I Love Christmas Cookies...

and I love making things for people I love.

I've completed four nice projects - one quilting, on knitting, one painting and quilting, and one just painting and mixed media - but guess what!!! I can't show them to you because they are gifts for people who frequent my blog! :( I really want to share them becuase the painted/quilted one came out so cool - but it would spoil the surprise.

Alsa, all is not lost. I do have a present just for "YOU!"
I have a few Christmas surprises to give away to my bloggy friends any day now - so keep checking back. I'm just finalizing the details.

Only 15 days until Christmas!!!

Doodling- the springboard for creation!

In the car, on the metro, in bed (????) - everybody's doing it - fiber artists, painters - poets and writers. Doodling! I am a huge lurker of art and writing blogs. I find them extremely entertaining and inspiring. It's become a hobby for me. I find that I am as interested in "why" they are doing what they are doing -- as "what" they are doing. And Recently I've noticed increased buzz about doodling as a practical exercise. So, always interested in trying things that are going to expand my horizons -- I grabbed a sharpie and my journal gave it a go. Sabrina tried it too -- and it was fun. Here are some links to some of my favorite doodlers - visit Andrea's blog AND Susan Sorrell's gallery on her website to see what they do with their doodles - it's amazing!! AND, if you are interested in giving it a try - visit http://www.zentangle.com/index.php and check out the gallery. It's really fascinating to see what these artists are doing with their doodles -- from watercolor paintings to intricately stitched designs -- they are really cool and the possibilities are truly endless. I'd love to try stitching a series of saturated doodles on a piece of linen or dupioni silk.

So Much Thread.... So Little Time.....

O.k. - it's official. In addition to my fabric addiction - I now am certifiably addicted to thread -- I can't get enough - silk thread, rayon thread, polyester thread, braided thread, twisted thread -- and my favorite - metallic thread - I love them all. Since begining my experimentation with free motion embroidery I have discovered that one can never have "too much thread!" Adding fuel to the fire has been my discovery of Threadart.com where I can find all my favorite variegated threads, rayon and silk threads at a fraction of the cost if I purchase from my favorite local specialty shops. I am really getting into free motion embroidery - it's like "painting" with thread. In fact, I just bought a book on "thread painting" and am experimenting on landscapes and doodling. I'll be posting on this in greater detail. Anyone who has done any doodling or threadpainting -- e-mail me privately and send some pictures.

Highlights of the Mountain Comforts Quilt Show - Virginia

Due to the lack of children this past weekend, Blaise and I got up early on Friday and headed to western Virginia with nothing but a change of clothes and the Harley. This really isn't our favorite time of year to cruise the Parkway (Fall and Spring being the most beautiful,) however it still took our breath away. The air was crisp, yet sweet, with the last smells of summer and, if you looked carefully, you could see (particularly at higher elevations) brilliant rogue red leaves. And while my heart is lodged somewhere atop the Continental Divide (Colorado,) the Blue Ridge Mountains are an amazing sight to behold at any time of year and have a special way of reminding us that in the big picture of things -- how "small" we really are. We are heading out to Virgnia again at the End of October for the a weekend stay at a bed and breakfast that I found in Woolwin, VA which is a working "llama" farm - Old Spring Farm in order to take Sabrina to the 34th Annual Blue Ridge Mountain Folk Festival (and Quilt Show) in Ferrum, VA. This area of Virginia should be experiencing peak fall color by then so we are looking forward to a beautiful Fall weekend full of coon dog contests, vintage farm implement displays and, of course, the Mountain Comforts Quilt Show.