wooden thread spool ornaments.

 (Above:  Roadside Madonna.  Framed:  25 1/2" x 21 1/2". Image transfer on fabric with both hand and free-motion machine embroidery, beading, and trapunto (stuffing from the reverse for a more three-dimensional effect.  $150 including the frame.)

During the drive to and from Philadelphia, I densely stitched the background on this image transfer.  The photo was one I took while visiting Arizona two years ago.  We stopped by a roadside memorial that included this beautiful, plastic statue.  Since returning home late Monday night, I added the beads and inserted a small amount of poly-fill stuffing to give a bas-relief shape to the figure.  Today I finished the framing.

 (Above:  Donation of clipped letters from Kayle Rice, a Facebook friend!)

Being gone for an entire week meant our mail was held at the post office.  For the most part, the large stack of letters was garbage, but one envelope came from Kayle Rice.  She sent me her collection of letters clipped from magazines!  I promise to put them to a good, creative use!

 (Above:  Me in booth 119 at the 2018 Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show.)

So ... how was the show?  WONDERFUL!  We moved into our space on Wednesday morning and had everything set up in smooth order.

 (Above:  Steve and me at Magic Garden.)

We had enough time to walk around the southside neighborhood on Halloween night.  There were lots of kids in costumes, real candle lit jack-o-lanterns beside doorways distributing candy, and at least a half-a-dozen dogs wearing outfits for the occasion.  We went by Magic Garden too!

 (Above:  Veronica Lewis, who sang at our wedding, came to the show from NYC.)

During the show, we were overwhelmed when Veronica Lewis showed up.  She sang at our wedding but we haven't seen her since moving to South Carolina in 1986.  She looks exactly the same.

Family friend Anabel Pichler and her youngest daughter came too!

My friend Kim Bendillo's daughter dropped by and so did a young artist named Olivia with whom I shared accommodations last summer at Homestead National Park. (Forgot to snap a picture).  I got to talk to fellow art quilter Natalya Aikens whose booth was one aisle away and beader Teddi Fine whose booth was next door.

 (Above:  Micheal Moore at the PMA Show.)

On Saturday afternoon, our aisle broke into spontaneous applause when Michael Moore came to support a friend who was "new to the show".  It was exciting, and he seemed quite humbled by our admiration.

(Above:  Gwen, Roxanne, Steve and me at Geno's.)

Yet, the best part of the weekend was spending time with Gwen and Roxanne, friends from waitressing days in Columbus.  We've stayed in touch but I hope that our contact is more regular in the future.  It was a blast to taste test Geno's and Pat's Philly cheesesteaks one evening, having dinner like a tourist but surrounded by locals and sharing lots of laughter!  The weekend was indeed wonderful!

Ready for Philly!

 (Above:  Me with one really large fiber vessel filled with wooden thread spool Christmas ornaments.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

Today was "hunter-gather and pack-the-van" day.  Steve and I hunted all over the house to find everything we will need for booth 119 at next weekend's Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show.  We put everything near the back door.  What are these things?  Well, the walls for our Pro Panel booth, the lighting system, the interlocking carpet tiles, the red curtain, price tags, extension cards, power strips, the PayPal chip reader, invoices, bags, bubble wrap, a shelving unit, a hand-held vacuum cleaner, glass cleaner, touch up markers, a two-part pedestal table, business cards, the rolling cart, tape, scissors ... and of course all the artwork!  It's a big job!

 (Three fiber vessels filled with wooden spool Christmas ornaments.)

We pack four Large Stained Glass Windows, four Large In Boxes, four Lunette Windows, a series of Seasonal Leaves, and four In Boxes with limited palettes ... plus the smaller works.  I don't remember how many small In Boxes, Windows, Peacock Feathers, and Lancet Windows went into the van.  I didn't count the fiber vessels either but three of them are overflowing with wooden spool Christmas ornaments.  I've been making them since summer.  Most were finished while at the Rensing Center during an art residency.  There's nothing like spending the evening with a hand stitching project!  At 5:00 when we closed Mouse House, our business, everything went into the van. We are ready to head north at 6:00 AM tomorrow morning!  

(Above:  Top: All the Wonder Under from my local Joann Fabrics Shop do Thursday. Middle: The new stash of polyester stretch velvet from Spandex World.  Bottom:  The stash of fabric nicely ironed with the Wonder Under on the reverse.)

