Girls and Mr. Bird

Three sisters from a recycled sweater ....finished except for arms.....
And Bird guy got wings and spots....
Off for a beach walk with my boys, a little grocery shopping and back home!

Flower Pins

Felt, fabric, fake flowers, buttons, yarn, silk, and a few of Colleen's yoyo's came together to make up these funky flower pins. I got in a "stitching" mood last night while watching the "Blues Brothers" on TV. I made my son come in and watch the funny dancing parts....they always make me smile! Hard to believe it was made in 1980!

What's new...

Worked on these guys last night...the little owl got tiny "ears", the one on the left got eyes and ears, and the bird on the right got new eyes....don't know why he looks so worried in the photo...still needs some wings and fabric patches here and there.
After I take my son to school on Thursdays I always try and get in a beach walk. Today it was a nice low tide and there were lots of rocks to look at on my walk towards the bluffs. These are a few of the ones I picked up today.
And here is what I am reading or rather finished up last night. I really enjoy this series even though I read it out of order. We all share our favorite books and pass them around to one another....this will go to Colleen or Pepa next. Can't wait for the next HBO episode....they are so fun, especially if you've read the books.

Fiber rings and things....

I stayed up way too late playing around with these little felted wool rings and cuffs, but I had fun...and may add some more buttons or beads on the bracelets.

Two little owls

These two little owls are all made from recycled fabric samples and thrift store finds.
Beads and buttons for eyes.

Funny faces...

worked on these two last night....still deciding if they need arms or not....the ears are made from a piece of antique quilt....I love the tiny quilt stitches...
and here is a basket of mushrooms and mushroom caps awaiting their stems....

Teesha and Tracy visit!

What a fun time spent with Teesha and Tracy Moore on Thursday! They came down to California to teach a workshop and stopped by Syd's Art Clinic and Susan Halme's Solvang Bakery on Wednesday. And on the way to Santa Barbara and the coast they stopped by my little mountain top home for juice and cookies. We got to visit and check out the ancient Chumash Painted Cave near our house. Teesha and Tracy are two of the most creative and wonderful people you could ever meet. They put together Artfest and Artfiberfest and have given so many artists the chance to share their love of art and creating with each other....lives have been changed, wonderful friendships have blossomed, new art directions have taken root and sparked new ideas and inspired new art forms and opened doors for so many of us who heeded the call. Now there is a new venue called Journalfest for art journalers and who knows what else will be next. I will be forever grateful for the chance to teach at Artfiberfest these last few years and hope to come up with a class or two for Artfest for next year.
If you are not familiar with Teesha and Tracy's wonderful art and art retreats, go visit their website for a visual treat: www.teeshamoore.com They have zines, rubber stamps, prints and all kinds of cool art supplies!

Birds and flowers

This bird got his legs and feet sewn on last night and feels much better.
Couldn't resist these cheerful flowers from Trader Joe's...
Here is the fireplace mantle with folk art and flowers....
A little group shot of stuffed birdies and a few cats....

Old friends....(and a hooked bird)

I made this hooked bird last night and today I will give him some legs and feet...
Yesterday I got to see my old friend from South Pasadena, Gordy Ryder. We've known each other since we were 3 years old and lived on the same street and went all through school together. He moved to New Zealand and now Australia years ago to raise his family, but comes back to the U.S. to visit family and friends about every 5 years or so. We got in a good visit and had lunch at Panino in Los Olivos with another school friend, Jack Biesek. So fun to connect with old school mates and talk about everything going on in our lives.
And here we are in third grade at Marengo School. That is Mrs. Garland, me and Gordy. Mrs. Garland was one of my favorite teachers and that was one of my favorite school years. I remember that my mother came in and gave us art classes and Mrs. Garland used to put her favorites up on the wall...I loved it when she put one of mine up there. I think she put my turkey drawing up and one I did of a girl in a raincoat. How weird that I remember that!

cats and birds...

