Thomas

My sister adores Tigers. So when she saw my deer head in paper mache she said “Oh that is so lovely but I would really love a Tiger head”. Any normal persons answer to that would be “ a Tiger head would look nice” and then think nothing more of it but since I am not one of those normal people my reaction naturally was – I will have to make one. I SO hadn`t the time for it but did that stop me? Oh no. So much more fun to create a Tiger head than starting on the preparations for my daughters high school graduation that is due soon. Especially since the preparations mostly means cleaning up the house....

I started out by spending some quality time in front of my computer but this time I googled Tiger template instead. I found this great Japanese site or at least I think it was Japanese, I couldn’t read a world it said but it had a step by step instruction with photos of how to make a Tiger head. A Bengali Tiger even! On the page was blue button and I hopefully pressed it and hoped it meant down load pattern …and what do you know – it did!



I cut out all the pieces and started gluing it together by looking at the pictures. It was a perfect fit! My salute to the person that made the template. I so wish I knew his or her name.



I mounted it on a piece of foam core covered with felted wool. Naturally I had to make a tongue out of felt too and some whiskers made of fishing line.



Here he is. I know he looks like he is on an acupuncture treatment but that is just while the glue is drying. I think I will name him Thomas the Tiger and naturally he will have to move to my sisters…..

Take care
Jeanette

International Yarn Bombing Day

June the 11:th is the International Yarn Bombing Day. I plan to celebrate it by adding a few knitted objects here and there in my hometown of Malmö, Sweden. Hopefully together with a bunch of friends, a picnic basket full of goodies and sunny weather. If you want to read more about the event or how you can improve the urban landscape one stitch at the time visit the Yarn Bombing webb site.

So I better start knitting…….or maybe I’ll finally find a good use for the seriously ugly knitted squares that I bought at a jumble sale….

Take care
Jeanette

Sorry for going all Julie Andrews on you

For a while now I have wanted a deer head on my living room wall at the country house. Being an animal lover and pacifist the thought of getting the real stuff haven’t been that tempting. But still…..I just couldn’t let go of the feeling that it would look absolutely perfect!

What to do? Well dead easy really - I had to make one of course. But how? When in need you google! So I googled deer template and got a lot of strange hits but finally hit the jackpot. The Chronicle Books Blog with a great template I could use. I had first planned to make one just like the one in the blog but then decided that I wanted mine to be more like a real stuffed deer head minus the fact that you had to kill a deer to get it so to speak.

This is how I did.

I cut it out in 1 cm thick foam core and assembled it.

Then I started to cover it with paper mache to give it a real animal look and more rounded features.



As I was sitting there happily applying glue and torn news papers to the foam core I suddenly went all Julie Andrews and started humming to myself

Do a deer , a female deer.
Re a drop of golden sun
Mi – a name I call myself
Fa – along, long way to run…..

Time for some psychiatric counseling or what…..

Now I am half way there. ( Not to the counselling that is but to the finished deer head...)

I haven’t quite made up my mind yet wheather to cover it with wet felting or one of my recently bought vintage embroideries. I am leaning towards the embroidery though….

Will keep you posted!

Take care
Jeanette

PS Some of you that have been reading my blog since I bought my country house back in 2007 knows that the animal lover and pacifist part has not always been easy to live up to....

So much to do and so little time

Spring is always hectic at work and this year I swear that the weeks only consists of Mondays and Fridays. At home all my plants had to be replanted a the same time – about 200 of them…and my daughter’s high school graduation is coming up soon and the celebration needs a bit of planning. Here she is ready to go to the graduation ball, but first a quick waltz practice with her grandad on the school lawn.





So I have neglected you my dear blogfriends. In fact this could be me right now. I sort of feel like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland all the time, running around and mumbling to myself “things to do- places to go”.



I also have neglected my creative work and although my head is full of new ideas the only thing I have time for is to write them down or do a quick sketch in my sketchbook as a way of not forgetting. As a mantra I repeat to myself
“ vacation in seven weeks time, vacation in seven weeks time, vacation in seven weeks time”.

Please bear with me. I will be back! But right now I have to rush …

Things to do – places o go…..

Jeanette