It is a beautiful day here and we are moving along with our tasks...had a relaxing weekend and spent some time with my wool beads and felting needle...see left image. Also last week received photos from Alexis Birkoff with images of the beads she got at the Bead and Button Show. She is an amazing young woman...11 ish with many Artgirl ideas. These are some things she came up with for zipper pulls! Thanks Alexis...keep up the good work!

It is the Friday before Labor Day...August 31st...wow...I was looking thru the summer issue of Quilting Arts Magazine and was amazed at the beautiful work that is being created out there in the world! Maybe this weekend we will have time...or take the time to play with all of the materials that are hanging around here just waiting to be manipulated!


While we were in New Hampshire at the quilt show, I finally took felting needle and roving to one of our big beads! Sue was worried that I was going to take someones eye out...I was walking around with my project and waving the scary felting needle around as I interacted with our customers! JoAnn Rupert, our loyal, hard working employee and sister stitcher was quickly going thru needles...snapping off the fragile working end as she earnestly built a garden on her bead. She searched the show for roving, finding suitable Artgirl colors. "Call your sister and have her order roving!!!" That's our Jo!

Will get a picture of the work Al whipped up on a wool bag. Look out!!

Greetings from Artgirlz Nation! This summer has been ridiculously speedy...I can hardly believe that it is going to be September at the end of the week. The mosquitoes are having their own Woodstock around here. The gardens are very dry and crying for water. The bees are very busy. We had two juvenile hawks learning how to take a bath in our pond on Sunday...and it is dark at 8 o'clock...The photo above was taken at a Pow Wow in Charlestown, RI...


We've had a busy month traveling to Vermont for a festive family gathering, then to Manchester, New Hampshire for the Mancuso's Quilt Show (Sue and JoAnn are ready for the masses) and finally off to Cleveland to do some wheeling and dealing! If you are in the Northampton, MA area, check out Valley Fabrics, owned by one of our new best friends from the quilt show, Francesca DenHartog. Our best Artgirlz customer was young April seen here on the left. She was helping her grandmother Nhia Lo who was selling beautiful Hmong bags. Because our booth was in an Arctic zone we bought beautiful scarves from Usha Berlin's Handloom Batiks. Usha is quite the wonderful individual and it was soothing to be in her presence!
Two wonderful women from Conn that were attending the the show, carried on their own class in their hotel room and showed up with these amazing pins. I missed their visit on Sunday and didn't realize how beautiful the pins were until yesterday. I am sorry that I don't have their names. Sue might be able to guide me to that information.. Thanks for the very good work!! Their pieces are seen below!














We will be heading for Absoulutely Everything in Topsfield MA the 7th and 8th of Sept....we will be doing little dolls with our charms and rubber stamps, a wool felt Christmas elf and an Artgirlz Bracelet...Contact Kate for details...


We will be heading back to Cleveland to do a 3 minute segment for the Quilting Arts PBS program hosted by the one and only Patricia Bolton. We are trying to get to the task of project preparation and trying not to think of how goonie we will be feeling on camera...maybe it will be the start of a whole new career. We have often talked about streaming live from the Artgirlz studio....
Oh, we will also be doing a segment for Diva Craft Lounge Wednesday September 5th...12:40 PST...that is a first for us!

October 19-21 Sue and I will be Artgirlz goodies at ArtFest to Nurture the Soul in Cromwell, CT. There are lots of classes set up and we are looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new buddies!!

Then it is off to Quilt Market and Festival in Houston for two weeks...eeekkkk...writing this is making me very tired! That should be a fun filled, exhausting extravaganza!

I am happy that we almost have all of our wool in house to put our new kits and new bead sizes together. Customs has not been very cooperative!! Will be sending out a newsletter very soon to let everyone know that they are ready!! Off for some breakfast...

Well, we made it to Chicago and back and had a wild ride in the middle!! Once again, we saw old friends, made new best friends and are trying to regroup! We were very happy to have Midge on the Artgirlz team and we were all amazed to experience the mix of energy from our combined forces! There was so much going on at any one moment that we are still catching up on stories. We talked with magazine editors, tv producers, online hostesses, distributors, store owners, acquisition big shots, and most importantly our loyal supporters and "old" customers from all over the place! There is nothing more heartwarming than hearing that we have nudged someone along their creative path!!


I continue to be inspiried by the young designers that are out there writing books, looking for work and doing tv and generally bringing a freshness to the scene. We were lucky to run into Traci Bautista, Katie Hacker, Candie Cooper and Margot Potter.


The garden needs lots of work with weeds growing, Japanese beetles munching away...but the lilies are beautiful, the bees are very busy, baby angelicas are all over the place, the fish and frogs seem to be happy in the pond. Sue and Al checked the bees last night. There are so many of them and we don't want them to swarm. We are beekeepers driving without a license, so we have to call one of our mentors today for advice. We had the joy and privilege of tasting the honey right out of the comb!

Back to work! Hi Lennis!

