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This was a random project....
I find myself gravitating to crows for some
unknown reason.
I had no idea what I was going to
do with this needlepunch design....
I remembered I had this black tin
tucked away, and when I held the design
against it, I liked the way the crow popped.
I stitched some wool around the edge with
linen thread, and attached it to the tin.
Around the top of the tin, I added some
black tinsel, just to dress it up a bit.
Popped in some sweet annie, artemesia, and
pussy willows....and I think I really like it!
Notice the crow in this design?
It's a pattern by Plum Street Samplers.
I've been working on it for a while.
I was using some Week's dyed floss,
and ran out, and the shop was out as well.
So I tried to mix it up a bit.
It's very visible in this pic,
but in natural light, it looks better.
I even dipped it in walnut crystals to age
it up a bit, but I was afraid of the colors bleeding,
so it was a quick dip!
The frame was a yard sale find,
with a paper design on the top.
I aged it with a gel stain, and buffed it
with some past wax.
It's 10" wide by 26-1/2" tall.
I just need to attach some kraft
paper to the back, and a saw tooth hanger.
I had a hard time taking a picture,
without reflecting my messy studio in the mirror~!
Tim's daughter has come for the long weekend,
and brought along an early father's day present.
He named his new boat the "Lady Moe" after her.
So she had a custom sweatshirt made for him,
with "Lady Moe" embroidered on it.
I thought I'd snap a picture before it gets
christened with fish guts etc....
I love this one the best,
because he looks so proud and happy,
and almost looks like he's singing on his toes!
Best wishes for a safe and happy 4th of July!
Our upcoming launch
"Whispers under an Autumn Moon"
in my WSOAPP group,
begins in a couple days,
(June 28 - July 5)
and my projects were
created with the moon in mind.
Inspired by one of my favorite artists,
John Sliney,
I decided to paint this washboard,
and sugar mold in a similar scene....
I love the sound of pelting rain,
and love the fresh clean smell it leaves.
It's been REALLY raining a lot here in NH,
and nothing gets my creative juices flowing
more than a spell of rain....
These two painted projects were painted
free hand without tracing a pattern.
That's the lazy side of me, as well as
the rebel side of me wanting to "do it myself".
Sometimes this "frame of mind" spells
disaster for me,
but I'm pretty pleased with the
outcome of these projects,
considering I don't paint like I used to!
I ran into an old painting bud recently,
and it got me thinking of dusting off my
brushes. Soon, we think we'd like to get
together and paint again. Yay!
Besides painting, I love to sit in the evening
visiting with my family with a project in hand,
and I wanted to dress up this paddle I found.
For some time I have had my eye on this applique
wool pattern by Whimsicals,
and I though I would adapt it to a smaller
version in needlepunch.
The wool border is whipstitched with linen thread,
around this yummy brown homespun wool
I purchased recently from my friend, Allison.
I love it!!
Well, now I'm going to celebrate.
My kitty "Tobey" has been in the hospital.
He was very limp like a ragdoll when I
brought him with a high fever of over 105!
The Dr. just called to say he is behaving
like a Tiger again, and I can bring him home!
I miss my baby, so I better run for now!
That was really scary!
I hope you will take a minute to visit
our group WSOAPP during our launch!
Today I decided to visit my friend, Allison's booth
"Shear Delight" at the
Art Fest in Freeport Maine.
Wolfe's Neck Farm "is an historic 626 acre farm on the Maine coast dedicated to sustainable agriculture, environmental education, and community well-being through the enjoyment of our natural landscape".
This is Allison's friend, Shelley Snodgrass
demonstrating how she spins wool roving
into homespun wool to two little observers.
I purchased some yummy brown homespun wool,
as a well as a ball of the dark chocolate roving.
In spite of the weather, and at times,
a very dark sky, the attendance seemed high.
There were musicians, food,
animals and children's activities.
These little lambs were plumb tuckered out.
this guy was extremely friendly, and what beautiful eyes.
This little ram was the spunkiest of three in his stall.
Categories of exhibitors ranged from jewelry,
art glass, pottery, fine art, photography, fiber and wood.
I thought the jewelry and pottery was outstanding,
however my choice for favorite booth goes to
Catherine Worthington of
Earth Tones and Fish Bones.
