Last night we had some of the coldest weather of the winter - as odd as that may seem! My feathered friends were really busy this morning trying to take in some calories. We have a pair of Downy Woodpeckers (this is the male) that come to feed generally 4 times a day. They are particularly fond of suet. I remember the first time I found Downy Woodpecker feathers on the forest floor. I was in awe of the lovely rows of white dots - and did not yet know what bird they were from. The Downy's have since become one of my favorite birds and I so pleased that they enjoy visiting us! We had 8 finches on one feeder this morning too and the Juncos literally looked like a moving ground cover! I hung the first of our many hummingbird feeders up this past weekend. Generally they arrive on or near St. Patrick's day, but this year, with everything else happening so early, I think they may show up early. I wanted to be ready for them. These are two of three journal pages that are in a 'traveling' journal. Ultimately, the journal (which is one of three different ones going around) will be auctioned off and the proceeds will benefit a children's charity. The idea was the brain child of Kim Owens   (with Jennifer Maroney) on her Yahoo group called Blissfully Art Journaling . There are three journals that are making the rounds with themes based on love, friendship and an open category. These are for the 'love' journal. The page below includes the Albert Einstein quote that says 'There are two ways to live your life; one is as though nothing is a miracle- the other is as though everything is a miracle'. Makes sense to me! The page below contains an ee cummings poem that I have always rather liked. At first glance the words mean little but if you say it over and over the meaning becomes more apparent - at least to me it does. Love is a place & through this place of love move (with brightness of peace) all places yes is a world & in this world of yes live (skilfully curled) all worlds

  I've been back on a "small work" kick. I really enjoy making ATC's because they are a challenge at times. "Faith" is felted wool embellished with embroidery and a few beads. The back is made from a wonderful customizable ATC stamp that I got from Etsy.I like having my name and address already on the stamp. It's very well made. The background is a hand painted piece of muslin that I am slowly embroidering - and I do mean slowly!     This next group of cards is made for an ATC swap through Roses On My Table . I am not at all good at making cards to fit a theme - I seem to work much better when I am making, simply, an ATC with no theme. The theme of this card swap is, perhaps obviously, "Alice In Wonderland". I am so looking forward to seeing the new movie with Johnny Depp and I think this was one of the considerations  when the Alice theme was chosen, Generally I pushing a deadline with these swaps - but for once I have them ready to go before they are due! I want to swap some more cards - with no real theme but have not yet found a place that is currently hosting one. Any ideas?     This is probably my favorite - but I am thinking that not too many folks may like it. I love doodling a la Zentangle - and that's what started me off with this card. I never realized how amazing the visions and words of author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson really were - so I was grateful to have a chance to review some of his more memorable quotes! Oh! To have an imagination such as his was!  

  It was a glorious Spring like day on Shaw Island! Monsieur LeChat was enjoying a kitty doze in the sun until I rudely awakened him and made him play with me.     I love the strong shadows that a sunny day imparts to photos                 The sun was just beginning to set a bit as we returned to our island home town. For the past almost 20 years each time I watch the ferry coming into the dock I get a peaceful feeling and a great joy to be home. Happy weekend to all !  

  This is a hooked rug that graces the wall of the Shaw Island Community Center. It details the first Shaw homesteaders This is the final installment of Textiles along the Silk Road. This unusual piece was a woman's garment though no one - including the speaker - understands how is was supposed to have been worn. It is comprised of a long rectangle that is sewn together along the long sides -so that both top and bottom are open. This is quite an old piece and the variety and quality of hand work was very interesting. If you look at the teeny tiny cross stitches below the worked medallions you will notice that it appears that someone just stopped working on the heart shaped cross stitches.         The center medallian and edging is worked in a fabulous beading technique that is so effective! I had to take some close ups of how the red and white beads were strung         Above you can some beautiful design work that was, it appears, spliced together from two differing pieces... both lovely. Looks like natural dyes to me. Below is an amzing piece that is a woman's headress, All of these soft tassles would hang sown the back. Speculation is that the braids - which are on a wooden harness type of thing - was braided into the woman's hair. Last, but not least another glorious, richly colored textile that has the most silky soft, amazing fringe work ! This is it for the stroll down the Silk Road. It was another great lecture through our textile guild! Next post - some new ATC's.    

  The top know on a beautiful hat and the beautiful edgework on the same chapeau!     What amazed us all about many of these textiles is the variety of hand work in each piece. Ms. Christoffersen suggested that the textiles of this region are as colorful as they are, at least in part, to counter the stark geographical realities of the area. After seeing some of the slides I have to say that I agree with the plausibility of that assessment ! The "full" hat   The hat below is just a cacophony of color and design work!     and this is what the inside of this piece looks like !     I loved to more quiet colors and beautiful design work on this hat     Some more designs and fancy stitching. What a feast for the eyes this lecture was !     I will have one more post in this series tomorrow. More glorious textiles from this magical place called the silk road! When will I win a lottery so that I can go?!!  

  Getting ready to board the ferry on a very Spring like day in 'paradise'. This past Saturday The San Juan County Textile Guild held their meeting on most favorite of all islands - Shaw Island. Some of you may remember that I raved about Shaw Island last June when my friend Janet and I took a natural dyeing workshop with Joan Morris . The Community Center on Shaw is perfection. The perfect place for a meeting, workshop, lecture, dance or general get-together. It is, to my way of thinking, precisely what a community center should look like and function as. The fun part about these meetings is that the ferry makes a circuit - making it plausible for Guild members from all of the islands to attend the meeting....and leave at the same time. The local ferry takes us from our Island, San Juan Island, to Orcas Island and then onto Shaw. The reverse run goes from Shaw to Orcas and home to San Juan.  We were fortunate to have a lecture and slide show about textiles along the Silk Road - presented by a lovely and knowledgeable woman named Joan Christoffersen. I had never thought that the idea of a Sil Road tour held much appeal to me - but after this slide show I have changed my mind - and would love to one day be able to see these amazing sites and textiles.     Gathering place: the ferry terminal on San Juan Island Being able to visit Shaw Island again at this time of year gave me an opportunity to visit my "favorite" trees at the community center. The paperbark birches were just beginning to bud and I carefully took my small allotment of bark home with me. Such beautiful trees!         This is a book that Joan had brought for reference .     Here is a map of the Silk Road -  Joan's commentary covered most all of these exotic locations This dress, that Joan thought was most likely made for the tourist trade, fascinated me.  I wanted to get my hands on some of these fabuous medallions!         Hats seem to be the 'big' thing - each area has a slightly different version and all of the men, in all of the areas,always wears a hat.     The hat below is a special one - it's old and displays the most amazing array of fine needlework!  The second photograph is the colorful top of the hat. Come back to have a look at more amazing textiles tomorrow.

