KiM BrOwN DeSigN

Eastern European Wedding Scene

2012-01-24T20:11:00.001-08:00

Handmade by Beryl Meuli, Bill Meuli, & Kim Meuli Brown

On October 1, 2011 we took a class at Castle in the Sky in Berkeley on how to create miniature food out of polymer clay. The plan was to create a Polish wedding scene to surprise my son Cullen and his new fiancé, Tory. My sister's had borrowed a Ukrainian wedding scene that was displayed with the guest book at their weddings. So my Mom, Dad and I set out to create one of our own. Everything you see is handmade, with the exception of the figures, silver vase, and candlesticks. A great deal of love and research went into this project.

We presented it to Cullen and Tory at their engagement party on January 21, 2012. They will hold on to it until the next grandchild of Beryl and Bill Meuli choose to use it on their wedding day.

Close up of food, even the candles we made. The silver vase was part of a collection my mom had as a young girl. She also created the table cloth which is linen with embroidered cross stitch.

We wanted the scene to appear to be in the country, and went to work researching what a Polish barn might look like. Anything made of wood, Dad constructed.

Here is a close up of the bride and groom. The musician in the back is in traditional costume you would see in Krakow Poland.

The hanging flowers in the back were hand cut out of paper in a stylized polish design, we created. Embroidery thread was braided to create the garland.

In the background you can see a photo of Cullen and Tory on 11/5/11, the day Cullen proposed in Central Park. Look closely and you can see braided rolls, the Meuli family has a tradition of making these at holidays and weddings. My Dad made the table and fashioned it after a doll house table that Holly played with over at Grandmas.

Here is a shot from the party, which gives you some idea of the scale of the barn at least.

Songbird Jewelry Roll

2011-10-24T18:25:00.000-07:00

Finished sewing this Jewelry Roll. The pattern for this was designed by Sue Spargo, and I purchased it at the Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara last week. The marbled cotton fabric was something I purchased on one of my trips to Kansas City, from Florileguim in Parkville Missouri. I enjoyed combining these hand dyed wools with the cottons.

Shadow Quilt

2011-10-23T21:51:00.000-07:00

This morning the sun came in through the front window and made these beautiful shadows on the ceiling. The sculpture of the nude woman is something Cullen made at SJSU, she is enjoying the view.

Sewing for Kristin

2011-08-23T22:04:00.000-07:00

Beautiful bride to be, Kristin with gift I wrapped. I enjoy creating a uniquely wrapped present. I used her save the date and enlarged some of the images.

I made 12 napkins and a table runner for Kristin's wedding shower. I used my serger to edge the napkins. Thread in the upper looper is a cotton pearl thread made in Japan. The table runner is quilted, batting is Warm and Natural cotton and I used my 1950's Singer Featherweight sewing machine to freeform quilt.

Her every day dishes are white and she has some green ceramic plates as accents. The colors in her kitchen are reds and yellows. The fabrics are woven 100% cotton Kaffe Fassett.

Close up of the edging, I just love my serger, which is an 8 thread Baby Lock Evolution. Enjoyed making this for Kristin and wish her the best in her marriage to Jered.

Silkscreen Project

2011-05-02T20:04:00.001-07:00

This week I am going to Kansas City to see Cullen. Wednesday we are going to a studio that lets you experiment with silkscreening on paper and fabric. Here is the image I put together to test. I will be printing on green fabric and using 4 colors. My dog Paco is my inspiration.

Yoga Dog with Longer Body

2011-04-24T10:03:00.001-07:00

This yo yo dog has a longer body. Compare him to this and let me know your favorite.

http://kimbrowndesign.blogspot.com/2011/04/dog-for-baby-sal.html

Birth of a Felted Vessel

2011-04-24T09:48:00.001-07:00

Felting Friends & Flies

2011-04-24T09:27:00.000-07:00

Sue, Kathy and I spent the day felting. Kathy made the two flowers and the vessel is mine. Sue makes amazing hats. The process is magical. Also, Sue's husband ties flies, which you can see in the last photo. What a creative family.

The back of the flower is wonderfully graphic.

Michelle Wedding Shower

2011-04-09T13:06:00.001-07:00

I choose fabrics to go with her every day dish pattern that she picked out from Crate & Barrell. The plate has bits of purple/mauve in the glaze.

Today is my niece Michelle's wedding shower. I made napkins and placemats to go with her dishes.

Repairing Laura's Quilt

2011-04-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

BEFORE

AFTER

Using my Serger

2011-04-07T09:45:00.000-07:00

Dog for baby Sal

2011-04-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

Finished the body on this happy dog. I decided to go with symmetry on this one. His feet are smaller that previous ones. My new digital camera (Sony) really over saturates the color in this photo. This is a gift for my dear friends the Travis family's new grandchild born last month, Salvatore Joseph Barone.

Two new dog heads

2011-03-28T16:44:00.000-07:00

Happy day today, did some sewing and the sun is out. I have more of the fabrics I used for my first 3 dogs, one I gave away to Jeffy's new baby daughter and the other two I created kits for my sister Kathy and my niece Britta. Along with the finished heads the kits include all the fabrics and materials to make a finished yo yo dog. These two will be used as baby gifts. Now I can get working on the yo yo's to make up the bodies.

