almost Dec.2010

The show is over and to be honest..I still have some great little gift items as well as good prices on paintings and floor mats, which by the way I was having a hard time getting people to walk on the one I took to the show, and by the time the show was over this mat looked walked on . Once home a simple wipe with a damp rag and she is as good as new, these can be walked on, a lot.

To our excitement when we were setting up , as well as crafter's we see on a regular basis ,here come a few we have not seen in a couple years. So much fun and reminiscing of the good old craft show days, when money was to be made as well as great people and friend's to meet. Some of us have sadly passed away over the years and we all talked of them on Sunday. Doing the show circuit as we called it back then, never was there a weekend without a show.There was so much there at this show in Liverpool ,wonderful well made products, and the knitting, over the years I have heard from some saying oh, there are too many what they call Grannie crafts at the shows, if what these people meant and I believe they did mean mittens ,socks etc. well this talent is being lost, hopefully young people are learning to knit, rug hook ,Quilt etc...for this is what the Maritimes are all about, our talents passed down over generations. I bought a few pair of socks and mittens yesterday, wish now I would have gotten myself a pair of mitts so I will go to the next show on Sat. Dec. 4th at the High school here in Liverpool as a costumer this time and get some more little treats such as warm hand knit mittens. There was a lady there selling mitts that were recycled from wool sweaters and felted, so warm ,well done and pretty.Must get a pair.

I could have done better at the show to be honest, I really thought I had great products at a steal..so anyone out there who as I said above still is looking for something different ,give me a call.

Back to our old friends from shows past, I am uploading a few pictures from the show,with a few of us, of course as the show was dieing down we got a big case of the "sillies" which always happens, jokes start to fly and cameras come out.Talking with some of the old gang who still travel and do these many shows especially this time of year ,I was told all in all the shows are still good,of course we can't even dare to compare to the shows in the 70's and 80's and of course when you consider the price you pay for the big shows, prices need to go up because of the price of the materials ,shows etc. So as our Dear stain glass friend's said, they find they are making their show rents by selling smaller items but still must take the larger pieces just to show what they have. Actually I had only one problem at the show, my legs and feet..I was in a great deal of pain by the end of the day, you thought I was going to complain about something else?...no ,just pain, we hit the so called sack by 7:30 PM last night and I slept, not continually ,that could never happen but I rolled out at around 7:30 AM this morning. I am headed out on my bike soon for my morning run and will not be making anything today but a clean house, so much to look forward to, wish someone else would clean it and I could still look forward to seeing it done, not the case.

One more picture I want to share with you is of my mats displayed on the floor , they are looking for a home. Well, it looks like I uploaded two pictures of my mats..forgive.The picture of the Poinsettia is a flag I did for outside my house.It is painted on canvas both sides, I make all my own garden flags and I will be doing more for sale this Winter and can do commissions if requested. Can anyone...Lynn, tell me if I spelled "Poinsettia" correctly? I can't find it in my dictionary anywhere.So now off I go to get my day on..."Merry Christmas all" Blesses sent your way.

Thanks for the spelling Lynn..I have corrected...my error:-)I couldn't spell my way out of a paper bag...D:-)

Santa is on his way

Merry Christmas!!!

these are snowmen needle felted pins. Barnboard Santa's.

A couple examples of my needle felted figures. Plus I have much more then what you see here .

