Felted Pot Of Plants

This is another of my felted and embroidered pieces. Enjoyment, pure and simple is what this type of work brings me plus I get to use some of the embroidery stitches I learned as a child.I really have not done much with embroidery since I switched to needlepoint in college. I always do my own designs and think of them as extensions of my drawing and paintings. This is once again all wool.


On another note, the house is quiet with Jacob returning to school - now in 8th grade! Time flies!

Happy Anniversary!

Sixteen years has flown by and today we are celebrating our wedding anniversary. These are the lovely flowers Phil gave me for this 16th year. He chose the flowers himself in all the colors he knew that I would like. Fiery oranges and corals, buttery yellows. orchid pinks, fuschia reds and green. I think they are exquisite and such a treat and absolute delight, to have fresh flowers on my desk at the shop.

This is the little card from Jacob he made for our anniversary. It was part of a treasure hunt of " clues " he created to lead us to a dance in the living room and a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast.

Busy, Busy Bustling Hustling Girl

I have been on an around the clock busy schedule these days with working in the shop 4 or five days at a time and then hopping into the studio to create inventory and then wrapping up the day in the office placing orders and doing bookwork. I am reminding myself to breathe, to move at a slower more leisurely pace but as summer winds down and turns into the fall' s stretch of quiet creative afternoons, I am thankful that I still love what I do.

This picture is from another blog and I had to re post it; I just love sunflowers!


I am calling this piece done. I can not think of one more stitch or swatch or embellishment that I want to add. I will take it to the frame shop tomorrow on my way to work. The round wool shapes make me think of balloons and the whole village, plants and water scene makes me happy. I forget sometimes how much I enjoy stitching and embroidering. As long as my fingers let me, I will keep at it. I like these fabric pictures and I already have the next design circulating or percolating in my head.

What I've Been Doing

I have been drawing and feeling creativity return the last couple of days as the temperatures cool and I can breathe again. Fall feels like it is in the air and I am rejoicing that a change of season is coming.


This drawing is a sunflower. I love drawing them with their long orange- yellow sloop-y leaves and their rumply brown velvet centers.













This is a piece where I let my mind wander while watching television and drew as an after thought just to see where the adventure took me. I think it is rather like a flowering globe with a river of butter running through it.








This is piece of freeform embroidery and other stitch work done on wool felt. I do not draw a sketch of what I am going to do prior to just sitting down and beginning. No drawing on the felt either, I just start cutting pieces out. It's a bit like an out of body experience as I never know where I will be led.

I am glad for the cooler temperatures we are having today and it was exceptionally pleasant to wake up to rain! Delicious, inspiring, lovely rain! I know everyone is supposed to love summer but for me, I just want to get through the hot days of August when everything is the same shade of dried up across the landscape and I just long to breathe in moisture laden air.Fall is around the corner and I can hardly wait.

An Old Picture - Well Not That Old!

This picture was forwarded on to me by my son who is currently visiting his half sister Paula and her family in Utah. It was taken on a winter's day long ago when Jacob was so much a baby and his niece Emily, was even younger than he was. We were all so young then, beginning our lives as family and friends. My hair was dark, my glasses big and there are genuine, heartfelt smiles on our faces. There is love there and hope and dreams and wishes for the future. It was a good reminder to see today!





There is Eric ( Phil's son ) and his wife Heather, Paula and her husband Nathan, Emily, Jacob, Phil, Michael, my oldest son when he was still in high school, Ashley, Eric's daughter still a pre-teen, and me. What a crew! What a memory!

Too Hot!

It has been so unusually hot here that I have alternated between being super drowsy and napping to be drowned in sweat! I am not a pretty sweat-er and it has made me very unmotivated. Even my little front porch frog has been wilted with the heat!

I promise more blog entries are coming on the scene soon. I feel my mojo coming back now that cooler temps are being forecast!

Easy on Sunday

Dabbling in the studio, finishing this little drawing and taking Jake out for a cheeseburger and apple pie, this Sunday was mellow and relaxing. The weather was cool and gray, the day moved slowly, taking its own sweet time to feel accomplished. I like a day, especially on a Sunday when I can find a moment to slow down, talk to Jake, finish little things like sewing on lost buttons, pulling a weed or two, petting all the dogs, even having Zip for a visit. Sweet.


A relaxing day in the studio, I did not do anything too thought provoking or challenging but just concentrated on making a few things to fill in my empty cases in the shop. These are Sleeping Beauty turquoise from Arizona that I strung up, one with red coral. I came across them in the warehouse today while pulling inventory for the next couple of shows. The color is dramatically blue, a color that races across the sky to fill it in with beauty. I know, the picture looks green but it is just the lighting. This turquoise is magic, I promise.



I missed posting for self portrait Friday so I am adding this photo of myself. I am not sure what happened when I took the picture; maybe I was shaking or I moved but I love that it looks like I have stars in my eyes. I always want to think of myself as someone who could and does have stars in her eyes.

Bird is the Word

The latest drawing in my traveling sketchbook. I seem to have this thing for birds.... even though this one looks more like a Pennsylvania Dutch distlelfink bird. Now that is a word!

Not Much Ado About Anything!

I have a passion for indigenous folk arts from around the world. I love the idea of people decorating the common everyday objects and items they use in their daily lives. I have studied and painted folk art for just about 30 years. I can paint almost anything in just about any country's style of folk art from flowers to pastoral scenes, from faux chinese painting to russian florals.

So now I have an equal fascination with folk arts made from found, used or trash items. This sun, currently adorning the outside wall of my studio, is from Haiti. It is made from a used oil barrel. The Haitians fill a barrel with newspaper, light it on fire to burn out the residual oil, then remove the bottom, cut up the side and begin designing. Their images are usually of nature, sun, birds, flowers, plants or of people; angels, mermaids, children.

I appreciate that the artisans use " at hand " tools or tools they have created. I love the whimsey in their designs and I am glad that a space was donated to them after the earthquake so they could work again. Their livelihood has not been lost in the destruction of Haiti and they can continue to create from nothing images that bring a smile to the face of people across the world and me.

I am going to be watching for the aurora borealis tonight in the darkened skies over PT. They are supposed to be visible but I think clouds may get in the way!