Last Day of 2014

Time is speeding up and flying by at an alarming rate! 

It is hard to believe this is the last day of 2014. 

This has been a year filled with lots of hard work and a few worries, 

but overall it has been a very good year. 

The studio has stayed busy with lots of visitors and good sales. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about where to go from here. 

Whether to keep making what sells or 

take a chance on making what my instincts are telling me to do.

 It will probably be a combination of both in the coming year.

 I feel so very grateful to be able to just keep making things!

There are no New Year’s Resolutions 

just changes that Pog and I are committed to such as
healthy eating and continued walking.

Both of which makes us feel better and continues to let us keep active.

The Christmas decorations are still up and will stay up until this weekend.

 This is the week I enjoy so much because it is a quieter time, 

and we can relax and enjoy.

My new bottle tree. The only one I found!

This is also the week that I get to make some things just for my house and me. 

That is - until I mashed my thimble finger when the top lid of the wood stove dropped on it!

 Oh my goodness did that hurt! 

Thankfully it was not broken or burned - just blue and swollen, but it will heal soon. 

 The thimble will be back on and then I’ll be able to get back to work on projects that I need to finish and some I want to begin.

What I was working on before finger mishap.

In the meantime I received a stack of new jigsaw puzzles for Christmas.

I love them and this is the only time during the year I get to work on them. 

So let it rain or snow or be cold, Sadie is by the wood stove, and
 I’ll be at the kitchen table working puzzles with the music turned up. 

Pog is making snack food for the weekend so we will all be cozy

 and contented the first part of this New Year.

I want to thank each of you who read and follow the blog, 

and take time to make wonderful comments! 

The encouragement and friendship you offer is important to me 

and I appreciate it so much!

Happy New Year!

Wishing each of you a blessed New Years!

Pog, Louise and Sadie

Holiday Magic

                                 

                                       So much magic crammed into December.
                                 Good food, the magic of getting everything done,
                           the decorations and lights, talking to family long distance
                     but to me the best is time spent with each other and our children.
                           We got to spend a long weekend visiting my daughter
                    then spent a nice quiet Christmas day eating our Chinese feast
                   with another daughter then this weekend more family will be here.
                                             That is the holiday magic to me.
                They come and go at different times but each moment is special.
               I hope each and everyone is having holiday magic of his or her own.
                                           Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays,
                                           Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa
                                                or however you celebrate!!
                                                                  from
                                                   Pog, Louise and Sadie.
 
                                                                     

                                                                       
                                                                        

Chinese Feast - all was made by Pog!

Steam Buns, Hot/Sour Soup, Fried Wontons and Pot Stickers!

Post Tour Weekend

Whew! 

It has been several work filled weeks that led up to the last three days

 being the Toe River Arts Council’s Christmas Studio Tour. 

In spite of some rainy/foggy weather on Saturday we had lots of visitors and sales! 

It is a lot of work but well worth meeting so many interesting people. 

There are now a lot of empty spaces in the studio. 

Those spaces will be filled with new and exciting work this winter,

 and ready for next year’s tours and a couple of shows I have planned.

I especially want to thank Pog for his support, 

 working so hard to help me get ready,

and for cooking and feeding us! 

Thanks to my daughter who took care of sales 

and my son-in-law who helped where ever needed. 

I couldn’t have done it without them.

Also a big thank you to Lurena Williamson of Tattered Moon,

 who drove a long ways on a rainy day with her family to come visit! 

I have long admired her work and it meant a lot to me for her to visit my studio. 

Her encouragement is much appreciated!

Overshot Table Runner

Lots of Ornaments!

Soft Sculptures

Rugs

There are always pumpkin things in the studio, even at Christmas!

I’ll be back soon, but for now I really need to put my feet up,

 even if it will only be for a day or two. 

Angels

There are only a couple more days 'till the studio tour.

I still have lots of work to do but in the mean time, 

Pog wrote a little ditty about my angel ornaments I just finished.

Ten little Angels

all in a row

Louise is fixin'em

to dress for the show!

What a knock-out 

they will be

Dancin' on the branches 

of the Christmas tree!

Happy Snowy Thanksgiving!

Pog, Sadie and I wish everyone a blessed day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Woven Christmas Table Runners

I've got 13 days until the studio tour and

 I am working hard to finish up Christmas table runners.

This is a weaving technique called "overshot". 

It is woven with two threads, 

a red wool is the pattern thread and a green pearl cotton is the tabby thread.

I tried to get a close up so you could click on the photo 

to see the subtle green tabby in the background. 

The darker spot in the lower left hand corner looks like a stain but it is a shadow.

I'm not that great of a photographer.

There are a couple of rugs to finish, some ornaments almost done, the house and studio to clean, Thanksgiving to prepare for and then decorating for Christmas. 

All of this has to be accomplished in the next 13 days! 

No wonder I am feeling tired and stressed.

But, it always comes together in the end and turns out great. 

Besides, things could be so much worse, such as living in Buffalo, NY.

I can't imagine having that much snow!

 

 

Brrrrr!

 We did not get the predicted 5 inches 

but we did get around an inch with snow and leaves blowing

most of the day yesterday.

It's 29 degrees this morn with a very cold wind! 

This is a big change from being in the 60's and 70's just a few days ago!

Mount Celo

Mount Mitchell

This is the view this morn from our house.

