Happy New Year 2013!

All good wishes for a happy, healthy, prosperous, and creative New Year!

A little stitched piece I am working on...

And Hello from Henry, who is wondering where his Christmas present went....

Happy Solstice and Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all a very merry Holiday Season! I spent yesterday delivering some last minute orders from the Winter Faire. The rug hooked Virgin of Guadalupe went to Kristena who has a wonderful clothing company and also paints and makes dolls. We had a great time visiting at her home and I got to see all the magical things she creates.

This new group of wool kitties were made from gray cashmere and white alpaca. their aprons came from vintage quilts pieces. A Waldorf school teacher needed a few more for Christmas presents so I went to work this week and finished them up.

We managed to get our Christmas tree up last week. Both boys are home now so we had a family outing to pick out our tree at a local farm. The boys got the tree up and I got to decorate it...most of the ornaments are hand made by friends...lots of birds, hearts, cats, owls, santas, and mushrooms!

And just for fun I set up this little branch I found on my walk. I put some little house charms I had made and felt hearts and stuck it in a wooden bowl of perle cotton that sits on our coffee table.

I keep moving it around...here it is near the door nestled in a basket of fabric dolls from friends.

And my friend, Grace asked me to make a "Door of my Heart" piece for her last August. I finally got it hooked and sent off before Christmas. The little door opens and she plans to put a small photo of her and her mother in there. Her husband will be getting a hooked squirrel for Christmas. I hope he likes it!

And I decided to make something for myself! A little needlebook and scissor holder for traveling.

Here it is open. I may put a little piece of fabric to hold the embroidery thread too.

This was pretty quick to make....used a piece of vintage quilt and sewed on a border from trim that I got in France last summer!  So many fond memories of our time there...shopping and looking at all the sights...and bakeries and ice cream! Yum!

Well, back to wrapping some packages for the boys and I need to bake some cookies, too.

Best wishes for some cozy Holiday time to you all!

fish and other things...

I made these funny linen fish the other night. Just my first try and I see some things I need to work on-like better tails. The linen was hard to turn, too thick, so I will use thinner fabric in the tail area next time, if I decide to make more! Still they were a fun and quick thing to make and could be fun with different fabric or some of my wool felted sweaters.

New hooked owl on the left, posing with a friend.

And this fox wanted his photo taken before he flew off to the East Coast.

Newest squirrel that went to live in Texas. He is eating an acorn.

At my last show I got an order for a hooked "Virgin of Guadalupe".

I had a perfect image from a calendar and drew up my design. I am almost done, have a few hours of work to do. It's needed before Christmas so I think I am doing OK.

And just had to show you the cutting board that son Jason made. This is his second one. I was amazed as I didn't know he was even interested in woodworking. He is also working at our store now a few days a week which really helps out. I am happy to have a Saturday off...and so that's why I am blogging and not selling plumbing supplies today!

Lots of projects I need to work on...Have a good weekend!

Pillows

I thought I would post some of the hooked pillows that I've made over the years. This is a big one and was inspired by the wonderful Karen Kahle. I worked on this while at one of her workshops. We had a great time hooking and dyeing wool and viewing her marvelous rugs up close.

Forest girl

Mushroom house

Teapot

Animals

An experiment using yarns, wool and a stitched applique bird in the center.

And here is Henry playing with his felt mouse. Could not resist the crocheted pillow from the thrift store for under $2. I put the flower piece on top, not sewn on yet!

Have a great weekend! 

Winter Faire

Saturday was the Winter Faire at the Waldorf School here in Santa Barbara. I got all set up by 11am opening and we had a nice turnout, lots of parents and kids. There was hot soup-ginger carrot or kale onion and fresh bread in the cafe for everyone. So nice to have a hot lunch on a cold cloudy day!

These are photos of my table. 

Several of the gnomes went to new homes, as well as cats, owls and hearts.

Fairy homes were for sale....

Giant mushrooms and a candy covered playhouse was being decorated...

local ceramics hand painted were for sale and lots more...

