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!