New Cuffs and Teamepe on Etsy!!

I haven't loaded these cuffs onto Etsy yet because I have to take more photographs and this week is going to be rainy. I might have enough light later, we'll see. They are not completely finished because I'm trying to sell them to size and will finish them when the buyer gives me a measurement. I think they would look amazing with a little black dress at the office Christmas party...There is only one of the wide cuffs but a couple of the skinny ones.

I have a new treasury celebrating Etsy Project Embrace (teamepe) becoming an official team on Etsy. Most of the sellers in this treasury have certain items tagged and they donate a percentage of the proceeds of those sales to the American Cancer Society. I am proud to be a part of this team and hope to see a cure for cancer in my lifetime!!! Please check out the artists and if you are signed in to Etsy please leave a comment!!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=84570

Happy Monday, everyone!!!

Bread Day AND EPE Day!!!

Now that Noah is home I always have to have more food on hand while he figures out what to do for his year off since the hiking didn't quite work out! So here I am making bread instead of weaving! :) Meanwhile he is perfecting his magic skills with cards, sending poems off to journals, and thinking about being a sub at the high school! He is nothing if not diverse!!!

I had fabulous news yesterday about Etsy Project Embrace which is a group of artists on Etsy who are dedicated to raising awareness and money to fight cancer. Etsy has recognized us as an official team!! Many thanks go to http://www.loveartworks.etsy.com/ for putting me in touch with this fabulous group and for her unfailing enthusiasm and energy in dealing with Etsy Admin. (Please check out her amazing shop!) Some artists are donating a percentage of their profits on certain items directly to the American Cancer Society. To find those items all you have to do is type in teamepe on the search bar! Please support this organization!!! I don't know anyone who has not been touch by this disease!

I will be showcasing some of these artists in the days to come--be thinking about the Christmas season!!!

Have a fabulous Sunday!!!

Another Hat!!

We had an 8-hour driving day on Tuesday to pick up Noah from Great Barrington, MA. He is done with his hike and recovering from blisters and trying to figure out the next stage in his year off before college! Soooo I took my knitting and aside from driving some, I knitted all day! The mountains were amazing, the leaves were changing and I took some pictures but my computer ate them...I have no idea what happened so I can't share them but I did get the hat done and felted it yesterday. It is on the big side but very cute on--sort of a "Annie Hall" look! Now I have to empty one more loom and put on a towel warp for the two people who won the auction benefiting the arts council here in town. They are coming on Wednesday for the day...uh oh, I have to clean the house, too. sigh. I'll worry about that next week! Meanwhile I'm off to weave!!

Happy Friday everyone!!

Three Plaid Chenille Scarves

I'm thinking about cooler weather...comfy chenille scarves...hot chocolate...brisk walks...kicking the leaves...seeing your breath... I love the changing weather! I'm ready for fall! No more bugs, no more heat waves-- lots of glorious color and fresh air and sweatshirts! OK maybe the chenille is rushing things a bit but ... anyway, I only got two of the scarves put on Etsy this afternoon. I need one more photo of the blue/gray one. They are quite subdued for me--could be very manly with that short fringe!!

Ripe Berries scarf

I was so excited by this warp that I immediately wove off a scarf, washed it, dried it overnight, and photographed it this afternoon! YAY! I love it! And I will have cuffs (eventually) too! All in my favorite color! OK...one of my favorite colors! Though I toned down the pink a little with a grape-colored rayon boucle. Now only three more scarves and some cuffs to go! Had a wonderful color-filled weekend! xo

Ripe Berries warp!

Ahhhh, this one is my new favorite! I know, I say that all the time but...the colors here call to me. I actually have one scarf woven but not photographed and I'm waiting for the sun to shift today to do it. Right now it is too bright! Actually it is another amazing day in the North Country--cool and crisp and sunny and beautiful! Yesterday was the same and a friend and I went on a long trail ride walking and trotting through fields, over the scary bridge--where Dommie will follow but will NOT go alone!--through the woods, onto a dirt road and back through fields and home again! It was wonderful and refreshing and Duke got to go out for once!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday!! xo

My Oldest Son--Etsy Newbie

I just wanted to introduce my oldest, Adam Serra, of http://www.StudioSerra.etsy.com/ He is an amazing photographer and has really been working at it his whole life. He has always loved cameras and photographs as well as oils and acrylics. Early on he dreamed of being a National Geographic photographer and is living at least part of that dream in Kauai, hiking and taking stunning landscapes. He also works full time as a restaurant manager at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa. Actually while hiking on the Kalalau Trail for 5 days with his fiancee, Alicia, and taking the photographs in his shop, he slipped, broke his leg, and had to be first carried in a sleeping bag by some men who were also hiking out, then airlifted to the nearest hospital, (all of which took 6 hours!!) leaving Alicia to hike the rest of the way on her own!! Plucky woman and I love her too!! It seems my children love their adventures!

