New Art Supplies

I have been working on this entry for an hour and just lost it all. I guess I better split it up or something.



























These are papers I bought at Rockin Rudy's in Missoula. I plan to cut them up for collage. Rockin Rudy's is this great store full of cards, journals, papers, jewelry, clothing, music and more. Its a great place to browse and hard to leave without buying something.















My haul out of the UM bookstore was mostly pens. This are Copic brand from Japan. I bought on of the more pricey markers in the metal case and 2 of the cheaper ones. We finally decided what the difference between these are. The metal ones have refills and you can replace the nib. Sarah bought a set of these in Japan and they are nice.















At first I just bought a couple colors of these Staedtler pens, the were $1 a piece. i liked them so well that I went back the next day and bought the set. I will use them for journal writing in great colors. They are a .03 size.

Quote of the Day: Place positive affirmations in strategic places where you'll notice them and read them throughout the day.- W. Dyer

Missoula Trip part 2

I got home yesterday. I had about an hour of hazardous driving but the rest of the trip was ok. I had a great time, spent too much money on art stuff of course. I'll post pictures of that later.

We went to see Pans Labyrinth and it was in this old theater where the ceilings have all this intricate work on them. There are a lot of old theaters like this in the western states. They are pretty neat. They just do not make buildings like this anymore.

I got to know Sarah's friends a little better. She has a small circle, most of the time there are 3 girls and 2 boys but there were other casual friends I got to meet too. It was nice to know she has created a new family of sorts. I think wherever we go we create a family, we all need people to play with, to talk with and to support us. It reminded me of when I was in college and I lived in a house with 5 other girls in this big old house. They were my support system. We laughed and played and grew together. Its those kind of relationships that help make us who we are.
















Here is the view out Sarah's window. It snowed the night before and looked quite pretty that morning. At 4 am Sunday morning there were deer out there. I tried to get a picture but had no luck. They ran off, some kids on the lower floors were taking pictures and they got spooked. It was still neat to see them. There were 2 doe's, otherwise known as females.














Here are Sarah with her friend Brenna, she lives right across the hall. She is from Billings, Montana. Brenna has a TV so all the movie watching is done over in her room.















Here is Sarah all bundled up in her blanket. I think she liked it. She was showing it off to all her friends so I think that was a good sign.


Quote of the Day: A mind once stretched by a great new idea or new understanding will never fully return to its original dimensions - William James

Life in a college dorm

I made it to Missoula by 6 pm and had to drive through about an hour of rain but no snow so that was great. After unloading and finding a place to keep my car I met all of Sarah's friends and we went to dinner. It was interesting to see her interact with all her buds and how the acted with her. I was also surprised to see her room. It was clean. Now that she is in a room by herself she has lots more room and I think that the room is indicative of who she is. It looks like the trip is going to be full of eye openers for me. My baby is all grown up now.

Needless to say I am on Sarahs computer and I can't upload any pics, her computer doesn't have my camera's software on it and I forgot to bring my jump drive. She is in class so I don't know where hers is. Maybe tomorrow then.

It snowed last night so everything is all pretty and white. Sometime today I will head over to the UM bookstore's Art department and then it won't be pretty. They have such cool stuff....and a lot of it is less expensive than I can find. So its the best of both worlds. Maybe I should go without mny waller, ah no that won't be any fun at all.

I had one of those nights last night where you wake up every 2 hours, new bed new place, new noises and comings and goings all night. Ahh the college life.

I have this new music by Jennifer Berezan called She Carries me. There is a song called "She who hears the cries of the world" and I am loving it. I just play the song over and over..its 17 minutes long. It is hauntingly beautiful. I never tire of it and I think it just relaxes me, puts me in a pleasant place like a good meditation.


Quote of the Day: Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions. - Alber Einstein Lets all imagine wonderful things for ourselves.