Yo Yo Dog & Vintage Dress

2011-02-24T08:22:00.001-08:00

More on decorating

2010-12-03T14:57:00.000-08:00

To go along with the gold coloring, I spray painted the pumpkins in metallic gold and sprinkled them with glitter. Here are some more shots of my door creation. Check out the six birds. This was a fun project.

Holiday Door Decoration

2010-12-02T08:23:00.000-08:00

These sweet yellow birds were purchased at a Hardware store in Katy Texas. I bought them on my trip to see my sisters last month. I made two, one for each side of my french doors. I found gold garland at Orchard Supply Hardware to drape across the top.

Vintage Pins

2010-10-17T20:54:00.000-07:00

Vintage costume jewelry that I use on my bags. I especially love the earrings that look like seeds and nuts. The other pieces shown are pins.

This weekend I made these two purple and green bags. I am not sure what to call them. Travel bags, special occasion bags, date purses . . . hmmmm

Sewing for FabMo

2010-10-13T20:10:00.000-07:00

First two bags I made this week. Last week I went to an estate sale that had a huge collection of costume and vintage jewelry; I was inspired by the pins and earrings. I decided to use them as decorative items, buttons, or clasps for the bags I will be making for the Textile Boutique through FabMo.

I used a heavier weight 100% linen made in Scotland for the main fabric. The color is a wonderful purple brown. The lining is a lemon yellow brocade silk blend. The pockets are a blend of linen and the decorative piece on the pocket is silk. The thread on the pocket edge is a decorative gold thread; I used my new serger with the thread in the upper looper. I am loving the textures of these fabrics, and playing around with the colors. The flower pin, looks like ivory, but is probably a plastic.

This small purple travel "make up" bag has a pocket on the outside and inside. Still experimenting with the handle or strap treatment. This handle fits around a door knob, if you wanted to hang it up.

Restorative Yoga - Eye Pillow

2010-09-21T22:21:00.001-07:00

Coming up on October 23 I will be selling some items at a Textile Art Boutique at Quadrus Conference Center in Palo Alto. All the items will be made from free fabric I have been collecting from FabMo. So far I have made over 20 eye pillows to use when doing restorative yoga. They are 100% silk on the side that touches your face, and the patterned side is 100% cotton. They are filled with flax seeds and the cover is washable. They are unscented.

I highly recommend using them to help with relaxation and restorative or Yin Yoga. Restorative yoga was and continues to be very helpful as I recover from my concussion. Doing simple poses like "legs up the wall" for 15 minutes with one of these pillows over you eyes is very relaxing.

Halloween 2010

2010-09-21T21:53:00.000-07:00

This year I am very happy to decorate for Halloween. We have a tradition of having a party on the night of Halloween for neighbors and friends. We started this tradition 20 years ago when my son was 5 years old. I make spaghetti and friends bring salads, garlic bread and wine. I have been collecting Halloween decorations and many of my treasures are gifts from my mom. Here are a few photos. Notice the orange dishes in my corner cabinet, these were my grandmothers. Happy early Halloween.

Simplify

2010-09-09T11:52:00.000-07:00

Here are some color studies of a cleaner version of a label design for textile projects. What do you think ?

Giving myself credit

2010-09-03T18:52:00.000-07:00

I am working on a new sewing project. The Yoga Studio will be opening in Campbell the end of this month. My yoga teacher asked if anyone wanted to make eye pillows for trade. I decided to say yes. My plan was to use some fabrics from "Fabmo" (free fabric give away business). I wanted to use 100% silk for the side that rests on your eyes, and 100% cotton for the back; no scents would be used. The pillows are filled with Flax seed, and I made a separate cover that can be washed. I have been enjoying the process, trying to figure out a good system so I can make at least 30 of them. The plan was to work for trade (hours of yoga). Sounds good, but what I am being offered is really more of a donation, which is fine. Too bad, sewing is not valued. But . . . I decided that at least I should put my name on them. So I am working on a label design that could be embroidered onto a "purple grey heavy silk". I am enjoying the process. Here is the design, as of today. And I do feel good about giving myself credit and I will use this on other projects as well.

Shower Gift

2010-05-02T20:54:00.001-07:00

My nephew Kory is getting married this month. Today I went to a wedding shower for Mari and Kory. I wanted to make something for them, and decided to make napkins to match their everyday dish pattern. I used my new serger and had alot of fun making them.

Recovery Tools

2010-04-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

A few weeks after my accident in October, as I was beside myself with anxiety and confusion, my friend Luanne suggested I work on a textile project. She knew how happy I am when working with my hands and fabric. It was just the thing I needed to help me. She brought over a "jelly roll" made by Mode fabrics. A "jelly roll" is made of strips of coordinated fabrics, which you can use to create your own project. I decided to make a quilt, all by hand. It was very comforting to match up colors that I liked. In my mind I told myself, if I could finish this project, I would be on my way to getting healthy. Quilt started end of October 2009 - finished April 13, 2010.

