I started this blog in 2008 on TypePad, and moved to WordPress a few years after. It’s been 15 years, and my posts tapered off in 2016 and finally made the decision to shut it down.  Archiving my writing and reader’s comments has taken me on a trip through the past and I am filled with gratitude for those who took the time to respond to my posts, and who in many cases became friends and clients for my mosaic art.

From the A to Z Blog Challenge, to Margaret Mondays, Orange Tuesdays and Wordless Wednesdays, I feel fortunate that I could be part of a time period of blogging where people sought out others online, kept blogrolls, blog hops, blog lists and visited their favorites.

As a librarian, I have ambivalence about drawing to a close. The nature of the internet for many years seemed permanent, solid, and sites would always be there. TypePad shut down entirely in September 2025 and many other corners of the internet have vanished. Please search the Wayback Machine to retain some echo of this blog.*

The Piece Sign Mosaic reminds that I have said my piece. The individual posts are indeed pieces of a mosaic of writing. and I thank you for being part of it.

Please find me at my Nutmeg Designs site.

*The Wayback Machine is an initiative of the Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form.
Other projects include Open Library & archive-it.org.

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Texture from Latin textura “web, texture, structure,” from stem of texere “to weave”

Texture delights my hand as well as my hands. This mosaic was slow to start until I picked up the thread of texture in the glass and pieces that hadn’t found a place in other work seemed made for this. The etymology of texture connects it to weaving and although I’ve imagined mosaic as a kind of quilting, weaving is also apt.

In grade school, an artist came to show us how to make a simple wooden loom and weave with fibers in many textures: twisted strands, knobby yarns, and fluffy wool roving. I loved the process. A house fire when I was 18 damaged many possessions but this weaving was one that I missed the most. The main of it stayed with me though, the process of creating.

Find this is the Nutmeg Designs Etsy Shop.

The post Weaving in Blue Glass: Mosaic Texture to Catch the Light appeared first on Margaret Almon.

I participated in a color duo challenge organized by several illustrators. I wanted to make Log Cabin Pendants with my larger square bezels that had been languishing in the proverbial drawer since 2018. A list of color pairs was a way to start!The ones above are Pomegranate/Kelly Green, Lavender/Mulberry, Cerulean/Strawberry, Avocado/Pink Candy Floss and Carrot/Coffee.The whimsical color names were wonderful, once I got past wanting to know “official definitions.”

Check more Coloric Combos at the Nutmeg Designs Etsy Shop.

I also went to the 2021 Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza on an afternoon when it was mostly empty and enjoyed the quilt brilliance. Fiery really caught my eye, pieced by Kathy Dunkle, quilted by Cindy Carey, Dragonfly pattern by Ann Shaw.

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North Penn Holiday Craft Market is returning for the first time since November of 2019! I have been creating new work and if you are in Southeast PA, this is your opportunity to buy in person. The show is Saturday November 20th, 2021 from 9:30-4:30 at the North Penn High School, 1340 S Valley Forge Rd, Lansdale, PA, 19446. Admission is $6 and benefits the North Penn International Friendship Committee student exchange program.

Nutmeg Designs is usually in Booth 98, but if that changes, I will update. We look forward to seeing you.

The post 2021 North Penn Holiday Craft Market November 20, 2021 appeared first on Margaret Almon.

April 30th-May 3rd 20% of all our sales from the Nutmeg Designs Etsy Shop or online invoice are going to Manna to help feed hungry folks in our Lansdale area community.  I am restocking the Etsy Shop with new striped pendants, frames and Wayne is adding suncatchers.

We will have curbside pickup in Lansdale – we will contact you to set up a time after you make your order. Wayne is making strudel for our clients. If you can’t make it in person, we will be shipping free within the US.

We miss greeting people and helping them with their bags of groceries to donate, but we do have an online fundraiser if you want to donate directly. Every $5 donation gives you a chance at one of 3 Nutmeg Designs Gift Certificates for anything in the Etsy Shop. The drawing is May 4th, 2021.

The post New Crop of Colorful Striped Mosaic Pendants: Curbside Pickup in Lansdale April 30-May 3rd, 2021 appeared first on Margaret Almon.

