Roadside Landscapes

Here are a few unfinished roadside landscapes. These are on a few left over pieces of Shina wood. (for woodcuts - about 3x3" and 4x4"). I'm hoping to get some wood cut at the hardware store to do more - maybe not quite this small. Stay tuned I'll be working on more :)

A Little Blouse...

I'm jumping into the deep end, attempting to make this little blouse for my daughter. Don't laugh

but I'm sewing it all by hand... because I don't know what I'm doing. Not using a machine helps me chill out. It's going OK but some of the directions are confusing. It's so much fun making something little, tiny and cute!

The Next Quilt...

Here's the next quilt I want to make... it has some great fabrics with interesting textures. Rarely do I use a *pattern (like to listen to my own 'drummer') but this one drew me in with the folk art style and colors. I have copied all the patterns out of the book but won't be starting 'til the other (pink and brown) is finished. Quilting is so fun and no stress... there's a decadent quality to it because it's not for anyone but me and my family to enjoy. Have a great Monday!

*Pattern by Folk Heart Threads from Need'l Love. Visit their web site here.

Come Together

Even though I just posted about this quilt... I thought I'd show progress. I've been assembling it and it's coming together pretty fast. That is the part of quilting that's so addicting -when it's starting to look finished. (All the cutting, piecing and hand sewing goes so very slow. Kind of like the beginning of a long road trip, but then, suddenly you turn a corner and you've almost arrived!) There's still the border to do. It's a very meditative, calming process that's been a part of me since I was about 9 or 10 years old. We'll be going to Seattle this month and there will be a mandatory trip to Ikea ('cos I said so :)... hopefully they'll have something for the backing of the quilt.

In the coming days, I'll try to show some new things that are getting started.

Painted Lilly

Here's the Lilly and the Daisy triptych all painted. I also did a blue version that's hanging in the * Ruby Slipper right now along with the rest of the Winter Seedlings show. The opening was on Friday and went pretty well. It was quite slow, though because of Spokane's annual art fair, Artfest starting the same day. But, I'm glad the show is up. An old friend called me out of the blue after seeing the show which was a silver lining. :)

*click and see the shop (although you can't see the show). If you click on handbags you can see some of my purses!

The Bay Bridge and a Quilt

That's what's on my mind lately... above is the pink chocolates quilt I made... I took it apart and laid all the blocks on the bed to see what to do next. (there was just too much brown - which made it too dark and geometric. So, I'm adding several pink print borders around each square... hand sewn of course!)

Our anniversary is coming up this month and in the flurry of painting last month, the idea came of doing a portrait of 'us' as a gift to my hubby. That's us up there in SF, shortly after we were engaged. I painted over another painting since I was too lazy to build a fresh canvas for this one. Only one problem... it's 28 x 36". Do you think I'll get it done by June 8th?! :) Happy Monday.