English Smocking for Wellie Wisher™ and Hearts For Heart™ dolls

Light blue English Smocked dress for Wellie Wisher™ dolls and Hearts For Heart™ dolls.  Sweet!

Mug Rugs

Mug rugs are taking the Internet by storm! There are so many different designs created by talented crafters.  Some have even written poems about their mug rugs.

So, what is a MUG RUG?

It's a little placemat with just enough space to hold a cup and a snack.

Here's my design using my original pen and ink drawings on fabric of hummingbirds.

Hummingbird studies

Presently working on a study of hummingbirds and botanical illustrations. . .

With the advantage of so many people taking pictures in our day there are a lot of hummingbird photos showing their wings out stretched and perfectly visible. But in real life, one never sees the wings when in motion, they appear as a blur. Only when the hummer is perched can the little folded wings be seen.  Youtube has some pretty fascinating presentations showing how many times the wings actually beat. One can hear the buzz of those fast moving wing even before seeing the little bird.
I used these thoughts in drawing the hummingbird's moving wings.

Round 'barrel like' cactus with wreath of delicate pink flowers crowning top.

Hummingbird and Fuchsia

This drawing with two hummingbirds looks like the male and female cooperate jointly in hatching and raising the young but actually the female does all the work alone.

New fabric art work

New designs are in my Etsy store of quilt squares with pen and ink drawing on fabric. Having lived in the southwest as a child and in the recent past, I am featuring birds, animals and plants found in desert.

      I had a number of window feeders for the many hummingbirds who would come for my homemade nectar - sometimes in the summer I would make 9 cups of sugar water a week to keep them all coming back.

Cracked corn and a basin of water would encourage the quail to feed in my rock yard giving me the chance to watch the large families of adults with baby chicks running behind.

This is the first of a series of 'sea theme' quilt squares I plan to do - gulls, shells, lighthouses. . .

Sea Fever

BY JOHN MASEFIELD

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;

And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,

And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied; 

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,

To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;

And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

Drawing with Pen and Ink on Fabric

Here's a recent illustration project - using archival ink on unbleached muslin and sewn into a tea cosy. The black fabric boarder does a striking job of framing the drawing.
This type of slip over cosy does a good job keeping the teapot warm for a while. Especially when  placed on a potholder.