Monthly Archives: November 2015

My Sound Of Christmas …

Pretty much everyone loves Christmas music and has a favorite song, or three, or twelve.  I love the classic carols like “O Holy Night” and  the standards like “White Christmas”.  However, there’s one song that makes me smile and bop around the house, or drum on the steering wheel of the car,  and that’s Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”.  I can never hear it enough times.

Knowing this, my daughter Deb made me a special CD which she gave me a couple of years ago.  Out of 21 songs “All I Want For Christmas” is on it SEVEN times.  At first I thought it was going to be every song, and Deb said she did think about doing that, but that would have been silly.  She did a terrific job of choosing interesting songs and I’m enjoying them but I have to say I like numbers 1-4-9-11-15-18 and 21 the best.

101_3914

(CLICK HERE for audio)

Thank you again and again and again, Deb :)


Christmas Decorating Begins …

DSC_0374


Chicken Picnic


This is my final piece from the Make Art That Sells Course (Part B).  It was a revelation for me to just do what I do in response to a brief, and use my icons that were created on a whim earlier this year and then put it all together.  It's a revelation to just be in a flow and making work.

I asked my teammates from Finch & Foxglove for feedback and adjusted accordingly.  It's been really nice to be able to get into a groove and feel like you had a place to turn for a dialogue about your work.

As for process, at the end of the summer I painted these chickens in watercolor and gouache.  This past week I drew most of the rest in marker, brush-pen, watercolor pencil, and gouache.  The textures I've been collecting all year, and I made some more.  I shared some of my textures recently on a live Periscope broadcast too!




I thoroughly enjoyed MATS B as it seems the topics suited me better.  In addition, though, it looks like I've grown some confidence between MATS A in March and MATS B in October.  Cheers to vast improvements and self-confidence!

Also, I'd like to invite you all to follow along with our Finch & Foxglove Advent Calendar starting December 1st.  Watch the advent calendar page here!

Weekly Challenge: Transition …

For this week’s challenge, share an image that depicts transition. Let life itself be your muse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Watching the candles on my Thanksgiving table transition from beginning to end.

pizap.com14486675367361

IMG_1786pizap.com14486684983091
pizap.com14486688315401
pizap.com14486691566521The End.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/transition/


She Ships Sheep Stash by the Score

We took a brief break to take the little ones to NYC to see the parade live and in-person but we’re back now and packages are flying out the door! If you haven’t ordered your Sheep Stash animals yet, there’s still time to get them and get them decorated in time for the holidays. We were planning to keep the shop up until December 15, but that’s only if we don’t run out of animals first. Get your own flock in our pop-up sheep shop on etsy and Scout will get them in the mail ASAP.

12299276_915590651842996_1324473356225735748_n

11990638_915590675176327_4678767040355566781_n

She Ships Sheep Stash by the Score

We took a brief break to take the little ones to NYC to see the parade live and in-person but we’re back now and packages are flying out the door! If you haven’t ordered your Sheep Stash animals yet, there’s still time to get them and get them decorated in time for the holidays. We were planning to keep the shop up until December 15, but that’s only if we don’t run out of animals first. Get your own flock in our pop-up sheep shop on etsy and Scout will get them in the mail ASAP.

12299276_915590651842996_1324473356225735748_n

11990638_915590675176327_4678767040355566781_n

Review: Dressed in Knits

Review: Dressed in Knits post image

dressed1

First, the facts:

Title: Dressed in Knits: 19 Designs for Creating a Custom Knitwear Collection

Author: Alex Capshaw-Taylor

Published by: Interweave Press, 2015

Pages: 168

Type: Women’s patterns

Chapters:

The Ritual of Dressing
1. Knitting Foundations
2. Foundation Garments
3. Day
4. Night
5. Outerwear
6. Accessories

KS: Dressed in Knits

The In-Depth Look:

The author’s motiviation for this collection is clear right from the start:

“As a little girl, I remember the air of mystery that surrounded my mom as she got ready for her day–the careful selection of an outfit, the time spent getting her hair just so, applying the right shade of lipstick, and stepping into high heels. It was magical, and she looked beautiful. … As a designer, I take pleasure in creating the pieces that make up my wardrobe. Drawn to slow fashion, I appreciate clothing that stands the test of time, both in quality and design. Handknits embody these ideals–carefully crafted in quality natural yarns, they can be passed down from mother to daughter, much like a cherished piece of jewelry.”

The book starts with a look at the choices that go into your knitting–the yarn, the gauge, the fit … all those details that can get overlooked in your enthusiasm to get started. I like that she addresses these first to remind you that success is all about the detail.

The patterns themselves are grouped together into categories, starting with “foundation garments”–in this case, socks, a camisole, and a chemise-styled dress. Next comes “Day,” where we find items suitable for work or a weekend–all sweaters, with all but one of them cardigans. “Night” follows, as it does, and here we find sweaters you’d want to wear out on a date. “Outerwear” brings in three, more substantial garments that you could reach for every time you leave the house, and then finally, we have “Accessories”–a hat, a purse, a plaid wrap.

All the patterns here are elegant and stylish–they might be warm and cozy, but comfortably snuggling into the couch is not their first impulse. These are garments that want to be noticed.

You can get your own copy at Amazon.com.

Want to see bigger pictures? Click here.

This review copy was kindly donated by Interweave Press. Thank you!

My Gush: Stylish and detailed.

Thankful

btt button

What is it about reading that makes you most thankful?


Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!


Happy Thanksgiving 2015 …

IMG_1749

Happy Thanksgiving and thank you to all who follow this blog and also my other one www.mvobsession.com  as well <3

 


Thanksgiving 2015 …

There is much to be thankful for again this year.  Family. Health. Friends. And this year added to the list … ancestors.

If you follow my blog you may know that we recently learned that we are descended from  Pilgrims, John & Priscilla Alden and Miles Standish.   It had always been family legend that we came on that first voyage of the Mayflower but now we have documented proof. My daughter, Deb, our friend Dawn and I headed to Plymouth, MA to learn more about our ancestors.

pizap.com14484012441671 pizap.com14483087880621

I am so grateful to Deb for delving diligently into our ancestry… without her (and Dawn’s help also) we wouldn’t know even half of what we know now.  But how did we get into this, who was the person who prompted this adventure into our family tree, who do we have to thank for this.

It would have be my maternal grandmother Albra Mae Flewelling Littlefield Grant Baird, who is the person who also brought Martha’s Vineyard into our lives.  Thank you grandma.

IMG_1073

My grandmother, Albra Mae Flewellyn Littlefield Grant Baird, was born in Maine.  She was widowed twice, her third husband, Arthur Baird Sr was a Vineyarder who was left to raise two sons and a daughter after his first wife died.  My grandmother and my mother Maude went to live on Martha’s Vineyard in Oak Bluffs  and thus began our connection and love of the Vineyard.

I am thankful for all who visit this blog and my photo blog www.throughjerseyeyes.com

Happy Thanksgiving.

pizap.com14483985906131