G is for Giraffe

If I had a spirit animal it would be a giraffe. They are so unique & interesting.

I had the good fortune to travel to Africa about 2 years ago & saw them in the wild.

 

I took a fun online class a few years back with Deb Weiers. her Instagram is a delight.

The image above is hers, below is mine.

Wonky Critters

 

 

That's it for today...gotta go. at the age of 71 I'm back to work to fill in for a maternity leave. Call me crazy.  Helps pay for those trips like the one mentioned above. 

 

 

Holiday Market Time

 

It's been quite awhile since you've seen me here.

I'm back!  You can come see me &my fabric storage solutions the next 2 days at 

                             Crooked Tree Art Center right here in Traverse City. 

 

 I've been creating a lot of new pieces since my last post. 

Which happens to be over a year ago!  

So much has happened since then. But today we will focus on the art 

you will see from me today & tomorrow. A few process hosts so you get the idea.

 

 

 

 

 

Once I get in the groove I can't stop. Especially if there is an event in the near future.

 

 All packed up & ready to set up today.  I hope Kristi (Crooked Tree VP) made cookies!

My plan is to get back to blogging. Somehow I just couldn't muster the energy.

Feels like the drought is over.  A lot to share. Hubby & I have been on some amazing adventures.

We went to Africa a couple months ago & it was AMAZING!

 

 

We traveled with a group of 12. Stay tuned.

In the meantime I hope to see you soon at the Marketplace.

Spring 2019 What's in Your Driveway?

I've been back from Paper & Book Intensive for a week. 

This was my fourth time to attend over the past 8 years. 

Lots more on that in the next post.  

When I got home summer activities began in earnest right away,

despite the fact the weather has remained rather chilly.

We hosted a couple from Ontario via the SERVAS organization for 2 nights

I've mentioned this organization in a past post.  

As it happens a couple we met in Alaska 4 years ago on a Kodiak trek to see bears 

(also mentioned in the same post) spontaneously got in touch 

to see if they could visit since they were passing through our  area.  

This is what showed up in our driveway.

 

A rather spectacular travel camper. 

They are from Berlin hence the German made vehicle. This camper has been their home

 for the past 11 months while they have traveled this continent.

 It was so good to see them again. 

Now we need to plan a trip to Germany to visit them! 

We had the 2 couples plus a dinner already planned with 6 more friends. 

Busy few days. Harriet was a huge help in the kitchen while Merrill & Oliver toured

 Leelanau County with our new Canadian friends to see Sleeping Bear Dunes.

   Meet Oliver & Harriet. 

Check out Oliver's Instagram. 

He is a wonderful photographer and has been documenting their travels on this platform.  

It will back to artsy stuff next time.

X is for Xantus A to Z Challenge

 I was taking a break at a local coffee shop. They use an old children's flash card set to bring your order to the table. I got an X!!!  If this wasn't serendipity...good S word by the way.

Xantus is a type of hummingbird. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology

gives you a full lesson on this species. Found in the Baja, CA area only. 

Isn't he the cutest?

Hubby & I happen to love hummingbirds. We have a feeder on our deck & by the end of the summer our resident population gets used to us. They buzz our heads from time to time.  

Ruby-Throated variety is what we get here in Northern Michigan.  Hubby checks the migration map to see when they will show  up here in Spring so we can have the food ready. 

We get so familiar with them that we know what branches they like to perch on, so we spend lots of time observing them as they come & go from the feeder. Lots of fighting ensues. 

They aren't very tolerant of each other.

Below are pictures I was able to take of the Antillean Crested Humming Bird 

we made friends with on the Island of Nevis a few years back on our winter escape from snow. 

He perched & fed on these wonderful red flowered bushes right off our little deck 

& didn't seem to be bothered by our presence.

This is the sweet little place we rented. The bush in the center of the picture 

with the red flowers is where our little friend hung out.

Two more letters to go in the challenge. Phew!

A to Z Challenge Once Again

 

Here we go again. I've joined the A to Z April challenge for the 4th year in a row.

This means I will be posting every day except Sundays the month of April.  

It's fun, challenging (hence the name), educational, and gives a purpose & focus to blogging. 

