Today I'm feeling so very blessed and grateful for girlfriends.

My Great-Grandma Edith is the pretty lady in the middle.


When I moved here from Illinois almost nine years ago, it took me a long time to meet people.  I had a wonderful group of girlfriends back home, but they were several hours away.  And I really missed them.  Oh how I wished I could meet some people who were just like me.

In the last couple years, I've again been blessed with a fantastic and diverse group of girlfriends.  I can't say they are all like me, or that we all have the exact same interests.  But that's what makes things fun and interesting, don't you think? 

Today I spent almost all day in the company of girlfriends.  An early morning Starbucks date and a few giggly hours in the studio with two new friends followed by a phone call from a dear, dear friend from home.

And now I sit here, a few more phone conversations later, realizing how very lucky I am to be surrounded by such lovely souls.

I hope they know how much they mean to me.

I’ve always loved hats.  I think that’s the only thing I like about cold weather…it’s a good excuse to wear a cute hat.  I’m constantly on the hunt for fun and trendy hats to buy and embellish with fabric or wool flowers, beads, and the like.  It was fun having the embellished hats at the market this summer, watching people try them on and pose in front of the mirror (insert tilted-head kissy face look here).

I’ve been ready to take the hats one step further and make some warm winter hats from scratch, going through the whole process of cutting out the pieces, pinning, sewing (then removing the stitches and re-sewing correctly), and my favorite part of embellishing the hats with flowers and doo-dads.  Last weekend I was home with nowhere else to be, so I got out my bins of soft fleece that I’ve been stockpiling for just this occasion. 

The hats were surprisingly fun to construct (except for the removing of stitches and re-sewing correctly part).  Let me tell you, it makes life so much easier when you’re using the right kind of sewing machine needle and thread.  I was prepared for a wrestling match with my machine, but we didn’t have a single altercation during the process of making these five hats.

These warm and cozy hats will be for sale at the shop in the Wisconsin Museum of Quilting & Fiber Arts near Milwaukee.  Now for the next batch…one in hunter’s orange for me to wear while walking the dog during hunting season.  And a matching one for the dog.  You’ll definitely see us coming.

The other day I met with a client who recently moved from Atlanta to our area of Wisconsin, so she has yet to experience a winter here.  She told me about a message her Spanish friend had sent her, which basically translated into “you’ll be fine if you wear the right armour”.

I was thinking of that as I created my first made-from-scratch fleece hat...

No one said we can’t have cute armour.

Hello from The Farm!

I'm just back from a wonderful trip back Home for the harvest.

I really need to get there more often.

It was great for the soul.

I'll be posting some more pictures when I get settled in!

CATCHING UP…

Now that the summer frenzy has calmed a bit and the cooler weather has kept me cooped up indoors, I've been working on editing photos, finishing projects, and catching up.

I figure a little late IS better than never
to post some pictures of the last two weeks of Market Place Thursday in Wausau.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1



Jody & Amanda



We invited our friend Patti to play and sing in our area of the market.

She is super talented and we loved having her there!



Miss Patti



It was a gorgeous sunny September day and sort of difficult to think of wearing wool hats and gloves, but here in Wisconsin I guess it's never too early to debut cold weather ware.



Vintage beret and mohair gloves embellished with hand-knit flowers and vintage buttons.

 

Fingerless wool gloves embellished with felted wool flowers and vintage buttons.

Nothing pleases us more than when our customers show up wearing things we've created!



Pam wearing a Creative Looks by Jody necklace and bracelet



Melissa wearing a Happy Heart Studio bird and nest necklace. 

Deb wearing a Happy Heart Studio vintage element necklace

 These twinkle toes belong to Amy, Melissa and Jody.

 

So Fun!!

Thanks again to Patti for sharing her wonderful talent with us for the day,



and for keeping us forever entertained!

 



MORE CATCHING UP…

Here are some images from the final Market Place Thursday
of the season on September 8.

There are a lot of things we're going to miss about the market...

We will miss having an excuse to see our  (old AND new) friends once a week.

(Love these fun ladies modeling their embellished hats!)



Melissa

 

Amy



We will miss the entertainment of endless people-watching.

(This girly girl was wearing a fancy tutu - SO cute.)

We will miss seeing our market neighbors every week.

(We loved getting to know them.
They brought us a loaf of homemade bread and cookies on the last day!)

We appreciate all the wonderful words of encouragement and support from our customers and new friends. The market was a fantastic experience for us, and has led to many exciting opportunities in the near future.



Hope to see you next year at the market!

STUDIO PROJECT

I've just finished this wedding guest book, for a bride who requested a vintage-style guest book

that can be later enjoyed as a coffee table book in their home.

It is made from the hardcover of a 1925 wildflower book

in the exact color of the bridesmaid dresses (a lucky Goodwill find!).

It is embellished with snippets of fabrics from the bridal dresses.

A charm with a photo of the couple dangles from the metal binder ring.

Vintage elements include a satin button cover with pearls and rhinestones,

button, and stanza from a hymn.

I looooooved digging through my stash of vintage ephemera and embellishments

while working on this project.

Just up the road is a farm stand

where I buy my pumpkins and gourds every year.

It's fun to drive by and see people choosing their pumpkins. 

I wish this time of year lasted longer than it does.