CHA PREP...
Another Monday morning at Artgirlz Nation. We will be finishing up packing and all preparations for CHA today so that we can celebrate Allison's Birthday tomorrow! Happy Birthay Big Al!! As part of that preparation, I wanted to get a few more samples of our new wool felt kits up for the world to see.
The Christmas Tree contains the cone with wool felt beads and a second pack of mixed beads for additional color and texture. Of course any number of sequins, ribbons, trims, presents and embroidery can be added to the mix!

PORTLAND, OREGON /AFRICA CONNECTION...

Sue and I traveled in Africa in 1994 and '96. While in Kenya we were privileged to hook up with and spend most of our time with a very interesting Kenyan family. They worked as ambassadors, representatives in the government, writers and entreprenures. Our hostess Sophia Odero worked with street children offering food and guidance and with widows, helping them develop skills and micro businesses.

Four years ago we received a call from a young man who introduced himself as the son of one of our favorite Kenyan friends (far left). We offered words of wisdom for survival in the US and sent bits of cash for college fees. A couple of years ago we were heartbroken when we learned that his mom had died. So it was with great pleasure that we headed out to Portland to actually meet Pamela's beautiful son Myque and attend his wedding over the 4th.

After an introductory breakfast with the groom we went to help him check things off of his "honey do" list. Under the sure guidance of Myque's brother Elijah (seen above right with girlfriend Tana), we spent the next two hot, laugh filled days, chopping up the ingredients and cooking the post wedding rehersal Kenyan feast...and we finally met Abby, the Bride!!


We were very excited to reconnect with Joseph Otieno, who as a teenager in his family home in Nairobi, gave us his room as a landing zone. He filled us in on family news and promised to send greetings to his mom who is working in Afganistan. Hope to meet up with him when we head to Houston for Quilt Market/Festival! The wedding was beautiful, the food was perfect, the cake was the best I've ever tasted.

We were thrilled to meet Myque, his brother Elijah and friends and to observe their love and respect for each other. They are loving, smart and very funny young men and their mom would be very proud of their journey into the world!! We miss them madly!


The other great part of our trip to Portland was spending time with our host David Fones! We met David on our journey thru the craft industry and were very excited that we would be able to drink coffee in his kitchen, read on the porch, study his garden and neighborhood and enjoy his personal guidance around town (which we loved)!! My sister was afraid we wouldn't come home from the land of organic mindsets, art, gardens, gardens and more gardens, light, warm, mosquito free evenings, amazing mexican food...

Part of our Portland tour was a look at the Chinese Gardens with their amazing stone mosaic walkways.


And then there was VooDoo Donuts..

We had heard about this joint on Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, that was aired on the travel channel. It was immediately put onto our Portland list! After the relaxing greenery of the Chinese Gardens we trotted down a couple of blocks and there it was! On the left is the "Dirty Bastard"...a lovely raised donut with chocolate frosting, crushed oreos, and a drizzle of peanut butter. Yes, we actually consumed it...and here is Sue enjoying a bit of maple frosting and bacon on an oblong raised dough ball...It is probably a once in a lifetime event!


We had a great trip and are very grateful to David and Lyle for sharing their home and special adventure filled automobile...and we are grateful for the twists and turns that led us to Myque and Abby's wedding.

On to Chicago...here is a view from 35,000 ft....

We are in our usual pre-show state. Lists of things to do...catalog sheets with our new kits and beads. Stitching up new outfits, working on hair do's, samples, website, blog, and garden. We have been tweaking our new kits that are pretty cute I have to say! There will be Trees, Elves, Snow People and Witches...and and endless number of characters that can be made up by mix and matching felt beads and Artgirlz charms!

We had a great trip to Portland and want to share some photos and stories about that adventure before we head out to our next one!

Back to the garden!

Cloudy, hazy day here with thunderstorms threatening...My sis is officially on vacation and Sue and I will be heading for Portland, OR on Monday. Looking forward to it very much...

In the mean time, we are working on gathering goodies for new kits. They will include for your creating pleasure, a Witch Kit, Christmas Girl or Santa, and Snow People. I realize that summer just officially just started, but the life of one trying to sell stuff, forces a thought process way into the future...thus the snow family is growing and the pumpkins are very endearing I must say. Pictures will be coming soon!! With 5 felt bead sizes there is an endless variety of pumpkin patches and snow people villages and tree decorations!! Stay tuned...

Just a warning...I received a video camera about 6 months ago and have just started working with iMovie...and, I just read that we will be able to post mini movies on this site...look out!
Could take me another 6 months to get it together, but the possibilities are just waiting to blossom.

Off for coffee and AG's work.

Monday morning and it is another beautiful day here in New England...spent a lot of time in the garden this weekend. Here is Victor lounging in the coreopsis...when I figure out how to use my video camera, I have a great shot of a gold finch chowing on seeds, hanging in front of Victor!! Sue and Midge went clamming and came home with goodies. Had yet another raucus Artgirlz meeting, going over products, orders, teaching, shows, a vacation???...time will tell on that one...a lovely post meeting dinner at the girlz house consisting of an informal buffet of clams, cereal, toast, microwave dinners and pudding. Nothing but the best!

