Earlyworks Shoppe

Primitive America`s Spring Open House

2010-05-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

Another wonderful open house at Christine Hummel`s Primitive America shop in Pennsdale,Pa. . 514 Quaker Church Rd., she`s open every Friday 10:00-5:00. She`s now on Facebook , http://www.facebook.com/primitiveamerica , tell her Melanee sent you. And here is a link to photos of her wonderful early home. Her home
Her picturetrail link: Primitive America

She sells on her picturetrail link too and al various shows in Pa. She updates her site regularly so go look for what she has for sale. Tell her Melanee sent you.

My House in February 2010

2010-02-17T14:46:00.000-08:00

Monochromatic photos of different views ,out windows with icicles forming curtains above them.

Some Green

2009-11-06T09:10:00.000-08:00

A friend sent me some sweet annie plants and this is what I harvested from them. Thanks so much for sending them. The birdhouse gourds from the Farmer`s market in Lewisburg. Love the bright green. This is from about a month ago, no more morning glories or birdhouse gourds left. But I wanted to share the green

Colors of Autumn

2009-11-05T22:50:00.000-08:00

I took these photos at the farmer`s market in Lewisburg ,Pa. and Williamsport ,Pa. . The images of the sky are for my sister and anyone else who is in an area where they don`t have clouds very often. We have spectacular clouds here. These are the colors of Autumn here in Pa. . We are blessed with an abundance of grown fruits , vegetables and flowers and more. Many people don`t even notice all the abundance, maybe even take it for granted. I feel very grateful and thankful for the abundance.

New Berlin Antique Show Highlights- These are a few of my favorite things ....

2009-08-29T21:58:00.000-07:00

Photos from the New Berlin Antique Show I went to last weekend. These are some of my favorite things. I hope you enjoy the photos.

Colors of Summer- How I see the Farmer`s Market

2009-08-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

Sunday Morning Flea Market Finds

2009-07-05T07:22:00.000-07:00

I woke up feeling full of energy this morning and went early to the Flea Market nearby. This FM is mostly old things, a lot of junk, but some treasure can be found now and then. This morning I found a white one drawer stand, 2 old shutters, a nice old painted box with metal, a black and white painted stool, a candy box, a tin pot with handle, a slide lid box, a few books,an apple butter bowl, a button necklace made from old shoe buttons, an old primitive piece wood turned into a shoe repair base and a few other bits. I also got an old wardrobe that has old shelves. I`m fixing that to store old blankets, quilts, coverlets ,etc. . I had a fun time. I hope you enjoy seeing what I found.

Nature`s Decorating

2009-06-14T19:03:00.000-07:00

I`ve had this blueberry wreath on my barn door since I moved here 7 years ago. I love this!!
Update.....they all left the next day. Either too crowded or it was the sun shining on them that made them go. Hopefully my cat didn`t have them for dinner.

The Consignment Barn, Lewisburg,Pa.

2009-05-15T14:00:00.000-07:00

I`ve been busy getting my new antique space ready for the opening of a new place called the Consignment Barn in Lewisburg ,Pa. . I decided I wanted to make a space that I would want to go shopping at. I visit a few places that I enjoy shopping for primitives in my area, such as The Street of Shops in Lewisburg, and Primitive America which I`ve shown photos of on here,( look at earlier posts), there is also The Roller Mills in Lewisburg too. Here is what I have so far, but I can only fit so much at a time in my truck in each trip and it`s not open everyday yet, it`s just been open a day a week for us to set up.The store should be open June 1st unless something else changes it.
Old baby and kids shoes, ironstone, early books, make-do`s that I`ve made from old materials, crocks, quilts and more.
Click on the photos for a better look.

Old Needlepunch Piece

2009-03-11T13:57:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I went to a local antique show. I helped out my friends as they set up and sold their antiques. The show was busy and they got a good crowd. I was able to find this needlepunch rug, faded over time, but you can still see the back is still vibrant. Punched with yarn and most likely from a kit.

Redwork- Blackwork Embroidery with Children

2009-03-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I found this wonderful large piece embroidered in red on one side and black and navy on the other. This is a flat piece but it would be great made into a large pillow or framed. I`m going to do one or the other. I love handwork, hours of stitching involved in this piece.

Old Black Doll I found while I was antiquing .....

2009-03-11T13:33:00.001-07:00

I`m so pleased at this doll I found antiquing today. She`s about 13" tall, made from a shiny black cotton, and her dress is probably original as it fits pretty well. Probably an old feedsack made into a dress. Imagine if today we had something like feedsacks, used 1st for utilitarian purposes and then can be made into clothing or quilts. Can`t think of anything today that`s comparable to it. But wouldn`t it fit in today in our recycling mentality.

Early Valentine`s Puzzle Purse`s

2009-01-25T22:08:00.001-08:00

Here`s a link to how to make your own early style puzzle purse valentines.

Puzzle Purse instruction`s

Another interesting link.

And Martha`s instructions.

Old Spun Cotton Ornaments

2008-12-27T23:48:00.000-08:00

Decorated Feather Tree

2008-12-27T23:40:00.001-08:00

I finally collected enough things to fill my feather tree this year. I had to get bits and pieces for a few years now until I had a treeful. I have a habit of stashing my finds , squirreling them away for the future, so it was a bit of work to find it all, but I`m pleased with the outcome. The tree itself is a fake feather tree that I found at a yard sale for $1. ,thinking I`d use it as a pattern to make my own real feather tree, but that hasn`t happened yet, one of these years I`ll get to it.

Christmas Decorating

2008-12-13T15:42:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by this old postcard when I went to put up a tree 2 years ago. I heard my Mom telling a story about how she had walked in the snow to find a tree. That means they just went out and took whatever was growing , however it was growing, no trimming for years to give it that nice shape. So I decided that`s what I wanted to try. I went out and walked until I found one I thought would work and the trunk is very small compared to the ones you buy at a lot . I put it in this old bucket with a plastic bucket inside to prevent leakage, placed stones for support and wired it to the wall. I made folded paper stars and strung popcorn and cranberries. Baked gingerbread cookies and cut out shapes with my old cookie cutters. Clipped on candles ,but never lit them, and added white lights. A carved angel on top that was made by my friend. Added some dolls and animals from my collection and was very happy with the results. I`d love to see your early style trees too, send me a link .

Primitive Christmas Decorating

2008-12-13T15:16:00.000-08:00

This basket looks like an upsidedown Christmas tree made from twigs. Cone shaped. Fill with greens and hang from a nice hanger. Again, having this wonderful doorway helps most colonial decorating look nice.

I love decorating with natural ,simple things. A candle in the window, a bough outside the window and of course having a great window in the 1st place helps too. This restored log house looks great on it`s own.

Moravian Stars

2008-12-13T15:07:00.000-08:00

Love these moravian stars for holiday decorating. I found mine, one Summer, at an auction out in the country. I really enjoy it.

Christkindle Market Mifflinburg,Pa.2008

2008-12-13T14:55:00.000-08:00

This is a Christmas pyramid. A giant version of the ones many people had in their homes. The small ones had candles and the heat from the candles would turn the propellers on top. This one is placed in an intersection on the street where they hold the Christkindle market each year. It turns by electricity.

2008-12-04T10:06:00.001-08:00

Free Counter

Old Tin Chandelier on Ebay

2008-12-02T20:29:00.000-08:00

Auction link

Old Sconces for sale on Ebay

2008-12-02T20:22:00.001-08:00

Sconces on Ebay

Old Sconces for sale on Ebay.

