Two-Illustrators Friday

My kids love the book, Pat The Bunny. Yesterday while reading through Leonard Marcus's book, The Golden Legacy, I found this picture of Nancy Kunhardt holding the knitted rabbit which inspired her mother Dorothy to write the book. I loved the little girl in her wooly snowy suit, holding her wooly rabbit. I am a bit nostalgic today about little girls and baby book , as my oldest, my first baby turns 22 tomorrow. Happy Birthday, Meera!

Illustrators Friday - One

A sketch from my week in Pine Mountain, California. A week of friendship, work, knitting, reading and the great outdoors!

Valentine Friday

My friend Nora gave me a wonderful pillow with read and white Hungarian embroidery. It's a prefect Valentine with all its flourishes. And so this happy little Friday Valentine is also a thank you to Nora for a great gift.

It's gray here today in Iowa. Looks like it will snow. Tomorrow I'll be heading to my friend Rosalie's house tucked up in the California mountains. Latest report-snow there, too. I can hardly wait. I'll be packing work for my new book (more about that in later posts), warm clothes, and of course, my knitting. I have a sweater almost finished and I think I'll pack that. Plane knitting will be socks or mittens, something small.

I just finished a pile of ten washcloths for this month's charitable knitting. Hope to drop them off before I leave.

Wherever you are, whatever the weather is, have a warm Valentines Day!

Freefall

I want to thank all of you who have stopped by to visit this blog-in-progress. As I stumble and learn, it's great to read your comments. I think I am really going to like blogging. Now on to my third post.

See that thoughtful woman in the garden. That's Anna Levine, author of Running on Eggs. And see the book on the table, that's Anna's new young adult novel, Freefall, a Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner for teen readers. Set in Israel, it's Aggie's book, too. She's the main character and we follow her through the tender terrain of the time right before her army service begins.

Freefall skillfully covers the usual romance and friendship parts of a Y/A novel, but what kept me reading, is how that plays out in an Israel under attack. Abby's deep, vulnerable, strong and always true. As is her story. And that's what makes Freefall a wonderful read.

Check out Running on Eggs, Anna's first book. You won't want to miss out on that story. And if there are younger kids in your life, picture book age, look for Anna's other new book, Jodie's Hanukkah Dig.

for more information on Anna Levine and her books, go to http://freefallthenovel.com/

Spelling errors,Mrs. Fennessy and Illustration Friday.

Friday

2-6-09

I'm just getting the hang of blogging, and have learned my first big lesson. I should have paid more attention to Mrs. McGraw. My good friend, Vicki, wrote me this morning with a small list of my spelling and grammar errors. Please forgive me, I will try to do better.

I promised to post the Mrs. Fennessy image. So there she is. I haven't quite gotten the hang of how to place the illustrations, so she's the lady at the top of the post. The one with the orthopedic shoes.

My new Lion Brand essay is up, Valentines For All. And shortly, I posted my Friday illustration on
Old Sneakers, a group blog. http://oldsneakers.blogspot.com/

First Post

February 5, 2009

Greetings from Iowa City, Iowa. This first blog entry is done from my very cold studio on a sunny winter's day.

How are you? Fine, I hope. That's how I learned to write a friendly letter. From Mrs. McGraw, my seventh grade teacher at School 18. She was tall, white haired, large chested woman. When she wrote at the blackboard, she always kept one had behind her back. She was the model for Mrs. Fennessy (my 4th grade teacher) in my Jackson Friends Books. And as hard as I have tried to upload an image of her. Can't quite bridge the technology gap. So if you are dying to see Mrs. Fennessy/McGraw, scoot down to the next post.

For knitting readers; FYI. I have just finished my Valentines Day essay for Lion Brand. It should run in Friday's newsletter.

So long for now.