Home again, home again, jiggity jig

What a lovely trip it was.  Here is a scene from the last leg of my journey, looking out the parlor car window on the Amtrak Coast Starlight, of the Pacific Ocean, somewhere near Los Angeles.

And here are the trains from the West (L.A.) and East (Chicago) meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  It would have been easy to get on the wrong train (except for all the announcements warning us not to).

I worked a lot on this block for my grandson's quilt of my great great grandmother.  The photos were printed on silk for me by the Pixeladies, then I stitched over it to make sure it will withstand multiple washings etc. This sort of image has the added feature of being a little like a movie, because as the fabric moves around, in the course of being used, the facial expression changes, so the interaction can be very like a conversation. 

This is the beginning of a spotted pony I'm making for Jude's Patchwork Beast online class. These classes have been so wonderful; I will miss them...they have helped me see cloth differently and interact with it more lovingly. 

A Visit

Here is the 10 year anniversary pillow that will arrive in time for my son and daughter-in-law's 11th anniversary.  And hopefully I will arrive there just about the same time.  The design was for their wedding.  Now there are 2 boys in the household also. I can hardly wait to see them all.  I'm taking lots of cloths to work on en route. Today is the 4th of July; I hear the fireworks, but am staying home.

Sea Ranch

For four years, my dear friend Barbara and I have come to Sea Ranch on the Northern California coast for a week long work retreat/reunion.  We were high school friends many many years ago and this is a wonderful chance to catch up on life events;  work, and eat.  Her husband comes up for part of the time.  They do quite a lot of reading whilst I am upstairs working on projects.  I've brought 2 lap-robes to work on plus numerous smaller items.   One hope is to get started setting up an online shop.

Below is the lap-robe for my 95 year old farmer friend Alex.  It has tractors, asparagus and corn and later I'll add some embroidery.  I've been experimenting with Jude Hill's fabric weaving techniques on her video series.  I'm having a good time with this and really enjoyed ripping the denim! 

The other big project is below.  It doesn't have a name yet; it's silk and flannel.  The silk I dyed in the shibori class from Glennis.  It's growing from the inside out and I think will be another lap-robe.

Earnest the dove

This is a small wall hanging from 2 years ago called "Earnest and the Peony".  I printed it onto silk from a photo and then embroidered etc.  Earnest was given to me by my neighbors who moved away.  He has a son named Edgar who has to be in a separate aviary because they fight horribly if housed together.  Yet they sit on neighboring perches and serenade each other all day long.