Blooming February - Must be in California

The miniature peach tree on our front steps is blooming.  February here in California has been beautiful.  December and January nearly swallowed me whole with all the rain and fog.  I am happy to say I am beginning to bloom again just like the plants in my garden.  I love how connected we are to the earth and her rhythms.  
I am taking a year long herb class - "Cultivating the Herbal Medicine Woman Within" from Kami McBride of Living Awareness Institute .  The class has inspired me to transform our backyard into edible plants only.  I have been pulling up bushes and such all winter (had to do something outside during all that fog we had).  
This little lovely is Sambucus Mexicana - aka Elderberry.  Now she is just a baby, but will grow to 14 ft or so.  A nice bushey gal.  My family has stayed heathy all winter thanks to this plant.  You can make a medicinal syrup from the berries and flowers that target flu and cold viruses.  It is fun and easy to make and it tastes good. 

This fennel is left over from last year.  Self seeded this fall and is now taking over.  My kids love nibbling on this plant.  Good for digestion too.

This pomegranate self seeded from all the pomegranates my kids ate two years ago.  They would have contests to see who could spit their seeds the furthest.  We have four of them growing all around the house from the kids.  
I have two tea roses in the backyard.  I can't wait to harvest the petals and make some luscious smelling infused oil from these.  

I must say the back yard is looking kinda sparse.  We haven't planted the veggie garden yet.  But very soon it will be over flowing with lusciousness.
This picture is for Sam.  We are plant sitting his birth tree until his family can retrieve it.  It is growing happily in a huge blue ceramic pot.  It is just starting to bud.

Thanks for letting me share my garden.  My friend Shelby inspired me with her post on her garden.  Check out her ceramic button and wool roving shops on etsy.  She is one of the most heart felt people I know and a wonderful artist.

Rainbow Linen Flags

Looking for White - I Find a Rainbow

I love the way linen feels  and it's rich texture.  I've been thinking of making blessing flags out of linen.  I think the weight of the linen will hang nicely and the way it frays so lovely will look great on a blessing flag.

Not thinking I would be able to find all the colors that inspire me, I thought I'd find white or off white linen and dye it.  I didn't want new linen, I wanted to use discarded clothes and give them new life as blessing or spirit flags.

This is what I found in my favorite second-hand store - the colors of the rainbow!  I must confess, not all of these finds are 100% linen.  Some are 50% linen and 50% rayon mix.  I just couldn't resist some of these colors.  Although, after doing some research on rayon and how it is processed, I think I will stick with the linen.  Even though rayon is made with natural fibers it is processed using heaving chemicals.
Plus, I have found it doesn't fray as nicely as the linen. But, just look at these reds and pinks...
yellows and oranges...
greens and blues and teals...and purple and violet...

I am experimenting making linen blessing flags with a little more spirit in them then my last ones.  I love my other flags, but I want to focus a little more on the sweetness of life, and feel like I can add some beauty and love and peace into our world.

I will post some of my flags soon.  I do have a couple of my new linen ones in my etsy shoppe.

Toot-a-loo

Terry

On Their Way to Italy!

These four California oak hills pieces are off to Italy.  In fact they have probably arrived already.  
They were a custom order from a dear friend for her dear friends and family from Italy who had been visiting this autumn.
It was hard for me to get started, but knowing they would eventually be hanging in an Italian home kept me going.  The order was to make a California oak hill scene.  Wacky chickens kept slipping into the images.  I will have to find my original four sketches and show you the chickens.  Quite lovely really - Hee Hee.
As you can see the chickens stayed put and these are the pieces that finally made it off to Italy.  Hopefully I too, will be heading to that lovely spicy country soon.

Tea Party Lovelies

Look at these little lovelies I found.  The top tea cup and the bottom one are 88 year old treasures.  Not sure about the middle tea cup.  I ordered these from an etsy store called FabricatedFamily.  You should take a look at the lovely vintage treasures she carries.  I was just going to order two teacups but....
...got so carried away I ordered six of the yellow daisy ones and just the one of the roses (it was her last).   I am so happy I did.  these tea cups feel so exquisite in your palm when you hold them.  These tea cups are defiantly from a time gone by.  But they remind me that life can be slow and lovely, with plenty of time to enjoy the beauty all around me.
Seeing them I just want to take a deep breath and smile.  I feel softer looking at them.