Happy Friday, everyone!! Be creative!!

Just finished a hat for a dear vendor friend! She is always at the Clayton Craft Fair and helped me tremendously in learning the ropes of craft fairing!! This year I looked over and saw two young people in her place...hmmm...no Phyllis? Turns out she was in the hospital having a breast biopsy and yes, it is cancer. The young people turned out to be her son and daughter. At the same time her husband was taken to the hospital because they thought he was having a heart attack! Wow...soooo they both showed up on the second day looking tired but ok. And Phyllis talked about a hat for when she lost her hair in the winter. Here it is! And I'm sooo pleased I was able to do something! You know how you always feel so helpless when something bad like that happens! Her prognosis is good, though! Phyllis, by the way, does the most amazing cross stitch...something I would have no patience doing! A trade might be in the making here--cause I don't think she will accept the hat without!

Happy Thursday to everyone! It is a gorgeous day up here in the North Country--sunny and cool! And I'm off to ride later, even though Dommie would rather just eat, thank you very much!! And I might have to clean the house...ugh...

Cones of Inspiration

It's easy to be inspired when I am surrounded by cones of color!! Now that I have taken over the entire house, I have used all the shelves, including in the kitchen, for storage of thread! I love the way it looks and I'm always getting ideas just be being surrounded by all that color!! These are just some of the shelves I use and I didn't photograph all the fancy yarns in boxes yet, either! Yay! for understanding husbands like my Gary!

Family Life

OK, I'm trying to recover from this weekend...We drove to NH, stayed with my Mom, saw two of my sisters, and had a wonderful time. Then we drove to Manchester, VT and dropped Noah off in the middle of nowhere with a trail going off into the woods and he waved goodbye and that was it. Except for the crying. sigh. I don't know why it is sooo hard to let go of this kid. I know it is good for him to spread his wings, have adventures, become his own person, figure things out. I know all this. I really do...

Falling Leaves scarf!

Here it is, my Falling Leaves scarf--I'm imagining this with a cream silk blouse and a charcoal pencil skirt, a wide black belt and a pair of turquoise slingback heels! Yum! Now for my diet and exercise program!!!!

I love the way this one turned out--sort of a go-with-everything scarf, perfect for the fall, perfect for the office, or your little black dress!!! Ahhhh, I love putting colors together and I have boxes full! Maybe I'll go take pictures of the inside of my boxes! Happy Friday!!

Threading My "Falling Leaves" Scarf Video

Sooooo even though I was supposed to leave my looms empty I just couldn't and here is the threading (actually called sleying the dent) for another scarf--possibly named "Falling Leaves" though not a very original name...I love the reds and oranges with, of course, all the other colors I put in--yellow, green, blues, pink, violet, chocolate (chocolate goes with everything, right?)! And weaving with the copper...ahhhhh! You can see the colors much better on the warping mill which I published several days ago. Tomorrow I will post one of the finished scarves!

A BIG Thank You!!!

A BIG Thank You to Andria from http://katsarayarns.etsy.com/ for featuring my Verdigris & Rust scarf on her amazing blog at http://etsylounge.blogspot.com/ !! Not only my scarf but some of my favorites, too!! If you are looking for some eye candy (and gifts!!) please check out her Etsy store as well as her blog! In her words Andria's store features "Handpainted luxury yarns, scarves, cuffs, woven, felted and knitted accessories and unique jewelry." We are both weavers and dyers and I have to say Andria's work stood out right from my first day on Etsy!! Check out the yummy colors!!! And that scarflette! I want one in every color!!!


http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15175286


http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20535366


Another BIG Thank You goes to Anna of http://noblegnome.etsy.com/ for featuring my Sunshine & Shimmer scarf in her Fall Essentials! Her blog is http://noblegnome.blogspot.com/ (ok check out her pet interactive spider!!) and if you need a gift check out her jewelry on her etsy site!! Wow, look at that harvest bracelet and those earrings are like ripe berries! I want it all!! LOL



http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29528806



http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30122411

Filling up the looms again...