Missoula Trip

I am heading up to Missoula to visit Sarah. I won't be blogging for a few days unless she lets me use her computer. I am bringing mine but I don't think I can hook up to the internet.

I was planning on leaving tomorrow but there is this storm coming in so I might leave later this afternoon. I have to go peruse the weather channel some more before I decide.

Quote for the Day: Know in your heart that seemingly miraculous happenings are brought into your immediate life space because you're already connected to them. - Wayne Dyer

The Painting

This came in the mail yesterday. The first painting I have ever bought. I love it. Right now its popped in front of my computer so I can look at it a lot.


















In addition Misty sent me this. Its a print of one of her other works. She also gave me a CD of some music. Wow that was so nice. I have been saying to the Universe that I want some new music, but I didn't expect it to come this way. I guess that is a lesson it itself. You just put the intention out there and the universe delivers it in unexpected ways.

Finding Water - Well I have managed to do morning pages for 3 days in a row, and I took an Artist Date to a craft store. I just walked around very slowly looking at all the new things available. Of course I did not get out of there without buying something. I found some beautiful 12 x 12 papers, a gel pen and a ribbon with words of friendship on it.

I saw this on the way home today. I never get tired of seeing this Eagle.














Quote of the Day:
Opportunities are like pole beans; you have to keep picking them so that more can grow. - Hope Wallis

A Beautiful Day

The wind is howling outside but its still a beautiful day. Sometimes I am amazed just how beautiful a day can be if we take the time to appreciate it.














This is a picture out my front window. You can see that beautiful blue sky and a few clouds then the rolling potato fields and then the mountains in the distance.















Here is my shadow, Eowyn, she follows me everywhere. She can actually be a pest in the studio though. She likes to walk all over every surface and rubs against anything tall so of course she knocks things over. She hasn't been covered in glitter yet but if she keeps it up she is bound to sooner or later. I was going to take some pics of my dog Flynn but he is outside running around enjoying himself so I don't want to spoil that.
















I found this on this at Every Life Has a Story They could be used in journal pages and whatever else. You can make one here I made just a list of tasks but you can do anything you like. It is like the old card for books in the card catalog in libraries.

Todays quote is dedicated to Kai whose friendship really means the world to me. Yes, I have been getting lots of email from everyone helping me celebrate in this birth month of mine, thanks to you.

Quote of the Day: There is no wilderness like a life without friends; friendship multiplies blessings and minimizes misfortunes; it is a unique remedy against adversity, and soothes the soul. - Baltasar Gracian

Finding Water

It is all Terri/Tinker's fault. I knew that Julia Cameron had a new book out but I was thinking I can wait till its out in paperback. I have never managed to make it through the Artists Way or Walking in This world; but here she was talking about a group doing it together now that's a different puppy. I went to the website, joined the group. I started this morning with my morning pages and then went to buy the book. I almost cried at the price; but moved beyond that. I think it will be great doing it with other people. If you are interested check out the Finding Water blog; you can find more info on the book here


I had my womens group over and we watched a taping of last weeks Oprah and talked about the Secret. Then it was on to a discussion on Life after Death by Deepak Chopra, it is quite the interesting book. If you are at all interested in the topic I am sure you'll find it very interesting.

I spent the weekend finishing up my vision boards. I added more pictures to the relationship, financial freedom and travel ones. They look pretty good. I am already seeing some results from doing them so I think that is great. I am ready for more of that. Its time to make those dreams reality.

Quote of the Day: View those tenacious thoughts that just won't go away as intention talking to you, saying "You signed up to express your unique brilliance, so why do you keep ignoring it?"

Make Lemonade

I got this print in the mail today. It is by Judy Wise I did not know it would be matted so that is a plus. I bought the first print out of 75. Oh that makes me special right. I am number 1, I am number 1. I am #1 of course I am.....



























This is for Pam especially, but also for all of us working on the crow chunky book. The crows were out today. I saw them eating grain on the railroad track and said to my husband oh the crows are here and I made him turn around and of course by the time we get close enough for a picture they fly away. Here you see some in flight and others sitting in a tree.














