Here are the first two.
I like working on these brown owls. All the fabrics I’m using have memories.
a little more LA and what comes next
The last thing I want to mention that I love about LA is the food- we do tacos, tacos, and tacos. Also fresh fruit and veg- we had strawberries from a farmers market like I have never tasted in my life!
Do you watch Chef’s Table on Netflix? I love that show! We went to Nancy Silverton’s restaurant for an amazing dinner.
And lastly, I’ll mention the Getty Villa. I enjoyed the collection although a big part of the museum is currently closed. Loved these weird bird, fish, lady creatures.
What comes next? I am doing the Coolidge Corner Arts Festival, Saturday June 3. I will be working toward that, right up to the last minute I’m sure. Tomorrow, some new finished pieces!
LA 2- it sure isn’t Boston!
I love going to LA. Everything is so different from the everyday world outside my door- the plants, the weather, the fashion, the people on the sidewalk, the food… Then I come home to see my New England home with new eyes.
We stayed at a lovely Airbnb in Silverlake with a back garden which included-
Also a fig tree and there was an avocado in the next yard, plus a large citrus of some sort.
After 2 busy days of teaching, we spent a day in the gardens at The Huntington. What an amazing place. I have never seen anything like the desert garden. I am including my husband in the pic for scale ;-)
I took a lot of texture photos-
And that is now my new phone screen saver. How about this cactus?
There was loads more that I could show but that desert garden is what I will go back for next time I am in LA.
The next day we drove up to the Mount Wilson Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains. We left town and it was 80 degrees. At the Observatory it was in the 50’s and we were freezing!
Next, off to Ventura for something completely different. Unfortunately I spent much too much time in the hotel and not enough contemplating this-
Yep, I am already planning my trip for next year.
teaching in Southern California
I’m back and catching up on my sleep. Wow was that trip exhausting! I know that as I travel-teach more, I will get less anxious but at this point I can really make myself crazy. I’m a list maker and everything that I forgot, wish I’d had, or overdid, will be noted for next time. Honestly, the trip and the teaching went really well and any little blip was mostly easily worked out so I’m hoping for less stress on future travels.
The first venue was French General in LA.
It was 2 full days- 2 classes of wonderful women making Tiny Worlds. I am always amazed that there is so much range of experiences in teaching, each group is unique. One class, almost no one finishes and in next class, almost everyone does! Some groups are chatty, some intense, some get very creative, some follow the pattern exactly. And you never know what it will be until the group comes together! I got to meet some long-time internet friends and meet many new people. The current plan is that I will go back next year and teach the Swaddled Baby which would be a 2 day class.
Lots of busy sewing-
Next, up to Ventura for Craftcation. I taught the Tiny World pincushion there also-
And lastly, I taught the Crafty Hand ornament. This was a free pattern that I made for Sweet Paul magazine in case you’d like to make your own. This was a relaxing class- the ornament is easy and everyone could be creative and still finish. I loved seeing what everyone made-
This one is right from the pattern-
But some people really got into it and added all kinds of extras!
Also, I got to take a fun class too! I learned some improv quilting techniques from Malka Dubrawsky of A Stitch in Dye, who I have online known for years- so much fun to meet in person! I am a self-taught, very basic quilter and so even though it was an improv class, I learned things that I’ve never been clear on such as theories of ironing the seam allowance. And, sewing triangles- a big step for me!
I had an amazing, exhausting trip. I will do at least one more LA post with more pics. Now, time to get back into the studio and back to work!
quiet on the blog this month!
There isn’t going to be much posting this month. I am off to LA tomorrow and this month has mostly been preparing for it.
I am teaching 3 Tiny World classes plus an ornament class- that is approx. 70 students! I made samples and refreshed my memory of the patterns.
I did some pre-work for the classes so hopefully people might finish their tiny worlds in 6 hours!
I loaded up a TON of supplies and shipped them out to LA. I figured it was better to have too much than to run short, right? Also my tools which might be a little iffy getting onto the the airplane.
After the boxes were shipped, I was able to breathe a bit and did some sewing for things I will finish when I get back. Then, I made some clothes, because I always seem to feel a need for new clothes when I am going on a trip. Here is one of my new shirts, first try-on.
That was earlier today. Now it is all hemmed up and has buttons and is packed in the suitcase. See you next month!
Burly Merman (4)
I love the proportions of this mer-fellow-
Palm tree arms-
And here are the 2 mermen, next to each other. Every time I dye fabrics, the skin tones come out differently and here it is really, really obvious!
Merman 3, with squid
Farmer #2
My rally is finished but I had some more pieces that were sewn up and I wanted to finish them up. Here is Farmer #2. His trousers have a print of barbed wire on them.
time for another *trigger* warning
Politics again. Well, we won on the health care for now but yikes, so many other things. It is easy to get disheartened. 
I made the WTF fellow and photographed him at the beginning of the month. Then I decided I should make an entire rally! It’s been an interesting experience. I’ve written about how uninspired and creatively dead I’d been feeling since November, but once I started thinking about this project, I was on a roll! I got excited about making a range of people- race, gender, species(mermen, greenmen!) and I found my focus.
The most difficult part was coming up with my protest signs. I was limited to 12, small signs so not too many words, I wanted to stay mostly positive, SO many issues to choose from… in the end I figured don’t overthink and just get the photos taken!
I am inspired by both Salley Mavor and Mary Engelbreit speaking out about what’s been happening in our country. It is not the time to be silent. I never would have guessed that those 2 would be my most politically vocal social media friends.
And here they all are!
Onward.
Lady #3
This is the last piece I finished for a project I’ve been working on- a group photo which I will post tomorrow.
She has a funny, kind of smirky smile.
I considered redoing it but then decided I liked it and it gave her some feisty personality.
She has a dog covering her entire chest.
She has another animal on her arm but I’ve never been able to figure out exactly what animal it is- a badger maybe?
I will be putting all available pieces into my etsy shop this afternoon. I will update this when they are live. (now)