Spiral and sunset

 

I'm spiraling this week. (But aren't we all?)

I beaded a spiral at the top of my latest piece. In one of my first beading classes, the instructor introduced us to the term "bead soup," which is a mixture of different beads that you dip into when you want variety. So that's my bead soup in the little bead tray. And you might wonder why the tray is shaped in a triangle? Because when you want to return the beads to their storage tube, you can easily put one corner of the tray into the tube and funnel the beads in with no mess!

We've also been having spectacular sunsets! This is the view across the street from my house and also standing in the street looking at the reflection in my sewing room window. I'll never get tired of watching these.

Have a colorful day

Desert door, moon and snow

I'm making progress on my desert door piece. I printed my photograph of the door on silk then painted the background piece. I used the same colors to paint a piece of silk organza and used that to frame the photograph, but since it's transparent it's a softer frame.

I fused the door and organza down and now I'm making stitching marks with two strands of embroidery floss. I want the stitching to look a little imperfect and rough to go along with the old door.

A few days ago I walked to the edge of my neighborhood and took pictures as the moon rose over Pusch Ridge while the setting soon made the rocks glow. Those are the same colors that are in my door art!

I took pictures for awhile as the moon rose higher, sun sank lower and the rocks turned different colors. I was using my iPhone, but another photographer had set up a big camera and long lens on a tripod in the middle of the street to capture the moon, so I'm sure his photos were spectacular. 

A few days later there was snow on the mountain!

And here's my little munchkin trundling along in her pink snow suit. I can't wait to visit her next month!

Have a colorful day

Tohono Chul in Bloom

 

The Tohono Chul gardens and gallery were in bloom with plants and Mexican folk art this weekend! I strolled around the grounds yesterday, soaking in the cheerful colors.

There was a sale and demonstrations of Mexican folk art, including these intricately painted whimsical carved animals called alebrijes. This artist was working on a piece using a teeny tiny paintbrush to make those little designs.

His colors echoed the new spring blooms outside on a gorgeous sunny day.

A display of Oaxacan rugs brought in more color, and one of the weavers had set up a loom to demonstrate the weaving process.

A table of hand-embroidered Mexican clothing for sale was full of flowers, just like the gardens outside.

Mata Ortiz pottery had more subtle, earthier colors, echoed in some of the natural desert at Tohono Chul (which means "desert corner"). Mata Ortiz is the name of the town in the Mexican state of Chihuahua where the pottery is made. Its painted designs are incredibly delicate. The highly collectible pottery is a recreation of the Mogollon pottery found in and around the archeological site of Casas Grandes, near Mata Ortiz. 

Tohono Chul, my happy place!

Have a colorful day

Bits and pieces

I haven't accomplished much lately creatively, but yesterday I did manage to sew this simple black silk top. I bought the fabric 15-20 years ago planning to discharge it with geometric patterns and then make it into a long vest, but that never happened! So I pulled out my trusty pattern that cuts the top in one piece, with a hole in the middle for the neckline. All that's required is sewing side seams and finishing the edges. 

I've been dawdling over another project because I'm worried that it won't work. I printed the door photograph on a piece of 8x10 silk shantung, with the texture running vertically like the grain of wood in the door. I want to float it in the middle of a big piece of fabric that I'll paint and then connect it all somehow with hand stitching. But I'm not as confident in my ability to mix the right paint colors as I used to be because I'm out of practice.

So the other day, instead of working on it, I hiked into the desert and sat for a long time looking out at the scene above. It was absolutely quiet except for some birdcall. I tried to listen to the silence instead of talking to myself about our troubling political climate and the things at home that need fixed like my doorbell chime that stopped chiming and my drip irrigation system that died. 

Today it's chilly and very windy and sky is grey, which always makes me uneasy. But there's rain in the forecast and we dearly need it. Our desert is in a drought, with this fall and winter being the driest ever recorded. The prickly pear cactus pads are skinny for lack of water, and some are falling over ...

... and a lot of the chollas are drooping.

But last night's sunset was spectacular, thanks to the clouds that are moving in. Always a nice way to cap the day.

I'm linking to Nina-Marie so you can see what other quilt artists are up to: niche-notions-quilt-shops-on-off-wall.html

Have a colorful day

Meeting Marge after 40 years!

Marge in front of a saguaro cactus

Yesterday I got together with a friend who I haven't seen in 40 years, and we picked up as if we had seen each other just yesterday, yakking away nonstop as we hiked and had lunch!

Marge and I worked together on the copy desk of the Rockford Register Star in Illinois in the mid-'80s. Then I moved to San Antonio in 1985 and soon after that she moved to Connecticut, where she still lives. We kept in touch through annual Christmas letters (as good journalists do) and photos, so at least we weren't surprised by how our looks had changed over 40 years. But I think she looks pretty much like the same fun Marge I knew when we were young.

She was in town visiting relatives, so we hiked in Saguaro National Park East (whose visitor center was closed on Mondays thanks to Musk's ranger firings) and then had lunch at a Mexican restaurant. The ocotillos (above) are beginning to bloom with red flowers at the tips of their branches. Spring has arrived in the desert! 

Have a colorful day

Visiting the folks in beautiful Palos Verdes

I just got back from visiting my folks in LA because my dad was getting over being sick and they needed some extra help. They're 93, and nearly every evening they sit together like this on their couch with the lights low looking out at the stars and airplane lights.

This is beautiful Lunada Bay, a 15-minute walk downhill from their home. I went there every morning to soak in the sounds of the sea and the sunshine. The video below will take you there! It's on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

I took photos of lush plants on the way down to the cliffs:

There's the ocean, framed by eucalyptus leaves.

It's a stunning, rugged coastline south of Redondo Beach, where the land rises up to form the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

It's a popular surfing spot.

And every night we watch the sun set over the ocean from their living room.

Have a colorful day