I’m all about preparations. Not only is a well-prepared endeavor likely to be more successful but also less stressful! It means more availability to be fully in the moment during the adventure, knowing that you’re ready. This commitment to preparedness meant that the stash of supplies for my “Punch Needle Rug Hooking: Birds of the Northwoods” class at North House …
Making Queenie’s Miniature–Pet Portrait Commissions
It started with the Down on the Farm newspaper article I’d written on teaching needle felting classes. Readers in Washburn clipped it out and sent it to a friend who now lives in California. Not long afterwards, I receive a call from Elena–full of enthusiasm. She’d seen the image of my hands holding the two small cardinals, and she wanted …
Hummingbird Haven Commission is Launched
I am certainly happiest when I am able to freely make art. And it is especially rewarding when this can be overlapped with the gleeful appreciation of my work by discerning viewers. When someone asks me to make a piece just for them, there’s that special feeling of warmth and eagerness that ensues. Whether that be weaving a rag rug …
An Adventure in Hats
As an interdisciplinary artist, it’s important to keep adding to the toolbox–discovering new techniques, fresh alternatives, and new mediums to explore. Otherwise, even the most engrossing work can grind down to tedium and boredom. And I don’t do boredom. So each winter season on the farm, we make a concerted effort to tag each other out in order to create …
A Challenge in Miniature
This month, I entered a piece fresh off the loom for Small Tapestry International 6–a biennial event hosted by the American Tapestry Alliance. The theme was “Beyond the Edge,” and the size limit was under 100 square inches. In tapestry, that is TINY! What could I design and make that would fit the theme, the size restraint, and be a …
More Images from the Varpapuu Loom
The adventure continues in the restoration of the Finnish tapestry loom, gifted to me by weaver Christine Hensolt. There were so many bits and pieces, and trying to determine what went where was quite the engineering adventure. Fortunately, the beams had been labeled in pencil to note which went where and right and left. But some pieces were a mystery …
Restoring a Varpapuu Tapestry Loom
You really never know what a day will bring. On a otherwise ordinary July day, a group of ladies arrived for lunch at Farmstead Creamery, led by Jane (pictured center) one of the authors who’d be featured in our Spoken Word series. Along for the adventure was Christine Hensolt (pictured right), originally from Germany. Farmstead Creamery is also my tapestry …
Designing a Student Project
I enjoy teaching fiber arts. There’s that magical moment when things click for the student, and that spark of joy as the project comes together. As I move towards teaching in the medium of punch needle rug hooking, I wondered for a while what would make a good project for a multi-day intensive class. Personally, I’ve never been a fan …
Needle Felting Kits are Here!
Sharing the creative experience of needle felting with students has been both creative and rewarding. But what if I could package these classes into accessible forms that fiber enthusiasts anywhere could take home, gift, or share with family and friends? It has been a real journey developing this product, informed by my teaching experience and what I would like to …
Joys and Challenges of Weaving on a Round Loom
It is statistically likely that highly creative people have at least 15 projects laying about in various states of incompletion. (I heard it explained once that creative people don’t have clutter, it’s just great ideas lying about.) I’m certainly guilty of that situation, and now and then I get the itch to pick up a languishing project and make a …