Fun Art Gallery Tour Day, Patty and I had!

Patty got to my house at 11:30 a.m., I had been up since six working on the baby quilt! (more about that on my next post)...we took off for Davis, me with maps and an itinerary safe in my purse. I had our day planned out. Drove around a bit looking for a parking place (this becomes important later)... and then found our way to the Pence Art Gallery. I bought a funky beaded ring in the gift shop for $3. I was looking around the shop for the single fabric pocket I'd made and brought to sell there with many others that I knew was still there but I could not see it. Someone had called and asked me to come and get it a while ago. I asked the woman at the desk but she directed me to someone else. That person told me that it had SOLD TODAY!!!! A woman bought it for her six year old grand daughter. She said she was so happy to find something that did not say "Hello Kitty" on it! I was stoked, as I sold every piece I had left with them last December. Sometimes it just takes patience! That paid for our lunch. Now if I could only sell something big to pay for my airline tickets to Portland! ;-))

Patty liked this giraffe out front of the gallery.

The ceramic art inside was awesome...There was ceramic art being shown all over town this weekend.

We had lunch at Bernardo's...their famous Salmon BLT is to die for! Then we stopped in at the magazine store and got a small piece of dark chocolate each for dessert! We also looked at the magazines. Patty liked one about making dolls. I looked at fiber art books.

We stopped in a few stores in that neighborhood and then were going to go to the Artery, but I decided we might need to get the car first as the meter was about to run out. So we started back to the car. The only problem being neither of us paid too much attention to the name of the street we left it on. (you can start laughing any time now...) so we walked up one street and down the next...at one point Patty saw a bank on a corner she thought looked familiar. And then I noticed we were back at the Pence Gallery! Oh yes, the path on the side of the gallery was one we had come down...taking that turn we spied an antique store we'd come thorough to that path...so back tracking got us out the front of that store...and lo and behold THERE WAS MY CAR right where I'd left it!!! Okay, you can STOP laughing NOW!!!

We decided to skip the Artery, but instead drove up F street to the Davis Art Center. There was an incredible display of ceramic art there too. And some assemblages by Tom Poste of rocks. I especially liked this one in the nine wire baskets. Seeing it now reminds me of my nine heart squares I knit recently into a baby blanket.

Patty liked this huge ceramic vase and brushes by another artist. She said it was " YOU" meaning me, so I posed for her as she grabbed the camera out of my hand.

On the way out I loved seeing this case of colorful threads in one of the arty classrooms.

From there we scooted over to Terry Busse's house as she was having an Art in the Garden Sale at her home studio, along with several other artists. Terry was busy in her kitchen fixing food for an evening poetry reading also on her agenda.

I LOVE going into Terry's studio. I covet her stashes of wool sweaters for felting art.

She generously GAVE ME a big plastic bag full of wool scraps!

I am sure I can turn them into magical art! She also invited me to pick from a bag of ceramic hand made buttons to take home.

I bought a fun pin and some cards!

Going to Terry's house and art studio

is a real treat.

I know you are busy Terry but if you happen to see this:

THANK YOU again!!!!

;-))

Terry was selling many of her wonderful pieces very inexpensively to clear out her studio

making room I am sure for many more wonderful new pieces. Something about seeing all that thread in all those colors

made my heart sing!

Patty and I both liked her new series of watercolor/collages that covered two walls. An artist friend of hers was selling her hand dyed wool and yarns. Someone else was selling candles cut into amazing forms.

And someone had felted a table full of adorable dolls! Terry's garden was full of art outdoors too.

Lots of Tibetan prayer flags blew in the breeze.

I think I can safely say that Patty and I really enjoyed ourselves,

I know from the laughter that continued from 11am -4 pm

that this is so.

Day Two: I can't believe I remembered how...

I can't believe I remembered how to put an "almost traditional" quilt together...of course mine has wavy lines and crazy sized sashings and borders to make it more Lynn Style!

The blue and red sashes and border have tiny white paw prints on them.

And remember from yesterday's post that this is all kitty fabric! I just hope that when I put the batting and backing on and quilt it it will lay flat.

And then to decide what to use for binding

or might I simply turn it like a pillow case and let the border be the edge fabric?

More questions to sleep on!

************

I got an invitation to a baby blessing/shower for this new grand baby to be

and tonight booked my flight tickets!

I am very excited as it means being with my son and daughter in law;

also my former daughter in law; and my oldest grand children (17 and 20 yrs of age).

I'll be staying at my first husband's and his wife's home, as my daughter in law's

mother will be at her and my son's home!

Aren't we ever so evolved? I love it.

It's not till next month but that is JUST around the corner isn't it?

;-)

Color me Happy Grandma Lynn!

Idle Hands, Mine Are Not!

