Two New Littles

I like to try to make my own thank you notes when I can. If I were smart I'd sit down sometime when I can't think of anything else to do and just make up a bunch. IF I were smart. But I always wait till I need them. I don't know if they're appreciated by the recipients, but I feel like I want to do something special for someone who did something special for me. This first one started out as just experimenting with some fiber I had on a piece of background fabric. If I had known how much I'd like it in the end I would have chosen a different background. It's okay.

And this one. Love the sky peaking through the branches.

Hand dyed fabric, scraps of yarns, thread. Next time I think I'll try for denser thread painting.

Frayed Edges March 2012

We had a great Frayed Edges meeting today! This one's for you Deborah.

I provided fabric and pigma 08 markers (sorry no microns to be had) for Kate and Sarah. And then we watched the tutorial she made, which I'm having one heck of a time linking to, so for anyone who's interested just go to Deborahs blog and scroll down a couple of posts and it's there.

Yes, those are your hands on my computer screen. We watched. Then dove in. Things we learned:

1. Following your advice, we worked loosely, keeping those wrists flexible.
2. Don't try to ask fellow workers questions that require a thoughtful answer while trying to write. No one can do this and respond at the same time. At least Kate can't.
3. If you can't think what to write try Music lyrics. Mary Poppins. Chim chim-in-ee works well. Happy Birthday would work too, everyone knows those lyrics though there's not much to them.


When the writing was done, we added a bit of color. Now to use this great new fabric in some sort of project.

Blue

I'm into my typical March behavior: longing for spring to hurry up and get here. Along with the birds and the warm sun. Until then, I'll have to settle for pretend.

Snowy owl in a not so snowy winter

Does anyone else besides me have a hard time spending $15 on shipping for 25 lily bulbs, or
$17 shipping for 3 /$4.95 lavender plants? Grumble. Needless to say, I won't be ordering any plants on line. I should buy local anyway. And hold off on those springtime longings.

On another note, birding is free and sometimes you win the golden ticket. Like seeing this beautiful and rare snowy owl. He's been hanging around the Samoset Resort golf course for a couple of weeks, just waiting to be photographed. I was able to get right under him yesterday morning before he took off.

Friday morning moment....

Who doesn't love pink tulips in the middle of winter. Or anytime.

Another Project:

DONE!!!
Since our new concrete countertops were installed last week, I was able to bring the rest of this mural down to meet it, finish grouting and call it complete. I wrote about this back in July if you check out my archives. Mine is a smaller version of the school's and working independently without the help of professionals, I think it came out alright. I certainly would do a few things differently, like blend the darks and lights a bit more along the edges. But, no regrets.

I LOVE Mail

From my 6 nearly 7 year old Daisy scout who not only gets the message across but has to decorate it as well. Just like her Nana. And if you're not sure of your answer, it's right there in black and white for you.

Progress

The colors, either from my camera or from blogger are very distorted because these are both the same brown background and somewhere in a shade between the two of these. It's a beautiful linen.
This little bird is based on a phoebe, but since I'm deep into The Hunger Games it is turning into a Mockingjay.

Two New Projects

One: a new bird will soon land on this branch.

Two: a knitting project for a special birthday.

Having more than one project going at the same time is not unusual for me. Or for you, I imagine. When the creative spark hits, you just have to go with it.

And finally, a corner of our house this Friday morning.

Thankful

Christmas Eve Day is here and we are finally settled into our new home. Most boxes are unpacked and I can say that UN- packing is a whole lot more fun than packing. There's a feeling of accomplishment when you can break down the box FOR THE LAST TIME and throw it into the recycling bin at the dump, oops, transfer station.

I've got a ktichen with a workspace that flows, and counters that are half done, but I guess with concrete it takes a month to cure after its made. Butcher block on the island. In the distance is the mosaic I posted part of earlier. It was a colossal error in measuring (ditzy kitchen planner lady) and because of that it has overflowed it's original boundaries. It's still pretty though.

I have a pantry. And lots of room for the dozens of vases I can't seem to be able to part with.

We even have a tree and little lights in the windows.

We will have a white Christmas after all. This field behind our house is now covered with snow and we have a houseful of family: kids, grandkids and dogs (4). Family traditions. I am hoping the same is in store for all of you reading this post, well, maybe not the 4 dogs! Peace to all.

