Fall Colors

Here is some color inspiration for fall! I love dreaming up color combinations. Earlier this year, for fun, I started designing color palettes based on the seasons and elements in nature. Originally I was thinking about quilts or blankets, but they could be used in clothing, home decor, crafts, or whatever you imagine :)

Which one is your favorite?

Here are the quilted potholders I made inspired by these colors. I keep an array of fabric on my studio table to inspire me :)  I made them large and thick with 3 layers of cotton batting.

And the fall leaves table runner... I made this 2 years ago, and I love bringing it out again every season.

Fall Harvest Time

Fall Tree ©2005

I love the air in the fall. Leaves flutter, squirrels scurry across the yard. Fresh apples and pears from the local farms are so delicious. Now it's time to harvest the final veggies from the garden. We've pulled the last of the tomatoes, peppers, beans and cucumbers. We'll have oregano and thyme to dry and save for the winter.

 
 And the change of seasons inspires me to create... Here are some new items I've made recently for fall! The felt I used is made from 100% recycled plastic bottles! How cool is that.

Eco-felt Embroidered Wall Hangings

New Baby Gift Basket

 The teddy bear is also made from eco-felt. I designed the pumpkin bear cross stitch and crochet hat for especially for fall babies. Cross stitch patterns based on my art are coming soon, stay tuned!

Fall Harvest Basket

Columbia River Tile & Stone makes these gorgeous re-salvaged granite candleholders and Mt Hood mosaics from re-salvaged white marble. I love how the marble looks like the texture of the mountain. Also in this basket is a print of my Crow Spirit painting.
              

Marble Mt Hood mosaic art by Columbia River Tile & Stone

See more Fall Harvest Gift Baskets on Etsy

And I made these country-style pumpkins for fun, to decorate the house. These are really easy and fun to make:

First cut an 8" square of your favorite orange calico fabric. A dark gold or light brown would work too. It's fun to make a collection of different ones!  Collect a few twigs from your yard or neighborhood, for the stems. Cut off a 3" piece. Then, fold under the raw edge, fold in each corner to make a hexagon shape, and sew around the edges to gather the fabric with a needle and thread.

When you have gathered the circle, add stuffing to fill out the pumpkin.  Loosen the gathering to add and adjust the stuffing, then tighten the gathering around the center hole, so it is 1/2" or less. Next, center the twig through the center hole, placing it into the stuffing inside. Tightly stitch the hole shut, and use a dab of glue to secure the twig at the opening. To finish off, tie a small 1" x 7" strip of brown or green fabric around the twig to make the leaves/vines.

Happy fall! What are you working on this time of year?

Ocean Waves Fabric Design

Ocean Waves Design ©2011

Fabric contest update! My Ocean Waves Fabric design has gotten the most votes out of all my designs so far with 201 votes. If you haven't yet voted, vote for this one, and I may have a chance to get this design printed on fabric! Thank you everyone who has voted!! :)

Here is the link to vote by August 31 for Ocean Waves (It is halfway down the page, on page 5 of the Geometric category)

http://www.connectingthreads.com/cfDesignContest/Entries.cfm?category=Geometric_Decorative&startRow=73

Fabric Design Contest! Vote by Aug 31

Leaf Fancy Design , ©2011

I'm excited to share 6 new fabric designs I have created recently! And I've entered a fabric design contest with the opportunity of  receiving a design contract for printing/ producing these. It's based on voting, so vote for my designs by August 31!  The contest is hosted by Connecting Threads, and below are the direct links to my designs. See my patterns in the floral category on Page 9, in the geometric category on Page 5 and in the novelty category on Page 3. Thank you!!

Direct link to my patterns "Leaf Fancy" and Daisy Time" (top of page 9 in Floral category): http://www.connectingthreads.com/cfDesignContest/Entries.cfm?category=Floral_Botanical&startRow=145

Direct link to my patterns "Yarn Balls" and "Ice Cream Delight" in the Novelty category (near the top page 5): http://www.connectingthrea​ds.com/cfDesignContest/Ent​ries.cfm?category=Noveltie​s&startRow=37

Direct link to my patterns "Circle Dance" and "Ocean Waves" in the Geometric category (top of page 3): http://www.connectingthrea​ds.com/cfDesignContest/Ent​ries.cfm?category=Geometri​c_Decorative&startRow=73

Which one is your favorite?  :)

Yarn Balls ©2011

Daisy Time Design, ©2011

Circle Dance Design, ©2011

Ocean Waves Design, ©2011

Ice Cream Delight © 2011

Lazy Summer Day

Lazy day today, everybody's sleeping :)

Phantom and his favorite bone

Kiva likes the floor cause it's cool

Jorellis cat likes the refrigerator (and everything inside too)

Iko cat found a closet box to claim for his own

Time for Iko's bath from his doggy mother

 And then he's off to his new favorite place, playing in my studio

A sweet lazy day :)

Summer Harvest

How abundant everything is right now, such a delight! The garden is in full harvest, and things have grown huge. We have lettuces, large zucchinis, squash, peppers, carrots and cucumbers. I've given away many this week to friends, which is the best part :)

Unbelievable how high the tomatoes are

Harvest photos! How big everything is, I am so thankful :-)

The neighbor's garden is cute too!

In summer inspiration, I'm excited to have started a new piece, Sun Spirit.  The face is polymer clay with peyote beading. The sun will glow over a wildflower garden with stones and butterflies. It's a companion to my piece Moon Spirit. :)

 And I'm making bright summer flower pillow shams for a friend. I call these 'tropical flowers',  based on grandmother flower garden quilt pattern, but with a large floral center. The back side will be light green and the front white, with the flowers appliqued and white eyelet trim. It's so fun making the flowers using the paper piecing technique.

 And for more inspiration.... I went to the Portland Rose Garden recently. So beautiful. Is this not the most perfect rose?  I love summer.

Facebook Print Sale!

To celebrate reaching over 500 fans on Facebook, I'm offering a 30% off sale on art prints in the shop for the next 2 days (Sale goes through 5 PM Saturday). Join my FB page and get a coupon code for the sale.