A Charming Leaf Pocket

The latest, and perhaps last pocket.  This design was driven by the leaf charms that I recently discovered.  Such perfect little metal leaves - they definitely needed a home.

This design also seems to be a fitting ending to summer.  My mind and creations will soon be drawn inside - to warm colors and quiet days.

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." - Albert Camus

Heart in a Pocket

A heart has encroached into the pocket world.  I found this trinket in among my tray of 'long lost items' and thought I would incorporate it into a pocket.

The colors here remind me of raspberries, which in turn makes me think of some of my favorite raspberry foods.  Of course fresh raspberries come first to mind, but then there is raspberry sorbet, any pie, tart, or scone that includes rasperberries and my all time favorite: chocolate and raspberry.  My mouth is watering as I write this.

So here's to the end of another raspberry season - honored with a little pocket that holds my heart.

"The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts. - Marcus Aurelius

"Harvest Pocket"

It is September, time for harvest.  Time to reap the fully ripe fruits, vegetables and in this area of North Carolina - apples.  We even have an "Apple Festival".  This pocket represents the time of the year when tables are laden with freshly grown food.

Here at my worktable I went through my 'stash of stuff' and was able to harvest a special brass charm.  I love the etching on this charm - etchings that look like corn cobs and pumpkins, leaves and pods. 

And on the back some colored leaves floating gently toward the ground.

"It is like the seed put in the soil - the more one sows, the greater the harvest". - Orison Swett Marden

"Home"

A touch of 'home' with this petite pocket.  How many times during my life have I put the key in the lock of a new home -- trepidation, excitement, looking forward to making this place at this time our very own nest.

As Penny Berens recently pointed out I'm beginning to have 'plentiful pockets' hanging about here in my studio. 

"Where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts". - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Bird Song Pocket

I love vintage bird drawings and incorporated this Morning Dove into my latest petite pocket.

Again to my 'stash of stuff' where I pulled out these tiny metal birds to dangle from the bottom of the pocket.

I will admit to having several problems with this pocket -- things like working with the picture and the final stages of assembly.  Perhaps I've done enough  of these pockets that I'm getting a bit careless.  Perhaps the colors, which seem so subdued to me, did not fulfill my expectations...

However, I am on to the next one -- which I hope will be a bit more colorful and present a bit more 'energy'.

"Birds make great sky-circles of their freedom

How do they learn it?

The fall and falling,

they're given wings."

-Rumi

"Star Gazing"

Here is a "Star Gazing" pocket.  Once again my 'stash of stuff' came to the rescue.  A rusty star, cut sort of cockeyed, was just the thing to hang in the center front of the pocket.

As you can see spirals worked their way into the scheme on the back of this pocket.  For the 'trim' fiber I used Wildflower's 'kelp' with those rusty gold tones that you see in kelp washed up along the shore and the aqua of the sea.
 
I think tonight, if the sky is clear, I'll step out into the summer evening and see how many stars I can count in the dark heavens.

"Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star". - W. Clement Stone

"Leaf" Pocket

An autumn design in the middle of the hottest summer on record!  It felt good to think of cool, crisp October days as I worked with these fall colors.

The leaf is a 'find' from long ago -- again I'm searching through my stash to see what I can find that will go well with these petite pockets.

I'm thinking that dried flowers or branches will be a good addition to this Fall themed pocket.

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.". - George Eliot

A "Petite Pocket" Workbook

As you saw in my previous post, I am now working on 'petite pockets' which I hope to display at a show later this year.  Because I enjoyed making the little 'heart' workbook, I thought it might help to make up a 'pocket' book. 

This book began as a 4"x6" notebook which I purchased at a discount store for $1.  It is supposed to be used for recipes, but works quite well as a small, handy dandy reference book.  The size is good for me - it takes up little room on my messy work table and has a lot of pages.

I began by putting a cover on it (see the picture at the top) front and back.  Much nicer looking than the original cover.  Inside I have my own definition of what I am trying to create.  I moved on to putting a picture of the general pattern and wrote down my guidelines for preparing these pockets. I've included pages where I will list ideas, themes, color schemes and designs as I think of them.   As I go along I will include each piece - both the pattern design with notes and the final pictures with notes. Also 'stuffed' in here will be inspiration pictures - ideas I get from magazines or books or whatever.

When I make a punchneedle design -- I always have a copy that includes the floss number colors, the combinations (2 threads of one color, 1 thread of another, etc.) and the level that I punched that particular combination.  For my book I have taken pictures of this pattern, reduced it and put it onto a page.  I will now have a record of the colors I've used for future reference.

Lastly I take pictures of the finished project, put those into the book and then makes notes including the month/year that it was finished and notes to myself about what I liked and what might have gone wrong (hopefully not to duplicate that problem again). 

At the completion of each 'pocket' I will add to my little book - making it a bit 'fatter' with each piece.

"First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination". - Napolean Hill

"Confetti"

Working toward a possible craft show in December, my fingers are punching each and every day!

A collection of 'petite pockets' seem to be in the offing.  I've begun with this happy design.  I love the colors of green, coral and soft yellow and it was a joy to work with them.

As with the heart design, I will be using the center front to put in designs - some punched, some found objects, some miniature stitcheries.  I hope to stick something into each bag -- perhaps just some tissue paper or some paper flowers, or some candy... any suggestions will be more than welcome.

For awhile, I shall be punching pockets -- we'll see what I come up with.  Thanks for joining me on this part of my journey.

"Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive...then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." - Howard Thurman