Valentine's Day has always puzzled me just a bit. The idea of choosing one day to be especially loving or thoughtful just never quite sat right with me really - although I have always enjoyed the rewards of this special day I always thought that it would be more pertinent to use this day to commit to making every day a 'Valentine's' day. I mean - if you truly care for someone then you should attempt to treat them lovingly every day right? Would a gold heart that says " Property of Tiffany" mean I am loved more than say a beautiful card and some of my favorite vanilla almonds?  Would a trip to Victoria's Secret mean that I care more for spuse on this day than any other? That is beside the point that  trip to Victoria's Secreat at my stage of life would be a harrowing experience for me as well as my mate!! As the old adage goes- at this point in my life " I am made for comfort not speed"  - and yes, I treasure my Lazy'Girl' chair. Come to think of it why are those chairs always lazy boys? We gals enjoy a good lazy day too ! I was lucky to get a beautiful stargazer lily plant and one of my favorites- a jasmine plant that I am praying I can manage to keep alive for a long time ! I wandered through a few Valentine's sites today looking for answers about why we celebrate this special red heart day. I found lots of interesting things and this post could become a book if I let it - albeit I suppose it might be an interesting little tome. I discovered the usual bits of history that are, actually, well worth noting again: Quote".... On February 14 around the year 278 A.D., Valentine, a holy priest in Rome in the days of Emperor Claudius II, was executed. Under the rule of Claudius the Cruel, Rome was involved in many unpopular and bloody campaigns. The emperor had to maintain a strong army, but was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. Claudius believed that Roman men were unwilling to join the army because of their strong attachment to their wives and families. To get rid of the problem, Claudius banned all marriages and engagements in Rome. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Valentine was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. The sentence was carried out on February 14, on or about the year 270. Legend also has it that while in jail, St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it "From Your Valentine." For his great service, Valentine was named a saint after his death. In truth, the exact origins and identity of St. Valentine are unclear. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "At least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early martyrologies under the date of 14 February." One was a priest in Rome, the second one was a bishop of Interamna (now Terni, Italy) and the third St. Valentine was a martyr in the Roman province of Africa. Legends vary on how the martyr's name became connected with romance. The date of his death may have become mingled with the Feast of Lupercalia, a pagan festival of love. On these occasions, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed. In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius decided to put an end to the Feast of Lupercalia, and he declared that February 14 be celebrated as St Valentine's Day. ..." END QUOTE Well, that's one theory anyway !  Have a look at the website I found that offers lots of great information about Valentine's Day and it customs and history - as well as many other theories about the beginning of this heart worth day. Look at it all here !  One of the most fun things that I found on my web walkabout is this dating through the ages gem from The History Channel - it's just too much fun to NOT take this little quiz. The History channel also offers this fabulous little video about the history of the Valentine's Day card . This is well worth the time and you will see glimpses of the most awesome cards ever ! This woman has an amazing collection she says contains 10,000 pieces. I guess Valentine's Day is good. It's always a good thing to tell the people that you love that they are special in your life - that, indeed, they grace your life with their love and friendship. I am blessed to have some some 'forever' friends. They hold my past and my future in their hands. I am also blessed to have found a 'forever' husband. No easy feat in this day and age when honesty and integrity can be sorely lacking in many. I had to go through some toads to get here - but  " in love" is a wonderful place to find myself in !  I wish all of you who share my blog journey with me special thanks and hope that your Valentine's Day is blessed with love, laughter and light! PS: I just was sent a wonderful vision of St. Valentine's day from Kevin Deviercy . Very well done! Have a look at this as well !  

  I am doing a journal swap with my buddy Kathy . I am, as usual, just a bit behind schedule but this weekend I had the luxury of playing a bit and getting caught up. We decided that the beginning of the journal would be an introduction page made using  a silhouette. this is my page. I did another spread too but want Kathy to enjoy seeing something first. I'd hesitated about posting this age - but decided that she would not mind too much - after all she will see it "in the flesh". I have another two pages to get done this week before I ship this off to her and await her journal in the mail . Journal swaps are fun and  this particular one is magnificently managed by Kim at BlissfullyArtJournaling . Kim's site is a great group and she arranges wonderful swaps - there is always something happening and always some wonderful art to see! I just got a quilt commission today - making a memory quilt for a woman that I like a lot. It's going to take some time - the shirts that she wants used are poly and cotton -  all knits.... lots of stabilizing in my future. Hummmm do I mean that literally or figuratively d'ya think?! I will enjoy the sound of wonderful sewing machine again .... still not sure how best to charge for this. Anyone out there have any suggestions? Work week begins again for me in the morning - I wonder if I should visual journal how I feel about that?! More soon!  

 I saw this wonderful little 'spot' over at Sharon's PinTangle and was so touched by it that I thought I would share it with you here too. People have asked why I journal - and I could not say it any better than this.  W. Cleon Skousen (1913-2006) shares his way of keeping a  personal journal and after a life time there is 100 plus journals.