Apparently I could use that about now as I have fallen off posting. 

However I have been productive in the studio with fiber art. See below.

I encourage you to follow my blog via email.
Fill in the box at the upper right of the blog and follow the steps requested.

Other than April you won't be inundated with stuff. I promise.
Also, click the link to my Instagram where I do most of my little updates on what I'm up to.
Check out the Etsy shop link at the very top right.
I'm happy to report I've gotten a bit of traction there of late.

In other news...had a great little get away to the Bahamas.
Winter here gets so long, and dark, and cold. Thank goodness for cross country skiing!
 

 Elbow Cay was a sweet laid back little Island in the Abocos.

Home to the only kerosene powered light house left in the world. 

A huge boating paradise with loads of marinas, docks, coral reefs.

 The neighborhood bar, "On Da Beach", just a few steps from the VRBO we rented.

The area is a turtle nesting ground.
 Got to know a local artist who did this mural on the ceiling at On Da Beach.


Meanwhile back at home I've been filling custom orders and making some storage for myself.

A couple new stencils and resulting storage bins for my pantry

An Etsy customer wanted a mountain design.

Matching  up the sides for sewing. 

The finished product.

  Cloud bin for the same order.

Just for me. A new oval bag for my knitting.

There's more. I'll be putting them up on the Etsy store soon.

Is everyone ready for Spring? I sure am.

 

Where I've Been & What's Next?

London, Greece & Turkey. That's where.

The first stop on our trip was London to visit son & daughter in law who are 

living there for 2 years. Not a bad place to have family to visit!  

 The Tower of London was well worth a visit.

 Of course I found the giant book 

to scrutinize the binding technique. 

If you look closely you can see these animal sculptures are made from chicken wire. 

 Took a train ride to Cambridge and went "punting on the Cam". What a fun activity. 

Enjoyed lots of great food, wine & beer.  Isn't that what travel is all about? 

After a great visit with "the kids" we headed to Athens for 3 days of exploring. 

Greece is so chock full of history it's mind boggling. 

The view at night of the Acropolis from the rooftop of our hotel. 

We walked the Plaka of Athens endlessly. Just steps from our door the the wide pedestrian pathway that is loaded with shops, restaurants, & leads to the Acropolis, as well as other ruins of interest. 

We did a guided food tour for an entire day with our delightful guide Delloro. 

What's a food tour without some smiling pigs at the huge market? 

 

A group shot of our intrepid band of 3 couples who traveled Greece together,

 & our food guide on the far left.  

 The next day we toured the Acropolis and the stunning museum. 

After 3 packed days in Athens we boarded our Windstar ship for a week of port & island hopping. 

This is a shot from Ephesus. What an incredible UNESCO site. We had the privilege of seeing a performance of Carmina Burana in the theater on the site. Just think I was sitting on stone that once had the likes of Cleopatra in the audience. 

So many high lights from a great trip. 

The process of boiling silk cocoons. The first step to making a Turkish rug. 

Waiting for the best lunch ever on Patmos. 

My partner in all things waiting for the biggest piece of baclava we've ever seen,

 or eaten.  On Santorini

 

Not a bad way to travel the Aegean.  Our ship at anchor.

I could go on & on as this was such a nice trip with so many special moments. 

If you've made it this far in the post, I appreciate your time! As for what's next? That is what I am pondering greatly at the moment. Fall & winter are approaching and I am feeling aimless in the art realm. Doing lots of revisiting of old journals, inspirational magazine & books.

 

 One of my favorites for obscure fiber ideas. A UK publication, Selvedge. 

Working my way through Creative Strength Training by Jane Dunnewold.

Good prompts to get things moving. 

 

Fun exercise from the book in contrast, negative space. Doing more of these.

When in doubt decorate pages in your journal & wait for something to surface. 

 A thought I've had about fiber sculptures. Make 'em big! 

 Words from Julien Smith.  I think I get it. But if we are in the act of copying in order to become more proficient at something aren't we automatically evolving? 

Hence the search for inspiration. 

  

Would love to hear your thoughts on this blog, the travel sharing, & the what's next conundrum.