Last bustle in this fabric, I promise!! I was going to be all done, but then I had leftover fabric, and everyone had a bustle to wear over their big skirts or pants except for me. So I just had to whip myself up a very simple bustle out of… Read More »Mini Tartan Bustle
Right now it’s very difficult to look past the day-to-day. Long-term goals are hard to focus on in the stressful short term. As a form of relaxation I’ve returned to a very basic comfort by sketching what I’m thinking about: by sketching a food diary of all the calories helping… Read More »Colorful Food Diary
Easter may have been cancelled this year, but these are eggs I dyed for Ostara, or the first day of Spring. You could dye eggs as well, especially if you’re stuck in quarantine. No children required, though they’d probably enjoy it. You’ll need white eggs, white vinegar, any kind of… Read More »Watercolor Eggs
Posts are out-of-date as soon as they’re published these days….Though still healthy at the time of this writing, I haven’t had much capacity to be creative in all this change and madness. I’m too busy bouncing from one news update to the next, and trying to stay distracted when the… Read More »Washable Cloth Face Masks
Wow, I really love the way that this commission turned out, and I was able to photograph it pretty well considering it is a plus-sized piece on my tiny dress form. What a blast this bustle was to design, pattern, and sew. This is another piece commissioned by the Whip… Read More »Celtic Fae Bustle
Another lower-half accessory crafted for the troupe’s use in our performance at a Celtic Belly-dance Fusion show earlier this month. Part kilt, part high-slit bella skirt, this apron brings Egypt to Ireland in a way that feels very punk-rock apocalypse to me. The design is a simple two-13-inch-wide-pleated-panels secured together… Read More »Celtic Fusion Apron, Punk Rock Apocalypse.
Happy Ostara, or Spring equinox to all readers of the Northern Hemisphere! And a belated Happy Saint Patrick’s Day to all those still recovering. St Patrick’s day falls close to Ostara; closer than usual this year, so it is fitting that I have photos to share from a Celtic-themed dance… Read More »Bonus Post: Ostara 2020 and Celtic Belly Dance Show Photos
Oh, how the year is flying by! I have another tartan garment to share, sewn for troupe use in our last performance, a Celtic Belly Dance fusion show. This piece was commissioned for a much taller dancer than I, so it doesn’t reach the ground when it’s worn by its… Read More »Celtic Bustle
It’s almost time to say goodbye to winter. What a kind and brief winter it’s been. I know that the unseasonably warm temperatures are a symptom of of our dying planet, and will bring increased disease-bearing insects to our summertime, however this warm and relatively snow-free season of darkness was… Read More »The Thaw: Late Winter Landscape
This was an especially fun year at the Vermont Winter Renaissance Fair, perhaps because we spent more money than usual…. First, they lure you in with free samples of everything: mead, jam, syrup, vodka, rum… Once you’ve been sufficiently liquored for free, which is basically the best part of this… Read More »Vermont Winter Renaissance Fair 2020
The troupe has a Celtic-themed belly dance show coming up in March for which we are preparing quite the little dance number. To tie our look together on stage, we ordered 30 yards of the same miscellaneous cotton plaid, from which we will each be making a garment–or rather I… Read More »Celtic Plaid Belly Dance Pants
This is Zeke, Lord of Darkness and proof of concept for animals-as-dark-sorcerers portraiture. I feel a regal portrait is an appropriate thing to post for President’s Day…compositionally speaking. Zeke is a mischievous and smart good boy, with a face so much resembling a hell-hound that I was compelled to depict… Read More »Zeke, Lord of Darkness
Sometimes it’s really hard to decide what to make next. I am officially running out of room for my creations, a common curse amongst the maker class. But because of this lack of space, there is an implied demand that anything made should be made well, and better yet for… Read More »Inside My Sketchbook, Inside My Manic Head
I have practiced a ‘no shit, genius’ technique using gel medium and liquid acrylics. Simply spoon some gel medium onto a horizontal canvas and dribble strategically liquid acrylics, and dabs of solid acrylics as well, why not. Using a pallet knife, move the medium over the pigment and across the… Read More »Gel Medium Technique
The new spear has been assembled and hung in the expanding armory
Finally, I’m calling them finished. The large pair of abstract, moody landscapes that I’ve been working on since the start of the new year are done and hung. Not that I have put an excessive number of hours into them, but I have to tell myself that they’re finished more… Read More »Dining Room Diptych. Abstract Landscape in Acrylic.
