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Thursday, May 7, 2015

MD Chapter TTMS May Gathering


For May's calendar in Rosemary for Remembrance Tasha Tudor quotes Mark Twain, "Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of joy you must have somebody to divide it with."



With that in mind several members of the Maryland Chapter of the Tasha Tudor Museum Society gathered today to make needle-felted flowers in honor of the May flowers that Tasha loved so much. . . .

We got down to business after I showed them the basics.  I told them the only skill that needle-felting required was the ability to keep one's fingers away from the point of the needle!  All of our ladies are very talented, but I'm sad to say I heard an occasional "ouch!", including one of my own. . . .

I had started my flower beforehand so I could show everyone what an almost-completed flower looked like.  I was also able to show them what not to do.....why they should make all their petals before attaching them to the center disc so they will know the correct spacing before they started attaching the petals.  Then I started on a Westie I'd seen on the Web. . . .

Here are the ladies working on their projects. . . .




After a while we took a break for Tasha's Welsh Breakfast tea, lemon cookies, and Dady's Brownies.  Dady was Tasha's Scottish Nanny when she was a child. . . .



I did not make the icing for my brownies, but I included the recipe on the back for those who might want to. . . .

The Lemon Cookie recipe can be found on my first post about the Maryland Chapter of the TTMS here.

We used this time to discuss what we'd like to do to celebrate Tasha's 100th birthday in August.  One intriguing suggestion was to go to a park in a nearby town that has a stream to re-enact Becky's Birthday flotilla of cakes!  We also discussed our plans for upcoming meetings in the Fall.  I think we have some exciting things lined up.  Our members will be taking turns hosting and preparing the activities.  The activities won't necessarily be things that Tasha did, or wrote about in her books like we did this past year, but instead we will be letting her guide us in exploring and expressing our individual talents, taking joy in the little things, keeping in mind that she never meant for her life to be copied.  Instead she urged us each to advance confidently in the direction of our dreams.

Carol decided her flower looked more like a cross, so she decided to let it be what it wanted to be. . . .


Edie made a Blue Daze. . . .


Cindy made a tiny flower surrounded by a heart, then made two miniature kitty cats for a dollhouse. . . .


I made a Black-eyed Susan and a Westie. . . .



I set out Tasha's books about Spring and the merry month of May. . . . 


This is the needle-felted Corgi I made last December for our Christmas gift exchange. . . .


If you'd like to try your hand at needle felting, supplies can be found at Michael's craft stores.  Here is a tutorial that will help you get started.  There are lots more tutorials on YouTube.

•*¨`*•. ☆ .•*¨`*•
Take Joy!

23 comments:

  1. Lovely gathering once again Cathy! You and the ladies did a fine job on your felting:-)

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  2. Oh, Cathy, I think I have one of the Tasha books you're showing - the one about the months of the year. Each month Tasha has a little quote, and illustrations of course, and she writes about the various family activities that would take place that month. I think I still remember most of the little quotes. May's was Chaucer - "Welcome be thou faire freshhe May...""Now I will HAVE to go find it to check, And the needle-felted creations! If these were first-time projects they're very good - wow. Your little Gabriel and the corgi were REALLY well-done. I've looked at a few of the online tutorials on needle-felting and have decided that it's one of those crafts that looks fairly straightforward but is, in reality, much more difficult than it appears. So I am very impressed by people who can do it. There certainly is no limit to how creative you can be with it, that's for sure. Personally my crafting is mostly limited to rubber-stamping, calligraphy and embroidery. And I guess I can count watercolors too because a lot of my rubber-stamped cards I color in with watercolor pencils. I'm hopeless at knitting & crocheting. Even REALLY wanting to do it didn't help - I just don't have the ability. I felt a little badly about it for a while, then I was reading a memoir Queen Elizabeth's childhood governess wrote - about the Queen and Princess Margaret as little girls - and she spoke of the fact that no matter how hard she tried, little Princess Elizabeth was "no good at her needles." Something that was very disappointing to her grandmother Queen Mary who was apparently very skilled and always wanted her granddaughters to be good too. So I felt better after that. Both the Queen and I had tried hard, for a long time, and we still couldn't knit - and that was OK. Can't wait to hear about future TTMS events. I think you're smart to begin developing your own path regarding activities. I bet you'll be surprising each other with the skills you have as individuals, and as a group. PS - hope Ben is continuing to do well. Is he still working from home and having to rest a lot? Is it making him antsy yet? I know it's not the same thing, but when I had the flu in 2008, I knew I was finally getting better when I became frustrated about having to stay home. OK, take care and talk to you soon!

