Ganache

I am 'ganashing' my teeth after my first ganache failure. Never made it before but I know my mistake and what to expect next time. My beautiful blue hydrangeas are doing nothing to hide the disappointing texture of the ganache. Yes, I left it in the fridge overnight BEFORE I spread it. A good lesson, actually, when you take something positive away. These may not look as pretty and shiny as my sister-in-law Heidi's gorgeous car bomb cupcakes, but we'll enjoy them nonetheless.

This is what I'm thinking about this morning. A window of an old department store (remember those?) on the main street in Eastport, ME. I think this image could be used in a piece, but what I'm pondering is digital transfer? silkscreen? fabric? Too many choices paralyze me and I do nothing.

Our Labor Day weekend

We had a fabulous weekend, thanks to our kids who decided we should not let our 40th anniversary slip by unnoticed. Quietly, I said. So all 7 of us went for a 3 hour cruise (my choice) out of Portsmouth Harbor to the Isles of Shoals (location of The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve). One of the islands, Appledore, is the home of the famous poet Celia Thaxter, born in the early 1800's. It was a beautiful day after all the hoopla Earl created along the eastern seaboard. We were able to get off the boat to walk around and explore for only an hour which wasn't long enough, but while there I stumbled on this gorgeous pot.

Little did I know that the color for this month's 12x12 was patina, or rust. Just loved this. I wanted to take it home, but then, really, do I need another pot?

Gifts

Japanese Temari Ball made by Kate...one of a kind and beautiful.

I had a great birthday yesterday...turning 60 wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. It helped to celebrate with friends and family over the previous few days, along with a few glasses of wine and an occasional hazelnut martini. It started with my Frayed Edges friends Sarah and Kate and lunch overlooking Muscongus Bay.
The only one missing was Deborah, but she's getting closer. And besides some great artsy conversation she missed this:

To continue the celebrating we had dinner with my sister and her family and another cake along with flowers and balloons. We ended last night with a "happy hour" on the lawn at the Camden Yacht Club with good friends after it was closed for the night. Talk about a drop dead view. Sorry, no pictures...we were too busy laughing and toasting. Toasting the fact that FINALLY I had joined my 3 companions into the 60th decade.

In the run up to the end of summer, I actually finished a new small bird, all done by hand while sitting in a chair by the water:
The colors are a bit washed out from my camera, but hopefully you can get a good look at the stitching. I stopped doing a lot of hand stitching several years ago when I began to have some hand issues, so it's refreshing to do a little here and there, during times when a machine would be difficult to move around. Enjoy!

New Framing...

Well, new for me anyway. I've been mounting small pieces (this one is 12x12) on gallery wrapped canvas. I use my 40% off coupon from any of the craft stores, or wait for it to go on sale, which is often it seems. The sides are painted some color that will coordinate. In this case the paint is an off white that matches the binding even though my photography shows something completely different. I think it gives the piece some much needed 'bulk' and it is less likely to get lost on the wall. I think it looks more professional too.

On another note, I've finished this piece. New birds. Actually, I THOUGHT it was finished until I took this picture and realized one leaf has only one sequin. I never noticed it. Maybe we can pretend it's just budding?

Adventures in Vacationland

I have the most clever nieces and nephews...they decided a few weeks ago they would hold a camp for little kids while we were on vacation in Bayside. So, they made brochures, handed them out the first day we arrived, and started bright and early on Monday morning. It runs for an hour and they do a craft, a game, a story and snack. It's held in the public park overlooking Penobscot Bay. And kids have come! Even Bayside Bunny has spent a fair bit of time there.

Ella does the reading. She's 'camp director.'

Charlie is the 'athletic director.' He's in charge of anything physical.

Katherine is the 'arts and crafts' director. She carries the big box to the park every morning.

That's Katherine in the scarf. She's 7. Ella is 12. Charlie is 9.

Family Vacation

Aren't they great? Nothing like being surrounded by nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers, sisters, and friends. Bayside Bunny walked down to the park to get the paper one morning....I don't think we could have planned a better headline if we tried. Just perfect.

Dear Declan,
Look what I found on the shelf in my studio! Of course he was all in pieces when I discovered him, but with a little ingenuity on my part, he was put back together in no time! And right now, he's tucked into my suitcase between my bathing suit and my pajamas, excited to meet you in Bayside on Saturday! The last Bayside Bunny!

