Tiny glass seed beads embellish this freehand ribbon embroidery on felt.

The 77th Annual League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair runs August 7-15, 2010. That means I have 2 more months to embroider the 100+ felt hats I’ve made this winter.

One of my latest designs is this lovely pink flower embroidery, featuring a hand-cut caribou antler button with glass seed beads.

Simple & sweet. I can’t wait to see who scoops up this one…

Susan Houlihan of Anchor Point enjoys Alaskan winters with her CCM felt hat.

(Just before the holidays, I received this glowing testimonial from one of my very first customers. Thanks so much, Susan!)

My “Carrie Hat” kept me warm through my long walk in the ice fog. Luna wishes she had one for her whiskers and muzzle!

After 6 years, I still wear this hat every day, all winter long. And I still love it.

Happy Holidays!

-Susan Houlihan, Alpenglow Skincare

The first snowflakes of the year usher in Hat Season in New Hampshire.

Wishing you & yours all the warmth of the season… happy holidays!

Bidding on this fine felt beauty ends Sunday, December 6, 2009, at 7:09pm EST, so don’t wait… you could get a great deal on a great hat, all the while supporting a great public service.

Brrrr… winter’s coming! Don’t delay… bid today!

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!

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!