We even had entertainment! An Indian dance troupe from Los Angeles came up and did several numbers for us. A fun day with lots of nice visitors. Rain started at 2 pm so we had to pack up quickly to keep our things from getting wet. I treated myself to some hot chocolate before going home and unpacking.  Now to finish up a few things and clean up the house!

Back to work

Two new hooked owls perched in the rosemary outside. They will be at the Waldorf Winter Faire on Saturday, Dec. 1 in Goleta.

I was in my studio looking for some beads and came across this striped sweater  and decided to make some cats for the Faire. I think they look quite humorous before stuffing so I took a photo just for fun.

One of my favorite places to walk is by the ocean. If I am downtown doing errands I try and get my daily walk in before I drive up the mountain. The fog was coming in as the weather changed giving the coast an ethereal look.

For this evening I have 5 mermaids to finish up, 2 dog softies, 7 little foxes, and a new hooked squirrel that is almost done. And stuff  the striped cats and give them faces....will see how much I get done!

Resting

Here's my leftover turkey. Mine, all mine.

Today we slept in, checked emails, pinned for a while and made a list of things to finish up for the next craft show. Henry kept me company.

I have fun setting the table for our Holiday dinners. I locate all the turkeys that I can find around the house, add some mushrooms and gnomes and candles and my favorite Nathalie Lete plates and a couple of thrift store linen table cloths and we are ready. Spent most of the day cooking. We got in a family hike on the Fremont Trail near our home up here in the mountains and then back to cooking.

So nice to have both boys home for the weekend. Although Justin managed to bring about 3 weeks of laundry for mom....now he's off to play beach volleyball with his old friends and Jason is downtown selling an iphone. Quiet here....just me and the cats. Hope to get some sewing done today and maybe some hooking tonight. Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving Day as well....

Here's funny cat I made awhile back...just added the wool skirt.

Giving Thanks!

Grateful for all of you who come by for a visit! Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have a feeling that this is going to be a busy week so I am wishing you an early 

"Happy Thanksgiving!"

Here are a few of the things I am working on around here. Above are some small yoyo's made of recycled kimono silk. I think they will become a necklace soon.

Some funky foxes for the next craft show.

Thought I would do some wolves too....

And a new hooked squirrel is almost done.

Hearts got embellished a bit...may do more...

Had to show you this fun thrift store find! An apron with teacup pockets.

Too pretty to cut up, but will I actually wear it?

And I couldn't pass this up either....such beautiful embroidery but it had moth holes on one end. Will see what I can do with this later. Maybe a part of a purse for our upcoming workshop in Oaxaca, filling up fast, by the way!

And I couldn't resist a photo of my favorite store's window. I was downtown on the First Thursday of November for the art galleries late night openings and this caught my eye. The turkey is actually a vinyl blow up turkey!!! They sell them for $13.95. Made me smile....

So much to be grateful for and wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving and week to come.

Hooking for the Winter Faire at the Waldorf School

My next craft fair will be Dec. 1 at the Waldorf School in Goleta so I've been busy making some more things to fill up my table. A little mushroom house and ornament just got finished up today.

A little owl will be ready for a new home soon.

A heart with flying bird is my latest hooked piece, waiting to be sewn and stuffed. I try and put in a tiny bit of lavender inside to keep any moths from nibbling on the wool.

And yesterday was my husband's birthday and he wanted to do a family brunch with the boys so we picked up Justin from UCSB and had a delicious breakfast at the Succulent Cafe in Solvang. We sat outdoors and it was actually a bit chilly for a change. Our weather went from 94 F to 63 F in one week.

Now we are having a cozy fire in the fireplace at night to keep us warm. After our meal we took a hike up to Nojoqui Falls. Not much water but the boys had fun throwing bay laurel nuts at each other.

Jason taking photos of the ferns...

The boys walking ahead through the oaks, sycamores, and bay laurels.

And a cat photo...our black kitty had to check out my vintage suitcase for a safe sleeping spot.

I have lots more projects on my "to do" list so I'd best get back to work....after a piece of the cheesecake I made for Dennis for his birthday....