Summer is done and Santa is on his way,it was nice to have folk's drop by to take a look this past Summer, me being one, not of a few words, met a lot of very nice people who have stayed in contact with me since returning to their own sleepy little towns and saying that they are returning next Summer..these people make my days, not always buying but spreading a smile and joy sometimes fills a gap much bigger then a wallet... the cold weather hits and wow!!we need to keep as much of that green in the oil tank and where did everyone go?I do believe back to their own little pieces of Heaven . These past few years we have not done the big Craft Shows that we did for so many years before. In a way it is great not doing them , and again in another way ...sad...our crafter/Artist friends we got to know from doing shows together year after year, meeting new people, old friends and hopefully sell enough to not put you in the hole after food ,lodging etc. as well as gas and the price these big shows charge.It is nice to be home and stay put.The excitement over the years when we were younger out weighed any hardships of lugging heavy displays and product. This season I find I am itching to get out and say Merry Christmas to all as well as I am working hard on gift giving products ,thinking of the economy, something for that person in the office or a buddy exchange gift we all dread because of the prices of just the simplest gifts. Give me a call ,make an appointment to visit my studio/gallery Deb,354-3690 or come see me at the Craft Show Sunday November 28th from 1-3 at the Liverpool Fire Hall ,you may be surprised at what I might have to fill that so hard to shop for acquaintance or friend as well as your loved ones. Walk by some day or evening ,look in my window ,see a little bit of what I have here .Where are the days when you could get a homemade gift for under $10? Right here, in my studio /Gallery, 142 Payzant St. Liverpool. Funny, I had someone say "I was looking in your window the other day," my answer was, "Great!"Just about everything in my Studio/Wardroom Gallery is on sale from now till Christmas including some paintings.I have a few very interesting fun needle felted figures left ,as well I made two needle felted Santa scenes this past while along with needle felted under $10 gifts. Here you see some of my cushion floor painted mats which I was forced to put on the floor to show how durable they are and you can keep them on the floor to walk on or you can have them framed and put up on a wall, these I am offering just for Christmas at a very reasonable price. Sea People figurines ,many people know our "Sea People" well I have a couple of Santa's and Wizards left from the Summer Season, they will be offered at a lower price as well. I mean business this season as do many of our local businesses, I know, myself included , will find what we are looking for right here on our own back doorsteps this Season. Our Maritimes, we have some of the most talented people right here in our midst, we need not travel far from our homes to find that special gift for that oh so special person. But only look from where we stand. Liverpool Merchants like many small towns these days find it difficult to maintain throughout the Winter Months and sometimes one feels like we need to travel to Bridgewater or Halifax when in fact every store here in town and Artisan may have just what you are looking for and if not ,you may be pleased to find out it can be ordered in or still handmade by someone like myself still in time for Christmas.

One more thing, I am starting a list for after Christmas into the New Year workshops ,felting,painting ,hooking, copper work etc. Anyone interested in doing a workshop with me can add your name and what you are interested in doing to the list and we will discuss details at a later date, after Santa returns to the North Pole. And we again are idol with time on our hands waiting patiently for warmer weather.I will have this list at the show on the 28th or you can add your name here at the Gallery or by phone.

gone too long and whats up?

Well ,I have been away from writing here in my blog for about 2 weeks, since Halloween when I last whaled on my drum..look out today..i am whaling, I already informed Chuck of this ..and sure enough I will see once he hears the music it will then get under his skin to then find him whaling himself, seems to always happen that way. You know when you don't think you feel good and then a great tune gets in your head and well, you could say "Game over " and another game takes it's place.

Here is a photo of my Gallery window, Christmas is in the air now as we can all see when looking in the store windows, so not to be out done, I came up with this, I decided to do a very tiny local craft show, tiniest one I have done in years and years. Our last shows costing not the art and crafts trade show which is way expensive ,our last big show cost $475.00 for 3 long hard days ,well now you know why we slept in attics ,basements and in our camper out in the back parking lots of some of these shows, I have the stories ,trust me ,you can only imagine the goings on we witnessed in the middle of the night in Halifax sleeping in our trailer in a large empty ,creepy parking lot in the middle of the city. Another time for those stories. This is the same display I will use at the show, it is at our local fire Dept. here in Liverpool on Nov. 28th, do drop by if you can. Here I posted my two Santa scenes , needle felted in his red long John's "The night after Christmas" relaxing ..the other one is called "Thank you Santa" and here he has a little girl on his lap ,she holding a Teddy Bear.

