Happy 90th Birthday Eleanor!!!

I can't believe that it is Friday already. Just came back from the farmers market. Left some of my new scarves with Jan Doyle and her buddies.Will go back and get them at noon. It is a public trial!! 

Finished a knitted scarf. Very basic...knit one way, knit the other way...

Made a paper mobile for Eleanor's 90th Birthday! Loved working on it!

Harvested more summer squash and eggplant. Yard long beans waiting for me!

Started working on some collage heads. Used the top of wooden boxes that are hanging around. I think I have a whole pile of tops somewhere. Started cutting up my old Ms. Magazines that I have been hauling around for 30 years.

Cut out shapes that will become a cover for a small foam stool. Can't wait to start sewing it together. Want to dig out a big piece of flannel that is buried in the closet. I'm sure it will be easy!!

Now going to fill out an application for the Craftland Holiday Show.

Doesn't My Hair Look Fantastic?

Well Providence was it's glamtastic self last night as Adam Lambert fans gathered at Lupo's for a fashion show and rock concert! Sue mentioned the event on Sunday morning and well, since we are always wondering what people around here do for fun, we ordered up a couple of tickets. So there we were looking for a parking space around 6 o'clock and the fans were already whipped around the block. 

Dreaming of a good veg dinner at AS220, we crossed the street by Trinity Rep and it was like...isn't that the dad from "6 Feet Under"? and sure enough there was Richard Jenkins just crossing the street on his way to the theater. As our dinner destination was closed, we turned around and there was Richard Jenkins doing his life.

We ended up eating a delicious dinner at Cuban Revolution. Rice, beans, Marilyn Monroe, Castro, festive artwork and fans gathering strength for the evening. Also got to see the new outdoor mural designed by Shepard Fairey. He did the screen print image from Obama's campaign. You might be familiar with his Obey street art. His work is very amazing and worth taking a look!

We crossed the street to Local 121 for some coffee and desert and noted that the line was longer, more compact and very festive! A few more fans hanging around in the the bar. We split a very local lemon pound cake, blueberries and cream. The restaurant is noted for using high quality local foods and was located right next to the ever expanding line around the block!

We were checking out the line when we heard an excited young man ask his friends "Doesn't My Hair Look Fantastic?" Perfect. We managed to get in for our "will call" tickets without standing in line, found our seats and watched with fascination the amazing variety of individuals that ended up together in the venue. By the time we had all waited, listened to Allison Iraheta (i didn't understand a word she said), waited another hour for no apparent reason (selling t-shirts maybe) listening to throbbing mixed tunes the glamster himself was on stage...and the frenzy was in full swing!! Singing, screaming, waving, on and on!!!!!!

On the way out of the venue I noticed a young woman in black underpants layered with fishnets, a belt, little top and festive pumps. I have so much to learn! It's good for me to get off of the farm!!

Happy 40th Birthday Don!!!

Well, my first born ( the one on the left if you check out the link) is 40 years old today which confirms that I am not a twenty something or thirty something...

I believe that he is starting his journey from Edinburgh, Scotland toTullywood Farm in Roscommon, Ireland. He left his San Francisco job at Adobe at the end of June, gave up his apartment, got rid of his stuff and headed out into the world July 1st with his passport, camera and computer. He has worked at two farms in Scotland for room and board and is planning to continue the ride in the same manner.

His photography is beautiful, so if you want to take a brief armchair trip around the world, check out:

Flickr

Facebook

Don's Site

I hope you have the best day as you roll into the 4's!!!!!!

I love you!

xxxxxx

Honey, Onions and Garlic

We have been busy little farmers! After collecting and assembling flowers on Thursday, Sue and I spent the first part of Friday selling bouquets at the Charlestown Farmers Market for our friends George and Cathy. Lucky Cathy was dancing her way around England with "The Ladies of the Rolling Pin". Always a pleasurable place to hang out, we indulged in fresh pastries, bought peaches, apples, steamers and fresh cheese, met new folks, got invited to some end of summer parties, and had a very relaxing, perfect weather summer morning!

George and Sue with Fresh Eggs!

Sue was up and working in the garage on Saturday AM before my eyes even thought about opening. It was shortly after 6 and she had already cleaned up 37 lbs of onions and was on her way to completing 11 lbs of garlic. We started picking blueberries about 9 and it took us about an hour to collect 8 lbs!

The next task on the list took us to the towers of bee power to extract what turned out to be 70 lbs of honey! It is truly a remarkable, miraculous substance...amazing to spend just a few moments watching the bees arrive with their little legs packed with pollen, or watching them at the pond gather up minute amounts of water, building cone, attending to eggs and the queen, filling in little spaces with propolis, jetting around their territory, chewing, building, storing...

Then get the frames, brush off the bees, haul them home to the extractor, cut the comb, hand crank the extractor, honey into the bucket through two filters, clean the jars and tops, fill 'em up, print and stick the labels...beautiful!!!

Now off to make yogurt and scarves!

What are you making with zucchini???

Chickens like zucchini!!

Wet Felting!!!

Linda Willis and I trotted our bad selves up to the Rhode Island School of Design for a 4 week...one night a week....wet felting class with Anna Kristina Goransson. We had a varied, talented and enthusiastic group of women who were always ready to mix roving, water and soap! Like being a part of any collection of creative types you get to see a wide range of styles emerge almost immediately!! Always a joyful and interesting experience!

With a pile of roving left from Artgirlz, a stash of wool picked up along the way combined with the goodies that we received in class I have been playing with making holey scarves. Will anyone else like the scarves???? Time will tell, but I am having a great and somewhat relaxing time at our kitchen counter putting down roving and trying to keep the water under control!!

Have to go and check the sprinkler...so hoping for rain!!

Blueberries!

Sue and I have been picking blueberries and putting them in the freezer. They usually last us through March. It has been a very relaxing venture with about 7 pounds of goodies to put into the freezer and on yogurt and to just munch by the handful!!! With a pile of Artgirlz wool hanging around, I decided to finally make a couple of blueberry pin cushions! 

They were pretty easy to put together. For the larger piece on the left, I just stitched precut wool felt flowers on a 3.5cm wool bead and had myself a very large berry. Made three of them and stitched them together around the base. Cut out and stitched on leaves and there you go. It lack the most amazing range of pink, green, purple, blue of the actual berries, but your pins will hang in these quite well!

The smaller piece on the right, was made from a stitched together cluster of 1cm beads and hand cut leaves.

Have been diggin wet felting! Will take some photos of what's been happening!