A Parliament of Owls - How wise.

A Wise old owl lived in an oak

the more he saw, the less he spoke

the less he spoke the more he heard

why can't we all be like that wise old bird?

My Grandma recently sent a copy of the Wise Old Owl to my niece for her to put on her bedroom wall. It had been years since I had heard this little poem, and for something made up of just 4 lines, it is one of those stop and think little rhymes.

With the state of our country at the moment this would be good advise for our government to stop and listen to the people for once, and as a group of Owls is called a Parliament - I thought it was quite apt to go into full Owl production! (well, it all made sense to me!)

So these little guys are the result - Owl brooches made from gorgeous felt and 'up-cycled' fabrics and buttons!

Then, I became all nostalgic for the 70's - my formative years from birth to 10 years old and remembered these little ladies

Sunbonnett Sue. After doing a bit of research it transpires that she has been around shading her face from the sun for over 110 years! it is such a lovely appliqué pattern to use though, and she looks so sweet - so more brooches! 

My Folksy Shop had been getting smaller and smaller of late so making these gave me a real creative boost. The freshly tidied sewing room now need tidying again, and Owl production has continued in the form of soft toys and soon will be transferred to cushions! Baby Fig has also convinced me to make black felt moustaches with brooch pins on....not entirely sure what thats about!

Another new enterprise in the ever more enterprising juicy household is Mr Juicy's new found button making skills! He has been very busy searching out unusual woods that are 'Spalted' - this is where fungi has started to colonise the wood resulting in these amazing 'zone' lines. He has been cutting and sanding and drilling and polishing both the wood and the tips of his fingers. I have used a few of them so far and the rest he is hoping to sell - so keep your eyes peeled for his new Folksy shop (we are waiting for their big November relaunch of the site!)

And finally - an embroidered angel - Baby Fig thinks she looks like a Moomin, so she will probably not be going on sale! 

As usual life is complete chaos in the JuicyFig household. I thought kids were supposed to get easier as they get older? Baby Fig has gone back to collage to study hair dressing. I am getting LOTS of free hair cuts and colours, but this can only go on until I have no hair left! we also seam to have plastic heads turning up clamped to tables and smelling of setting lotion. Mr Figs wooden buttons are leaving a trail of sawdust, shavings and sandpaper in the most unexpected places, and my sewing room has had to have all the wool removed to fit in the fabrics, so now I have wool in bags boxes and baskets in every room, waiting for a 'clear out' which for me means reorganising it all into colours and weights then maybe getting rid of one ball. 

Right - Back to the wool sorting!