Peace in the New Year!

Another year's almost here... to unfold and live, live, live!

A prayer for peace in the new year... albeit crooked - but a good prayer all the same!

Blue sky and snowy pines... we had very low temperatures today but lots of sunshine, but we couldn't convince the kids the snow was not going to melt. :)

Bonfire of the Fish Spirits... the painting part is done, I've been writing all over it for most of the day. This one is my favorite so far - it's very personal.

Happy, happy new year to one and all. Thank you for visiting and reading my blog... I hope the new year brings you goodness and happy surprises around every corner.

Knightley Come Home...

That's me petting Mr. Darcy just now as night is falling.

Here's a short but very sad story...The day after Christmas, the corgis were out in the yard. Somehow the gate was ajar (the power meter man?) and they got out. Mr. Darcy came right to the front door and sat there until someone noticed he was out! (they NEVER get out)... but, sadly, Mr. Knightley ran off and was nowhere to be found. My husband and I took turns driving around, calling out his name and searching for him until about 10 pm. He probably got out around 6:45pm and we didn't know they were out til about 7:30pm - so, he could have gone quite far in that time. We are so heartbroken about this, and so is Mr. Darcy. (he is the older brother). After visiting shelters, putting up flyers and ads in the paper and online... the only thing we can do is hope.

Here is Prudence Fat Cat holding my yummy, soft fuzzy scarf in progress. It is the frothiest yarn I've found. (sorry, will have to find the tag to tell what brand it is.) We are in the middle of a big snow storm and are expecting up to 12 inches. We just came in from shoveling. Brrrr it is cold!!

Celebrate the Solstice!

We are getting ready for Christmas at our house... and taking in all the sights around town. The Christmas lights are at the Geyser Conservatory at Manito Gardens - an annual must see if you are near Spokane. This year they were handing out free banana splits to eat inside! We have plenty of snow - it's clear and cold. Should be good viewing of the LUNAR ECLIPSE tonight! (we are so excited to see this - and the fact it's on winter solstice makes it all the more magical).

Last night was the school Santa story time event where the school logo Christmas ornaments I made were sold... next year we'll have to start selling them around black Friday! But, we did sell a lot and it all goes to the school. Glad to be done with that project... it was a bigger one than I had imagined - but well worth it :)

The cinnamon buns are my first attempt... I'm so excited to have made a successful batch. We'll be eating them on Christmas morning. (fresh, of course:) Just a little more wrapping to do - in secret, some baking and we'll be all set. The girls in the family are making homemade lip gloss for the first time (we have some serious lip gloss users around here) just as soon as the mail man brings us the little tins! Tonight we're having a Solstice party with a big fire, pizza and chocolate chip cookie dough pie. Yum.

Have a great day and enjoy... whatever you are celebrating :)

Meet Lilly-Belle

Here is the finished Waldorf doll I made back in October... but I never shared her with you all. She was made to look like my daughter... with purple sparkles in her hair to boot! (Our baby girl would have the same hair if she could.)

I'm hoping to make lots more of these wonderful dollies. They are a joy to make. My next one will be to make one just like my son.

Bonfire of the Fish Spirits

A little glimpse into one of the latest art quilt drawings. The location of this one is inspired by my hometown. I hadn't planned the drawing this way, but changed my mind... it began to morph into (yet again) something about the seashore, coast, water etc. It's one of the many to be in the gallery show this March. I'm definitely feeling the pressure of a deadline! Happy Wednesday, y'all.

Air Pen Doodles

I ripped up an old, soft sheet and used it for 'scrap paper' - I mean fabric :)

The brown is an old dinner napkin - tan is linen

Playing around with scraps of fabric ... I decided to fire up the air pen and do a little practice. I discovered I could draw a border and sew it on my experimental quilt I've been making. (maybe a post coming on that later in the week) Ooh, what if I did some border drawings on ribbon?? That would be fun... might have to try it.

It's starting to snow again - tons of icicles hanging off the house and a cold and powdery winter wonderland out our windows. Time to get painting! What do you do when it snows?

Gobble- Gobble!

Our son's sign he put at the head of the Thanksgiving table. I love how young minds think!

By our baby girl

Snow and more coming tonight... well, all weekend.

A glimpse of my latest WIP 'art quilt' - this one is on 84" wide fabric... my largest piece yet. There's still a lot to do - I'm adding the background hopefully on Monday.

I hope you all are enjoying a wonderful feasting day of good food, good company and good cheer! We had a lovely one with family today at our house. It was a great time and fun to break out all the china and crystal...my mom did all the cooking and brought it over here. Since I'm a vegetarian, my peeps are still worried I'll make another Tofurky like I did one year. :) They all had one word for me, CARDBOARD!