STITCHED

My friend and fellow Frayed Edges member Deborah has created a video for one of Alma Stoller's STITCHED series of workshops. If you've never taken an online class, this would be the perfect series to start out with. I looked at the long list of offerings and, believe me, there's something for everyone. Of course I'm VERY biased, but I think Deborah's is the best. Here's a little information about the series:

STITCHED is a collection of 20 online video workshops by 20 talented fabric artists. Students have access to all 20 workshops and can choose to view and work on the projects any time of the day, any day of the week. Registration opens on Dec 1 and the workshops kick off on Jan 1 and run through June 1. Registration is only $89. Deborah is teaching a workshop titled, "Branches, Buds and Blossoms: A Botanical Fabric Collage." She includes videos on selecting fabrics, adding surface design, composing and improvisational hand embroidery.

Above is a sample of her work. I happen to love it. If you can, zoom in on the picture to see all the details.

New Windows and Gingerbread Houses

Here are two of the three window boxes lining our garage. I can't tell you how patient I have been, wanting to do this the minute we had vertical walls! There's someting about green greens and red berries that makes me so happy. We move into our new home this coming weekend. Even the thought of moving boxes one last time and unpacking is not so overwhelming. I've loved the whole process of building. Everything has gone so well, probably because we have a great contractor, and I can check in every day. Always there are questions.

We've been carrying on with our annual holiday preparations and one of them is getting together with friends to make gingerbread houses...this year is our - yikes!-31st year! That's a lot of houses, trains, lighthouses, you name it, it's been made. This year we added a fish to the lineup:

A lot of time is down time, like when you are in charge of holding the roof until it is firm enough to add the next piece:

and there are engineering feats that just never work out:

like the adirondack chair that never was. On the other hand, there's beginner's luck with this perfectly constructed, first house.



And always, there is wine and lots of smiles shared with good friends and family. Good holiday tradition.

Thanksgiving Week

Hello! I've taken a little break from blogging, and I'm not sure I'm back to any kind of regularity, but I thought it would be a good idea to post something before I forget how it's done! Our new house is nearly complete: walls are being painted, built-ins are being built in, kitchen cabinets will be here in two weeks (fingers crossed) and our moving date is Dec.10. This is a week for being thankful, and I am, for many things, including a process that has been nearly perfect. No delays. A great contractor. No change orders.

Above is a piece of the mosaic I've done on the wall in the kitchen. It will be the backsplash behind the stove and below the fan. It's one inch glass tiles cut in half or quartered and arranged to look like islands in the ocean. When the stove is installed I'll post a picture of the whole thing. I'm hoping the whole package (cupboards, counters, stove) will deflect the errors I made in design, which I truly didn't see until it was all done.

One of the things I've missed since we've been on the move and living in rentals for the last 6 months, is gardening. Yesterday was such a nice day here in Maine I was able to plant some bulbs around our yard. And today it's 31 degrees. My plan is to head out soon and cut some greens to make a wreath and fill the windowboxes we installed last week. Decorating for the holidays is one of my favorite things, and using natural materials is my preference. Having a home to decorate helps too. Thankful me.

I hope your week leading up to Thanksgiving is a good one, with plenty of blessings to fill your plate. My plate is surely full.

It's fall here. The wind and rain are wreaking havoc with the foliage and by the end of the weekend, it will probably be a thing of memory. Enjoy the warm winds and apple picking and carving those pumpkins...before we move into that next season that's already starting to show up in the stores. That's just wrong.

Projects and Progress

I've had a hard time trying to decide whether or not to write this post, but decided I would, mostly so you'd know I really am up to something besides building a house and making 20 decisions a day that have nothing to do with sewing. The reason behind this hesitation is this: when I look at this piece, which I made for an animal shelter fundraiser called Woofstock, I get sad and mad...and then I think, lesson learned. The lesson is this: know your audience BEFORE you make something worth more than it will potentially go for. Start out with a minimum bid. And let it go. Which I will do once I get through with this post. Some lucky person walked away with a really cool 2'x3' folk art dog and owl for $30. Yuk.

On a happier note, our house has windows and a roof to date. No front door yet, but that will be soon. And no pictures because, really, the inside is just a bunch of 2x4's. But as soon as the siding is on I'll start boring you silly with lots of progress pics. Like pictures of the bathroom tile, and the concrete countertop I've chosen, or maybe the garage doors. Bet you can't wait for that one. But I will show you a progress shot of this:

My new studio space. Exciting!

Summer Mittens with Citrus

Our "top chef" competition this year during our family vacation was another big hit. The secret ingredient, which had to be featured in each course, was citrus. It always manages to show up in the clothes everyone wears, or the music played during dinner, or the color of our fingernails.

We're not quite settled after a busy summer, but by Labor day life will be a bit more stable. We've been traveling from borrowed house to borrowed house until we can get into the winter rental on the coast we wanted. And this is the reason for all the upheaval:

Our new house has VERTICAL WALLS! Very exciting after waiting so long.

