Handmade Bird Pillow and the Audubon Society

Western Tanager Hankie Pillow, © 2011 Georgianne Holland

I have on my calendar "Go to movies" almost every month, which hasn't been a date I've kept with myself in a while. I'm excited to say that The Big Year starring Jack Black, Owen Wilson, and my favorite, Steve Martin, is coming to theaters! I will not wait for this movie to come to my pay-per-view. The Big Year is about birding and while thumbing through my beloved Audubon magazine, David Yarnold reminds us that like in the movie, birders (and the Audubon Society) are a very social group. That works for me!

I have been working to make the birds I depict in my handmade bird pillows more easily recognizable, as I know that true birders know their species! Often in the past, the birds I depict are figments of my imagination, and when I see a photo of an unusual bird found in the wild, I think that they are so varied in color and shape, my imaginary bird is like a rare species. Will the Audubon Society let me get away with this? I hope so, because I'm having so much fun!

The Hankie Pillows series that I began in September of this year is a good example of my work to capture well known bird species in a fiber folk art manner. They are called Hankie Pillows because I begin the exercise with a pristine vintage hankie that was created by an unknown woman sometime in the 1940s. Collecting these vintage hankies has been part of the fun of this series! Often these hankies have embroidered flowers stitched as decoration, and I always choose hankies that have tatted lace on the edges...a fine needle art I've never learned to create. I place a vintage hankie on my work table and then decide what species of bird I'd like to needle felt: today's example is the Western Tanager in bright yellow, orange and brown. I'm very fond of creating birds with big, round bellies. I also like creating tree branches for my birds to perch on. Jacques Deval reminds us that "God loved the birds and invented trees. Man loved the birds and invented cages." I love birds in trees and I also love birds recreated onto pillows. Sometime next week, I plan to love birds in funny movies...would you care to join me?

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

You can visit my website to see more of my handmade bird pillows at www.nestleandsoar.com

A Wonderful Little Something I Found Today

Have you ever strolled along an historic shopping area and found tiny boutiques hidden away, say, near that hip diner everyone keeps talking about? I love exploring the Old Town communities of Colorado, looking for little gems like that!

Today, I found a little gem I'd like to share with you, and the funny thing is, I have been working in my studio office all day! That's right, I took a stroll through the boutiques of Etsy.com. I found the treasure you see in these photos, a Handmade Paper Journal. 

This lovely handmade journal is right up my alley because of the leaf motif that has been stitched into the cover. I'm including two photos of it so you can see it up-close, just like you would if we'd been shopping together in a brick and mortar shop!

 There is a rainbow of handmade papers used to create this one-of-a-kind journal. Each interior page of the journal as been imprinted with a leaf, too! This journal has 110 pages to write on, which I find amazing...you could pen your memoirs here (or at least I could, as I have lived a simple life!).

The talented artist who made this great journal is named Indira Govindan, and she works and lives in Summit, New Jersey. She has other eco-friendly journals in her shop, which has the great name of Dharma Karma Arts (love that!). I hope you will stop by and look through her virtual boutique of truly unique handmade items. If you love this leaf journal, you may want to stop by sooner than later...not sure I can leave Dharma Karma Arts without making this purchase! Luckily for all of us, she has lots of wonderful items for you to enjoy.

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

Where Did You Learn the Needle Arts?

My mom and I decorated this light table 15 years ago to trace patterns!

I am asked where I learned to sew, embroider, felt, quilt, and knit. Perhaps you are, too? Because I'm in my 50s, I was lucky enough to have Home Economics as part of my junior high school curriculum. Most of the women who ask me where I learned to sew are young enough, that they had no Home Economics teacher in school. They may not know a single person who sews. But oh yes, they want to learn!

Sewing and all the needle arts are certainly in another rejuvenation. In the 1970s, I remember my 20-something year old friends talking about how quilting was being reinvigorated as an important needle art. Quilting, as well as many other needle arts, keep cycling around in popularity. For those who make a living in creative fields that cater to women, the needle arts as an industry is not only popular, but a legitimate form of economic empowerment. Home Economics may not be taught in public schools any longer, but we all can certainly learn to sew throughout our communities!

I am fortunate to be from a family that honored and taught the needle arts for over 30 years. My parents, George and Bonnie Leman, as well as my six siblings, owned and operated a Colorado-based company called Leman Publications. We began publishing Quilter's Newsletter Magazine in 1969 and enjoyed many happy years being the family that worked as a team to teach the world to quilt. How fortunate for me to have Bonnie Leman as my mom and my inspiration in the fiber arts! She instilled in me the love of all needle arts as well as the love of joining forces with other women as they work to build a successfully creative life.

In addition to this entrepreneurial jump start, I will admit that I began sewing my own clothes at age 12. I have always loved working with fabric, textiles, and colors. Like so many women who are long-time subscribers to Quilter's Newsletter Magazine, I have been fortunate to combine my love of raising a family with operating a successful fiber folk art studio from home!

