oh my goodness three weeks ’til my due date! my cousin gave me the most beautiful shower in her barn. The space was awash with wildflowers, calico buntings, vintage mirrors and yummy cakes.

Thank you dearly for all your well-wishes from my last post oh-so-long-ago!! I am feeling so excited and ready!

Lately, I have been enjoying the spring very, very much!

I have been quiet here, yes….

I have exciting news to share.

I have been keeping this to myself for awhile here, but now it’s time to share…I am 23 weeks preggo! (or is it 24, I’ve lost track)

It’s not that I’m abandoning this blog and art and all that I do, but my postings and readings of blogs will be (more) sporatic. I have long weekdays…a lengthy commute, working all day and commuting home… I am doing all I can to keep my energies up. And doing a darn good job at it too!
Been taking some major time out to care for myself, spending most of my time outside on long medative walks, exercising, eating healthy yummy food, and blissing out a bit too. So, yep, that’s it!

Already? I happily lost track of time. My computer has been in a perm “off” mode. Living and loving the outdoors.

And this

We saw Joanna Newsom at Town Hall. Surprisingly she was only playing one show in New York City, and somehow we managed to be seated front row. The show was breathtaking, an audience so silent and focused you could hear a pin drop. One of the most beautiful, inspiring concerts I’ve been to in awhile.

inspire~inspire

Inspired by a recent and very beautiful post by Encore Petite I would like to share some things that make me happy. First, I must honor the real essence of life that makes me happy- my husband, my kitty (and the presence of all animals for that matter), creating art, tea and time spent with friends, sunbeams and being outside, music…these make me the happiest. But these are not things. So here are the things that make me happy. Just little bits kept in my studio that I can hold in my hand and be inspired by~

♥Fabric and pretty blouses that pick up the sheer beauty of sunbeams through a rain-soaked, foggy (and now open) windows that has not seen the sun in days.

♥ A teeny-tiny bit of my old frame collection (my favorite is the wooden black forest frame):

♥ Blue Jay feathers from my collection (although Blue Jays are not the kindest of birds their blue-striped feathers are so beautiful)

♥ Vintage brooches from my collection:

♥ And this one is my favorite (although it might tie with the little faux-scrimshaw ship)

♥ Oh, and ruffles!
♥ Old books with birds printed on the covers

♥ This one is my favorite!

♥ And, finally, the table (a shrine-of-sorts) where I set up found, vintage, and nature things that inspire.

♥Especially the bits of wasp comb that I found this winter during a snowy storm.

♥ And outside the studio, abandoned cottages on rainy days in the back woods (this one I am particularly fascinated with.)

♥Which leaves me with a favorite promise of spring…snowdrops covered in raindrops peaking out from decayed leaves.

Tell me, what are some of your favorite things?

♥♥♥

Found an old giant framed print whilst treasure hunting.

I think it’s such a lovely portrait of a little one. The girl’s face seems mysterious. Her hair is in disarray… a messy birds nest with too-short bangs I just love that she is wearing a black blouse with white collar and pinafore.

Today was sunny and some of our snow melted. I even saw my first robin. And a bluejay.

I just looked out the window and there is a full moon. March begins tomorrow. I just love new beginnings.

(chosen via random.org)

I was going to put all of your names in my little house like I usually do but I was swamped this time! Thank you so very much (all 145 of you that entered!) I am completely touched and inspired by the thoughtfulness and beauty of your writing! And I must share what Fairy Filigree wrote:

Well my favourite Springtime memory belongs to many many years ago when, upon my insistence, mother convinced my father to take us off to the country for a picnic. We went to this new seaside place I’d never been to before & I was staggered at the beauty of the sea and the waves from what looked like cliffs to me. Years later, when I revisited the site, I recognised it immediately and realised it had all looked so huge and overwhelming to me because I had been so very little.

Stories of the sea are so inspiring, thank you! And isn’t it so true…how huge everything appears when one is so small.

I will post my fondest spring memory soon. I have a photograph to go along with it that I need to locate!