As well as my Santa's I have been trying to do a few things to do with Christmas and keeping in mind ,money is hard to find for gift giving when bodies need fed and kept warm throughout our yet to come ,seems so long Winters, so I am working on what I call treats , gifts one can justify buying to give to someone special without breaking the bank ,so to speak. Like I have said before in my writings , I for one do not believe in spending heating money on gifts for people just because it is Christmas ,my thought is to give that gift to whoever is special in your life ,whether it be Christmas or just a regular day, for the giving of the gift at whatever the time is a gift to be cherished not just because it is Christmas ..a gift is given with Love whenever you feel or see something that moves you and makes you think of the person for who it is given.

I am working on products ,little treats for special people in your lives under $10.00. And, if I am lucky enough to sell ,I will then put that money in the oil tank to keep our tired ,weary bones warm this Winter..so come on by the show or my Gallery and check out my products,there just might be something that talks to you .

Now to our little adventure the past couple weeks, I found in a news paper an ad from Bridgewater for bidding on a drafting table ,well I won the bid,and after we drove there to get what we thought was a simple table so the measurements said to find a yes by measurements it would fit ..not so big..but.. to our surprise ,this thing was very heavy made, old and lets say well made. After a lift, we decided to leave and call in some troops for help, after a week of wonder and worry not to loose out regarding what I paid ,we finally called our Dear friend Brian F . and he came to our rescue with his truck yesterday and we now have this table here, not for my tiny house but Chuck can use it in his shop. And as usual after finding this large drafting table and mentioning it to my friend Betty ,she informs me she had one ,much lighter and may fit in my house, well we picked that one up yesterday as well..now this one we could handle ourselves, but not to out do ourselves from another adventure, we arrived at Bridgewater Frenchies to meet my friend and this lighter table to find fluid pouring out from under our engine hood, anti freeze ,the cap was left off...:-( after Chuck checked under the hood before we left, he forgot to put the cap back on..well lets just say the drive home with the lighter table on the roof of the car was exciting and we prayed the whole way home to get home.....and of course we did not have Brian's cell phone number with us..so he and the other heavy table in his truck had no idea we were somewhere out on the open road...just ageing a little more with worry, and people wonder why we seldom go far from home these days....how does it go? yes ...we would screw up a glass of ice water:-)

I am better off sitting here puppy sitting which we have also been doing for two weeks, Lady Baby Belle , who is our other adopted doggy daughter along with Miss Laura..who also has been here for about the past week...they play so well together ..Laura being like a big sister.Here is a shot of them looking at me while I sit here on the computer...so cute...they are very good girls and great friends..and they Love Aunt Deb and Uncle Chuck, these two lovelies sure do fill the void which our Dear departed Eddie filled...and Eddie will always be in our hearts...he was a wonderful..spoiled lap dog.

knowing where your favorite pieces go

Yesterday was a great day, we had surprise company, Laurna who bought our farm, we could never have hand picked better people to buy our little piece of Heaven then the Wallaces, they fit in our old homestead like a glove. Tom was waiting to sell to us and we were meant to pass it along to them . Laurna brought a friend along to meet us Rosanne and I am pleased to say that like so many times before in the past doing shows and selling I have had the pleasure to meet the people who fall in Love with these special pieces, and again this was the case yesterday, meet Rosanne and the felted piece she now owns..it was one of my favorite pieces my European Market lady on her special Bicycle as you can see in the photo. I changed the eye color for her and this piece means a lot to her, she fell in Love with it right away..I was so pleased to have it go to someone who really appreciates it and to have met her .

Here we have Chuck and I celebrating Halloween by pounding on our drums and singing a few tunes after the girl's left, I am not kidding when I say ,we march to our own drums:-)really drumming is wonderful exercise and fills your heart ,mind and whole body with joy , we just may have to do it again today, hows about everyday.Do you like our new hair cuts and dye jobs?

