Sunday, September 26, 2010

A New Library, with Art by my friend Happy Silence

Manheim Township got a new public library, and in it's cool interior is art by my good friend Maggie Mowery of Happy Silence.

I am excited to have another library to go to. It is roomy and designed in a family friendly way, which will be nice for us. I think they need more books, so Pennsylvania please reconsider library budget cuts. What a cool building though. Lancaster city could use some funds to upgrade the city library too...the most frequented destination in the city.





Congrats to Maggie, your art looks so good here. I hope it stays up for a long while. Max and I have been twice, and found more Maggie Mowery pieces the second time...a nice surprise:-) XO







Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Fall is HERE!

the too-heavy-to-move stump thing has been repainted, in time to welcome fall guests...

My fall line is now at the My Aunt Debbie Shop on Queen Street, Lancaster...here's Debbie...

and Max is back at school and loving it...He attends the Lancaster Cooperative School at the Unitarian church...this progressive preschool has been around for decades at this location in the city of Lancaster, and it's been a wonderful sense of community for us.


Jennifer visited from Iowa, it was great to see her...

more special news soon...!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Bon Jour and Goodbye July

French Toast at the French House...on the china my father sent my Grandmother in a barrel from Vietnam, and not a single piece broke...

What the garden has produced so far! delicious but pitiful!

A smiling French boy on a Pennsylvania train ride...at Knoebels...

Happy times, hot days...


Cheers:-)

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Maggie French Accessories now at the My Aunt Debbie Boutique at Mommalicious

It's so hot i'm not sure what to do with myself, but one thing is for sure, I was happy to head downtown today to the torquise doors of Mommalicious and My Aunt Debbie.

Maggie French Accessories (pins/headbands/and my famous hairclips) all made from rare British Wensleydale wool are now available at the My Aunt Debbie shop (90% of the pieces for sale are by local Lancaster artists, including Debbie Serdy herself).

Above is Debbie, and below are examples of her endless creative imagination...


created in her local studio, often with local quirky found objects...

i loved these satchet pairs from Ana Apple- especially this London/France/Underpants one:-)

and these quirky Marley dolls wih yarn hair...

this picture below is sweet to me, because behind my flowers on the counter, I see a skeleton t-shirt by my buddy Maggie Mowery of Happy Silence, paired with a
Debbie Serdy collar necklace- we're all Lancaster art friends, so that makes me smile.

Visit the shop to see fantastic vintage furniture vignettes too, to get you in a creative mood. This is one of the best little shops in Lancaster and my personal favorite.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Hi Jul-Y


at our downtown Lancaster library- Max loves Corduroy, so he couldn't believe we found the Corduroy DVD.
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at Cherry Hill Orchards...before we filled our cooler full of fruit and veg...

downtown again for First Friday with the lovely Opal:-)

Max, waiting for his friends to arrive at First Friday, in the Art Garden...doing an iCarly move....

Friday, June 25, 2010

June Buds

sweet play dates this summer, a busier boy...coloring, painting, cutting, chalking, swimming, talking, swinging, eating, singing, tea partying, reading, movie going, biking Max:-)



Thursday, June 17, 2010

Crafts in the Park

Last weekend, I vended at Crafts in the Park in nearby Lititz, showing my new summertime hair things and pins made from British Wensleydale wool. It was the largest show I've done, with so many vendors set up amongst the trees. I borrowed a tent from my friend Jody, and my family helped me set up, and even took me to breakfast (sit down restaurant- how luxurious!) after getting my booth ready.

I just had to create a new sign for summer, reflective of the color of things cooking up in my kitchen studio. Using the rest of the felt, I made the banner. It's put together with glue! and it lasted! couldn't believe it. I reused my store display for the Lancaster Yarn Shop - the shutter with little torquise shutters on the sides, the top of my pot rack table (seen in the book, "1000 Ideas for Creative ReUse" published 2009) became my upper tabletop display, and the little magnet house I created for the Square One Coffee Indie Arts show turned into a brooch holder. I loved how everything came together and reunited at least a little of my old painting with my new accessories.

Here's my little famous hair clips, bigger now and all dolled up with felty balls in the centers, some with beads.

As my tradition now before shows, I went around the park looking for my favorite vendors- selling the things I think are coolest. I easily spotted the booth of Michelle McGinn from across the way, and fell in love with her wood paintings, all hung on a vintage door. Everything was in similar colors to my work...it would have been fun to be set up closer together.

I ended up taking home a precious painting of hers, a mother bird feeding her two babies.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

SWOON! A new headband Monsoon!

I can't believe it's June...so much has been going on here, and the time is flying. I finished a month of freelance work for my old company, working while Max was still in school.
Now he's out and I'm done, but I realized that I have the Lititz Craft Show coming up on Saturday June 12. It's been very busy for me personally on the home front(stop by my booth and you'll see why!)...and so this past week I dived into some new pieces.
I am so happy with these new headbands, and having so much fun with them. But like always, I just get arty and obsessed and can't stop cooking them up.
I've been back and forth to Flying Fibers this week, buying my Wensleydale wool and other bits and pieces.
Low and behold I've already sold one...and just hours after it was purchased, it went off to a wedding paired with...



this gorgeous dress from Monsoon! (photos by Irina Lawrence)
Yes, yes, it's true. This sweet girl here in Pennsylvania just combined my 100% British Wensleydale wool headband with her own fantastic dress from the British retailer! Naturally:-) It makes me want to swoon!

Get your bold headband fix next Saturday in Lititz Springs Park. See you then! XO

Monday, May 31, 2010

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

to celebrate the end of school we took Max to the circus today.
Here he is with Sergey Makarov, Leader of the Makarov high wire troupe from Russia. He signed Max's sword:-)

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Landis Valley Garden Show

Hi everyone,
I can't believe that it's nearly mid May! I feel like I have so many things I'd like to do around the house, etc. And the calendar continues to fill up with little dates for this and that. How time flies.
This past Saturday marked our now yearly tradition of attending the Garden Show at Landis Valley Museum. The grounds are gorgeous, and it's a lovely way to spend the day before Mother's Day with my Mom.
It's also a fantastic place to stock up on Heirloom plants, veggies, etc, for your spring and summer garden.

Here is my Mom. She always helps me pick out my plants as I always having trouble knowing what's what.

We watched a little demo on natural dying. Of course I stuck around for that one, she had wool on the table:-)

I turned around and saw these yarns and fabrics hanging on a line along a stone wall. So pretty...