Shearing Day

I am posting a few pictures from yesterday when we sheared our small flock which is a motley crew of corriedales and a mix finn/babydoll breed.

This is Thorin, a corriedale awaiting shearing.  He is our big guy and is not very happy to be in a small pen.

And here he is on the left, also not very happy after what he just went through.  (they do recover quickly)

Below are my finn/babiedolls.  The darker one, Belladonna, is the mama of the white ones, Pippin and Merry.

Here they are after their very first haircut. (they were one year old last month).  I am very interested in how their wool will felt.  Babydoll's fleece is not that great for wet felting, however, I am hoping that the finn in them will counteract that. 

Last month and other things

In March, I went to a workshop in Easthampton, Mass.  I had posted a detailed account of my adventure and sadly, some jerk with nothing better to do scammed it and I was unable to delete his/her post.  I had to delete the entire entry to get rid of the stupidness.  Lesson learned.  I now moderate my blog which I suppose I should have been doing all along.

I am going to repost a couple of picture from my trip; it really was fabulous. Lisa Klakulak was the instructor and if you haven't seen her artwork, you should: http:www.strongfelt.com/ .  It was a four day workshop, I learned so much, had a great time, picked up some lovely fiber at New England Felting Supply and made some friends as well!

h

Park Street B and B, where I stayed.  I highly recommend it!

Beautiful Eva, one of my fellow students, but already a very talented felting artist.  You can see her beautiful work here:     http://www.lanahandmade.com/

We will be sheering our sheep this coming May 11th.  I will try and get before/after shots.  It really is quite remarkable.  

 

Wordless Wednesday on Thursday

Why I live in Maine

Yesterday was a day full of snow with a fire going in the fireplace and the aussies laying at my feet (or laying out in the snow, which they love just as much).

Today, the sun is bright and I have always meant to get a picture of this stream, which is on my way home from Bangor. Today was the day.

  

 My *new* sheep are not so new anymore and fit right in.  They still let me handle them and pet them and it is such a sweetness I cannot describe. Thorin is the big one and Merry is one of the newbies looking at me.  They all have a coat of snowy ice on their coats.

All of the above and much much more...this is Maine to me and I am in love.

 

Winter Barrens

While I have been working on the Barrens in my spare time, I just discovered another Maine artist doing the same.  Check out Kathy's beautiful barrens scene here: http://www.studiointhewoods.blogspot.com

For the large boulders found in the barrens I tried something new.  I flamed the edges of a brown sheer to make it curve or *poof*.

 Then I put a little extra sheer inside the poof and stitched them down.

 My background is a piece of synthetic type of velvet.

 Below is my version of the barrens in winter.  Two different approaches; two beautiful creations. (in my opinion. :)

Burning of the Barrens

This piece is long in the coming.  Several years ago when I first discovered free motion stitching, thanks to a book by Ellen Anne Eddy, I thought I would try to depict a picture of the blueberry barrens when they are burnt.  It did not turn out.  I had neither the skill nor the understanding of the barrens that I have today.

I am somewhat obsessed by the barrens and for those of you who have seen them, for good reason.  Vast areas of wilderness Maine are covered in wild blueberries.  In the spring they blossom and summer finds them loaded with berries and during that time they are harvested in a back grueling method old as...well, old.  In the fall the fields are burnt for purposes of bugs and proliferation (this was done by native Americans long before the first European came along)  and in the winter they are a deep scarlet red - all winter long.

I cannot describe the vastness of the barrens in the downeast area of Maine.  One could become lost easily; they seem to go on and on.  I am not the first artist to attempt to depict the barrens, nor will I be the last.  Below please find my latest attempt (and best thus far) of the burning of the barrens.

What Inspires You?

While rummaging through a box of indispensable stuff/junk, I discovered this card which my brother sent to me several years ago.  I noticed the simplicity of the pattern and how appealing it was.  Thinking to see if I could freehand draw this with my machine, I gave it a go.

  

You can see below I did freemotion stitch the bottles and stem.  I used french knots for the seeds of the flower.  I placed a sheer to the right and stitched.  I had a bit of trouble with my tension as you can see, however I like the way this turned out.  I placed it on card stock and it is now ready to be sent to my brother.  :)I am posting this on OTWF.  Check out others inspirations!

          http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/2013/02/a-plan-is-established-off-wall-friday.html

 What inspires you?

Maine, The Way Life Should Be

Before I start I must confess to being one of "them" and know that no matter how long I am here I will forever remain so.  However, I could not love Maine more if I came from generations of Mainers.
This morning I looked through a pictorial book, Maine 24/7, for perhaps the hundredth time.  There is an introduction written by Bill Nemitz, a columnist with the Portland Herald and I would like to include some of the passages interspersed with some of my depictions of Maine:

"We call them "from away".  They often ask why we choose to live here in Maine, where the winters are too long, the summers too short, and the shopping centers so scarce that we actually named our largest one "The Maine Mall".  They wonder how we can get by on so little, yet still hang signs at our borders that boast, "Welcome to Maine.  The Way Life Should Be."

