A bit of light..

The tragic events of last Friday keep hanging over me like a cloud, and today's rain isn't helping, so I thought I would simply try to spread a bit of beauty and light.  Because there is already enough ugliness out there....

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Dreary update

I sat in the cold for a long time waiting for this shot

Lest you think I've disappeared from the face of the earth, I thought I'd write a post on this soggy morning (I'm not complaining, we needed the rain but it's just so gloomy).  It's been a busy fall, filled with family, farm, fiber and photography (I like that alliteration, if you were to add in faith and friends, you'd have the core of my life in a nutshell!)

Felted hat that just sold at The Collective

I joined a new artists gallery/cooperative in Lexington called The Collective, and have produced tons of felt projects to display there and to keep my stock up at Damselfly Gallery in Midway, too.  I love the concept of the Collective- each artist pays a monthly "rent" (shared with the 19 other artists there) and instead of giving up 30-50% of an item's sales price in commissions, I keep it all!  It's been a lot of fun to meet the other artists and customers, and yesterday I taught the gallery's first class there (Felting a Birdhouse).  Having my work in a few regular, high-traffic areas has saved me the time of exhibiting at art fairs, for which I am truly grateful as I can spend more time with the family.

At the Woodford Hunt's Blessing of the Hounds

The Collective's other artists are painters, woodworkers, jewelers, mosaic and collage artists, vintage art creators and more- LOTS of great, diverse work.  I have a special feeling when I go to the Collective in Chevy Chase (in Lexington, KY), as I lived on S. Ashland Avenue less than a block away when I was single and teaching school in the 80's.  I reminisce about my unsettled young adult self, and how content I would be to know that one day I would be a happily-married artist, living on a beautiful farm with my family and tons of animals, and displaying my own artwork in a Chevy Chase gallery!  If you haven't been out to the Collective yet, there are two upcoming Open House/intimate evenings for which you have my personal invitation- Saturday, Dec. 15 from 7-9 and Thursday, 
Dec. 20 from 5-8.

One of my most popular prints

Throughout this year, especially since buying my new dslr camera, I have put more time into my photography and have begun to sell my prints at the galleries and in my Etsy store.  It has been very rewarding to get a positive response to the photos I've shared, but even better is the time that I take to SEE the world through my lens, often in the great outdoors with my trusty dog Hoss at my side.  These moments have truly helped me through some challenging times this year.  I am grateful.

Hoss, along the river trail on a foggy morning

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Lovely and Flighty...

It seems to have been a spectacular summer for butterflies!  This one was spotted in our backyard...

And these were on a trip to the Smokies, where we encountered lots of butterflies on our hikes.  Our son took it as a challenge to see how many he could pick up at once, and then to see if he could get them to stay on his face for a photo!

Naturally, our daughter had to rise to the challenge as well!

Yep, lovely and flighty... teens AND butterflies!

Fall is slightly in the air, and although I do love autumn, I'll miss the hummingbirds and butterflies of this past summer!

Next up... summary of the amazing felting class I took with Marjolein Dalinga in the Catskills of NY!

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Summer's Hummers

Guarding the perch- There is a hummingbird on this spot nearly all the time!

... and no, I'm not talking about the alpacas and llamas (which DO in fact hum, if you're not familiar with them!) I'm referring to the ruby-throated hummingbirds that have been flitting around our home in increasing numbers and ferocity this summer.  My husband is the bird-whisperer, putting out 4 feeders for them this year.  They are such fun to watch, their territoriality seeming to intensify as summer progresses.

I am LOVING my new camera, a Canon DSLR (the EOS Rebel t2i), and trying to capture the maneuvers of the tiny hummingbirds has been a great challenge as I learn how to adjust the shutter speed, aperture and other settings on my new gadget!  I hope you enjoy these shots, some edited with photoshop, mobile apps, or Instagram....

Male ruby-throated hummingbirds have the characteristic red, and are smaller than females

 Sneak Attack!

 Some perch, some keep flying as they drink

Coming in for a landing

August has been beautiful and even green so far, making up for the brutally hot and dry weather we experienced in late May, June and part of July.  Our kids are happily back in school, and we're already anticipating fall.  I'm going to enjoy the hummers as long as I can, before they head back to Mexico and Central America... such amazing, tiny creatures!  Next time... butterflies!

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Modern Nuno Baby Quilt!

Painting by Paul Klee

It still feels strange to say it (since I feel so young and all!), but I'm going to be a grandparent soon! My stepson and his wife are expecting their first child, and I wanted to make something special that they'll hopefully use and keep.  I decided that a quilt-like, lightweight blanket would be fun to make with felt, and I was inspired by the painting above...

First I died some big pieces of silk paj in varying shades of blues and green, along with two huge pieces of hand-dyed silk chiffon that I overlapped slightly before laying on fine merino wool and tussah silk.  I cut and tore the silk paj into 5 x 5" pieces (132 of them, to be exact!), and laid them out so that the colors varied randomly.  I then wet it out and used the tumble-dryer method to felt it, then threw and scrunched it to full it.  The turquoise tussah silk seemed to run forever, but I finally got it to rinse clear!  (Turquoise always runs for a while, and my hands sure showed it!)

Silk pieces laid out on the base of chiffon, merino and tussah silk

Back of finished blanket

Close-up of finished blanket

The final product, a modern nuno baby quilt!  I sewed on a little tag, and tied on one of my sheep cards.  I think they liked it, and I can't wait to see that new little bundle of joy wrapped up in this!

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