Sweet viburnum....

One of the sweetest scents in the world is the fragrance of sweet viburnum. If the fragrance could be bottled, it would be a heady scent of spices. We planted one last year and it has blossomed in the intense heat of the past few days. Ours is just a small shrub so far, but it could grow as tall as 20 feet eventually. I had one in a previous residence that I kept pruned to six feet and it would have hundreds of blooms each year.

It was great attractor of bees and butterflies but it was not unusual to see many hummingbirds, too. It was near a window and the house would be filled with fragrance. I had a friend who would come every year and take a blossom and put in in her car's visor for the day as it was her favorite scent. Once picked, they don't last long.

It was 90F yesterday and dropped to 49F last night. At one point in the afternoon it was 86F in our house. Like most New Englanders, we would not dream of turning on a/c in April but we did drag out the fans. The heat was nauseating! We keep our thermostat at 65F in the winter, so we are not used to so much heat so soon. As everybody I know predicted, everything has bloomed at once, and the leaves are on the trees. The lilacs should open fully today.

We return today to spring where the normal temperate is about 60F during the day and around 40F at night. I had to get up and close the windows last night since it turned extremely blustery and the wind was cold.

Yesterday was not a good day to get things done. It felt like a mid-August dog day. Today, I have much catching up to do. Whatever you choose to do today...

enjoy your day!

Record breaking heat.... photos from the weekend.....


Alice's Restaurant....Great Barrington, MA, remember the song? Now Alice's home is The Guthrie Center.


Above, the view from Hogback Mountain, Vermont. On a good day like this one, one can see Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York.

Below, scenes from Clinton, CT, where it felt surrealistically like an August day....







The heat wave continues. Spring lasted a day and we went into late summer! Tulips and daffodils bloomed instantly and leaves are opening on trees. It was 90 yesterday afternoon and broke previous records around here.

Enjoy your day!

And then there were four...

And a Gail Wilson doll waiting for clothes..

And a tiny needle felted bunny...

This past week was busy and I was also able to work on a few things. The newest monkey is 1 3/4" tall. I don't think I could make one smaller. The newest is made of wool. I will try the same size in silk soon.

A doll making friend gave me a Gail Wilson kit. She is making the "NY doll" and I am making the historical doll #1. I am going to change the color of the dress though. Since my doll is modest, she asked for the shawl for the photo shoot. I found her pantaloons at doll club last week in a large box of doll clothes being sold. They are slightly short but wonderfully made.

Some of you know that I draw and paint tiny whimsical figures and most of them say "be happy." I have been drawing them for many, many years. I was thinking it would be fun to try a needle felted bunny in the style of my characters. Bunny is a little under 3 inches tall. I am probably going to sew a pin back on him and wear him sometime.

It is 36 degrees this morning and will be 80 tomorrow may go to 90 degrees on Sunday. We have spent the last six months going to indoor soccer games every weekend and now the grands will be playing outdoors. I do NOT like it being so warm so soon. The leaves are not out on the trees and there is no shade. I must stay entirely covered when out in the in the sun and will be feeling very warm. I have a huge collection of summer hats for the sun. Today I must find them and also find other summer clothes that were put away for the winter.

Thanks for you comments this week. It's nice to know that people are reading. Otherwise, it is like having a party without guests!

Enjoy your day...and enjoy the weekend!

Whimsical paper dolls....

Here are some recent paper dolls I made. They are not the traditional dolls cut from paper--which I love and loved as a child.

You know those wooden dolls that you see in dollar stores and craft stores? Well, you can turn them into art dolls using paint and trims. This is one that I exchanged with a friend.

The middle doll's head and torso are made from jigsaw puzzle pieces which I altered with paint. Her limbs are a chipboard and she is held together by brads. Yarns and ribbons complete her ensemble.

The little "spun cotton" doll is about 5 inches tall. She is composed of cotton over pipe cleaners and has a pressed paper clay face. I have been experimenting with making old fashioned ornaments. In my research, I have found different methods and different looks.

Still looking for whimsy and trying to create it whenever I can. Another friend and I are making Gail Wilson historical dolls and my doll is complete and waiting for me to make her some clothes. And....there will be another smaller sock monkey very soon.....

Enjoy your day!

Weekend images....

Tiny burro and tiny pony wandering around, Pomfret, CT....not even as tall as low stone wall...beyond cute....

Stony Creek, CT, summer cottages....view of Thimble Islands

Henry Whitfield House, Guilford, CT, the oldest stone house in New England....

Fast weekend, busy day ahead. Enjoy Monday!

And then there were three...

After making the first two tiny needle felted sock monkeys, I decided to try one even smaller. Now there are three!

Spring has arrived at long last and we are enjoying sun, blue skies and temperatures in the sixties. We haven't seen much in the way of flowers or blossoming trees. I think the next few days will be a riot of color.

We are looking forward to lovely weather this weekend and a possible ride to a shoreline in another state.

Enjoy your day! Hope that your weekend is enjoyable, too!

Easter dinner.....

Some images of Easter dinner at my daughter's home. She made the cupcake cake. The children ate in the informal dining room...we were a large group of people!

One of my little bird houses that I make was part of one of the centerpieces. More photos here.

Busy day today---off and running. Enjoy your day!

