Happy the Hedgehog joins the SHOP
It's only been this last year that I've tracked the number of downloads for my free plans. Every time I take a peek at the numbers, I'm astounded. Happy the Hedgehog was such a popular pattern that I've added him to the SHOP. Also new to the SHOP...
The Spiffy Spectacled Owl
Only at Downeast Thunder Farm will you find this Spiffy Spectacled Owl in the woods. He's more inclined for warmer climates. You can download this free plan here or pickup a kit in the SHOP. Either way, she's a good project for a snowy afternoon....
The Day After Christmas on Pigeon Hill
After a half-day of work on this day after Christmas, Hannah and I both felt the need to get out and about. With snow in the forecast for Friday we made a snap decision to hike Pigeon Hill. We didn't get there until the sun was low in the sky, so...
Owl Christmas Stockings
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...
Christmas 2018
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...
Merry Christmas!
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...
In My Absence
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...
Susan’s Joyful Owl Winter Wreath
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...
A Christmas Sleigh
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...
A Milbridge Christmas
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....
A Birthday Angel
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...
Joyful Owl Christmas Wreath
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 it's a...
A Morning Buck
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...
Vintage Red Truck with Christmas Tree
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...
The Magic of Freezer Paper
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...
New to the SHOP: Re-imagined Blue Jay
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,...
Sticky Notes
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...
Autumn’s Gold
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...
Christmas Angel
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....
Our Custom Cornhole Boards
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...
Inundated with Grackles
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...
New to the SHOP: Fawn and Spotted Owl Kits
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...
Peak Color
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...
The Delightful Spotted Owl – Free Pattern
I'm working through my list of North American Owls trying to create them all out of felt. The Spotted Owl brings me a bit closer to the finish line. Hope you enjoy him! Purchase a complete kit with...
New to the SHOP: Polar Bear and Reindeer Kits
It's Paul who encouraged me to begin creating and selling kits for my patterns, and he helps with fulfillment when I'm away to keep things moving. However, without Hannah, this project would still be sitting on my computer. This summer was one of...
