On Their Way to Italy!

These four California oak hills pieces are off to Italy.  In fact they have probably arrived already.  
They were a custom order from a dear friend for her dear friends and family from Italy who had been visiting this autumn.
It was hard for me to get started, but knowing they would eventually be hanging in an Italian home kept me going.  The order was to make a California oak hill scene.  Wacky chickens kept slipping into the images.  I will have to find my original four sketches and show you the chickens.  Quite lovely really - Hee Hee.
As you can see the chickens stayed put and these are the pieces that finally made it off to Italy.  Hopefully I too, will be heading to that lovely spicy country soon.

Tea Party Lovelies

Look at these little lovelies I found.  The top tea cup and the bottom one are 88 year old treasures.  Not sure about the middle tea cup.  I ordered these from an etsy store called FabricatedFamily.  You should take a look at the lovely vintage treasures she carries.  I was just going to order two teacups but....
...got so carried away I ordered six of the yellow daisy ones and just the one of the roses (it was her last).   I am so happy I did.  these tea cups feel so exquisite in your palm when you hold them.  These tea cups are defiantly from a time gone by.  But they remind me that life can be slow and lovely, with plenty of time to enjoy the beauty all around me.
Seeing them I just want to take a deep breath and smile.  I feel softer looking at them.

Time for a tea party now.

Cute Skulls

I love these cutie pies.  They are made with mostly reclaimed fabric - old skirts, dresses and test pieces for dyeing.  The skulls are made from cotton lace that I dyed with black tea.
I got the idea from Kelli Perkins new book - called "Stitch Alchemy".   She made some Day of the Dead cards with these skulls. 

I love Kelli Perkins work.  It is bright festive and whimsical.... hey so is mine.  No wonder I like her stuff so much.  She however, is a whiz with the free stitching.  I still need a little more time and projects under my belt.  I am getting there though.
These beauties now have a place of honor in our house, above the piano.

Check out her art if you haven't seen it before.  Hopefully I got the links hooked up right.

Tootles

Vintage Treasures Find Me

I received an intriguing e-mail the other day.  A woman emailed me regarding some old fabric she had.  She said she was trying to simplify her life and wondered if I had any interest in some old fabric.
Yes, of course!  So I hauled the children into the car and off we went.  She did offer to bring it to me, but being summer and needing adventures with little ones, we went to her.  My children immediately loved her home.  They wanted to stay and play in the fields next to her house.
First she showed us some fabric she had collected over the years, projects she had meant to get to but didn't.  A beautiful hand embroidered wool skirt, some "way cool" curtains from the 60's or 70's (blue bold fabric below), exquisite fabric from Libya in the 60's, cloth from Mexico and Ireland.  An assortment of fabric treasures.
Then she mentioned she did have some linens (pictured above) that she wasn't sure I wanted. Most had belonged to her mom, her mom even made some of them.  I am guessing the are from the 40's, 50's and 60's.  They are fabulous.  I absolutely love them.  They are charming beyond charming.  When I ironed them I felt like I was in part connected to the times and women who may have ironed these before me.   
I really feel so grateful that these vintage treasures have come my way.  I am not sure what I will do with them all.  I have some ideas.  I do know I could never cut up the beautiful linens.  I just want to hang them up in the breeze and let their romantic beauty fill the air.  
My daughter is eyeing the fabric from Libya.  I may give it to her for her birthday.   
I have made the most beautiful Wedding Blessing Prayer flags with some of the linen napkins, sewn together with satin ribbon.  I added little pockets, from some of the linen napkins that were stained, for the couple to add their own blessing.  They are so sweet.  I put them in my etsy shop and they sold within 24 hours.  The linen's make these wedding flags really something extra special. 

I will post them soon.  You can also see them over in my etsy shop (button on the right hand side).  

Smell the Pachouli dancing on the Breeze

These are my latest in prayer flags.  I made them to be reminiscent of hippy skirts swaying to music. 
A tribute to the 60's and the "old hippies" out there.  I was 8yrs old when Woodstock was happening.  Just missed coming of age in the 60's.  I would have loved to be a hippy, but was a "granola" instead.  That's what we were in the 70's. 

These prayer flags are all made with repurposed cotton and silk clothing, fibers, yarns and green ribbon. 
Invite a bunch of old hippies to your next garden party... or maybe new hippies, since the 60's seem to be coming back in fashion again.

Tea-Party Flags

Notice

Tea-party in the garden

Come along with me.

Butterfly, beetle, and flower.

Spider, songbird and bee.

Gather your finest outfit

and we'll sip on lavender tea.

These are my latest blessing flags.  They are made with recycled or repurposed clothing.  I made each flag to look like a festive tea-party dress.  They are all natural fibers - cottons and silks.

I love these whimsically romantic flags.  They dress up the garden perfectly for a sweet little tea-party.  My kids love them too - especially when they come with "tea" (iced lemonade).

I put these in my etsy shop and have more waiting to be created on my new oak work-table.

My Soul Has Been Fed - Desolation Wilderness Area

For Shelby

I remodeled, reorganized and re-cluttered.

The wool and fabric are up from the floor now.  I have them organized by color and size.   I love it - I can easily find what I need.

The desk... well... that is where I practice re-cluttering. 

New Piece

I am starting on a new piece for a friends 10th wedding anniversary

First I used color crayons on it.

Then added paint

As soon as the fabric dries I will add more crayon and set the crayon and paint with a hot iron.  

I feel so domestic.  Other then art I never use an iron

Happy Pieces

Purple Cat and Pink Balloon

These are a couple of the pieces that I made for the hospital.  They ended up taking one piece.  It was one of Millie the Cow jumping over the moon.  

This purple cat is my favorite of the five pieces I made.  The cat is made from recycled wool sweaters.  The little confetti pieces are left over wool bits.

I painted and drew (with crayons) on the fabric first, then added the swirly machine stiching to the background.  And last added the fabric images.  

The Polka-Dot Bird piece was created in the 

same way.  All the wool in this piece is from old wool sweaters.  The fabric is all new in this piece.