Prayers for my blog friends . . .

Today my heart finds it's self being called upon to say special prayers for several people. I am a big believer in the power of prayer and I feel it is an honor to pray for those we care about. I don't always know exactly what I should be praying for so I just ask they be given the strength to carry the heavy weight in their hearts and to feel the hugs of those that are caring for them during their hard time.
Today feels a bit like fall and there are yummy smells in the house from the pot roast cooking in the crock pot (anticipating J's return from his hike on Iron Mountain). I had time this morning to work in the little art room creating more beaded figures and squeezing in a little more knitting.
I have wanted to comment on Kelly Rae Roberts new book, Taking Flight. It is an excellent book! My thanks to her for giving us fellow artists such an inspirational and technique filled book! I think it is up there with some of my very favorite art books - way to go Kelly Rae!!! If you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, it is now in Barnes and Noble and is worth looking for on the shelves.
I feel the need to leave you with the following words today: "Love is warm about you, for you shall function through spirit and there is all strength at your command."

Some things for the upcoming show . . .

Just a short post to give you a peek into what I have been working on lately, in addition to my knitting projects, that is. These figures are what I am making for the upcoming art show. They are very rewarding to create. They are the perfect combination of things that speak to my heart, rich colors, metal, inspirational words and cool faces. They range from about 5" to 8" tall. This is my first time putting these up for sale so I will be interested to see how they do. There is a feel of fall in the air and I am loving that!! Fall is my very favorite season and it energizes me in a way no other season does.

The knitting fool . . .

Well, you can see how I have been spending my time lately! I have been working on the other projects I wanted to make for Josiah. I love to sit and knit so it hasn't been a struggle to get into this! I need to finish up one more bootie and finish off the bear I am making then I can mail everything.
A funny thing to tell you. I have a cat named Sam who loves to sit on my printer while I am on the computer. The printer is off my right side and behind me. He sits up there purring and keeps reaching out and tapping my shoulder to make me turn around and pet him. He is very insistent about it and it always makes me smile because he has this sense of routine about "our" computer time. I don't really think it's a good idea to have him sitting up there on the printer, so please don't tell Dell in case I need to return it because it mysteriously quits working one day!
I don't think I 've mentioned that I am in a local ATC group. At our meeting ast night our challenge was to create a card using vinyl. I had fun with this one and just wanted to share another little piece of art from the little art room in the back.
Well, as you are all aware, these are interesting times for our country. I am feeling calm and secure, kind of like being in the eye of the hurricane and watching things swirl around me. So I leave you with these words for today: "At the heart of our essence and being is the place where all intention, thought, word and deed rest, and prepare to become the full manifestation of themselves." I just love those words, ". . . at the heart of our essence and being . . ."

Welcome to the family little one . . .

Life is good today! I have been working on creating these last few days. My knitting needles have been calling my name and I made this little sweater for my nephew and niece's newest family member, Josiah, born on Monday morning - welcome to the world little one! I am also making him a couple of hats, some booties and a teddy bear. Knitting baby sweaters is one of my favorite things to make. They are just so dog gone cute! I picked up a new book called Knitting For Peace and it is whetting my appetite for doing even more knitting.
I am going to participate in an art show on October 4th, so I have been working on things to take there. It's been quite a while since I have done any selling, so this should be interesting! I've been working until about 1:00 a.m. and watching the Science channel - just getting into the creative flow.
My BFF is leaving on her trip to France to visit with her sister for a couple of weeks - ahhh, I can taste that French bread now! Check out my link to La Fourchette, perhaps Leslie will post a little something about what they are up to while she is there!
I am feeling like life is full these last couple of days, a good place to be and I leave you with this thought, "Anything less than compassion doesn't serve your highest good." Wishing you the opportunity to practice your compassion today.

Another lazy weekend

Spending the weekend with leisure on my agenda. I have been rereading The Secret Life of Bees, one of my very favorite stories. I don't often take the time to reread something, but I was just in the mood for walking beside Lily as she triumphs over her circumstances and hearing the words of wisdom that come from observing the community of the little bees. Today I picked up Wicked to read after this. The Wizard of Oz is one of my other favorite stories.
I am working on some things for a craft show in October. I am thinking of making some of the jewelry that we have been creating from the jewelry challenge with Deryn. I think it will be a big hit! I am also in the mood for knitting and am finishing one of the two socks for my second pair I have ever knitted. Something draws me to knitting baby sweaters and I pulled out my patterns to start another one. My hands are feeling the need to keep busy and my mind wants to wander . . .

Dyed and Toted . . .

I am back from my trip to Santa Cruz where I learned to dye fabric with Lorri Scott and to create a tote with DJ Pettitt style. Linda and I started out early on a sunny Saturday morning from San Diego and headed up to Santa Barbara to pick up Bette. There we stopped for lunch and a quick shopping trip in the Art From Scrap store. They had an exhibit by Charlotte Valestra entitled Anything Goes, which was very interesting to see. Wow, that was fun! I can tell that will be a regular stop for me when I go up to my mom's from now on! We had a nonstop talk fest on the rest of the ride! We met up with Karen in Santa Cruz and the four of us spent the weekend creating together.
It started on Sunday morning at Lorri's studio. She introduced us to arashi shibori and tie dying on silk, cotton and linen fibers. Lorri was good enough to set up an indigo vat so that we could also experience that. The day was hot and we were busy all day long playing with color and texture. We created treasures to use in our totes which we were going to make on Monday and more to take home for future creations. My favorite was the shibori dying. That night it was off to the wharf for a chance to unwind and eat dinner watching the sunset.
Monday morning we were off to the same general location for our workshop with DJ. We spent the day learning how DJ goes about composing and constructing her purses. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to finish our projects, so the pictures I am posting of mine are still in the beginning stage. I will continue to work on it and will post the finished project once it's completed.
The frosting on the cake was the ride home yesterday. We came all the way down the coast on Highway 1. This is my most favorite drive in the world. If you have never had the good fortune to make this trip, you owe it to yourself to make this happen before you leave this earth - it is beyond words. It always fills my soul to overflowing when I get to do this. I posted a picture of Linda, Bette and myself at the spot we stopped for morning coffee and the chance to sit and soak it all in as we started at the north end near Big Sur. Life doesn't get any better than this!
I had a really good time, laughing till my stomach ached, getting to meet the infamous DJ Pettit, good times with the girls sharing about life, art and funny stories. After the long day of driving, it was good to get home.

Fun in the Sun with Fabric Weekend . . .

I am off in the morning for my weekend workshop with Lorri Scott and DJ Pettitt. Can't wait to see the cool stuff we are going to create! See you guys back here the middle of next week!