March Mystery Socks are finished

March Mystery Sock pattern in the Sock Knitters Anonymous Raveltry forum.

This was an insane sock pattern--she had us start in the middle of the leg, knit half the entrelac cuff, then knit the other half of the cuff and bind it off, pick up the leg stitches and make the entrelac heel. I was exhausted by the time I got to the foot! But I finished them both. I used smaller needles since others in the group said that the cuff was too big, but mine is still a bit too large. However, the rest of the sock fits great and it is a true "conversation piece."

Gardening weekend

Spring is really here! At least, it is warm and sunny and things are growing that weren't growing a few days ago. Here you can see a shot I took today of a wonderful nursery on highway 92 near my home. I love the shadows.

The second picture is the new painting I started today. The photo I am using as inspiration is in the foreground, behind it you can see how much I got done in three hours of hard work. I drew the shapes last week so all I did today was paint green areas. Some of them will be much darker in the finished painting, but I need to get them started so I can see them as shapes, not lines.

My new 3D art quilts

I finally took pictures of my new 3D art quilts today--they aren't really quilts, although I did print photos onto fabric and sew them together. Then I fused them onto 300 lb watercolor paper (which is made of cotton) and created these two shapes, a square and a circle. Or a cube and a cylinder. Or whatever. They are for the CFA "Dwellings" exhibit which does not have a venue yet. Not sure I will make more of them, I like making books better. But it was an interesting challenge. The photos were taken at Ft. Mason, except for the grey windows inside the square piece--those were taken at Oxbow school in Napa. Size: they are both about 10 inches in height, the square one is 7 inches wide and also 7 inches deep; the circular one is 9 inches in diameter.

More SF Garden show

I almost forgot to include two more fabulous shots of the garden show--a giant metal rabbit (this garden was all edible plants and vegies), and a mysterious fountain with glittering tiles.

San Francisco Garden Show

Last Sunday, I went to the San Francisco Garden Show at the Cow Palace. It's not as big as in years past, but still a ton of fun. I got new garden shoes, two huge white orchids ($10 each!) another garden clipper (never have enough of those) and of course, took photos of my favorite displays.

The first is Bikini Pool--no people, but two discarded bikinis, a postcard mentioning how this guy has met two terrific girls on his vacation, and a brand new Subaru packed with picnic gear. Very cute concept.

The second is an outdoor canopy bed and also a funky bathtub--they were in the same garden display.

The bonsai display was also fabulous. I always enjoy this show, which is held in the spring every year. Be sure to check it out if you can.

Winter Garden painting is finally finished!

I started this painting way last summer, but thanks to my new little painting group, I managed to finish it today. I invited some friends to come and paint at my house on Saturdays, and this forces me to paint, too. It took three more sessions to finish this one, which I called "Winter Garden." I also drew up my next painting--it's a photo that I had already chosen and even printed up large, but it has been waiting patiently for months. It feels so good to be painting again.

California Fiber Artists meeting

Another day, another California Fiber Artists meeting. Actually, we all get together only one day a year in person--at other times, we communicate by e-mail and we hang, on average, about four shows a year in various galleries and museums. Our next show is a display at the upcoming East Bay Heritage Quilters Show in Oakland, CA. in April.

These pictures show quilts by Karen Flamme (she pronounces it "Flame"). We met at her house in Oakland, just at the edge of where the Oakland fire burned so many homes about ten years ago. The views of the bay are spectacular. She has a very pretty back patio and a super-neat home studio. (is it always that tidy???)

Stitches West, knitter's paradise

I spent the last three days fondling fiber at Stitches West, the biggest knitting convention in the U.S., which just happens to be about an hour from where I live. I took a class in backward knitting (handy for entrelac) and "Foxglove sock architecture" from Cat Bordhi. Yes, I bought some lovely hand dyed sock yarn, more Noro Kureyon so I can make some felted bags, and a few other goodies.

Marianne North

Have you ever heard of an English painter called Marianne North? When I went to England last year, I found an old house/museum packed full of her paintings at Kew Gardens. You can see how the walls are completely covered with her work. She was a Victorian-era artist who traveled all over, especially to tropical countries, and painted the weird and wonderful plants and scenery she saw there. There are a couple books of her paintings available for sale on kewbooks.com.

