Making more spirit dolls

I just finished a "Green Desert" spirit doll and thought I'd show you how I made it. (Our desert is incredibly green now because of all the monsoon rain.)

First I painted fabric with Setacolor fabric paints. (The paper template for the doll's body allows me to move it around on the fabric and isolate good areas to use when I'm ready to cut.)

Then I pulled out fancy fabrics, sheers, yarn and glitzy thread and arranged them on the painted fabric.

I layered this over batting and a backing fabric, pinned Sulky Solvy water soluble stabilizer on top and quilted everything down with gold thread. (You need a walking foot because of the layers.) Either wash out the stabilizer or tear it off and voila ...

Lash together sticks for the foundation -- lucky for me I had to have a big tree removed this month so I saved plenty of its twigs. Then attach the body, head, yarn and other embellishments. I used a combination of hot glue and sewing or tying.

I like using big buttons for the head with beads for the eyes. I used to make jewelry, so I have a big stash. I bought most of the large buttons at quilt expos.

Here is a piece of fabric I just finished this morning. I'm thinking it would make a good sunset spirit doll!

Here's how it looked before I stitched everything down.

So far I've made a half dozen dolls. I hope I can find a local gallery interested in carrying them.

"Twilight Spirit"

"Sun Spirit"

"Saguaro Spirit"

"Purple Goddess Spirit"

"Night Energy Spirit"

Have a  colorful day

Threads at The West

I just found an amazing needlework store in Tucson! And even better, it's a nonprofit (no sales tax) that gives all proceeds to local organizations helping women and children in need.

It's called The West, and I can't wait for some of my sewing friends to visit this winter and go to it with me.

I bought the perle cotton embroidery threads above to finish my wool appliqué below.

The West has every imaginable type of decorative threads.

 

It also has needlework patterns and kits ...

... and a huge selection of cards and colorful gifts.

I put the finishing touches on my appliqué piece today. It's from Sue Spargo's "Fresh Cut" book. The pattern includes 11 blocks set into a wall quilt, but I'm finishing three of them as individual pieces and will sew the other eight into a smaller quilt.

And remember ...

Have a colorful day

Tucson's green desert

The desert in Southern Arizona around Tucson is green and lush after receiving about 12 inches of rain this summer! Last year's monsoon season skipped us and this year it dumped record rainfall. Monsoon season typically isn't over until the end of September, so we might get even more.

Here's a good before and after comparison from one of my favorite vistas in Catalina State Park. This morning I took the lush photo above. The one below is from the same spot before the rains came.

The desert is also bursting with flowers and butterflies. There were hundreds of small yellow-orange butterflies flitting about this morning, but I couldn't capture them in my photos. They're also thick in my backyard.

Here are some desert blooms from this morning in the Catalina Mountains:

The orange ones are poppies -- which are also carpeting highway medians around town -- and the white one is datura.

The purple ones are morning glories, and they were glorious this morning! There must've been thousands of them lining the trails.

We also came across a hiker with beautiful flowers blooming on her arm.

And I can't forget the Western Diamondback rattlesnake that crossed our path. My friend Beth was walking in front of me and thankfully she was paying attention and spotted it. I was looking out over the hills for good photos and probably would've stepped on it. We guessed that it was about four or five feet long. It raised its rattle in warning but didn't shake it.

The scenery looked like it could have come from the Midwest, except for the mountains. This is highly unusual, and I'm grateful that I'm getting to experience it firsthand. The rains have also lowered our temperatures somewhat, with highs this summer mostly in the 90s instead of the 100s of last year.

Enjoy!!!

Have a colorful day

Family time in Los Angeles

I just got back from a week of family time in Los Angeles to celebrate my dad's 90th birthday. Here's the whole gang -- my parents on the right and me surrounded by my brother, two sisters and their husbands, and Zoomie the dog. It was our first time together in four years.

My mom will be 90 in January. I think both of them could pass for much younger. They finally let their 30-year gym membership lapse during Covid, but they exercise several times a day at home and watch their diet carefully.

My dad doesn't normally eat cake, but we gave him a chocolate one for his big day. The T-shirt that my sister gave him was quite appropriate, as he lifts weights daily and is NOT like most old men.

Here are the four sibs: Kevin drove up from San Diego, Kathleen (second from right) drove down from Washington state, Terry flew out from Louisville, and I flew from Tucson.

We had beach time (Redondo Beach) ...

... cookie time ...

... and an ice cream binge.

I also walked along the cliffs on the Palos Verdes Peninsula ...

... where I met this seven-year-old pet tortoise who walks there every day with her human (not the woman in the photo). She's carrying her apricot snack on her back.

I went down to San Diego with my brother for the weekend where we watched the surfers in Encinitas (below) and had a fabulous Mexican meal as well as the ice cream night pictured above. All in all, it was a great trip and I hope we can do it again for my mom's 90th!

Have a colorful day

Desert quilt, monsoon rain and sunset

I put the finishing touches on my desert quilt, giving the Kokopellis beaded navel rings and necklaces.

Kokopelli might be celebrating the monsoon rains that continue to fall here nearly every day, giving the desert a good drink. The clouds nestled in the Catalina Mountains near my neighborhood and the plants in my yard glistened with raindrops.

 

The storm clouds also gifted us with amazing sunsets! The following pictures are from my front yard -- I feel truly blessed to have this view.

And a couple of parting thoughts:

Have a colorful day