Where did you learn to sew, embroider, felt, quilt, or knit? I'd love to hear your story!
Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

Creative Halloween -- The Handmade Variety

My children are all adults and don't ask for my input in their Halloween costumes any longer. In fact, I likely don't want to know too many details about all that transpires at the Halloween parties they attend. It might just scare me to death!


Back when I was on creative costume duty (before there was a costume store at every strip mall in town), I recall that Halloween in Colorado often included cold weather, if not eight inches of snow on the ground. No matter what costume my kids devised, at the last minute, we had to add their winter coats and boots. (It is hard to be a fairy princess under fleece and snow pants.) But they muddled through, knowing they'd look like all the other kids in their winter wardrobe.

Later, being resourceful, the kids learned to incorporate winter gear in their initial design. For instance, my son would dress like a skier who had had a monumental accident on the slopes, complete with "bloody" head bandage, crutches and perhaps a make-shift leg brace. Pretty scarey! Now that marching around the neighborhood to collect candy is not what my kids should do, I hope their costumes can go beyond ski attire! Maybe they will even get to stay warm inside, passing out treats, like I used to do!

I did find a few wonderful images of how other moms are dressing their little ones for Halloween this year. I thought it would be wonderful to let this baby joy speak for itself in today's post: each one certainly put a smile on my face. Please Notice: no coats. Bet they don't live in Colorado!


Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

Eagle View Walk -- 17,400 Steps into Autumn

I have thoroughly enjoyed this 70-degree autumn day in colorful Colorado! Today's agenda included a 2 1/2 hour walk around Standley Lake, which is also an eagle sanctuary. We could see from a distance four eagles in the trees, and one took flight!

The colors of the tress are magnificent right now in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies. Taking a long walk is a great way to see the changing landscape. I wore my trusty step-counter and we logged 17,400 steps by walking completely around this large suburban lake! I've got my feet on ice right now and that feels good!

I hope that you will have a chance to walk through a tree-filled area in the next week so that you can take in the gorgeous colors. The change of season certainly does have its bright side.

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

P.S. In my last blog post I mentioned that once my 100th order was placed from my Nestle and Soar shop on Etsy, I would offer my blog readers 7 days to claim a free gift from www.nestleandsoar.com. Well, that 100th order did arrive on October 15th, so help me celebrate by logging into www.nestleandsoar.com and from there, send me an email with your mailing address. You have until midnight on October 22nd to claim your free gift! Thank you for your interest in my blog and my art!

Watch for 100th Nestle and Soar Order on Etsy and You Could Receive a Present!!

Spring Tree Pillow

The Nestle and Soar Studio on Etsy has approached a milestone that I plan to celebrate--will you join me? The next order that comes to me via that shop will be my 100th Etsy Order! Isn't that fun?! I have very much enjoyed getting to know my customers by way of this fun-to-use virtual boutique and I am very grateful for all the support and encouragement I receive there.

Fantastical Tree Pillow

The fiber folk art item that is most often bought via Nestle and Soar on Etsy is...drum roll...custom work. That's right, most of my sales comes from private commissions. It is exciting that this is so, as it means to me that people find it easy to work with me in fulfilling their desire for a one-of-a-kind fiber art item. Out of the 99 orders I've fulfilled from my Etsy shop, 22 of them have been custom work. I hope you'll contact me if that is something you are interested in! You can read more about my commission work here.

Fantastical Tree Pillow

The next most popular item is one of my pillow designs that involves a tree. The Spring Tree Pillow and the Fantastical Tree Pillow are both big winners here at Nestle and Soar. It seems that everywhere I go, I find other tree lovers. In Colorado, trees may not be as old or as plentiful as they are in the eastern states, but folks from Colorado certainly love their trees! That is one of the benefits of operating a global retail shop: tree lovers from around the world tell me that they, too, have this "thing" for trees. I am very pleased to be able to continue my support of the Arbor Day Foundation through all of my different websites. If you love trees, your qualifying order from Nestle and Soar causes a tree to be planted in your honor in our National Forest system. I think that's exciting!

I am planning a special thank you for the person who submits the 100th order on my Etsy shop! I have a few special items in my cache that I haven't ever promoted, and based on what is ordered from me, I will select a special item to pass along. I think this free gift with order needs to find a new home where it can be appreciated by new eyes. Don't you think that would be a wonderful way to celebrate? In fact, on the day that my 100th order comes in, I will open a week of time where my blog readers can contact me via an email on my website, www.nestleandsoar.com. If you send me a note from there, I'll find a little something in my cache to pass along to you, too, just for saying hello! Remember, the one-week time frame for that offer begins on the day that the 100th order is placed, so you may want to keep an eye on my Etsy shop,  Nestle and Soar on Etsy. I hope you can help me celebrate!

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne