What a Surprise!

These flowers are what I've always called Surprise Lily. Some people know them as Magic Lily or Naked Lady. They grow from bulbs that just produce leaves in the Spring. The leaves are a thick clump that resemble wide daffodil leaves. After a few weeks, the leaves die back and the area where the bulbs are planted is bare for a while.

Then in August, surprise! About the time I have completely forgotten about them, suddenly new flowers start to emerge.

When the flowers open, they are pretty, pink, sort of exotic looking lilies.

What a nice surprise!

Felted Wool Plush Toys

I've been working on some new plush toys for my Etsy shop, FeltSewGood. I made this pair of Orcas, Mama and baby, some more horses and I'm working on a new cat design.

And, here's my latest plush toy listing, a new dinosaur, the Stegosaurus!

The Stegosaurus was made from deep dusty blue and sage green felted, recycled wool sweaters. And all my new animals are stuffed with eco-friendly "Ingeo" fibers made from the renewable resource corn.
Watch for more new listings in the coming weeks. For more pictures of the Stegosaurus, and more felted goodness, go to my Etsy shop, FeltSewGood.

b(eco)me

It's good to b(eco)me wishy-washy.

Encourage friends, family and coworkers to drink from reusable mugs rather than polystyrene cups. Launch a mug movement in your office. Wash and reuse mugs and cups and ditch the paper trail left behind by your daily latte. To get your own reusable coffee mug, check out these and other Etsy ceramic artists.

Morning mug, yellow and teal by Twisted River Clay

Large mug, porcelain with buttery white glaze and sandy high spots by Barb Dunshee
White and blue mug - handthrown pottery by Dovecote Design

Go a step further and reduce and reuse paper waste by using a filterless coffee maker with a french press. Trade out your individual bottle water for a reusable water bottle. Wash, refill and drink up.

BARE FACTS & STATS: If every coffee-drinking American used a refillable mug instead of a disposable cup, it would spare our environment close to 7 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions every day. The annual amount of oil expected to produce plastic bottles sold in the United States is enough to fuel 100,000 cars for an entire year.
Learn more at becomegreen.info

My First Post to The Needle

I have finally published my first post to theneedle.org. For several months I've been enjoying reading about and admiring the work of all the plush artists who are members of The Needle and I decided to join them. "The Needle is a collaborative website where creators of quality plush can share their work. We straddle that line between art and craft, leaping back and forth willy nilly as it suits us."

I posted some photos of my plush horse toys, Chester, shown here, and Morgan. Be sure to follow this link to The Needle and check out some of the wild and wonderful softies for yourself. You'll also find a list of website and blog links of the other members.

I've been having great fun creating some new plush toys for my own Etsy shop, FeltSewGood. Be sure to check back over the next week to see some more of my creations!

Leaving the Nest(box)

A pair of bluebirds built a nest in the nestbox on our fence. It's actually very close to our screened porch so we've had a great view of all the activity. The male hung around the yard and waited patiently while the female stayed in the box on the nest. The baby bluebirds finally hatched a couple of weeks ago. The Mom and Dad have been busy feeding the little ones 24/7.

We could hear the babies quietly chirping when Mom and Dad got close by with a bug to eat. And for the past couple of days the babies have been chirping more and sticking their heads out of the box to have a look around. So, we thought they might be getting ready to leave the nestbox and this morning Daddy bluebird coaxed the last little one out to fly away!


At first they didn't go far, but then after a while I didn't see or hear them any more. But off and on for the rest of the day I could hear them calling to each other from the garden or a neighbor's yard. It was fun to have an up-close view of their lives and I wish them the best. Hopefully they are all healthy and survive to come back again next year!