I've been feeling rather edgy lately - rather like this frenzy of these color stix - just all over the place. Maybe it's the last grasping gray claws of Winter that are setting my mind on edge - or maybe it's just that I am just trying to 'birth' some ideas. Maybe there is some gris gris energy in the stars that is setting me off?  I need to make a decision about some back surgery - maybe subconsciously that's what is making me feel "off my game". I dunno - but I wish it would pass. I prefer to feel a bit more grounded.   All of my desire for color is still in place but I am not sure just how I want to get the colors down. Paper? Cloth?  I'll probably just take my own advice to "just start somewhere" - that usually does the trick and then I can proudly say that I do take my own advice! How unusual!! I am late with some journal work - so I guess I better start there. Late into the night yesterday my thoughts were doing their usual monkey mind rambling and I began to think about early birds and night owls.  Some people love the quiet of the early morning hours. I prefer the stillness of the night. I think it's really the same aesthetic. The other night I woke up in pre-dawn hours and listened. I always sleep with an open window even in the dead of Winter. I feel like I can't breath otherwise! I listened to the silence and could envision a fox shifting position in it's den. The crows waiting to wake everyone up with their raucousness. Chickadees snuggling in their nests. I listened to the utter stillness that one can only find in the blessed quiet of rural areas these days. Finally I heard the low call of an owl - which is what I think I had wanted to hear all along. The messenger of night-time stillness called out - saying that all was well in the nighttime landscape. I have longed puzzled if our preferences for being an early bird or a night owl are born. I have preferred the late night ever since I can remember - and it seems to me that Mother told me that I preferred that as an infant as well. My spouse and dear friend are both consummate early birds - and claim that they too have always been like that. Well, I think my firend may have not been when she was in her 20's - I'll have to ask her that! I wonder if anyone has done any research on this silly little tidbit of our genetics. Predisposition or not? What say you? Which are you? Why do you like your early morning or late night?

There are times when I wonder if I am just spinning my wheels. Times when it seems like anythinga and everything takes so-o-o-o much time. I wonder if I am the only one that seems to move theough life doing everything more slowly than everyone else. That's what life has felt like to me lately and I am not sure what, if indeed anything, I am doing wrong. I had another round of very belated cards to send out. Each one, of course done individually, seemed to take more time than I had thought they would. I was happy with them however and was even more happy to finally get them in the post. I had thought I only needed to make 6 - come to find out when I began addressing them, I needed to make 9 total. I sent out 7 - so I still have two more to go,  I am antsy to get to some journaling that is also slowly becoming a part of the late pile - and I don;t want that to happen! I have also been working on a shawl in the evenings-. This is one of those projects that will take take some time to complete. I am considering working my way through Cheryl Oberle's Books "Folk Shawls ". THe pattern I am working on now is the 'Aran Pocket Shawl'. I am using Misti Alpaca in a peau soup kind of color - ahhhh!!! so soft. I love the checkboard effect that the shawl will have - but, since I work on it in the evenings only after work and in from of the TV , it will take take some time to finish. You can see by the large number of colored 'tags' on the top pf the book that I have many projects maked as worthy og knitting! I love shawls !     Here is as good as close-up as I was able to get of the texture - it's really a nice pattern. I am planning to work through the shawls that are Irish, and Scottish first and the some of the Scandinavian designs which are generally more delicate and lacy. Lots to do - lots of  s-l-o-w  c-l-o-t-h  to work on ! Maybe that's why I feel like I am spinning my wheels - it seems like everything I am doing lately is of the slow cloth variety. Hopefully, I will have more to show you soon!  

This beautiful piece of artwork was done by my new friend Julie Wildman of Wildman Designs.  Julie is a graphic artist and suberb calligrapher. Her work is simply stunning - as I am sure you will agree if you swing on over to 'her place' to have a look at her dazzling art!  Late last year I received an email from Julie - she had found my blog and website from a link on cyberscribes  (it's a list serve for calligraphers and calligrapher wannabe's like me!) . Julis was interested in buying some cards that she had seen on my website. I was thrilled ! Ultimately Julie did make my Christmas brighter by buying some cards but we also agreed on an exchange - one of my felted bags for a piece of her beautiful calligraphy. This Irish blessing has always been a favorite of mine and I think that Julie truly reflected what I feel about this blessing in her beautful rendering and art work! I love this piece !! Now I need to find a fitting frame! I had wanted to include more close-ups and I  had been waiting for a sunny day to take photographs but the best I could hope for this time of yeat was a drier spot between rain showers - so I was not able to get too many shots. I wanted so much to share this beautifuyl piece with you now - it's still raining today too! The photos would have been much better quality if the sky had cooperatied a bit more !  

A cople of you have asked for the Tunnel Of Fudge recipe - so here it is as Melissa Gray from NPR wrote it in her wonderful book "All Cakes Considered" . If you love to bake this is one one wonderful book of cakes ! Tunnel of Fudge Cake This is the recipe Pillsbury offers for the prize-winning cake that started the bundt pan revolution. It is not exactly the same as Ella Helfrich’s because Pillsbury stopped making the double dutch fudge buttercream frosting mix she used in the original. Now you have to make the whole cake from scratch. Nuts are essential to the cake’s success. A "tunnel of fudge" mysteriously appears in the finished cake. This does make it tough to use the usual toothpick method of determining doneness Cake 1 ¾ cups sugar 1 ¾ cups butter or margarine, softened 6 eggs 2 cups powdered sugar 2 ¼ cups all purpose or unbleached flour ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa ( NOT dutch processed. very important!) 2 cups chopped walnuts Glaze ¾ cup powdered sugar ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa 4-6 tsp. milk Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan (or a 10-inch tube pan). In a large bowl, combine sugar and butter or margarine; beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add 2 cups powdered sugar; blend well. By hand, stir in flour and remaining cake ingredients until well blended. Spoon batter into greased and floured pan and spread evenly. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until top is set and edges are beginning to pull away from sides of pan. Cool upright in pan on wire rack 1 ½ hours. Invert onto serving plate and cool at least 2 hours. In small bowl, combine glaze ingredients, adding enough milk for desired drizzling consistency. Spoon over top of cake, allowing some to run down sides. Store tightly covered.

