Little Comforts

It's coming up to six months since my mother and dad passed away, their deaths occurring less than a year after my brother Joe died. There are certainly ups and downs in the process of grieving - waves of emotion when you least expect them, memories triggered by everyday occurrences or sights . So, when I saw this little book in Borders book store, it seemed like something that would be helpful and, well, comforting. It's a lovely book, with quotations, prayers and poems for all sorts of situations, and I love the sweet illustration on the cover.

There have been bright spots, too, during this healing time. My mom was a prolific house plant gardener, always able to start a new plant from a cutting, a leaf or a root. I, on the other hand, feel slightly squeamish when given a plant! Will this plant survive under my care, I wonder. A green thumb I do not have!

So, I was happily surprised when one of the plants I had taken from my parents' apartment began to bloom recently and I recognized it as my mom's Christmas cactus!!! How many years had I marveled at the beauty of this plant. I'm sure this is an offshoot of her original gigantic plant, but I feel so honored to have it! I feel like she's saying, "I'm still here, bringing beauty and comfort to your life! But, please, don't forget to water me!"

I'm pretty sure I can hear her laughing.

Oak Leaf Table Runner

I made this table runner in a class given by my friend, Carol MacDougall. It involved a lot of cutting, fusing and machine applique, but I just love the colors and patterns of the fabrics which were picked out by Carol and assembled into kits. It was fun to let someone else make the choices and to simply follow directions! I usually design most of what I make, but the class was relaxing and enjoyable, and it's always great to pull this piece out in the Fall.
Time to start some holiday crafts for gifts and for sale! I'm way behind!

My Family

I have a great family - I'm so fortunate. Here we are at my nephew's wedding in September.
Bill is very patient about my projects scattered all over the house. If the dining table is stacked with fabric, batting, scissors and what-all, and I apologize, he'll jokingly say, "I see nothing!!"
Our daughter, Kate, lives in New York City and works at NYU. She is a creative force, making technical artwork and installations, a graduate of the Interactive Telecommunications Program at NYU. Much of her work incorporates her quirky sense of humor and always reflects her interest in ways of communicating.
My life is blessed in so many ways, but I feel especially lucky to have such a loving support system in my family. This is what inspires my art and crafts and allows me to try new things.
What could be more important?

Flower Magnets

Here are some samples of the magnets I made for the Fair this weekend. I think the many years I spent working in framing galleries make me feel like I need to frame everything!!!
Anyway, these are made from fabric and stiffened felt, and the little flowers are cut directly from lace trims. I really love to cut little tiny things and have to force myself to work larger! Now, what does that say about me? Hmmm....

New Work

Here is an applique picture which I just completed for my Arts & Crafts Society's show and sale, which will take place this weekend. It is a compilation of motifs cut from decorator fabric samples, which are available at a local fabric store. Even the lace was a very small fabric sample!
I think I cut apart three different floral fabrics and assembled the individual flowers into a "bouquet". The entire piece was simply stretched over stretcher strips and the back covered with a piece of stiff interfacing, with a wire for hanging. All of the picture elements were fused to the backing fabrics and sewn with a zig-zag stitch around the edges! The finished size is 12" x 16".
This piece was a pleasure to make with such lovely fabric samples to work with!

Cats, Cats, Cats!

Okay, I realize that I am more or less fixated on cats as a theme. In September I showed you a little stuffed cat, which resembled, in position and general shape, a fabric picture of my cat Kristy which I had posted in March. And now I am sharing this needlefelted cat which I made in a class a few days ago!

Let me just say that I also like birds, people, flowers, leaves and houses as themes. Also landscapes, abstracts, faces and hands. But somehow I always go back to cats!

The needlefelting class was fun. I wanted to get the feel of it so that I can needlefelt strands of colored wool roving into an applique wool landscape I had made a couple of years ago. I'm thinking it will give it a more impressionist look. We'll see! I'll post a picture of it when it's completed!

A Creative Encounter

Today I took a needlefelting workshop and, on the way home, stopped at a quilt show. As it was nearly closing time, I ran in and decided to quickly check out the vendors. The work at one booth looked vaguely familiar, and I soon discovered that it was the work of a friend from many years ago, Rosemary Hoffenberg. She was selling her beautifully dyed fabrics and some wonderful small wall hangings. This one caught my eye and I just had to have it!
Rosemary has a great website, which you can find here. Her sense of design has always intrigued me and no one can top her gorgeous fabrics. It was great to catch up with an old friend!