I added color to the daffodil in my art journal....trying to capture some of those creams and yellows in the different varieties! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This art collage is from a class I am taking at Joggles.com taught by Jane La Fazio. Fun!

Yesterday, I managed to add the hand stitching and beading to this layered collage. [Reminds me of the Bullseye quilts I have made!] (click on the photo to see more embellishment detail...and loose threads!)

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Finally, here is the newest crib quilt top, in process, for one of the 3 grandbabies we are expecting this summer. I love the perky "wagon wheel" flowers. [From Applique Outside the Lines by Piece O' Cake quilters].

Off to get more art supplies now.....(with a coupon, of course!)

A package!

It's from Japan, ordered from KimonoBoy website.

Besides the indigo pieces we have a lovely origami type packing slip and a packet of lovely green tea! Delightful!

The indigo is from old Japanese textiles, cleaned and ready to re-purpose. It is already cut into 8 " squares. Most are solids in various shades and textures. Linen or cotton or hemp or a blend. It is hard to know. Real treasures to me!

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Our guild's quilt show is coming up. I am loaning this quilt for a booth displaying "scrapbook" quilts.

I made it month-by-month in the year 2000. It is a real look at who and where we were then!

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We are making progress with the Mixed Medium collage class I am taking. Today we started using our machines and stitching on the canvases. Fun! [Soon, I will post more in my Arty Collage blog--see sidebar]

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More art in process....pencil sketches of daffodils. and some more now in ink, waiting to be painted with watercolor..whew! So much to do!!!

It must be spring......

a few days ago I found radishes with leaves attached. SO cute! I had to paint them before using them in a salad!

Take a trip around the yard on this the second day of SPRING!

Wild violets and

the ever present dandelion....how I wish these were "in fashion". They are a valuable little plant. We don't spray our lawn with chemicals, so we are blessed with lots of these!

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I've been out cleaning garden beds, but the allergies make it not too much fun!

For relief, I come inside and work on my collage class.

I have never been to Japan, but I am so sorry about the horrible time they are having now.
They seem to be a people with much inner strength and resolve. I think they have a philosophy of accepting things as they are......and seeing the inner beauty.

Very difficult at the moment!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(of course I romanticize)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whenever I think of Japan, I think of their unique art and aesthetic sense. For generations they utilized indigo fabrics in their every day life. Now these are being collected and some are for sale on-line. [Just Google "Japanese indigo fabric"]

This is an antique boro, a futon cover which has been mended many times. [Wonderfully "wabi-sabi"!] Rather like our patchwork quilts, especially those from Gees Bend, Alabama.

Below is a stack of vintage indigo pieces. I have ordered these, for backgrounds in primitive applique and stitchery and possibly for wonderful pillows and a table runner.

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This iron skillet holds a delicious meal! The recipe is for Apricot Glazed Chicken Thighs from "Delicious Living" magazine and website.

In search of a bouquet...so bring some spring flowers in to our world.

It is wamer and windy today....the daffodils are nodding in the breeze.


These are at the house next door. As much as I am tempted, no one is living there, but I will not pick any!

Our daffodils are not as advanced....but there is still the promise of things to come!

Meanwhile, I DO have a million flowers in our back yard! I call them "Quaker Ladies". They are tiny and blue. Very quiet but lovely. [I think the neighbors treat their lawns with chemicals and don't have this little early spring flower.]

They really are too small for a bouquet, so, I wander across the yard and find the periwinkles are opening! I picked a few. The little glass candle holder will make a great vase for their tiny short stems!

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Coming in from the March winds, I will be working on my mixed media collage class.

These are freezer paper stencils which will be used soon....

and this is a background, acrylic paint on gessoed canvas. You can see more of this on my collage blog.

Projects of the moment....

This litte gift bag was sewn following these directions. So cute and 2 sizes are given!

Birds are appearing in my work as usual! These patchwork backgrounds and appliqued birds are recent examples.

I have also just signed up to do a mixed medium paper and cloth class with Jane La Fazio. This on-line class will keep me in new projects for the next 6 weeks!

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I have been on a waiting list for this book at our local library. Yesterday, it was my turn!

I am really enjoying it, a young mother's story of how her life changed as her yoga practice progressed.

In this issue, I discovered 2 articles about Japan. The first is about applique artist,Misao Wada. I LOVE her work!

Here is an excerpt from the article in Quilt Mania-" Misao Wada lives in the gorgeous little historic town of Takayama (three stars on the Michelin guide). It is five and a half hours from Tokyo by bus, close to the west coast and a stone’s throw from the mountains. Everything is quiet and serene there, except during the two large spring and summer festivals when throngs of tourists turn up. Apart from these events, life is peaceful, which attracts many artists. Poets, painters, and craftsmen make the name of the city that was founded around the 8th century. Misao is famous there both for her poetry (it holds a big place in her life) and for her textile work, a topic we are particularly interested in today. We found this exceptional woman, again thanks to Dominique Greliche as she had produced a small exhibition in Limoges, France, a few years ago. Misao was 20 years old when she met her mentor, forty years ago: Ayko Miyawaki, a great Japanese textile artist and adulated wife of a famous painter. For 10 years, until the death of Ayko, Misao learnt from her how to combine the subtlety of a detail with the technique of practically raw appliqué, how to capture the pure essence of a subject (that is the most interesting part of the work) and how to reproduce it by free hand cutting each piece (no template!!!), how to work in layers and develop an eagle eye to be able to select just the right printed scrap of old fabric (her only material) to breathe life into the subject. (…)
You can read more about this article on the issue N°80 (November / December 2010) "

The second article was about another Japanese town, and a very special shrine there. There are fesitvals and celebrations for expectant mothers and children.[they have a collection of children's patchwork kimomo from the last 300 years!] The patron and protectress of these, goddess Kishimojin, is depicted holding a pomegranate in her right hand. And I learned that pomegranates grow in Japan.[There is even an "indigo pomegranate" in the art work..]

So I began work on an art journal page or two.....and they connect to this month's theme for the Sketchbook Challenge of "overflowing". I am overflowing with information and inspiration. [Click on the photos to see the pages larger!]

I'm trying to cook something new today, potstickers! The recipe has a high rating and my mom loves these, SO we will be chopping and mixing this afternoon. [thank goodness for food processors!]

One ingredient in the mix, was "rice wine". So that was the perfect excuse to buy this beautiful blue bottle! And of course, trying a little of the sake will also be a new experience!

Now, I am wondering what else I should have on this menu....off to do some research!