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as old now as i was when i birthed you, ethan.

one of the purest joys of my life is being your mum.

may you always know how you are loved.

my face to the soil my teeth to the sand

new things

and 

a song

x

Michael

Michael Durell McCarron

May 24, 1989-May 11, 2013

...

give me love, give me love

give me peace on earth...

give me hope, help me cope

with this heavy load

yesterday was just a shock with the terrible event at the boston marathon.  my son ethan lives and goes to school in boston but he happened to be home here in new hampshire for the day.  a close friend of his was running the marathon but he's safe and unharmed.  my friend alice of forestbound, who lives, works and runs in boston is safe.  today it's really hitting me, the reality of the situation.  i feel teary.  and although i scrolled though, unaffected,  all the references to the fred rogers quote about "the helpers" on the internet yesterday (because i was just trying to wrap my brain around it), today it makes me cry and it makes me feel such love for boston, for all good human beings everywhere.  it's true.  in a disaster, look for the helpers.  because there really are always helpers.  and that's what you have to hold onto.

sweetheart

i'll be making these patchwork heart cushions all next week.

each will be a unique patchwork with a variety of mostly hand-dyed materials, stuffed with buckwheat hulls and with a vintage wool back.  they'll be shipped out by next thursday february 7 latest,  in time for valentine's day.

some will be in the shop but i am taking pre-orders as well for the next few days.  they are $28 each plus shipping.  when you email me let me know your zip code so i can calculate the proper shipping which will run from $6-9 for priority mail.  you can email me at enhabiten@live.com if you'd like to place an order and i will invoice you via paypal.

thanks and happy valentine's day!

love after love

good morning.

here are some more new things in my shop.

i've been thinking about what i want to work on in 2013

and this is a bit of a preview.

i also anticipate some wood and perhaps some metal.

i'm excited for these prospects.

...

and here is a poem i heard this morning on on being called "love after love":

The time will come,

when, with elation,

you will greet yourself arriving

at your own door, in your own mirror,

and each will smile at the other's 

welcome

and say, sit here. Eat.

You will love again the stranger who was 

your self.

Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart

to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored

for another, who knows you by heart.

Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,

peel your own image from the mirror.

Sit. Feast on your life.

-derek walcott

love

thank you so very much for taking the time to visit me on the blog and for your support and purchases in my handmade shop.  i started enhabiten almost 4 years ago now.  i've put  a lot of love and sweat and time into it.  it's been my main creative outlet in times when i really needed that...to make things and have them mean something to me and to send them out into the world and find that they can bring pleasure to others.   and it's, miraculously, turned into my full time means of supporting myself.  aside from my family and friends it's what brings meaning to my days.  so thank you.  i really mean it.

...

today is the last day of my holiday sale.

for 20% off 

anything in the shop 

use the coupon code 

HOLIDAY

at checkout.

HERE

x

liane

Interview with Paulina of Lemmikkiapina

I am so pleased to be able to share a conversation I had recently with Paulina who runs the online shop Lemmikkiapina. For me, her work is the most fascinating thing I've found on Etsy. I identify so closely with her creations and her manner of working. The hand-stitching alone has such depth and feeling and the characters she creates are quite real to me. I own two of these myself and I keep a close eye on her shop. Usually her animals are sold within a day or two of listing. If you are lucky enough to buy one I promise you won't be disappointed. Below is her end of our conversation. I really hope you enjoy it.

I was born in 1975 in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, and I spent there my childhood and my 20's. As a child I thought I'd be a vet when I grew up, but instead of that I ended up making animal dolls.

I was very happy and lucky too when I was accepted to the University of Art and Design Helsinki. I learned some weaving, knitting and fabric printing and most of all embroidering. Embroidery has always been my favourite.The school years were quite hard for me, I wasn't a good student at all, but I managed to get a BA degree in Textile art.

About three years ago I got a chance to move to the countryside, and now I live in a little village with my husband and our cat. Before soft sculptures I made animal dolls for many years. They were more like human beings with animal faces. Actually I was quite frustrated before I found Etsy. I couldn't find a place to sell my work, I still don't sell anything locally.

At the moment I don't work another job. I try to sew my animals full-time and really try to be more productive, but I am slow. That was a problem for me in the school too. I often missed the deadline and I just couldn't make my work ready in the given time. Also I was, and still am very shy and speaking about my work in the front of the group and teachers was a nightmare.

