New England Weather

As most people know, 9 days ago we had a horrific ice storm. Almost a million people lost power.

In the Monadnock Region, there are still more than 20,000 people without power. So many folks tell me how they are getting through it: wood stoves, cooking on the grill, using generators which are not such a hot commodity that they are being stolen, etc. Check it out at http://www.wmur.com/.

This photo is atop Manning Hill in Winchester, NH where the houses around it had no power until today. Fortunately, I was not directly affected.

To add insult to injury, we had 12 inches of snow in the last twenty four hours. It is still snowing. Another 18" is on its way. Thankfully we are going to Jamaica on Thursday morning!

This was a terrific day to finish my loose ends. I am swapping cards which have some thread painting through the Thread Society elist. Perfect opportunity to test my skills. I really loved this card. I freehanded on the machine the word Peace which is hard to read but it is there!

The process I used was needlefelting yarns both by hand and on the machine. I did my thread painting, added some beads, etc.

Here is the result.

Next: The card to the right is a little quote about taking some time to enjoy the tea, live life now, etc. This is for my special friend in Delaware. And here is another I did using my canvas, old sewing patterns, scraps of painted fabrics, metal wrapping paper and paint.

And so all my gifts are done. Now to pack for our trip! That is of course, in between, snow blower and shoveling time tomorrow. Sure wish I had time to snowshoe!

Fuller Craft Museum

Last Saturday I took my friend Janet to the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, MA. She is a crochet artist extraordinaire.

The gateway to the actual museum is lovely. Even in the brown mud season of this month!

We both wanted to see the Crocheted Prayer rugs by Xeonibia Bailey. Three exhibits were breathtaking.

This is Janet creating a crochet Mandela to add to the crochet exhibit.

The teapot exhibit was fabulous. My friend, Irene Reed, created two of the teapots in this exhibit.

After we visited the exhibits we shopped the Wearable Art Sale. Such gorgeous and reasonably priced things. It was a very inspiring visit.

Following our museum tour, we ate lunch at the "Not our Usual Joes". Then on to Boston.

Our destination was the Fort Point Arts Center. After riding around South Boston and within 1 mile of the same area for an hour looking for it- yes, we asked three cops and no one knew where it was - we parked the car.

The Children's Museum was very busy. We checked out the recycle shop. No great finds that day. Headed off to Trader Joe's and home. It was a very fun day.

Fair Isle KAL

Very often I do not have the time to follow a Knit-A-Long (KAL) with an e group but Elizabeth Lovick is a such a master of stranded knitting that I had to join her group.

Traditional knitting has an egroup which Elizabeth feeds us with her creativity. I chose to use worsted weight yarns – some from locally raised sheep – to follow the pattern that Elizabeth posted. Thus far, this is my creation and I think it will make a wonderful purse.

Of course I will post a photo when it is complete.

Witch's Tea

Sunday, the 26th October, 2008, my friend Charri Hendricksen invited me to a Witch's Tea.

Here is Liane Wiley, owner of the Knitting Knook.

Doesn't she look like a natural witch!!!

The food was pot luck and as usual terrific. Charri has a lovely view of the Surry Mountain Dam area from her house.

Here are two photos of Charri's fabulous decorations. Each room is better than the other!

Teaching Textile Arts for a local Quilt Guild

Textile Arts is my passion. Can't you tell? On October 19 I had 10 marvelous students of the Cheshire Quilt Guild learn about dyeing and printing fabric, without a washing machine!

Look at these beautiful results. Printing, stamping, monoprinting, sun resist dyeing. Nancy Whitney created these fabrics for quilted and she claims to be not creative!

Yes, I am available to teach more quilt guilds. Inquire within!!

NYC - Madison Avenue

Everyone should spend a day in the Big Apple as a reality check. Do I live as a New Yorker? Sometimes! I am after all a native!

But a long walk on Madison Ave is so much fun. The New York socialites dress to out do one another. Most people wear black. But the highest fashions and most expensive everything is on Madison Avenue. Here are two photos of the scarves in Searle. Note that the scarves are either knitted or shibori - design wise, right up my alley!

After a delicious salmon salad at the Nector Cafe - which set me back about $30.00, I spent an hour at Annie and Co knitting store. There I found a fabulous selection of knitting books.

Yes, I bought two with kids patterns. Afterall, I am the expectant grandmother of twins!


Lastly I went to the Whitney Museum of Art. Crowded!!! My peaceful life in NH has eased me into liking no crowds. The Alexander Calder exhibit was terrific.

It was a long day but very invigorating. I am looking forward to my next trip!

NY Sheep and Wool Festival

Economy in the tank? Hardly! On the 18th October I took a bus trip to the NY Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY. I have never seen so many people on a buying frenzy. The lines for shopping, eating, driving, etc were never ending.

It was a great way for me to save money because I could not get into the booths to buy anything.

I so much wanted a philosopher's wool sweater kit. But I couldn't get waited upon. Therefore, I will work on my stash. The best thing was a sign which said that Yarn Stock never crashes!

Beth Lipman at the RSID Museum of Art

Upon walking along Benefit Street in Providence, RI, we tripped upon the RSID Museum of Art. It was our actual destination to see Beth's art. It was a major installation and these are only a few of the photos that were taken. It is titled After We're Gone. Beth, today, had a write up in the New York Times Design Magazine. http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2008/09/28/style/t/index.html#pageName=28lipman

October 16 is the kick off of her Steuben collection in NYC. When Steuben was on Fifth Avenue, many years ago, our cousin did a photography study of the Steuben Store. The photography collection by Sam Gottscho is in the Museum of the City of New York. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Gottscho

And here you will find the Steuben Glass Beth Lipman Collection.

http://steuben.com/acb/ss.cfm?section=24&group=142

Providence, RI

We are home after a whirlwind three days in Providence, RI. What a fabulous artsy city. We had two days of rain which dampened our activities a bit. Less walking and more driving, that sort of thing.

