Prayer flags

I made some prayer flags recently. They are part of an exchange with my First Friday Fiber Artists group. 

I didn't have much time to work on them - lots going on! Quick and dirty. But I am happy with the results.

new prayer flags

I made three new prayer flags, all of which were presented to my sister-in-law, Marti for her birthday last week. This one is called "Organic."

We went all the way to Colorado to celebrate her birthday. This one is called "Nest," and was inspired by the two baby hummingbirds that were born in our atrium a few years back. If you look on my list of Labels on the right, you'll find lots of photos and stories about them. At one point I made a rubber "stamp" of the babies in the nest, and that was the starting point for this prayer flag.

This one is called "Equal."

more holiday projects

 

I made four of these hats for gifts, made by a pattern that I got at Yarn Lady, which is unfortunately going out of business. This photo doesn't do them justice. They are slouchy and flattering.

The way you shape them is to wet down the finished hat and shape it onto a child's ball. Let it dry thoroughly and it's stretched into a nice slouchy, lacy shape.

I knitted this sweater for Samantha. It was a simple pattern, but I think it turned out adorable. I believe I found the pattern at a little shop in Santa Fe. It looks cute on her; I will post photos of her wearing it later.

Another view.

I made this puppy for Samantha, too.

Hanging out with the red dog.

Aren't they cute together? I loved making these dogs.

I made this kitty from a Mimi Kirchner pattern. Mimi is a very talented doll artist. She has a cool blog; I'll try to get the link for it.

I made the doll to ressemble Samantha's cat, a tuxedo cat who is coincidentally called Mimi! The scarf on the Mimi doll is cut from a cashmere sweater. The body is made from black sweaters.

The details are made from felt and embroidered. This doll was also fun to make. She's very huggable! I would like to make more.

Okay, now to something more art quilty! This is a prayer flag for my sister-in-law Marti. I was inspired by the forest fires that were near where she lived in Colorado Springs in 2012.

This is the other prayer flag I made for Marti for Christmas. Obviously I went with a more wintery vibe, and the theme is "Calm." The quazi-calligraphy pieces were made by Lisa Englebrecht. I am sure I will get inspired to make more flags for Marti in the future.

More projects to show you, soon....

prayer flag from Vickie

Vickie made this beautiful prayer flag for me, to add to my collection. The theme is "Time to Shine," isn't it clever? The letters and number are made with rhinestones on an invisible sheet. I'd never seen that before.

I've been hard to work on multiple projects. Today my focus has been on an upcycled wearable art project, and a Christmas stocking for my guild. Pix soon. Ack, too many things in progress: two quilts, a toddler sweater, a prayer flag, Christmas ornament exchange gift, plus the two things in the previous sentence. Who has time to post when there's work to be done?!

The butterfly wings got sent off earlier this week. One of these days I will post a tutorial. They turned out great!

fun first friday meeting

 Last night we had a First Friday Artists meeting at Stacy's house. Since I just had a birthday, I received some wonderful prayer flags. This one was from Peggy, and the theme was Water, aka Pray for Rain.



Joanell made this one, and the theme was - you guessed it - Peace! It was wrapped in some canvas with additional Joanell peace designs.


 Stacy made this one. The theme was Renew.

I love them all! Each one reflects the person who made it. Thanks so much.

We missed you, Peggy and Vickie. We had some delicious strawberry/honey Greek yogurt with fruit - Joanell and I hadn't had that flavor of Greek yogurt before, and it was truly wonderful.

Thanks to Stacy for hosting and for posting these photos on our blog, http://firstfridayartists.blogspot.com

prayer flags, and surf's up

My prayer flags are now hanging in my sister-in-law Marti's house. So glad she likes them!

My daughter and family stayed for a few days at a beach in Rhode Island. Surf's up!

Sammy Cakes loved it. She's been taking swimming lessons at home, so she was able to enjoy the water.

 

 

I'm amazed at how she's grown.

Meanwhile, at home I've been busy getting my art studio more organized. It's looking much better! I will take photos and share. I was too embarrassed to take any "before" photos. I need to take photos soon, before it's a mess again!

Prayer flags for Marti

My sister-in-law Marti celebrated her bday last week, so I can finally post the prayer flags that I made for her. Here are all five together.  She asked for them, and I was grateful for the gift suggestion. I hope she likes them!

This one is called "Thrive." I used the same kelp stencil on my recently completed "Octopus's Garden" quilt.

"Remember." There's a photo of Marti with her mother and grandmother. Her mom (my mother-in-law) was always putting fresh roses in vases in her home in Orange, California.

"Play." Marti has a collection of rambunctious dogs.

"Heal." Marti is a sports masssage therapist, so this will hopefully make sense for her.

"Peace."

What I've been working on lately

Sorry I haven't posted much lately. I have been busy. I finished the ocean-themed baby quilt for my niece's new baby and have sent it off to them. I'll post photos in a few days, after they have it. I also have finished all five prayer flags for my sister-in-law's birthday. I'll post photos of them here after her bday (July), but I plan on posting them on the Prayer Flag Project blog sooner, one of these days.

I've also started a new quilt, something completely different: non-baby, non-prayer flag, non-applique. I would call it an art quilt by virtue of its unorthodox fabrics - not a quiltin' cotton in sight - although I am piecing it. I'm not quilting it, just some ties or buttons. I just started it on a whim, and I'm liking it.

Recently my granddaughter turned two! Happy Birthday, Samantha! Here is the dress I made for her, made with zoo-themed fabric we found in Cazenovia.

I also made her a birthday banner. Here it is in progress. Carol's letter stamps.

It turned out cute. They could use it for other birthdays.

I couldn't resist putting my "I Voted" sticker on Ginger on the day of the recent California Primary.

prayer flag for Marti

I have been making prayer flags recently, as requested by my sister-in-law, Marti. This is the first one, entitled "heal."