Christmas at Primitive America Shoppe

2008-11-27T22:06:00.001-08:00

The recent Christmas open house at Primitive America in Pennsdale ,Pa. was filled with wonderful primitives and early antiques and there were great ideas for decorating for Christmas.This shop is open on Fridays 10-5 , but on the open house weekends she`s open Friday and Sat. 514 Quaker Church Rd.Pennsdale,Pa.17756 570-546-6220.

Happy Thanksgiving from Melanee

2008-11-24T21:05:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. I`m truly thankful for the abundance I have. Once I understood I have just what I need, right now , at this point in my life, if I could just see it, I then understand it`s enough. Health , wealth and abundance to you all! And may you love and be loved. Thank you for reading my blog. Melanee

A needlepunched mat I made, my own design. 2008

The larger paper mache turkey I found early one morning at a flea market a few years ago before they were so popular. The one on the left could be a repro..

Turkey Red embroidery floss box

Decorating Ideas from Primitive America

2008-11-14T11:21:00.000-08:00

A simple ironstone cup, the red against the pale white, gives the "early" feel of Christmas.

The old blue of the metal .Pinecones with a touch of white paint and a bit of glitter. This is an inexpensive simple way to decorate.

Pinecones in old primitive containers,baskets,measures,wooden buckets.

Faux plum puddings with aged cheesecloth.

Candles inside old tin graters, in a box of greens.

Candle on a hogscraper.

Thoughts about Creating- Letting It Just Be

2008-10-24T21:55:00.000-07:00

I listen to an acoustic guitar player, he plays the same instrument as the next guitar player, but why do I listen to him more than others? How can I paint an angel my way? 10 songs on an album, can I paint 10 angels and change them enough to be their own song? The guitar player writes his own songs, from his soul, but then maybe some are filler to get it finished, who knows? Why am I attracted to certain songs more than others? An energy .......a vibration ....higher vibrating, my level of vibration....? What is the attraction? Their energy being great when they create? My energy being joy , fun, enthusiasm. If I paint something and it comes out like I want, that definition being ,I can`t find anything else on the piece that looks like it needs something done to it, and something I would want if I could keep everything in the world? Many times I do want it and I don`t want to let it go. Maybe I`ll never be in a place to make that again, is my thinking , or is that my inner critic being sneaky, keeping me down, holding me back? Would that be me writing a song that only I get to hear and a few around me? What is my intention when I sit down to work? To listen, to be open to what comes, to get out of the way.......to accept what comes , and not judge or criticize , but let it be.

Blue Popcorn

2008-10-23T15:18:00.000-07:00

I go to a farmer`s market every week, I like to support local farmer`s and as Bill Nye says on "Stuff Happens" on the the green channel, I want to keep down my "food miles". Last week I found this blue popcorn. I haven`t eaten it yet to say if it`s good, but I`m taking it off the husk now. I figured if it`s not edible, I`d see if the birds will eat it. Maybe you`ve seen it before, but this is a first for me. It`s a great muted blue color.

After many hours and very sore fingers , this is what I ended up with. A large jar of beautiful blue popcorn that should last me until next season and a huge bowl of corn husks. Now what to do with the husks..... dolls are what comes to mind 1st. Native Americans made them for their children. How about stuffing a pillow or hand made mattress? That would be the inner filling and something softer like cotton batting on the outside. A wreath? not sure what it will end up becoming. My compost pile as a last resort.

New Blog

2008-10-10T22:47:00.000-07:00

I created a new blog about early Make-do`s and pincushions. If you have information I could use please send it along for my consideration. Thanks, Melanee

Primitive America Antiques in Pennsdale ,Pa.

2008-10-03T16:52:00.000-07:00

Fall in Pa. is a wonderful time, with the leaves changing and summer flowers are replaced with mums and bittersweet vining down off of trees. It`s also a time when many shops bring out the things they`ve been saving for Fall open houses. A special weekend they go to great effort to redecorate their shops in my favorite colors of pale pumpkins,browns of many shades, grey greens, various shades of white.
Today I was able to go to an open house at a nearby town. A shop that is in one of the outbuildings of the owners home. An early stone farmhouse set by itself in the middle of fields. This shop is only open on Fridays 10-5 , but on the open house weekends she`s open Friday and Sat. 514 Quaker Church Rd.Pennsdale,Pa.17756 570-546-6220.

This is her house.....

This is her shop inside.....

Happy Autumn!! Thanks Christine for all the great displays and for letting me take photos! Melanee

Early Cloth Crows 4 Sale

2008-09-27T12:43:00.000-07:00

I recently had large flocks of crows flying in and landing in my yard, reminding me of the Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Birds". They came by for just a short time, making their way across the yard pecking the ground for anything they could find. When they all flew away there was a whoosh sound with some bass . Crows are loved by some ,hated by others. I got the idea to have crows around my house after that. Sat down and designed these shown below. They are made from cotton fabric, stuffed and painted black with brown underneath. Wire claw feet so that they may pose however you want. Their eyes are onyx beads. Approx.7 1/2" tall x 11 1/2" from nose to tail.
Crows -$ 28. each + shipping

Antique Site

2008-09-18T21:38:00.000-07:00

Carole Telfer Antiques is selling her collection. Wonderful things to see at this site.

Perfectionism in Art

2008-08-29T11:50:00.000-07:00

I use to say I was a perfectionist, everything had to be just right. It`s a wonder I ever sold anything. Now as I think on this topic , I realize it was more of a control issue and went right along with the wanting to please others, wanted them to think highly of my skills. This is all an illusion because people don`t think alike. What may be perfect to me , is not acceptable to someone else, they would never do it that way! they might say. So the need to make it perfect was a need to control the situation in a way. If I make it perfect, I`ll be accepted, or I`ll make money from it and that gives me have value as a person. This was my thinking. I was chasing an illusion of how I thought it would turn out. If I do A B C perfectly, D will come along. But then I tried to put something out for sale that wasn`t perfect in my mind. Someone came along and loved it. I realized how limiting my thinking was to this "perfect" box I was in. The box is small ,not much space to move in there. A mistake isn`t always a mistake, it may just be in your mind, not someone elses. Doing your art and letting it come into being without giving it descriptive words, could be a way to stretch yourself and open up. I see perfectionism as constricting and critical. Who says what is perfect? How many things haven`t come into being because someones negative thoughts while creating?
Now when I make something, I just do it , enjoy the doing. I think of what the old me would be doing right now, but then I am aware that I`m not that way anymore, sometimes it`s hard to get use to a new way of being, even confusing sometimes, but I keep staying in the moment. Just some thoughts, may be helpful to someone. Melanee

New Berlin Museum and Antique Show My 1st video

2008-08-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

What is Success?