Got this funny linen bird finished up last night and started work on some cat dolls that I plan to paint tomorrow.
Here comes Tiger cat...being watched by the year old kitties.....they still aren't friends....
Beach walk tomorrow and maybe out to dinner with my boys! Each week one member of the family gets to pick a local restaurant where we meet for dinner. It's been a fun way to keep track of son no.1 who is in college and spends most of his time down the mountain at his friend's house which is much closer to school...and near the beach. I think we are headed for" Pascucci's", son no.2's pick for the week and a family favorite.

Fabric!!!!

I found all of these fun fabric samples at Art From Scrap the other day. I needed them for a "Circle" themed piece that I am working on for the gallery. I only had a few minutes to grab these before they closed....only 25 cents each!


this one reminds me of Jude...and her wonderful stitching....




This last piece I made out of pre-felt as a sample for a Felt Collage class at Artfiberfest...fun to work with circles!

a few things worked on

got this little house hooked last night on my Flowerbox piece...
the linen owl got some new eyes...
and some little felt hearts for my Charm School class at Artfiberfest...

Happy Mother's Day!

Wishing all you mothers out there, whether you are mothering two legged, four legged, furry or feathered, grown or young, a very Happy Mother's Day!
Fire update: this is a photo I took the other night of the fire coming over the ridge near us. It came fairly close but we decided to stay put with the cats. We are members of the volunteer fire dept. here in Painted Cave and thought it best to stick around and help out if we were needed.
the last two days the fog has helped immensely to cool things down and although there are still smoldering spots with smoke arising in areas that we can see, it is much better than it was. The helicopters and planes have been working all day to put out hot spots and crews from all over California have come to our assistance. When the roads open up again things will get back to a more normal pattern.

Fire in Santa Barbara...

fire season here in Santa Barbara again...and while watching the local news I've been working on these odd creatures. I am enjoying working with linen and silk and seeing what they turn into.
The winds seem to be keeping the fire away from our area but today it was smokey and hot-100 degrees. Yesterday we were in town for music lessons and we could see the walls of flames not far away as the sundowner winds created fire storms in the hills. Columns of black smoke filled the sky. Now there are over 14,ooo people evacuated from their homes. The news reports that dozens of homes have burned-so sad for those whose homes were lost. As I'm writing this my neighbor called to say we may have to evacuate because the wind has shifted in our direction....and I hear sirens...hopefully we will be Ok....stay tuned!

the newspaper today...
and a few garden shots....
sunflowers starting to come up outside my art room window...

Hook-in at Katie's

Here is what greeted us as we walked in! A table full of delectable goodies!
Our rug hooking group held our quarterly hook-in at Katie's home and garden in Thousand Oaks.
Katie's wonderful garden has many water features like this water tower that attracts many birds
looking for a place to drink and splash.
One of many beautiful cactus flowers.... *don't know the real name*
Lovely iris...
Is that Kobe in the living room? Looks like a young Kobe, Katie has 2 grown sons....Laker fans for sure!
Like the menfolk in my home....
I loved this Italian glass chandelier in the dining room....
Then the fun began. We started to work on our project for the day. We first cut the metal mesh into a square, cut 4 darts, and then molded it into shape by pressing it into a metal or plastic bowl. Gloves are a good idea....(For more info. check out the latest Rug Hooking Magazine)
Then cut the edge to a circular shape and fold over and crimp or bind with yarn.
Here's Anne starting to hook on her vessel.
Binding the edge before hooking. Most of us just got started on the hooking part. We hope to have something to show by our next meeting June 1. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be and all I got done was a bunch of hooked yarn polka dots...
One of Katie's hooked pillows...gorgeous colors and design. She also did the big sunflower that I've posted before.
Maren's little house in Hawaii pillow top that she is working on...sweet soft colors for her new vacation home.
And Katie, in addition to being an incredible rug hooker, plays harp on movie sound tracks and for the L.A. Philharmonic Orchestra. We persuaded her to play for us on her beautiful harp, one of many musical instruments in her art and music filled home. What a treat!
One of many interesting musical instruments in Katie's house...I think this one was from Viet Nam. We all had such a fun time and were totally spoiled by Katie and her hospitality and delicious lunch and dessert table. (YUM!)