Embroidery

I love Karin Holmberg's new book, Scandinavian Stitch Craft, and used one of her embroidery patterns to make a new pillow. 

Dia de los Muertos

After a perfect ride across the Puget Sound I arrived in the city for the Seattle Art Museum's Dia de los Muertos fiesta. There was a cool sand painting on display, and seeing the Peru exhibit was spellbinding. But what was disturbing about the exhibit was a movie showing grave robbers unearthing ancient objects to sell on the black market. It glorified this horrid act. The intact ancient objects slipped effortlessly from the sand that had encased them for millennia.

quilt show

This is my favorite quilt at the West Sound Show. It's a Hungarian appliqué pattern. I was thrilled to be the lucky winner of a door prize at the show, not so much for the prize itself, but for simply being randomly awarded as a winner. 

The sweetest bunny in the whole wide world died this week.  

He loved to be petted, held and brushed. 

He loved rose petals and dandelion leaves.

He appeared in our garden, six years ago, nearly to the day, 

as a dirty thin baby.  

He let us pick him up.  

We cleaned him, gave him a safe place to live, 

and he went on to earn two best of breed rosettes 

at the state 4-H fair, amazing considering his origin.  

He was the perfect size bunny, 

not too big, not too small.

He was the softest creature imaginable.

It's so hard to imagine being without any bunnies after 18 years of husbandry, 

but the bunny years have come to an end.  

I miss you Carlos del Huerto!

Rest in peace sweet bunny.

soapstone

The TSA didn't like the fact that I put this seal in my shoe in my carry on bag. They swabbed every part of my bag, tested that strip, then swabbed the seal and tested that strip, put my bag through the scanner again and then let me go. As a cautionary tale don't put objects in your shoes to protect them in transit. 

maritime flags

yesterday I made maritime flags, with a slight booboo on L, for my son's room. 

sneeze weed

in my flowery mead

majolica

Keith H dahlias in a vase I made recently in a majolica class. The hand built heavy piece my not have stellar technique, but it won't tip over with monster flowers, Yeay!

Dahlia Show

yippeeee!

Chitalpa

I love this tree, that blooms all summer. It looks like a tropical creature but it's perfectly hardy here in the NW Territory. 

Pink petal perfusion litters the ground. 

Love this tree!

Roses!

Jude the Obscure, The Fairy, Abraham Darby, Graham Thomas

Fragrance permeates!

Lilies!

Can you smell how delicious they are?

Sold

My Nantucket oil painting, Late July, sold today on Etsy. More paintings to be listed soon. 

Dahlia Koketish

is sticking out her tongue. 

rust

i hope mr. likes his new scarf.  

each stitch is an exercise in love; 

and there are a lot of stitches.

december's gifts

 a simple wreath this year of red twig dogwood, variegated holly, eucalyptus and magnolia buds.

 this has been the best year so far for december camellias.

such a wonderful december treat in the gloom of the northwest.

puddy is sticking close by to keep warm.

merino and rosehips

yesterday was one of the hardest days!  i dropped off both of my babies at the airport for their year in France and a year and a half in England.  i was a mess of tears.  i went to IKEA, near the airport, and got a text from my girl saying she was boarding her plane and bye. tears dripped into my rosehip drink.  on the ferry ride home i got a text from my boy saying he was boarding his plane, just as i was listening to "i hope you have the time of your life" from the playlist he had made for me. next stop Reykjavik. then when i arrived home i was met at the front door with a big box that contained a merino sweater that my mom had made for me.  what excellent timing as a pick-me-up.  it's gorgeous and only took her a month to make!  amazing!  i won't normally wear it with the watermelon pants but i just had to take a picture right away to send to my mom with the thank you note.  my mom is the queen of cable knitting.  can you believe that this was made by an 85 year old????  she says that knitting keeps her brain challenged.  what could be more challenging than cable patterns, when she doesn't even look at a pattern, but memorizes it?!  what a mom!  best wishes for your new life in Europe my babies!

on film!

my fiberwork for PATH is featured in a video about Agency, who coordinated the exhibit and event, along with Melinda Gates!  yah!


We Are Agency from WGHA on Vimeo.

Gardening Books

(Robin's Meadow, pastel)

At work, months ago, I was asked to produce a list of my favorite gardening books (which I just came across). My boss said that he didn't read very much (what?!!!), and asked me to speak about gardening books to augment his brief presentation at a local bookstore. Here's my list, in no particular order (I discussed my 5 favorites, but here's the long list): 

Insituto Geografico de Agostini Novara, Monumenti d'Italia Ville e Giardini 

Mosser, The Architecture of Western Gardens 

Hazelhurst, Gardens of Illusion 

Dan Hinkley, Winter Ornamentals 

Kruckeberg, Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest 

Grant, Trees and Shrubs for Pacific NW Gardens 

Bryant, Propagation Handbook 

Solomon, Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades 

Colebrook, Winter Gardening 

Jane Brown, Gardens of a Golden Afternoon 

Roger Grounds, Ornamental Grasses 

LH Bailey, How Plants Get Their Names 

Rosemary Verey, The Englishwoman's Garden 

The American Horticultural Society, Encyclopedia of Garden Plants 

Sudworth, Forest Trees of the Pacific Slope 

Pojar + Mackinnon, Plants of the Pacific NW Coast 

Emily Brown, Landscaping with Perennials 

Bruce, Winterthur in Bloom 

Penelope Hobhouse, Color in Your Garden 

Stephen Lacey, Scent in Your Garden 

Penelope Hobhouse, Garden Style 

Oehme + Van Sweden, Bold Romantic Gardens 

Rosemary Verey, The Art of Planting 

Reader's Digest, Encyclopaedia of Garden Plants + Flowers 

Gertrude Jekyll, color Schemes for the Flower Garden 

Karson, Fletcher Steele Landscape Architect 

GC Taylor, The Modern Garden 

William Robinson, The Wild Garden 

Patrick Blanc, The Vertical Garden 

Louisa Jones, The Art of French Gardening 

L Jones, Gardens of Provence 

Stephen Mansfield, Japanese Stone Gardens

To prepare for my exhibit opening i doodled mendhi on my feet and made a dress from fabric that my husband brought back from Shanghai many years ago.  The fabric is a yummy chocolate brown (not really how it shows up in the photo).