Love,
Aunt Kathy

What to do with that rock collection.....

I think I'm going through a very 'scattered' time. I go from one thing to another. Planning things to do on road trips. Planning menus for a week at our rental cottage. Keeping our house in 'show shape' for prospective buyers. Weeding, weeding, weeding. Exercise? Maybe. I don't have the concentration to start on any one new piece of quilting, so I find myself surfing the net for quick, satisfying things to keep my hands busy, something with almost instant gratification. Something beautiful. I found an article on knotless netting, and this one blog with some incredible work. There are also some good videos to help you get started if you're interested. Buy some cording, find a rock that speaks to you, get a darning needle, and that's it. In less than an hour you could have one of these too.

DONE!

It's only been 3 years which in my knitting world is not really that long to finish a project. As a matter of fact, according to some of my knitting friends, it's not long at all. The sweater is not perfect, but it FITS and it looks pretty good. You can't see any of the mistakes. And, yes, it was supposed to be long sleeved, but I opted for finishing it in this decade.

The pattern is one I got on line from www.justonemorerow.com. So I can cross this off my list of unfinished projects and move on to yet another UFO. My bird in the previous post is in danger of becoming one of those. I get to that point in creating something where I KNOW what it's going to look like and somehow the 'discovery' element is resolved, therefore I don't have the desire to complete it. Mystery solved. I'm working on this though, because I do like to have closure almost as much as I like to create.

What's New....

Yes, she will have legs eventually, as well as a nest to stand on the edge of. Slow hand. Made from the dyed avocado skins and pits. The eggs are made of some fabric I had dyed (procion dye) previously. This will be my car project for our very long drive to Prince Edward Island tomorrow.

I was reading some blogs yesterday (yes, I have time to surf other blogs but don't seem to be able to post often enough on my own), and found that someone, and I'm so sorry I can't remember who or where, had dyed some fabric using avocados and the fabrics were these beautiful shades of pink and peach. I didn't believe it so I had to try it for myself. One avocado peel and one pit later this is what I had this morning. Next time I'll use a bigger container and maybe more peels and pits and try for a more even dye. I wasn't very careful because I really didn't think it would work. Avocados. Imagine such a pretty pink. (The photo doesn't do justice to the real thing). They say you can get a nice green from red onion skins. I'll try that next.

Morning Glor-iousness!

Trying to figure out the best way to print this painting on fabric...I learned it all once and now I have to relearn it. I even wrote it all down in a book. Which is packed away. Somewhere. Seems a bit overwhelming to me right now. Is this about the project or the fact that I have stuff here and stuff there and a house for sale with plans for a new one and neither is going anywhere. Nor am I. This patience thing is wearing thin.

Like a moth to the light....

We left our outdoor light on by accident last night and found these visitors. There are so many different kinds and one big Luna moth.


This one, all curled up, looks like a piece of wood. Amazing.


Golden and beautiful.

A little bird

Funny little thing. Done with a slow hand...

What's on my design wall:

After a visit to one of my favorite fabric shops, and after choosing a color palette outside my comfort zone, I decided I could use this time ( what I consider a quilting slump) to make a twin size bedcover for our new house. IF we ever get to build it. But that's another story. After I saw all these fabrics I thought about just cutting squares and stitching them together, but the more I looked at it the more it reminded me of one of my favorite children's book authors, Dahlov Ipcar. She's a Maine author and illustrator who is still painting every day as she heads further into her 80's. Here are just a few of her books:

I'm planning on 6 or 7 large squares with some sort of animal applique (machined), and the rest will be small squares within squares, or strips of fabric. I think this project is just what I needed and I'm really happy to be excited about seeing how it comes out.

Running Chickens...can't see where he's headed yet. And...

Kitty without a mouth, only temporary.

What's up:

I've done something artsy. It's not much, but its a start. This 2 month hiatus from creating is getting me down. I wander around the house purposely avoiding my studio, but now I see the door has opened a crack. I sigh a lot, and talk to myself a lot, reminding myself that it's SPRING and what can be so bad when everything is so beautiful. And it's true. Life is good. With more to come!

Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches

...for a children's classroom quilt, my latest journey back into the quilting world. Something easy, mindless. The children each drew on a white square with fabric crayons and once it was together I spent the day yesterday machine quilting it. Like I said, easy. Apparently, these little bugs are classroom pets, along with the birds and gerbils. Progressive, eh?