First off let me say that I have not been as static lately as my blog might seem to indicate! I have been making cards that needed to be sent off and, in my haste, I forgot to photograph them. I have been working on a knitted shawl in the evenings and  ripped it all out two days ago because I did not like the way it looked and have started again. I've been reading a lot too! Project wise I have one more largeish project to finish this coming weekend and then I can get back to journaling and sewing without guilt! I had had this recipe for a "Tunnel of Fudge Cake" marked to experiment with and yesterday was the day I finally did try the recipe. WoW ! This really is a wonderful cake. Very rich and remarkably simple. It's from "All Cakes Considered" by Melissa Gray. I love this cook book and reviewed it on my book blog some time ago.  The cake won a $5,000 prize in 1966 (worth, it was noted, $30,000. in today's coin).  The chemistry of eggs and sugar combine to make a tunnel of fudge that runs through the middle of the cake.  It would be a perfect special occasion cake. My friends at work loved it too - and DH thought it was mighty fine Below: The recipe as it looks in the book you can double click remember!   This is what the NPR website has to say about Melissa Gray and her cakes: "October 26, 2009 ....Just about every Monday, All Things Considered producer Melissa Gray dashes off an e-mail that reads something like this: "Up front we've got sweet potato pound cake, still warm. Dig in, don't be shy." That goes without saying. When Gray started bringing cakes into the office, she discovered the staff will eat just about anything. Her adventures in baking, and the staff's adventures in eating what she created, are recounted in a new cookbook called All Cakes Considered: A Year's Worth of Weekly Recipes Tasted, Tested, and Approved by the Staff of All Things Considered...." Below: The cover of this remarkable book This sort of Bundt pan would be nice to have- I like the design it makes. The recipe calls for an 8" Bundt pan but all I had was a 9" - worked fine. Below: The cake as it appears in the book.

Some of you who have read my blog for awhile may realize that I have been enamored with Amish Quilts for more years than I care to admit to! My obsession with them began with an exhibit of Amish Quilts at the Whitney Museum in New York City in the 1970’s. I have always thought that Amish quilts represent the height of quilt artistry and I’ve collected books on Amish quilts for many years. I was, therefore, thoroughly delighted when I was asked to review this new book from Pomegranate Communications ! “Amish Abstractions: Quilts From The Collection of Faith &  Steven Brown” is a lush, beautifully printed, book presented by the San Francisco Fine Arts Museums and is, as mentioned above, published by Pomegranate Communications . I have known about Pomegranate as a purveyor of fine cards, book marks and wonderful calendars, but I was not aware of their extensive, very beautiful, line of art books. Their catalog is impressive!  " Tumbling Blocks", circa 1925  Ohio or Indiana  72 X 70 "   The forward to “Amish Abstractions” is written by John E. Buchanan, Jr. Director of Museums/ Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Faith & Steven Brown have written an excellent ‘Collector’s Note’ about their superb collection and the book contains essays ,written by noted quilt historians,that are both interesting and very informative. Janneken Smucker, quilt historian, presents an excellent, very enjoyable, essay entitled ‘Quilts In Amish Contexts : Traditions and Adaptations’ in which she explains a bit about the history of the Amish, the Amish aesthetic, and how the tradition of Amish quilt making began. This essay offers a compact history of how the Amish began making quilts, initially large scale patterns made from fabrics left over from clothes making - progressing to how the Amish ultimately used more mainstream patterns in their quilt making. The eminent quilt historian Robert Shaw has contributed an essay entitled “Fundamentally Abstract: The Aesthetic Achievement of Amish Quiltmakers”. This is a well written essay that describes the evolution of Amish design work and the historical differences between the quilt styles of various Amish sects. From the Lancaster Amish and their brilliant central diamond designs that feature large open spaces filled with beautiful feathered quilting patterns to the Midwestern Amish quilt makers who favored blue & black, used pieced patterns, and used more main stream cottons and other fabrics as opposed to the wools used by Lancaster County quilters – this essay is an excellent preview to the history of Amish quilt patterns. An essay contributed by Joe Cunningham, another noted quilt historian, is entitled “All In The Details: The Making of Amish Quilts”. It’s a concise, well presented introduction to the history of the quilt patterns that were most often used by the Amish. Above: "Unnamed Pattern" circa 1930, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania  70 X 70 " Above: "Railroad Crossing" circa 1888, Melinda Miller, Walnut Creek, Ohio  89 X 69" What I enjoyed the most about this book is that the Brown’s collection of Amish quilts contains some amazing examples of quilts- some of which I have not seen. The plates in this book offer some prime examples of the large, beautifully quilted, wool quilts of the Lancaster Amish, but there are also some spectacular examples of quilts made from more main stream patterns: Amish crazy quilts, abstracts, nine-patch and variations, ocean waves, hole in the barn door, broken dishes – all ‘main stream’ patterns that, in the hands of the Amish, become works of art. The Amish aesthetic and their utilization of colors make the patterns sing and their use of juxtaposed colors raise the patterns from traditional patch work to artistic masterpiece. I think that the artistry in Amish quilts is what has always fascinated me about them – they are brilliant, bold, aesthetically pleasing and, to my eye, they always represent the epitome of quilt artistry. I highly recommend this book for quilt enthusiasts in general but most certainly quilt historians and those who admire Amish design will be especially pleased with the Faith & Steven Brown Amish quilt collection presented in this book. The color plates are very well done and the text portions of the book are excellent reading. I could go on and on about the patterns and color plates in this book – but it is probably best if you just buy the book! All in all, although I seldom provide the rating, I believe that this book deserves five stars! Below: "Ocean Waves" circa 1925, Holmes County, Ohio   89 X 76" Below: "Unnamed Pattern" Circa 1930, Crib Quilt 30 X 25" "Crazy Quilt" circa 1930, Arthur, Illinois  78 X 63 "  Could anything be more modern, abstract or awesome as this Amish 'Crazy Quilt'?!