I've been dong a bit of sewing, but mostly by hand since my studio is in storage for the forseeable future. I've been looking at a lot of art though, in galleries and museums. I love these first friday (or every friday) night art walks in so many towns. What could be better than checking out all that inspiration with a glass of wine in hand and fellow art lovers surrounding you.

Location, location, location. Wonder how much his taxes are?

Fish Galore

I apologize for neglecting my blog for a few weeks. Unfortunately, it's probably not going to get any better until the fall. House stuff. But, in the meantime, I have these beautiful pictures to share with you. This sculpture was done by elementary school students, from kindergarten to maybe 4th graders. The smaller ones, done by the younger kids, are at the top and get larger as they hang down.

The making of this project was coordinated by one amazing art teacher. It was a year long in the making and hangs in the foyer of the Camden Elementary School.

This years project was installed in the Middle School and is a mural made of 47,000 small tiles.

Both of these are on my to do list...find out HOW (to tile), WHAT (are those fish made of), and then DO!

A new little wren, done on a scrap of silk picked up at the landfill. I'm still working on the rest of the background so no pictures of that part yet. Maybe later. I do love the way these little birds hold their tails so straight up in the air. I'm trying to learn the different sounds the birds make, but I don't seem to be able to keep them straight. I remember the easy ones, cardinals, jays, ospreys, the ovenbird, chickadees, and maybe even a house wren, but the warblers, vireos, the sweet little titmouses and nuthatches I can't keep in my brain. I guess it doesn't really matter, but it does make it a bit more enjoyable to know which birds are talking to me or scolding me for getting too close. After a long, cold, quiet winter, it's so nice to have these singers back.

After an early morning hike up Mt. Batty last week, these two aliens appeared out of the fog to greet us.

For all my loyal blog readers (and I know there are a couple of you out there), I'm still here, though not there any more. Our second Sunday in our new temporary hometown, Camden ME. Temporary for the next few months until our house is completed. It's a lovely spot and very different from what we're used to. It's kind of fun to be able to walk downtown for breakfast, or to the art supply store which is no more than 5 minutes downhill. I have a new little wren I'm working on which I'll post pics of soon, a bit of fiber duff. In the meantime, I'm wondering if I have the expertise to do this beautiful eye justice in fabric.

Changes

My life these days is a bit topsy turvy. Spring is beautiful here and so are my gardens, but, unfortunately they're taking a back seat to the rest of my life, which is this:

Empty rooms. And boxes.

What to put in storage for the next 9 months until our house is built, and what will we need to move to our rental house. One more week and all the hard work of moving will be behind us.

In the meantime, maybe we'll take a day and chill. Wine beside the water. Sounds perfect. Enjoy the weekend!

Dartmouth Natural Resource Trust

...and a visit to the daffodil field. Hundreds and hundreds of beautiful flowers growing in a magical setting. Worth the 4 hour trip to southeastern Mass, but then of course that wasn't the main reason for my weekend trip. Visiting with a lifelong best friend is worth driving any distance.

Happy Easter!

Family time. Lovely.

New pillows

After 2 years and 2 months our house is finally under contract. (Loud cheering and jumping up and down here). And since then, our agent happened to mention she's had several more calls from interested parties. Go figure...where were they 2 years ago? Probably hiding under a rock waiting to see if they were going to have any money to spend in the future...

We are planning on building a new house, so of course this new development has set in motion lots of things for the last minute. Like find a place to live for the next 6 to 9 months. Packing 40 years of accumulated living. What goes into storage and what comes to temporary digs. Of course, I've tried to think what might I REALLY need from my studio, and ended up deciding I couldn't live without most of it. Thank goodness the house we found to rent has 4 bedrooms and a huge finished loft area. So, in the meantime, I really am cleaning out things and making trips to the dump (sorry, landfill)(sorry, transfer station). Like the other day when I took a whole car full of stuff, and as I was leaving I passed our 'recycle area' and my eye caught at least a dozen fabric swatch books someone had left. For about one second my mind said NO but only for a second. There were satins in lovely shades, silks, sheers, you name it. Of course I had to take them home. I did have this little talk with myself though as I left. It went something like this: "Okay, you're going to take these books apart and take ONLY WHAT YOU REALLY THINK YOU'LL USE. Then you're going to take the torn apart books back to the dump. THEN, you're going to sit down and actually MAKE something with some of these, right away, before you forget why you took them in the first place." And I did.

It was a good distraction from decision making.