Before I get started, I am thinking of changing my banner...

It would look something like this.

What do you think?

Yesterday was so beautiful out, I went to the beach to do some treasure hunting.

You can see in the shadow above the bag I am holding full of shells and things.

I ended up wandering around a lot longer than I had anticipated, it was perfect!!!

I wish it were that nice again today, but it is overcast.

Last night was the opening celebration for Present, a local holiday shop downtown here in Gloucester. It went really well and was such a good time!!!

Now I am getting ready for a fair in New Hampshire tomorrow.

I have to finish some nuno felted headbands, maybe a mermaid or two, get the wool I washed in for to dry, pack the car...

I am leaving tonight to go get my friend who is also doing the fair (she actually told me about it), we are going to go tonight and stay at her mother's house so that we are closer tomorrow.

I think this weekend is going to be busier that I realize.

Travel tonight, fair tomorrow, game night with friends tomorrow night, big anniversary sale going on the whole weekend at the local yarn shop (and I definitely what to take advantage of that!), then hopefully a knitting get together at a friends house sunday afternoon/evening!

I also have a lot of other things that need creating to add to the shop downtown, but I think I will focus more on that next week...

So, any big plans for your weekend?

Stringing along thoughts

My whole house is basically a studio space.

I always joke that I should sleep under the kitchen sink because the rest of the space is in use!

It is kind of a jungle in here with projects, supplies and plants as they start to come in out of the cold.

The spiders seem to quickly and eagerly take over, I can't keep up.

This house is granite and used to be a barn.

The stove has been lit more often than not, to keep out the cold and to keep out the damp.

And although we seem to be losing light, I am able to catch grand moments of golden rays peeking into corners and onto tables and in shelves.

I like having the indoors feel like outdoors.

I cut some of the last flowers in bloom to bring in and adorn my studio table.

I love their beaming pink, it opens my heart.

Lately I have been finding and collecting more and more treasures from nature,

feathers, bones, stones, shells, abandoned nests...

I think I need to find a little cabinet with a glass door to house these things so I can arrange them, study them, be inspired by them.

Do you collect things from nature?

.....

Tonight is the opening of Present here in Gloucester.

It is a seasonal holiday shop open for November and December and I am very honored to be a part of it for the first time this year.

So tonight there is a celebration and I made cookies!

I hope you all are able to have a little celebration of your own of some sorts.

I think mini celebrations just might be the best,

what do you think?

Sunbaked minus the marrow and sinew

(click photo to see larger image)

I was so happy the other day to go kayaking with my friend dennis.

I haven't been in so long and we went to one of the little islands by his house in Magnolia (where I used to live down the street from him).

It was a great adventure,

I even found some treasures!

I have been looking for bones to work with for some time now

and although I am not exactly sure what I am going to do with them yet,

I know they will be something so beautiful and beloved...

Dennis told me that he had seen a seal that had died out on the island

and when we went out yesterday, we (well, he pointed out to me) found a bunch of vertebrae and ribs and a few other miscellaneous bones.

They are so beautiful and bleached by the sun.

I feel so honored to have been given the opportunity to collect these.

I love that these artifacts have the spirit of the sea sun-baked into them.

I will revere these gifts from the sea.

I love seals.

Have you found any wonderful treasures lately?

a day at the beach

Good afternoon!

It is raining here today,

so now I am even happier that I got to spend a good part of the afternoon yesterday

with Andy and Veda at the beach down the street.

It was wonderful,

like a scavenger hunt.

Although Veda spent much of the time looking for crabs under Andy as he moved the seaweed in search of them...

It was quite amusing!

The storms this winter really did a number on the coast line around here

and this little beach was no exception.

I did find a whole bundle of weathered treasures though!

And I found so many beautiful textures and things to photograph!

Which now makes me want a new camera...

One with the ability to really zoom in

or get really close up to little, tiny subject matter.

Any suggestions?

And I have been working on using the manual settings on my (digital) camera,

which I am really liking!

How are you enjoying your day?