In the spirit of the last 6 months (since I last posted a blog) I thought you would enjoy this photo of our dog. Reka is our beloved Aussie and she entertains us to no end every day, but I had to laugh out loud as I witnessed her determination to clean out the yogurt container. I had two thoughts – 1)I have felt like this more than once during these long months of life during Covid times (sticking my head in a hole has sounded good more than once!! lol!). and 2)maybe we should be more like dogs, focusing on the short term and immediate pleasures of the little things in life. Easier said than done these days, but always worth the try. Not sure how everyone is spending these long weeks. There are those who are purging, cleaning, and refreshing their environments as they look forward to ‘a someday’ of a new normal. And then there’s those who are just trying to hang on through so many changes, many of which make life very challenging and in some cases, devastating. Perhaps we are all learning about who we really are. I hope that somehow, we all come away learning to be more kind and compassionate, evaluating our values, and ready to be a united human community. More…

This is most certainly an overdue posting of a tutorial that I have promised to make since posting my pattern called Native Beauty – a tribute to the wonderful needle and handworked art used by native women over the last few centuries. It seems to me that as most of us were taught in US history, we came to believe that the European women saw the need to teach Native women how to sew as a necessary part to make them acclimate to a more ‘cultured; American life style. Unfortunately, since those early years of American history, I have come to study, witness, and realize that most native women had tremendously handworking skills – working first with quills, then adding beads, buttons, metal pieces, and – yes – even wool fabrics as they increasing came into contact with the Europeans as well as other encroaching groups. They used bone awls, bone and natural plant needles along with sinew and plant fibers, and even the find hairs from moose or musk ox for threads – many materials quite suited to the life styles that various native tribes led. They developed unique concepts of color usage and design quite often very meaningful in their world viewpoint. Some tribes developed sewing ‘societies’ with the more gifted handworkers producing works for others within the tribe. If you’ve never had the opportunity, I would encourage you to seek out a museum or historical society and take some time to look at the wonderful pieces created by so many unnamed native women. Not really so different from viewing many of the pieces of handwork we see in our own Euro-centric backgrounds – often very beautiful and quite often by a woman never named. More…

Well here it is – almost mid March 2020 and I’m finally getting around to another post. No one can ever accuse me of overloading anyone’s account with my posting notifications! Let it be said that if you aren’t seeing new posts frequently, I am most certainly busy with any multitude of projects that are calling for attention. And since DesignAndBeMary is me, myself, and I – well I can only cover so much ground. I so appreciate those of you who faithfully read and follow my blog, visit my website and view and subscribe to my YouTube channel – I am so grateful for your attention and I can only hope that you feel rewarded with helpful information as you pursue working with wool. And in between the enthusiastic pursuit of creative endeavors, let’s not forget that we all must find time to enjoy the simple joys of everyday living. Thus I chose the opening photo for this post – simple everyday flowers plucked and delightfully tucked in a convenient denim pocket. More…

FINALLY!!! I think it’s safe to say we are leaving the Minnesota winter behind us and I , for one, am glad to do so. It’s been a rather bumpy start to 2019 for me and I’m looking forward to a little less interaction with the health care professionals! LOL! Once more this post is almost a year out from my last one. Little did I know that kidney stones and a myriad of other health issues would play such havoc with my best intentions. But I’m a ‘pick-yourself-up’ kind of gal (the older I get I’ve noticed that those ‘pick ups’ take just a bit longer!) so here I am, back to catch up on the last several months. More…

OK, I realize that if I don’t get a blog post done early this week, it will be a year since my last blog. Mind you, I have designed, drafted, and published/posted 6 new patterns as well as becoming involved with a few other projects, not to mention that I had a few personal UFO’s that I finally tackled and completed. Add in a few bumps in the health department and here I am today looking at the end of June 2018. It is my intent to catch up a bit over the next few weeks – just don’t hold me to it! LOL! Lots of exciting things have come my way and I will be passing these news items on to you. More…

I have to finally admit that keeping up with a blog takes a special kind of effort. I truly admire those who do it as their livelihood. After checking back to my last post, I’m appalled to see that it’s been almost 9 months since I last blogged. It seems that life keeps getting in the way. LOL! Of course I can claim the last months of 2016 were focused on the holidays and family occasions. Then in January I was determined to create some new patterns – and I did! Hooray! Except it took almost 3 months to complete the process. Can I blame an old slow computer – or better yet – an old slow operator?? 🙂 At that point, it was April and time for taxes and trying to squeeze in a few personal projects that had been begging for attention for well over the past two years. In May, we decided to ‘retry’ a trip to see family out west; we had cancelled this trip last year due to excessive heat. (That ‘adventure’ is worthy of it’s own blog, so tune in later.) So here I am looking at the end of June… More…

It’s certainly been a bit since I’ve last posted anything. It seems that life sometimes insists on taking its own course. While I do intend to get back to at least occasional blogging, I have decided to post this tutorial that I have long been meaning to share. It seems especially significant since I’ve just listed a new pattern for a wall pocket http://www.designandbemary.com/products/wall-pocket/    This pattern can be done using either the faux birch bark technique or simple plain wool with applique.  I’ve actually experimented with several projects in the faux birch bark technique and it certainly is a fun ‘diversion’ from so much of regular wool work AND it has the added plus of being done on the sewing machine;  a real plus if you’re not a huge fan of hand applique!  You will also enjoy it if you have had even a passing interest in basketry techniques as the sewing and construction methods have some similarities.  I will caution that working with the heavier materials involved may prove to be somewhat more challenging if you are so unfortunate to have to deal with arthritic hands, etc. More…

Yes, I have finally found time to get back to posting. As the title to this post, suggests, January was a different sort of month for me. And before I continue please note that I am very aware that many of you have stood in ‘these shoes’ before me; and like so many things in life, it’s just a whole different story when ‘it’s your turn’! While I do like to keep my posts focused on quilting, wool work, handwork, pattern designing, etc. I also realize that we cannot always ‘compartmentalize’ the activities and events of our daily lives. More…