Just for me...

Wildflowers picked from my garden by little hands

meant just for me.

Mother of us All

Happy Birthday Amma!

Mother of Us All

Ammachi – The Hugging Saint

Mother-of-us-all prays to free us from our image of perfection to which so much suffering clings.

When in the shadowy mind we imagine ourselves imperfectly, praying to be freed from gravity by enlightenment, she refines our prayers.

Putting her arms around us she bids us rest our head on her shoulder whispering, Don’t you know with all your fear and anger all you are fit for is love.

2007 © by Stephen Levine

I'm already there...

I can't wait for this event! It is so close to my home and looks like it will be so much fun!

Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival

The 2nd Annual Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival will be held at the Washington County Fairgrounds on September, 25 and 26, 2010.

More than 90 regional fiber vendors from New York and new England will be participating.
Festival Hours are 9am-5pm on both Saturday and Sunday.
Demonstrations include sheep shearing, weaving, felting, spinning, Kool-Aid dyeing and Rug Hooking.
Fiber animals including a variety of sheep breeds, alpaca, llama, cashmere goats and angora rabbits will be exhibited by their owners.
The Festival will have musical entertainment, Puddles the Clown doing face painting and balloons, and an assortment of Festival foods.
Admission is $5 for Adults, children under 14 are free. There is lots of free parking. For the safety of the animals, vendors, and festival participants, we ask that you leave your pets at home.
For more information, call (518) 692-2464.

Washington County Fair
392 Old Schuylerville Road
Greenwich, New York 12834
Phone: 518-692-2464

Been So Busy!

I had this thought that once The Paper Sparrow brick and mortar shop closed it's doors, i might have more time to concentrate on my own little Etsy shop!
(Always trying to look on the brighter side of life!)

But, i am now working harder to supply three different shops in downtown Troy NY with all different kinds of goodies!

I have these sweet and colorful cloche hats for kids and adults

and more of my Deedle Dumpling hats in colorful self striping sock yarns!

And it is Apple and Pumpkin Season once again so here are some Apple Dumpling and Pumpkin Dumpling hats too!

Something new for me...or really something "re-new"( i used to make these rugs when my kids were small) is crocheted rugs made from recycled bed sheets, t-shirts and old clothing fabric...

and of course, my favorite things to make, teddy bears and bunnies and all sorts of knitted and sewn critters! You can find these things (or place an order with me for anything you see here that you like) in my Etsy shop, or at these wonderful shops in downtown Troy NY: Anchor 5 Boutique, Artcentric, and Rust and Reason, all located on historic River Street in Troy. Anchor 5 boutique is actually in the very same storefront as the Paper Sparrow was, so it feels good to have a few things still for sale there... Troy Night Out is this Friday night. Why not come out and support the local businesses and get an early start on your Holiday shopping! Maybe we will bump into each other!

Little Dancer

Lola's Great Grandfather (my Dad) wanted to send Lola to dancing school.
And it just so happened that Lola wanted to be a ballerina!
(Here we see Pollyanna admiring her)

So here she is after her very first ballet class, showing us her moves...

I can't believe how fast time flies...no more baby.

Harvest

There are three or four different kinds of heirloom tomatoes in this basket

I just wish i could remember what they were! My little Jack Russell Rubie went around the garden and pulled out all the name tags from the plantings right after i planted them.... I do know this tho... They all taste wonderful!

A Nice Surprise!

My painting "Autumn Woods" was just featured in this Blog. Thanks Friendly Brown Blog!

100 Hearts!

I almost forgot to mention this! My little Etsy shop has just been "favorited" 100 times by fellow Etsians and customers! So, in celebration of this little milestone, i am offering free shipping thru the month of September to anyone in the USA! Come on by and visit the shop...Christmas IS coming sooner than you think! ;)

What's New in the Etsy Shop!

Now that The Paper Sparrow is a new shop (Anchor 5 Boutique) and in new hands, i am able to focus more on my own little shop with Etsy.

I've added some of my Mom's super soft, super wonderful baby blankets that she crochets. She is usually busy making these for babies in the family, but now that the family has slowed down a bit in the baby department, she has a few extra to share with the rest of the world!

Mom has been making these blankets since my first baby was born, and i actually still have the 2 blankets she made for my daughters over 30 years ago!

She works with easy care acrylic yarn that can be tossed in the washer and dryer and used again and again. These blankets make great baby shower gifts....

Also, a few more critters have joined the Etsy team! This is Rosie the lop eared bunny

and Fuzzy

and Happy. All of my knitted bunnies and teddies are made without buttons or small parts that can come loose and cause problems for small children. So they are safe for children of all ages. I have a few orders to fill for the brick and mortar shops i am working with, but will soon be adding more baby hats, scarves, jewelry and more malas and rosaries. Time to start thinking about Christmas!

Lola's Tomatoes

This year i bought all my tomato plants from the Troy Farmer's market. And because Lola was interested in her own garden, i bought her her own tomato plant

I chose all sorts of heirloom tomato varieties for the garden

but decided to get her a special plant, different from all the others. So i bought a cherry tomato plant called "Sugar Sweet"
(just because the name reminded me of the little girl who would tend the plant! ;)

What a wonderful time we are having in the garden with this plant. Every time Lola comes over for a visit, she goes out with her crocks on and her basket on her arm and we pick handfuls of super sweet and tasty tomatoes. And she is standing in front of her tomato plant in these pictures. Yes, that big bush behind her is Lola's tomato plant! It's huge!

I am hoping this little taste of gardening will stay with her for her lifetime.

And i hope we have many more years to share this love of gardening together...