Holiday Garland Workshop

I will be teaching a fun workshop this Sunday, December 13 at Whimsy Antiques in Carpinteria!

Would love to have you join us as we create some fabric garlands made from stars, mushrooms, houses, trees, and hearts. I will have things partially made and ready for you to embellish and put together  in your own unique way.

Call or email Karen at 805-684-7211 or whimsyantiques@verizon.net for more information. Hope to see you there!

Whimsy Antiques
5042 7th St.
Carpinteria, CA 93013

Guatemala here we come!

The most generous Mary Ann Moss, talented writer ( Dispatch from LA blog) , artist, and teacher of children and adults has offered to share a 400 year old house in Antigua, Guatemala with Syd McCutcheon and myself. We will be spending a week exploring, sketching and hopefully swimming and soaking in Lake Atitlan while we are there. Of course there will be some serious textile shopping and some chocolate sampling mixed in with our time for art journaling, people watching and trips to Mayan villages. I have always wanted to travel to Guatemala and have loved their beautiful textiles since I was young, so this is a dream come true. So grateful for Art Friends to share this wonderful life with!

Photos above from the colorful book, Guatemala Rainbow, full of the exquisite creations of the Mayan women of Guatemala.

Had to share this fun message I found in our local paper...!

And I have been busy with my rug hooking, stitching and teaching....

Velvet acorns now at Bon Fortune in Carpinteria.

And a couple of wool cats waiting for new homes...

Bye for now.....off on a new adventure...take care and hope you have time to create wonderful things!

Owl and Pumpkin Workshop in Carpinteria, CA!

Time for a fun Fall Workshop! 

I will be teaching a rug hooking workshop at Whimsy, a charming antique shop in the seaside town of Carpinteria, CA.

We would love to have you join us on Saturday, Sept. 19, 12-4pm. A healthy lunch will be provided and a welcoming reception at Bon Fortune on Linden Ave. complete with lots of my hooked creations for sale.

Workshop is $75 and includes wool, frame, hook and an owl or pumpkin pattern on linen burlap.

Please call Karen at Whimsy to register or for more information on this workshop and upcoming ones, too.

Karen Clark 805-684-7211

whimsyantiques.com

whimsyantiques@verizon.net 

Whimsy Antiques

5042 7th St.

Carpinteria, CA 93013

Bon Fortune and 4th of July

A lovely shop in Carpinteria, CA, "Bon Fortune," now has some of my fiber creations. I love how Gina creates her displays. She has wooly puppets and rug hooked creations ready for summer visitors.

The annual 4th of July show went really well. I used my same old suitcases as displays and filled them to the brim with lots of textile creations.

I made lots of new puppets this year!

More of the linen and vintage lace owls...these are fun to make-each one different.

And I finally finished painting these little paperclay owls in time for the show.

Had to do some painted beach rocks, too. These have gone off to Imagine in Montecito.

Have a great weekend and hope you have time for some creative fun!

Workshop with Janet Bolton in France

I felt so fortunate to be able to go to Janet Bolton's workshop at Les Soeurs Anglaises in SW France. Above are some of Janet's beautiful textile pieces that she had on display.

Janet is a wonderful teacher and to spend a week with her and the other fellow stitchers was a dream come true. She shared how she makes her textile art and many stories of her life and art adventures as well as how she put together her books.

My home for a week was in the lovely chateau this time.

I had my own cozy bedroom with a view of the garden and stream nearby.

The sitting room outside my door with the most comfy chair and a kitty to keep me company!

The gardens were particularly beautiful this time of year!

We made our visit to the local brocante, Ali Baba's cavern of delights! 

And a trip to the local farmers market for some lunch goodies...

A quick stop at the vintage shop for more fun things to bring home.

Our lovely hostesses kept us smiling with their delicious meals....

Lots of time for stitching and help from Janet....

I got in a photo with Janet up at the studio on the first day.

Lovely meals outside with the English chefs kept everyone well fed and happy.

Here are 3 of the pieces I was working on...

Our show and tell on the last day...and the sisters came up to view as well.

A big Thank You to all who made this such a wonderful trip and experience!

Mexico and beyond...

We met up with our wonderful group of artists at the Casa Colonial in Oaxaca.

It feels like our home away from home...many of our group have returned for two and three times and we enjoy all of our time together trying new  creative projects and many fun and informative field trips. There is always something new to see and experience in the thriving and beautiful World Heritage city of Oaxaca.

Our workshop at the Casa featured working with pre-felt . A fun little supply bag greeted everyone.

Before getting to our felting we had two incredible days of dyeing with natural materials native to the Oaxaca area. So many beautiful colors were obtained ....cochineal is being ground above before we begin the dyeing process.

Love these colors of handspun....

So many beautiful colors....all from natural dyes!

Time for some fun felting...so many fun and colorful creations from our talented ladies!

Just a small sampling of our Fun with Felt time.

We had some wonderful meals....

and wild and crazy field trips...

Always time for some shopping...lots of hearts just before Valentine's Day!

On our last day we always leave a gift for the Casa...this time we each made a felt flower. They made a great bouquet for the communal ding room. 

We are already planning our next trip for Jan. 2016 and would love to have you join us!

Please contact Colleen Darling at: colleen950@gmail.com for more information or to reserve a spot for our next exciting trip.

And now, tomorrow morning, bright and early I board a plane for France! Once again the Les Soeurs Anglaises beckons with a workshop by the wonderful English fiber artist, Janet Bolton. I will be traveling with childhood friend, Barbara Colvin who invited me to share a room with her. I have always loved Janet's work and am really excited to be able to spend a week stitching and enjoying the wonderful ambiance that the sisters have created. Lifelong friendships are formed and I love seeing what everyone makes as we inspire each other. I'm sure the time will fly by in one of my favorite places in the world. 

Hope you all have a creative week ahead....back soon!