Friday Finished Object - Moorish Mosaic

Look, the deal is, I keep thinking it's Friday. Unfortunately, it is not. (Yet.) But since I'm already in that frame of mind, I'm prematurely posting my Friday Finished Object!

As background... I'm sure you have a very good friend, or a best friend, or a BFF (Best Friend Forever)... I have a BFF. Though I am blessed with a good handful of close and wonderful friends, she is The One. The kids on Facebook these days indicate a "married" status when they have a best friend. Had Facebook been around back then, we would surely have tied that social media knot.

Her name is Tomara (or Tomie - "toe-mee", not "tommy") and we have been friends since 1985. FOREVER ago, in other words. Here we are in 9th grade.

(Tomie on the right, me on the left)

Tomie is, and ever has been, the most gifted artist I've known. This woman can paint, draw, sculpt, crochet, quilt, sew, write, rescue video game princesses, dance, cook, and even carry a tune. On top of that, she is in a loving marriage and is the coolest mom on the planet.

Over the years, she has gifted me with some of her many amazing creations. Here is a drawing of my daughter, morphed into fairy mode.

Here is an oil painting called "Luck of the Geisha."
(This was not for me, I just had to show it to you.)

By the way, you can see more of her marvelous drawings and paintings in her Etsy shop.

Here are some roses, sculpted from polymer clay. I love these because I can faintly discern Tomie's fingerprints on the petals.



Here's a jar with a handmade polymer clay lid. I keep my collection of Atlantic Calico Scallops (my favorite seashells) in there.


Close-up on the detail. I would not be surprised to find this jar sitting on a table in Bag End, though I might be surprised to find myself there.

The piece de resistance, however, is this polymer clay sculpture of Harry Potter. I could not believe she was giving this to me. We are both big nerds for Harry Potter (and Lord of the Rings, as discreetly noted above)... and to think that she made ONE of these and entrusted it to my care... is amazing. Every bit of him, including the flowing cape, is made of clay.

Look at this magnificent detail.

And there are many more little treasures around my house; I'm just showcasing the ones I could get my hands on this morning.

I know I'm gushing, but Tomie is something else. We have both grown from imaginative girls to creative women with a wide range of interests and abilities. We seem to bloom in each other's company, inspiring one another. Sadly, we live about 250 miles apart. Not that far, actually, but it's hard to make the time for a visit of significant length.

About ten years ago, when our boys were babies, Tomie arrived for a visit bearing yarn and hook. She had decided that I was going to learn to crochet, and she would be the one to teach me. I was skeptical, certain that I would never get the hang of it, much less accomplish anything from that point on.

We started with a granny square. She was a patient, efficient teacher, and I made my first square. I was addicted, and kept making squares, eventually joining them together into an afghan. As often happens with new crocheters, I loaded up on Red Heart yarn, and before too long, I had about ten grocery bags around the house, each containing projects in various stages. I stuck with afghans for a long time, and made them for my grandparents, my husband, my son...

A couple of years later, my daughter was born, and having two children in the house (one infant, one six year-old boy) made me forget all about crochet for a few years.

Then, in late 2008, a friend was having a baby, and I decided to break out the yarn again. About this time, I discovered Flickr and Ravelry, and before I knew it, I was overloaded with inspiration. So many things to crochet, and not nearly enough time to do it.

Finally, this fall, I got around to crocheting something for Tomie. She's a naturalist at heart, generally in tune with the rhythm of the earth around her... I look at a tree and see a tree; Tomie looks at a tree and says, "Oh, that's a rowan tree. The berries can be steeped into a laxative tea."

Anyway. Though I've sent her little yarny bits and bobs over the years, I decided it was time to give her something really special. I had the pattern in mind, just needed the right colors. I was inspired by a fellow Raveler's blanket, and adopted several of the colors because the woodsy palette was perfect for my best friend.

Here it is below, in the works, in quite a contrast to my own cacophonically colorful blanket off to the side.

Here it is, all boxed up (with multiple layers of wrapping tissue, bubble wrap, kraft paper and more), ready to ship off to her....

And here it is, gloriously arrayed on the autumn leaves in my front yard.

The pattern is from Lisa Naskrent, called "Moorish Mosaic." It's available in the Fall 2009 issue of Interweave Crochet, or can also be downloaded here. I used six colors of Vanna's Choice yarn. I will admit, this thing was a PAIN, but only for sewing it together. I loved making the octagons, and it was fun to work outside my usual color range.

So - that's the story of me and Tomie, so far. I'm thankful I was able to repay her (on a very small scale) for all her special gifts, but most of all, for the gift of teaching me to crochet! That has unexpectedly become my passion in the past couple of years, and I don't think it will be fizzling out any time soon.

Hey, I'd love to hear any best friend stories YOU have - how you met, a funny / sweet memory, anything. Do share in the comments, won't you?

Happy Premature Friday!!