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!!

What's in My Head?

About a week ago I had a hissy fit about what path my life was taking. Lots of factors hinge on this subject... family, the house, my husband's career, the ages of our kids, the mess making dogs, the garden/yard, social life (or lack there of) and mostly: what will I do when our youngest is in school full time? (in a few years) This question produced many more questions and the tears flowed.

Since it was such a 'boiling point' moment, I decided to dump it all in my sketchbook. It felt SO GOOD to get it out. It ended up looking quite chaotic, (love that) I decided to put it on fabric. Will be doing more on this subject matter - it's serving as a kind of map for my life... past, present and future. This particular one is pretty much in the present moment.