Quilt for Japan

Here are some photos of a quilt I sewed a few weeks ago. I sent it off to quilters' newsletter in Golden CO to be sent to Tsunami victims.  http://www.quiltersnewsletter.com/blogs/insideqn/2011/03/18/call-for-quilts-for-japan/.

I traveled to Japan twice when I was a teenager, and stayed in a small country inn near where the earthquake hit. I will always remember the polite residents.

The back of the quilt is pieced from an old duvet cover and some scraps I had- white, blue and black.

I just finished this Japanese quilt

Here is a quilt I just recently finished. I'd started it about 6 years ago and never really liked it. It's all Japanese prints I've been collecting for quite some time. I quilted it with a gold thread, which is a departure for me.. There's a lot of gold in the prints, It doesn't show up so well in the photo.
The picture on top is the back of the quilt.

Late afternoon in Carpinteria

This is a painting I did on New Year's Eve in Carpinteria CA, just south of Santa Barbara. There's a lovely park right on the ocean with a walking trail. I painted in the meadow looking into the sun toward Santa Cruz Island. Normally I like to paint with the sun behind me or off to one side, so this was a challenge. I was kept company by two Brittany Spaniels running around wildly. It was a happy day!

Rainy day still life

Yesterday was another rainy day here in Central California. We were supposed to paint outdoors at Point Lobos, but were rained out and retreated to the studio. Here's a small oil I did of camelias and fruit. This is honor of Camilla who won her school spelling bee and will represent her grammer school at the county level. Go Camilla!

sewing nine patch on a rainy day

One my favorite things to do on a rainy day is sew. It rained most of the weekend and that's what my 10 year old daughter and I spent time doing. I got out my most loved machine, my old Singer featherweight I bought on e-bay. I learned to sew on one exactly like it. I love the sound it makes, the utter simplicity of threading and using it and even the old and musty way the carrying case smells. Camilla has figured it out. We spread out lots of blocks I had lying around from previous projects, and she worked on her nine patch blocks. She 's made quite a few, and has a great start on her first quilt. I'm proud of her.

Baby quilt

I just finished this baby quilt today. It was super quick once I picked out the fabrics. It is from a pattern I saw in a blog A Quilting Life. The name of the pattern is Jellyfilled by Camille, her Etsy shop is thimbleblossoms, her blog too. I quilted it by machine with a very simple stitch in the ditch. I made it for the son and daughter in law of a special friend who are expecting their first baby soon. Let's hope they like it and it's not too bright!

Felted mushrooms for Christmas

I made these adorable felted mushrooms for Christmas ornaments this year.

They look really cute and woodlandy on a tree especially with a little squirrel nearby. They remind me of the art and Christmas books by Jan Brett. (You should really check out her webpage for a lot of great craft ideas!)

I found this mushroom pattern on ravelry, and if you're not a member you should become one! The pattern is by Kathryn Ivy and is available free on her website here. I followed the patterns as directed and I used Cascade and Lion's brand yarn because both of those felt really well. The Lion's brand is cheap at Beverly's. Here is a picture of my finished specimens:


The Amanita mushroom turned out well. I needle felted the spots on, impaling my fingers several times in the process. Despite that I decided to make more for gifts.