Soggy but Still Rockin'

Rain's back. I know it's boring, but I have to join my fellow P-town, Maine bloggers--this one and this one--in lamenting this blasted wet spell but in expressing a little half-hearted gratitude, too, for the gifts the rain brings.
At the very least, the decreased mobility gives me more time to make sunny feltscapes. And today I have created, quite possibly, the perfect Pandora station--"Time After Time" is the seed. Go ahead, try it. If you think you can handle the circa-1985 awesomeness. And I know you can, cause you're my peeps.

Because it didn't rain--

--I had the energy to paint the front hall and make delicious "coffee break" muffins this morning. Then, in the afternoon, I went to the post office, walked the dog, and made yummy pasta salad, Avocado-Sesame style. It looked like this for a minute----and then it had noodles in it, and then it mysteriously disappeared. Thanks to the glorious rainlessness, I was also able to photograph A.'s fourth-grade self-portrait----which is (yes, I'm bragging), so lovely it makes my heart skip beats.A little sunshine goes a long way around here.

The 100 Club

Just popping in--busy, crazy busy day--to say share a little squeal over having hit 100 sales in my shop on Wednesday. Somehow this feels like a big deal, and I've had so much fun in the past several months.

A couple of other things--the divine Miss Meg from Sew Liberated will have a giveaway of one of my little neighborhood hoops tomorrow (Saturday). Go for the giveaway, stay for the baby pictures. (Seriously? Could that kid be handsomer? Did you see him in the vest?!)

I'm giving a reading at 7:00 tonight at the Harlow Gallery in Hallowell, Maine, one of my favorite little places. The crowd is always packed into the little space, and you can feel the love. I'm looking forward to it but obsessing a bit over what to wear, as I always do when it comes to readings (which is funny because in my non-poet-persona life, I am a bit of a slob these days).

Finally, have you seen this make-along? Brilliant Abby came up with it, and I suggested the poem. I'm going to somehow find time to participate, and I think you should, too!

Cuckoo for Two

This one--

--and this one--

--are in the shop now, and myriad permutations are cuckooing like mad in my brain. Too bad I have papers to grade. :-(

Cuckoo Time

Yes, those two up there are a bit nutty, but that's not what I mean. (Nanny's visiting, loves the girl's long hair. And can you spot A.'s self-portrait, finally home from school, on the mantle?)
It's totally pouring, like crazy-hard rain, so the light's dreadful, but I had to share a glimpse of the series I'm working on. The clock has inspired a whole new color palette, which feels great (and uses up some of the piles of felt that have just been sitting there forever). Off to make another! (I think I'm addicted, but hey--it's safer than smack!)

Lots of Stuff (including a famous daughter)

Here's the aftermath of my (iced) tea party with the lovely Miss Liz--
--who brought these gorgeous flowers. The vegan snickerdoodles are a Vegan Yum Yum gem.

Up there's my "current project" drawer--I got this great roley bin (at Target) with removable drawers that snap closed, and that means my needlework has gotten far more portable, and I can keep all the little bits together without losing anything.
I decided to make a series of hoops using only my teensy scraps, and that's how these circle-flowers were born. I'm pretty psyched about 'em--thrift pays, folks.
Then's there's this w.i.p.--
--a neighborhood I've cooked up for an upcoming giveaway on Sew Liberated. It's worth heading over there just to look at pictures of her ridiculously cute new baby.
Finally, can you believe my kid's embroidery is featured on Feeling Stitchy today? If I weren't insanely proud of her, I'd be a little jealous.

Check Out My Girl (who just now finished her first year at school!)