And speaking of spring, it is far, far from here in the northeast. It has been snowing since Wednesday and we have over a foot on the ground. Today I went for a long, snowy walk (which was so peaceful and calm among the lingering flurries), organized my oil paints (preparing for another painting session), and cheered up this old handmade sweater a bit with rick rack on it’s yoke. Recently I go crazy over anything golden.

I am so excited to offer this little treat to one lucky reader! It features my artwork…it’s a

And the exciting part is it has two parts! A vintage locket tied with a snippet of antique calico (adorned inside with little bits from my painting Honeybee Stories.) AND a sweet silver-toned vintage tin to match (with art also from Honeybee Stories.)

The inside of the tin contains the bee snippet clue from my last post.

To win my locket and tin, all you have to do is leave a comment here recalling your favorite spring memory. Yes, I have spring on my mind! And honeybees remind me of lush gardens, daisies and the smell of earth. Your memory can be about gardening, walking through the meadows, spotting little birds eggs, love…anything! On Friday, February 26th I will pull one random winner from my bonnet. Please, please leave a working email as well! PARTICIPANTS WHO DO NOT LEAVE A LINK TO THEIR EMAIL WILL NOT BE ENTERED IN THIS GIVEAWAY! Also, comments that are posted on the wrong entry (my “leave a comment” is UNDER the title at the beginning of the post, not at the end of the post) will not qualify.

Thanks so much and I look forward to hearing about SPRING!! The complete Honeybee Stories painting can be viewed in my shop.

The sweet Andrea, aka little big head from cider and faun posted a bit of randomness on her blog, and tagged me to post mine. I’ll start with my most exciting, I’ve been waiting to spill…

♥ I have front row tickets to see Joanna Newsom March 18th (thanks to my thoughtful husband.) We are super excited to see her and so psyched about the release of her new album February 23rd! I can’t even begin to express how inspirational her music has been to me.

♥ and today I have been dreaming of this:

I really don’t care about winter anymore. I’m tired of cracked hands.

♥ Today I bought a huge bag of old envelopes, complete with stamps and addresses. I think they will be fun to doodle on.

♥ I can’t stop buying old sewing machines. I don’t even use them all. My most recent machine was a vintage baby blue singer.

♥ I don’t have a television, nor do I plan on getting one ever again.

And a little heads up…tomorrow or Saturday I will post my giveaway!

As the snowflakes fall I have been spending some time sewing… bags mostly (although I have plans for other things). I have lots of fabrics and bits of lace and trim stashed away. I made this large tote out of pretty gray heavyweight floral fabric which I bought a few years ago and I have been admiring ever since. The fabric is heavy, a mix between canvas and denim.

It’s perfect for lugging my sketchbooks and whatnot around.

I am going to be doing a giveaway here in the next few days, to celebrate all my new readers (and “old” ones as well). Here’s a little snippet of fabric (which is a tiny hint to the theme of the giveaway)

Can you guess which painting will be featured? Another hint is that the giveaway will be wearable art. And the third hint is that it will be part vintage. Can you guess?

We had a sweet valentines day. I came home to beautiful winter white roses (to match the newly fallen snow).

Quiet corners.

Twilight, after the huge storm, beautiful.

Lace

Sewn of thread and absence,
lace belongs at the hem of a garment,
pinned to a collar, near the face,
or clinging to a tabletop amongst teacups.

Like frost, lace paints a pattern
on edges and surfaces. In lace, fine line
and space loop around one another.
It is true that skin under lace appears more

visible, that veils and drapes of lace
let in light, and yes, pull a viewer’s eye.
An ivory web of flowers does what?
Embellishes. Decorates. Even as it claims

to cover, to conceal, lace invites air
and sun and gazes. Place this
punctured shield wherever there is longing,
delicacy: table, skin, bed, window.

Poem by Hannah Stephenson from the Storialist.

Hannah writes poems inspired by found images. This poem was inspired by my painting, “We Come From a Delicate Place”

A snippet:

Thanks to all who commented on my feature in Artful Blogging. Much appreciated!