2008-07-11T20:08:00.000-07:00

I went to an arts festival in a nearby town today. I went last year and wrote about my experience here.
It was very hot again, the kind of heat that can make you sick , so we didn`t stay long. The observation this year was of a woman who made pottery , my Granddaughter was drawn to her work, I was just a little as I was curious how she got the glazes to make those types of designs on the pottery surfaces. Turns out she fires them and then puts them in an outdoor fire with everything but the kitchen sink, and the various things cause various colors and designs, no glazes used.
Now it`s not so much the content of her talk but the enthusiasm in her voice. This was a woman who is in awe of her own work. Because she never knows what she`s going to get, and she accepts that she will lose 1/2 of what she starts with because of breakage, she finds what survives to be precious. This woman stood out in the show to me, the others would say how they achieved their finished piece, but they said it like they were saying it for the thousandth time, and they probably were, but so was the pottery woman. Many vendors (and I call them that because that`s how they appeared to me, not artists) were talking on their cell phones, some looked down right bored.
My Granddaughter was taking photos of work she liked and wanted to remember, but I said she had to ask first. She got to one guys stand who said NO, and offered a post card instead, he pretty much ruined her desire to take anymore photos, as that was keeping her mind off the heat , and after that bit of uncomfortableness, she felt the heat and didn`t care about looking at the work anymore. The thing is , if he had left her alone, she would have just gotten a glared ruined photo anyway because it`s about impossible to take a photo of a glass covered object and not get a glare. So she wouldn`t have had a photo anyway. But he had to have control of his work in front of a 10 year old. I don`t say that in anger or sarcasm, I just mean to tell you what I saw.
The woman who had the enthusiasm for her pottery said , sure go ahead and take photos, I`m online and in magazines anyway. She had a confidence about her art. I wonder how many people went to the show wanting to take video and photos to look at later and were turned away . I realize they aren`t there to just show, but to make money, but we all can`t buy everything, we just want to look at it and enjoy it and celebrate it, celebrate that that person made it, brought it into the world.
As I was waiting for my Granddaughter to run through their falling water buckets, I was asked to do a survey. They wanted to know how high of an education I had, how far a distance I came from, if I stayed at a hotel, and how much money I spent. I didn`t buy anything, I wasn`t the demographic they were aiming for. I was looking for something under $50., a possible gift even, but the things I priced and liked were hundreds of dollars.

Money and art.....looking, experiencing, enjoying purchasing /owning. Does an artist appreciate someone experiencing and enjoying their art the same as someone buying it? Or is it money talks ? I would say there`s no set answer to that because the response will be as different as each person is different. I know when I did shows I did them for the money, I also made my work for money. I would get lots of praises, but what really meant something was the money, and these people sure don`t want to be sitting outside in the 90 degree weather for 4 days, for no money. But now I wonder if I had been more present when the people were showing me their appreciation , if I would have been paid in another way, if I had been open or able to accept it and take it in. They were giving me good energy, enthusiasm, and appreciation. Things when the feelings are honestly there can`t be bought for any amount of money. No wonder I had a breakdown, my soul saw me ignoring all that good energy , I was being offered riches and being blind to them, not valuing them.

So why go to that type of show,more artsy than early, you might ask? To see what I could learn and see. To learn about myself and my own art journey. And as my husband said , to go on another adventure.
My question I`m seeking an answer for these days is, "what is success? " Bonnie Raitt sings a song on one of her early albums I wore out as a young girl ," What is Success? to do your own thing, or to join the rest. Living in hopes, that someday you`ll be in with the winners"..... So far, this enthusiasm I witnessed today looked like success to me. The attention she gave my granddaughter, also an artist , seems to be success to me, to add to another human`s potential future by acknowledging them as an artist, showing a child respect like she did, and not like she was less because she`s a kid, all look like success, if not as an artist, definitely success as a human being in this world. Can I separate the 2? The human being and the artist? Can you be successful in one and not the other? I`ve heard of being a successful artist financially and not being a successful human being integrity-wise. I`ve seen an artist surviving in the world, and not doing any art.To not make anything is clearly NOT success.
What is success? Being in a magazine? Being so popular you can`t make the product fast enough , so you`re never done. Selling your work for high prices? I`ve now seen all these things that would appear to be success to some, bring unhappiness and even sickness to those who have experienced it. So I stay alert to any answers to this question that may come my way. What is success to you?

Old Fly Catcher Bottle

2008-06-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning I found this bottle at the junkie flea market I go to. Not sure if it`s old or a repro. . You put sugar water inside, it attracts the flies and they go inside and can`t figure their way back out and die. I haven`t tried it yet, but maybe at this weekends 4th of July party. If anyone knows any information about these bottles ,I`d love to hear about them. Even if it`s about the reproductions , so I can learn the difference between the old and new. I have another one somewhere that I found a few years ago, but it was smaller and had a glass stopper lid and a wire to hang it up. That woman said it was old.

2008-06-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

I have a friend who says I need to pick something and become a master of it. That`s what the really big artists do and are then known for doing that, whether it be dolls, pottery, painting, whatever. That makes sense to my mind and I see the logic of that thinking, but I can`t seem to be someone who can do just one thing. I change from medium to medium ,one piece after another. I just did the altered art and now when I wanted to paint an early portrait right after that. I`ve tried to be another way, but I have accepted this is the way it`s going to be. If I try to say how it`s going to be, such as I`m going to be a painter, I`ll sit there looking at an empty canvas. I can`t tell "it" what to do. It leads me and I stay open and listen and do and keep my mind quiet from any possible negative reactions. That is what I am practicing right now, just make something and try to keep the critic from ruining the experience by ignoring it.

I tried rug hooking, I like it very much.

I tried watercolors , great fun!

Needlepunch or needle punch , love doing it.

I`m trying my hand at penny rugs too. Haven`t finished this yet. Colors are not as bright as shown in the photo.

For now I seem to be a jack of all trades and a master of none and I`ll have to accept it until I find that, one day something will be "it" for me. I`ll accept my flip flopping :-) Melanee

Make do

2008-06-14T22:17:00.000-07:00

You may have read my post about Budging the Mule, It finally got up and is moving along these days! I`m so happy to be back creating. I hope you will keep checking back to see what I make.

Here is a make do I finished yesterday. I found this bottom to an old oil lamp at the flea market a few weeks ago. Now what else will this base ever be used for? The fabric is old pink cotton and it`s stuffed with old cotton. Everything reused and given a beautiful new life. Each hanging strawberry has been stitched by hand by me. I just love it and I`m tempted to keep it, I hope it will find a new home where it will be loved.SOLD Email Me if you are interested.

New Altered Arts Blog

2008-06-02T20:23:00.000-07:00

I`ve opened a new blog about my folk art and mixed media work. Here`s the link.
http://melaneeherrerafolkart.blogspot.com/

I still have the Early Cloth and Paint group on Yahoo too.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EarlyClothandPaint/

Fabulous Doll Trunk

2008-05-28T14:38:00.000-07:00

The antique space next to me had this wonderful old doll trunk, all original ! Something so old in such great shape and available for sale, always makes my heart go pitter patter. It`s only about 12" wide or so.