She actually paints her fabric, and then sews
together an amazing collage scene. Her choice of
colors, and imagination is stunning.
I purchased this print that I recognized right away,
as a local surf shop near my home.
I learned that the artist, Robin Gardella
just so happens to be staying near the surf shop
this weekend, and will be attending
the sand sculpture competition this evening
at Hampton Beach.
This is a photo of her booth.
Well, I got a huge dose of inspiration today, and
hopefully will feel motivated to create something
this weekend. It is supposed to rain again
tomorrow, and I hope to lock myself in my studio.
(grinning ear to ear)
I immediately had to hide my wool when I arrived
home, as my cat knew instantly I had some.
It took him all of 2 minutes to follow the
scent to my bag.
I forgot to include a couple amusing photos above.
While travelling to the Art Fest,
I enjoyed the fields of Lupine on the
side of the highway during most of my trip.
We have had days of rain, not common for June.
It's been 50 years since this happened.
Well, my Lupine stand defiant on the sidewalk!
The stems have bent to the ground,
but the blooms stand majestically tall, slowly going by.
Speaking of standing tall;
This indian can be seen from the highway.
I was following directions, and took a left
instead of right, and ended up in front of him.
I couldn't resist taking the shot, as I know
of 2 dear NEPG friends that will knowingly smile.
He is a landmark on the way to their home.
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Well, today's plans never developed since it rained all day...
but my heart does flip flops when I can be creative, and
have NO WHERE to go!....
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So I finished this little paper mache box
with my skeleton needlepunch design.
The crackle didn't show as well as
I would have liked, but it looks
good and distressed, so it works.
I managed to paint some surfaces,
and clean the oven (yuk)....
good day to run the oven though...
I decided to take out my Oxford needlepunch,
and used wool yarn for this orange tabby cat.
It worked up really fast,
but I really didn't have a plan,
and now feel it's too bland above the cat...
well I did have a flower, but I didn't know
how to gauge how much wool I would need....
and deleted the flower...oh well....
it's still cute to me.
It's bigger than it looks here,
8-1/2" x 10-1/2"
I stuffed it with sheep's wool and lavender,
and attached small rusty bells for the eyes,
and a larger one on each corner.
Ok, I better run and put everything away, or
my wool-thief cat will cause me some grief.
This pillow will be worse than catnip for sure!
Looking out my kitchen door,
I can see it's going to be one of those days.
The weather isn't looking promising for our plans
of taking a cruise in the harbor today with the kids.
This is what's left of our evening deck fire,
still smokin', defying the early morning rain...
Yesterday I started my weekend taking my mom
out for a morning of tag sale hunting....
I got this tiny stained glass lamp,
plus a glass candlestick and frame for repurposing.
It turned into a pretty warm day,
too hot to play in the gardens,
and too late to start a project,
so I cleaned out my furnace room.
It's a little room off my studio
where I can stick things out of the way.
I'm a pack rat when it comes to saving boxes
of various sizes, and yesterday I heaved them.
Now I can actually get at things,
and see the various possibilites of
new projects. YAY!
I almost worked on purging my closets,
but Tim talked me into going shopping
for a portable fire pit instead.....
First we feasted on fresh fried cod!
A couple weekends ago, I started painting
furniture for my Fall Festival fair in September.
I need to make a couple doll crib quilts,
raggedy dolls for the little chairs,
and some hooked rug covers for the little
ironing boards in the corner.
That inspiration came from Searsport Rughooking!
It was so darned cute, I thought, I can do that!
Anyway, if it's going to be a rainy day,
and we don't go out on the boat,
I will probably finish the edges on this
skeleton needlepunch project, and attach it
to a paper mache box.
While I'm painting the box black,
I may as well prep the sugar mold
for my next project.
I love this John Sliney pattern, and have
a wooden sign that I would like to make as a
complimentary piece to the candle holder.
I will adapt the moon and sheep to fit the sign.
Well now you know my plans for the day.
May your day be filled with whatever makes YOU happy!
Thanks for visiting....Chao!
My weekend began with a sweet surprise, when I
received an e-mail from England,
requesting to purchase an item in my WSOAPP shoppe!
