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!