This one is a little better, all the big birds are the crows, the other ones are blackbirds. I'll keep trying, one of these days I will get a close up.

Answer to some comments;

Charlene asked about the size of my loom. I have a 60" Glimakra but the reed I have for blankets is 50" wide. I use a 6 dent reed, and worsted weight yarns. The color blanket was double weave, I wove it 40" wide, double weave so I had an 80 inch wide blanket when finished. I am going to do the naturally colored one just plain weave 50" wide and I put on a 3.5 yd warp. It will still be a nice size.

Kai asked about my cat her name is Eowyn, aka hot dog, She is named after a Lord of the Rings character. She was a stray, I found her crying on my property, she couldn't eat much. My husband would cut up hot dogs in to tiny pieces and she would gobble them up so she was called hot dog first. She is one of those cuddly cats, she likes to get under the covers and sleep with me, well only for a minute or two but its nice. My other cat Lucky was also a stray and she has always been shy; We found her starving in the ditch by my house, she was wild and so tiny I had to feed her with an eyedropper. She thrived and has lived with us ever since then. She will sit on your lab in the evenings but is not a cuddler at all. Unfortunately the two of them are always fighting.

Gemma asked if when using a spinning wheel do I ever feel connected to women of old. The answer has to be yes. Since I have this Celtic background I have always felt some connection to my ancestors, to those women who had to do these crafts out of necessity. Its a nice feeling.

Now I need to get back to some other art projects. I have so many interests that sometimes it really is hard to do it all. One or two have to dominate while others seem to slide to the back burner. I guess it the way it is. Time to head to my studio, I hope you are all having a great weekend.

Quote of the Day: Every Child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. - Pablo Picasso

200th post

This is my 200th post so I think that is a cause for celebrations. Plus it's my birthday later this month. To celebrate that I am going to give away one of my hand woven dishtowels. You can see them on the loom further down in the post. I will choose a winner on my birthday February 27th. To enter just send me a comment before that date, or an email if blogger won't let you comment.


I think that after finishing weaving the blanket that was on my loom for so long I am back in weaving mode so that feels so good. There are lots of projects on the back burner that need focus again.















I have been working on the dishtowels a little bit every day this week. My goal has been to weave at least 1 hour a day. I have promised one for my church auction so I need to get them woven. I also like to have some on hand for gifts.














Since I moved the spinning wheel near the window its my cats favorite spot to sit.















Here is how a blanket begins. I am starting to wind the warp for the next one. This is a warping board. Before the loom is threaded all the warp threads need to be wound on a warping board. This makes sure everything is the same length. The warp threads are the vertical threads on a loom.
















This blanket is using all natural colors. I have all the skeins draped across the front beam of the loom. This helps me decide what order I will use them in. I look at them for a while before inspiration sets in. I will move all the skeins around several times to see how I like their arrangement. First I thought I would just do dark to light but now I am thinking about doing light dark light.

Quote if the Day: Great Imaginations are apt to work from hints and suggestions, and a single moment of emotion is sometimes sufficient to create a masterpiece - Margaret Sackville

A Surprise Gift

I recieved this delightful card and ATC from my friend Kai. How do you thank someone who is so wonderful.















This is an ATC that was inside to celebrate my birthday this month. What a delightful gift. Thank you so much Kai.
















I have started playing the Secret as just background TV in the room. Sometimes I would just have some mindless tv show on while I knit or surf the net or whatever. I decided the other day I should just play the Secret every day. Sometimes I am sitting watching and other times I am just listening from another room. It seems to energize me and soon or later it will sink in.

Vision Boards

I started doing a vision board for healing my back and that led to thinking I wanted boards for many other things so now I have started 4 other ones. One for relationships, finances, creative projects and travel. It really becomes quite a fun process. For my health vision board I have cut out pictures of women in all sorts of activity and have put my face on their bodies. It is really quite funny but powerful too. I'll post it as soon as I get a picture taken.














