A few years ago I created Tairo the Unicorn and I've never been happy with the way his thighs looked, they seemed very "stuck on". Last year I came across a book,
Passion for Ribbonry by Camela Nitschke about creating flowers from ribbons and I always imagined a carousel horse with a Clematis growing up his/her leg, and so the two projects came together, to finish Tairo with a beautiful Clematis climbing his leg with gorgeous blooms concealing his joints.
So here's Tairo with the instructions from the book and the ribbons I collected. I could not find a ribbon with dark edges and a lighter center but I did buy a mauvy pink that faded to a dark mauvy green across the width of the ribbon. So instead of folding the ribbon in half (as per the instructions) I folded a double length and sewed 1 flower petal and 1 bud petal from each piece.
First, however, I created a vine growing up his leg, for this I used brown pipe cleaners:
After trying out a few petals, I cut as many as I would need and started sewing, 1 petal and 1 bud petal per piece. Each folded piece is 1 3/4 inches long:
Here you can see what the sewn pieces look like, then after cutting them apart, fraychecking the edges and then unfolding them.
Once I had a full set of 11 petals ready, I strung them together and used a fuzzy brown pipe cleaner for the center, creating this:
I used the green ribbon the same way, creating a full mature leaf and a young pale green leaf from each folded 2 1/2 inch piece. The leaves were not sewn on the machine but rather a draw string was hand-sewn along the bottom edge (after fraychecking) and then pulled for the desired wrinkles. Here you can also see the bud petals used to make small, developing flowers.
Looking good!!! Each element is sewn in place with small, hidden stitches.
After a few adjustments and additions, Tairo was fully decorated with 3 flowers, 3 buds and lots of leaves!
And here is the "show side", as in a carousel horse. I think it turned out really beautiful and it was fun!
Please note that Tairo is
adoptable, will be appearing at the
Greater Toronto Doll Show on April 28th and he's sturdy enough to support the weight of a small doll, so a gentle faery would be a perfect companion!
(If you would like scans of the 2 pages from the book emailed to you, email me!)
I took the day off yesterday to prepare for the big Oakville show tomorrow and enjoyed some time to relax, take care of myself and experiment (especially as I have to work today). And I quilled! I want to make Day of the Dead skulls that folks can hang in their Hallowe'en trees, in their windows, etc... and so I created three pin "molds" for three different skulls. I like the medium one best!
I was smart enough to read the local free paper on Friday and spot an article about an art show hosted in a Bed and Breakfast and made a point to go. Because it was in a B&B, I knew Mom would be willing since she loves to see older, century homes so I didn't have to worry about the contents of the show: Mom would be pleased either way. So on Sunday we went and WOW!!! The Bed and Breakfast owner, Kim Hedge, turned her Grandville Manor into an art gallery and the arts could not be blessed with a more welcoming patron!! Some people have a natural ease and although Kim professes that she is not an artist, she certainly makes an art of hosting such an event and making everyone feel welcome (and, as you know I'm an introvert, this is keenly felt and appreciated).
And the art? Diverse, unique, affordable, expensive, fun, strange, inspiring! And for one piece, it was instant for me: I wanted it the moment I saw it (although I had to be sure I could give it a really good spot before saying an absolute yes). "Patience" by Amy Roger is a beautiful painting, the photo here doesn't do it justice, and it's now on my wall! 
And, if my sister likes the "Cookie Spa" by artist Tara Dickson as much as I think she will, I may have done some very early "Christmas" shopping! 