Providence was settled by Roger Williams in the early colonial days. Many statues and tributes to that fine ole chap! There is a canal (with lots of fish) through the city. Many times there are firelight exhibits there but the rain caused the cancellation of that activity for the time we were there.

Above is the exterior of a potter's studio. The non black areas of the exterior are clay.

Providence has many similarities to Philadelphia: brick and stone streets, old but charming houses on the historical register, narrow streets, few steep hills, vibrant arts community, good restaurants, etc.

This house is on Benefit Street. Many homes there have historical markers dating the home.

One evening we ate at Constantino's

in the Federal Hill part of the city. Also known as Little Italy.

This is part of the ambiance of the courtyard at Constantino's.

Mancuso Quilt Show, Manchester, NH

Last Saturday I went to see the International Quilt Show in Manchester, NH. Here are some of the quilts from that show.

I spent most of the day in a class with Jennie Rayment learning her origami style of folded fabric pieces.

I loved this blue and white quilt which she showed in class.

All new techniques for me - now to finish it!

Portuguese Knitting

One would never have believed that Portugese Knitting could be so much fun and so quick: both to learn and to knit.

Friday night, Andrea Wong, who was visiting Harrisville, NH drove to Keene to teach of bunch of fiber enthusiasts this new technique. It was love at first, for all of us.

Andrea, who is dressed in black, is an excellent teacher. Her knitting history is also wonderful. Check her out at www.andreawong.com.

The class was at the LYS, The Knitting Knook, in Keene, NH.

Here are a few photos of our knitting' bunch as we perfect our new methods!

Isn't Jo's shawl lovely. I think it was a gift. Jo is the best beader in Keene! But she needs to be cause she owns Earth Treasures on Main Street - a shop full of beads!

Before I went to this class, I had to finish lesson 2 of dyeing for Quilt U. I am off to finish those samples so I can post them.

Lake Sunapee, NH

Last week-end my folks drove up from Lancaster, Pennslvania. Imagine being almost 90, buying a new car and driving to Southern NH. On top of that, they are going to WI in November.

We trekked north to tour Lake Sunapee by boat, after stopped at the Badger Balm tent sale.
(http://www.badgerbalm.com/). Lots of bargains for holiday gifts: Anti-bug balm, foot balm, hand creams, etc.

Arriving at the shore of Lake Sunapee, we had a delightful picnic. All the goodies from the Brattleboro, VT Farmers Market: VT cheese and bread, Gourd cherries, fresh picked cherry tomatoes, etc. Here are my folks sitting near a Gazebo on the hill overlooking Sunapee Harbor.

At 2:30 we boarded the MV Sunapee and road along the harbor and lake. The lake is 25 square miles; one of the few naturally fed spring water lakes with such clear, clean water; 140 deep in place; three public beaches, several boat clubs; interesting beautiful houses, three lighthouse, etc. The sun peaked through the cloud just for us.

Quilt U class

One way I have discovered to make more time for art is to take online classes. Quilt U has a wonderful selection and keeps me going. Here is a beginner dye class with Marjie McWilliams.

The first class was to vat dye 3 fat quarters. But I just can't follow directions! Here is a "vat" dyed pied which came out with lots of texture. It is a really deep "stormy blue" using Procion MX Dyes - what a joke. It is perfect for discharge! Stay tuned.

These are two more pieces which I just overdyed. The first was silkscreened before it was dyed. It too will be discharged, batiked and more. The lower one was dyed orange, discharged and overdyed. It is more more to my liking but it too needs more play.

Just from the first two lessons, where I only learned a thing or two, I created 12 fat quarters of fabric. The class is doing its job - forcing me to get into the studio! Hooray!

Surface Design Association Auction

As a board member of the Surface Design Association (http://www.surfacedesign.org/), I am chairing their first online auction. Hard work, learning a lot but the auction pieces are wonderful.

Here you can see a few of them. The auction opens for bidding on October 1. I will be in touch then!

The coast of Maine

Lobster and more Lobster! Perfect weather! Wonderful fibers! It all came together during our short vacation to coastal Maine.

I taught Art Cloth at the fiber college in Searsport, Maine on Friday, the 5th September. Such a lovely campground. Right on the Penosbscot Bay in Mid Coast. The fog rolls in and out. The oil tankers come and go. (The bench and woods are on the coast at the Searsport Campground.)

But the water is sooooooooo beautiful. Lots of sailboats, fisherman, interesting rocks, birds, etc.

Coastal Maine is always lovely. Here is a photo of Young's Lobster Pound from the harbor at Belfast, Maine. Belfast was an old mill town but is now filled with art galleries and artsy shops, good restaurants, etc. At Youngs', we ate a full Lobster Bake and it was fabulous. While we were there, several thousand pounds of lobster were loaded onto a truck bound for Canada to be processed for the lobster meat and sold off from there.

Coming home, the pancakes at Moody's Diner were terrific.

We stopped in Freeport to see if there any irresistible specials at LL Bean. Wow - that town has boomed in the last 15 years.

I found a winter parka for 30.00!

On to Portland. At the port, the best New England Chowder in America is at Gilbert's. They didn't let us down. We shopped for more lobster at the port, drove to York Harbor for a walk and came home. Hurricane Hanna was kind to us - she came through at night - we had perfect weather and a good time.