Whew! It's been way too long being offline... we finally got some computer stuff sorted out and are back online this evening. It's been bitter cold with temps in the single digits and even -10F. I had bad karma on Monday when 2 different cars hit my parked car while taking our kids to school. :( We just had it fixed this spring after being hit (rental car for 18 days!) and a major overhaul when the car died as soon as we reached Portland. (PS this is a newer SUV, not an old clunker!) We're thinking this car is jinxed... and after it's fixed, maybe selling it.

I'm off the warm up in front of the fire and chill with the corgis and everyone... goodnight.

Black Friday Ornaments

Well, they're not really that 'Black Friday' since they are going in a gallery with other artist made ornaments. It's a Christmas show I've participated in for years now and becoming quite a tradition. This year's ornaments are based on memories of a pair of socks I had as a kid or maybe the trim on a coat I had... probably a bit of both. (They were the folksy kind with stripes, hearts, German/alpine inspired... maybe with couples and children holding hands - and lots of busy borders) If you grew up in the 1970s this may ring a bell. Those motifs had a huge impact on me!

Anyway, I carved my calligraphy( in Mastercarve this time- easier than wood for lettering) and printed on wool felt. Then the beading and embellishing - love doing that! I think they're fun and different... it's good to do something different each year.

The bottom photo is a scarf I finally finished last night while waiting at my daughter's ballet class. Can't wait to test it out - I think snow may be coming in about a week or so. Happy hump day! (and Happy Birthday, Mom! :)

My Little Blue Stink Pot

Just a bit of show and tell today... I made this for my hubby on the occasion of a milestone birthday. It is a place to put all those icky, bad thoughts and feelings. The writing on the sides gives directions on how to use... so, for good karma, place all the yuck from your day inside and be rid of it for good! :) (hope it works)

PS our son painted the inside of the lid - I thought it was a tree but it's actually a drippy happy face. Have a great weekend!!

Halloween and Fabric Painting

Our Halloween was grand... and here are a few masterpieces that father and son carved while the girls were out. Nice job, don't you think?!

I painted fabric for a shower curtain and 'sink skirt' for my bathroom. It's quite a small room and in need of a change. The design is loosely based on a 1950's textile from the Victoria and Albert Museum. I'm happy with the way it turned out! Now if only I could give the room a fresh coat of paint in a nice, warm toast color.

Just to let y'all know, my daughter spilled something on my laptop keyboard and now it is kaput. Hopefully, I can get it repaired but until then, I can only blog and post comments when I'm borrowing a friend's computer! ARG! Maybe I could saran wrap the keyboard... if it's even salvageable. I'm trying not to brood about it. Happy hump day.

Drawing and Weaving...

Foxglove with stones

Old Letterpress

I'm an avid reader of the wonderful blog, Spiritcloth by Jude Hill. She's so innovative and creative in her approach to fabrics, quilts and often includes water elements her work as

she lives close to the beach on Long Island Sound. Also she embroiders little lions and beasts on the quilts - they have a charm all their own. Anyway, I just had to try one of her methods... cloth weaving (which equals a perfect checkerboard). Not sure where this is going but it will tell me over time.

Here are two more unfinished ink drawings with gouache. I love to draw old machines of any kind. The dark iron, wheels, and 'innards' are a never ending fascination of mine. We're off to rake leaves in the sunshine... have a great weekend!

Beach Drawings

Getting there... but still in progress (above)

Here are a few new ink drawings I've been working on... finally developed some photographs from our trip to Cannon Beach, OR this past summer. Don't know what it is about that town but, I'm very inspired by it. Probably because I was raised in a small, beachy town... it's what you know first that sticks with you. (from what I hear anyway).

Today I opened up my birthday gift from hubby (it was mail order) and used it... an air pen. It's a fabulous little device which allows me to write with paint on fabric. I've been writing with it today and will show and tell as soon as I get a little better at it. (you control the air pressure with your index writing finger - which takes some getting used to!)

Waldorf Doll Making Class

I experienced a lovely rare treat this past weekend... I went to a doll making workshop! It was so much fun, I've been wanting to learn how to make these dolls for the longest time but could never master that unusual head. Now, the code has been cracked :)

Not only was the class wonderful but the women there were such a fun group of earthy, humorous and full of knowledge. We had a yummy potluck, shared food and stories around a kid's table (it was held at a Waldorf school) most of the grub was vegetarian too! I crave this kind of community.

The next class is going to be mermaids and faeries. I'm there!

Pumpkins and Needles...

Autumn welcome...

Here are a few sweet little felted animals I've been taking a stab at... (sorry, couldn't resist!) They are so much fun to make, I had no idea. Will be making more little sets of animals in the coming weeks.

Happy Wednesday! (It's also my birthday - and the weather is beautiful - all the leaves turning with tons of sunshine. Couldn't ask for better :)

My mom took me and 'baby girl' out for lunch today and tonight... hubby is taking us all out to my fave place. It's so very nice to be wined and dined on your birthday!!