Treasure Island, Fla.

I am finally getting the pictures up from my mid-November Florida trip. I met my sister and her husband for a week at a Gulf Coast beach...
the grass.... the sky, the sand, the water and the weather were all wonderful... only problem was I was experiencing pretty severe knee issues, so I mostly sat and looked, rather than walked and roamed.

my sis bought this snazzy hat with little encouragement on my part... suits her

I tried to do a watercolor of the landscape, but the color palette is wrong... except for my red toenails... those are nearly exactly right ( they were smeared, too)

we sat in the sand and had a sand sculpture contest... I won the first one but lost the second

we stayed in a fine yellow condo, next to a heated salt-water pool, facing the sun setting on the Gulf of Mexico

the waves broke on a sand bar off shore... a front had come in and the normally placid sea started to dance

the beach was studded with vegetation islands... with signs asking us to keep off them

and this crane paused long enough for me to point and click before he flew away

the last craft fair of the season or what I'm thankful for

Ahhh, it is behind me. The final craft fair. I can decide as I go forward what I do, what I don't do...

Across from me was this artist, Barry ... why o why do I never get last names... and he was doing these things with lines all over them... branches? trees? just lines? Who knows, but filled with pattern. I stood and watched him for a while and then asked what he was thinking about and he talked to me about focal point and negative space and movement ... ooo, the kind of talk that gets me going! Anyway, beautiful work that has made my feeble brain want to go off in another direction for a while.

I was going to showcase some things on Etsy, but was waiting for end-of-craft-sale to do it. Too bad, everyone else has booked ahead and there are no more slots for poor me. Live and learn, I guess.

So here I am, doing a little happy dance (think Snoopy, on top of dog house). For the foreseeable future my art can be all about me... oh, shoot, it already is isn't it?

beach bound

Two more hours til I head for the airport... by 3 my time, I will be in Tampa... then heading south about an hour to a condo on the beach.

mmmmm. beach. I haven't done beach in a very long time. Walking in the sand, collecting seashells... listening to the surf... much gentler on the gulf coast that the southern California coast I see more often... the smell of water and sea life.

I'll be taking my laptop. Hopefully wifi comes with the room, other wise I will find some other place to check my e-mail, my etsy shop.

Made a book yesterday... or re-made is more like it. I took a vintage Gregg's shorthand book, gutted it, carefully salvaged some pages, found blank papers that matched the look/color and rebuilt this old book into a blank journal with an occasional shorthand lesson sprinkled in. It was not difficult, but not as satisfying as making a book from scratch, designing the cover, thinking about decoration/pushing the limits. I will be doing some more of these, as I come across the right kind of book that's the right kind of price.

And this morning, when I took my recyclables to the recycle bin I saw that someone had tossed boxes ... the boxes were perfect weight paper-board for book covers. I finagled four out... the rest would have required me climbing in, not a good idea since I am nursing my knee along right now... but anyway, I have enough lightweight board to do four larger books and a bunch of little ones.

Okay, getting disjointed here... I have a couple more things to get done. I'll be in touch.

Almost Thanksgiving

I don't think this is really a pumpkin... but I love the redder orange, the bumpy skin, the gnarly stem... I love how the red-orange plays against my deep teal and orange painted table... I love the green flower balls... the name escapes me... that my sister sent from Kentucky... and the seed pods from the trumpet vine. Almost Thanksgiving.

I've been busy here, taking pictures, writing descriptions, posting one item, then another on Etsy. It is work. And I struggle getting the light to cooperate with me... getting the colors that show up on the photos to also be the colors I see. Not much book building or fiber felting has been happening... I am trying to concentrate for last week and this on getting my Etsy shop up. And I'm beginning to get some action there, so I feel a little fuel to keep on-keepin' on in that department.

Yesterday I made soup... finally cool enough here for that to sound good. Polish dill pickle soup. Surprised? Have you raised an eyebrow or wrinkled up your nose? Well, it is beyond good, let me tell you. And with a piece of crunchy garlicky, sour dough toast it is a savory and delicious meal. I'll share the recipe if you like... of course it is not exactly the one you'll find on the Internet, because I find it impossible to follow any recipe... so you'll just have to ask me.

I have so much I've told myself I need to get done this week and the week, like sand, is slipping right through my fingers... and so much coming up today and the couple of days to come that interrupt my quest to "get things done" here... but of course, I love all those interruptions... so my grumbles are all made with a smile on my face... like, oh, dear, another gift?!?

See? My happy ending is chugging along quite well.

good

Tonight Nancy and Jelene came over. Jelene to paint and Nancy to get help with felting, and she'd brought a felted sweater she was afraid to cut into.

Jelene painted and worked on balance in her composition, I needle felted a hole in a favorite sweater of Nancy's, repaired a cashmere scarf she'd bought in NYC during another life... and she and I brainstormed and finally saw the sweater as a hat, and by the end of the night it was.

Three women in a room, hardly spoke at all, working on our own things coming now and then to view what else was being done.

Amazing.

working at it.

I spent the morning cruising Etsy, reading what each artist said about their items, themselves... I looked at their format, their graphics, their pricing... and how they took their pictures. While looking I thought I'd try this....a heavy shaped hanger with an under turtleneck and a bulkier one over as my model... and my sunlit back gate as the background. I think it looks pretty good... and I think this scarf looks great!

or this one wrapped high around the neck... a neck warmer more than a scarf. It might need a long pin or a vintage broach to hold it in place, but I really like it this way with the ends all tucked in.

I love love love this scarf... The colors almost glow and like a candle lit room the warmth reflects onto your face making you glow as well.

I love the cooler colors of this one, the purples mixed into the brown, the lightness of the chiffon, the warmth of the wool.

And this one is just yummy... like an Arizona sunset... purples, pinks and oranges with a little bit of sparkle added by the sheer chiffon underneath.

And this one... I think I have a better photo... but it reminds me of a campfire... the blaze of orange heat against the brown.

Yeah! 6 down, only 20 +++ items yet to go. And taking the pictures takes no time in comparison to getting them posted on my Etsy page... but in the end, I think it will all be worth the effort.