This is the one for healing. Doesn't my head look funny on all these great looking bodies.















This is one I've started for travel. I really just have maps and names of places: I think I will look for pictures to replace them so its more visual.














This one is for relationships. I picked pictures of couples in love and then copied words for the things I'd like to have more of in my life. Here I may also remove words and add more images as I find them.

If there is something you are trying to bring into your life you might want to try doing a vision board on it. I used foam core board for my backing but you could use poster board, artist canvas, whatever you can find. If you have no magazine clippings you could get images of the web. Try it out it really is fun and the result can lead to something fantastic. I have already had results from my boards and they are not even finished yet.

Valentines Day

I woke up this morning to see this on the table with a card.

































Truffles from Sarah's Candy Cottage. White chocolate, may favorite. There is white chocolate rolled in macadamia nuts, rose and lavender flavored. Yummm. I dropped off a little bouquet of carnations at Dave's office. It was a simple gesture but fun. I hope you are all having a wonderful Valentines Day.

I spent some time on the river yesterday feeding these guys. It so fun have an audience that really appreciates you.

The End of the Blanket

I know you are all probably tired of seeing this blanket so I promise these are the last pictures unless I take a picture with Sarah in it. I may go up to Missoula this weekend to deliver it to her. It depends on the weather if I go or not.














Here is a close up the colors, there are more than 50 colors used in the blanket. You should be able to notice that the blanket looks softer now. Many of you mentioned that you didn't quite understand what we were doing the other day so I will try to explain here. After fabric is woven the cloth needs to be fulled. Its makes the weave structure tighten a little, takes out any oils that my hands put on the wool and opens the fiber a little. It is somewhat like when you buy cotton fabrics you need to wash them first to get the sizing out of the material. I usually full the cloth in the washing machine but this time we did it by hand the old traditional Scottish way. I hope that helps.

I am in the process of making some vision boards for my desires like in the Secret. If they look cool I may post them later. I decided last night I was using the wrong visualization for my back. I had been saying I am free of pain and I am changing that to My back and leg are healthy and feel fantastic. I think that sounds so much better. Thoughts do become things so I am trying to be more conscious of them.


Last week I thought I have not heard from an artist whose blog I had left a comment on. I was really resonating with this painting by Judy Wise I had wanted to know if she was offering the painting as a print. Well I decided to go look at the original entry for some reason and I saw she had replied to my comment. Yes she had the painting as a print. Prints are really inexpensive so I decided to get one. I really liked this image because when I had the ankle and back problems I really felt close to the idea of if God gives you lemons you make lemonade. That is what I found myself doing. Its a great thing to remember, that you can always change your circumstances no matter what they are.

All this acquiring of art lately really relates to my friend Mary Jensen who died a year ago. I remember at her funeral thinking I wished I had bought some of her weaving's. She wove beautiful tapestry rugs. I wished I had a small piece of her creative work. Now it was too late. I think its important to not only admire each others work but to aquire it too. We need to support each other.

Quote of the Day: To express the emotions of life is to live, to express the life of emotions is to make art. - Jane Heap

OOH Excitement

Well the Secret is at work again. I checked bloglines this morning and went to one of my favorite sites Misty Mawn . She is a mixed media and collage artist. I have been really drawn to her work ever since I found it. Several times over the last year I've thought oh I would love to have one of her paintings. I even thought about writing her, finding what she charges and then at least I would know what I am looking at.