Well, she finished it, though there wasn't time to glue the hoop before her last-day-of-school ride arrived this morning, so it'll have to be shipped. Still, I figure, who doesn't like a lovely package in the mail?
This actually turned out to be a great project--I was thinking a good one for travel, if your littles don't get carsick. It probably goes without saying, but I attached a piece of linen to the wooden hoop and had Annabelle draw a simple design directly onto the fabric with a softish sketch pencil. I reminded her how to do the backstitch, and she was off. When she was finished, I did my usual glue-and-pink routine at the back. This seems like it might be a fantastic way to let children make art for their own rooms, no?
Then we have one of the pieces Annabelle did in school this year--there's more to show, so wait for it!--looking fantastic in my dining room. I think the ghost of this picked-clean critter will smile down on all our vegan dinners. ;-)
Oh, summer vacation, we're so glad to see you.

Penguin Face

Annabelle and I had a lovely day together on Saturday. We packed a picnic lunch and headed to our usual spot at the front of the neighborhood elementary school under a huge oak tree, to eat and read (The Mysterious Benedict Society, for the third time--I highly recommend it for the 8-10 set!). When we got there, we discovered that a school fair was just wrapping up, and she'd missed the opportunity to have her face painted. We didn't let it bother us, though, since we're can-do gals. We had our lunch, went to the library for additional intellectual provisions (a.k.a. "more books"), and when we got home, we got out the non-toxic paints.She said they had to be emperor penguins. Okay. I didn't even flinch, folks. Ahem.
Then we both did some embroidery whilst listening to Father Knows Best on Old Time Radio. Up there's the garden I've just completed, and I've talked A. into making a little hoop for one of her teachers. Why do we want so much for our girls to love to sew? I try to keep my cards a little hidden, so as not to scare her off, but sheesh. It's hard. If she ever finishes her piece, I'll share the results. If she doesn't, I shall lick my wounds privately.

Diagnosis: ADCD

That's "attention deficit craft disorder." Yup--I've got it. Here are the symptoms: you begin a project with feverish excitement, say, a wool felt paper doll. The gears on your sewing machine are burning up, and you can see the lovely finished product in your mind, even the little girl who will, in a few days time, play with the doll, humming while she puts on this little pink dress--wait. You remember that you still haven't figured out how to personalize your packaging. Sure, your brown paper bags sewn with a zigzag edge are cute and eco-friendly, but do they scream "Little Pink House"? No! You must find a way to put your stamp on that mailer--wait. Rubber stamps! You can make your own rubber stamps! Off you go to the art store to get all this stuff (yes, leaving the half finished dolly right on the feed dog, needle poised-but-lifeless above her):And don't worry that you don't actually know how to make rubber stamps. Martha's gonna show you.You come home and dive right in, first making a word that reads left-to-right and, consequently, reads backward when you print it (in acrylic paint, which looks terrible, but you were too cheap to buy the inks Martha recommended). Then you discover you're not yet good enough to carve out all the details on the house stamp you try to make, and you abandon the whole mess on the dining room table--not to mention all those rubbery crumbs all over the floor--and head back to the studio to...finish the doll? No! To make a tiny-house hoop, silly. But you don't finish that either because it's not long before you decide you need to go to the craft store and buy stamp pads (for $1)--after all, you've never followed the letter of Martha's law (The woman has scads of money, after all, and you don't!), just the spirit.There. Now you're ready to give this a go again.It's clear I will never seek treatment because mine is a functioning madness.

Heads Down and Heads Up

I've been doing a lot of custom teacher gifts in recent days--mostly scented houses, but yesterday I had the great pleasure of creating a portrait of a beloved teacher well known for standing on his head in class.
I appliqued "Jordan" on a 4X6" panel of 3mm felt--this stuff (the "heads up" portion of my post!) is beautiful, thick enough that you could cut it into coasters and with such a buttery finish. I like just handling the stuff. I got it from one of my usual felt fixes, Feltorama, and I only bought one 12X12" panel (as per my usual cautious spending style), but I think I'm going back for more. (Elissa--what else could I do with this stuff? You know you're my idea girl!)

Cutest Dog Ever?

I'm just saying, I want this dog to come alive and lick my face, fetch stuff for me, etc.
(Don't worry--Sophie can't read, so no chance of her getting jealous.)