by Susan | Dec 26, 2018 | Felt Patterns, Other Patterns, Owl and Raptor Patterns
I’m not sure what got into me this year. Just four days before Christmas I decided we needed new, custom Downeast Thunder Farm Christmas stockings. I enlarged my Barred, Western Screech, and Great Gray Owls (mine, Hannah’s, and Paul’s) and appliqued...
by Susan | Dec 25, 2018 | Family, On My Mind
Another Christmas day is over. Although Hannah arrived home just a week ago, she still had final papers to complete and submit. It seems we pulled together this year’s Christmas together in just a few days. Bright and cold today – a short rise in...
by Susan | Dec 24, 2018 | On My Mind
The mad dash of Christmas preparations is over. My presents are wrapped – but don’t look in my office; the wrapping debris will wait for another day. After the debate of whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie, we’re settled in with a puzzle and...
by Susan | Dec 14, 2018 | On My Mind
The next leg of Operation Rescue Hannah begins tomorrow. I’ll make the 12-hour round-trip drive from my folks house in Pennsylvania to Granville, Ohio to bring her home for the holidays. I left Maine a few days early so I could spend time helping my dad organize...
by Susan | Dec 7, 2018 | Odds and Ends, Projects
While I’ve been designing trees and wreaths for our Christmas Tree Festival, it occurred to me that I’ve never made a wreath for myself – I always seem to give my completed pieces away. I love my Joyful Wreath Owl but wanted to make a wreath that...
by Susan | Dec 4, 2018 | Projects
Paul is my resident engineer, maker and fabricator. He’s a handy guy to have around. As a result, he was roped into more than one of my Christmas Tree Festival projects. After spying a little sleigh with trees on Pinterest, I challenged him to make one for me...
by Susan | Dec 1, 2018 | Odds and Ends, Projects
I always enjoy our Christmas Tree Festival and Auction here in town. Community members and businesses adopt Charlie Brown style live table top trees or wreaths and decorate them for auction. You’ve likely seen some of my submissions in the past. Rather than a...
by Susan | Nov 28, 2018 | Family, On My Mind
Today is mom’s birthday. What does one get Granny Gadget? Everything she does revolves around her family and taking care of them. She has little space for anything and she can purchase all the gadgets she wants. That’s where my Christmas Angel comes in....
by Susan | Nov 25, 2018 | Bird Patterns, Felt Patterns, Owl and Raptor Patterns
It’s my favorite time of year – WHRL Christmas Tree Festival time. I’ve got a few trees and wreaths planned for the event, but this is my favorite. I’ve updated my Barred Owl pattern and created her in grays for this wreath. Truth be told...
by Susan | Nov 23, 2018 | On the Farm
While lingering over my coffee this morning, this young whitetail buck came to visit. Ten feet outside the living room widow he nibbled at berries. Hannah and I watched him for at least five minutes before he realized he wasn’t alone. And then he started...
by Susan | Nov 19, 2018 | Felt Patterns, Other Patterns
The vintage pickup truck carrying a tree is such a popular theme right now that I’m creating a Christmas wreath around this wood version I designed. It was only after I had it cut out and painted that it occurred to me I could have made it out of felt. So I did....
by Susan | Nov 12, 2018 | Projects
Have you tried cutting out those tiny pattern pieces, like eyes? My circles usually look like ovals and get smaller and smaller as I keep trimming, trying to get them just right. I tested a technique that calls for fusing freezer paper to your felt. It’s like...
by Susan | Nov 11, 2018 | Shop
First designed in 2017, I’ve never been happy with the Bold Blue Jay. He was one of my earlier patterns and quite elementary. I’ve started and stopped a new design more times than I can count, trying to figure out how to do him justice. This time, I think...
by Susan | Nov 3, 2018 | On My Mind
Hannah has a habit of leaving me sticky notes here and there. Happy little notes that make me smile. Sometimes I find them on my computer. Other times they’re stuck in my planner. Sometimes they’re written to music or rhyme. Sometimes they reference and...
by Susan | Oct 31, 2018 | Out and About in Maine
Only when glorious maple reds are bare, and the oaks have faded to brown, does the unsung Tamarack begin to shine. Incognito for much of the year, this tree turns brilliant gold, creating a beautiful contrast against the firs. Another week or two and those yellow...
by Susan | Oct 28, 2018 | Felt Patterns, Other Patterns
I prefer creating life-like wildlife patterns, but with the WHRL Christmas Tree Festival a little over a month away, this angel will the be the centerpiece on one of the wreaths I’m designing for the event. It’s available here as a free download. However,...
by Susan | Oct 26, 2018 | Odds and Ends, Projects
Last weekend was the grand opening of Milbridge Commons – a wellness park and garden I’ve been working on with a group of others for more than three years. In anticipation of this event, I asked Paul to make a cornhole game. Before building the boards, he carved the...
by Susan | Oct 24, 2018 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
A flock of Grackles arrived on Monday contrasting beautifully with the birch tree outside the living room window. They are so much more than just black. When the sun hits them, they shine. They worked their way through a feeder full of seed. As beautiful as they were...
by Susan | Oct 21, 2018 | Shop
This week two kits join the other birds and critters in the SHOP. The Fawn is one of my personal favorites. And the Spotted Owl helps to round out my North American owl series. I’ve also added a Needle Threader to the SHOP that you can add to your order for 99...
by Susan | Oct 15, 2018 | Out and About in Maine
This last week has been one of peak color Downeast. On these gray, overcast days the colors seem to pop taking center stage. The Pleasant River peaceful at high tide. The turbulent white bubbles at the Falls – a perfect foil for the color. On old tractor parked...