We decided to vend at the ArtFest 4 the Soul . It will take place at the Crowne Plaza in Cromwell, CT October 18-21, '07. We had the option of teaching, but since we will be taking off for Houston Quilt Market and Festival right after that event, we decided to pass on that this year. They are offering a great range of classes, a breast cancer fundraiser...make a bag from a bra...and of course good shopping and no doubt a lot of laughs!!!

Did I mention that we will be doing Mancuso's World Quilt Show XI - New England? That show is August 16-19 in Manchester, NH! We have heard great things about that show and look forward to checking it out. It doesn't seem like signing up for this show helps one get thru the 7 year waiting list for their Santa Clara show...but looking forward to it anyway!

Pictured here is more damage from Bead and Button...you will see these little beauties stitched onto future felt projects!!

Gotta go and get to my list...fabric to paint, felt to cut and CHA is looming and we will be playing for a week around the 4th...the girlz have family visiting and Sue and I are headed to Portland, OR...looking forward to it very much!

Speaking of that...a note to shoppers...we will be "closed" during the first week of July! Shop your hearts out until then...and now off for some breakfast to get me thru the morning...or at least to my first snack!

It's a hazy day here at Artgirlz Nation. I'm hoping that it will rain on the gardens today!
I wanted to mention that Barb Schemmer from the great state of Illinois won our Artgirlz drawing at the Bead and Button Show. We had a coupon in the show book and Barb was the big winner of an Artgirlz Extravaganza (Super Duper Gift) Box, a felt Cone Kit, Pock-A-Book Kit, and a dozen of our new Big Wool Felt Beads! I hope that she is thrilled with her package!


As usual, we were busy making samples before the Bead and Button Show and came up with this bracelet that includes Artgirlz Pewter Charms, hand made paper beads, charms made with shrink plastic, wool felt beads and Artgirlz Rubber Stamps...also included "charms" made with printed twill from Creative Impressions.
Some of the components are shown here...I made up all of the dangles before adding them to a chain. Because the some of the parts are paper and felt the piece is very light weight and fun to wear. As we like to say, the possibilities are endless...Making the paper beads is a bit addicting...any kind of paper, embossing powder colors, glitters etc!
Hoping to get a class proposal together for this project...

Off to continue email catch up...desk clean off and list organization!

It has almost been a month since my last post. I hardly know where to begin! We spent a lot of time in the garden, and things were just blasting out of the ground! Nature is quite remarkable and just continues to amaze me. The flower above was the only blossom on a tree peony that we aquired last summer. It was beyond beautiful! There is so much up now, and still weeding, digging, mulching, watering, avoiding the poison ivy, planting....the pond is alive with the fish that survived the last visit from the malard duck, and their babies are about the legth of a finger nail! The frogs are lounging and there are water bugs of many sorts making themselves very busy!

We were busy last month getting ready for our first adventure at the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee. Trying to decide what and how much to take of everything. I was very excited when our shipment of new wool felt beads arrived! We now have larger (3m) and smaller sizes and they are great! They are not up on the website yet but they will be very soon! We had them at the show, so some of them are out there in the world! My first try with the big beads was a tomatoe pin cushion...more to come! I'm thinking pumpkins, pea pods and snow people!!
I worked on some samples for Bead and Button and put this two level necklace together. I embellished a group of 1cm felt beads with seed beads, sequins and embroidery stitches and put them together for the top row. The longer string is a combination of 2cm embellished wool beads, charms, misc beads from our stash and shrink plastic pieces made with our rubber stamps. I must say that it is quite festive and fun to wear!

It was my first trip to Milwaukee. We flew into Chicgao, rented a van and with the hope of saving cash on shipping, filled it with bags stuffed with our goodies. We also had our new cash register that was padded with charms, and beads! We drove to Milwaukee, enjoying the lovely summer air, the green fields, ads for cheese and fireworks! The architecture around the city was beautiful and the waterfront was lovely. The biggest challenge was finding food. We had delicious Thai food at the King and I!


The show was overloaded with rock star bead makers and volume of over the top jewelry that was walking around was amazing. The shopping scene was overwhelming. I could hardly concentrate on anything long enough to care! We did manage to find a few goodies to bring back to the studio!! And most importantly, we met some new best friends...Paula Best...with a line of rubber stamps and sterling charms...the first thing we had to do was chat about hair dye...and Heidi Viau the heart and hands behind Lillypilly Designs. They both had lovely partners in crime that we enjoyed very much!

Spent yesterday filling out and organizing contracts and proposals for teaching and selling at Quilt Festival and Markets for Houston '07 and Chicago '08, Long Beach '08...and sending off a book proposal to Lark. We also just found out that we passed the test to be part of the Bernina Professional Loan Program, and will be receiving an "aurora 440" to use for a year! Thanks Bernina!!

When I last saw my sis yesterday, she was seriously miserable trying to consume the special tank of liquid for her colonoscopy. Those of you that have been down that road will surely share a shiver....Should be just about over by now...

Off to help our buddy Patrick at the Umbrella Factory Gardens sell plants and pots for the next couple of days...hope to be back soon!