Category: Uncategorized

Today I came across a fun Aussie blog Meet Me at Mikes for crafters, lots of good stuff to see here! For long time bloggers and new bloggers there are always questions about it. Pip has written a great series of posts on blogging from creating a blog to blogging etiquette, excellent advice, check it…

The Explainer in ChiefI am shocked and so sad that we have lost Tim Russert. Sunday mornings will never be the same. My ritual is to make a cup of tea, pull out the knitting while everyone else in the house is still asleep and watch Meet the Press. This is such a huge loss…

Often while I work I listen to audio books. I am able to get through so many more books than I would if I tried to read them all. This is multitasking of the best kind. I think painting or quilting must engage a different part of my brain than listening to books, making both…

I am thrilled each time I see another Smart car on the road here in Chicago. I really think the American car companies need to take a look at these cool cars for some inspiration. One would hope the last 20+ years of monstrously over-sized gas guzzling vehicles are coming to an end. Gas is…

Wow what a great response! The class is now full. Thanks! These first brave souls are my guinea pigs. I will run the class again after this session ends. If you would like me to put your name on a list to be notified the next time around, send me an email and put Next…

You need to visit the site of the Blackheart Gang to see a wonderful short film “The Tale of How” created by 3 talented artists pooling their time in a true labor of love. The animation is fantastic, you can watch the making of “The Tale of How” to see how they achieved the amazing…

Another Ted talk worth watching (although I think they are all fabulous and am trying to watch them all) is this one by Maira Kalman. I love the way she paints and tells a story.We read all her children’s books when my kids were little. Sayonara, Mrs. Kackleman had to be one of our all…

Living the Creative Life: Ideas and Inspiration from Working Artistsby Rice Freeman-Zachery (you can click on it to look inside) This is a really fun book, I love the fact Rice has brought together artists from many different media (including several artists we textile people know and love). This is the description from Amazon: In…

My friend Julaine left a comment mentioning her site meter will soon be hitting 10,000 (go visit she has a prize for the lucky 10,000th visitor). Thinking about this type of blog land mark made me realize I have now had my blog 3 years! That is amazing to me. Since I was a teen…

Have you ever watched the fantastic videos from the TED conferences? There are some really great lectures on a variety of topics on the TED website. I just listened to about a dozen fascinating lectures while painting. Here is a great lecture on Creativity by Amy Tan (The Joy Luck Club), I think it is…

These are all set to have the pewter metal stitched to them.

Happy birthday Dad, I miss you. Today was my dads birthday, he died just after midnight a year ago today. I wish that I could have shared with him my accomplishments this last year. I know in my heart he knows, but I still would have liked to see his face and hear him say…

I am working on a new batch of Fiesta Ornaments for Open Studios. I will demonstrate painting fabric on a couple ornament designs on Friday afternoon (2:30-4:30) and I will be sewing and embossing metal to finish the ornaments on Saturday (2:30-4:30). The painting takes a long time (especially when talking to people).The sewing and…

When I was a little girl in Massachusetts, we used to go to my grandmother’s house in Lowell for Easter and we always had eggs poached in pure maple syrup. My grandmother was French Canadian so maybe that is where it comes from. As strange as many people think it sounds, it sure is good.…

This week I have been working on designs that could be used for fabric painting workshops.

The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins sung by Leonard Nimoy!My daughter Nina came across this on you tube. What a hoot! Dig those dance moves.