Yesterday I reviewed this great new book on my book blog, but today I decided that some of my regular readers here might also be interested. I apologize for the redundancy if you are one of those cool people who actually follow both blogs - and I promise that new content is in the works! My deep appreciation for the use of wool in quilts began long ago when I first saw a collection of Amish Quilts made of wool at the Whitney Museum in New York City. Wool, aside from being warm , wool is also a pleasure to work with - and it makes color sing. I've been involved in the quilting world for many years now and I have wondered why quilting with  wool has not made a comeback. It seems like a perfect fit to me. Voila! This new book " Quilt It With Wool: Projects Stitched On Tartans, Tweeds, & Other Toasty Fabrics" by Nathalie Mornu (Published by Lark Books) is finally beckoning sewing enthusiasts and quilters back into the "make it from wool" fold. Things like penny rugs have made a significant reappearance in recent years and wools have become a prominent fixture at large quilt shows. Richly colored and patterned wools have, it seems, become more available. Wool is,perhaps, a bit more expensive than most quilting/sewing cottons - but colors are rendered so much richer in wool! This book offers a variety of projects that will not require a huge expenditure (you can even use re-purposed wool) but will whet your appetite for all things wool! Ms. Mornu begins her book with a thorough and informative section about wool's history, wool types  and how to choose wool for the projects in the book. She also  reviews things like what the components of a quilt are; batting, non-wool fabrics & thread selection. A handy reference for putting together a basic sewing kit is included in the front of the book as are some suggested settings for using your sewing machine to work with wools. The projects  range from a sumptuous gathered wool handbag, a beautifully stitched eyeglass case, a fun and quirky wooley bird mobile, wool earrings, an obi styled belt, an adorned wool capelet, a draft dodger (to keep the cold from under your doors out), stylish pillows, pencil holders (aka a container) to footstool covers. All in all this book contains 23 projects crafted from a variety of wools. The instructions are well thought out and richly illustrated. I was thrilled to see that wools are once again becoming a more mainstream selection for quilts and quilter projects. Start your own adventure and discover the pleasures of quilting and sewing with rich, colorful wools! Give this book a try - I highly recommend it ! Please note: The publisher and author kindly supplied me with a galley of this book for review purposes only. No other remuneration was received .

     FALLOW 1 |falō| adjective (of farmland) plowed and harrowed but left unsown for a period  in order to restore its fertility as part of a crop rotation or to avoid surplus production : incentives for farmers to let the land lie fallow in order to reduce grain surpluses. • figurative inactive : long fallow periods when nothing seems to happen. I have been experiencing a fallow time. We all seem to be plagued with these  creative 'down' periods at one time or another. I can sit in front of a page or piece of cloth and my mind goes blank - nothing comes up. Not one creative thought or desire. I try to take my own advice and "just start". One line of color , one dot of black on a clean surface. Just begin. Eventually it works. I slowly take a halting step towards reconnection with the msue. Slow. Plodding at first but the momentum builds. I am not yet rolling in creative juices but I am closer than I was a day or three ago. It is, after all, still a retrograde phase for mercury and, during these times, it is supposed to be a good idea to not start any new projects. A time for reflection and reviewing. I have been doing that. Last summer I began to knit a shawl from Cheryl Oberle's book "Folk Shawls" - it's called the Stora Dimun Shawl. I decided to go back to work on it . I am using a beautiful pea green Misti Alpaca yarn that is soft and comforting to work with.  My previous work looks awful - so I take it  all apart and  create a huge ball of yarn. Time to begin again - but I consider it not a beginning but a reviewing! Now, it looks better and I am happier with it. It may do justice to the yarn now - while before it looked awkward and forced - the stitches all 'wonky' and uneven. Maybe my mind was uneven when I first began it! I have several pairs of gloves almost finished as well as a pair or two of socks - all of these are there to be finished during these fallow times when I have no spark of creativity left - when I want to do it stare out the window and watch the birds feast. Maybe in another day or two I will have something new to share - something more creative - or maybe I will just continue to patiently knit away the evening hours. Then, at least, I will have the real beginnings of a shawl to show you ! Mercury will off retrograde on Friday the 15th. I wait for more creative juice - patiently making one line of color, one knitted row, one line of words in my journal. The good thing is that fallow times are always followed by heady creative times. Just as we must have shadow in order to appreciate the sun we must also have fallow times in order to fully appreciate the gift of creativity when it begins to once again flow through us. The key, I think, is to learn to also enjoy the fallow periods. To consider them not down, useless, times but rather as preparation - a time to fill the well with calmness and with thankfulness. A time to be rather than to do. It's all good.

This morning's email brought a delightful little 'test' from my super artist friend, Julie . Basically it is a very fun, interactive test that pairs your answers to four simple questions, to a a typeface. It takes very little time and is a lot of fun. I would love it, if you are so inclined, if you would take the test and leave me a note telling me what your type is ! Thanks Julie for a fun way to begin a Saturday morning!  hotlink to test: Type face test What Type Are You? Since 1974, the design studio Pentagram has come up with a special way to usher in the holiday season, sending a select group of friends, colleagues and clients small booklets with an emphasis on strong graphic design rather that pat holiday greetings. But we kinda think they outdid themselves with 2009’s edition, the charming and incredibly well-executed and interactive What Type Are You? Typeface, that is! After entering your name and password—happily, we are allowed to reveal here that it is “character” —turn your speakers, as directed, up. A nattily dressed man, seen only from the neck down, goes into therapy mode, speaking in what we’re imagining is a Freud-like accent. He’ll ask you four simple questions, pausing and fidgeting impatiently if you take too long, and will reveal your own individual “type.” There are 16 different possibilities (from Archer Hairline to Universal), and you’ll receive a short and fascinating history lesson on the specified font. Talk about a gift that keeps giving...