This month,
Remember that joy is more
than just “staying positive.”
Joy is a way of living.
A way of looking for Light in the midst of it all.
Joy is transformational and contagious.
Joy can be shared through action. (Morgan Harper Nichols)

This commission has layers of creativity, and I was thrilled to see the finished piece! The client created the painting, with a vase from Turning True Studios, and a daffodil, the favorite flower of the recipient. I hadn’t made a frame for an original painting before, and it was an honor. The client wanted yellow and greens and for me to just “do my thing and enjoy.”

This was daunting at first, but focusing on the painting and responding to it guided me much better than listening to doubts. Joy being shared through action. There is much in 2020 to scatter focus, or to conversely hyperfocus. Uncertainty is painful for human beings.

More from Morgan Harper Nichols:

This month,
Even if it’s in a small way,
find freedom in letting go.
Dare to trust there is room for courage, surrender, and change,
no matter what is still unknown.

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I was the child who read all the time, and adult who sits a lot. Fortunately, Bowman argues movement and exercise are not the same thing, and any time you move an under-moved part of yourself, no matter how tiny, you nourish your cells. One to practice right now: looking into the distance, either out the window or on walks, because those eye muscles are seldom used when we spend time on computers, reading or inside. Fortunately, my studio has windows and looking away from my close up work refreshes me and my view of what I am creating!

The post Word of the Year 2020: Movement appeared first on Margaret Almon.

My next show will be Sunday, November 10th from 1-4. The  Browse & Brunch at the Women of Willow Grove Store, at the Willow Grove Mall is hosted by fashion designer Denise Shardlow.

Each month, during the holiday season, she invites a special guest and I am excited Nutmeg Designs is the guest in November.
Hope to see you!

• We’ll have light fare, mimosas and door prizes.
• Browse the Women of Willow Grove store filled with handcrafted items created by local artisans & entrepreneurs.
• Everything from art work to perfumes, bar soaps & shampoos, ceramics, pillows, handbags, candles, jewelry, dog treats, Jamaican jerk sauces and housewares
• Bring a friend and make an afternoon of it!

The event is free.

Find us on the 2nd floor, two doors down from Bloomingdale’s and across the way from the Banana Republic.

Willow Grove Park Mall
2500 West Moreland Road
2nd Floor Near Bloomingdales
Willow Grove, PA 19090

The post Browse and Brunch Sunday November 10th, 2019 at the Women of Willow Grove Store at the Willow Grove Mall appeared first on Margaret Almon.

Consider this question from Shawna Lemay, Is it possible, even, that the light of the world, carefully observed, enters us, enters our breathing, and even our souls?

With this Breathe sign, I discovered that my new lamp was not illuminating enough of my work table, focusing light in a small area, and creating glare in its path and shadows all around. Light is meant to be shared.

But even without the right lamp, the intersection of light and breath is still strong when the light catches the iridescence and the shimmer makes me happy.

Breathing in the light is a way to come into your own being, a reminder that you belong to yourself, to the light, that you exist in the light, and because of light. And once you have drawn it into you, and I’m talking about the real light you observe and are warmed by, as well as a more spiritual type of light, you are able to share this with those who are struggling, you can inspire others who might be inhabiting a darker, more shadowy place. (Shawna Lemay, Transactions with Beauty)

This Breathe went across the street to our neighbors this week. They have commissioned pieces over the years, starting with their house number when they were able to move back in after a fire. This was a classic Christmas story, where they both asked us to make a house number as a surprise gift.

Commission your Breathe

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Saturday May 18th 11-5
Sunday May 19th 12-5

Nutmeg Designs is celebrating the Fourth Annual Spring Open Studio: Open Heart with mosaics and stained glass for purchase, and a food drive for Manna on Main Street to feed the hungry. Here is a list of items needed at Manna.

Earn a chance to win a 3D Stained Glass Suncatcher for every five items of food. All food will be taken to Manna on Main Street Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen in Lansdale, PA. Last year we collected over 400 pounds of food from our amazing visitors!

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