by Susan | Jan 21, 2023 | On My Mind
One month into official winter, it looks more like Christmas than ever. Ice and sleet last weekend and five inches of snow this weekend. The snow makes a beautiful landscape with the soft winter light. The pond pictured above is frozen over once again. Our first year...
by Susan | Jan 1, 2023 | Bird Patterns, Collage, Felt Patterns
For Christmas, I received the book “Beguiled By The Wild” by Charley Harper from Hannah. About his style of painting, Charley Harper coined it “minimal realism.” He said, “Instead of trying to put everything in when I paint, I try to...
by Susan | Dec 27, 2022 | Out and About in Maine
I’ve felt oddly disconnected from nature lately – likely due to the colder weather and my schedule keeping me indoors. With the storm debris blocking our road gone, and the electricity finally back on, Hannah and I headed out for a rare walk in the woods....
by Susan | Dec 25, 2022 | On My Mind
Christmas morning 2022 is our second morning without power. Our generator operates one outlet in the kitchen, so it’s a constant rotation of plugging in what’s most important. The coffee maker. The internet. The toaster. The instapot. And this morning, the...
by Susan | Dec 24, 2022 | On My Mind
It’s a bit of an adventure this Christmas Eve. The house is clean. Presents are wrapped. I’ve got a plan for the holiday menu. All is on track for a happy Christmas. There’s just one little bump in the road. We lost power around 11 pm last evening,...
by Susan | Dec 19, 2022 | Haiku, Writing
early morning snowfalling softly on the pondbrings wonder to...
by Susan | Dec 11, 2022 | Bird Patterns, Christmas
It’s been a stressful year with mom’s health challenges, feeling overwhelmed with work, job changes, and Hannah moving home (exciting things on that front coming), to name a few. I’ve felt less spunky, less resilient than normal. For the first time...
by Susan | Dec 7, 2022 | Christmas, Critter Patterns, Felt Patterns, Other Patterns
These little cats and dogs have kept me busy in the evenings – the perfect project to help keep me awake during TV-time. I plan to use these as little extras tied to Christmas packages. The cat design was inspired by a Pinterest picture from this website. The...
by Susan | Nov 27, 2022 | Shop
A couple of times a year, I create wreaths with my owls. I’ve added seven wreaths – many in this round have a minimalist, natural look without bows. Paul crafted the square frame wreath for me from reclaimed wood. Another square frame is crafted from...
by Susan | Nov 24, 2022 | Christmas, Felt Patterns
Christmas stockings need to hang in pairs (at least). The companion for my Adele Penguin Christmas Stocking is this Polar Bear stocking. He’s sitting rather than standing like my Polar Bear ornament but is still dressed for the holiday season in a colorful...
by Susan | Nov 24, 2022 | On My Mind
I find myself in a cranky mood lately, a bit of a funk that’s hard to shake. There are lots of things in my world that have frustrated me. A new heat pump installed on October 21st has yet to be connected to the electricity by the company, so it’s useless....
by Susan | Nov 20, 2022 | Christmas, Felt Patterns, Other Patterns
The design bug hit yesterday, and I started dabbling with a new set of Christmas Stockings. Here’s the first; an all-felt stocking that uses my Adele Proper Penguin pattern (enlarged to 6 inches) in a wintery landscape. I think she’s sweet. Thanks to the...
by Susan | Nov 13, 2022 | Projects
This Joyful Owl in the Square is my latest submission for WHRL’s Winter Tree Festival. The felt owl (download the free pattern here) resides in a wood frame embellished with artificial pine, berries, and a lotus seed pod. Paul made the simple 12′ frame...
by Susan | Nov 12, 2022 | Projects
It’s less than three weeks to WHRL’s Winter Tree Festival & Auction on December 2-3. That means that the ribbon, baubles, and crafting supplies have exploded throughout the house. My first entry, which started this summer, is complete! A few years ago,...
by Susan | Nov 9, 2022 | Writing
Writing class assignment #2. From her house by the pond, Doodle duck complains loudly when I open the French doors to let out the dog. “Let me out too!” she seems to be saying. When the sun rises, chasing away night’s shadows, I visit Doodle and let her out. She...
by Susan | Nov 5, 2022 | Shop
My fourth pattern book – Animals of the Northeast is off to the printer! I am now accepting pre-orders for the Animals of the Northeast book and the companion felt pack. Items should ship out by the end of November. Here’s the cast of characters in this...
by Susan | Nov 5, 2022 | Out and About in Maine
The river this morning was smooth as glass framed by low-lying fog. And, just down the road, autumn barrens in the mist. There’s a perk to getting up with the sun.
by Susan | Oct 29, 2022 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
Holy Grackle! There must have been 100 or more in the yard shortly after I filled the feeder. I now understand why they call a flock of grackles “a plague!”
by Susan | Oct 28, 2022 | Christmas, Felt Patterns
I played with this little ornament a while back but never shared it. It’s inspired by some of the glass ornament of the 1950s and 60. Mix and match your colors or create your own beading patterns. For this one I used Baby Blue felt and Strawberry Dream felt...
by Susan | Oct 22, 2022 | Bird Patterns, Christmas, Collage, Felt Patterns
I had so much fun with my Birds on Branches last week that I had to make more. Last week I experimented with a lightly stuffed felt Blue Jay ornament and mixed media collage ornaments. This mourning dove, my favorite of the new designs, is finished flat. When I...