Functional pouches are a life-saver in costuming. Purses, cell phones, car keys, and wallets do not time-travel well, and can only make the journey when well hidden inside a decorative bag or pouch. For the upcoming Winter Renaissance Faire in Vermont I am planning to wear black leather armor, but… Read More »Re-purposing Army Surplus Bag
Happy New Year, everyone! Welcome to 2020; oh, how time flies. For the first blog post of the new decade, I have made a super slouchy three-quarter sleeve fleece bolero. It’s high collar keeps out the cold, and it’s high sleeves keep my hands free for tasks. A small remnant… Read More »Slouchy Fleece Bolero
My focus for the month, between Holiday preparations, has been the decoration of the dining room, which until recently has remained quite bare. I am in the process of painting a large diptych for one wall, and on another we have finally hung the armory. Our love of Renaissance and… Read More »Hanging the Armory
When planning a large painting, it is wise to map out color, form, and composition on a small scale first. Thumbnail drawings and color studies help an artist explore different images for the same visual problem quickly, and make executing the final piece much faster. I have settled on the… Read More »Color Studies for Large Dining Diptych
After completing my latest quilted hearth stockings project, I still had quite a few quilting strips leftover and a strong urge to continue quilting them together. With gifting-time fast approaching, I decided that my quilting strips would make great doggie bandanas for Tovi and some of her closest friends. Tovi… Read More »Yuletide Doggie Bandanas
It’s that time of year again! That’s right, the spookiest, most haunted season of them all: Yuletide. The season for blood sacrifice, frantically cleaning your home as to not upset the visiting spirits, and of naughty children being dragged off to hell by a cloven-footed beast! To celebrate another year… Read More »Family Hearth Stockings
My fabric stash is an extremely generous place; always filled with things that I didn’t even know that I had. The other day I came across a scrap of white high-pile faux fur that was just wide enough to make a small muff. The piece wasn’t big enough for much… Read More »Faux Fur Muff with Pocket
Thanksgiving is just around the corner, but what you all really miss is Halloween, isn’t it? We hosted a big party this year and I made sure to take nice photos of all of our entrees into the costume contest! I hope you enjoy this photo album of shenanigans. Voting… Read More »Halloween Contest Entrees 2019
We have transformed our master bath with paint and a medicine cabinet. It only took *checks notes* two years to get this room finished*, but the day has come. Below is a photo of the before. Plain white walls, not enough storage. Lucky for us, the fixtures that came with… Read More »Master Bath Makeover
My female dog has a beard and a mustache, so naturally she is constantly being misgendered. Not that I think she minds, but maybe some pretty bows will help? Buying pre-made collar sliders online is expensive. And they are so small, and use so little fabric! I’m pressed for time… Read More »Collar Sliders
I thought the dog already had a new costume for Halloween this year? Yes. She does. But this idea is just so cute. Give the people what they want. What they want is more dog photos in costume. Earlier this season I sewed Tovi, our almost-two-year-old Belgian Malinois mix a… Read More »Cardinal Dog Costume
Blessed Samhain to you! Everything is wonderful! A spectacular month overall. My website just got upgraded to a new, faster PHP so it’s more secure and pages are loading at blazing speeds. Whoa! I’m here with a bonus post to wish everyone a safe and fun Halloween. We didn’t get… Read More »Blessed Samhain
What the heck’s a scooptacular? It’s an ice cream party on a farm with animals and vendors and fall things. What completes a fall party? Dancing witches, of course! It just so happens that I belong to a troupe of witches who will trade event coordinators our dance-entertainment for money.… Read More »‘Scooptacular’ Dancing as a Witch
I’ve sewn a new dress for this most magical time of year. Nine-or-so yards of buttery polyester had appeared in my fabric stash. I don’t remember where I got so much of this sage green delight, but many a historical fantasy garment call for such great lengths of fabric. Lengths… Read More »Green Elven Gown
Our second trip of the season to the Connecticut Renaissance Fair. Absolutely perfect weather–a crisp 60 degrees for a high, with most of the day stalling in the mid 50’s was ideal for layering; our preferred method of using our plentiful garb. I am most fond of cold-weather fair going… Read More »Connecticut Renaissance Faire 2019 Round Two
I had dreams of sewing Jake a very traditional Viking tunic. Something long, loose fitting, and functional. When I found several yards of sombrella fabric with a visible weave and stiff hand on clearance, I thought it had the perfect rough look if you ignore it’s forever fade-resistance. Jacob had… Read More »Orange Sensational Viking Long Tunic
I have too many projects in progress at once, and therefore nothing newly finished to show you. So instead, we’ll all have to settle for a quick works-in-progress post. I am making Jake a new tunic and just finished this elaborate neckline last night. It took considerable time to make… Read More »Works in Progress, Fall 2019
Well, the dog is ready for Halloween. A few weeks ago we brought Tovi to the Connecticut Renaissance Faire, and everyone had such kind words to say about her Master Splinter Costume. We won tickets to return to the fair later this season, and I can’t have my pup wearing… Read More »Little Red Riding Hood Dog Costume
On Labor Day 2019, the whole family (that means the dog too), attended the Connecticut Renaissance Fair in Lebanon, CT. This is one of the only fairs in the region that allows pets any day of the fair, however opening weekend was pet-themed. Tovi put on her only costume to… Read More »Connecticut Renaissance Faire 2019: Tovi’s First Ren Fair!