I was apprehensive at first, since I have never
sold anything overseas, but I looked up the postage,
and a few e-mails later, the item is paid for!
AMAZING, how quickly the internet works!
What in the world did we do without it?
I start every Saturday hitting tag sales with
my trusty companion; my mom!
This Saturday, I couldn't believe
the amount of yard sales everywhere!
We found a couple neighborhood sales, and
a HUGE barn sale at a beautiful farm house!
As soon as I returned home, my best friend Polly,
phoned to say she was in the neighborhood, and
stopped for 5 minutes (literally).
She showed me her goodies, and boasted that
she found a town-wide yard sale.
That woman has yard sale radar!
I put my treasures away;
feasted on some AWESOME homemade fish "chowdah"'
(thanks to my great-cook and fish-killer boyfriend);
watered the gardens;
and then managed to get "Cashew" listed
in my WSOAPP shoppe.
She was so much fun to make. I used a pattern by
Sweet Meadows Farm, and I took my time with
her details. I'm proud of her,
and she smells soooo yummy!
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This is the second item I listed in my shoppe.
Recently I purchased wool from Lois Roy,
of Olde Scotties Primitives on eBay,
and with my package, received a notice
about her eBay Rughooking group, which I joined.
She generously shared a free pattern with the
members, to complete a project by September.
I was intimidated by the curves and points,
as I am a rookie "hooker".
So I practiced on a needlepunch project,
after she gave permission to reduce the size.
I LOVE the colors after primming with walnut crystals,
but I'm disappointed that the numbers
1862 aren't more visible.
It also didn't help that my mom's vision
of this piece, is one of a "cock-eyed" sailor!
(Thanks mom!)
I'm also disappointed that I misplaced my
medium point punch needle. I had
to use my small needle, which means I can
only use 3-strand floss instead of 6-strand floss,
which is my preference.
I attached the design to piece of wool
(which Lois also generously gifted
with the pattern) and stuffed it with
Lavender and flax seed.
I attached a removeable yarn hanger,
and I'm actually pleased overall.
So, here is my one-year kitty; Tobey.
He now comes into my studio under supervision,
and he decided to nap in some boxes I hadn't
put away yet. So sweet at this moment....
This is where the sheer fear comes into play...
I fell asleep on the couch watching the
Red Sox game...and when I headed to bed,
I thought it was odd that the cats were nowhere to
be seen. I remembered that I had opened the door
in my bedroom, and thought I would check to see
if they were at the screen door......
THE SCREEN DOOR WAS OPEN!
Either I left it open after shaking out the rugs,
or they pushed it open with their paws.....
In the last 2 weeks, in the middle of the night,
we have listened to the ungodly sounds of an
animal screaching the sound of a slow death.....
The worst only a few nights before.....
A fisher cat maybe on the prowl....
MY HEART WAS POUNDING,
as I realized my cats were
out at 9:30 at night!
Max is 15, and does go out, but always comes in
by dusk. Tobey just turned one,
and he recently pushed the
bathroom window screen out,
and was at the kitchen door
outside looking in,
and was quickly wisked into the house.
Another time, I brought him out only to realize,
he was headed for the woods lickety-split and I
was not dealing with that.
Way too soon, and inside he went!
Geared with flashight in hand,
Tobey was found, skittish and with very wet paws.
That's when the wheels came off, and I
surrendered to sweet slumber!
Today is a new day, and I have
a list of chores; spreading mulch,
weeding, putting laundry away, some housework,
and maybe clean my studio.
I live for my weekends!
Thanks for visiting!
My latest project inspired by a M. Shaw design.
I chose random colors, and random punched.
The design is attached to a painted
paper mache box in complimentary colors.
For some reason my photos are really off.
Maybe that poppy red has something to do with it?
Couldn't resist distressing the paint,
and buffing with paste wax.
I might even throw in some hand made tags,
since I have been working on some for a
swap exchange coming up with NEPG.
Honestly, I'm out of control.
Can I ask a favor of you?
Lately, my page doesn't seem to be
loading quite right.
Either the background is missing,
or the right nav bar is missing.
So this morning I deleted a bunch of
photos, and widgits, thinking maybe
I've overloaded my blog.