 Note: If you want to go straight to the Bendable Bright Light website  - click on the post title! I have been looking at these lights since 2007 - hemming and hawing about whether they would be a beneficial thing to use and whether or not I should spend the money to try one out. My beloved Bernina 153 (orange!) already has an LED light but my equally beloved Bernina 180 is old enough that it does not. Have I mentioned that without glasses I am legally blind - so I can use all of the clear light I can get?! One year in Houston I picked this up, looked at the price and then put it back down. I repeated this foolish game with myself several times at various booths and ended up spending "my wad" at Beyond Beadery - the first place I generally run to when I vist Houston Festival. I had this on my Santa wish list this year and, thankfully, Santa came through so that this year in Houston I will not have to embarrass myself with  my continuing, to buy or not to buy, neurotic behavior! First of all it is very easy to install - and being able to use it on another machine will be as easy as buying one more part for it - an extra bracket. The Bendable Bright Light comes with a generous eight foot power cord. Clips are supplied so that you can snake the cord around the machine - nothing gets in the way of your material or sewing area. The on/off button is within easy reach and only a light touch is need to turn the light on or off. There are NO magnetic parts so no worries about our new fangled computer driven beauties. The clips are attached with 3M adhesive - strong and long lasting but removable if you must at some point. If I can find a bracket in Houston this year I will buy one! The installation is thoughtfully considered and all of the parts work as they should. Light! I am always a bit of a skeptic about gadgets but I am also my father's daughter in that I adore them - all of them - the more gadgets the merrier. I wish I could have found a job as a gadget tester - I would have flourished in that career! Back to the matter at hand -- light. The light from this little appliance is bright, clear and true. It's brighter than the LED on my Bernina 153. The bendable neck is really very bendable - allowing you to move the light where you need it - on the fabric or on the foot. It makes threading the needle really easy! I think this is an almost necessary accessory to have if your sewing machine is an older model- and I am going to get one of these for my Featherweight. If your machine already has an LED light but your eyes need a bit more light for needle threading or close work than I think that a  Bendable Bright Light would be an excellent thing to consider. All in all I should not have dithered the way I did for so long. This is a great little gizmo that really does help you see better!

The main subject of this post really has nothing to do with these photographs - but I did want to share a couple of my latest fingerless gloves with you. These are gauntlets actually. I never thought I would like the longer size but I do ! I found a ball of an Heritage yarn from Australia in my stash and made the first white pair from it. It's 50 % wool and 50% mohair. Yet another thing that I had not thought I would care for much is the mohair but I am astounded at how extra warm this pair of gloves is! Most unfortunately, this yarn has been discontinued  or I would buy more of it. I've been looking for another similar 50/50 yarn to use instead but have not found one yet. This is a light sport weight and I knit them on size 5 (metric 3.75) needle. If you know of something that might work please let me know!  The pink pair is made from Cascade Cloud 9,  which is a yummy, super-soft blend of 50% merino and 50% angora - which is what the pattern called for. The pattern is a freebie from Dancing Ewe , where they carry all of Cloud 9's colors. The pattern is called "Susie's Reading Mitts" . I love this pattern! There is just enough of a simple design on top and bottom to look pretty and add interest but it's also just enough boring knitting to be able to sit in front of the TV and stitch away.  I have ferreted out several new fingerless glove patterns - and I am excited to get started on them. Yes, I know - it's the little things that make me smile! I am planning to add some beads the the white pair for a little bit of bling - they look like princess gloves to me! Now on the main reason for this post! Sorry for the longer than expected knitting detour! Happy 2010 everyone! I realize that I am a day - or three- late for passing along my New Year salutations but I have been doing a lot of pondering since the calendar turned. I have never been one for making New Year's resolutions. They generally seem to be forgotten after the first week of the New Year and I dislike making resolutions unless I think that there is a fair chance that I will actually be able to follow through. The new thing this year - or perhaps it's just that I have only noticed it this year - is to choose a 'word of the year' - or is it, in my case, 'words of the year'? Whatever. I even found an interesting questionnaire from Christine Kane designed to help you focus in on an appropriate word. I liked this and, although I am not terribly good about filling out pithy forms, I actually used this to help me weed out words that immediately jumped to the surface of my mind like create!, loseweight!, domore! None of those words, however appropriate they may be for me in the short term, felt quite right. I have been considering this 'word of the year concept' for several days now. Rolling words around in my head to see what felt right, to feel which resonated as real for me this year. My problem is that I cannot limit myself to just one word. I've tried to - really I have. The issue that I continually struggle with is whether or not I need to constrain my hobbies in order to focus more on only one or two things. I go around and around with this. In this sense my "word" would be simplify, but I must look at that in a second light in order to decide if this is " the " word. Simplify might certainly mean condensing my hobbies - or it might not. I suppose that might depend on what being able to follow all of my paths means to me and what goals, if any, I might have, for the things that I make. There was a time when my goal in making quilts was to be an acknowledged quilter - not well know necessarily - (a psychologist would no doubt have a field day with that last comment!) but decently acknowledged in the field. Over time I realized that wanting recognition was my ego talking pure and simple and I had to ask myself if I wanted recognition because of my ego or for the benefit of my inner artist. I think that there can be a difference. When sought acknowledgment I did, pretty much, only quilt. I did not know how to knit at that time, nor did I know how to paint, do calligraphy or make soaps an lotions. I made some things that I knew were not my best - but they were deadline pieces... you see where I 'm headed with this perhaps? Deadline work and work that is made specifically for a show entry are not necessarily my best work.  My best, most authentic, work comes for being able to make art just to please myself, being able to go slowly when I want or need to and not having to work on a timetable. My best work comes from my heart - from a place deep inside that has no road maps and follows no rules. I have pretty much given up on the idea of acknowledgment in the quilt or quilt art world. If it comes it will thrill me but if it doesn't it won't upset me any longer the way it once would have. There are just so many things that bring me joy. Knitting is the evening, as I already mentioned, practicing making a perfectly rounded unical letter, getting gesso and paint in my hair -or feeling the rich pieces of roving flow under my hands when I felt. I think I am ordained to be a "jill-of-all-trades, master a none". I just like to have fun and follow the muse where she wills me to go. My short list of words  are: 1.   Strength 2.   Simplify 3.   Stressless 4.   Uncomplicated 5.   Faith The questionnaire goes on to ask "why is this the perfect word for you this year?" Strength:    I would like to have the strength to be able to deal with whatever the year's challenges may be. I want to try to stand up for myself more and develop more confidence both in my work and in myself. Simplify :   I had been noticing that when friends called me I would multi task. and I felt that I was not honoring them with my full attention. I don't want to do that. I want to be fully present when I am speaking with my friends - after all I am blessed to have the ones I have and I don't want to lose them through neglect. I want to take time to smell the roses, take decent photographs, listen to the birds, sing, ponder on a piece of art before I begin it, enjoy the simple pleasures of life that tend to slip by on a daily basis because other things compel me more loudly and more stridently. I want to knit in the evenings without having a pang of guilt that I should be doing my 'artful' things at my desk or sewing machine. I want to fully connect with life in a less hurried, more calm way. Stressless:    I guess this sort of has parts of 'simplify' in it. There are times when I can sit in my chair at work and listen to the cacophony of sounds swirling around me - everyone's energy levels at peak performance and I can almost feel the the world slip-sliding away. I get an image of the Tower - for those of you who know Tarot cards. The world crumbling around us all and yet we don;t take the time to notice. It seems like yesterday that my friend's beautiful and talented daughter was leaving for college in New York - now she is beginning her last semester! How'd that happen?! I don't believe that our lives can be entirely stress-less and, indeed, some stress is a good thing. I just don't want to have to look back on my life and remember only a blur because I was multi-tasking and too stressed to be able to stop and appreciate the moments of my life. Uncomplicated: Again, bits and pieces of the words above are also pertinent to this one. Life these days is just too darn complicated to begin - I shouldn't add more complications to an already full stew pot! Faith: In myself, in my work, in my life's worth. Faith too that there is, somehow, order in the chaos of the world and that the will rise tomorrow There is more to this questionnaire and, although I am usually not at all good at filling these pithy self-examinations out, I found this one to actually be a useful tool. Part 2 calls for awareness and elimination and to learning to know your 'triggers'. Awww heck do I have to go back to the whining little child waiting within me again?! I haven't done that part yet .. and I may not ! My friend, Maria, called me yesterday and during our conversation we discussed the time warp pace as we get older. She reminded me of one of our favorite books written by Baba Ram Das in 1971 and  called " Remember, Be Here Now " (I wish I had my original copy of it and , in fact, I best go order one!). I got off the phone and realized that I had found not only my word, but the concept for my year ahead. It had been staring me right in the face all along! Remember, Be Here, Now.    Nothing else matters and nothing else really is. Namaste.   I do have one resolution!  It's to take the slow road. It seems that nothing I make falls into the fast,fabulous and fun category - so I'm going to go for gold - slow! These little gems are made from cashmere and merino - I forget which one . Either Cashmerino from Debbie Bliss or Cashsoft from Rowan. Either way they are soft, colorful and useful!

