beetlegrass

SweaterScarf: Sky Blue/Gray

Another project from last year that just needed a few finishing touches to officially be declared "DONE". This scarf is comprised of 6" squares of felted wool sweaters, sewn together and embellished with stitching.

I've never considered myself to be a "blue" person, but am so pleased with the way this scarf came out that I'm keeping it for myself. So there. I sometimes pin this together with a Sheriff's badge. People ask me if I'm the Sheriff. And they're serious. I tell them, yes, I am, and that there's been a big uniform shake-up in the Sheriff's Department. Kevlar? Pah! WOOL.

 

I try to showcase "fancy" sweater squares, like these Fair Isle ones, in areas that will be seen the most -- at the throat, and at the ends. It's like they say, "If ya got 'em, flaunt 'em."

Designs & images are © Megan E. Jeffery. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Linen 'n Things

Today @ the flea market, bought this piece of vintage cloth for $2 -- great graphix of housekeepy duties.

Love the use of gray & white -- they sit in the background & allow the colors to pop, and add texture/patterning. Plus plenty of white = breathing room for the images, which is a trick illustrators use a lot! :-)

You can learn a lot as an illustrator by looking @ the graphics on vintage linens. For instance: distribution of color, line & line weight, and always: ornamentation.

 

The bunny in the basket (above) was the item purchased today for 50¢. For the time being, he's joining the rabbit band on my Junk-n-Whatnot shelf.

The hand grenade was another 50¢ purchase. It's just plastic, but will have to do 'til the 'real thing' comes along. 

These images are © Megan E. Jeffery. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Girl in a Dress #33 ("Bacon Girl")

Guess I was influenced by looking @ the "meat" products on Archie McPhee this week...

This work & these images are © Megan E. Jeffery. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Sheepish

A little embarrassed that I finished these puppets maybe a year ago (?) and never showed them -- decided it was high time I photographed them & slapped them up here.

The 2 sheep above are sporting doll sweaters, knit by my sister. Some adjustments to the length of the sweaters' arms had to be made, as finger puppet arms are much shorter than yer average doll arm. Tucking & stitching seemed to do the trick. I added some duplicate stitching to the sweater fronts to give a Fair Isle look. 

The sweaters on these 2 sheep were made from felted sweaters -- cut, folded, glued, stitched, etc. Will resort to any & all means of man-handling to make things work the way they're supposed-ta!

BTW, Linsey-woolsey is a strong, coarse fabric with a linen or cotton warp and a woolen weft. Origin late 15th cent.: from linsey, originally denoting a coarse linen fabric (probably from Lindsey, a village in Suffolk, England, where the material was first made) + WOOL + -sey as a rhyming suffix.

 

Above are the close-ups of the extra detail on 2 of the sweater fronts. The black stitching on the right was done with 1 strand of embroidery floss ... and a really sharp, thin needle.

The names, concepts & designs of these puppets & their stories are the property of Megan E. Jeffery. These images are © Megan E. Jeffery. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Hanger On

This child's hanger was purchased @ the flea market for $1. I had seen it last week & wanted it, so was happy it made another appearance today!

Why do I like this? It's pink, it's vintage-y, it's got peel-y paint, and it's a childhood thing with an image of a girl. I think those're enough reasons to justify the spending of a BUCK, don't you?

This image is © Megan E. Jeffery. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Girl in a Dress #32 ("Zebra Girl")

 

This work & these images are © Megan E. Jeffery. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Girl in a Dress #31 ("Liberty Girl")

Called "Liberty Girl" because she's red, white, & blue, and for really no other reason. Snore!

This work & these images are © Megan E. Jeffery. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

This Week on Big & Little (Forks)

The mini forks would be good if you just wanted a little something to eat.

This image is © Megan E. Jeffery. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Girl in a Dress #30 ("Statuesque Girl")

It's not that she's tall & dignified as much as... she's made of stone.

Had to keep the bottom part of her dress the same color as the top, otherwise I'd have to start a whole new series of paintings entitled, "A Girl in a Blouse & Skirt". And that just wouldn't do.

This work & these images are © Megan E. Jeffery. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

A Fistful of Dollars

Today @ the flea market:

Anchor Hocking Fire King eggnog cups, 4 for $3 -- could not believe that price! Had no idea I was in the market for eggnog cups, but I've been drawn to Lustreware lately, PLUS: stuff with type on it always works for me. So, when she named that price, could NOT pass it up.

Got these 2 gym baskets for $8. Always find these baskets come in handy for organizing any number of things, towels & linens in particular. They have typography too!

Two NY-themed pencil sharpeners for $1. There seems to be an unintentional collection of pencil sharpeners that's been started. I like 'em cuz they're little; the fact that they're also functional is just the icing on Life's big cake.

Today's total: $12.

These images are © Megan E. Jeffery. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.