If you agree with me, and see the same
thing, would you mind posting a comment?
I'd like to get to the bottom of this.
Many thanks!
Well, the sun isn't quite out after a
week of rain, but I sure did see quite
a few yard sale signs this week.
So, off I go!
Have a great day!
Have you heard?
Another beautiful give-away!
Don't dally, there were 150 folks ahead of me!
I would simply faint if I won this handsome guy!
Johanna Parker Designs
Simply amazing talent!
Just last week, as I was leaving for work,
my eye caught a glimpse of dew,
on the hostas, sparkling in the morning sun,
after a night of frost ....
The Orioles are back!
Luckily, armed with my camera, I was
able to catch a little competition
for the oranges and grape jelly.
I wanted to capture the flowers
demanding attention in my garden yesterday...
My sweet woodruff was a single plant 2 years ago,
and now covers a fair amount of territory.
I love how it is blooming and spreading.
I managed to attach 3 birdhouses to
porch posts placed in my garden last year.
My dad made these birdhouses before he died,
in May of 1995. It is time to use them
after all these years. I'm sure he's smiling...
Don't you just love garden ornaments?
The Buddha and angel in the top row,
as well as the knight in armor,
were purchased at yard sales for
a $1 each last weekend!!!
The bottom Buddha and angel
lower right are gifts from my boys.
The chair was abandoned on the
side of the road.
Yesterday, Tim scored HUGE points with me.
He rototilled my new garden.
The frames are a birthday gift
that he made for me this year.
Both measure 4' x 8'.
THEN, he picked a yard of loam
for the beds!
WAIT, that's not all!
On our way to get the loam,
I spotted FREE railroad timbers...
but they were way too heavy for
Tim and I....so....when my son
got home, he and Tim went back, and
brought me home 3 timbers to line
my garden bed.
OH my gosh, they fit Perfect!
I got a few chuckles about the fence,
and shutters on the end.
That' ok, that's going to support
my Morning Glories and Sunflowers!
Too cool.
I can see the vision,
and I know they can't.
That's ok...they will in time!
My best wishes to you and your families,
this Memorial Weekend...
My deepest thanks to the ones
away at war, and may God speed
them home safe and sound.
Pray for Peace.
This is one of those projects that flows
smoothe from start to finish....
I was doing laundry, feeling a little distracted,
and I happened to look at this kitty fabric,
hanging above the washing machine,
as if I had never seen it before.
(I hang fabric on hangers on a pole there)
This vision of a primitive cat
took shape in my mind.....
I could feel the juices begin to flow,
as my mind started thinking of other things....
black textile bobbin, black tulle,
skelton fish charm....black tinsel....
I grabbed some muslin, and cut out this
vision in my head.
Sew, stuff, paint, sand, stain.
Add skirt ruffle, charm choker,
"Pasties"? my mom asked?
NO....it's a bikini top!!!!
Well, this is the beginning
of my cat-on-a-bobbin series....
Bob-cats!
LOL!
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Meet SKAT....
Bio:
Loves Fish
Limbo Champ
Sun Worshipper
"Dancing with the Stars" fan....
This was so much fun to make
a primitive creation....
stay tuned for more Bob Cats!
Thanks for letting me share!
My latest needlepunch project.
I pulled random colors out of my floss stash,
and hand drew this whimsy butterfly.
I misplaced my medium size needle,
and had to use the small size, which required
that I use 3-ply floss for this project.
I gently stained the design area,
and attached it to a small paper mache box,
painted in complimentary colors of
Heritage Brick and Flesh tone.
I stitched a brick red wool yarn
around the edge with linen thread.
I finished the box by buffing with
a dark color wax paste.
Yesterday my son Tyler, (while working for Yankee Clipper Landscaping), helped set up the Red Carpet and Landscaping at the Portsmouth Music Hall for Dan Brown's premiere of "Angels & Demons". Dan Brown (author of The Divinci Code) attended school locally, and arranged this gala event.
Unfortunately, even though my son took tons of photos, he is missing his cable to download the photos from his camera...(darn it). Hopefully soon, I'll be able to share some of his stunning photos of the displays.
