What I've been making lately

I appreciate all the kind and consoling words from people commenting on my last post about Anne Lockard's passing.  It is obvious she is missed and will be for a long long time.

Life goes on.  I do my best to enjoy it and reflect a giving attitude.  With that in mind, above you can see the quilt I made and gave to my good friend Mary.  She has been going through a rough time health wise, so she was very touched to receive a comfort quilt after having given so many away herself.

This is a book I made from a class in the 21 Secrets art journaling classes I've been working in.  This was from Terri Kahrs I've Got A Secret class.  It makes use of a manilla envelope.

I love the juicy color she helped me achieve.

This is a little book I made from an old ruler and a pile of gelli printed papers.  Can you tell I love orange/red?

 

The back of the gelli book.

Married Love is the book I altered.  I decided to keep the original book title, although what I put inside the book has nothing to do with married love.

A bit of dog love, maybe.

Cover of another book I made, using a fiber leaf I created.

Inside, more juicy color.

Another book, one of the folded paper books, made from a single large sheet of paper, folded and cut to create a book.

 

 

The back of the same book.

A pile of books.

I had an old recipe box that was so dingy and dated.  It is livened up with a new coat of paint.

Little swallow applique stuck to it looks right at home.

The Girl of the Woods is the next book I am altering.  I cut out every third page and then gessoed most of the remaining pages.

Now it is ready for whatever I decide to do with it.

That's about it for now.  I hope you all are keeping safe and enjoying life.  It is far too short so make the most of it!  Dress up for Halloween and let the kid in you out!  

Be well.

Goodbye, My Friend

Anne Huskey Lockard

A beautiful friend has lost her battle with cancer.   She leaves behind her husband Gary and many loving friends and family.  I met Anne online about 12 years ago and our friendship blossomed through emails and phone calls.  We never got a chance to meet in real life but that doesn't make it any easier to deal with having her gone.

 Gary, Anne and Dr. Salter

She fought long and hard against her disease and we all hoped she might be in the small percentage of survivors.  Unfortunately that wasn't the case.
I'd like to celebrate her life with this post.

Anne was many things, artist, poet, photographer, blogger, music lover, chef, gardener, nature lover, and she enjoyed a good glass of wine.  She loved to dress up in beautiful clothing and great shoes, her make up perfect.

But she wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty and tackle the roughest jobs either!

Anne and the Ramones quilt

She loved many genres of music but especially loved The Ramones and the Misfits and even created art in their honor.  Classic jazz was another favorite of hers.

She was well known to have an unquenchable desire for shoes and Doc Marten boots.  I wonder how many pair she owns?

This pair epitomizes many things Anne.

Occasionally she liked a softer style of footwear.

She loved her little parakeets and they brought much joy into her life.

Yes, Anne was a big fan of Halloween and Day of the Dead celebrations.  You could count on her and husband Gary to always dress up for the trick or treaters.

Photography was another passion. Flowers and nature were especially favorite subjects.  I invite you all to go to Anne's blog, El Milagro Studio and review some of her posts.  She could always be counted on to share inspiration there.

Anne surely is saying this from the place she is now.  She is mourned and missed by many but will live on in our hearts.

You said it!!!!

This is one of my favorite photos of Anne.  In red, doing something she most loved, making art.

I miss our daily emails, our phone conversations.  I miss you, dear Anne.  I will hold my memories of you close and keep you forever in my heart, sister/friend.

Birthday gifts galore!

First I want to thank you all who gave me suggestions in my last post regarding what I might do with my Grandmothers coat.  What I have decided is to write a note telling the story about my Grandmother and the coat that hung in my closet for so many years and how it ended up being donated to a thrift store.  I will put it into the pocket of the coat.  My hope is that it will be better appreciated that way.  There is a local thrift store that benefits a woman shelter, I intend to take it there.

