this week i've been sewing on the back porch of my studio, in the shade of a huge maple tree, looking out over our yard and our porch where edgar and the cats are sleeping or just flopping in the shade. the heat has been extreme, but there is always a little breeze from the lake. the light is dappled and changing from the movement of the leaves. a real summer. i'm building quilts this week. square by square. and on the weekend i'll get them photographed and listed on etsy. i am happy to be back. happy to be finding my groove again.

being away from the studio for such a long time takes some explaining. and i'm slowly working my way back in. we did a house renovation project and then sold it and i ended up being the 'project manager' so all my studio ventures were set aside in favor of the timeline and rushed nature of this project. and now it's finished beautifully and sold and we're looking for the next one. but i will not play a daily role in it. so, i'm making quilts and trying to get my display area filled and gorgeous. it's wonderful to be at it again.

the past week has been a slow string of phone calls and errands and lists of decisions. i plan to find uninterrupted time soon, spending hours in the studio to find the rhythm once again, in the long waves of silence.

we had one of those deliciously rare weekends. a holiday weekend. an early spring weekend. and the first t-shirt and shorts weekend of the season. it was so beautiful. we took edgar for a little tour of cottage country. the light was high and strong. undiluted by trees. the branches are still bare and leafless from the winter. the little lakeside resorts that are scattered around us are still closed although with the temperatures feeling like june, it was strange to see everything locked up. what a wonderful weekend.

the wild ducks who take over my neighbors pond in the spring woke me up this morning. a spring rite of passage. and my little studio shop is ready for spring too. yesterday i finalized on the pinafore dress i've been designing in my mind for babies and toddlers. the practice one is perfect....except for my sewing machine decided to stop working properly. i'm hoping it can get fixed today before the long weekend, but that's a long shot. i'm excited to have little dresses in the shop. to go with the bloomers. and i want to start making them. today feels like the beginning of something beautiful. happy spring.

this weekend, on sunday march 28th, from 10 am until 5 pm, i am welcoming all to my studio open house. it's an invitation to have a look at the items i've been making since christmas. lots of throw cushions, pillowslips, zippered bags, quilts, cards....come see.

walking with a camera & a dog

our walks are my favorite part of the day when the day is fine. there are days when i dread our walk, but once we start i don't want to stop. and there are the days when we just go up the street for a sniff around the park and come right back to the warm house. the last 6 weeks have been full of the last category. but yesterday both edgar and i were anxious to get out into the sun and the warm air. the lake was singing under the ice, the hollow wave music just before the lake breaks through the ice. i love that sound. it is the spring song in our little world. the sun was strong and we wandered among the old limestone mansions and asylums (yes, they sit together on the edge of lake ontario, just steps from our house). there are decrepit old greenhouses that have been inoperable for years. i love all the angles and reflections that i can trap with the camera. it was a perfect way to welcome spring.