Its almost impossible

As Thanksgiving arrives I start to think...

...its almost impossible to be thankful enough.  Impossible because there will never be enough time in the day, or the week, or the month, or the years to list all that I have to be thankful for.  I don't believe that I can count high enough to enumerate them all.

My heart often fills with all the deliciousness of my life - but even it isn't big enough to capture all of my blessings.

This of course means that every single day has to be 'thanksgiving day' because to stop counting my blessings would be a disservice to all those who have given them to me along the way.  Thank you! 

"Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received.  Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling.  Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse." - Henry Van Dyke

Old Faithful

This vinyl tablecloth has been with me for nine years of hard work and service.  We began together working on book art, moved on to beading and then did stitcheries, doll making, and anything else that came into my head. 

Sadly she has now had to be retired.  I didn't mind all the paint stains, they were quite 'artistic' -- but she was tattered with holes, which just kept getting bigger and bigger.

A new 'faithful' has joined me here in my studio.  Oh my gosh - she's so clean and bright.  I almost feel like we're going to have a picnic.   

Instead I plan to pile the 'mess' from the previous post right back on top.  I'm not exactly sure I'll be comfortable with this 'newbie' until I've spilled a bit of paint, cut through her surface a couple of times and added some dollops of gel medium.

"It is easy to say how we love new friends, and what we think of them, but words can never trace out all the fibers that knit us to the old". - George Eliot

Experimenting

Yes, this mess is what comes of experimentation.  I've been spending the last week trying this and that.  Creating a 'might be' design and then 'messing' with it -- really messing with it. And making a general mess as I go along.

There were several technics that I had to explore in order to do what I want to do.  Some stitching and turning and trying and wondering.  

And I've been led me to pull out my 'embellishment' stash and start to paw through it - again thinking, wondering, trying.

This is a 'to be continued' story...

"Experimenting with your own life is the most fundamental medium we have." - Natalie Jeremijenko

My Inner Child

My inner child is coming out once again.

New little figures are popping up in my head -- and like any child they just have to come out to play.

This time, I'm thinking that to combine figures with punchneedle would be a divine way to spend the upcoming winter.  

Like a mad scientist I'm experimenting - asking myself over and over again 'what if...' 

As always you will be the first to know if anything happens during this particular 'coming out party'.

"Consciousness is the glory of creation." - James Broughton

A Day At The Museum

                                                           Lee Malerich

On Wednesday I had a lovely time, with friends, attending a fabric/fiber exhibit at the Pickens County Museum of Art and History in Pickens, South Carolina.  The museum itself was lovely with its historic displays from long ago times.  

Upstairs however was a wonderland of fabric and fiber.  There were weavings, and stitcheries, some paper work and quilts, even some handmade avant-garde clothes on display.

I loved these little spools which had pictures of family members on the ends and stitchery surrounding the center.  I was picturing punchneedle (of course) circling the middle of larger spools.

We all came home inspired by the creativity and talent of the exhibitors.  The pictures I show can't begin to capture the intricacies and textures of these wonderful fabric/fiber creations.

"Our moments of inspiration are not lost though we have no particular poem to show for them; for those experiences have left an indelible impression, and we are ever and anon reminded of them". - Henry David Thoreau

Ms. Pumpkin Lady

I'd like to introduce "Ms. Pumpkin Lady".  Yes, she's late for Halloween but if a girl is going to be shown on-line she has to be absolutely ready.

So, here she is - a little bit late, but now ready to spend the remainder of Fall standing on her cauldron.

"It is never too late to be what you might have been." - George Eliot

Autumn Everywhere

Leaving our home in the middle of 'leaf' color wasn't easy -- I didn't want to miss any of it.  But we soon learned that we were to be thrilled with autumn color in the desert of northern Nevada.

The light was golden, there's no other way to describe it.  These pictures were taken on an early morning walk as the sun began its wash over the land.

The colors were fabulous and our walk took far longer than we thought it would as we savored the sights around us.

 "Nevada Day" brought the sight of colorful hot air balloons.

And the day before we left we were greeted with a bit of snow - as if an ambitious baker had spent the night sprinkling powdered sugar over the hills.

"This is the sense of the desert hills, that there is room enough and time enough." - Mary Austin

Coming back to...

...finish up the background on this piece.  Thank you again Brenda Gervais for your lovely designs.

The most exciting thing about coming home is seeing designs all traced onto Weaver's cloth and ready for stitching.  Lots of fun hours ahead of me here.

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant." - Robert Louis Stevenson

Back home...

...in my nest.  No matter how wonderful, fun, exciting travel is -- I always take a deep breath when I'm back in my own little nest.  Where everything is familiar, where my studio always awaits me, where my little daily routines are back in effect.  Its truly nice to be home.

"Be grateful for the home you have, knowing that at this moment, all you have is all you need." - Sarah Ban Breathnach