Well I fell in love with the a painting she posted today. I found out it was in her Etsy shop and saw that the price was reasonable. Then I looked at her site again and read the entry I almost gasped when I saw her quote for the day. I used that quote when I graduated from high school as the quote listed under my picture in the school yearbook. Now that is what I call a sign. In addition the painting has a crow and a window or doorway. Those are 2 images I have been drawn to for some time. Misty has 4 other pieces for sale and I kept looking at them all but this one had a hold over me. I debated a little as to whether all these things I thought were sign were actually that. I talked to a friend but I had to make the decision myself. I thought about the Secret and how we create things, first the thought, desire and the feeling of what it would be to have the thing, then notice the coincidences and act on them. Well I couldn't let this one slide. So I bought the painting. I am certain that the universe will send me the money to pay for it. I immediate felt euphoric so I know it was the right decision. You can see the painting on her blog the link is above. I felt the same way when I bought the dishes. I knew that it was right and perfect for me. Then I got money to pay for them in a way I hadn't expected. So I know it works.

Quote for the Day: The Goal of Life in Rapture. Art is the way we experience it. Art is the transforming experience. - Joseph Campbell

Fulling a blanket

I invited a few friends over to hand full the cloth or waulk it. We played a tape of Norman Kennedy playing traditional Gaelic tunes while we worked. They really got into the scrunching action. After the hand fulling I wrapped the blanket around a board for drying. I will press it after it dries to even it out a little. Some of the yarns fulled differently than others. Someday I will either weight all the yarns separately or make one out of yarns fromthe same fleece to avoid that problem.














Molly and Joann try their hand at the process.














Joann and Kay try their turns. You can't tell what they are doing but its basically squeeze or scrunch the wool and pass it to the next person and over and over again.














Here Celeste, Sylvia and Ginger continue the process.















This is the blanket wrapped around the board, waiting to dry.

It was fun seeing some of these women and spending some time with them. It had been a long time since I had seen Joann. She brought some samples of things she had been weaving. Lots of beautiful lace weaves which I forgot to take any pictures of. Ilove reconnecting with old friends.

Wow what a book

This came in the mail and oh its wonderful. It will take some time to absorb even half of it. Some books have enough visuals but not much explanation or thought provoking narrative and some are too wordy with not enough visuals. This book has a great balance. I will be inspired for a long ti with it. I can't wait for a block of time to spend with it. Then of course my friend Violette is in it, that makes it even better. If you are hesitating buying this book. don't its amazing.

Now its back to cleaning the house. I have 8 people coming over tomorrow to participate in the waulking or fulling of the blanket. Of course I am not ready so I am off to finish vacuuming up all those tiny threads.

Quote of the Day: The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched but must be felt with the heart. - Helen Keller

They forced me

Well blogger forced me to do it. They wouldn't let me access the old version anymore. So I upgraded to the new version so I hope I do not have any major problems.

Last night LOST was great, I was happy to be back on the island. I ended up making around 75 braids of the fringe on the blanket last night. There are a total of 128 braids that have been made, yikes no wonder my hands are sore.

I mailed all the valentines, Anna I have no clue how long it will take to get to you. The rest of you should get them in a few days.

I spent lunch with my friends Ginger and Kay and we talked about The Secret and how we are using it in our lives. I got some great ideas and then last night I watched the DVD again and am inspired once more. I will use the techniques outlined in the movie like the gratitude list and rock and vision board to work on healing myself and other areas in my life. This is the one single thing that is making a difference for me right now.

I found some great crow embellishments at Ben Franklin(craft store) yesterday. I am ready to get back to working on this crow book. I am also going to tackle a new project I saw it here . Its called the Art Journal Challenge and it lasts all year. Basically you start with a deck of playing cards and do 1 card each week. The prompts for the week are list on the website. I have gotten as far as getting the deck of cards and doing a background for the first one. They are already on week 5 but I think I can catch up. I figure this is a great way for me to be doing art at least once a week. I'll post them when I get several done.

Quote for the day: People who allow themselves to create, who wake each day with songs in their hearts, primed canvasses in their studios, fresh pages in their journals, know that Art is truly about - Joy-Celebration-Beauty-Love-Humor-Real Life.... Danny Gregory

....the envelope please

And the Valentines go to... drum roll...I will list them in the order that the pics show in the last post Anna, Shirley, Pam, Kai. Congratulations to the winners. I will pop them in the mail soon. I have everyones address so I am all set there. Thanks for participating everyone this sure has been fun.