Mary had a little lamb

2010-02-05T16:52:00.001-08:00

More felt ornament making today. Mom and I worked on a new and improved version of Mary's lamb from the nursery rhyme. My sisters, and I have Mary, who is very sweet with a pink dress and she carries a staff, but we were missing her lamb. Thanks to Britta who asked Grandma to make one. Mom revised the original pattern to make the lamb's body rounder, his legs are thicker and she changed the shape of his head. The second photo below shows (from left to right) the original lamb, the new version, and two that are in progress. The pearls are flat on one side, so they are glued onto the felt. Each lamb took about four hours to make. What a great day, and look what we accomplished.

Outstanding Intern

2010-01-27T19:10:00.000-08:00

Holly drove up from San Luis Obispo to attend an award luncheon put on by STAR (Bay Area Society for Television, Advertising and Radio). I am so happy I was able to attend with her. I had a great time and am so proud of Holly. 22 interns from companies like, CBS Radio, Clear Channel Radio, CMC Broadcasting, Comcast SportsNet, Comcast Spotlight, Cumulus Radio, Radio Disney, Entercom Radio, KGO TV, and NBC/KNTV were recognized. Holly worked at NBC/KNTV this past summer. Each received $500.00 and the chance for a scholarship. The luncheon was on a ship docked at Pier 3. It was a very positive great experience. Despite this "tough ecomony" there are volunteers out there putting together programs like this for young people just starting their careers. I feel hopeful.

Pig Robinson

2010-01-13T18:28:00.000-08:00

Today mom and I worked on felt ornaments. I have been enjoying making these and learning how they go together. This design is one of my mom's interpretation of a character in a Beatrice Potter story. We spent three sessions working on him. His basket of cabbage could be an ornament all on it's own. I am not so happy with his face . . . his mouth is too big. I do love his bloomers.

Each One is Unique

2009-05-27T21:44:00.001-07:00

Here is a close up of the ornaments we made yesterday. Mom's is on the far left. Mine is in the middle and Tory's is on the right. The watch chain is a crochet chain, made with gold thread. The buttons on his vest are black sequins with a black bead in the center.

Sewing Felt Ornaments

2009-05-27T21:16:00.001-07:00

Yesterday mom taught Tory and I how to make the White Rabbit from Alice and Wonderland. My mom has made numerous felt xmas ornaments over the years. She used to sell them to friends; and has made many for my sisters and I. It was so much fun watching the characters come to life, and even more fun spending the time with Tory and my mom. Mom cut out all the pieces before we arrived and had all the tools ready to go. So nice. Thanks mom. Next time we hope to make the Mad Hatter.

Sewing Today

2009-05-18T20:38:00.001-07:00

It was a great day, and I had fun sewing this polka dot pin cushion. I used trims and fabrics that I bought at Stone Mountain and Daughter, a great fabric store in Berkeley. The design is based off a "pumpkin" pattern that my friend Kathy let me borrow. It has a 5/8" black elastic band on the back so you can wear it on your wrist while you sew.

Cullen's Internship

2009-05-15T17:14:00.000-07:00

Today Cullen left for Missouri. He will be working at Hallmark cards for the summer. We are very proud and look forward to hearing about his adventures and of course seeing what he will create. He is working in the keepsake division, at Hallmark in Kansas City. If you are interested is seeing just how talented he is, you can look at his portfolio. Make sure and click on the images so you can view them large. Scroll down to the bottom to see his sculptures.

http://cullenbrown.blogspot.com/

We are extremely proud of him, can't you tell ?

My New Blog

2009-05-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

I gave up on using iWeb, which is the application I was using to create my blog for the past two years. Apple changed things when they went to Mobile Me and I am not happy with the changes. Also, I was having problems publishing new content. So, it was time to try something new. From the old, which you can find here, http://web.mac.com/meuli/iWeb/KimBrownDesign/ to the new, which you can find here, http://kimbrowndesign.blogspot.com/ I go kicking and screaming. I suppose it is good to be challenged. I won't be able to post as many images, which is sad. And it seems the template designs you use with this free blogger service from Google, are more about writing. I am not the best writer, I prefer to focus on images. I do hope to keep to my original mantra, which is "keep it simple". And I may have to link to sites when I want to post multiple images. Let me know what you think.

Spring Break with Holly

2009-05-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

Holly was home for her spring break a few weeks ago. It seemed like we had the whole week together, which was delightful. A trip to Santa Cruz, lunch at Gayle’s in Capitola, a walk with Paco to Santa Row to buy Twilight when it came out in DVD, are a few of our adventures. My mom joined us for the day in SF; we went exploring on Hayes Street. I would recommend having lunch at Bar Jules, and make sure and taste Parisian macarons at Paulette. Oh . . . and we managed to schedule some doctors appointments in between. Holly now has reading glasses. . . and an adjusted spine. I went in with her to her first visit to a chiropractor; and I watched as the doctor cracked her hip . . . yikes it was scary.