Bike Path (going north)

Posted on June 6, 2010 by Salley Mavor

West Falmouth salt marsh

To counteract my sedentary activity of sewing, I ride my bike along the Shining Sea bike path everyday. Early morning is best, when the air is cool, the path is less crowded, and the light is good for photography.

West Falmouth brackish stream

I live near an entrance to the path, in the middle of its 12 mile length from Woods Hole to North Falmouth. Some mornings I go south, along Vineyard Sound (see this post) and other days I head north through West Falmouth on the Buzzard’s Bay side of town.

West Falmouth

Going north is a different experience, with salt marshes and brackish ponds and streams. Just out of sight are beaches along the coast of Buzzard’s Bay.

West Falmouth pond

The landscape changes rapidly from open marshes to woods with tall trees. Here’s the back of Bourne Farm, looking toward the barn. I find this biking ritual good for my body, mind and spirit.

Bourne Farm, W. Falmouth

Woods Hole in May (land and sea)

Posted on May 30, 2010 by Salley Mavor

view of Great Harbor from Woods Hole Yacht Club

This weekend, we went out in our motor boat and took an early evening tour of the local area. We left Great Harbor in Woods Hole and cruised through Woods Hole Passage to Hadley’s Harbor on Naushon Island.

Bull Island, Naushon Is.

Boat House on Hadley's Harbor, Naushon Is.

Some summer people are starting to arrive, but it’s still quiet. It’s still too cold to go swimming! We cruised along the shore of Buzzard’s Bay.

Penzance Point, Woods Hole from Buzzard's Bay

We came back to the Woods Hole Yacht Club. In a month, the dinghy lines will all be full.

Woods Hole Yacht Club

Across the street from the yacht club are some great houses on Bar Neck Rd.

house on Bar Neck Rd., Woods Hole

My family rented this house with the red door, when I was about 6 years old.

Bar Neck Rd., Woods Hole

The Woods Hole May Festival, which my mother started about 40 years ago, was on Saturday at the ball park. It’s a chance for the year ’rounders to come out of hibernation and socialize. Here’s my cousin showing his ’38 John Deere tractor, which he and his father put together from old parts.

'38 John Deere

And there’s always a May Pole dance with live music. Summer has almost begun!

May Pole at Woods Hole May Festival

Early morning bike ride

Posted on May 22, 2010 by Salley Mavor

7:00 am on the bike path looking toward Martha's Vineyard Island

I went for an early morning ride on the bike path Friday morning. Honeysuckle perfumed the air as I rode towards Woods Hole. Everything was still, without the usual strong off-shore breeze and I could tell that this was going to be the most beautiful day.

Looking across Vineyard Sound

The Rosa Rugosa are just starting to bloom along the bike path, which travels along the shore on the old train track right of way. Trains used to go from New York and Boston to the dock in Woods Hole, where people could board the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard.

Woods Hole's tricentennial t-shirt design, 1979

Here’s a drawing I made for Woods Hole’s tricentennial t-shirt in 1979, which shows the train on the ferry pier. It’s based on a map from the 1800’s.

detail of Woods Hole Train Station

Rosa Rugosa growing on the edge of the beach

Rosa Rugosa

Across Vineyard Sound there was a clear view of Martha’s Vineyard Island, which is 3 miles away. After the morning excercise, I felt I could go inside and sit and stitch for a few hours.

View of Nobska Point, Woods Hole

dolls’ new home in Australia

Posted on May 18, 2010 by Salley Mavor

Lucinda Hooper sent me these photos of some Ltd. edition dolls which I sent to her in Australia. It’s fun to see Dahlia and Bud & Ivy settled in their new home on the other side of the world.

Dahlia, Bud & Ivy with Mimi Kirchner’s tiny world pin cushion

The dolls feel at home with Mimi Kirchner’s tiny world pin cushion, which also found its way from Massachusetts to Australia. See more of her pin cushions in an earlier post here. Thank you for sharing these pictures, Lucinda!

Dahlia sitting by a river in Australia

Bud & Ivy with a “river stone” cottage made by Lucinda’s Mum

Faux Tiles

Posted on May 7, 2010 by Salley Mavor

When we built our house almost 20 years ago, I wanted to have a tile splash board behind the kitchen counters. The plan was to make my own hand painted tiles.

