SILK SCARF WITH BEADS

This scarf is made with the beads already attached.  It was a lot easier than putting the beads on yourself.  The yarn is silk and it is incredibly soft.  It's a treat for me because I am allergic to wool.  It feels so soft around my neck.  Purely decorative.  This is a picture of daughter-in-law- to- be modeling the scarf for me.  Cute, huh (I meant Meghan)!!!!

BABY, IT'S COLD OUTSIDE

This is the Princess Diana Hybrid Tea Rose.  I took it a picture of it very early this morning and it has frost on it.  It's December, and I still have roses.  California is amazing!  The temperature this morning was 28  degrees.  In the afternoon,  it was cool, sunny and pleasant.  But for Northern California, winter is finally here.  Now we just need RAIN!!!!!!!

THE GIRL WITH THE STRAW HAT

This watercolor painting is named The Girl in the Straw Hat, but I called it the Girl with the Mesmerizing Eyes.  The artist, my good friend John, seems to have captured the very essence of her being through her eyes.  I often watched him draw and paint and he did it with such incredible concentration that I believe he became the object that he was painting.  Sadly, we lost this talented artist and wonderful friend today.  I am so very sad that I will not be able to paint with my friend again.  My family grieves for John.  He has many friends and family who will grieve for him.  But he is at peace now and I wish his family comfort during this very difficult time.

AMARYLLIS

Orange is not my favorite color and most of the flowers in my garden are pink and purple.  But every year for Thanksgiving I buy orange mums and then plant them on my orange side garden.  This amaryllis was given to me as a gift several Christmas's ago and has decided this year to bloom for Thanksgiving.  I took  2 pictures of it.  One is the rich orange color and the other is the sun back lighting the flower.  I thought it looked awesome and think I might paint it in watercolor.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I have a collection of Christmas Catus.  They are all different colors and shapes.  This morning one of my Thanksgiving treats was the opening of the pink flower bud.  All the plants have buds on them, getting ready for Christmas!

MY ASSISTANTS

These are my buds who hang out with me while I garden.  Also, a picture of my husband planting the first winter plants.

NEW VEGETABLE GARDEN BEDS

I just had these vegetable beds made with cinder blocks.  They are very user friendly because you can reach the the plants from any side.  The one that I had before was too wide.  It was difficult to reach the plants in the middle unless you stepped another plant.

ANOTHER COLLAGE IDEA VIA ROSEMARY EICHORN

This collage panel was designed as a tabletop by Jane Lewis of the Quilter's Inn in Danville, Ca.

I haven't decided whether to make it a quilt, a tabletop or just displayed on the wall.  I love the colors in it especially the teal, turquoise and pink/mauve.  Many of the flowers are from Kaffe Fassett fabrics.  I have just secured them so I could take out the pins and do some decorative stitches on the inside of the flowers.  Beads would also look terrific inside the flower lines.  

FRONT PANEL CHRISTMAS VEST

The vest is made with peach/pink silk and cut out pieces of cotton and silk poinsettias.  I hope to bead the inside of the flowers with iridescent beads.  I'll keep posting to let you know how it turns out.

CHRISTMAS VEST PIC

CHRISTMAS VEST

This is a work in progress.  A Rosemary Eichorn vest for Christmas.  I hope I can complete in time to wear this year.  I have been going to a drop-in class on Monday morning co-taught by a mother-daughter team, Margaret Linderman and Janis Stob.  The class is at Quilter's Inn in Danville, Ca. and owned by Jane Lewis.  I have learned more in such a short time going to this drop in.  Margaret and Janis helped fit me with the vest and I made a pattern that I can use over and over again.   Maybe a vest for every Holiday!  A little ambitious but I love collaging. 

IN THE LIKENESS OF ROSEMARY EICHORN

I took a two day collage class and a one day embellishment class with Rosemary Eichorn.  She is a superb teacher.  I have always loved her work and her use of embellishments with fabric collage.  The first piece I made, which needs some beadwork on the roses, is called "Suze Rose Garden".  Because I am  an avid gardener, flowers, particularly roses, seem to dominate most of my quilting. 

Suze's rose garden

A BLOG OF ONE'S OWN

Virginia Woolf always said that one should have a "Room of One's Own" to create, to think and allow ideas to flow.  To that end, I am starting a blog of my own.  My friend Joan has been blogging for many years and I have been following her blog and the many other wonderful connections to the universe of quilters,  knitters  and artists  that blog.   It has been a terrific experience for me.  Yesterday, I took a photo of a finished quilt for my friend Chris who put it on her blog and I decided it's time for me to start a blog of my own.  So, here I am, ready to learn the ins and outs of managing a blog as well as creating my own definition of art to share!