It does seem a bit strange not to be in the studio making more work.  It is "what I do".  Yet, doing a big show like this does mean putting my focus elsewhere.  I've got to be prepared.  Speaking of "prepared".  My last blog post included "prep work" ... as in ironing nearly eighty yards of Pellon's 805 Wonder Under onto the reverse side of a new stash of polyester stretch velvet.  It took all day on Saturday but the task is done.  Finished prep work means I'll be ready to make more after the show in Pennsylvania.

(Above:  All the velvet nicely ironed with Wonder Under on the backside!)

I Bought All the Wonder Under and Lunette XXXIV

 (Above:  Lunette XXXIV.  Framed:  22" x 28".  $495.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

This is the last piece finished before going to the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show next week.  My husband Steve and I will pack our cargo van on Monday afternoon, leave early Tuesday, move into booth 119 on Wednesday, and hopefully have a great experience through Sunday.  I'm both nervous and excited!

 (Above:  Wonder Under aka Pellon's 805 fusible.)

With all the work I've been making recently, I ran out of Pellon's 805 Wonder Under.  I went to Joann Fabrics last weekend with two 50% off coupons only to discover that the product I needed was already on sale for 30% off.  My coupons were not valid on items already on sale.  The sale on all Pellon products runs through Halloween, but I had a coupon for 20% off items that were already on sale.  That 20% off coupon started on Thursday.  So, on Thursday I returned to Joann Fabrics and bought every yard in stock ... all of it!  On Thursday, thread was also on sale for 30% and my coupon applied to that item too.  So for the weekend, my local Joann Fabrics shop has no Wonder Under and no 100% black cotton thread.

(Above:  New stash of polyester stretch velvets ordered from Spandex World.)

Why did I buy all the Wonder Under?  Well, I'd just received my order from Spandex World for a new stash of polyester stretch velvet.  The minimum amount of each selection is one yard.  The fabric is 60" in width.  The Wonder Under is only seventeen inches in width.  By the time I iron the Wonder Under to the reverse of all this fabric, I'll have run out again!  I hope there's another Joann Fabric coupon after I return from Philadelphia! 

Wait a minute!  There's always another coupon.  But, will it be the "right one"?  Who knows? Honestly, I hate coupons.  I wish Joann believed in charging a fair price every day instead of forcing me to play the coupon game.  At least I will be stocked for new work.  I'll be turning my attention to a new project that will need all the "stuff".  Can't wait.  The excitement makes the coupon game almost tolerable.

Three completely different, new works

(Above:  In Box CCCXXII. Inventory # 4369. Framed:  25 1/2" x 37 1/2". $675.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

I haven't blogged since last Wednesday but I have been busy in my studio.  It is always a challenge to limit my palette.  Yet, I love all greens.  I thought about the environment while making this work.  Since all my "In Box Series" pieces are reflects of an urban landscape from an aerial point of view, I thought about Friedensreich Hundertwasser's ideas of planting grass on all roofs and keeping trees on balconies ... anything to lessen man's carbon footprint.  So, for me this piece is an ideal city, one in total harmony with nature. 

(Above:  Detail of In Box CCCXXII.)

The work is framed in a white-on-white presentation with crystal clear, anti-reflective, UV filtering glass.  It will be going with me to the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show.  I'm in booth 119.  The show runs from November 2 - 4.

(Above:  Lunette XXXIII.  Inventory # 4371. Framed:  22" x 28".)

After I've cut so many squares and rectangles for one of my "In Box Series" pieces, it is fun to switch gears and make one of my "Stained Glass Series" pieces.  The stylized tulip motif is one of my favorites.

(Above:  Sacred Heart Madonna.  Inventory # 4370.  Unframed:  19" x 15.  Framed: 27 1/2" x 23 1/2".  $295.)

Every evening finds me with a thread needle in my hand. Recently, I've been embellishing images transferred to fabric.  This particular shot came from the Pioneer Cemetery in Yuma, Arizona.  I had it printed by Spoonflower.  After basting it to a piece of recycled packaging felt, I free-motion machine stitched a few outlines.  Then the fun started.  The entire background is densely seed stitched.  The blossoms are all stuffed from the reverse to make them very dimensional. This is a fiber technique known as trapunto. Beads were added.  Finally, I pinned the work to a piece of acid-free foam-centered board and put it in this ready-made frame that was donated to me.  It simply worked out to perfection!

(Above:  Detail image, shot at a slight angle to show the dimensional quality.)

By this time next week, Steve and I will be getting ready to head north to the show in Philadelphia.  I'm getting nervous but equally excited!