Beatrix Potter

Did you know that Beatrix Potter was not just a children's book illustrator? She also was an excellent botanical artist--these are two small samples of her work. I just ordered several books about her art and life: "Miss Potter," "A Victorian Naturalist," and "Beatrix Potter: A life in Nature". (The last two books are not available through Amazon--I found them at Abebooks.com.) The DVD of "Miss Potter" (movie) is coming out later this month--I did not see it in the theatre, so I will definitely be renting it.

Landscaping Completed

We recently relandscaped our front yard--added a stone patio, got rid of the lawn, planted lots of flowers. The red pots are for growing herbs.

A teaser cat

This is just one block from a quilt I'm working on--I am using a commercial pattern but changing it a bit. There are nine cats all on the same brown plaid background, which is a Japanese fabric. Originally, the idea was to use some of my vast stash of Japanese fabric, but of course I have barely made a dent. Next step is cutting sashing and sewing together the blocks. It's not a bed-size quilt, although I can add some borders to make it a bit larger.

Patchwork book

I've been on an email list for quilters for many years, it's called Quiltnet. One of the members, Becky Sunderman, contributed some "ways to hide your stash" to this book, available through Amazon. Becky says that 66 other people contributed stories, also. I haven't seen it yet but it sounds like a fun read.



This is my favorite book right now--it has some great advice about living in Paris. Although it is for writers, I just pretend it is for artists, the same advice applies. Very inspirational and extremely well-written.

Socks, socks, and more socks

Here's the real reason I haven't posted a lot of quilts and paintings--I have been busy knitting. These socks are patterns from the Six Sox Knitalong, a yahoo group. I had to make the pink socks because the pattern is called April in Paris and they have tiny Eiffel Towers on them when you turn them wrong side out. (They are actually knitted wrong side out.) The second pair is in progress, I just started them yesterday because they are called Horcrux socks and I know my Harry Potter geek daughter will want a pair. Also, this weekend I spent a couple of hours organizing my yarn stash and I really have to make a lot more socks...