I found the other day the most wonderful little chair and my plan for it is a Santa, it looks like it will be perfect, so that will be my next feltie to be made after I finish my Frenchy painting. Hard to believe really that Christmas is in the air, seems like yes ,just the other day I was biking with bare arms and standing outside with bare feet...I think those days are done for a few Months..time to get the socks out.

finished commission

Needle felted "Farm Fun"

Leave it to me to screw up getting these shots in order. This is a commission piece I just finished ,3 little girls having fun on their Gramp's and Gram's farm swing. I always seem to get my pictures not as I would like when uploading to my blog, someday I may get it right, so for now bare with me. In amongst all these shots is a picture of the girl's on their swing, below I believe. I started out with a sketch ,then sketched in the octagon box once I was satisfied with the layout I began to needle felt the background on a piece of felt adding 3 dimensional leaves on the swing tree. Here is a picture of the girl's starting to come together and here they are on the swing before they are clothed. After their clothing was added they started to come to life ,sorry for the blurred photo, I thought I had uploaded the better shot ,but as I mentioned earlier, I could screw up a glass of ice water when it comes to a lot of this computer stuff, sit me in front of my easel ,give me something to make..i can probably do it, but computers ,well I will continue to learn and work until I can get it right, I do hope I live to see it :-) so scroll up and down ,it should make sense to you .

I am happy with the finished piece and enjoyed trying to get the feeling of fun as it shows in the actual photo of the girl's on the swing .

Today I am working on something I have been meaning to do for sometime, Our local Frenchie's ,many of you out there do know "Frenchie's " second hand clothing store. Here in town we all know the Ladies who work there and I came up with an idea for a thank you to them , I plan to do a painting and make greeting cards from the painting, These cards will be sold at Frenchie's with the proceeds from the selling of the cards to go to our IWK Halifax hospital for sick children as well I plan to give the Local Frenchie's a framed print of the painting . Funny really ,I am in there pretty well everyday ,that stop being my reward for doing my bike ride each morning. Really I could paint Frenchie's by memory but yesterday after asking permission to photograph inside the store and to my surprise there were some of our locals shopping when I arrived with my camera, so there I have people I know to add in the painting, what fun.. as well as a couple of the girl's who work there..I will try and do you justice Ladies. There will be more on that as I come along with it. Today I will get out on my bike early ,there is word of rain and high winds, the other day I went out during a rain shower ,it was a challenge trying to see through my wet glasses but better then how I do in wind, with a strong wind, well lets just say, that is a workout, so no wind is what I prefer.

so off I go for now.

Tourisum and it's importance in small towns

This morning I responded to a comment on our Local QCCR "Pulse of Queens County", a whats happening here in our community online information page.

