Pumpkin, squirrel # 2, and crows...gather for a Fall portrait

Here is what I've been up to lately. Those are supposed to be crows...I still need to make some wire feet for them and I am having problems with the wire holding them up. Last week I found this great pumpkin colored wool skirt at the Thrift store and had to make a Fall pumpkin. I've always wanted to make one so here he is, looking sort of forlorn....didn't want to make him too cute. Maybe he knows I love pumpkin pie???
So these are all made from recycled wool..mostly skirts from the local thrift store and some re-dyed by my friend, Maren with Magic Carpet dyes.

I love this guy!

Isn't this a great pumpkin! Made by Jenny Rupp and in the latest issue of Rug Hooking Magazine. I found it after I made my little orange hooked pumpkin.

Here is Tiger boy...

my daytime companion. Of course he likes to sit on what ever I may be trying to photograph.

A funny dog textile...

that I found at the thrift store while looking for wool to recycle for my hooked rugs. Couldn't resist this piece...only $1.95! I think I may make a pillow out of it...

French knot heart and a very plump Squirrel....

that I just finished last night. And you can see his friend over on the other side (upside down) that I am still working on. For some very fun squirrel photography visit: http://jujulovespolkadots.typepad.com


And the French knot embroidery above is influenced by my love of Mexican folk art and their bright cheerful colors.

Bad kitty...

or maybe it's Grumpy kitty...
A little embroidery thing I did just for fun.
I tend to go back and forth between rug hooking, embroidery, and felting among other things. Right now I am playing with French knot embroidery for little gifts..might be pins or sewn onto ornaments....we'll see.

Keeping an Open heart.....

message from the Dalai Lama...

Couldn't help but post this message I read in the paper today:

Dalai Lama urges teens to open hearts

The Dalai Lama urged thousands of teenagers at a world peace conference Saturday to keep open hearts, practice peace in their daily lives and accept people from all countries as neighbors and collaborators, not rivals. "There are no national boundaries. The whole globe is becoming one body." he said at the PeaceJam convention. "In these circumstances, I think war is outdated....
Destruction of your neighbor is actually destruction of yourself.
War creates environmental problems, trade gaps and humanitarian suffering that everyone must bear," he said, speaking for more than an hour at the convention, which brought together 10 Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

The Art of the Book...

After my shift at our store in Ventura I made a stop at the BookArts show in a gallery down by the ocean. Lots of fun presentations...from very large to tiny....actual book format to resin wall pieces and others in fabric and metal. I loved Syd's book (1st photo) and all the other offerings. Just included a few photos to give you an idea of variety of book arts included.

My next stop on the way home was in downtown Santa Barbara for a quick stop at CPK for a chipolte chicken pizza for the boys and while waiting I wandering over to State St. and was drawn to a free Drum concert by a local kids group....they were really good and they were playing in honor of one of the boys from my son's Jr. High that died last week in a car accident.
It was very moving for me...and I felt what a neat way to honor Jake's memory. I was all teary eyed when I went to pick up my pizza....
One of the things I like about Santa Barbara is that there is usually lots of art and music happening some where.....providing inspiration and a sense of community.

A few of my favorites....

The Fabric Arts Zine #4

Alma Stoller's very fun and funky Fabric Arts Zine arrived yesterday! It's a great issue with color, how-to's, interviews and fun little tips on embroidery-the theme of this issue. Alma has another zine that she puts out all by herself called "Odd Ball Charm"...she welcomes contributions so check her web site: www.almastoller.com and her blog: www.almastoller.blogspot.com
Oh, and I even have a little tutorial on making "Embroidered Pins"...so fun to be in a Zine!!!

A bedside rug...

I made a while back.
There are actually little houses on top of the mountains which is were we live.

At the Good Cup Cafe....

having hot and iced Chai drinks and trading ATC's! We know how to have fun. Next month we will meet at the upstairs gallery of our local recycle for artist's place called "Art From Scrap". They have bins of stuff-everything from tiles to fabrics to wall paper to colored sand...and you can buy in bulk by the bag full. A great place to visit for kids' art classes and the stuff is always changing-much of it donated by local businesses.One of our members, Mary Price is having a show there and several of our members have shown there too.

ATC's

Made a few more ATC's last night for our trade today.

Nice kitty

Sometimes it seems that you have to finish up what you have started before you can get going on the next project. I started this hooked cat in June and there it sat for months waiting to be finished. It felt good to complete this little project so that now I feel free to get my samples done for ArtFiberFest..due on Friday!

A hooked and stuffed cat

The completed kitty sitting by an oak tree.

In rememberance....

of those who lost their lives on this day.
May we use our creative imaginations to create a world of Peace and Love as we are all caretakers of this beautiful planet we call home.

ATC'S

We have our ATC trade/swap this Wed. so I got started on some new ATC's. Here are some faces with sewn on hair that I was playing with. Off to the Hardware Store for my Saturday shift!

little art quilts...

While cleaning and re-arranging my art studio I ran across a little stack of mini art quilts that I made about 2 years ago. I think they may need more work but thought I'd post them just for fun.

Butterfly clock completed...

I painted the numbers on and put the clock and hands on and she's ready to go to her new home.

Project underway...

For about 12 years I made and sold hand painted wooden clocks every Sunday at the Santa Barbara Beach Art & Crafts Show. I made all kinds of clocks: stars, alligators, hearts, chili peppers, ladybugs, cats, dogs, surfboards, frogs and turtles, pretty much anything I wanted to make. When we bought our Hardware and Plumbing store I "retired" from the Beach Show to help out at the store. So, last week I got a call from one of my previous customers that she desperately needed a clock for a new baby. The other kids in the family had their own clocks and would I please make one more?? I hadn't made the kids' clocks for about 2 years now, but I thought. "well, why not?" So here is a butterfly clock for the baby's room. I still have to paint the numbers on and install the quartz clock and hands, but it is almost finished. I will try and post the finished product tomorrow.