Dale A. Carlisle Decoys June Erla Mrs. Fogg's Kitchen JoJo Beads KRT Woodworking Crafts by Pat Masone Joe Watts’ Burled Bowls Crafts by Pat Masone By Laura Jean Whitcomb The woods angel is dressed in denim. She has twig wings and a bird in a nest on her head. The matching woodsman Santa is carrying a burlap sack of greens on his back. His beard and coat look like snow. These are the Northwoods series heartwarmers that Grantham resident Pat Masone created for 2006. She draws inspiration from nature and from simple materials, such as muslin, to craft ornaments and decorations for the holidays. “You can give three people the same material and get three very different things,” says Pat. “I like the challenge of taking a lowly bolt of muslin, pretty basic stuff, and seeing how I can use it.” Pat is usually up before dawn — at 4 or 5 a.m. — crafting away in her second floor studio. She’s been creating since she was a child living in Maine. “We were poor and we didn’t know it,” she says. “If you wanted something, you made it.” Pat made corn cob dolls and a Chinese checker board with her dad. She continued making things for her children, and her grandchildren. Soon people began to ask if they could buy one of her handcrafted ornaments or hand sewn muslin decorations. “Never did I think that anyone would want to buy them,” says Pat. One of the first things she sold was a rock frog — stones painted green and glued together with silicone. She made “old world” Santas, each with their own personality, out of clay and muslin coated with gesso (a primer for painting). And she started to attend select craft shows, such as the Warner Fall Foliage Festival. Soon her work was seen on Good Morning America’s home show as well as on a weekly “Aleen’s Creative Living with Crafts” show. Whenever possible, Pat tries to use what she has. The clay Santas each have a key tucked in a pocket or tied to their outfit. “My dad left a cigar box of old keys. I had to use them in some way. Now they are part of the Santas or fairy sages, who have a key to open the secrets of the world,” she says The heartwarmers, her best sellers, are made out of muslin, covered in gesso, then whimsically painted for fall (a scarecrow) or winter (Santa or a snowman). The pioneer dolls, called “Roughing It Dolls,” are decorated for summer, fall, winter and spring. The skirt of the winter doll is decorated with a plate of gingerbread cookies, snowflakes, a few jingle bells, a sled and a pine tree. Each doll has an inspirational word on the skirt; winter’s word is “friend.” It’s Pat’s attention to detail that makes each ornament special. “For the dolls, I’ll get everything ready, then dress them later,” she says. “Then I’ll add decorations a little at a time.” Looking at just the materials alone, it seems that Pat’s pricing is a bit low. She goes through 50 yards a year of muslin alone. Add in her time and thoughtfulness, and you wonder how she can keep herself in crafts. But, for Pat, it’s a labor of love. “Some things you do for love, some things you do for money,” she says. “I’m happy when I’m upstairs. Four hours can go by and it is like a ½ hour.” Pat’s crafts range in price from $8.50 to $50, and can be found at Artisan’s Workshop in New London.