Recent cool temperatures (we camped north of Duluth this past week and overnight temps were down to 32 degrees!), trees bursting with gorgeous yellow, orange, red, and rust leaves, and bright sunshine are all confirming that the fall season is is full swing. I even received my tulip bulbs for planting and the cucumbers, tomatoes and beans are finally winding down their production. Some days it is hard to stay inside and work. Last week I finished 4 trunk show sessions at Quilters Haven in Rosemount, Minnesota. The owner, Jean Graham, was very supportive and helpful when I first sought opinions about my wool pieces. She has a wonderful selection of wool yardage ready to be felted – many rich colors that are not always easy to find. So often felted wool is sold in small pieces, which can provide great variety, but you really need some yardage in order to make a larger project. I was so pleased to be able to present my work and samples – her customers were very receptive and expressed interest in my teaching some classes. I had brought a few pins along just to show what I did with some of my ‘leftovers’ and they seemed to be a big hit. So I have tentatively agreed to teach a class for the pins as well as one for the toppers. But first, I have to get the patterns written and produced for the pins! And here I am, still just having fun with all the possibilities!!! More…

It’s been a very busy four weeks. The late summer days seemed to quickly disappear as the cooler (finally!) autumn weather begins to arrive. I love this time of year – cooler days, even cooler evenings, sunshine, colorful trees, the harvest from the garden(or farmer’s market), visiting the apple orchard, and falling leaves. This year, I think it was even more welcome than usual since the summer was so hot, it was hard to enjoy any time outdoors. Often, ‘autumn’ is used as a synonym for a stage of life: we hear the expression that someone is in the autumn of their life. Four weeks ago, I learned that a dear friend of mine, is not only in the ‘autumn of her life,’ but was preparing herself for her final journey as she asked me for my assistance in certain preparations. In return, I have decided that her final gift to me is the realization that every day is to be treasured. Perhaps this will explain why I temporarily ‘put aside’ my blog to spend time with her. Despite the fact that I was not able to find time to create a single pin in the last two weeks, I still have pins and felted toppers galore bouncing around in my head. The ones featured here were made earlier in the month… More…