My friend Yvette showed me how to apply glazes onto unfired clay tiles. The tiles were fired in a kiln at the artisan tile business where she worked.

I made drawings and planned out a series of tiles that would create a panoramic landscape, decorated with animals and an occasional dish or basket of food. After a few test firings, I could see that the learning curve was too steep for me. The glazes were one color when you paint them and another when they are finished firing. The process was more involved than I had thought. The quality of my tests were not good and it would take a lot of practice to get the tiles to look the way I wanted.

Even though I really wanted to use ceramic tiles, I decided to make “faux tiles” instead. I ended up painting Masonite with acrylic paint and coating it with polyurethane.

I had fun trying to make them look like tiles, adding blue borders, with space between each painted square. With a jig saw, I cut out openings for the electric outlets. When people see our kitchen, they see a row of tiles, not paint on Masonite. The panel has held up well over the years and can be easily washed. I plan in making more for another area in the kitchen when we do some renovations.

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Close-ups (mushrooms)

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Salley Mavor

Ah, the fascination of mushrooms, with their bizarre, alien quality. This group includes some real mushrooms I found and used as props and some I made. The first photgraph is of some mushroom houses that I made for a scene that was used in an educational reader illustration in 1979. To see more mushroom houses and read about the story in another post go here.

mushroom houses, 1979

Skip ahead 20 years to this photograph, which shows some of the first Blossom Fairies that I offered as kits in 1999.

Blossom Fairies on a mushroom, 1999

This is a pair of wee folk sitting in a cluster of mushrooms that were growing so fast that I had to run home and get my camera before they changed shape.

Wee Folk under mushroom, 2002

I molded the next mushroom from clay, glued kid leather on top and painted the leather red. For the photo shoot, I put some drops of glycerine on the mushroom to look like rain.

mushroom made from kid leather, 2005

This last one is from my up-coming book, Pocketful of Posies (Sept. 2010).

detail from "Pocketful of Posies" 2010

Note: See other posts in the Close-ups series archive here.

Fairie Festival (masks)

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Salley Mavor

Fairies and other fanciful creatures come to Spoutwood Farm in Pennsylvania every spring. The 19th annual May Day Fairie Festival will be from April 30 to May 2nd this year. Wee Folk Studio was a vendor at the festival for a few years, when we sold fairy kits. One of the highlights of the weekend is seeing the costumes that people have made to wear at the event. If you live anywhere within driving distance of southern Pennsylvania, go to this fair! You will feel out-of-place unless you wear a costume or at least something celebratory. We have a lot of pictures, so in the future, I’ll be posting more photos from past festivals. These masks are made by Mythical Designs.

Here are some gorgeous green men who came by our tent in 2005. Their incredible leather masks are made by Fantasy Guild Studios, which will have a booth at the Fairie Festival this year.

Milkweed Pods

Posted on December 27, 2009 by Salley Mavor

The pods are light and almost have the texture of handmade paper. They open up in the fall, bursting with the most delicate, downy seeds and their boat-like shape and small size make a fitting bed for a little person.

This sleeping girl nestled in her milkweed bed is in my board book, Wee Willie Winkie.

For more ideas on wee doll bedding, visit my post about walnut shells here.

Snowy Monday

Posted on December 21, 2009 by Salley Mavor

We drove around town this morning, marveling at the snowy scenery, which made everything look like a Christmas card. Here are some photos of Falmouth and Woods Hole.

Falmouth Historical Society

Nobska Lighthouse, Woods Hole

Nobska Beach, Woods Hole

house on Falmouth Village Green

Crowell House, Woods Hole

bed & breakfast, Falmouth

Block Island Retreat

Posted on December 6, 2009 by Salley Mavor

A few weeks ago, some friends, my husband and I visited Block Island for the first time.

The ferry we took from Point Judith, Rhode Island was practically empty this time of year. We were struck by the pastoral beauty and quiet calmness of the island, especially now, in the off-season. In the busy summer season, the island population grows from 1,000 to 15,000. We are thinking of going again next summer, but will travel in our own boat from Woods Hole across Buzzard’s Bay. This selection of photos were taken by our friend, Keith von der Heydt.