Back from selling jewelry


1. Alex and Adeline April 2009, 2. Freshwater pearl bracelet, 3. Campus flower, 4. Hotel Utica chandelier, 5. Hotel Utica chandeliers, 6. Coin pearl bracelets, 7. Hotel Utica, 8. Hotel Utica, 9. Hotel Utica mezzanine, 10. Hotel Utica stairs, 11. Hotel Utica lobby - as seen from mezzanine, 12. Hotel Utica

Got home last night. I had a great time selling jewelry at Hamilton College, in Clinton, NY. We (Doug and I) met so many wonderful students ... the younger generation, at least as it is found at Hamilton College, is a fine group. My visit was sponsored by Hamilton's Students For International Public Health Awareness (SFIPHA). I am donating 20% of my sales to SFIPHA, and they will add the money to their ABE Club fund, to purchase shoes for pre-schools in Kenya.

Doug and I stayed two nights at Bristol Center, on campus. So lovely and the best possible location. Final night we had to move on, so we chose the Hotel Utica, an Historic Hotel listed with the National Trust For Historic Preservation. Best part of the weekend? Seeing Alex and Adeline, of course! Alex's parents were also there and we all had a grand time together, probably being the too noisy table at the Poolville Country Store ... a wonderful 1800's converted house in the sweet little Village of Poolville ... fabulous food ... good wine ... great company ... exceptional evening.

Isn't It Romantic . . . .

I've been making lots of jewelry today. This example is a labradorite necklace with Swarovski crystals and fire-polished Czech glass, hanging from an antiqued brass chain. I love labradorite; there's romance in its flashes of color.

Forget-Me-Nots

It's spring, thankfully. I'll take this opportunity to share some felted wool Forget-Me-Nots. They are all made from my typical fiber of choice - felted wool made by repeatedly washing, and shrinking, wool sweaters. Stitched with Persian wool thread and adorned with vintage and antique buttons.

Forget-Me-Nots Nine-Patch 2002, 13" x 13" plus framing (frame not shown)

This one is more colorful than the others, even though the background squares are grey. The tweedy ones are from a coat that belonged to my mother. This piece was purchased by someone whose house ended up being featured in a magazine. I was so excited to see if it would show up in one of the photos. Well, it did. If you look real close, and if you know exactly what you're looking for, and if you use a magnifying glass, you will see a part of it, behind a lamp, at the edge of the picture.


Detail



Pinkeep, about 2.5" across

I love making pinkeeps - this one unfolds into two attached wool circles for keeping pins and needles. I just had to "steal" one of the forget-me-not circles to make it into a pinkeep.

Forget-Me-Nots 2004, 20.5" x 23.5" (27" x 29.5" framed).

I worked on this one for years. It went through many changes before I felt satisfied with it. In addition to wool from sweaters, this one also contains some felt that my daughter and I made from fleece (the yellow pieces). Lots of the blues are from an old blanket, given to me by a friend. The blanket had originally been a paper-maker's felt, used in his grandfather's business. When it wore out, it was cut down and made into blankets which were used by the family. I am particularly pleased with the colors in the background squares and the way they change. There is a nice flow to it, which I worked very hard to achieve.