Author: studio.egroom@gmail.com

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

You know that moment, just before, or just after the end of the holiday shopping/making season when you no longer have time to get/make even one more thing? This moment can be anxiety filled–mostly for those of us who never quite seem to get it all done on time. (My family is now used to holiday IOUs)–but at the same time there is an enormous sense of relief. A giving in to the idea that you simply can’t get it all done, no matter how much you want to, along with a final realization that that is probably ok. This year I am finally coming off of what feels a lot like a three year holiday-type stress extravaganza. I’m not quite back down to ‘regular’ yet, but I’m slowly getting there, and I hope to make for more of you, meet more of you, and generally rejoin the world in the coming months.

May this holiday season bring you joy, however you celebrate it.

Much love,

Erica

Funny thing happened on the way to…

…the rest of my life. You know those ‘best laid plans’? Yeah, well, there I was, minding my own business, getting geared up for retirement and the full-time art life when my own body decided it had other ideas. Several components had apparently been harboring secret resentments and decided that it was time to foment a full scale revolution. My gallbladder outright seceded, the knees are angry-grumbling, and my back is staging daily walkout protests. Folks, it wasn’t supposed to be like this! At least, not until I hit Medicare!

But you’re right–it could absolutely be worse (please no!). And there is a lot of good stuff going on too. The barn is coming together as my new studio workspace and I am super-excited to get this site, my Etsy listings, and lots of new wearable, useable, art pieces up and online, albeit a little more slowly that I had anticipated. Stay tuned for more frequent updates to both sites (the above slippers are listed on Etsy right now), and what I hope will be an entertaining blog on a semi-regular basis.

What had happened was…

A long winter? A busy spring? Yes, but that’s not really a good excuse, is it? There were slippers being made and bags constructed, but mostly, this blog just got away from me for a while. I am going to conveniently blame it on Roz. This is Roz:

Roz is what we used to call a ‘Heinz 57’ dog–you know, 57 varieties? She loves a good snuggle, will do just about anything for a belly rub, and is an excellent supplement to the vacuum cleaner. Roz came to us through Operation Paws for Homes, an amazing all breed rescue working to place dogs in the PA, MD, VA region.

And because one is never enough, meet Sophie,

Roz’ (very) big sister. Sophie is a gorgeous Great Pyrenees who enjoys spending her days protecting the homestead, and getting her fluffy white coat as dirty as possible. Hard to believe people gave up on these cuties, but they are definitely enjoying life on the farm!

I’ve also been spending time on my newest custom slipper craze–pet portraits! They are a challenge, but also super fun to do. Pretty soon I’ll have to do a pair of my own–one each for Roz and Sophie. Here are two pairs I’m really proud of:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow I’ll load in the gallery of new bags available–dragonflies, bees, hedgehogs, and more!

Don’t forget to start thinking about holiday custom orders now!

–I’m off to walk some dogs!

 

 

Stuart!!

Stuart is the most awesome doggo I’ve never met. I have, however met his human, who recently requested some Stuart slippers. I wasn’t entirely sure I could manage this, but I wanted to give pet portraits in felt a shot, since I’ve seen some pretty cool pairs out there. Turned out better than I could have hoped, and I’m really proud of these! We are now open to custom pet-portrait orders 🙂

Slippers are $75 a pair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrate Good Times!

Look Ma, two hands! Well, almost. Call it one and three-quarters. Anyway, I’m back to my sewing machine, my knitting needles, and my spinning wheels. I can’t begin to express my absolute joy. Nearly two months of enforced relaxation has shown me how very bad I am at that. Now back to the zen of making! (I’m hoping to do slippers by the end of December.)

I made my annual Thanksgiving pilgrimage to beautiful rural Massachusetts to visit with family and, of course, to stop in at one of my favorite hidden treasures shops, the Meeting House Quilt Shop, in Wales, MA. They have a great selection of traditional and reproduction fabrics, and I always manage to find a few quirky favorites I can’t live without. Look for new tote bag and knitters luxury sets featuring dinosaurs, hedgehogs, snowmen, and ridiculously adorable sheep.

The Boys of Studio E are fluffed out in their finest winter gear as we wait for the first real weather of the season in blow in. It looks like next weekend might have something to offer. Don’t forget to check out our selection of hand-spun yarns as you plan your holiday giving this year, and, as always, you can find us on ETSY at StudioEFiberArt, for all your holiday gift needs. Speaking of…we’ve added a new item here at the studio. Our very own Norman, Shetland Sheep extraordinaire, has begun his own clothing line, featuring–you guessed it–himself! You can order your Norman the Nefarious T-shirt in purple or black, with Norman himself emblazoned in the color of your choice (he prefers gold–it matches his eyes).

Original sheep art by Ken Race

T-shirts are $20

 

Arrrggghhh!

Which is pretty much how I feel about not having my right hand. It’ll be back, thank goodness, but this is pretty frustrating. I am now 18 days out from surgery. On the up side, there is very little pain (as long as I’m careful). On the down side, though I will probably be back to sewing in another two or three weeks, felted slippers will take considerably longer. However, I will start to take orders again after the Thanksgiving holiday, when I should have a more accurate recovery timeline. Thank you to all my wonderful friends and customers for their help and patience!

As always, the Etsy shop is open!

StudioEFiberArt

New item!

Summer holidays are the best–cookouts, fireworks, bonfires…oh my! Show your colors and arrive in style with our new Tiny Tote Purse. This one shows off the full on summer theme–sparkly stars and the red, white, and blue. Of course, it sports the same quality construction as all of our other bags, along with a dual, jewel snap closure to keep items secure at the beach, on the picnic blanket, in the bleachers, or out on the town. As always, you can customize with your favorite colors and patterns.

8.5″ wide, 6.5″ tall, 3.5″ deep

$40

Owls Abound!

…or so it seems these days at Studio E. Beautiful new owl prints and owl embroideries for our Simple and Tiny Totes collection –get ’em while they’re hot! And check out our new ETSY shop: StudioEFiberArt, where you can browse or shop online!

We are now in full summer swing here–in the studio, and on the farm. The boys are busy keeping cool and growing wool (don’t ask me how those two things happen at the same time, I don’t get it either!), and I am having the usual fun on the tractor, along with putting in a new herb garden. I’m also planting for a perennial dye garden with madder root and indigo, and so far, so good. Last year’s lavender didn’t come back as well as expected, and the patchouli didn’t come back at all, but we’re trying again this season. (Good thing we have so many local Amish farms to keep me in vegetables–when would I find the time?!)

In the works: Hedgehog tote bags and biohazard green slippers!

Here’s a short video of Captain Jack being disgusted with  himself to keep you smiling through the heat! Just remember, no matter how bad it gets, at least you don’t have alpaca spit!

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