New Year's Eve

It's New Year's Eve. I've had a good number of productive days during this break from my teaching schedule. Today found me photographing felted rabbits for my Etsy shop SnowDayArtist, and designing new mitten patterns. My dog and I had a nice walk along the Sheepscot River this afternoon. For resolutions... I think it's going to be: create more time for painting and decluttering.

May this year ahead be a wonderful one for you!

...and Snow~Day #2!

Another productive day in my studio gearing up for 2 holiday shows. Today I felted rabbits. I will have my full line of cards at The North Yarmouth Academy and Sheepscot General craft shows - that's 15 designs! Need some holiday cards? I might have the perfect design for you!

I will also be selling these adult sized hand knit mittens. With all natural fibers, these are my chickens, lupine, and peacock designs.
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Snow~Day #1 and Holiday Craft Fairs

Wahoo! Snow~Day #1 for this school year! I spent the day in my studio getting my art prints, cards, felt animals, and knitting ready for two holiday craft fairs.

I will be doing a new show this year - The North Yarmouth Academy Holiday Craft Fair. I'm super excited about getting in this show - I've heard a lot of great things about it. Come on by on December 1st and check it out.

The second show is the Holiday Bazaar at Sheepscot General Store on December 7th, 5:00 - 8:00pm. Don't miss this show - it's wonderful and it's pizza night!

Stop by Sheepscot General Store for plenty of LOCAL crafts, gifts, and food!

Autumnal Equinox

Blue Mountain Lake, NY

Bee Mittens and our Minnesota II on an island in the Adirondacks

Photos from the summer... now that the Autumnal Equinox is upon us. We went wildness canoeing  in the Adirondacks with our three-legged dog. We actually canoed part of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail. The Adirondack Experience Museum in Blue Mountain Lake, NY was amazing - the photo to the left was taken there. Canoeing, camping, AND KNITTING... what could be better?!           Here is the school mural for this year: 'Christina's World', by Andrew Wyeth. I'm please with how it turned out. I pondered over doing this image for a while, worried that there was too much 'field', but in the end it's lovely - almost feels like a quilt.

'Christina's World', by Andrew Wyeth, Windsor School 2018

 Happy autumn to you!

Knitting on Marsh Island, Maine

Chicken Mittens and Dahlov Ipcar

Here are two of my latest pairs of mittens - they will go in my Etsy Shop soon. I've been knitting a lot this summer - when I haven't been gardening that is. The top/right side are an adult medium pair of Chicken Mittens, the smaller pair are owls. When I am knitting, I sit next to a window listening to books on my phone through CloudLibrary. Attached to the window is a clear bird feeder - the birds eat and I knit - this IS the life.

There is the MOST WONDERFUL show of Dahlov Ipcar's work at the Bates Museum of Art, in Lewiston. The show is free and runs until October 6, 2018. This is a very comprehensive and varied collection - with 70 works of art. The paintings are colorful, enormously imaginative, playful, clever - I could go on, you get the idea. There are also illustrations from her books, prints, and then there are the soft sculpture animals, oh my! The photo here is a mother opossum with an attached brood.

I do a lesson on Dahlov Ipcar with my 5th graders. Fortunately the folks at the museum let me take pictures and gave me permission to post them (you can too). I will now have many more examples to show my students. If you can - check out this show - you will be very glad you did. It's called: 'Blue Moons & Menageries'.

Summer in Maine... catching up on life

Spring break in April brought a whirlwind 2 day tour of 6 Vermont yarn shops. The photo at left was my resulting haul. Here are the stores I explored: Must Love Yarn  Shelburne, Northeast Fiber Arts Center Williston, Yarn and Yoga Bristol, Mad River Fiber Arts & Mill Waitsfield, Shades of Winter also in Waitsfield, and Yarn Montpelier. I am working on peacock and chicken mittens with these lovely yarns. I'm also on a self-imposed ban from any near-future yarn purchases.

Mad River Fiber Arts
At the Mad River Fiber Arts Center they custom process your fiber into roving, felt, and yarn - check them out! 

Okay, I did attend Fiber Frolic in Windsor earlier this month and bought a little more... I'm thinking Lupine Mittens for these two!

Instagram.com/snowdayartist

Here are some early summer photos: song sparrow bird eggs and a Maxfield Parrish sky view from my studio. If you like quotes, check out my Instagram account: SnowDayArtist. Happy summer to you!

Snow~Day #8 and the Zen of Knitted Mittens

                I have 2 watercolors in this show. The opening is tomorrow. My students have 10 pieces in the Young At Art show - same building. The Harlow Gallery is now at 100 Water Street, Hallowell. These two shows run from March 7th - 24th.

It is so very grounding to sit in my studio and knit while there's a storm ragging outside. This is indeed Snow~Day number 8 for the school year - a record. I'm working on a series of adult (women's medium size) chicken mittens. I don't think this needs an explanation, just chickens and mittens, a perfect combination. 

 This is one of my favorite quotes. Snow~days are so relaxing, good for pondering, exploring, soaking up ideas.
 
A pair of frog mittens (small child, no thumbs) going into my Etsy shop today.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/SnowDayArtist

Bard Rock Chicken Mittens

I've been thinking about a run of adult chicken mittens - preparing for the 2018-2019 season here. This is my first pair, Barred Rock Chickens, with divine alpaca double cuffs. These are basically following my Chicken Mitten pattern with two changes: every third row: k1, p1-in alternative color. repeat.
The second change is that I put the smaller beak size on the largest size mitten.  These are soft and stretchy, I'm psyched, I'm looking at Rhode Island Reds for the next pair. I actually bought a Chickens magazine at the supermarket for color ideas - so many chickens to choose from...

School vacation week finds me here, painting a new crow and mouse illustration in watercolor.

Muddy dog proof furniture...

They say, spring will come. I think it's true.
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Snow~Day #6!

Crow and Mouse - 'Life's a Journey, Take a Friend'

  Another snow-day spent in my studio. I worked on my Greeting Cards, sizing and loading my Crow and Mouse print onto Etsy, and.... making faux birch-bark backpacks for my needle felted rabbits. This past week I used papier mache to create these backpack/baskets in order for my rabbits to be able to carry their carrots. I like the look, and this is better for the rabbits - no more leaving carrots on the ground!

I will be at Longfellow's Greenhouses in Manchester for the Cabin Art Fever Show: February 3rd & 4th. I'll have my prints, greeting cards, and felted creatures at this show - just in time for Valentine's Day!