A song for you...Mary by Patty Griffin

More Teddies and a hat model...

More teddies finished and ready to go to The Paper Sparrow!

Everybody's happy!

And here is my hat model! It actually looks a LOT better on her than it did slumped on my kitchen table. And the very best thing about it is, she LIKES her hat!

Normally hats get ripped off the head before you get a chance to grab the camera, but...

this hat stayed on until we took it off her!

A few finished projects...

Lola's stripey hat is done! Let's hope she will keep this one on her head...

And two Snowfolk are ready to go to The Paper Sparrow for the Christmas shoppers!
Now on to the teddy bear assembly!

First Snow

Today we had snow...We've had flurries before but today a bit of it coated the ground...And for Pollyanna, it was all new!

She got all the way across the yard before she noticed there was something different about the ground under her feet.
She spent a few minutes trying to lift all four feet off the ground...

Then she tried to shake the snowflakes off....

And then she decided to taste it....

and REALLY liked it!

She was so excited!

Let's see how she does in DEEP snow!

The Autumn Test

If you are just sitting there without any real energy to come up with a good blog post (like me) then you can just click on this link and take The Autumn Test . It is short and sweet and doesn't take too much thinking and practically no typing! Here are my results from taking the test...

Your Autumn Test Results

You are a playful, spirited person.

You have a limitless imagination and amazing creative talents.

When you are happiest, you are calm.

You appreciate tradition and family.

You enjoy feeling cozy.

You prefer change to come slowly.

You need a long transition period when your life changes.

You find solitude to be the most comforting thing in the world.

Being alone with your thoughts feels very peaceful.

Your ideal day is active and full.

You like to keep busy with your favorite things, and you appreciate a routine.

You tend to live in the moment.

You enjoy whatever is going on, and you don't obsess over the past or future.

Hmmm...sounds pretty good, except i'm not too sure about my ideal day being active and full...I could use a few slow, quiet days lately! ;)

A Woman I admire

Another one of my life long favorites...Her voice is so much like an instrument to me..now and then. This is one of my favorite songs from her album "Blue" And the paintings in the slide show are hers too... If you have never listened to the words to her song "A Case of You" check it out. Pure Poetry and Very Beautiful...

Black Friday Big Box Items!

I don't need to brave the crowds at the shopping malls in Upstate New York today, shopping for the big sales on the big box items... I already have what i want!

And i don't even need batteries or a cable hookup to enjoy it!

My Favorite Lullabye

I first heard this beautiful voice when i was just a girl. I used to listen to him constantly. I would play this album softly at night and fall asleep to it... Happy Thanksgiving everybody...

Autumn Observations #9

"Full Moon Outside my Bedroom Window"

watercolor (branches done with straw technique) on watercolor paper

This is the last of my Autumn paintings! This was fun! Let's see what inspiration Winter in Upstate New York brings!

At the Back Door....

my best friends wait for me...

Pollyanna, Zinnia, Gipetto

Autumn Observations #8

"Sand Dune"

watercolor, salt, on watercolor paper

New Toys

And they are all MINE!

Pug dolls and finger puppet by Melissa at

Life is Art...Art is Life

and wool felted miniature pups by Stacey at

Three Red Trees

I love these little dolls, and the women who make them are really special too!

First dog sweater....

Well i finished my first knitted dog sweater last night

It's a little big on Pollyanna, but i am sure she will grow into it

(IF she grows that much...Time will tell)

This is the first dog sweater i have ever made, so now that it is finished, i can see how i would make a few changes to make it work better for me and for the dogs. Polly seems to like it tho and was in no rush to take it off. It is SO cold out there today i am sure she welcomes the extra layer!

Even with the sweater on tho, as soon as the dogs come in from the yard, they make a bee line for the stove

snug as a bug in a rug....er....a sweater....

Keeping Busy!

