I have a new home!

No, I didn't buy a house. I rented a lovely new apartment from some lovely people. These images are small- but I will be taking new ones once I get settled. And if you know me, you know that I settle fast. I can't abide an unpacked box or a empty wall! Soon, friends, soon!

Feeling a little better about my love of fashion magazines

One of my girliest habits is my love of fashion magazines, I have subscriptions to a few. Today however, I am feeling a bit better about this because one of my favorites, Glamour has an article this month on "the secrets of happy couples" and it features a lesbian couple!


It's Jennifer & Cat Cora. Some of you may know Cat from The Food Network. I've rarely watched it- but it appears she is the only female Iron Chef! The interview cites their strong family ties as the secret of their relationship. The picture shows two of their three sons and Cat is pregnant with their fourth a little girl. Click here to read the rest of the article and hear about all the other couples featured.

Here's to Glamour! A sure sign of the times....

save red thread

It's tough times for everyone in the art/craft industry these days and tough times turned to tragic for red thread studios. A fire broke out in a nearby building, it spread into the shop and within a few hours destroyed most everything there. I'm sending my best wishes and deepest condolences to red thread. My semi-secret dream has always been to own a studio such as this- a place to sell yarn and fiber, to work and be with friends. If I were to lose everything the way she did, I'm not sure what I'd do.

Design for Mankind put out a call to action and if you are of any means I recommend that you respond. In this community it is through each other that we are able to survive.

back to the making

While out in South Dakota, Susan and I managed to run away to her studio for a couple of divine little hours- and I got to make my first collograph plates! Yeah! The first few attempts at printing them were not so pretty so no images to share yet. Soon though- I hope!



While I was away my Step Mom had her birthday. Since I was away from town and my sewing machine I had to wait until I was home to make her a gift.

She loves green so I whipped up a set of these handmade napkins. I found the pattern in Weekend Sewing - a simple but lovely little pattern, made from fat quarters. I think next time I'll opt for buying it off a bolt, I never thought it'd be so hard to get 4 matching quarters!

A moment of peace

In between the weeks of craziness at camp Susan and I slipped away for an hour to take her dogs for a walk. It was nice to move around little when it didn't mean chasing after any kids!

It's been raining a lot around those parts, much like here, and that's made everything very green. Susan is nearly 6 foot tall which gives you an idea how tall the corn is! There's nothing much growing on the stalks yet, not enough sun to balance out all the water. We did get some gorgeous sunshine this afternoon though, I guess I had to go to the midwest to finally get some summer weather!

Messy Hands Summer Art Camp

This is the Washington Street Arts Center in Vermillion, where the art camp was held and where we all spent weeks chasing after little ones who ranged in ages from 4-14. Though most were on the younger side. The kids could come for the morning session or the afternoons for either 1 or 2 weeks. The classes offered were Printmaking, Ceramics, Drawing and Painting.

A class photo from the first week. I can't name the kids for their privacy but my favorite ones were the smallest kids- and those I loved best all happen to be seated in the front row!

One of what feels like a hundred snacks I prepared over the two weeks. Graham crackers and fruit seemed to be the favorite. I had a lot of almonds and dried cranberries on hand and getting the kids to eat it was almost impossible! The grown ups liked it though so it worked out okay.

Camp was fun but totally exhausting. By the end of the two weeks I was so drained all I could do was sleep! I'd do it all again in a heartbeat though. The chance to get out of town and see an old friend is too good to pass up!