More fun than a barrel full...make that "teacup full"... of monkeys...

Popping in for a minute to show you the latest monkey residing in my kitchen. He joined his friend today and is just under three inches tall.

I used the tiny needle from Fantiny for most of his body and C-1 wool. The needles are great! You should go look at the galleries at Fantiny--adorable tiny animals!

Okay...the monkeys are alone in the kitchen so I had better go before mayhem ensues...

Springtime in Vermont....

A few snapshots from the weekend!

Enjoy the day!

It seems to be Friday...

This past week is a blur. Can it be Friday? Since I have become an insomniac, I seem to have a poor sense of time. I am a morning person, up at 5 every day, who really needs to get better sleep patterns going. I could use more or better sleep. What type of person are you? I envy night owls who can create at night. (I can't.)

Anyway, I needle felted the above sock monkey at various times in the past 24 hours. His armature is wrapped floral wire and he is mostly C-1 wool with a tiny bit of wool roving for his mouth. My little needle felted monkey is just a tad under 4 inches tall.

I need more coffee.....I went back to bed at 5:00 a.m. after getting up with Hank who is a furry alarm clock. We can't shut him off for weekends! We want to get away a bit this weekend but I think we got a very slow start! Perhaps you have a long weekend, too?

To those celebrating Passover and/or Easter, I hope you have a lovely holiday. For all of us, I wish a happy, peaceful weekend. Travel safely!

(click on me!)

Just popping in...

for a moment with a little painting I did of Hank for my spring/Easter cards this year.

Hank, as I have mentioned before, weighs 4 pounds and 7 ounces, and thinks he is a Great Dane. He is a typically quirky Yorkie who doesn't particularly like to pose but will on occasion. He is very fluffy and funny and about the size of a bunny or a very large hamster.

The week progresses. Not sure where time goes. Much to do as always. Hope you are making progress, too.

Enjoy your day!

It seems to be spring...

It is only 30 degrees here this morning. I think it is spring, but it is hard to tell. I saw the first daffodils of the season blooming a few houses a away and I have seen a crocus plants from time to time. Lawns are beginning to green and forsythia is open here and there. In the next few days, we will have temperatures near 60F, and I think spring will happen all at once!

This is the time of Easter and Passover so I assume everybody is busy this week with family and friends. We are celebrating at my daughter's and she is having almost 30 guests. Fortunately, she has a very large home. I remember the days when I entertained in-laws and outlaws in the tiniest of kitchens and no dining room.

Whatever your plans are today, enjoy the day and enjoy early spring...my favorite season!

While the artist is away....

We had a really busy weekend without too many opportunities to take interesting photos. We have spent the past few months going to indoor soccer games for the grands. This weekend was lot of fun watching the season's ending games.

As you can see, while the artist was away...the doll and animals played. Well, not really. What happened is this: I kept moving objects around in my work area over the course of the week. I happened to notice that they have taken over the drawers of pens and pencils and look like they are having fun. I needed to put things away, send some things elsewhere, get into those drawers, etc. But, when I saw all those figures staring back at me, I knew I needed to take a photo.

Busy week ahead but we are hoping to travel a bit next weekend...

Enjoy the day and happy Monday!

Good things in small packages....

Making small dolls and animals and other small things has become a passion of mine. When I was young, I visited a woman in her Palm Beach home and she showed me her many types of collections in wonderful displays and I was instantly hooked.

For some reason, I never had a doll house, although I love them. In the 80's, there was doll house and miniature shop in the town where I lived and I made small items to sell there from objects I found in my yard like acorn caps. When I started making 4 inch Edith Ackley dolls and carving and collecting Hitty (6 1/4 inches), they needed "stuff" so I started collecting and making small things.

Here is a Teddy bear I needle felted for Edie. It's just under 1 1/2 inch. I was inspired by the work of Christine O'Neil. She sell the neatest tiny felting needles and supplies at her web site and in an Etsy shop. She also has Flickr site. Check out her tiny needle felting---wonderful work!

Initially, I did not think using her needles would make a difference. Wrong! They are excellent for detail and so easy to use when working small--much easier on the hands. I recommend them for tiny work but they would be good on larger work for detailing.

Enjoy the day...have a great weekend...and keep your out eye for the tiny things in life.. and delight in them!

Painting bunnies...

This past week as I was painting, I contemplated all things economic as I listened to the news on satellite radio. It soon became evident that I needed to refresh my vocabulary. Certain buzz words needed revisiting: derivatives, hedge funds, short selling, mortgage backed securities.

I thought I had a good working vocabulary but I wanted to know how this financial terminology was adapted to the dismal current domestic and world economy. So, I searched out various definitions in financial glossaries and cut and pasted them into my own financial mini-dictionary.

I probably should have left well enough alone. "Ignorance is bliss" and people are quite blissful when they discuss the economy. As a follower of politic and finance, I have to say ...it is easier to paint bunnies than have an intelligent conversation on this subject.

"Painting bunnies" is my new euphemism for tuning out when I hear totally unresearched opinion or statements on the airwaves or falling out of the mouths of the blissful. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand the most basic terms but there seems to be an abundance of bloviating floating about. Even if I cannot paint bunnies on the spot, I can paint them in my head!

Back to painting bunnies here...enjoy the day!