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    1. Hi, Janet. This was first-time needle felting for everyone. Cindy, who did the miniature kitty cats said it was much easier than she thought it was going to be. I agree. You might be surprised if you decide to try it. And it's very relaxing--not at all like other "needle" arts like knitting, in my opinion. I'm with you on that craft. I tried crocheting and found the directions much too hard to follow! And while I could knit, it was only in a straight line. One can have just so many knitted scarves! I'm impressed with your memory...to be able to quote that verse. That is indeed from "A Time to Keep". Ben says he's feeling "pretty good". I just found out he drove himself to work already and road the bike in the apartment complex gym and felt fine afterwards. He's just a little weak still he said. I'll see him Sunday and judge for myself how he's doing. :-)

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  3. What a great event, lots of fun with friends and such a great crafting activity. Its actually one that I have never tried. The afternoon tea look delightful.

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    1. We really did enjoy ourselves. I've had the roving to make my Westie since last year. It really does help to have friends over to share the experience to get you going on a project.

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  4. Cathy, what great meetings you have! You are all so talented. I think you would have heard more than one "ouch" from me! Your little dogs are just so well done. I can't wait to see what you future meetings produce.

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    1. Thank you for your compliment Elaine, but it really is much easier than it looks. I truly believe if there's something you wish you could do, but feel you can't, the only thing missing is the confidence to give it a try.

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  5. Another beautiful Gathering Cathy, the food looks yummy & the felting looked such fun.
    Have a wonderful weekend.
    Fondly Michelle

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    1. I've not always been pleased with Tasha's recipes but this one is a keeper. The brownies had a lovely flavor and texture to them. I think it was the 4 teaspoons of vanilla that made the difference!

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  6. What a fun gathering! Looks wonderful. I really want to try my hand at needle felting. Love what everyone made- I'll have to give it a try sometime.

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    1. I do hope you will. It IS a lot of fun and you'll be surprised by how creative it will let you be.

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  7. It looks like you had a wonderful afternoon. I love the felted creations you made. How cute. And the tea party must have been fun, too! My best to you.

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    1. Thanks! It was a lot of fun getting together with these friends.

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  8. I just found your post and thought is was really creative. I'll certainly give your felting project a try. Have a good week.

    Joan

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    1. I hope you do, Joan. Thanks for stopping by!

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  9. Cathy, your gathering looks lovely. Friends together learning a new craft, and I'm sure enjoying each others company. I'm glad you were able to have this special time with friends, especially after all you've been through in the last weeks. ♥

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    1. Thanks, Martha Ellen. Yes, it's been a calming effect having something to keep me busy.

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  10. I wish I lived nearby so I could join you for your Tasha Tudor gatherings. I have been telling myself for several years that I need to try needle felting. I even have the supplies to get me started. Thanks for the link to the tutorial. I love your Westie! Do you have a link to the instructions you followed to make it?

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    1. I couldn't find a tutorial for a Westie, but it's really the same principle. Just look at Fergus and imagine all his separate shapes (torso, head, legs, etc.) and make them individually. Once you attach everything then you sculpt him using the needle to outline his shoulders, the part down the middle, etc. Once you get started you'll see it's really very easy. Just keep your fingers out of the way!

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  11. Your little dogs are the cutest, and the flowers are nice too. What a good idea for your gathering. The tea time looks lovely. I look forward to hearing about your future gatherings, and meanwhile, happy mother's day to you!

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    1. Thank you Dotsie. Happy Mother's Day to you, too!

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  12. Hi, Cathy...just now getting to this post and, as usual, it does not disappoint! I've saved the recipes for 'one day,' and have pinned the video clip to my Pinterest board for 'one day,' all the while realizing that I've garnered several ideas from your posts with 'one day' in mind but yet to be acted upon! {{sigh}} I'm looking forward to seeing how and where your future meetings take shape; it should be a nice change of pace for you as well - getting you out and about and enjoying what someone else has planned and prepared. Glad to hear from the comments that your son is making progress. Wishing you and yours a Happy Mother's Day!

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    1. What you need to do, Sharon, is enlist a friend to do it with you. That really helps the "one day" to happen. A happy Mother's Day to you, too!

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