Simply Goode

It's a chilly Fall night here in the North Country this evening. I've just come in from taking my furry kids out for the night. They are all curled up behind me now, and so with a mug of hot chocolate to take off the chill, it's time to share goode things with you.

First,I'd like to introduce to you some very goode friends of mine. Serafina, a Harvest Angel. The Soul Keeper and Mrs. Mezzanotte (Mrs. Midnight, in Italian). They are residing at Simply Primitives, my new home for first of the month offerings! If you've never visited before, click on the link and take pop in. You'll meet some wonderful artisans and see some amazing work.

It has been a very goode busy here as another bunch of applications made their way out today for local shows. I will be trying out a show or two that I haven't done since I started doing the big shows in PA. It will be so fun to meet with old friends and make new. I will let you know as they approach, so that if you are in the area, you can stop in and say hello! It looks to be an exciting time here for this Goode Wife and gears change at the end of this week as I start for the upcoming Holiday Season.

Time Marches On

I just love my friend here, The Undertaker. He was one of my first Halloween pieces that I made for the September Brimfield Show 2001. I came across quite a few of my friends as I have been sorting and filing my designs. The Undertaker has been redone now to my liking... all I needed was time and experience to really take him to the level that I had pictured. It's really interesting to look back that way, to see how far you have come. Beginnings are always just that, in everything we do. I have some new beginnings ahead in my personal life as well as my dear wee friends here. There is one new beginning ahead for me to share. But that, I'm saving for the next post.

Road Trip

I'm looking in my rear view window as I drive ahead on this artful journey. I've watched and been a part of Primitive Folk Art for twelve years now. It was difficult to find at first. I remember coveting one of the last issues of Country Folk Art magazine. Found in dog-eared pages, were a few "Prim" dolls in all of their tea dyed glory and old looking wood pieces with paint taken off the edges and corners. I would scour the local LARAC show for these works every Spring with friends. I was hooked the moment I stepped into Netty's home and spent many an hour paging over every detail of Hollyberry Hill Catalogs. There, the hand drawn artwork captured so many of us and we were introduced to Nicole Sayre, Deerfield Farmhouse, Folk and Whimsy and the Ragged Edge to name a few. Little did I know back then, that I would later meet and get to know some of these talented women whose work nestled into the hand drawn pages and came alive in my mind's eye.

I would yearn for a stolen day or two to explore Market Square Shows and catch the Hilton Show at Valley Forge in the cold winter days before Spring. Brimfield was a magical land filled with antique dreams. With two young daughters, it was a world and years away... but l reached for that star above that holds our dreams, I grabbed it and I'm still holding on to the ride.

I sit proudly beside so many of you. Not of the very beginnings, but still new. We have done good shows and bad, Port-A-Potty and school gyms. Drenched in rain or sweat from the sun. Sold everything or nothing and have many, many wonderful memories and chuckles. Some of us became friends at shows and some through the Internet. We have enjoyed the heyday of Crow Soup and Folk-of-Art. We've cheered each other on for auctions on Ebay before their rules changed. We've seen our work and each others in magazines.

Over the past couple of years. we've watched new venues and new artists come aboard with welcoming smiles for their journey ahead. We know that there is room for all of us on the journey. The ones to watch will have to put time in, pay their dues and let their own style define them... they will set trends because they aren't afraid to take a chance. They will inspire us all. The ones in it for the art and spirit will let their work pave the way just as ours has. The journey still has miles to go...for all of us.

The Devil Is In The Details

I can't tell you just how much I love what I do. I've always been drawn to textiles and have enjoyed using them to showcase my ideas. Now, trust me, I could never sit through my Mom trying to show me how to sew a skirt and failed miserably at my V neck shirt for Home Economics....but give me a piece of muslin and a pencil and I'm off. When my girls were little, I did attempt to make mittens for all of my nieces, thinking how difficult could it be? I found a pattern marked in big red letters...EASY. Perfect. Little mittens with a fitted thumb and a simple hat. A migraine and two weeks later, I was talking to a friend who made many of her own clothes for years. I showed her the pattern sheepishly and thought to myself.. I'm gonna feel like an idiot after she shows me what I was doing wrong. Hallelujah.. I was not an idiot after all! The pattern was not as easy as it proclaimed and my seasoned sewing friend wrote them a letter a couple weeks earlier, letting them know just how badly they messed up.



Now I look at some of the things I make and wonder, just how would I explain how to do THAT? Thankfully, in the years that I have been writing patterns, I haven't messed up too badly. I want my patterns to be above all, fun. I like putting in some little detail that not only makes the piece, but gives someone a little something different to try. Tonight on TDIPT, I have three offerings and all three have something in common. The use of wire for the details. Will I make any of these patterns? I'd certainly like to, but you can bet that as I write up everything step by step...that fitted thumb issue will nag me to keep it simple!

My Hero

The Season of The Witch

At least it is around here! And not just regular witches, but pumpkin witches and rat witches. I am having fun with old friends and new. I've even been sculpting again. My sculpting has always been in ceramic clay and without armatures. I decided to take a class and revisit Paper Clay to start. I had tried it about nine years ago, but but my primitive fabric friends took the lead. Now, as a promise kept, I am moving forward in all that I do and embracing my gift beyond my dear wee friends here, to share with you what others have seen for many years. The gift that I was given in other areas, such as pen and ink and now the sculpting. This is a very happy time for me not only in the work I do, but in embracing my very favorite time of year. With my trusty mug of..."caw-fee" and the cool, crisp air of morning gently saying hello, I'm off to see what new friends await.

Meet Some New Friends!

It's official, I'm back to creating! It's still mostly part time, but today was 100% wrapped in bringing some new friends to life as offerings on Lemon Poppyseeds. Meet two of my wee friends. First is my beloved Igor...I just love Young Frankenstein and there is no question as to my favorite character! This house has been full of giggles today since he got his hair and face. Next is Eleanor Higgins. She's changed a wee bit from the original, but has still kept her charm. She always brings a smile and I get many requests for her.

What could be better than being back on Lemon Poppyseeds with my new friends??? How about new PATTERNS?? I am happy to say that Igor and Eleanor are now a part of the Raven's Haven Pattern line!