Welcome to Spring in Wheaton...

The kids spent the other day making a snowman and a snow dog to go along with him. The dog looks remarkably like our dog Sadie which made me laugh. Of course every time the real Sadie goes out into the yard now she has a fit at the strange person and dog that are out there. I think that dog has gone senile on me.

In the meantime...hat production is still moving forward. I should have some additional photos up soon. Here is a painting that I finished a while ago (note the sun in the picture...haven't seen that in a while). This is part of my "Soul" series. Another house in a long line of houses that date way back. I love houses...

Over the winter I painted a variety of small pieces to hang around the house and as soon as the sun returns I will photograph them and add them here. I keep lingering between just painting and my old collage work. Can't seem to settle into a style right now. I think I am on the verge of a breakthrough of sorts. I find myself painting a lot of birds and eggs right now. Could it be my desperate craving for spring!!

We had a very low key Easter. Lots of egg coloring...egg hiding and candy consumption. Of course we made a larger than life dinner and then rested afterward! The perfect holiday.

And yes...it is 3am and I am up posting this. I have been having some of those sleepless nights again lately. I just need spring to spring already!!

News...News...News...

It has been a while since I was in blog world. So much has been going on around here that I'm not sure where to begin. Most recently, my son Shawn volunteered to participate in a fundraising project at his school called St. Baldrick's. The idea is that you have your head shaved, in front of the whole school, to raise money for childhood cancer. Not only was I impressed by his willingness to do this and walk around bald, but he also decided that he wanted to dedicate his shaving experience to our friend Andrea who is battling her own cancer right now. So we sent out a little appeal, not really knowing what would happen and...we raised almost $400.00!! Shawn was so excited. (let's face it...$400.00 is a whole lot of money to a 6 year old) So we went....and we shaved...and ladies and gentlemen...here he is...my bald son...

Check out the cool t-shirt that we made. It says "I went bald for Ya-Ya." (Ya-ya is the nickname that my kids have always called Andrea) We went to visit her yesterday and they took some pictures together. For those of you who have been following her story...she is doing remarkably well. I thought the greatest compliment came from Austin, who later told me "Mom, Ya-Ya just seemed like Ya-Ya to me. I didn't notice anything different about her at all." I couldn't agree more. If you are of the praying variety...please be sure to keep Andrea and her family in your prayers as they work through this difficult time. We are all confident that she will be cured and outlive us all!! So here they are...the bald and the beautiful...

Note: we have decided that if there is no fundraising involved, bald is just not a good look for a child with a crooked head!

And now, after much ado, I am pleased to announce the introduction of my new line of custom hats!!

A (SOLD)

B (SOLD)

C

D (SOLD)

E

F (SOLD)

G (CHILD SIZED)

H

I

I was planning to hold off until fall with this when I had assembled more of a complete line but it seems that I cannot hold onto them fast enough. I tend the create them wherever I go and the response has been fantastic. Not only have I sold half of my inventory already (and it is spring people) but I have several custom orders as well.

Here is the deal...each hat is totally unique. You will never see exactly the same hat out there on the street. Being very creative (and a little on the ADD side these days) means that the thought of creating the same hat over and over is not very appealing to me. This way everyone gets their own unique hat and I get to be creative each and every time. The hats are crocheted mostly in acrylic yarn (some with a little wool) and then they are embellished with vintage buttons, old sweaters, felt and stitching. They are fun and funky!

Here is Miss Chloe modeling her new hat and purse combo!

And, while I started out making hats for children, it was the adults who craved the hats so much that I have added adult sizes to my line. So check them out, leave me a comment to let me know what you think or if there is one you are interested in. The hats will run $21.00 on the web site but for a limited time you can purchase one right here for just $18.00 just by leaving me a comment on this page. (go to the end of this post and click on the comment button)

I think I need to give credit where credit is due...a special thanks to Mother Nature for dumping lots of snow on us this week and creating the continued need for hats this late in the season! Appreciate the team effort!!

More to come...check back often!