We were up in Maine for the weekend. Having a son going to school in Portland has improved our life. It is a wonderful town with natural beauties and amazing food. And, only 2 hours north from home!
This group of dogs was waiting patiently next to the Scratch Baking Company, #1 bakery in Portland- and that is saying something!
And lastly, a perfect lighthouse- good inspiration for my next tiny world.
or Jardin Botanique. I love Botanical Gardens and always find them inspiring. Oh, but first, I forgot this photo for the market post- look at all the beautiful preserves!
Okay, now, back to the gardens.
I can only imagine how wonderful it must be to visit these greenhouses in the middle of the winter.
Out to the display gardens- look at that gorgeous purply-red giant decorative Kale. Maybe it’s edible, I don’t know. Very impressive!
And artichokes. Such crazy looking things.
This is the Chinese Garden. I love the Lotus plants. Can you see the man in the boat? That is a lantern, part of the Lantern Festival they have in September.
We wanted to see the lanterns lit up but obviously had to wait until it was dark-ish. We decided to head back to the car and just relax until dusk. On our way to the parking lot, we saw this sign. Tintin! How could we resist?!
Well, Tintin and a display of mushrooms. It was an impressive collection. So many varieties.
Tables and tables full.
After that and a little rest in the car, it was getting dark enough to go back and see the lanterns.
There was an impressive crowd for a Sunday evening in September. This is obviously a very popular yearly event. I can see why- it was fun to walk around in the dimming light with the lanterns glowing and people all around.
We left before it was fully dark and loads more people were streaming in.
We had a great time in Montreal. It is not that far from Boston- about 5 1/2 hrs driving. We should go more often. I’m already thinking about what I want to do next time!
We pretty much went to Montreal to enjoy some great food. I mean it is a fun city and all, but really, I think every meal we had in Montreal was better than any meal we had in Paris last year. I know, Heresy! Foodie culture is thriving in Montreal. I didn’t take meal photos. I would remember that I could have taken a picture as I leaned back to relax and enjoying the glow of a good meal. I was very busy with the camera when we went to the food market though.
So much abundance, beautifully displayed.
The smells were wonderful too!
So many colors-
And then Green!
Beautiful berries with edible orchids.
Globular food-
And who can ever resist cabbages!
A market like this makes me want to load up a cart and run home to cook something adventurous. Since that wasn’t an option, we bought some munchables- carrots, blueberries, other things too but ? I can’t remember. And Maple Syrup. Really, you can never have too much. And, we went to the Botanical Garden. That is for tomorrow.
I feel like I am moving in slow motion. I’ve been working on a few things. Some of the poor tattooed men on the table went down to Connecticut and back, several times, hoping to get some stuffing. But no. They are still as flat as I seem to be feeling.
I am working just as slowly through all the emails that backed up in the week of distraction. If you haven’t heard from me about something, you might want to try again. I may have lost track of your email.
I did have a birthday recently and bought myself a new toy… um, no, I mean important tool for my business.
An IPad! And I made my present a present! I tend to get a bit overwhelmed when confronted with a new electronic toy so I tip-toe around it for a while. But, hey, I know how to make a felt sleeve. We are bonding.
And, I’d love to hear about your favorite apps for crafty biz and for fun.
And lastly, thank you so much for all your kind words and condolences regarding my Dad. I added a link to his obit at the bottom of the post.
My Dad passed away yesterday (July 31, 2011). He’d lived a good long life. He was 96 years old and we were so lucky that even in mid-July, at a family wedding, he was able to enjoy meeting his first great-grandson. I am beginning to understand that there is a lot of processing to do when a parent dies, even when that parent has lived so long and it was the right time.
This photo of him is dated April 27, 1916-
There aren’t too many family photos with him because he, of course, was usually behind the camera.
I have a lot of good memories and photos of him with the grandkids.
And here he is, just a few weeks ago. (July 16. 2011). I’m glad we were able to have a happy day so recently.
I suspect that posting will be spotty for a bit. I was down in Connecticut for several days already, back for a few and then away again later this week. I need to plan for Renegade in Chicago in September but it might not be my priority.
–update– here is his obit.
When I am getting ready for a show or a trip, all kinds of random things get finished. And not just dolls. I think I make myself a new bag before many trips. And lately, it has been summer shirts.
The polka dots is a light weight linen. The plaid is a vintage cotton from my mom’s stash, probably from the late 60’s.
and earring-
The things is, I never think about my clothes, accessories or jewelry unless I am doing an event or packing my suitcase for a trip. And why should I? I work at home where my main consideration is comfort. And then, all of a sudden I start obsessing about what I’m going to wear!
