Goodbye to fall for this year

As the leaves blow around they stir so many memories. Some who read this will remember Jack and I had a big red house in town for a few years as well as the little cape in the country. 

 We were still working on it here, the fence became gray after a coat of paint and a great many small trees and bushes were added.  Just the same I had pumpkins on the porch.

 Our cape in the country was the house of our dreams, Jackie put untold work into it for us.

 My favorite quilt pattern has always been pineapple log cabin.  See what great colors this one had! Another name for the pattern is Windmill blades.  I do not have one now but always hope one will turn up. Brian and Cora sent the bittersweet from Connecticut.

 I had wonderful gardens those years!   See the pumpkins we grew! 

 Patches the cat was good help.

Eleven small big tooth maples were carefully nurtured so that one day they could make color against the red buildings.  The crepe myrtle turned red and the pecan trees gold so there was a wealth of fall color  for our little New England house. 

 Christmas for 2016 is coming with its share of nostalgia also.  But it too will be a sweet one.

e

Painting and Playing with Still Life

I remember many times in the past  calling my collector friends and asking "What are you doing?"  Sometimes the answer would be "Playing" which we both understood  meant arranging and rearranging interesting old items to make pleasing vignettes of our antiques.   Now that play has circled back again in my life in a different guise: arranging interesting things to paint and make a nice composition. 
Sometimes I am rolling apples or onions around on a kitchen table to catch the light from the window just so.

Lately I have borrowed little ship models from friends.  Here is a sweet example:

What adorable little lures! I have a small painting laid out with these swimming by the little schooner.

Finished are two paintings of another ship model.

Glare on both of these photos makes the very dark backgrounds look much lighter. The one above is on indigo while the one below is a rich chocolate.

The beautiful frames are from Andy Ybarra.

A buy on eBay brought me this adorable ship in a bottle, not old, an advertising piece for a rum company in the 1990's. This is the schooner Bluenose out of Nova Scotia.  A well known older hooked rug pattern of the Bluenose is one of my all time favorites.

This popular pattern was made in a number of sizes,  Sandy has a large lovely old one hooked to a glory!

Nautical hooked rugs are among my favorite things. 

The bonnets from friend Jean's collection shown below date mid 19th century. A painting of these may be titled "Conversation'. 

You can see I am having a good time these days.    I have lately been offered very nice representation for my paintings on Main Street in Fredericksburg, and am honored.    It is a town full of art and people who appreciate it. At present I am surely painting for enjoyment, but on the other hand these paintings are stacking up down the hall on the floor and some of them will have to go somewhere!     Not sure just how to move on this yet. My little ones are easy to sell and send and are not stacking up.  When I have more of them I can offer them on this site.  Some of the larger ones will have to go in a gallery soon.  Shipping them would be a bear.    edyth

A Fall Sale

Crisp bright fall days make good times for yard sales.  Some friends and I had a variation of that on Barbara's lovely screened back porch yesterday.  Our guests came by invitation, there was no sign or ad for our event in this intimate space.  Barbara and Jean had antiques to offer and I had my paintings and also a small table of Christmas things. Linda had a pretty display of her jewelry.  I would have liked to include photos with people, but after the sale started I never got back to taking pictures. So here is a taste of it.  

The tavern table with lovely turnings was from Maine.

A lucky person took home this wonderful comb back Windsor chair.

Barbara's homemade ginger cookies and pomegranate punch.

You can see some of the jewelry on etsy at

https://www.etsy.com/shop/PrairieRoseRanchwear?ref=l2-shopheader-name 

This was the first time I have shown my paintings this year and they were well received and I am much encouraged! Several friends came who are really interested in art and their comments are special.  And these four little ones sold!  

Bittersweet and Indian corn and pumpkins make a festive set up.

 All were priced and offered for sale except two large ones I may have giclee's made of.

One buyer said these paintings remind her of 17 century paintings and I was thrilled she recognized it. That is exactly what I am studying:  chiaroscuro, the play of light and shadow as mastered most famously by Rembrandt and taught today by David Leffel and his pupils of which my own instructor is one.   Leffel applies this technique to fine antique oriental porcelain and the like, while I am using it to paint the humble American pottery and less formal antiques Jack and I collected.  This gives my own paintings a personal voice.  Search Google images for David Leffel and see his amazing work!

Note, detail of the wooden doll above:

She came as just a carved wooden head and torso with a hole from shoulder to shoulder as on a Motschmann doll.  I made a tube of cloth holding the arms Jack carved. To give her legs, I sewed drawers with the legs and gathered the top edge around her waist. So no glue or other fastening mars the doll herself. There is no paper mache molded over the wooden base, she is a wooden doll with a very thin layer of gesso under the paint of her head. Worn spots tell the story.

Of course I had to buy some little treasures.

It was a great day, thank you Barbara.

PS If you would like to have a cupboard for your dolls like the one Jack made for mine, the pattern and instructions for it are in the new December Early American Life Magazine.  e

Two Star Rug Camp, fall of 2016!

This has been an exciting day in so many ways.  It is for me as for all of you I expect, a heartwarming thing to see and hug people you have known for years and share the excitement of a well loved craft together.  I love seeing what people are making now.  An additional pleasure was seeing friend Linda set up her jewelry for just a tight 45 minute slot to sell in the sales room, and how well her things were received! It was a happy near riot. Thirty eight out of forty two pieces offered were sold, that is almost one per minute.

Hope you will enjoy the pictures below, it is hard to catch color and creative highs in a small rectangle with my camera.  warmly, e

 Men can hook rugs too.

Linda starting to set out her jewelry

Here come the buyers!

It went so well!

An enthusiastic bunch

Debbie wrote the tickets.

Added Note, see Linda's jewelry on etsy at 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/PrairieRoseRanchwear?ref=l2-shopheader-name 

A whale rug from my pattern. He has barnacles on him using spot dyed wool!

Weaver's Lion is one of my favorites.

three examples of pretty wool applique.

 See how muted the colors are for an antique look.

Kay's armadillo is one of her Texas Critters, So beautifully done!

 This rug represents Shake Rag Street in Mineral Point Wisconsin designed and hooked by Sally Kallin

The wool is luscious. 

Maggie is holding her early looking one. I had so many favorites! But this might be my favorite favorite today!  Nina Fletcher Little would have approved I think. This is a very wide cut.   Glad you can be a mouse in my pocket and share this. e

added on Thursday:  Below is the first Bird and Pomegranate rug I hooked in 1982, signed and dated.  I have recently purchased it back from someone who bought it in the 1980's.    Over years I have hooked this design three times. I am glad to see the rug again and that it is in fine shape.  It has not faded which is a tribute to Evelyn Newton’s dying, as it is all her wool.   e