Come and See Me! At the 24th Annual Cottage Street Studios Holiday Open Studios and Sale

December 3, 4, and 5. Friday 12-5, Saturday 10-5, Sunday 12-5. Come and see me and forty-four other artisans, when we open our studio doors for the 24th Annual Cottage Street Studios Holiday Open Studio and Sale! You'll find me in Studio 420 with my quilty items and paintings!

Get in on this giveaway, People!

Photo credit: Jeff Derose

My shop is being featured on the wonderful Lillyella blog... Thank you, Nicole!

Be sure to check out her many interesting posts, including recipes, cool projects, and fashion ideas. I'm offering a giveaway from the shop, so check out the post to find out how to enter to win something cool from btaylorquilts!

Awesome weekend

Participated in the 1st Annual Easthampton Studio Tour Day on Saturday, Oct. 2. We totally lucked out with the weather, after two miserable days of steady rain it was more than awesome to wake up to the sunshine. I was not intending to be outside with my table, but decided to move it outside when the weather just kept getting nicer. I've never set up my machine to sew outside before, and it was really fun...a little bright, you can tell by the sunglasses, but still completely fun.

New Camera :)

It's pretty exciting around here...I've gotten a new camera. A Canon, EOS Rebel T1i 500D. It's a digital SLR and is really beautiful. A friend has lent me a lens to try and I'm just starting to learn functions, etc. The last camera that I really enjoyed was my Canon AE1, 35 mm film camera. It was simple. Basic. I loved it. It was easy to use, everything was aparent, with no menus or complicated settings. A short novel came with the new camera and with some time I hope to be able to take some nice photos, including images for my Etsy stores. So far I've only had one willing model:

Thomas

He's going to read the manual while I'm at work today and let me know the fundamentals when I get home.

Shop news: I've been busy lately taking some time for vacation and relaxing. I haven't mowed my lawn for about 7 weeks (it's actually not that bad..only in spots). I'm also busy with a personal sewing project that is taking an inordinate amount of time. Soon I will be listing new things in the shop....soon :)

Word of the Day

Relax

New Kindle covers in the shop!

I'll be listing some new Kindle covers in the shop over the next few days. I had borrowed my Sister's Kindle to see if I liked it...I was comparing the Nook and the Kindle, and had briefly entertained getting an iPad, but it was just too heavy and big for what I wanted to use it for.
In exchange for borrowing her Kindle I sewed up a cover for her. She was toting it around in her bag with no cover. Honestly, it was in near perfect condition anyway, so that attests to its durability with hard use.
A few weeks ago my own Kindle arrived in the mail and it is truly awesome. It is my "model" for my Kindle cover photos that you see here. Of course, I got really excited about the covers and have been making them a lot...part of my obsessive nature I suppose :) But they are fun to make and so very useful. I've made myself two so far and will probably make a lot more, so I can have a variety depending upon my mood. The Kindle feels good in the case, which is made of one layer of heirloom quality 100% cotton batting and all cotton fabrics. It's simple really and snug enough to hold the Kindle without slipping out all the time. Check them out in the shop, they are selling for $20 each.

Open Studio weekend at Cottage Street Studios. Come and see me!

This weekend, June 5 & 6th, Cottage Street Studios holds its 22 annual Open Studio Spring Sale. For directions and hours and a huge list of participating artisans, please visit the Cottage Street Studios website.

Come and see me working in my studio (#420), and check out the more than 30 artists with their doors open. They are all amazing artisans and are all looking forward to seeing you. We've got glass workers, potters, painters, photographers, woodworkers, illustrators, poets and more. There will be something for everyone.