A scarey sculpture at the Getty Villa

I just got back from a whirlwind three-day trip to LA. The initial reason was to check out the LA Art Show, which is held at the Santa Monica Airport in a couple of hangers. I also wanted to show my daughter the Getty Center and visit the Getty Villa, which I have not seen since it reopened a couple of years ago. So here is a scarey sculpture from the Villa, my daughter outside the LA Art Show standing next to a large yellow sculpture, and another shot of the art show entrance. The last picture is me, sitting in front of a tiled fountain at the Villa. I used to go there when I lived in LA, and it was very nostalgic to see it again--now all the art is Greek or Roman, and a new cafe, bookstore and open theater has been built on the side. But the museum, which is a recreation of a Roman villa that was buried at Pompei, is still much the same. You need reservations to get in, you can make them online and find out about both Getty museums at www.getty.edu.

another painting in progress

I started this large painting last summer, but haven;t worked on it since September. Now that my friend Linda and I have started a semi-regular painting group, I am going to finish it. We painted together yesterday for the first time, and I got quite a lot done on this.

poor lighting

I submitted two of my pieces to the Coastal Arts League Gallery Member's show. One is in a great spot (Farmer John's Pumpkins) but the other (Veiled Nude) is in the darkest corner, too high up on the wall. [note:I don't know why it is sideways--it isn't that way on my computer.] I am posting two shots of the gallery--that dark rectangle in the corner is Veiled Nude (you can see it in the close up shot). Now why do people do that? Somehow, no matter which show I enter, I invariably find that the lighting on MY piece is terrible. It would have been better to switch the two--the dark Veiled Nude really needs good lighting, but the pumpkin painting is bright enough to stand out, even in a dark location.

Start the new year with a radish

I just finished this little painting, the Chronicle ran a photo of radishes that I really liked so that was my inspiration. Plus, the color scheme is so Christmas.

Stuffed Santa

I haven't painted this much for months, but seeing all our holiday decorations seems to have inspired me. I made this quilted Santa many years ago, he is entirely hand quilted. The tree is actually a stocking hanger that sits on the mantel.

I'm a painting fool

Today, I painted this nutcracker with a poinsettia in the background.

New Painting: Nutcrackers

Here's the painting I did yesterday, using those cute nutcracker candles that I showed in my last blog entry. My talented daughter painted the shaded background for me. I plan to do a few more Christmas paintings so next year, I can print my own cards.

getting ready for Christmas

I'm hoping to do some watercolor painting over the holidays, and I decided to take some photos of our Christmas decorations so I can do a painting for cards. These two candle nutcrackers were on sale for half price at Longs drugstore last week--so of course I had to snap them up. The vase is made by Foxlo Pottery, I usually see them at the Kings Mountain Art Festival and this year they came to the Pumpkin Festival, too. They are a husband/wife team--he makes the vessels and she carves designs into them. Each color requires a separate firing. I own several pieces of theirs now, since I try to buy at least one whenever I see them.

Slip-stitch socks

I continue to make socks--these have a slip stitch cuff and heel, plus a contrasting toe to try to use up some leftover varigated yarn. It never works, I always have more yarn left. But it did make a lovely pair of socks.

Another mystery shawl

This is my progress through clue #3--the next clue just came out today so I'm working on it, but it will become harder to photograph on the needles as the shawl gets larger. I think the varigated yarn is going to look okay, but if the values are just too contrasty, I may just dunk the finished shawl into some medium blue dye and even out the contrast a bit.

Today I blocked the needle roll that Margie felted for me, in the hopes that I can make it a bit more square. The yarn is noro kureyon, the same colors as the bag I posted here recently. I have to sew a lining into it, I have the perfect fabric so now I just need to find the time to do it.

It's in the bag

Margie brought over three projects she felted for me last night. This was the easiest to finish--a mitered bag that just needed the handles sewn on. I bought these nice leather handles on sale last month, they are the perfect color and very sturdy. I may end up putting a lining into the bag to make it stand up a bit better. Those pink cabled socks I posted last month won a prize on Ravelry! I was so surprised and pleased. Of course that means I am knitting even more socks.