He arrived home mid-afternoon, dirty, tired and beat, but exhilarated at the same time. He couldn't wait to show me his photos, before going to grab some zzzzz's. He needed to return to work at 10:30 last night to remove everything they setup. He arrived home from work at 4:30 AM this morning.Angels and Demons Premiere ~ Portsmouth, NH
Seacoast Online
"Author Dan Brown stops to chat with Seacoast Sunday reporter Gina Carbone after he walks the red carpet at The Music Hall on Saturday evening at the Portsmouth premiere of “Angels & Demons.” Brown, an Exeter native who now lives in Rye Beach, invited more than 600 friends and family members to share the evening with him."
When I started this doll,
I had a totally different vision
in my head.
I was inpsired to create a doll that
would go along with a theme for a
Midsummer Night's Dream.
I had no idea what to create.
So I tried to google some ideas
and remembered I had this bolt
of ivory gauzy fabric.....
One thing led to another;
a little tinsel here and there,
wings and ballet slippers with
a little sparkle paint and glitter,
sheep's wool for the hair...
I left her face for last,
and her personality just came to life.
A bow for her head,
and Voila, Joline is born!
When I began punching this prim star,
it was supposed to top a box.
But I over calculated, and it ended up
being bigger than the box.
I was stumped.
I started pulling out my wool remnants,
until this one color just looked right!
Then it hit me.
It would make a really cute
Needle Keep.
So I whip stitched some wool yarn
with linen thread around the edges,
and added a little snap.
Perfect!
With the promise of oustanding gorgeous weather,
I decided to take a couple days off from work,
and headed to Searsport, ME to go
shopping with my pal Polly,
in true "junk market style"....
One of our stops was this most unusual
Antique Shop in New England
Coopers Mills, Maine
Three floors, of chairs, picture frames,
clocks, trunks, brass beds, and
wood stoves for starters...
You are sure to see things you have
never seen before, and will
never see again!
Elmer says to Go Slow when you get close,
because Coopers Mills is one of those towns
that you pass through in a blink of an eye.
He also claims "We're so small that the
politicians have to stick their hands
in their own pockets"....
I found a few treasures here,
that I will share in a separate post.
Elmer made it pretty clear;
NO DOGS on the property!
However, this 2-year old donkey,
had ideas of her own....
By the time I was able to get my camera
out of the car, the donkey was headed to the road...
Her owner however, beckoned with a
pail of food, and donkey came running!
She explained that donkey has figured out,
how to cleverly unlatch the door on her own...
Spring Fever made me do it!
So long....
Travelling south, we were headed to
Tenants Harbor located on the
west side of the Penobscot Bay.
Amoung the breathtaking views of the
ocean, were these wonderful lawn ornaments.
This dragon and Knight were on the
front lawn of a fire station....
My few days in Maine was packed with
shopping, seeing new scenery,
and chilling with dear friends.
I can't wait to share my treasures,
but this weekend isn't over yet!
It's going to be another stellar day,
and I'm going to the ocean,
to soak up some glorious sunshine!
So far, I have soaked my project
in a walnut stain,
and tacked down the edges.
I changed my mind on the penny rug idea....
after remembering this cool box I have.
It fits perfect on a lid of a Grey Goose Vodka box.
I once worked in a liquor store over the holidays,
and these boxes held about 6 little nip bottles.
These boxes were thrown away!
Imagine that?
These are such well-made boxes.
I loved it when it was slow,
so I could stock the nips,
with my evil eye on the vodka boxes! LOL!
After I left the store, I tried
to see if I could get some from
a friend who still worked there,
but the bottles are no longer
packed in these boxes.
Now my dilemma is how to finish the box?
Stain or paint with a crackle finish?
Here is my calzone fresh out of the oven,
popped out of a bundt pan.
The cheddar cheese and oil from the
peppers left a dark glaze, which really
didn't do much for the presentation.
I also forgot the Italian seasoning...
It was still yummy~.
Today, it's pea soup in the crockpot,
using up left over spiral ham from Easter.
May your day be blessed!
Yesterday's weather almost hit 70,
prompting me to leave the BR window wide open...
only to be awakened before dusk,
by some little animal screetching;
sadly, the victim to another animal hunting!
