By now you've probably heard that Tim Curry died (the same day as Dolly Parton, actually-- you can read my tribute to her here). If you didn't know him from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, you probably know him from Clue, IT, Muppet Treasure Island, or one of his many other roles (he also did a lot of voice acting, so you've likely heard him, as well as seen him). He brought an amazing energy and glee to the characters he portrayed. I always thought he was a little scary, in the best possible way. He seemed like he would be a lot of fun to hang out with, and I wish I'd had the chance.
It was only recently that I found out that he was also an avid gardener!
Tim not only created gardens wherever he lived, but he also worked on friends' gardens, including Freddie Mercury's, and restored historic properties around Los Angeles. When he bought his Aberdeen Ave home in LA in 1993, he spent six months clearing out weeds and restoring stone paths that had been buried under feet of dirt. By the time he sold it seven years later, the 1.45 acre property was filled with 150 rose bushes, a cactus garden, a koi pond, and 100 camellias around the pool. He even installed two benches--one where he could watch the sun rise, and one where he could watch it set.
He chose to downsize, moving to a more manageable property (about a third of an acre) in the same neighbourhood as his previous house. Even with a much smaller yard, he still created a courtyard full of potted plants, layered terraces with plants native to California, and stone alcoves for privacy. Gardeners always find a way.
By the time he died, he couldn't physically work in a garden anymore, due to mobility issues after suffering a stroke in 2012. But while a hired team did the labour, Tim still directed the design. He had a beautiful garden outside his house to enjoy until the end, with mature trees and greenery. We should all be so lucky.
Photos of his gardens seem to be limited, but here are a few that I found:
What do you think of Tim Curry's work, in his gardens or otherwise? Share in the comments...
Saturday was International Cat Day (to mark the occasion, I posted about caring for your cat's claws), so cats are a little more on my mind than usual.
I love this brooch-- not only is it handmade and adorable, but it shares a great message. I've never met a black cat that wasn't a total sweetheart. If you're loved by a black cat, you are lucky indeed.
This particular brooch is no longer available, but the design is credited to Sojung Kim McCarthy. Unfortunately, the person who made the brooch seems to have disappeared, so if you know who they are, please let me know.
What do you think of black cats? Share in the comments...
Not long ago, I was struck by unexpected inspiration: I needed to make a cross stitch piece featuring house hippos.
If you're a Canadian of a certain age, house hippos are a cultural touchstone; if you're not, you might be a little confused. House hippos were born in 1999:
En francais:
Cute, right? The lesson may not have stuck, but house hippos sure did. Without a house hippo pattern available (at least, not one I could find), I came up with my vision. Then I went looking for patterns to put together.
I didn't really record the details (sorry). I got a hoop that I thought would be a good size, grabbed the aida cloth that seemed like the right one, picked thread colours that seemed appropriate, and found patterns that worked with what I had.
The hippo took longer than I expected. It's a pretty simple design, but there's a surprising amount of detail in it.
The lettering really scared me; I was so worried about it being off center. It's not perfect, but I'm happy with how it turned out.
The red I used for "Caution!" caused me some consternation. I thought I already had the right shade on hand, but it turned out I didn't. It needed a special trip to the store to get the perfect shade of Canadian flag red (DMC 321), and it's not even showing up properly in the picture! This is what it really looks like (or as close as you can get on a screen):
And now for the real stress. The French writing.
The French lines involved longer words/phrases and several wide letters to try to fit in. Paranoid about running out of space, I narrowed the writing on "Attention!" I probably should've left it alone, but by the time I realized that, it was too late to change it.
My original plan was to put a maple leaf on either side of the hippo. Then I realized the French and English parts are equal-- it made no sense to have two large maple leaves and one small fleur de lys. As proud as I was of my freehand mini fleur de lys, it had to go.
For a second I thought about adding a tiny maple leaf to balance out the tiny fleur de lys, but I didn't want it getting too busy.
The final design! I'm happy with how it turned out, especially the fleur de lys, which not only ended up the right size, but is also a pretty good representation in both colour and style of Quebec's fleur de lys (my home province).
I also like to sign my needlepoints. It's always in a hidden spot, but I choose to believe some future needlework enthusiast will notice one of them and start an epic journey to find all the pieces of the mysterious "ASB."
This was actually my first time backing an embroidery hoop with felt. I used this video for the instructions. You can see in the picture above that my "fringe" of aida cloth looks messy and is also too wide. I ended up re-doing it, because it really shows through on the front.
I think that's better (at least there's less excess fabric). By the way, I know people pride themselves on the neatness of the backs of their embroidery pieces. That's great for them, but I can't be bothered. I do needlework to relax and for the love of creating-- I don't need the stress of making sure the back (that no one will see!) looks as good as the front.
I really enjoyed sewing the felt into place. I also enjoy sewing knit/crochet parts together too, which a lot of people seem to hate, so I think I just enjoy hand stitching. The felt isn't completely flat, because (despite my best efforts) it was a tiny bit too big. But it's not so bad that I needed to re-do it.
All done!
Now to get some mini hippos to leave around the house...
As a bonus, I had enough aida left to make a bookmark!
Anyone familiar with A Series of Unfortunate Events should recognize the quote :)
(Links take you to all available stores. Love Lies Bleeding and Bleeding Heart are also available in paperback.)
What projects are you working on lately? If you do needlepoint, do you care what the backs look like? Did you grow up with house hippos? Share in the comments...
I was going to post something craft related today, but looking through older photos, I found some I'd taken at a past Christian Dior exhibit. It's not exactly crafts, but these dresses are works of art.
Dior's "New Look" was all about femininity: full skirts and cinched waists (if I recall correctly, he tried to bring back corsets). I totally understand why women didn't want to go back to these kinds of restrictive styles after the general comfort and freedom of 1930s and 40s fashions, but a part of me also wishes I could've dressed like this (the part of me that forgets how much I prefer being comfortable).
I love these ribbon details. If my sewing skills get a little better, I'm tempted to add something like this to a skirt.
I also think gloves should make a comeback. In this post-covid world, it only makes sense.
The dress above looks like something from a fairytale, and the one below looks like something Marilyn Monroe might've worn...
I'm not usually one for beading on my clothes (maybe I should be?) but the beaded collar on this dress is just amazing. I don't think my photo does it justice.
Speaking of beads, these necklaces were also part of the exhibit...
The exhibit also highlighted some of Dior's perfume bottles, which he designed:
This dress was included at the start of the exhibit. I don't remember if it's a Dior, or if it was there to show some of his influences, but I love it, so I'm sharing.
What do you think of Dior's New Look? Which dress is your favourite? And who is your favourite designer of the past (I also love House of Worth and Callot Soeurs). Share in the comments...
