Featured in Treasury

I am thrilled that I have been featured in "Grand Canyon" treasury on etsy.  Here is the link:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c50a8c1bb2d6d915f2e676b/grand-canyon?index=4 
 Please come a visit, it is a beautiful array of oranges like one might see at the Grand Canyon.  My thanks to Orito, Jewelry from our Earth for including me in this treasury.  Here is a link to Orito:   
http://www.etsy.com/shop/oritostore

  This is my Colors of Summer silk scarf that is featured along with the other gems in the treasury.

First Vendor Event!

  Well last weekend it could not have been any more humid had it rained!  It was also just warm enough to make it really uncomfortable, but in spite of the humidity and hot sun bearing down on all of us we had a great time.  Our neighbor Cheri aka Betty was quite a character, we really enjoyed her company and optimism.  Dotty also is a new found friend.  We plan to meet sometime in the next week or so.
  Sales for me were better than I had expected as it was a 4 H event where activities are the main focus.  Those who dropped in to see what I was selling seemed to like what they saw and a few people even made a purchase or two.  
  The 4 H Country Fair was filled with activities.  Horse riding competitions - what beautiful animals horses are;  oxen pulling (great BIG animals, WOW), iron man competition where they were flipping 500lb tires!  The younger crowd were showing some of their livestock: cows, chickens and what not - hoping for that blue ribbon prize.  Pie eating and  skillet throwing contests.  Birds of Prey organization was there as well singing groups for young and old alike.  There were even alpacas there from a nearby farm where there is a herd of 85 of these lovely big eyed sweet looking mammals.  Alpacas have a beautiful soft downy texture wool.   Glen Ridge Alpaca Farm in Portsmouth, RI is the home of  these docile animals. They are on Facebook for more information.   It really was a fun time in spite of the sweltering weather. 
  I was glad I was there.  Glen Park in Portsmouth, RI is a nice, well kept park and the city should be proud of it as well as Glen Ridge Alpaca Farm.

Creativity is on the Increase!

Of late much time has been spent in the studio, which of course is a good thing.  Fat quarters in silk and a 50/50 cotton/bamboo blend are the base for what is coming out of the studio these days.  The results have been very pleasing.  I have started to post them on Ten Pines Studio, my etsy store.  Just click on the link listed here on the side. 

The silk I am using is raw silk which has a nubby texture and a great drape.  It is lightweight and flows nicely.  Silk really picks up the colors well.  It's a fabric well worth trying a project with.

The 50/50 cotton/bamboo blend is smooth and soft (shown above).   It has a more satiny feel than 100% cotton.  It also takes well to dyeing.  Bamboo is one of those sustainable products you keep hearing about these days.  Bamboo is a grass and grows in many parts of the world and grows fast enough that it will be replenished within five years or so.  It has many uses. Furniture, flooring, fabrics are just a few examples of what can be done with bamboo.  In fact I have a great cutting board that was given to me as a gift a couple of years ago and it has held up so much better than my wooden board that I have retired!  Bamboo also has anti bacterial properties!  Many studies have been done and showed a fantastic efficacy rate of eliminating certain bacteria when Bamboo fibers were used.

Now it's off to the studio to create some more fat quarter designs!    Have a great day everyone.  

Pretty Cards from a friend

These cards were sent to me by an dear friend of mine.  She made these paintings and had them done into cards.  The pictures here do not do justice to the beautiful colors - but you get the idea.  I believe that she sells them.

Fourth of July

Well it's the fourth of July weekend and I was thinking of a time when the kids were small.  My in-laws used to rent a beach house for a week or two down in Narragansett and the whole family would come down during that time for a few days here and there.  On one occasion, my mother-in-law took me, my husband and our daughter to a shallow area away from the beach to dig for periwinkles.  The sun was warm and bright, the breeze was cool and the water was clear.  We had the whole place to ourselves.  Our daughter would have great  fun digging for the small dark blue/brown shells and playing in the water.  She was small enough that the water reached to just below her knees.  Later that evening Ida would make periwinkles with spaghetti.  She could always make a feast out of simple ingredients.  We would eat it with some nice Italian bread and salad.  After dinner she took us for a ride to have ice cream cones and watch the fire works.  Even though I was no longer a child myself, she made me feel like a kid again. It was a fun day.  Both my in-laws are gone now, but they left me with some great memories and this is one.