Fiber Arts Friday: Huichol Deer

Happy New Year!

I was in Mexico last week.

It was supposed to be a vacation.  My first vacation since 2008!  But things with the Day Job meant I was working every day... well, every day except for one when I spent the entire day in bed because I got a nasty cold shortly after I arrived.  My SIL said my body was telling me that I need more balance in my life.  She is correct.  However, that is an entirely different post.

So, aside from working nearly every day I was away and spending a lot of time hiding off to the side trying to not share my germs with my family, I did manage some time out.

One such outing was breakfast on the beach with my Dad and Sister.  The food was delicious; the coffee, fantastic; the skies, threatening with the rain that would stay for several days; and the company was rare and wonderful.

While we were at breakfast, a Huichol girl came by with her wares.  She had many beaded coin purses and bags of varying sized as well as a handful of stuffed toys.  There was a zebra, a horse and a few others, but I was drawn to this deer.... relatively simple and plain with a fantastic rack.

The body is made with a simple, woven, wool and green felt.  It appears to be entirely hand-stitched.  The rack is made of several strands of thread wrapped around felt fabric.... obviously wrapped by hand.  Aside from the little bits of felt sticking out the top, you can not see the felt at all.  The attention to detail and whimsy captured me from the very beginning.

I'm not likely to make toys and don't have many, but I definitely appreciate the work that went into this one.

He is currently living in our guest room.  :-)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!