Curious to see the mayhem behind the felting magic?

Felt hats line the walls of my home fiber studio in Canaan, NH

Come visit my home fiber studio at 693 Canaan Street, in beautiful historic Canaan, New Hampshire this weekend!

Hours:

9am – 3pm Saturday, November 7
10am – 5pm Sunday, November 8, 2009.

See how my hats are made, and custom design your own embroidery to match your favorite winter coat.

Andy's gorgeous shaker-style cherry cabinets for our 1840's kitchen renovation.

I’ll have some warm apple cider on the stove, and we can talk gardens, too, as well as admire the new cherry cabinets Andy made for our kitchen remodel (gorgeous, eh?).

For printable maps & more information about other artists in the Dartmouth area, visit the NH Open Doors website.

I hope you can visit!

For as long as I’ve been making and selling my warm felt hats, I’ve been asking Happy Hat Folks to send me photos in their hats.

Denali Park Ranger, Carmen Adamyk wears her felt hat on mushing patrol at Wonder Lake, Alaska, March 2008

The idea was that I’d post your photos to the Fan Club section of this site, so that others could see how great these hats look on all sorts of people.

The only glitch: I’m sometimes glacially slow to post the lovely photos I’ve received.

No more! Now you can upload photos directly to the Facebook Fan Page for my felt hats.

How about it? Do you have a fun photo of yourself wearing your CCM felt hat?

I’d be delighted if you’d be willing share it!

Felt Hat Demonstration at Sandwich Home Industries, October 2008.

For the past several years, I’ve had the pleasure of demonstrating how to make embroidered felt hats from oversized hand knits at one of the oldest craft galleries in the country.

Located in bucolic Center Sandwich, New Hampshire, Sandwich Home Industries is a flagship gallery of one of the country’s oldest crafts organizations, the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen.

Peak Fall Colors Along the Middle Sister Trail, Mt. Chocorua, NH, October 2008.

This year, as last, we timed my visit to coincide with the Sandwich Fair, and possibly a nice hike up nearby Mount Chocorua.

Unfortunately, this year I was diagnosed my first-ever case of pneumonia just days before the demonstration.

So, I apologize for the last-minute cancellation.

Embroidery Demonstration on Llama & Wool Felt Hats, Center Sandwich, NH, 2007.

But I hope to see you for a felt hat embroidery demonstration in Center Sandwich next year!

(If you can’t wait that long, consider a visit to my home studio in Canaan, NH during the Veteran’s Day NH Open Doors Event 2009.)

A felt hat is the perfect accessory for exploring the rainy ruins of Achill Island, Ireland.

Apparently, yesterday was Felt Hat Day… who knew?

(FYI: Two days ago was Cream-filled Doughnut Day, while today is Collect Rocks Day.)

I hope yours was happy… I spent the better part of the day signing myself up for a Twitter account: @CCMFeltHats, if you like to tweet!

Miniature bud vases by 3rd generation American Glass Artist, Nicholas Kekic of Tsuga Studios

My Blog Triage classmate, Jackie Jacobson recently wrote about glass artists she knows from the Pacific Northwest.

Which got me thinking about some of my favorite League of New Hampshire Craftsmen glass artists:

Hand-blown Spring Tree wine goblets by American glass artist Jordana Korsen.

There’s Jordana Korsen and her fantastic tree goblets. There’s Nathan Macomber’s beautiful sculptural work, Philip Jacobs’ amazing blown glass lampshades, and Harry Bessett’s wonderful stemless wineglasses.

But my latest favorite is Nicholas Kekic, maker of gorgeous, luminous vases, each exquisitely shaped.

Nick Kekik's frosted hand-blown glass vases add so much joy to our 1840's dining room.

Do you have a favorite glass artist? Do tell… I’m always looking for functional fine art to grace our old home.

New freehand embroidery, with variegated french knots in wool on felt.

If you didn’t get a chance to visit me at this year’s League of NH Craftsmen’s Fair, you missed seeing my latest design: Mandala of French Knots.

According to Wikipedia:

“Mandala [...] translates as ‘circle-circumference’ or ‘completion’ [...]
a concentric diagram having spiritual and ritual significance in both Buddhism and Hinduism.”

That makes sense to me. I’ve been thinking a lot about Mom. And the circle of one year of grieving was completing just as this design was born.

Cool tones on black was the first incarnation of the new Mandala embroidery.

Plus, it’s summer, my garden is booming and broccoli reminds me of french knots!

On Monday, I head back to my day job, checking id’s at Dartmouth’s Alumni Gym.

Checking id's at Dartmouth's Alumni Gym while Embroidering Hats

I love my job! Not only do I get to enjoy all the energy of a vibrant, Ivy League campus, but I get to make my warm, felt hats at the same time.

And for the next 4 weeks, I’ll be part of the online Blog Triage Class led by art business guru, Alyson Stanfield and creativity coach, Cynthia Morris.

My first assignment: determine who reads this blog.

I hope that this site is useful for my friends, family and hat collectors, who want to know more about my hats, how they are made, and what inspires me.

I also imagine that other fiber artists stop by on their search for embroidery inspiration and tips.

And I hope that the occasional hockey nut (who gets here looking for CCM brand hockey gear) is amused at the intersection of my passions for fiber art and hockey.

Knitting hats between hockey games, Healy, Alaska, 2003.

Am I close? Who are you, really, Gentle Reader?

Feel free to introduce yourself by leaving a comment. I’d love to get to know you better!

Fantastic weather combined with fantastic people made this year’s League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair at Mt. Sunapee a real treat!

Julie & Dorothy Model the Hats That Chose Them

So many happy hat folks stopped by to say hello and tell me how much they love their hats…

Thank you! I’m grateful that my art-to-wear hats are out there in the world, making lives warmer and brighter.

(Couldn’t make it this year? The LNHC Fair starts the first Saturday in August every year. Mark your calendars for August 7 – 15, 2010!)

It’s been a year and a day since my Mom passed away.

Sharon Lee Cahill's First Alaskan Adventure -- Dry Creek, Alaska, August 1998.

Grief eases with time, but I do miss her. She was a very funny lady.

With just 5 days until the start of the 76th Annual League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair at Mt. Sunapee, I’ve been embroidering felt hats as fast as I can.

Hand-cut caribou antler button, seed beads and ribbon embroidery on felt.

I love the over-sized caribou antler buttons on this hat (2008 #124)…

I’ll be in Tent 7, Booth 713 for all nine days of the Fair, with as much new work as I can muster!