Someone asked why our Local "Kings Orange Rangers"( KOR) reenactment group wore their colorful uniforms during the off season at different meetings etc,actually they suggested they were drawing attention to themselves as if to show off. Hopefully I can make some sense to those who question this as to why we need to be up front ,colorful and advertise our towns in what ever means we can.I am not the brightest apple on the tree and never would I ever claim to be, but I have been in the Tourism business since living in Lunenburg back in the early 70's , moving there and buying a 24 thousand dollar house in 1974 ,that house today I would only dream of what it is worth, not that I agree with prices of houses going up in such an extreme dollar way but when you look at the whole picture ,everyone wins, the average person may not be able to buy that house today but because of the work that house may give someone through maybe tourism if it were a bed and breakfast , restaurant etc.,then that someone may be able to then take that pay check ,save and buy another house and shop in all the surrounding stores if they desired. Keeping our money in our Towns.Back then Lunenburg was just another charming little fishing port, as all our Maritimes were and some still are just that ,to yet be discovered .I also worked at the local tavern in the beginning in Lunenburg and saw only local fishermen coming in, today this tavern is an Inn and there are many bars and restraints offering work. Now these local fisherman's daughters and sons have work these days in what was once sleepy Lunenburg. They do not need to go to sea like their fathers before them and can stay home and earn a good salary right in their own town and maybe open a business.There can be nothing but good from being open all year and offering something to those who want . Plus ,we all know fishing is not what it use to be, let alone a lot of business. We need Tourism, Lunenburg can stay open for the most part in the winter these past years because it is on the all year Tourism map not just seasonal. Of course some out there may not see this being busy all year as a blessing, but if you really sit back and look you will see my point and understand that no matter who you are ,we need to keep our little towns open ,up and running, you can save gas and money by shopping at home in your small towns but the only way to be able to do this is to let people know we are here and open. These days it gets harder and harder for small mom and pop business's to get by in the cold Months. We need to let those people from away who want to visit quaint little Nova Scotia towns all year long know that we are here and open for them and we would love for them to visit year round and leave their money so we can feed ourselves during the lean times. Therefore we need to stand out and be accounted for ...yes ,look at us not past us. This is what we have to offer you and this can't be done without something to entice them here. We need to have ambassador's out there showing and telling people where and what we have to offer, they won't stop to see what we have if they aren't hooked with uniqueness somehow. Trade shows are great and we here in Queen's can be thankful for those who have done long hours in period costume at these events ,without them drawing people in with their colorful period uniforms/garb and showing and telling people about Queen's ,our town and surrounding area's rich histories, we would dry up and blow away. People are not interested in visiting a town where the streets and shops are empty, they will not stay if there is nothing for them to be entertained with and we can't justify staying open and paying big rents year round when no one is here to spend their money and keep all alive. Sometimes I hear people say they can't find anything they are looking for in Liverpool ,well if there were more people on the streets 12 Months a year ,the more money would be left behind and the more merchandise will come into town. You see it all works out, there is a good reason and many reasons to keep a small town alive. We have to be unique in some way ,drawing people in, to help with our survival through the Winter months and having a reenactment group in our town of Liverpool as well yes our Native history and so much more, is very good for us, so much we have to offer, not everyone needs to dress in period costume to make us stand out but those that do should be commended for doing so ,because of them, people are interested and will stop look and listen to then have lunch , may even end up staying the night and possibly returning and buy one of our many homes which are for sale someday. We need to attract people with what we have. I must share with you ,one Sunday morning this past Summer I had my open flag out, Sunday's in Liverpool are known to be quiet, but Tourists have saved for their trip and want to make the most of their money so if there is nothing here in Liverpool for them, they will continue down the road to another town. This day a car pulled in and these people were so happy to see me, at first I thought maybe I had met them before maybe while doing a craft show years ago but no, they were excited to see that something was open on a Sunday morning to entertain them, they did not buy but took my card and left a wonderful comment in my Guest book and since then I have heard from them and they plan to return next Summer, so when they do I hope the Town will and can be open for business for them as well as others and this is why we need to advertise us as an interesting town rich in history and the only way to do this is to use what resources we have and that is our local KOR and anything else which may make people stop and look ,if we don't stand up and say, "Hi!!! here we are over here , welcome"we will all end up with houses we can't sell someday and no shops at all in town. We need our "Ambassador's , thank you to all of them, let us all try to be "Ambassador's...OK? We need to be thankful for those who are trying to put us on the year round Tourism map.
Tourism can only help us, we all need to understand this whether we feel we are in the business or not, it affects us all.

work ..work never ending work..

I have been burning it at both ends as the old saying goes these past days since writing last...here is a shot of a mat I finished in my so called down time.."When will you marry" after Paul Gauguin ,years ago when my younger sister married I did a "Gauguin" "Sisters Wedding Day" if I remember the title correctly. It was of one sister combing the hair of her younger sister on her wedding day. Much thought and research was given before doing it and I feel it was very appropriate , special gifts should be just that, something homemade or anything with much thought behind it,as I see it.