remember that you can double click on the photos for a better view! I could use many words as descriptors about this book. Delightful, refreshing, enchanting , appealing -  and, simply, one of the best little quilt books I have come across in a long while.  I was not sure that I would be the best reviewer for this book because I don't make a lot of baby quilts any more. Boy! Am I ever glad I decided to have a look! This is one of those books that screams originality.  The patterns are simple - and simple is a favorite with me - but each quilt also features the addition of something that makes the quilt special, endearing and enchanting. Just look at some of the names of the quilts in the 'contents' section! Just plain fun! The beginning of the book focuses on a very well thought out 'quilting basics' section. The book is also peppered with great short-cut ideas. A combination of captivating hand drawn images as well as photographs makes reading the directions, for the 'basics' as well as for the quilts totally enjoyable. Quilt directions are beautifully done - exemplars of the quilts are shown  in sketches as well as photographs and you glean information about the special talents of each of the quilt designers featured in the book. The books contains 12 simple quilt designs - each of which has an added, endearing, element. Folk artsy, colorful, embroidered and unique additions to each design makes these simple quilts stand out. The ideas are, of course, great for a child - but also for the adults in the crowd who look for a touch of whimsy in their lives! The designs are great for beginner's, especially with the wonderful 'basics' chapter to guide them, but also would be winner's for adults as well.  There are also lots of tips and tricks for applique, embroidery, quilting, bindings and how to add fun elements like small pockets.   There are also lots of tips and tricks for applique, embroidery, quilting, bindings and how to add fun elements like small pockets. This book makes me smile. It makes me want to put more fun back into my quilting. I have always thought that rules are made to be fiddled with (once you know the basics anyway) and this book , I think, proves me right. This is one book that will please quilters of all ages - and I am certain that if you buy it - you will find yourself smiling too!