I had a hole in my work day yesterday so I ran home to play before going back to the office to see more clients. A friend had given me two bags full of fabric with cat prints predominating! I rarely if ever use printed fabrics in my art. What was I going to do with all this really nice fabric? I started tearing it into long strips...

and then I sewed the strips together

added some cotton lace in spots...

and let my mind gather ideas

as I worked...

stay tuned to see what this will become! *************

Do you ever decide you will never do such and such in your art

and then lo and behold you find yourself

doing just that thing you said you'd never do? And enjoying it? ♥

Happy Grateful Thrusday

1. grateful for holes in my work week that allow me to have time to create

2. grateful for YOU, my friends who come to my blog and leave comments

3. grateful for health and energy that allows me to do all that I am doing now

4.grateful for my friend Patty who wants to play with me again this Friday!

5. grateful for my special blog friend, Cris, who puts up with my abundance of email connection

What are you grateful for today?

Meet Teddy Bear: King of Knitware by Grandma Lynn!

"I am king of Heart Mountain, first knit blanket!" "I can slide down the hill...

and land in the garden of sweaters....

And say hello and goodbye

on

Animal Wednesday!"

Did you notice my two toned body in pumpkin and gold?

That was a famous Grandma Lynn MISTAKE balanced out by making one ear and arm gold and one ear and arm dark pumpkin!

Nothing is a mistake when you knit with Lynn!

;-)))

Blocking Size Six Month Baby Sweater

I now have made a size three month and a size six month sweater for our new grand daughter to be. (come August)... This one is from a design by Kristin Nicholas. I like to mix things up when I knit and add my own touches to make the finished design a little bit mine as well. Therefore the embroidered flower on the sweater! And changing up the order and size of stripes and of course picking my own colors (these left over from the baby blanket I made previously, the one with the hearts!)

I love shopping for cute buttons and found these at Joanne's to add to the garden look!

And when I make a mistake in my knitting, I am not one to tear out and start over, instead I use it in MY design...thus the woven orange yarn through the row I purled instead of knit! ;-)

It's sitting on my card table pinned to a towel after soaking it in water to shape it to size drying.

I mixed up the sleeves too turning one to the "wrong side" because I like the way the knitting looked on that side...

as well as I liked the called for garter stitch on the outside on the other sleeve!

See what I mean about making it my design too?

In the meantime Henry found a spot next to my sewing machine to soak up some sun coming in the sliding doors while he napped waiting for me to get done with my "work"!

Now I am working on some knitted Teddy bears!

Happy Blooming Tuesday!

Exodus Celebrated; Family and Food! Happy Passover!

Passover this year for us was a huge gathering of thirty family members for a wonderful Seder hosted by my dear Uncle Harry and Aunt Mimi, cousin's Neil, Mel, Barbara and Mike. Here I am greeted by my young beautiful cousin Debra.

Mike is Amy's husband, and Cousin John is Hiedi's husband.

We are so blessed to have our Uncle Harry and Aunt Mimi with us. (aged 92!) Everyone came with their contributions for the festivities...Heidi brought kugel, Judy made cakes... My uncle and aunt are still very very much in love...such wonderful role models to us all! Mimi and I enjoyed the clam dip. She always made this for family gatherings! And we have new additions to our family this year. Hadley is one of them, in Cousin Amy's arms with great grandmother Mimi looking on. Amy came from Cheyenne, Wy to be with us! With her son Max and husband Mike. Mimi, Harry, Neil and Mel. We gathered in a lovely Club House room (with Kitchen) at their assisted living compound. Cousin Judy, husband David and daughter Sarah! Above is Cousin Laura, young Truman, who recited the four questions in Hebrew and his dad Erich! (I apologize for not having a photo of little Cameron and Morgan, John and Heidi's kids; or young Max, Amy's son, who read the questions in English; They were sitting on the same side of the table as me so were hard to get in camera range.) Cousin Lisa, Truman's mom, and Erich's wife, explained the Afacoman, the hiding of the matzah that the little kids would hunt for and find later in the evening, as part of the Seder celebration.

Below: My brother Richard, DH, and me wearing my map of Israel Pendant (by Mim) We followed along and took turns reading from the Hagaddah

Story of the Exodus of Jews out of Egypt/bondage Dave, Lyla, Ashley, Amy and Mike all traveled far to be with us. Amy, Mike, Barb, Judy, David and Sarah

Amy is reponsible for the pretty flowers in the clay pots.

We all got to take some home and I took three!

My cousin's Barb came from Colorado, and Judy lives here in CA. Cousin Jerry (Judy's brother) next to Mimi, me and Uncle Harry We did a very modified reading from the Haggadah and got down to eating

the beautiful meal of brisket, kugal, asperagus, and puree of peas with mint. And then dessert! Judy made this rich delicious carrot cake that went well with the

strawberries and whipped cream! We realized we all made way too much food and we wound up taking

lots home. (I gave my neighbors half a sponge cake, a pot of whipped cream and a container of fresh strawberries for their Easter celebration today)

and a sweet ending note when Judy discovered OUR grandma Ella's

name taped to the bottom of one of her plates! Memories of Passovers in years past when Grandpa Abe caught the fish

and chopped it into gefelti fish balls; grandma Ella made the matzo ball soup;

shelled and chopped nuts for the charoset all by hand.

They did it all; and they passed down this tradition to us and we now

pass it on to generations to come. Happiness is family gathered together.

My daughter and family were on vacation and my son living far away were greatly missed,

but in our hearts and thoughts.