Looks like a good day to work in the studio with a cup of hot cocoa.

I don't think Sadie wants to stay in the studio with me.

She is lying by the wood stove!

First she bakes one side then the other. 

She is a smart kitty!

I may have to work a while and then join her! 

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

SAFF

SAFF stands for Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair,

 which is being held at the WNC Agriculture Center in Fletcher, NC this weekend.

Yesterday Pog and I spent the morning seeing more fiber, spinning wheels, looms and

other fiber tools than you can imagine in one place!

It's a lot of fun but I enjoy seeing the animals the most.

I used to raise sheep and goats but now that I am not on a farm,

 I miss being around animals.

I enjoyed being able to pet these guys. 

I love the expression on their faces and they were so soft!

Then...

I saw this little one visiting with her owner.

 The tiniest Dachshund puppy I have ever seen.

She was so playful and friendly. 

My cat is three times bigger than this pup!

I looked at Pog after playing with her, rubbing that so soft tummy

 and what did Pog say?

No.

Ah well.. at least I got to play with this one.

Wooly White Pumpkins

I finished some wooly white pumpkins I have been working on today.

The large one has a real pumpkin stem, saved from last years Jack O Lantern.

 I am still into that four sided thing. 

There is a leaf and star showing but there is a black bird 

and another leaf on the other sections.

The little pillow is a wool pumpkin stitched onto vintage ticking fabric. 

The little pumpkins have stick stems and some of my hand spun wool for curly vines.

I can't seem to stop making pumpkins! 

Must be Autumn fever!

Pumpkin Surprise

Did you guess what the surprise would be on my pumpkins?

 They have four faces! 

 The top one’s four faces are smiling, scary, winking and sleepy. 

The middle one’s faces are all smiling,

and the bottom one is all scary faces! 

It took a lot of stitching to make these guys 

but I had a lot of fun even if my fingers did get a little sore! 

I used some of my hand dyed wool fabric on the scary ones body 

and spent way too much time sorting out buttons to find just the right ones for their faces.

Here is the Four Faced Pumpkins with some of their friends in the studio.

That snowball is still lurking around all the pumpkins 

so I know you can guess what he is up too!

October Welcome

My favorite time of the year has arrived!

It seems like September disappeared in a blur and Autumn arrived in a hurry.

 So happy to see cooler temps, leaves turning color and pumpkins on the porch!

I am an October baby so this has always been my favorite month since I was a child.

Time has gotten away from me lately from working in the studio, taking a week to visit my daughter and taking a few day trips with Pog to celebrate our 10^th anniversary.

My daughter and I did a “little” shopping during our week together. 

We visited The Rusty Bucket in Cary, Thistle Bee Quilt Shoppe in Goldsboro and 

one of our favorites Lone Star Mercantile in Fuquay-Varina.

What can I say? Seems like we can never have enough fabric. 

There are a couple of velvets there too and some chenille trim for snowmen.

 In the meantime I ordered wool from Heavens to Betsy. 

I am in love with the black/orange stripe so I may have to order more of that! 

The black/orange on the bottom is a reversible stripe.

  Also during our week, my daughter started making her first doll.

The easiest one to start with is Raggedy Ann and she did a great job! 

I like how she put her own twist on fabric colors.

We will finish up the clothes on our next visit.

I also stopped at one of my favorite antique shops on the way home

 and found a fifteen dollar firkin. 

 It is not particularly old and missing the lid but will be great with a little cleaning.

 It looked like someone had already tried to clean it and then make it look rustic

 so I don’t mind working on this one a little more. 

I may put a small tree in it this Christmas.

The table runners and dishtowels I was working on are finally finished 

and one of the looms now has a warp for more runners. 

For now though, I have Fall Fever and have started making a few pumpkins. 

These have a surprise and I will show you soon what that is,

 but for now here is a little peak of the pumpkin fun going on it the studio.

 

The white one is a snowball that decided to sneak in on the fun!

Welcome October!

Slotin Folk Fest

Last weekend Pog and I drove to Atlanta, GA to visit Folk Fest and

 to meet Lurena Williamson of Tattered Moon! 

I have followed her blog and have long admired her dolls so it was 

a real pleasure to meet her and see the work in person. 

Check out her blog at tatteredmoon.blogspot.com

This made the third time we have been to Folk Fest. 

The first time we went, there were several art cars in the parking lot. 

Pog didn’t think he would ever get into the show because

 I was running around looking at the cars! 

When we did go into the arena where the show is held, I was blown away by the work.

 It is a total assault on the senses of color and freedom of expression. 

I don’t think I have been the same since then 

and felt so much happiness even on this third visit of ours. 

Sadly there were no art cars this year but the work was still awesome. 

I have long had an interest in outsider and folk art so it is a real treat to be able to see so many artists in one venue. 

I loved the red, white and blue rooster.

Red Carpets!

SD Meadows. One of my favorites.

This was Pog's favorite of the show.

Still weaving away on runners, mug rugs and dishtowels. 

I’ve got lots of hemming to do then I will show you what I have been working on. 

I have been slow getting things done and I am going to blame it on the heat.

 Dog days at the end of summer. 

How I long for my favorite season of Fall!

The older I get the less I can tolerate heat and humidity. 

Thankfully our mountains do not suffer from heat the way other areas do.

 Have a good weekend and stay cool!