Time for a tea party now.

Cute Skulls

I love these cutie pies.  They are made with mostly reclaimed fabric - old skirts, dresses and test pieces for dyeing.  The skulls are made from cotton lace that I dyed with black tea.
I got the idea from Kelli Perkins new book - called "Stitch Alchemy".   She made some Day of the Dead cards with these skulls. 

I love Kelli Perkins work.  It is bright festive and whimsical.... hey so is mine.  No wonder I like her stuff so much.  She however, is a whiz with the free stitching.  I still need a little more time and projects under my belt.  I am getting there though.
These beauties now have a place of honor in our house, above the piano.

Check out her art if you haven't seen it before.  Hopefully I got the links hooked up right.

Tootles

Vintage Treasures Find Me

I received an intriguing e-mail the other day.  A woman emailed me regarding some old fabric she had.  She said she was trying to simplify her life and wondered if I had any interest in some old fabric.
Yes, of course!  So I hauled the children into the car and off we went.  She did offer to bring it to me, but being summer and needing adventures with little ones, we went to her.  My children immediately loved her home.  They wanted to stay and play in the fields next to her house.
First she showed us some fabric she had collected over the years, projects she had meant to get to but didn't.  A beautiful hand embroidered wool skirt, some "way cool" curtains from the 60's or 70's (blue bold fabric below), exquisite fabric from Libya in the 60's, cloth from Mexico and Ireland.  An assortment of fabric treasures.
Then she mentioned she did have some linens (pictured above) that she wasn't sure I wanted. Most had belonged to her mom, her mom even made some of them.  I am guessing the are from the 40's, 50's and 60's.  They are fabulous.  I absolutely love them.  They are charming beyond charming.  When I ironed them I felt like I was in part connected to the times and women who may have ironed these before me.   
I really feel so grateful that these vintage treasures have come my way.  I am not sure what I will do with them all.  I have some ideas.  I do know I could never cut up the beautiful linens.  I just want to hang them up in the breeze and let their romantic beauty fill the air.  
My daughter is eyeing the fabric from Libya.  I may give it to her for her birthday.   
I have made the most beautiful Wedding Blessing Prayer flags with some of the linen napkins, sewn together with satin ribbon.  I added little pockets, from some of the linen napkins that were stained, for the couple to add their own blessing.  They are so sweet.  I put them in my etsy shop and they sold within 24 hours.  The linen's make these wedding flags really something extra special. 

I will post them soon.  You can also see them over in my etsy shop (button on the right hand side).  

Smell the Pachouli dancing on the Breeze

These are my latest in prayer flags.  I made them to be reminiscent of hippy skirts swaying to music. 
A tribute to the 60's and the "old hippies" out there.  I was 8yrs old when Woodstock was happening.  Just missed coming of age in the 60's.  I would have loved to be a hippy, but was a "granola" instead.  That's what we were in the 70's. 

These prayer flags are all made with repurposed cotton and silk clothing, fibers, yarns and green ribbon. 
Invite a bunch of old hippies to your next garden party... or maybe new hippies, since the 60's seem to be coming back in fashion again.

Tea-Party Flags

Notice

Tea-party in the garden

Come along with me.

Butterfly, beetle, and flower.

Spider, songbird and bee.

Gather your finest outfit

and we'll sip on lavender tea.

These are my latest blessing flags.  They are made with recycled or repurposed clothing.  I made each flag to look like a festive tea-party dress.  They are all natural fibers - cottons and silks.

I love these whimsically romantic flags.  They dress up the garden perfectly for a sweet little tea-party.  My kids love them too - especially when they come with "tea" (iced lemonade).

I put these in my etsy shop and have more waiting to be created on my new oak work-table.

My Soul Has Been Fed - Desolation Wilderness Area