The photos above show a gift that I received in the mail last month.  My friend Maggi from the UK sent this to me, all hand dyed by herself.  Check out her web site if you want some similar items.  She remembered that it was my birthday and gifted me these things! 

There is a piece she worked on her embellisher machine, some gorgeous dyed silk chiffon, some beautiful matching threads and scrim, and two packages of beads.  It is like a whole kit to make a dooleybobber!!  So beautiful!  Thanks, Maggi!  I hope to do justice to these fine supplies one day soon.

Robin also remembered my birthday and sent me this stunning mandala card that she made.  It just amazes me that she can create these and each one is so different and so beautiful!

Here is a close up, isn't it gorgeous!?!!!  I love these colors and shall have to frame it.  She gifted me a large framed one last year when she came to visit me.

Another visitor who was here last year was Uta from Australia.  She returned this year and we decided to do a trade.  Above you can see the painting she gave me.  I love it!  She does fantastic work and has won awards for her paintings.  Check out her web site and expect to see more of her in the world of fine art.

In trade for the painting I gave her this quilt you can see her wrapped in above.  She loves it and has it on her bed in warm Adelaide Australia now.

Another trade I made with a friend who has no web presence  resulted in my receiving this fabulous sweater that my friend knit herself.  I'm certain it will become a favorite garment for many years to come.  So far it has been too warm to need to wear it but I of course put it on the minute I opened the package and found it to be the coziest thing even in the summer!  Just beautiful!  Thank you, Thalia, I treasure it.

In return I created this wall hanging for her, with her guidance as to its theme.  I blogged about it here.  It is titled Within the Stream.

Other gifts I received last month include this beach glass necklace from Uta and  newly published author Glenn when they came to visit me last month.  Beautiful, I love beach glass!

Elena sent me this book because she knows how much I am enjoying making books these days.  Some great ideas in here!  Thanks E!

I also received this book from another friend who has no web presence.  I love books, as anyone who follows my blog already knows.  Thanks Lyla!  

I have such lovely friends!

Well that's about it for now.  One of these days I'll see if I can't post something about the art I have been creating.  It has mostly been art journaling and bed/lap quilts.  Time to start getting ready for winter art work, I wonder what my focus will be?  Maybe I ought to start with a new dooleybobber using some of that gorgeous fabric Maggi sent me!  Until then, 

Be well.

Waning summer

Hello blogging friends! It has been nearly two months since my last confession, er, I mean my last blog post.  I was looking at my photos today and thought I'd share some of my flowers with you.  Above is a tiny bouquet of sweet peas.  Aren't they sweet?  Of course, it is their nature to be sweet.  They are flowering wonderfully right now outside the studio door along with nasturtiums and morning glories.  Every day I enjoy the wonderful scent of these beauties.  Summer flowers!

But what is this?  I found these flowering in my front yard, autumn crocuses! What is an autumn flower doing out now?  Yes my friends, it heralds the coming of autumn.  It was 82 here today, but already at 6pm it is 10 degrees cooler and will likely be another 15 cooler yet before morning.

 

 

 

 

I just love these deep red nasturtiums!

 

I haven't only been flower gazing all summer.  I managed to finish up the king size quilt in time to give it to my nephew and his bride a month ago.  Since then I made this quilt and mailed it off to a friend yesterday.

The backing fabric is so lovely and soft to the touch.

In addition to quilting, I have been continuing to purge my closets of unneeded items.  The coat above belonged to my Grandma Betty, who passed away in 1976.  I have held on to this garment all these years, not really knowing what to do with it.  I don't want to wear fur, even if it is only a collar that I didn't purchase. I thought I would take pictures of it for my memory and then give it to a thrift store.  Now as it hangs in my studio, I am thinking I should instead make something from this wonderful quality coat fabric.  Any suggestions?  

I'm serious, I want suggestions, please!

Windy suggests that we all eat more watermelon while it is still available. She loves fruit.  I do hope you all make the most of these waning days of summer.  Me, I'm off to eat a piece of watermelon!
Be well.