four-legged frenzy

Ok, so I've been a bit MIA recently. Take a guess at why...

:: photo taken with Auntie Mary and Uncle Seth on Snake Mountain ::

Everybody, meet Sam. Sam, everybody.

:: on the car ride home to Vermont, coming from Connecticut ::

We just adopted Sam last week and he's quickly become an endless source of smiles and snuggles in our household. Sam is a 3-almost-4 year old black lab sweetheart and also our first dog, which means lots of adjusting for mom and dad.

:: more Snake Mountain fun with Seth & Mary (and Fisher, Kaisey, and Beaufort) ::

It's been a hectic week getting up to speed with taking care of a dog again for the first time since childhood, but what a fun week it's been. Lots of trips to the dog park, walks, meeting other furry friends and trying to make peace with Buster kitty. We're still working on that last one. Making progress everyday. If Buster would just stand his ground, Sam would get over him in a heartbeat, but alas, our kitty is a sissy.

:: at the dog park. super excited = super slobber ::

I'm excited for all the fun to come with this big lovable four-legged fur ball. He is just the sweetest and most well-behaved dog we could have possibly asked for. We got so lucky!

Happy tails to you!

fall into vermont

I seriously do love this time of year here. It makes the harsh winters seem somewhat bearable when you can bask in the beauty that is Vermont in September and October.

Today we took a drive up to Boyden Valley Farm (home of my favorite local winery... maple wine, anyone?!) to the Pumpkin Chuckin' Festival. Yep, you read that right. We had high hopes for what sounded like an awesome fall festival, trebuchets and all, but perhaps our hopes were a little too high as we were a bit disappointed. Oh well. It was the first year, so we'll give it a shot again next year maybe. At least the $5/person entry fee was going to a good cause. We did have the opportunity to stock up on our favorite wines however and venture into quaint little Jeffersonville for lunch with our friends, Brian and Karri, who we see far too infrequently.

Here's Karri examining our ketchup, or lack thereof.

We decided to take the long way home and drive up through Smuggler's Notch to play "fall foliage tourist" for the afternoon. Stowe is always a pretty drive.

Gotta love driving through this part of the Notch.
One car at a time; wait your turn.

Days like today make me stop and think, "whoa, I live here," and I love every second of it.

the call of fall

This rainy, chilly fall Sunday in Vermont inspired me to spruce things up a little for fall. Our hiking trip today was canceled, so amongst a long list of errands and chores, I managed to sneak away into the "craft cave" for a bit.


I've been longing to make some patchwork towels for myself since I first made some last Christmas as a gift. It's rare that I make anything and keep it for myself, so this was a treat!


I used my new batch of Moda Arcadia fabrics... perfect tones for fall!


They are now happily adorning my now very off-white looking cabinets. (Honey, is it time to paint the kitchen?) :-)


Which reminds me, I also used these delectable fabrics to make two linen pillows which got snapped up right away in my Etsy shop. I really do love this graphically bold line of fabric.


Here's to the beginning of crisp days, crimson leaves, bumpy gourds, sweaters and clogs! How I do love fall in Vermont. (Oooo, we also picked up some apple cider today from Cold Hollow Cider Mill... mmm.) What are your favorite fall muses?

so much fun, it's ridonculous*

*"ridonculous" - courtesy of my coworker Ray (check out his gorgeous photos from a recent trip to Scotland!) :-)
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Yep, it's true. I am having so much fun with my paper and stitch Etsy shop, I can hardly take it. I'm sure there are tons of tips and tricks I haven't figured out yet, BUT the one I found today is a goldmine! For anyone who has an Etsy shop and doesn't already know about this splendid little hack - take note: http://www.etsyhacks.com/greasemonkey/copy_listing/ (Thanks, Ian! I'll be following you @etsyhacks on twitter.)

The ability to duplicate a current listing and still make changes and add new photos! Brilliant! Why Etsy doesn't offer this as a regular feature, I don't know. If you're a Firefox user, the add-on script is easy peasy and worked seamlessly for me. Such a time saver!

In other Etsy related news, here's a peek into my shop and what I listed tonight. Button greeting cards (some even for Christmas - ack!). Only 92 days... don't panic.

(Ok, is it me, or does that picture look like it is at angle?! I've checked over and over and it's not... the pesky angle of the cards is playing mind tricks with me.)

fabric, goats + geese

A few weeks ago, Spoonflower was doing a fundraiser/promo - they were giving away two free fabric swatches (of your own design) so customers could test out quality, printing, fabrics, etc. As part of the promo, they were fundraising for Heifer International, an organization that provides livestock, training and services to small farmers and communities around the world. Since I've always thought designing my own fabric would be awesome, this was the perfect opportunity to give Spoonflower a go and give a little charity at the same time!


I designed my first swatch in a new colorway of a design I made over a year ago and was previously in my blog header. Instead of using the creamy yellows and muted greens of the original design, I made this colorway more fall-like with a rich brown, deep blue, golden yellow, and popping orange... sure feels like fall to me. I ordered this sample in a bamboo-cotton blend- super soft and silky.


Because I've been having a rough time finding the just the right way to produce my own labels, I used this as a way to test out printing labels directly on fabric. I chose a nice thick upholstery weight cotton. Came out pretty spiffy - text is clear, colors are great, and I love the hefty feel of the fabric.

I couldn't believe how quickly the samples arrived and how high quality they were. I'll definitely be using Spoonflower in the future when I get up the gusto to make more designs. They also did a great job raising money for Heifer - see a video wrap-up here.

p.s. - my Etsy shop is up and running! Not fully stocked yet, but up and running nonetheless. I'll be listing new items frequently, so be sure to stop on by every now and again. Think about handmade for the holidays! :-) There is a link on the left sidebar of my blog, as well as a showcase of some of my items.