I want to thank all of you for the nice comments on the blanket. It will actually look better once it has been fulled on saturday. I started braiding fringe, it takes a long time. I would like to say I am half done but I didn't make it that far but I am close.

I am heading to knitting group this morning, I haven't been in several weeks so it will nice to re-aquaint myself with my friends. I have friends who are spinners and weavers and knitters but none who do collage or draw who are not on the net. I wonder how a person finds them in their town. Do you bump into someone in a craft store, put an ad in the paper, offer a class. I love my internet friends but sometimes it would be fun to do art with another person or shop with them or something. There are other artists in town, but they are snobby and I have never felt a connection with them. Maybe I will have to use the secret for this desire. To all of your who hear me talk about the Secret and haven't a clue of what its all about, check out Oprah on Thursday, she is devoting her show to it.

Quote for the Day: Say to Yourself, I'm here on purpose, I can accomplish anything I desire, and I do it by being in harmony with the all-pervading creative force of the universe - Wayne Dyer

It is Finished....not really

I finished weaving the blanket yesterday. Now the real work begins I need to repair all the mistakes and braid all the fringe. Here is the blanket layed across my kitchen table. With Ginger giving me the idea, I decided that I would full the cloth with a traditional waulking. This is not a spelling mistake. Waulking (in Gaelic luadh) is the technique of finishing the newly-woven fabric by soaking it and thumping it rhythmically to shrink and soften it. Waulking songs are played to keep the rhythm and lighten the work. For more details and a picture look here. I have set Saturday as the date for that so I have till then to finish the braiding and repairs.

Valentine Art contest.

Today I am setting aside to do some some Art. I will post the ATC's I am giving away later today. I'll be drawing the winners tomorrow morning.

Update: I have been playing for several hours. I have the 2 4x4's that I promised plus 2 ATC sized pieces. I'll will be giving them all away tomorrow morning. To enter just leave a comment or send me an email and you are in the drawing.
































































Some women wait for things to change and nothing does change so they change themselves - Audre Lorde

Super Bowl Sunday

Its Super Bowl Sunday here in the US. I hardly watch football anymore but I always watch the superbowl, especially for the commercials. Since I am from the Midwest I guess I'll be rooting for the Bears.














Last night we went to a Beach Party at my church. The hall was decorated Caribbean looking. Some of us wore shorts and other summer gear. There was lots of good food and a band. We had smoothies, a chocolate fountain and great finger foods. Although my back still hurts all the time I managed to dance most of the night. It was really fun. It was like being at a wedding but there was no bride and groom. We had a limbo contest along with contests for the best hawaian shirts and craziest shoes. It was fun socializing with people that I normally don't. The kids dancing were the most fun to watch. First is a pic of my friends Molly and Rae.















This is our minister Lyn. She is really a lot of fun. She just came here from Massachusetts and is a lot of fun. I am just getting to know her and she's great. Crazy hat huh!














The chocolate fountain was the most popular place. My favorite thing to dip in it was a piece of fresh pineapple. Yummmm


I wove some more on the blanket but I am still not finished. I don't know why the last section seems to take so long but it does. I will wind a whole section of bobbins thinking that should be enough but I end up doing again and again so my judgement seems off a little.















I have been playing in the art studio with valentines and stamp and ink and such. There is nothing final yet to post. It takes me awhile to get confident artistically again. I do have a total mess down there so I am sure some work of wonder will emerge. This is the chaos on my desk.

Don't forget to enter the contest, all you need to do is comment on the blog or send me an email.

Quote of the Day: Living is an artform of not being sure, not knowing whats next or how... The artist never entirely knows. We guess. We may be wrong but we take leap after leap in the dark. - Agnes De Mille