Speaking of that, my brain is in gear with plans of doing my older sis a special mat for her birthday to rest on her cottage floor in Summerville. More details on that as it gets closer to Nov. 7th. Also I have been finishing up another couple of mats but right now I will keep them from the blog for now , I am in thought as to what I want to do with them. If anyone would like to view what I have done so far, please call or drop in if my open gallery sign is up. End of season ,left over commission stock has returned and I have a few Xmas products at a very reasonable price as well. The Summer Tourist season was pretty good for my paintings that were out on commission but unlike past years, seldom do I see Christmas product return, hard to believe it but Christmas items do sell in the Summer. Then again it seems by the stores it gets displayed earlier and earlier each year. Here I am in the selling business, will pretty well make you what ever you want and I for one seldom darken the door of these box stores, going to a large Mall or store makes my head spin,it always has...I remember years ago we were doing an art show in a large expensive Mall, I won't say where , it was a special show and only a few speciality shops were open along with the art show, me being and always have been a hat person went into this fancy boutique store when I saw what I thought was the straw hat of my dreams, grabbing it excitedly from the shelf and seeing no price tag, I then asked the clerk "how much?" she replied "$175.00 "yup!!!that much, my response to her answer as I was putting the hat back on the shelf was"does it come with a brain?" I thought she was going to pee herself laughing, me thinking that she would be angry with my comment..not so.....we both had a great laugh and she then came out later that day and bought a painting from me .My step daughter just got a job at "Michael's" art supply store on PEI...I so envy her, I am like a kid in a candy store when let loose in such a place. I remember years ago we would make special trips into the industrial Park in Dartmouth just for "Michael's" these days, online or the art store in Bridgewater. So back to why I have been burning it at both ends, I try, and do succeed most days to sit at my easel but with Winter on it's way ,feeling it in the air and knowing very well when it changes it may change quickly,during these fine days we decided to put all away, taken care of Months of turmoil here there and everywhere in this tiny house and are ready with all my hooked mats cleaned and put away from where the puppy we puppy sit can't play and pull them apart, because of her I started making the cushion floor mats..Thanks Belle.

I remember back in the very early 1970's my Mom died in "73, she and I worked at a local Dept store together here in town which I have written about before. She bought many ,many carpet ends , small mats in all different colors at this Dept .store , they were selling for like 99 cents a piece or cheaper,she and I sat at the cottage one weekend and sewed all these mats together and made a wonderful multi color shag carpet which covered the livingroom floor. We would spring and fall clean the old place together ,at that time there was a collection of bottles from all over the world along the top ledge of the ceiling and we would wash every one of those bottles, today this cottage belongs to my sister and she is smart enough not to have all this stuff to dust, on the other hand I was blessed or should I say ?cursed with Mom's love of stuff...and I have been dusting here for days and I can see clearly now.

I had someone the other day remind me of how much I recycle and have been ever since I was a small child and when I was a teenager I would take from the attic my Mom's old dresses and rebuild them with less length being the 60's and adorn them with lace, to create a new garment. When Chuck and I married ,my wedding dress was made from an antique lace curtain , I did it in such a way so that after the wedding I returned it back into a curtain for our home, I know I should have saved it, but I do have pictures.I took the two lace panels ,folded them down on the outside when I got my desired length ,I tacked them together at the shoulders and cut the one in front to make it look like a dress with a jacket, my under dress was made from a pretty pink satin curtain which I wore for years after.

One of these days I will put up a picture of our wedding and my dress to share here with you . Oh..Chucks wedding shoes were from the old Bills store in Mahone Bay , I forgot to remove the large orange $9.99 sale tag from the bottom of his shoes and as you can imagine when we were kneeling at the alter, all could see how much I paid for him, there was one picture taken of his shoe soles by his father who has since passed and to this day I have no idea where this picture would be, I wish I did.