Money & Art

2008-03-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

Money.......I can speak for my own experience, I started making things for fun, because I wanted to try it, experience it, I was making with no thoughts of who would like it, what color they would buy etc., just for the pleasure. Then someone said why don`t I make them one, why don`t I sell them at........where ever it might have been . Now there was a shift at that point, I started creating with someone else in my mind, no longer for myself only, for the fun, experience etc. , as mention above. But the point is, someone wanted what I made at the beginning, what I made without a customer or shop in mind. How many of us started that way?
Then I worked at it more, using patterns, then no patterns, trying to create what I thought would bring financial success. I was no longer doing it for the experience, it was now my job, I needed to pay the car payment, the rent, things for my kids. I was the good mother making money for my children. I now demanded of this work to keep me happy financially, and when it didn`t meet the expectations, it was what??? because someone copied me, because I couldn`t get into a certain show, because I couldn`t get enough of a certain thing made, not having a clue which thing would sell well. Trying to come up with the right concoction of merchandise , display , and location. Maybe it rained that day, it was the rains fault, maybe it was 95 degrees that day, the weather kept them away. If it was nice , they stayed home and did gardening, and on and on this went as to why I wasn`t making enough. It will never be enough, because I am doing it for the wrong reasons. To make me feel good financially will make me feel stable, appear successful, temporarily feel happier, until it doesn`t anymore. Now I don`t mean this as bragging just so you know for this story, but before my creative breakdown, I had lists ,pages of orders to fill, I had gotten lots of work, I got what I was trying for, and it didn`t feel like I thought it would. I couldn`t do it anymore.
It was a thought from a group I have on Yahoo that changed my whole life, to make what I want to make, not what customers want. This started me on a journey that really has brought me back to the beginning, where I lost my way, where I did what others were doing at the time. This brought me temporary happiness, then came the unhappiness of it.
This is why I can have no ill feelings for those who copy, they won`t find true happiness this way. They will be pleased temporarily , but in the long run, they will have to keep looking at others for their work. They don`t see they have inside of them the work that could bring them joy and peace. Just as I didn`t see that I should have stayed with making things I liked and wanted to make. They don`t know each of us has this greatness inside of us, but there is so much negativity that keeps us from seeing it. Advertising tells us we need this to be better, if we buy it we will be better, this is how we were taught, to get something from the outside to make us better, obscuring our own light shining inside. They have us color inside lines of what we should be making pictures of, they teach us to draw and they fix it, or criticize it, and make it small, judge one better than another. Others were kept down, so they keep us down, but we must try another way. To not link money to our work. I sell antiques for an income now, I needed time to build up some stock and find my way. I`m still finding my way, as far as my work is concerned. I needed to separate my work and money. To think of something and make it come out through my hands, and then don`t judge it, let it be. If I love it, I don`t want to let it go. These are all new experiences for me. I was a one woman production line turning out pears, apples, rabbits ,etc. ,until I broke. I couldn`t do it anymore. I spent countless hours thinking what others would possibly buy, I was meant to try another way of being. Like the idea, if you are meant to move on to another job, you get those thoughts in your head and you` re too scared to leave, you`ll get fired! No matter what, you are meant to do something else, that was me.
I can`t tell you what happens after I build up an inventory of work that I`m ready to sell. I tried to sell a piece on Ebay, I asked $125. for it. Was in my store for awhile, gave it a good chance. I ended up donating it to the library silent auction, guess what it brought? $125. I felt it was a indication that I was right, it was worth that, but that`s not where I`ll be selling.
I just am telling you what I have learned through the years of doing this kind of work. For me,to put my work together with expectations of where it will be sold and to whom, was a financial success, that left me unhappy.
To protect your work , again is the act of owning, you don`t own it, it is a gift from God, it is bigger than us, it is more than us, we should be happy we get to participate in it. If we are inspired, we are" in spirit". It is from the universe, coming into the world through us, but not ours. Fear may be keeping you from being fully in your work, fear when you make something good , someone will steal it.
Nothing will stop copying , as long as there are people who don`t know enough or believe or encouraged to look within for their own work, who haven`t been told they could get great joy from finding their own greatness, but this may be a harder way to go for some, and if you have no confidence, no self worth, or value, you`ll think it`s better to copy someone else. They keep doing things the same way, and like they see others doing . How much energy are we willing to give something we can`t change? How much time ,thought, energy can you spare to be upset ,offended, be a victim of?
If you have fear about your money, not enough, lack, it has a lot more to do with you than your work. But it has no voice and can`t say , it`s not it`s fault. I hope these thougts are some help to those who read them.

Corner of my Kitchen

2008-03-28T00:03:00.000-07:00

The hooked bird on the wall is my 1st thing I ever hooked. The chairs at the table were made by my Great Grandfather who was a carpenter and built houses and even a roller coaster. I collect a little redware, yelloware, wooden boxes, cutting and bread boards. Just some of everything not a lot of one thing.

Kitchen Shelf of Collectibles

2008-03-27T23:59:00.000-07:00

I like to collect, old tin, old pottery ink wells, my only piece of old chalkware, the chicken on the top shelf. The chicken on the bottom is a wind up toy.

Old Aligatored Pink Cupboard

2008-03-27T23:54:00.000-07:00

Years ago I had a booth in a craft co op that was in an old Jail. A woman there had this in her stand and wanted to get rid of it, hated it, and said I could have it and wouldn`t take anything for it. She just wanted it out of her basement. I`ve loved it ever since.

Tiny bear I made, pussy willows from last fall.

One Drawer Stand

2008-03-27T23:44:00.000-07:00

I found this stand painted this color, this is newer paint, I had a cupboard in the 1980s I painted with the same paint. The wicker purse on the right I found really early at the flea market one morning, the makedo I made from an old painted piece of velvet ,can`t remember where I got that great hat, hat stand is probably from a porch, and the box is from the flea market too.

Shoes on a Prayer Bench

2008-03-27T23:41:00.000-07:00

This is the beginning of my old shoes collection. I love this old prayer bench, it is so worn from people kneeling on it. Love the patina.

Old Handmade Doll ,Old Quilt ,Chair

2008-03-27T23:23:00.000-07:00

This old doll, I found at the antique mall in a nearby town. She looks like she was made by a mom for her child, and the child loved the eyes right off, and she replaced them with old shoe buttons. Stained forehead that I like to think were kisses, and human hair sewn on for hair. She`s homely, but she`s been loved.
The quilt I found one early morning at a flea market, I was thrilled to find it in my price range, (cheap). And the chair has old pale blue peeling paint with a seat made from rope.

Top Piece of an Old Blue Cupboard

2008-03-27T23:15:00.000-07:00

I use this for storage in a bedroom, mostly holiday things . Found it at the flea market, a friend offered it to me to buy. I love it, a rat chewed a hole in it, before it came to stay with me, but it still gives me enjoyment to live with it. That worn patina............mmmmm

My Letter to you about being Copied -If you feel like someone has stolen your ideas

2008-03-27T22:36:00.000-07:00

So many times on the groups on Yahoo, Ebay, etc, the same subject comes up. Someone is frustrated, angry, sad, or some negative emotion about their feeling that someone else copied their work, stole their idea. They are looking for feedback from others , here is my thoughts I shared recently when the subject came up again.

With so many people in the world I think it`s a possibility that more than one person gets the same idea at the same time.

The idea that we own these ideas is what can bring us anxiety. When you own it, you feel you have to protect, keep it from others.

I feel we are meant to bring things into the world and let them go. The more you hold onto something, your arms and hands are closed. When you let it go, your hands are open for something new to come into your life. Do you want to stay with the things of the past, keep giving your limited energy to the past made items, or do you want your energy for the present & future things to come? Take all the things everyone has done to you that you haven`t forgotten, and put them in a suitcase and drag that useless dead weight around with you , or put it down and be free for new things and experiences to come your way.

This copying issue is always a distraction from the present work you should be putting your full attention onto. Do you want to feel bad? or do you want to have peace?

I have a few patterns I couldn`t let go, I had taken a year to figure them out. I put the time in, I figured it out, it was mine. Once I put the pattern out, it wouldn`t be a secret anymore, it would be common. I couldn`t imagine why I was having such a hard time letting them go. I asked Gail Wilson about it and she was kind enough to answer that we are meant to share our techniques with the world, not possess them. It`s my ego that wants to feel important by keeping them, it wants to feel superior . I thought, I didn`t think I had much ego left, but that wasn`t the case at all, it was alive and well. Now I`m just too uninterested to put the patterns out. I tried writing up the pineapple design, but it`s complicated to tell someone else how to do something. It`s naive to think there isn`t someone out there who couldn`t do it too. Our work is like our children, it comes into the world through us, we enjoy it for awhile and then it moves on, lives somewhere else.