 Pretentious?  We don't mean it that way.

 It's simply the truth.

   Life in this corner of the country is, now more than ever, not easy.  The mills that once churned out shoes and textiles are long gone. Our proud fishing fleet struggles to stay afloat in a steadily rising tide of federal regulations.  The brightest of our children leave for college and, much to our dismay,
often never return. 

 Yet we stay.  And we adjust.  And we presevere.

 ...which brings us to the true essence of Maine-and the reason we choose to stay. 

 Maine, in a word, is beautiful. 

  

 From the granite outcroppings at West Quoddy Head, where the sun first touches the nation each morning, to the majesty of Mount Katahdin, Maine is a place where people the world over come to look, to smell, to feel the simplicity of nature as it goes about its business.  And from the lobsterman to the logger to the musician, it is a place whose people cherish nature's business as  they go about their own.

 No, it isn't easy.  And as long as we stay, with our ghost mills and wicked winters and our mall named after the whole gosh darn state ,it likely won't get easier anytime soon.  But if there is hardship in Maine, so is there pride.  And if living here is a challenge, so is it a blessing.

 Welcome to Maine:  The Way Life Should Be!

Using Scraps and Recycling

I was visiting Jackie's Art Quilts blog yesterday and she was discussing using scraps of leftover fabric.  I mentioned I used my scraps for small or mini art pieces.  Below are a few very recent examples.

Of course my lupine love continues.  Above the background is an old quilt I made probably in the 70's,  I used a breyer to paint it blue, I added some darker blue organza a bit off center, embroidered my lupines using french knots.  The leaves were appliqued and then a bit of free motion stitching.

Here I used combination of paint, applique and thread sketching.

Lobster boat, using applique and thread painting.

My depiction of the Rockland Lobster Fest  with the bright tents and foggy harbor.  Applique and thread painting.

Route 9 is also known as The Airline by Mainers and stretches up to Downeast Maine.  The moose heading onto the highway is not an uncommon sight here and there are many MVAs each year due to their wandering onto the road.

 All three pieces above were made using old woolen coats/sweaters and small fabric pieces.

 And finally, these I cut from an old quilt made in the 80's.  It has been loved and used to death, but had some pieces still good enough to use to make valentines

Click on the pictures for a larger view. I am off to finish making my valentines!

Shhhhh...Compost sleeping

We woke to more snow this morning.  Our compost sleeps undisturbed through the winter.

Well, almost undisturbed. :)

 Our path looks completely different draped in snow.   Even sound is different in the snow.

 Deer tracks crossing the path very close to the house.

 Heading back home for some hot chocolate?

Winter in Maine and Merry Christmas!

 I love winter in Maine.  I love the snow, the cold, the fire going in the fireplace. 

 I love the handmade Christmas cards that arrive in the mail.  My friend, Jan, made this one and even the envelope is pretty!

My handmade mittens from recycled sweaters have all been delivered to Archipelago.  Not as many this year as I had thought I would make, but life does seem to have a way of butting into plans.

The hat below just sort of happened, no pattern, I was playing with some interesting bits of sweater pieces and it came together.  The flower can be removed, made from organza and tulle.  This hat along with mittens and matching scarf are going to a special friend. 

Presents, cards, yummy candies and cakes, these are all such a wonderful part of the Christmas season.  I would like wish a warm holiday for everyone.  For the vet out on the street, the teen who needs a hand, the families who have lost their homes due to Sandy.  For the families in Connecticut I wish some type of comfort, no matter how small. 

Felting Play Day

I spent most of yesterday playing with dyed roving, most of which was done using koolaid.  I had an idea to felt around some sea marbles and sea glass and then cut open a window thinking it might make an interesting necklace piece.

Below is the marble placed on the dry roving before I wetted it down and started felting.

Unfortunately, while the technique worked, the results were less than spectacular.  The very cool sea marble ended up looking like just an old battered piece of glass.  Today, I am going to try some larger pieces of sea glass.  I will post these results at some point. 

. 

 I was able to create some small bowl and (I think) some really cool beads!  Since yesterday was Halloween and  judging from the colors, I must have had more holiday spirit going than I realized!  Don't forget, you can click on picture to enlarge.

The bowls are small, approximately 4 inches across the top.  They are a lot of fun to make and actually less physical work than the beads.  The muscles in my upper arms and across my upper back can feel that I was felting yesterday.  I will be sure and do a bit of a warm up before I start this morning.