Abstract art has it’s place in home decor. Representational work is my bread-and-butter, and how I’ve worked exclusively my entire career. The art I make is either utilitarian, or representational. Usually it’s both. But there are spaces in the home that don’t need the specificity of realism. For these spaces,… Read More »Desedimentation (My First Abstract Painting)
Is it October yet? Nevermind. Happy Labor Day, everyone! The unofficial end of summer. Not that I want time to go by any faster, but I am gearing up for fall, starting with an easy little afternoon craft. The Witch’s Dream Catcher consists of two 8″ metal rings wrapped in… Read More »The Witch’s Dream Catcher
Super productive weekend last week! I feel we are in our last big push to get summer chores done before summer ends, because right behind that comes fall clean-up and winterizing. I made a project for myself early this summer when I scored these two awesome but old Adirondack chairs… Read More »Adirondack
The earth has been good to us this season. Our raised garden beds have been a great success, we went blueberry picking, and our yard has had enough flowers to spare some for indoor arrangements. So far this year the garden has produced more lettuce than we could eat, a… Read More »Abundant Earth
Last weekend, for the first time, we checked out the Massachusetts Renaissance Fair at the Cummington Fair Grounds. With a name like The Massachusetts Fair, I expected a little more. The permanent fairgrounds (for county fairs and showing animals) were large, and under-utilized, making the Ren fair seem very small. There… Read More »Massachusetts Renaissance Fair 2019
Once again this year the household took a summer vacation to beautiful Round Island, a private island in the middle of Long Lake, NY, on the edge of absolute wilderness. I did not touch my phone while I was there; I even bought myself a cheap watch ahead of time… Read More »Sketches of Long Lake, New York 2019
Our mailbox is no longer the most shameful one on the street! Last year, a distracted driver hit our already old and dilapidated mailbox one morning in the summertime. They also ran over a lily which has fortunately since recovered. Jake was able to twist and zip-tie the box back… Read More »New Mailbox Installation
My mom wanted some new paintings to go with her freshly painted bathroom walls. Formerly, she displayed two green wooden panels with dreary flowers painted on them. She asked me to update the panels with some new flowers on a white background. My mom likes purple (the living room carpet… Read More »Rustic Flower Paintings
I’m trying to decide what color to paint the front door. It’s a beige house with white trim and black porch fixtures. I’ve quickly photo-shopped my ideas onto the house, but because the porch is in shadow, it’s not an easy thing to picture. I know that black would look… Read More »What Color Should I Paint the Front Door?
Last year we bought a used canoe. Then we used that canoe lots and the driver’s seat gave out. We are ready to use the canoe again this year, so we needed to fix the seats. I ordered 50 yards of polypropylene webbing in bright safety orange, Jake’s favorite color,… Read More »New Canoe Seats
I really didn’t think I was going to have a blog post for you today, as I haven’t finished anything in a while and I’ve been so busy enjoying the summer sun. Many projects remain in progress, but I haven’t really had the time or desire to put in the… Read More »Striped Summer Dress
Last weekend we had a beautiful day at the Faire! Mutton and Mead is an annual celebration in Western Massachusetts with a casual and merry mood. It is one of the few proper “Medieval Festivals” in the area, similar too, but not to be confused with, a Renaissance fair. Essentially… Read More »Mutton & Mead Medieval Festival 2019
Indoor projects have slowed as the weather improves and we spend more of our free time outdoors. The garden is coming along spectacularly though. All the intense labor is worth it when the colors burst forth from the dirt and stems. When we bought our house a year and a… Read More »Expending Effort Outdoors
Are we really still talking about Bento bags? I sew for fun, and follow my passions, and my passions took me down this road to follow this project all the way to its natural end. First, I failed to sew test bags following a bad tutorial. Next, I found a… Read More »Following this Bento Thing to Its Natural End
Whipped up this new belly dance belt a few days before a performance to match this bra that I made a few years(?) ago. I had plenty of extra fabric lying around from the bra top, a super comfortable performance stretch. The pattern was simple enough: a rounded triangle essentially,… Read More »New Belly Dance Belt