I find many of my ideas from animals and stories and news about animals. Our neighbour has horses and ponies and I can see them from my window when I work. Last summer a moose mother and her two children came to our garden nearly every evening and ate apples from our apple trees.

The process of making my animals often starts from a fabric that feels interesting. I have collected materials, old lace and buttons. Usually when I start, I don't have a clear image what the new animal is going to be like. Doing a lot hand stitching gives me time to figure that out.

When I look back to the animals I have made, one recurring thing is that they often carry something on their backs. They carry stones, snow, clouds and shadows. That burden, something heavy or light, they carry with themselves is part of their identity and not something they could put down if they wanted. For me, it’s symbolizing anxiety or lasting melancholy, not only in a negative way. I put my animals in capes to protect them and to offer them shelter from cold. The war horse and your rabbit need their white capes to stay invisible in snow and to hide from their enemies, They would be very vulnerable without their capes.I do feel some affinity with my animals, their quietness and their inward character. At the moment I only make these animals and some embroidery, but I hope I’ll find some time soon to take up weaving again.

The picture on my room's wall is a print from the painting by Hugo Simberg and the postcard with a girl and a bear is a print from Helena Junttila's aquarelle.

thinking on teri, jenny and rickie lee jones

The soundtrack of my late teens and early twenties is a good one third Rickie Lee Jones. When I was little my parents were divorced and my Mother went to nursing school. She eventually worked the night shift in the Emergency Room and, by some small miracle, found my sister and me a babysitter who loved us and spent nights at out house. Teri was not much older than me, 4 years or so, but she was infinitely cooler. She introduced me to some great music including Queen and Rickie Lee Jones. I love both still.

And then in my sophomore year of college I met my best friend, Jenny. Jenny was a poet and I was a painter and we would paint, write, listen to music, occasionally get high (woops, did I say that) and then paint and write some more. We listened to R.L.J. a lot. Our song was "We Belong Together." Seriously. We had a song. When she left the college we were at to go back to Minnesota she gave me this notebook filled with all the song lyrics and poems we had loved together. It's one of my favorite objects. Jenny and I were in touch until maybe half a dozen years ago. I've since tried to find her without luck. If anyone knows a Jennifer Irene from Minneapolis let her know I'm looking for her.

My Friend Vivi

I love the way this girl paints. Well, I just love this girl. She was one of my very first friends on Etsy and I'm grateful for her. She's kind and generous and we are so similar aesthetically speaking. Here's another of her paintings. These are for sale in this shop. And she has two other Etsy shops here and here.

kindness

I want to tell you about something that happened to me. Here's the back-story: As you may have guessed, I was having a bit of a freak out yesterday. It was really really hard for me to watch myself on video. I was overwhelmed. But new and old internet buddies were so kind to me and that helped a lot. Thank you. Really. Heartfelt thanks.

And then I went to check the mail. And I found a package I wasn't expected from a previous enhabiten customer. Kathleen, who runs this shop, sent me a package of the most beautiful fabric. Just because. You know how when you are feeling emotional small things so easily bring tears to your eyes? Well, I'm still feeling like that today and just looking at the card she sent me is giving me a little lump in my throat.

Sometimes I feel like I've entered this weird twilight space of the internet art and craft world and it feels kind of unreal and I wonder what I'm doing here. Can I say that? I'm a fairly private person. But then I see how many wonderful connections I've made with kindred spirits and it makes sense.

I know I'm getting into the gooey space of "feelings" and "sharing" here. I'm making myself roll my own eyes. Because a lot of the time I'm a kook and a jokester and not looking for a group therapy session. But I'd love to hear any of your ideas about this stuff.

xo you guys. to eternity.
.

important message

thrifted. hand painted sign in old wooden frame. $5. love one another.

my son the artist

Ethan, my oldest child, left for art school this autumn. A few weeks before his departure I was pretty weepy. He's a really kind kid and a pleasure to have around. He's also a bit like his Mum. Only better. The fact that he is an artist is such a gift for me. And he's just so good. I'm excited to see what the future holds for him. Here's a little self-portrait he brought home with him over Thanksgiving.

no one does it like you

found via http://prettygingham.blogspot.com/.