Thursday, July 21, 2011

Gifted


Sifting through the dirty boxes of basement estate sales never looked so good.  Pocket flashlight always handy for those dark corners...I am always on the look out for vintage goodies.  A few weeks ago I found some spools that had someone elses name on them.  You might know Miss Laurie as Magpie Ethel.  She is an extremely talented vintage artisan.  These sweet spun head creations are collecting in my studio and steadily growing into village like numbers!  Knowing that these spools were just her thing, I swiftly grabbed them up.  In exchange for a box of spools I was gifted the most amazing mini me.


How did she nail this so perfectly?  My horticulture background mixed beautifully with my sewing and vintage love.  This is Bridget.  She is of course my mini me.  Because of my undying love for Jane Austen literature and later the Bridget Jones series. As discipline I threaten my boys that I will make them watch the full 4 hour BBC mini series of Pride and Prejudice.


Clumsy and unsure in society.  Having a family that can be embarrassing at times. Constantly fighting those last 10-20 lbs.  Always looking at life like a fairytale?  Yes, I might just be the married American Bridget Jones.  


Back to the spun head mini me lovely...look at this detail!


Miss Laurie you simply made her perfect... Thank you so much.


Another sweet addition...Lucy, short for Lucille.  Who knew they made spun head animals?


Lucy is named after our pet pig growing up.  My brother raised her for 4H one year.  Needless to say we grew very fond of her.  But you know what happens in 4H?  Processing!  Lucille won grand champion  and sold for quite a bit of money...to my mom's employer...ouch!


Look at that sweet tail.  Morning after the purchase my mom ran down to buy her back and she had already been taken to processing.  Sad but true.  Really, what were we going to do with a pig.  


This is such a treat to have wonderful artwork along side me in the studio.  I adore everything from the spun head to the signature.  Thank you again Laurie for my gifts.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

What awesome payback for a box of spools! Love the details on these adorables.

Mary @ Redo 101

Sewn With Grace said...

Oh what a treasure and how I loved learning more about you! Just a wonderful post, indeed!

Carly said...

Hi Renee,
Your lil mini me is just splendid! Just beautiful! So sweet for your studio!
Carly ;)

Carly said...

Love your blog!

birdie blue said...

bridget and lucille are darling. miss laurie is ever so talented!

i hope it's cooling off in your neck of the woods.

xo
~molly

Into Vintage said...

Ethel / Laurie's creations are always so incredible -- every little detail just right. I noticed your mini-me even wears her hair like you do in your photo! Those thimble flowers are charming. :-) Lucky you!

Musings from Kim K. said...

Bridget is absolutely PERFECT. Laurie did a fabulous job capturing your likeness and your interests. Lucille is just darling. What fun treasurers for your studio.

laurie -magpie ethel said...

You don't know how much I enjoy making these little spun head figures...am glad that I can pass along the joy with my work. This post just makes me feel good and am grinning ear to ear. You are more than welcome Miss Bridget!

p.s. awesome photos!

Anonymous said...

Hi Renee! I went for a visit and see what's new ...
All gorgeous as always!
Luciana
www.mimosdaclaralu.blogspot.com

donna said...

Bridget and Lucille are so cute. What a wonderful exchange.
Hugs
donna

kluless said...

Renee, when I saw this on Laurie's blog I knew you would just love it. She does such adorable work and those thimble flowers are just inspired. You are the lucky ducky today!
BTW... I didn't eat beef for nearly a year after my folks butchered "Lucky". His picture was in our photo album for crying out loud!

BucksCountyFolkArt said...

Oh, Magpie's awesome! And she is the Queen of Estate sales! We don't get many around here and I'm so jealous to read about them.

Looks like you both scored on this!

Jill