Just in case anyone has sent me an email and I have not replied  - our email service provider has  experienced a catastrophic server failure. We have had no email service since late in the evening last Thursday! When I had no email on Xmas I thought that it was odd - but then again I thought that just maybe it made sense. When I still had no email on Saturday I knew that there had to be something wrong. I was just hoping that it was not on MY end! After a long wait I got through to a real person - who was pleasant despite what I am sure must not have been a great day.  All customers are affected and they had no estimate on when it would be back in service! Today I opted for an email 'chat'. I waited patiently online - I was the 47th person in the queue. I opened a new window and surfed while I waited. 45 minutes late I 'chatted' with another customer service person who told me that they hoped to haves ervice restored Tuesday. "Tuesday??!!",  says me???  "How can that be". "Well", says she, "Monday it may be - we really don't know". Since we have just started a new Mercury Retrograde   that lasts until January 15th I figure I just need to hope that anyone that really needs to find me will either call, post a comment here or find me on Face Book or Twitter.  Although I know that many people  consider mercury retrograde to be too woo woo, I have found it to be quite accurate in my world.   I don't think that I have ever been without email for this long since I have been using a home computer. I wonder what they will say to their customers when all is said and done. At least the hi-speed internet has not been affected - that, in itself, is a blessing! I will be uploading some photographs and actually have a couple of posts in mind - I can't believe that I have been so lacking in the posts - I'll just blame it on a cold ! Did you know that this coming New Year's Eve we will have a Blue Moon ? It's amazing when you consider that the next time we will have a blue moon on New Year's Eve will not be until 2028!! Additionally this Blue Moon on New Year's Eve will also feature a partial lunar eclipse ! In North America we ill not be able to see it but still it could be a rockin' rollin' New Year's Eve - so celebrate but be careful too !

As a nob to my continuing search for the perfect pen for myself, I recently sold several pens to finance what I had hoped would be my first ever custom nibbed pen. I chose master nib-meister John Mottishaw of Classic Pens .  Finding a pen that I both liked and could afford was the most difficult thing - but since I had wanted to try out a Falcon anyway I decided to try one. My next decision was whether to have it made into a cursive italic or an oblique both of which I like - one of which, the cursive italic, I had never tried. After some gentle hand holding by John's colleague, Jonella, I chose a Falcon  by Namiki with cursive italic. I love it! Now I am having a very difficult time waiting to order  an oblique nibbed pen as well. I'll probably have it on either a Pelikan or another Falcon since I have found it to be such a pleasing pen. Having a customized nib is an experience that is worth the wait - it's such a genuine pleasure to write with! It's rather a holiday gift to myself - but I don't feel too guilty because I did sell some pens in order to be able to get! Thanks to those of you who helped me finance this little gem! Doesn't this side view really look like a falcon's head?! Ah! Near perfection in a writing instrument!

For the last few days I have been making cards. These are a few of them. I am not sure why I get such satisfaction out of making them - but they are gratifying to both make & to send. This group of cards are ear-marked for a lovely person who asked me to make some cards for her. It's been, as always a pleasure to do. Making cards affords me a real opportunity to try out new techniques and hone my skills in others. 'Clarity' was made using a base of cotton that I had painted with color washes with an over lay of an image printed on silk organza. 'Dream' was made in much the same way but the base is kimono silk. The landscape below was is a small painting using acrylics, watercolor & inks on muslin. The cats were made much the same way and with the same sort of materials. The little piece below, made on a whim, is acrylic on lutradur. Lutradue has become a surface that I am having a great time experimenting with to a greater extent than I have in the past. It's lots of fun! I would really like to ask for your opinion. Could you take a moment and tell me which card strikes you the best?  Which would you like to receive? Thanks !

* * * * Please remember that you can double click on photographs to get a better view I was not quite sure just what I would think of this book when I first saw. I think I was leery of the title - only because I tend to dislike titles like ' fast, fun easy' or fun & quick'. Don;' get me wrong we all need a quick fix at times and more or less instant result can be a very good thing sometimes too...I am just one of those people who stills likes real letters and finds more comfort in slow cloth than quick and easy. Although it is difficult to see in this photo -  the pattern pieces for some of the projects are happily  ensconced in a nice pocket on the inside front cover. This is a cross post from my book blog - but I thought that it would have relevance here -Enjoy! The first thing I noticed about this book is it's quality. It's a nice size, the paper is high quality and the cover spiral binding is very well made - these are things that I so look for in books - and yes, I am a page 'sniffer'. I love the smell of ink on paper - and I can be critical of paper color and paper quality - the latter especially in hard-covered books or those books that are made to get a lot of use. Of course the next thing that I looked at were - what else?! - the patterns. The patterns are divided into sections with titles such as "On The Go" (bags, lunch bags, lap top covers etc), "Household Affairs" (tea cozies,aprons, hot& cold packs), "Outfit Your Small Wonder" (obviously geared to clothing for your own little one). There are patterns for dog couture items, toys for children, great shopping bags and a wealth of small projects that really can be made with just a yard of fabric. Also included are things like sewing fundamentals - good for beginners or as a refresher for those of us with older cloth fixations. A couple of the 'patterns' are more like instructions for doing things like covering a cork board or scale with fabric. No necessarily sewing projects but they can be done with a yard or less of fabric. Some of these projects are for things that we could all probably figure out how to make. I don't know about you , but there are times when I am thrilled not to have to re-invent the wheel - and enjoy the fruits of what others have made pattern for so that I can save my brain cells  for the more involved projects that I barely have to complete as it is. Simple and right in front of me with a "how-to" can be a real time save. Have a look at this!  You can enter to win free yardage for a year.... now that's a cool thing!   I really liked this project for an obi inspired hot and cold pack This little 'catch all' holder called an 'Origami Organizer' is a very interesting project that I am going to have to try.     have been on a kick to find good looking alternatives to to the now ubiquitous grocery store provided 'green' bag. This book includes two patterns that are good. The one above is a bag that will fold in on itself for easy storage - making it easy to always have a shopping bag with you. The photo on the bottom is just a regular shaped bag and it is one of those patterns that I am glad is included so that I don't have to go and do the measuring to make the pattern myself. Easy!   Dog couture - how cute! I thought this little apron or smock for a wee one was just adorable. All in all I really like this book a lot and will highly recommend it. It seems to have something that will please everyone and is one of those books that will be a good resource and reference book - and yes, it does hold a lot of things that could be termed "fast, fun and fabulous" ! Give it a try - I don't think that you will be disappointed. Note: This book was provided to me by the publisher for reviewing purposed. No other remuneration.