Of gawjus weather, Etsy and fiber

Aaah! The weather is gawjus, as we say in Maine. Cool, in the 70's and
dry, every leaf and needle of distant trees visible. And Mollyockett
Mountain is back in all her understated glory. We usually call these
days "typical Maine days", but they are better termed "optimal Maine
days". It just doesn't get any better.


Friends from Florida,
with whom I don't usually share our temperatures (40's at night, btw),
report staggering heat! We are soooooo lucky.

Just had a gas fireplace installed. Could this mean a longer stay on Mollyockett than our usual mid to late November?

Fiberly,
I stressed on the Art Fair I attended. It was a beautiful day and I
made lots of contacts, but few sales. I' thinking that Etsy-------->
is the way to go.

RANT ALERT!

If you don't know Etsy, you should, both as a buyer and a seller. Etsy is a marketplace for artists from all over the world to sell their hand made work. I've seen some really awesome stuff there (etsy.com).

As an Etsy
buyer, I've been way more than satisfied. The sellers I've dealt with
give customer service that is really world class! They communicate
quickly and frequently and in such a personal and friendly manner, you
won't believe you're doing business with a stranger.

Items were shipped
to me withing days of my purchase and arrived carefully and beautifully
wrapped to boot. Etsy sellers are allowed 5 photos of each item for sale
and most are works of art themselves. Descriptions of pieces can be as
long as they need to be and measurements etc. are exhaustive. I've loved everything I've bought.

As
a seller just starting out, I appreciate the ease of use of this site,
even for someone whose first keyboard was a manual typewriter! And, as
questions arise, the Etsy forums are a really fantastic source of information. Just reading them is so enlightening and the sense of a caring community is palpable. When I've had a question or was in need of commiseration, members have been quick (I'm talking seconds here) to respond with support, encouragement and old fashioned friendliness.

So, if you're looking for a break from Walmart and Amazon. check out Etsy! For yourself or as gifts. You won't be disappointed.

END OF RANT

I've just listed the Frog Prince bag as you can see. He's soooooo cute and was so much fun to make. My next listing will be the bag pictured above with detail of the needlefelting I did on it. Man, I love neelefelting. The wool sort of sculpts itself into such organically pleasing shapes!

I visited a local business and bought some balsam needles for stuffing embellished wet felted pillows with. It smells soooooooooo good. Like a walk in the Maine woods on a hot summer day, or like real Christmas trees used to smell, or like those little souvenir of Maine pillows they used to sell so you COULD take it with you.

Look for pix of these soon.

Off to snooze!