April 6, 2013

Beautiful Spring Day

This was the coldest winter in Southern California since I moved here in 1979. We must have had 20 frosts this year. We had to cover our newly planted avocado, grapefruit and lime trees every night to prevent them from freezing. For our extra effort, we've been rewarded with tiny grapefruit and limes.
We planted a garden before my surgery and everything is growing well. Our back yard is really filling in nicely. It is still a work in progress, but that's how gardening is. The bird of paradise, kaffir lilies, and angel trumpets are blooming and all the birds and bees are happy.
I'm still not getting much art done during my recovery, but I'll share a photo with you that I captured of a bee enjoying an agaphanthus.
Hope you have a great weekend.

April 2, 2013

Stuffed Chenille

It's been a rough week . . . I'm recovering from hernia surgery. I'm beginning to feel human again, and thought I would show you a a small piece that will be hanging as part of a group exhibit about embellishment at the Cabrillo Pavillion Arts Center in May.
I still need to add a sleeve to the back. I thought I would do that while I was recovering, but I just wasn't capable of doing anything useful.
The finished size is 12" x 12". It was made by stuffing bits of fabric scraps between two solid layers of fabric and stitching lines through the entire stack. Once it was stitched, I cut the fabric between the stitching like you do for regular chenille. The difference is, this is stuffed with scraps, so you need to use small scissors and go slow. I do like it, but I don't think I'll ever do it again.