I’ve started making shirts (and other clothes too) by making patterns from old ones that I like, that fit and have worn out. I cut them up and trace the pieces. These two shirts were made by tracing the pieces of 2 other shirts that are no longer wearable. The polka dot shirt is the fourth one I’ve made from one shirt that I really liked. I used the shirt directions in the book Sew U to help me with pattern piece placement and instructions for how to put them all back together. I make clothes this way because of my dissatisfaction with commercial patterns. I guess I must be of an age or body type that doesn’t match up with the patterns. And I don’t have the patience or knowledge to alter (or completely rework) them. When I try matching up my I-know-this-fits pattern pieces to commercial patterns that I have spent (wasted) money on, they seem to be quite different. Hmm… mystery!
I get requests for some indication of scale for my dolls. I find it is more difficult than you’d think. Having a person in the photo helps a lot.
I just don’t often have a photographable person around. Peter left yesterday to spend the summer working in Ithaca, NY. I hope we can visit him some time while he is there.
Here are all the foxes, waiting to get their labels.
Happy New Year, 2011!
I love reading the “hopes” from other years. Sometimes I do pretty well. And this year I succeeded in what I said was my biggest goal- connecting with people. So- WIN! And, Peter’s quilt got finished. Huge. As for the rest, not so much. But, really, my “hopes” are just that. The important thing for me to do is remain open to good opportunities, feed my curiosity and the fun factor and not get bogged down with any “should-do”s.
So, for 2011, I hope-
*warning* a lot of these are reruns ;) and illustrated with random photos that never got into any other posts this year.
-more patterns… I KNOW- I say it every year! Well, maybe this will be the year. And, honestly, I will never write a book until this process is a lot easier for me. But… this year I realized how much it means to me to see my designs spread themselves out around the world. I am not kidding when I say it gets me all choked up. It is like sending your kids out into the world and having people love them. So maybe, this is the year.
-I am keeping my eye out for another Photoshop class- hopefully at my local High School Community Ed classes since I could walk to that.
-always, always, always I need to work on clearing out. It is very hard for me but having art students to give stuff to is very helpful.
-my biggest hope for this year- something I don’t usually talk about on the blog. To end the year with less pain. Yes, the physical kind. I have had chronic back-ish pain for years and decided to do something about it last summer. Now, 4 physical therapists later and pages of suggested exercises, I am so much worse that pretty much every part of my life is affected. So, hmmph. I hope to read this a year from now and think- Oh Yeah- Remember that? I’d forgotten all about it!
One more thing from my 2010 list. I had been hoping to teach more, but it didn’t happen and realistically, probably isn’t going to. Among the reasons against it happening is that I am unwilling to fly anymore with the current security measures at airports. So there, now you know 2 things about me that might, for some people, be considered TMI.
-but I want to end this list with some real fantasy hopes! Read more for fun, actually look at those magazines I buy or subscribe to, draw more, try a new medium just for fun, and actually learn how my camera works. Spend more time in the garden, start some flowers from seed, go the the beach at least once this year, and figure out what I should do with the worm casting from my worm bin. Clearing out the basement, losing 20 pounds, and winning the lottery would be nice too but probably aren’t going to happen either! So, now time for me to go off and read what everyone else put on their list. Have a wonderful first day of 2011!
This is the disaster that is my studio on December 31, probably every single year! December is always crazy and it takes January to get everything back in order. Actually, I’ve already started. I can see the top of the ironing board and that was not true a few days ago.
One of the best parts of blogging (for me) is the written record of what has happened over the year. And, being able to go back to other end-of-the-year posts and think about where I was in my head. 2010 has been a good year in many ways. In my “real” life, things are better and more secure. Two of my kids have finished degrees and that is exciting. Over here in crafty blog land, I’ve moved forward in a quieter way then 2009. No big public wow events- like the Etsy Handmade portrait or my PurlSoho pattern.
Instead, I think the most wonderful thing that has happened this year is my crafty biz meet-up. It has been a success and I am going to do a post just about that in the next few days. The other highlights have to be Sage– my wonderful intern of last summer. And, Brooklyn Renegade– which is a show that all others will have to live up to!
Once again this year, I was lucky enough to travel and meet up with other crafters in far away places- in Minneapolis, I met up with Kristen, Erika, Susan and Hannah. In Paris, I met Catherine and Laure- and that was the highlight of my Paris trip! So, this year, the best was all about the people I connected with and I can’t think of anything better then that!
Happy New Years Eve! I can’t wait to see what 2011 will bring- it is always interesting!
well, actually, I only have one more handmade gift to post. The other ones I gave were this owl and lots of homemade cookies.
Yoga mat bag-
drawstring closure, pocket, non-adjustable strap. I looked at some free tutorials on-line and then made it. Very easy.
Big snow in the forecast so our trip to Connecticut is canceled- which is why I am relaxing on the sofa and writing this post right now! Also, daughter is here for 2 extra days because of canceled flights! And, this is the year that I received some homemade gifts from my family. Eleanor gave us some of her homemade preserves-Â peach salsa and also some pear pickles which we had with our ham last night- wow and Yum!