How will your life be different from this happening? Did she/he take something away from your work? Your income, you , as a human being? Are you now ruined? made smaller, less important? What if others are out there copying your work and selling at local shows, people you`ll never know have done it. Have they made you smaller? less? Are you a victim of these people or are you an artist who is working, creating, and enjoying the process, the finished product , and all the benefits that come with being able to create what you think of, and not look at what others are doing. Would you rather be the copier or the copied?

You may see what she/he is doing and any others as an offense , but what if they make something like your work, and then move on to their own work, using your influence work as a stepping stone to get to where they will create things on their own.

Not all are blatantly stealing with the intent of harm, many just have never even been told that they have greatness in them, and the ability to come up with their own work. They see your work, then think if they could make that, they will be happy. If they sell their work for a lot of money, they will be happy, if they get recognition, they will be happy. There are many people who have gotten these things and will tell you how it didn`t bring them happiness and sometimes,many times , the opposite.

This is all the ego wanting more and more, and getting validity from outside sources. The work is inside, not outside. Once you start looking inside for your authentic self and authentic work, a whole world can open up for you. But he/she`s not at that place in her life.

I think it`s a management of our energy, we only get so much and if it`s spent on negativity, then we are the ones who are being hurt by it. You aren`t hurting them by having those frustrated feelings, only yourself, let it go and move on.

Do you enjoy putting forth the effort to experiment and create? Because if you are in the moment ,when you create, really appreciate the time you are there, that can be the most important part. Your creation will go out the door, so you`ll have nothing to show, the money will be spent and you`ll have nothing. But if you are really enjoying the experimenting, working, be in the present moment, you will have that still, the experience, knowledge, memory of it, it can be an enjoyable way to make your money , or make a gift, or whatever you plan on doing with the piece you`re working on.

And if you`re keeping your mind on being in that moment and how much fun it can be, or challenging, and even hard at times, you don`t spend it thinking about how much someone else is getting for whatever. And it isn`t for you to judge about their same old design, not your business, you keep your mind on your work. There is no value in that kind of comparing, nothing positive to be gained.

We can make our work spaces special, light a scented candle, put on music, if you `re spiritual, pray God be in my hands, you can meditate for a few minutes to clear your head of all the things of the world, these thoughts about others , thoughts about the rest of your life, and just make it a time to be doing just the creating, and appreciate the doing . I`ve had times I`ve made something, and I know I was there but afterwards, I think , how did I do that? Where did that come from? I was deep in the zone , totally with the piece, the rest of the world fades away, time is different there. Nonexistent.....

People today spend so much time being offended, insulted, being victims of someone or somebody, being various emotions, they miss what is in front of them. Do you know how many people wish they could make something like you do?

I can say for myself , that I would look at someone`s display and wish I had whatever it took to make that display. I would work until I was as good as them or better (in my own mind anyway, not nessarily the truth), and I would find someone else . In my mind I called them my mentor, but they weren`t participating, until the last person I did that to. She and I became friends and I asked her if I could make some dolls like hers, I did , and I could do it, and the desire was over. She knew me well enough that she thought I would take it to another level. I wouldn`t be happy to copy anymore. She was right, but I didn`t know it. To me, in my state of mind, thought if I could make dolls like that, I would find happiness, if I could make a display like that , I would find happiness, see what I mean? I didn`t know it was like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, it was in me all along. My work, my happiness, everything I need is inside me.

Not that I don`t need others, we all need to stay connected, we are all connected, and anything that makes us separate from each other , to me, is not on the right track. To see her mimic your work , and being able to see her in another way, then letting her be, and even forgiving her if you can, this will keep you from separating yourself from everyone. You know, you could probably find a reason to keep just about everyone away for one reason or another, I know I tried, it isn`t preferable, I`m not saying be physically with everyone , just don`t carry the energy that will separate you from another. Forgiving helps you let that energy go.

I hope these thoughts and words are of some help and give you peace. Melanee

White Ironstone Collection

2008-03-13T20:15:00.000-07:00

I fell in love with ironstone at an antique show years ago , where the vendor had only white ironstone. I had never seen anyone specialize in it before and it just was right for me. I`ve collected many pieces , whatever I`ve been able to find over the years, and this is what I`ve ended up with after the cleaning out. Nothing out of the ordinary really but as a grouping I love how it looks. I can look at a piece and remember where I first saw it . Whether it was early one morning at a yard sale or at the flea market in the dark with a flashlight, or at auction.

Even the old buffet it`s on I found at a yard sale, now it was the yard sale of an antique dealer I know, but still, I really like the shape of it. It all looked so serious when I looked at it, so I had to add the bunny in the dress to lighten it up a bit.

Log Cabin Houses

2008-03-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

Here are some log cabins I`ve collected over the years. The one on the right was the 1st, it`s roof comes off to play. The one on the left is open on the right side to play with. The small ones , the roofs come off of each of them.

Some Early Clothes and Pegrack

2008-03-13T16:33:00.000-07:00

My friend found this very early ladder at a barn sale out in the country . Half of it had deteriorated so badly she came up with the idea of using just half of it as a peg rack. Used the wrungs cut off for the pegs. It`s at least 8 feet long . From the 1800`s. As far as the clothes, they are from left to right a purple wool skirt, over that is a cardboard hat I got at an auction, could it be Shaker? , 2nd peg is children`s wool slips with cotton bodice`s, a wool skirt with red stitching at the bottom, maybe it was a wool slip. Child`s bonnet on top of that, next is a babies christening gown and the wool flannel slip is covering it up, and an old basket on top. At the right is a wool plaid shawl with fringe and a tin lantern.

The house below I`m hoping to find wonderful miniature primitives to have a room setting one day.

Can Kittens have pacifiers?

2008-02-03T12:17:00.000-08:00

I was riding in our truck with my husband and he was talking about our kitten , and called her Lucy, I said in a loud voice "her name isn`t Lucy it`s Lila!!!" and proceeded to laugh....... after I stopped laughing, I said, "I mean Lily..." So she will be called Lucy by my husband from now on since he was able to get a rise out of me, which seems to be his delight in life sometimes. Not in a mean way, but teasing. Lily`s name came about with a long compromise between my 10 year old Grandaughter and me. She wanted names like Cuddles and I wanted a nice old style female name. Finally one day she said Lily and that was one name we could both agree on, now if I could just remember it ! lol.

I found Lily at a pumpkin stand last September , when I was buying pumpkins and mums to decorate for my Sons birthday party outside.( Don`t you think her name should be pumpkin ?) She was crying her head off in a cat carrier and they said someone was coming to take her to the SPCA. I had thoughts of the worse case scenario , and thought she needed saved, but as usual it was me who needed her as it turns out. I need some craziness added to my quiet life. My husband says I really know how to pick them, because she`s really a different acting cat, crazy and wild, but then sweet and loving. Sounds perfect to me.

Now this kitten was too young to be away from his mother, she had lost her mother somehow. She couldn`t even eat food yet, so I gave her half and half, she was able to drink that. So to make up for not having her Mama, she cuddled up to me and started to purr and knead me with her paws, and started to suckle on my knit shirt. I let her do this for a few weeks until she could eat regular food and then I acted like a Mama cat and pushed her away. Well, she`s not ready for that, so every night when I get ready for bed, I drop my clothes to the floor that I`ve worn that day, still warm and smelling like me, she rushes over and starts sucking and kneading and purring for about 5-10 minutes. I fall asleep with that sound, the sucking noises clicking about as fast as a second hand of a watch. I smile each night and fall asleep.