Not a pleasant start to my day,
but it did get me up early!
Instead of grabbing a cup of coffee,
and hitting the computer to check e-mails,
I felt like working on my needlepunch project.
The pattern is by Primitive Betty,
and I'm secretly hoping she
will feature my finished project on her blog.
That gal is so darn popular,
and clever, she is!
So I'm only showing the back side of
my project. I'm thinking it's going to
be a little penny rug when I'm done.
It's not very pretty at this stage,
but now I can move on to the next step.
Here's a tip:
Take a close look at the threader.
After a while the threader gets bent, and
out of shape, and eventually breaks in half.
That happened this morning, so I brought
out a new threader. After watching a
tutorial recently, I learned to LEAVE the
little tab ON the end.
Silly me, I always removed the tab.
I have lost more than one that way.
Once it falls on the carpet, if you
don't have a flashlight, it's a goner.
It just means I have to insert the floss,
twice, to thread the needle, (since threading
a punch needle is a 2-step process).
The down side, is the pink little tab
bobs up and down, which is a "red alert" to
my kitten. He poises into position,
ready to leap just as I get the thread
into the eye of the needle......
Ok, so what's up with the roasted peppers?
This is the best ingredient for CALZONEs.
today I'm going to put a little twist to
my calzone by baking it in a bundt pan.
Won't that be a pretty presentation?
I don't use a recipe any more...
I simply purchase a package of pizza dough,
and massage it flat on a cookie sheet that
has been oiled. It will keep shrinking as
you work, but once you start layering cold
cuts, it will stay put.
I start with a layer of Ham and Genoa Salami,
partially steamed broccoli,
Italian Seasoning,
the Roasted Peppers,
and grated cheese.
Take one edge of the douch and roll
it towards you, ending with the seam
side down. Gently tuck the two ends
under as well.
If you decide to bake
in a bundt pan, you may need two
spatulas to lift and gently
place into the pan.
Just try to keep the seam intact.
Bake in a 350 degree oven, about 40 minutes
or so....just keep on eye on it.
It will be golden brown, and your
kitchen will smell divine.
I'll try to take a picture
when it comes out of the oven.
I can smell it already....
Today I'm going to Seize the Day.
How about you?
My projects and supplies are kept in the basement,
where the cat is NOT allowed.
Tyler was doing laundry, and obviously "preoccuppied",
shut the door with the cat IN THE BASEMENT....
My kitty Tobey is less than a year old,
and can sniff wool, in any form, and
WILL FIND IT!
He has an incredible ability to
smell wool. If he gets his paws on it,
he will drag it off to a remote corner,
to ATTACK and play with it...
My boiled wool sweater has been snagged
from the hanger in the closet....
I found him running room to room (with glee)
with a ball of wool yarn, tangled into everything....
He snagged one of mom's BEST raggedy dolls
with wool hair, and tried to drag it upstairs
before our eyes...
The funniest story is when my son left
for college, and left the door to his
bedroom open....Tobey managed to find
the head to his Halloween Chicken costume,
and tried sneak it downstairs in his
teeth with difficulty because it was
bigger than him! He was attracted to the
wisps of wool hair....
This is what I get for procrastinating....
I couldn't decide if I wanted to make a pillow,
or NOT, and had this hooked project tucked a little
out of sight, until I felt like finishing it.
Last night Tim casually said, I found Tobey
in the basement after Tyler left him there...
It didn't sink in, until I headed downstairs
to check my e-mails this morning!
Now I have to do some "damage control"....
If I turn my back for one second,
and leave the cover off my floss box
....this is what happens EVERY TIME.
Luckily, he can't fit in my gripper frame anymore!
Quilts are a good thing!
Always on alert!
NOTHING is safe!
Tobey happily perches on your shoulders,
as it gives me a better advantage to scope things out...
He LOVES food,
especially fresh chicken or pot roast.
Hannah and Tobey
I fell in love with him then,
I'm still in love with him now...
Life would be boring without a little mishief here and there!
Do you have a cat obsessed with wool?
The most important thing in life
is to learn how to give out love,
and to let it come in.”
~Morrie Schwartz
***
We all love you Uncle Ernie...
you are not alone....
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