What's New?

Well, there is a whole lot of new things goin' on around here. First of all, i finally brought the van down to The Paper Sparrow to pick up my most special birthday present from my daughter Kate. Last Summer we had the good fortune to meet a local artist, Lorraine Bowen. She sells many of her delightful paintings at my daughter's shop. Anyway, i happened to go to her website, and saw a painting called "Ox" and fell in love...(I love anything bovine, but have a special soft spot for soft brown cows with those big sweet cow eyes...) When i told Lorraine that i especially loved that painting she told me it was big...but i had no idea HOW big. (Here it is, sitting on my couch, waiting for me to make a final decision on what wall it will be hung) Well, months went by and my daughter told me she had a special surprise for my birthday. When she dragged this big square package wrapped in brown paper out of the gallery space in her shop i had no idea it was the Ox painted by Lorraine. This truly was a big surprise! Katie told me Lorraine and her Mother were both a little sad to part with this painting. But i hope seeing it in my home will make them feel a little better. It is a well loved addition to my growing art collection! Not real sure where it will go yet, but i am down to either a nice sunny yellow wall in the sun room, OR center stage on my warm, cocoa colored walls in my kitchen. (Somehow i can't help but feel this little Ox will be happier in the kitchen...but we'll see...) When we do decide where it is going, i'll take another picture of it in it's official home space. Thank you Katie! Thank you Lorraine! I LOVE it!

Another new member of my doll and teddy collection is Ned, from Teddy Bear's Wednesday ~ Jess McCoughey. This little guy is a little more "portable" and will also be a much loved addition to my home. Thanks Jess! So happy you have an Etsy shop now! Keep makin' those teddies!
These are two of my Mother Earth paper dolls. I take copies of photos of women i support thru Kiva.org and make little paper sculptures of them, to raise awareness of the fantastic job Kiva does. I am making these to display at The Paper Sparrow at the next Troy Night Out, where my Mother and I will be the featured artists! It will be the first Mother~Daughter art show at the shop. We will be showing our matted and framed paintings ~ mostly watercolor, and a few acrylics and collages... You are all officially invited to attend the show opening on January 30th, 5:00 till???
And i'm still baking that bread! Here are two loaves of french boule cooling on the rack... yum!

On the needlework front, i finally made a slightly more complicated sweater. This one and the little hat to match will be given as a gift for a newborn baby girl who has just become a part of our extended family!

And this little sweater/jacket is a basic beginner's sweater. The colors don't show up very well in this photo(i truly need a new camera) but it is a nubby yarn with shades of pink, rose, raspberry, grey and white. I used a vintage mother of pearl button to close it at the neck. I still need to wash and block this little sweater before it is ready to go.

And last but not least, i am ALMOST done with my first mitten! WOOHOO! It is actually my umpteenth try at mittens.... The first few tries i tore out the cuff twice because of mistakes in the ribbing. Then when i was finally half way thru the first mitten, my puppy Pollyanna got a hold of it and decided to play tug of war with her sister Zinnia with it...That was discouraging... Anyway, all i need to do is finish the thumb and i have one mitten down, 1 more to go!

I am very proud of my stitches in this project. When i first started knitting, my stitches were all over the place, but i am finally pulling it together. Again, the color is washed out of this shot but it does show my neat little stitches...(again, i really need a new camera ...) So, that's it for now...Time to start a few new projects(and get that second mitten done!)