Mural in a Small Town Library

2007-12-02T10:00:00.001-08:00

In a small town in central Pa. , an old church has been turned into a public library saving all the beauty that was built into the church long ago. Large stained glass windows , wonderful woodwork. But even more has been added to the character of the building. A mural painted by one of the towns artists, Jennifer Motter.
She loves the library and children, and painted a pastel version of one of her murals in the children`s section of the library.
Painted in pale blues, greens , yellows and browns, it is a fabulous addition to this small library. The lower part painted in a checkerboard design.
The library is located in Jersey Shore, Pa.

Budging the Mule!

2007-08-09T15:49:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I had been making my fruit and vegetables from cloth for a few years, same designs over and over. I finally shutdown and couldn`t go any further, even though there was still customers ready to buy them. I made some patterns hoping that others would make them and satisfy those who wanted them. But I still got calls. I`m not complaining, and I was grateful for the work, but like a stubborn mule that will sit down and won`t budge, so was my productivity. I wanted to be grateful, I wanted to be thankful that anyone wanted my work, and in my head I was, but down deep, my creativity/productivity-mule sat not caring what I said to charm her.
No matter what I did, it was like going to the doctor`s office when I went into my workroom. Be thankful this is your job, I was but it wouldn`t budge, you have a great workroom full of supplies, not hearing me......what was I going to do? I had built up customers, made designs, but I couldn`t get to work. Month after month went by, I forced out a doll here, a needlepunch picture there, a hooked piece, but nothing continuous and with that wonderful feeling of creating things you feel right about.
I had heard on a group I was on about making things with no future in mind, such as what a customer may prefer, blue, brown, large small, what the latest trend was, but just making what I loved. This is how I started creating, I was making what I loved and wanted, albeit from patterns, and then people started wanting me to make them a certain color, a certain way, and it changed what I was doing. I became someone making things FOR others FOR money, with their vision in mind, no longer my vision. I wanted to make money , so I changed.Many years later something inside (my mule) sat down and said NO MORE!
I read books, I talked to people , I berated myself ,in search of the answer. I did The Artist Way by Julia Cameron , 2 times, I joined groups on the internet for The Artist Way, but I still wasn`t working. I had friends say maybe you don`t want to do this anymore, and I considered that, but that was never the question in my mind. I read "Getting Unstuck" by Pema Chodron, The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. All affirming what I was going through. But still my mule wouldn`t budge. None of the conventional ways of problem solving were working.
So I let go, I did as much in my room as I could, feeling unsatisfied, and like a failure with each piece. I listened to Wayne Dyer say if you don`t know the answer to something , keep asking, that will keep it in the forefront.
I talked awhile back in my blog about going to a Arts Festival in a nearby town. This isn`t a show I ever go to,I had gone once and thought I`d like to aspire to it. This time it sent my head reeling. I was going through the stands pretty quickly looking for something of interest, modern art, contemporary art, pottery, jewelry, I didn`t belong here, people who pay huge sums of money for things come here. Why couldn`t I just look and enjoy others works? My head was stirred, I couldn`t look at the whole show in one afternoon, I was overloaded already. Overloaded and all stirred , a giant pot of soup, stirred furiously. I couldn`t make sense of my thoughts and feelings, I had to wait for the whirlwind to calm.
I thought.....these people all make what they feel they should make, what they want to make.....what they have to make. Nothing is stopping them. What is stopping me? Just ME.
Still no mule movement.
I am asked by a friend my thoughts of various website, what did I think of each website? How easy is it to get around in it? What colors do you like?, would I buy from this website? etc. She was working on her website and wanted my thoughts on websites. She sent me a very long list of antique websites, selling primitives, folk art and antiques and antique style work. As I`m looking and commenting, it hits me, I want to make antique style folk art, 19th century modern art. I had been making a few abstract paintings, I said for my daughter, who needed more color in her house, but never ended up giving them to her, but kept trying at it. I wanted to fuse what I love about antiques with modern/folk art of the 19thC.
What was attracting me , was early makers, the naive works,simple gentle. They had a rag bag, didn`t waste anything , made rugs, quilts, dolls, all for utilitarian use. Original designs mostly, because of many being so isolated on farms,small town ladies, winter idle fishermen.

[ By the mid 1800`s stamped patterns were offered by traveling salesmen. The decline of originality. Patterns copied from prize winning rugs at county fairs and oriental imports were for sale. Customers were easily persuaded to copy a design that had been judged a winner or approved of by aristocracy. Convinced this made the designs have more value than their original works.
That was the beginning of the do it yourself kit, and with it died the daring and gratifying feeling of creating an original. With it, went the confidence of the individual. Mass approval leads the unsure. The title "artist" has come to mean someone who is sure enough or crazy enough to stand alone against the masses. But often, in time, his audacity has changed public taste and what is approved of. ]
(this section taken from Rug Hooking and Rag Tapestries by Ann Wiseman)

Now to clarify, I don`t want anyone thinking I`m against patterns. I`m just saying there was a time when patterns weren`t readily available , and those who created had to make what was in their head. Copying,patterns, wasn`t an option.They could copy what was around them, but no preprinted anything was available. Some where along the way, salemanship convinced the creators that the preprinted "new" way was of more value and society didn`t argue the point.

I am hoping to work in the unfamiliar,(at least to my experience). I see so much of the same on the internet, people looking for ideas because this "originality" has grown dormant, (mine included). I want to stir mine up. Maybe nothing will be there when I dive for it, but I want to try.I hope you will check back to see what I`ve come up with.

Auction Find

2007-07-15T22:07:00.001-07:00

Talk about value! This is what I found at the junk auction last week. It had a note" this is a very old pincushion". They weren`t lying! But I still got it for a song. I was so happy. The colors are perfect too. The glass at the bottom is chipped so the dealers that usually pay a lot for antiques thought it was nothing. Not realizing that it`s a make do. An early pincushion made back in the day when everything wasn`t disposible, but reused, recycled into something else. I love this spirit and I try to live this way myself, using old fabrics and materials to become something new to be used and loved. I compose, recycle, and give things away on www.freecycle.com in my area, so as not to fill our landfills. Most everything in my house is from auctions, flea markets, yard sales, except a few things I wasn`t able to find, and I like to buy a new mattress and box springs.
Auctioneers have probably been throwing these away for years. Who knows? But I was in the right place at the right time last week, at least for something that I value.

Value and Buying What We Love Rant.

2007-07-15T21:16:00.000-07:00

My husband and I went for a day vacation to a antique show by the river, you can read about it in other posts here in this blog . It was really fun, a little too hot but we got through it. We searched through yard sales and a firehouse full of junk . Lots of fun places to explore. Then we went about an hour and 1/2 drive to an arts festival. It was very high end modern work. A couple hundred to thousands of dollars for their work. It`s 4 days long. This was the 4th day and they looked beat. I saw a woman that I use to do shows with who does modern works now with paper, she use to do country type stuff but has changed with the times . A lot of the work there bored me, but a few stood out and were interesting . One took antiques and put them together in the most beautiful way. I can`t even explain it, but you know how ,to me, people just take stuff and glue it together , collage it, and it`s art? I always think, I don`t get it. Well, the way these people did it was really great, beautiful old wooden birds, connected to very old cameras, just can`t really explain. I just really felt connected to her work and it rang true to me somehow. Then there was another woman who took junk and collaged it together , it didn`t touch my soul.