I know, I know, I said I was emptying the looms but I haven't heard from one of the people who is going to spend the day with me and two looms have been empty for a couple of hours now and I thought...Maybe just a few more scarves because these amazing threads were calling to me!!!!! They are really a little more orangey than the pictures show and I will weave them with a thin copper colored thread. Yay! And then I will put on a simple towel warp for them to play with and we will design another scarf (but they can not weave on that!) So here I am just about to warp up one of the looms and I know as soon as I do I will hear from that person! LOL ! But here goes anyway!

Soft Stained Glass Chenille Scarves

I have to empty my looms over the next couple of days because I have 2 people who won spending a day with me in an auction to raise money for our local arts council...that said I have to come up with a project for them to work on that is fairly easy and I will have them work also on designing a scarf! Of course I will photograph all of it!!! I have another person who won spending a day dyeing with me and I will be working on that too. Meanwhile here I am weaving away on my chenille scarves...almost finished the second one, then 2 more and one scarflette to go!


Later, since it is such a glorious day, I will be out riding Dommie in the fields and exercising both of us!! Went riding yesterday, leaving Duke at home, and Dom did really well except for crossing the scary bridge...so had to dismount, drag him across, get back on, then he was fine--even crossed the scary bridge going the other way (because he knew he was going home! LOL).

Etsy Front Page!!!

Many, many thanks goes to Intres, an artist in Spain for putting together this amazing treasury which Etsy Admin picked for their front page last evening! Intres does innovative, imaginative, quirky, and wonderful soft sculptures! And I'm hoping to feature her on this blog soon! Meanwhile please check out her Etsy shop at http://intres.etsy.com/ ! And she is the genius who put together this beautiful treasury! I'm still new at doing screenshots and I can't figure out how to get one picture so you'll have to put up with seeing the top and the bottom! LOL ! And please check out the beautiful bowl on the lower right hand corner...another gifted Etsyian artist and her shop is http://loveartworks.etsy.com/ where you can find simply gorgeous pottery! In my next life I want to work with clay!!!

Photo Shoot

Wow, Katie came over yesterday and the sun was shining and we took some pictures! Yay! Actually the cuffs are only pinned because I've decided to finish them to the size of the person buying them...just seems to make sense. It will take a little longer to mail out but gives some flexibility in the sizing. So they will all fit a wrist 7" or smaller with a little leeway. We'll see how that goes! I have not listed any of these yet but might list the scarf this afternoon (See video for making this scarf below!) after we go riding. I'm trying to make the most of this glorious weather and Katie has time so ... so much for work! :)

Yesterday we rode and Katie's (Duke's) rein fell off and she had to ride back with one rein! Duke didn't seem to care...he knows where he lives! :) Happy Friday, Everyone!!!

Family Life

I love living in upstate New York though lately I've been thinking that maybe we have done our children a disservice by not exposing them to the "real" world. We live here like we did in the 50s really. Our doors are not locked, people keep their cars running while they dash into a store, I can call the grocery store and they will give my husband a message for me. Well, you get the picture...Now my youngest wants to hike the Appalachian Trail starting in southern Vermont and hiking for three months until it gets too cold. And I'm thinking he has no idea what life is like outside of Potsdam!! And aside from the wildlife, I'm worried about bad guys!! OK and bears trying to get fat for the winter!! And there are ticks carrying parasites! And rattlesnakes! And probably mountain lions! And he is way too skinny for survival without food! I could walk for months without food--he needs calories! Well I think we are driving to Vermont on Saturday and I'm trying to be supportive but I am a little freaked out that he is going and going alone! His older brother did part of the trail but he was in his 20s and Noah is only 18. sigh...It's hard to let them go...He has been calling his brother every night in Hawaii and asking him questions and getting his gear together. What is it with boys and adventures!!!!

OK enough complaining...I'm off to do chores cause the horses are tired of waiting for me! Then a full day of weaving! And it's a good thing my kids don't bother to read my blog!! :)