I have been away from my blog and email lately, and it feels good to get back to it and to all my good blogging friends...I've been so busy getting ready for the Christmas shopping season. My daughter Kate at The Paper Sparrow has asked for more dolls, more jewelry, more prints, more...everything! And i am very happy to be asked! So here is what has been going on around here...

From this tangled mess, comes.....

some new jewelry, with more on the way. Here we have a blue lace agate necklace, some chunky garnet pieces, and as always the popular pearl pieces, some bracelets and gobs of earrings....

...more teddy bears knitted up, and waiting to be stuffed and sewn together. Some will be for small children, embellished with embroidered features and a few will be thread and button jointed with safety and button eyes....

And in this pile you can see a little baby sweater almost finished in a soft blue and pearly white yarn, a new patterned hat for Lola, a super small dog sweater in the works(my first one) and a loomed snowman doll almost ready to be stuffed and shaped.

And as if that wasn't enough, my new knitting class started at The Paper Sparrow. This time we are learning to knit mittens....

My teacher Linda is starting me out with two different methods of making mittens to see which one i like best...The traditional double pointed needle way, and the "Magic Loop" way on circular needles. I like both methods but i think so far the Magic Loop is my favorite. I know that with more practice, both methods will get easier, but right now knitting with four needles feels like i am wrestling with a porcupine in my hands! (Keep your fingers crossed for me that i can get this lesson right)

So as i type this, this is what my kitchen table looks like at this very moment. What a mess! But with time and a little bit more focus, i should be able to wrap a few of these projects up and get them to the shop before Troy Night Out and the Victorian Stroll. What have you been up to?

Autumn Observations #7

"Out West"

watercolor and salt on watercolor paper

Tagged by The Mouse

City Mouse that is, from the popular blog City Mouse,Country House Not only does my friend write about his adventures in the Adirondacks, but he is also a very talented knitter and offers his creations for sale in his Etsy shop, called ADKknits Check it out...His knits are beautiful and there is always something going on at his blog... Anyway, here are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Ok, here goes...

1. I LOVE Holidays, but most of all Christmas, and Christmas Eve is for me the most magical part of the holiday.

2. I love to cook and bake, especially when the temps drop.

3. I don't think i ever really grew up and still cannot resist dolls and toys, like this, and this, and this...

4. I love to knit (a new skill for me) and am planning to make some dog sweaters next...

5. When buying beads and putting jewelry together, i don't go by color or design, but how the components "feel" together energetically.

6. Whenever i make anything, whether it is a knitted doll or garment, or jewelry or a painting, i always send Reiki(healing energy) into the object to be sent to whoever receives the gift.

Ok! I now tag:

Kate from The Peony and the Bee
Melissa and Emmitt from Life is Art~Art is Life
Stacey from Three Red Trees
Paula from The Fraker Farm
Peng Peng from Peng Peng's Place

Thanks CM!

Special Order~ Aunt Peggy's Bears

When Aunt Peg saw my first bear, Cornelius, she asked me to make two bears for her grandsons for Christmas. Because the boys are very young, these teddies have no joints or buttons, or small parts that can be pulled off and swallowed...

The pod like shapes they are laying on are more bear parts knitted up and waiting to be stuffed and sewn together. And when they are ready they will sit on the shelves of The Paper Sparrow, waiting for children to take them home!
(or just some big kid like me! ;)

Knitting like Crazy!

Well, i finished my second doll, using the Mother Bear pattern, but made a few changes on my own. This little critter knit up much faster, now that i know what i am doing, and i did my own thing with the face pattern too.

Meet Miss Kitty
She is shorter and more plump than Teddy

and she even has a tail!

And here is a hat and scarf seti just finished. The hat was knit on the loom, and the scarf was crocheted. I'm tagging every thing up, and bringing them down to the Paper Sparrow for the Holiday shopping season! I just can't believe it is almost Thanksgiving and before you know it, Christmas will be here. I'd better get going!

I hope some little boy or girl will like my dolls enough to take one home...
(proceeds from the sale of these dolls goes to the Mother Bear Knitting Project)