I came away from there thinking, all those people made what they wanted and felt what they had to, and it wasn`t for everyone, but for someone who had a connection to it and enough cash to buy it. I had the connection, but not the cash, but that didn`t make it any less great. Really the work shouldn`t be compared as who was the best,(even though they gave out awards for that). I`ve been doing that my whole life, who is the best, but as I have learned, when you think you have found the best, there is someone out there better, or they`re on their way. And it has to do with the judges perception at that point of their life too, their filter in which they see things. This will change over time as life is experienced or failed to learn from experiences. This comparing each others work may be another way of looking at someone else`s paper , looking side to side instead of on our own work. Maybe even an excuse to not do our own work, I`m not as good as them, so why try?.....We must keep our eyes on our own papers as our teachers use to say. Everyone is just doing their work, making things for whatever reason, the love of it, for the money, the statice, the fame, the need to create, the challange,etc. Everyone wants to be accepted , and their work loved, but it`s not reality. You can`t please everyone . How does the saying go? You can please some of the people some of the time........and that`s all we can hope for , some....someone somewhere will want to live with something we have created, and put value on it. Because really that`s the only value it has, besides the value we have invested, time, cost and heart. Whatever someone is willing to put on it at that time will be the value at that moment. Dealing with antiques , i`ve watched things go from being fought over financially at auctions to later seeing them put into box lots later and no one will give $1. .
We have to buy what we love and what holds good feelings of something remembered. Or new feelings of love for the newly found treasure, something that will hold up over the years, that you won`t get tired of ,are my favorite things. Maybe things that are trendy may appear to become outdated, fade in our eyes. To be replaced with a newer trendier thing. But this will lead to a never ending cycle of things that leave you unsatisfied. To find your style and taste, and then build on that, is a great feeling. I found mine by tearing images out of magazines and collaging them together in another book. This helped me see what made me the happiest. That being "early" things. I felt connected to that one persons modern work because she used all early antiques, in a really beautiful way and I didn`t see it as she`s ruined perfectly good antiques. Ok, I`m done, I got that off my mind now. The End.

What did I find antiquing today? Cloth..

2007-07-15T20:36:00.000-07:00

I went by a display of an old trunk that had lots of clothing and linens. The woman was saying $500. for all or $20. for the trunk and she would piece the cloth out. That`s all I needed to hear and I started digging. $1. here $3. there . Great fun!

Antiquing in PA.

2007-07-15T20:15:00.001-07:00

My husband and I took a day to ourselves to go out antiquing and traveling in central Pa. . We like to go to this antique show every year in July . It`s down by the river ,under trees with a wonderful view and breeze that was so appreciated in the heat of the day.

2007-07-15T20:11:00.001-07:00

Love these old dishes, Gaudy Dutch? I believe.

2007-07-15T20:00:00.001-07:00

Some standard items at a show, scrub top tables, dough boxes, cutting boards, blue decorated salt glaze pottery, baskets and yellow ware bowls and wooden bowls, butter churn and graniteware.

2007-07-15T19:57:00.001-07:00

This was a set of 4 square hooked pads. They were wool except for the pink in the flower area, maybe they didn`t have any pink wool to hook into them. There wasn`t one good hooked rug that I could find, the ones I did find had rips and holes. These pads were in great condition.

2007-07-15T19:54:00.001-07:00

2 of my favorites, early Currier & Ives prints of women and children, and spongeware. In the middle is a Wallace Nutting print.

2007-07-15T19:52:00.001-07:00

Someone cut down a dining room table to make this coffee table. I like the look of it for the all white decorating.

2007-07-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

I found this wonderful long blanket chest, not to buy, but to admire and thought you might like seeing it too. This might fit at the end of a king size bed. I saw someone loading it on their truck when I was leaving.

Women in Art from U Tube

2007-07-04T22:09:00.000-07:00

Great Finds this Weekend......Old Witches Broom?

2007-07-02T11:04:00.000-07:00

Look at this old primitive witches broom I found in a junkie pile. It`s much to heavy to use and it`s thick in the handle , it also doesn`t have any wear from sweeping, so I have to conclude it`s an old witches broom. (That`s my story and I`m sticking to it!) ;-) Ok, it`s a hearth broom....

My Great Find this Weekend.....

2007-07-02T10:50:00.001-07:00

I was helping my friend set up at the Flea Market and across from us was this big black thing sticking up at the end of their space full of junk. It turned out to be this old cast iron display rack. I grabbed it up , and someone was right behind me wanting it. He followed me to my truck asking if I would sell it, I said eventually I`ll sell it, (someday) . He offered me $15. more than I paid for it, I said no and started walking away and kept upping his offer, I think a whopping $30. more than I paid for it. Now this is a guy who out bids me at auctions every time I want something he wants, he always wins. So I didn`t feel inclined to sell it to him. Not that I have bad feelings about him, whoever is willing to pay the most at auctions wins, but this morning it was whoever was in the right place at the right time. I had thought of putting it in my antique space to hang old clothes to sell, but it will take up more space then what I have there now. I think I`m going to put it in my extra room and hang my antique clothing collection on. It`s very convenient that it comes apart in 3 places for easy moving.

My Works

2007-06-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

A Look into my Workroom....at least half of it anyway.

2007-06-25T12:44:00.001-07:00

Center of operations. I move the keyboard out of the way and pull the sewing machine over and sew. I roll my chair to my left and there is a work table, paints underneath in drawers. I`ll share the rest another time.

2007-06-25T12:43:00.001-07:00

2007-06-25T12:40:00.001-07:00

The old bottom cupboard came from a selvage yard. Early kitchen cupboards I suppose. The top on the right is a newer store display , where I keep my rughooking supplies. On the left is my overflow of books from my bookcase, mostly doll books and early style painting books. A few gifts from friends and some of my favorite collectibles.

2007-06-25T12:38:00.001-07:00

I have this old narrow closet for some storage too. I live in an old house with only 2 closets in the whole house and this is one of them.

2007-06-25T12:37:00.001-07:00

I was able to find this old pie cupboard at an auction last year and it`s great for holding many of my supplies. I hope to replace the screen for punched tin one of these days.

Last Piece............

2007-06-15T12:07:00.001-07:00

I`ve finished another piece, but I need something to put it together in the frame. I decided to try wool. The stitchery store near me was selling out of their line of wool threads, so I bought a bunch of them, thinking I could overdye them whatever color I may need. Then I thought I`d try some tapestry wool, this came in 4 plys and I tried 2 of the 4 at one time. So my last piece I just finished is all wool. Hope to be able to add it on here soon. Check back for the update.

Marg`s Old House in Needle Punch

2007-06-15T11:58:00.001-07:00

This piece I did from my friends painting, with her permission, as her work has copyrights.
This is a house where her cousin,and my friend Marg, use to live . This was really fun, adding many colors as I went along, tearing out if I wasn`t satisfied. I put an old piece of funeral fabric behind this for framing. Old frame too. This piece is still available $125. The inside design is 6 1/2" x 7" and the frame is 10" x 12 1/2".

Reversed Needle Punch ?

2007-06-15T11:57:00.001-07:00

This is another piece I made that I started with the frame 1st. I love collecting old frames, just can`t walk on by, has to come home with me. This wasn`t an old frame though, but I found it 2nd hand. When I was making this one, I kept thinking about how I like the detail on the back so much better than the front, so I decided to make the back , the front. I filled in every space with tiny stitches. Called it "reversed needle punch".

