MORE MOOMIN MADNESS

Here at House of Rowan we're all mad about the
Moomins and we cherish every one of Swedish-Finnish
novelist Tove Jansson's delightful books. But it doesn't stop with
just reading MoominTales, no, we love to collect Moomintrolls!

And I just found these Moomin kitchen tea towels, hurrah!

You can browse them all here.

(I especially love Little My and Snuffkin) :

CUTIE EASTER CHICKS

 Punky Rowan and I have been sewing quirky little 

chicks for Easter with upcycled wool sweaters and 

stuffed with wool scraps. We got the how-to from this 

book: The Sweater Chop Shop, by Crispina Ffrench.

So many to make though! But fun!

Happy Easter! 

this may be of interest...

With more and more families determined to bringing self-sufficiency and living off the land

into their lives, here's a smart-looking series of books dedicated to Homemade Living:

ILLUSTRATOR SARA FANELLI

I LOVE Sara Fanelli. She is an illustrator of children's books living 

in London who uses collage and inventive printmaking to express 

her quirky sense of humor, creative imagination, and her passion 

for literature and theater — all sent into a whirl by her adoration 

of all things cute and slightly sinister. She is the author of  Sometimes
I think, Sometimes I am (its a book I hope to prop on my bookshelf

                            with a wink of pride one of these fine days.)

Selections of Sara Fanelli's artwork:

 

 

WAXING NOSTALGIC OVER THE ICONIC RED CROSS AND SWISS CROSS

I am fascinated with the graphic and iconic emblem the Red Cross: 

With its striking simplicity of design, this non-religious, equilateral 

red cross conjures (for me) heart-warming (sometimes heart-rending) 

stories of help and safety in times of crisis and war; of volunteerism, 

and associations of hope and peace, comfort, healing, protection, 

                              cleanliness, and care.

And the four-armed Red Cross, though a representation of the international 
humanitarian organization that provides relief to victims of war or natural  
disaster, has also become a stylish design and fashion statement. 
(click on images for links)

I have an odd fascination with WWII, especially for stories of the 

French Resistance and the alliances between the English and French. 

Idealistic and nostalgic I know, but I imagine myself during wartime (in 

a near-past life perhaps) as a driver of an army-green Red Cross medic 

truck rushing across battle grounds to the aid of the sick and wounded. 

 

Many WWII women were defense workers and did drive medic 
trucks — go girls — as I write this I’m imagining “Rosie the Riveter”:

These brave Red Cross women did many, many amazing 
and creative tasks to help their country, just as they do today.

When I look at the clothes Red Cross women donned during wartime 

I can’t helping nodding with satisfaction — Yes, this army look was/is 

fabulous: it’s industrial; it’s smart; its Vintage as well as Modern; it’s 

independent; it’s an emblem of pride, bravery; protection, and tolerance.

I don’t buy clothes from Abercrombie and Fitch, however did you know 

that the company has been around since 1892? Here is a fabulous women’s 

WWI American Red Cross outfit, and the tunic is an Abercrombie. 

This is a complete women's Foreign Service uniform. ( I really dig the hat — want it!)

My favorite of the two emblems is the SWISS CROSS.

It is the flag of Switzerland. And like the Red Cross emblem, 

the Swiss Cross is an awesome fashion and design statement:

 

In the 1990s when I was twenty-something, I remember 

shopping at Portland’s Army Navy Store for vintage army-

green trousers and rolling up the cuffs. That’s where we bought 

our camping gear too, like our Swiss Army knives — who doesn’t 

love theirs? — not just for the gadgety utility of the multi-purpose 

knife, but for the simple intrigue of the white on red emblem it bears. 

Yep, I've got these beauties at home:

  

 And I think these are the bees' knees:

 

 

 

My heart and thanks goes out to the International Federation of 

Red Cross volunteers helping Japan at this time. And thank you to the brave 

men and women assisting people and animals in need throughout the globe.

 (If you would like to volunteer your time or give to the Red Cross, please visit here.)

REMEMBERING DIANA WYNNE JONES

Let's pay homage to the acclaimed British Fantasy
author of the fabulous Howl's Moving Castle: 

Diana Wynne Jones

 (Photo: REX FEATURES)

A master of story telling, Wynne Jones passed away Saturday 

at the age of 76. She was the author or more than 40 books.

Here are some titles if you haven't yet read her works: 

The Chronicles of Crestomanchi. Howl's Moving Castle 

(which was made into my all-time favorite animated movie, 

directed by Hayao Miyazaki), and House of Many Ways. 

Diana's close friend, Neil Gaiman, calls her astonishing, 

and "...the funniest, wisest, fiercest, sharpest person I've 

known, a witchy and wonderful woman, intensely practical, 

filled with opinions, who wrote the best books about magic,..."

CREATURE COMFORTS

We're having a HOOT of a time watching the Oscar-winning British

series "Creature Comforts" produced by Nick Park/Aardman studios.

If you love stop-motion clay animation and Wallace and Grommit,

you'll get a kick out of “Creature Comforts” and seeing the quirky,

spot-on interpretations of the voices of everyday British folk character-

ized into animals.

My favorite is the voice of this ol' Welsh fellow turned into a 

wrinkly old Shar-pei dog with his puppy who likes to workout to

Jane Fonda videos (series II). Each episode has a theme the animals

follow and the humor is often dry and filled with British colloquialisms —

both of which I love since I’m an anglophile and my hubby is Welsh.

Punky Rowan loves this stuff too. Her favorite characters are: one

existential hamster; a leisurely, lackadaisical husband and wife cat

and dog; some chatty Welsh seagulls, and a jaguar covered in

bandages at the vet’s.

   (Rent these from Netflix or watch a few on YouTube and get set

to giggle uncontrollably!)

WELSH WOOL TAPESTRY BLANKETS

My homage to Wales today is about my new passion for vintage 
Welsh Tapestry Blankets. 

Just look at these blankets (photos credit and further observed here). 

I love the weave patterns and the vibrant colors (different on each side). 

We only have one vintage Welsh blanket, given to us by Allister's dear, 
dear, gran:

And we hope to collect more as the years go by, with plans to 
gift them to our daughters when they are older and excited 
to decorate their abodes with something fantastically Welsh!

Homage to Wales

My husband Allister is from Burry Port Wales, Carmarthenshire UK. 

And though he has lived in the states for half of his life now, 

he feels the draw of his past life – his Welsh roots and his celtic 

heritage like a hypnotic, compelling undertow.

I’ve visited Wales only once thus far, and stayed for a month with 

Allister's dear grandmother Anne, and I loved it, the miles of sun-

infused daffodils in February; our wanderings across miles of sand 

beaches, and through the ruins or restorations of amazing castles 

like Kidwelly, Castell Coch, and fantastic Cardiff Castle. 

Yet my most treasured experience of Wales was visiting our dearest 

poet Dylan Thomas’ home and boathouse and his infamous writing shed 

on the estuary at Laugharne. I wish I had had a digital camera then, 

the array of photos I would have. Ah well, it was 1996. Lovely memories!