3rd Needle Punch Piece

2007-06-15T11:39:00.001-07:00

I wanted to make a mat, and this is what I came up with. I just punched as I went, I had a certain number of colors I wanted to use, but just grabbed and punched. I made this one after reading the booklet put out by Notforgotten Farm`s called Primitive Needle Punch Primer. They recommend using all 6 strings , so I went and got the needle for 6 strings and I liked the idea of punching bigger designs. I think this looks like a miniaturized hooked rug, like if you wanted to scale down a rug for a doll house or display. You can probably still order this booklet from Lori Brechlin of Notforgotten Farms . Tell her Melanee sent you.

2nd Punched Piece

2007-06-15T11:33:00.001-07:00

This is my 2nd piece. I drew a oval that would fit in that frame, then drew an outline design and punched it as I went , no plan as to what colors would go where. I framed it on an old worn piece of quilt,(don`t worry I didn`t cut a good quilt to get this piece, it was already just a section. The frame and quilt are old and worn with real age, so it makes a nice backdrop for my work.

1st Punched Piece

2007-06-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

Thought I`d write about needle punch today. I love doing needle punch. I didn`t start with a pattern or kit. I decided I wanted to cover a little coin purse. I have found some silk coin purses in my travels and wanted to do something with them. I traced the shape of the purse onto fabric, added a seam allowance , put it in a hoop and punched it. I did very few colors at first, just to see if I even like doing it.I repeated for the backside but just filled it in with black background color. I was thinking it would be nice to make my doll a carpet bag, but it didn`t turn out like that.

2007-06-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

Here is a gathering of some of the bears and dolls I`ve collected and made over the years. They stay in various corners of my house, but as shown here at Christmastime they gather together for a family shot. Some of my dolls live with me for awhile after I make them as I have trouble letting them go.

Dollmaking

2007-06-06T20:45:00.000-07:00

I love early style dollmaking and started with making doll from others patterns. This was my education as to how to construct a doll. So many ways to to do it. And since I wasn`t in school, but in my own self taught classroom, no one was there to tell me this is right and this is wrong. Whatever worked, felt right, and then went on to be what I was looking to create was the right way for me. Each pattern was an experiment at trying it this way and that way. Let`s see what happens when I do it like this person says, let`s see what happens when we make this persons pattern with this other patterns techniques. On and on I went, making dolls, bears, and even doll/bears that I called Raggedy Bears,a dolls body with a bears head, paws and feet. Then dressed like a doll. This is when I started making my own patterns. I had moved past the learning construction stage, and started changing every pattern to something that didn`t look like the original pattern anymore. Then eventually made my own patterns.
Now I love recreating the early dolls. It`s more difficult because I don`t have them in front of me to look at and feel. But I just keep trying this and that and see what comes to be. I start with my own drawing or a picture I have found. Create the pattern pieces and begin..........

I start making my dolls with old feedsacks that I`ve collected for years. I stuff them with various stuffings, fabric scraps,wool ,cotton,sawdust. I stopped using polyfil, because it`s a synthetic and it wasn`t created back in the "early" days when my dolls are made after. I know I shouldn`t use sawdust because it will deteriorate over time. But it gives the best feel for some dolls. So I must do what my heart tells me and use what I feel is right for me. It won`t deteriorate in my lifetime, but someone 100 years from now, will be wishing I chose something else. I hope they could still be here 100 years from now. I love the thought of that.
I know so many on the internet and so many books I`ve read, that say this is an absolute right or wrong about something, such as a technique or a ingredient used in making something. I know I have to do what is right for me. Each artist does.

Stuffing a doll takes awhile as this is the life and feel of a doll. So many variations of what can be done, weighted bottoms for sitting well, lighter stuffing for a doll that will hang or stand on a stand. Crooked neck for an old and worn doll or add a dowel to strengthen the neck.
I continue on to the face. I`m into painting faces right now so I`ll talk about that. I love to paint doll faces. Sometimes I may do one over 10 times, but eventually I get to a point when I can`t find something wrong anymore and I step back and it`s finished. What I mean by something wrong is....something crooked, misaligned, lacking,flat blank face , no soul in the eyes, no flow to the painting, outlines too pronounced, etc. Can`t move on until I`m satisfied and sometimes that means they have to go on a shelf and wait until I can figure what needs to be done to satisfy me.

I move on to the clothes. I love fabric and I`ve collected lots of old fabrics, and some new reproduction fabrics too. I love old metal trims, hand made crocheted edgings, old clothing that can be recycled into something new. Of course I don`t mean anything good, I`ve learned I can`t bring myself to cut into a perfectly good piece of clothing. Had to be from the rag barrel.

"Early" Beginnings - Come sit at my farmhouse table surrounded by plank bottom chairs, and have some coffee or whatever you prefer........

2007-06-05T22:59:00.000-07:00

I fell in love with early things in the late 1980`s when I met someone sitting beside me at a little hometown craft show. The kind I wish I had never gotten out of bed for that day. The thing about those shows were, that even if you didn`t make much money, there was some connection to another show or person to help my career, such as it was. This is what happened that day. I was sitting next to a woman that made dolls like I had never seen. They looked like they were old and dragged across the grass,by some child. I was stirred by these dolls and had to find out more.This woman turned out to be copying a dollmaker
who sold her work at a country store. She was nice enough to share the location of this store. This led me to a wonderful country store that was once ,long ago, the store to the old woolen mills,now closed and empty that was still across the street. This wonderful store is a 2 story stone building with a brook flowing down beside it from the mountain behind the shop. As I walked in it took me back to country stores of my childhood, with wood plank floors that creak and the long counter with jars of penny candy. There was a pot belly stove for heat and a farm table with plank bottom chairs all around it for friends to gather and have coffee and buy handmade dolls, painted wooden santas, houses, antiques, all in the early,folk art style. I had never seen things like things like this and I knew then, this is what I wanted. It connected in me to someplace deep inside. I brought my work there and the owner sold it for me and we became friends. I met various people there, but there was one who eventually would be my best friend,Jennifer. I loved and admired her work so much! I still love it and collect it today. That`s how I learned of "early" things. Sitting at the farm table learning about history and getting to see all the wonderful things people made and brought in to sell. The owner made everyone feel at home,offered everyone coffee, and always had time for everyone. Sold penny candy , but either broke even on the cost or took a loss, because it cost more than one penny each, but it gave a nice memory to the kids that came in. This is where I learned about antiques and old dolls,folk art, painting,folk artists, good shows to go to, primitive decorating. I feel blessed to have been a part of that shop. The owner never made much money, got opportunities to buy great things, and brought together lots of people which is what I remember and I`m sure many others do to.
I`ve tried making many things over the years. Homespun pillows,I`ve woven baskets,dried flower arranging,dolls,painted wood item. I`ve grown and evolved as time went on, thank God. I`ve pursued knowledge of many arts and crafts,and I`ll continue to study and experiment with various techniques and mediums, but when it comes down to what`s important, is the creating and doing, the process, but also the people I`ve met and cared about and learned from,laughed and felt all kinds of emotions with, along the way. I look forward to what is to come as I continue down this "early " path with my work , my house, my antique spaces. I look forward to who I will meet and what I will create going down this "blog" path. I hope to share that feeling I experienced at that wonderful shop in the country, here in this blog, so come by often, bring a cup of something, and read and leave a comment , and maybe you`ll even find something to buy now and then. Come back again soon.