Hello Dolly!

The beautiful dolls made during the last workshop of the Summer are done! Little girls, anxious to meet their new playmates watched intently as the Moms deftly mastered 'pretty stitches' and stuffing techniques and finally after much huffing and puffing, sweat and pricked fingers, they were done ( well mostly!) The love put into these Waldorf dolls is huge and they all feature a little felt heart tucked safely inside....Welcome to the world......

Coming Soon to a tree near you..

Donovan Boy found this beauty on a pyjama walk this week already...Why is my favourite season always so sneaky?? Autumn is so mysterious, means colour, flavour, soups, strange looking veggies and possibly Indian Summer!

The third season of the year, and opposite from my birthday season, the descending or autumnal equinox to the winter solstice, is approximately September 21 to December 21. Chaucer first used the word autumn c 1374, which is derived from Latin autumnus/auctumnus. The use of fall to mean autumn in North American English comes from the phrase 'fall of the leaf' and it came into use by 1545 for this time of year when the leaves fall from the trees. Duh! The term autumn is still preferred in British English (and yours truly - grin.)

As autumn approaches, certain influences both inside and outside the plant cause the chlorophylls to be replaced at a slower rate than they are being used. The "masking" effect slowly fades and the other pigments that have been present begin to show. These are called carotenoids and they give the leaves colors of yellow, brown, and orange. The reds, the purples, and their blended combinations come from another group of pigments in the cells called anthocyanins.

Fascinating stuff for ya'll I know....just some geekiness coming through, sorry.

This bread was delicious and I have 5lbs of frozen home made dough just ready and waiting...

Flash the Stash

What does yours' look like?

Mine, frankly was in a terrible mess after this Summer's raving, roving rumble through it during various classes. I had to dump the whole lot onto the newly vacuumed rug, right in front of Maikeer "I'm at a loss for words" Feierpusi, and Lightening Bolt Usain, and sprint to the finish (read sort it until 3am)!!!
So now my wild and woolly stash is ready for new projects, sharing and classes but it's oh-so-small!!! I like to get wool from various sources including Weirdolls and Crafts, Joggles, High Prairie Fibers and of course Etsy artisans!

The troubled pile of fluff before....

and after...lots of missing colour tones to fill in as you can see...

I like to call this 'The Barbie Box'

Earthy tones for this coming season....

Even the itty bitty bits found a home....

"Must have more", Says needy heart - "There's loads", says DH!! Oh, but the Taos Wool fest is calling in Oct..... so I'll hold off until then!! Tee Hee!!

Hanging around

It's working, the melon trellis is holding so far and they shouldn't get too big but will be ready to eat soon...

Jalapenos are struggling without much love.....

It's was too hot for me to garden much up in Topanga, but I' haven't given up hope yet on my own garden!!

I am working hard to get the TLC factor up in my poor neglected spot of green. I'm planning next season and looking forward to much more lettuce!

Put your heads together...

tee hee...we noticed our diversity was lacking....
Ah, but look at the lovely baby heads we made last week in the Dollmaking 101 workshop. The ladies are doing so well, after making their own heads with much sweat but no tears (yet), learning the subtle stuffing techniques of 'fanangling' (well..brits understand this!) Although they have some homework of stuffing the legs and prepping for attachment - we'll finish the naked babies next Wednesday with hair placement too.
Really must say another thank you to Brinkerbird and Challah for letting me in on this lovely tradition all those years ago and allowing me to share those gifts with others...

Brighten the Day

with another batch of sensational silks! Now available for sale on Etsy!

Sweating it out in the sun makes for more vibrant colours...

Glorious dye pots of reds and oranges

A rainbow vision of cloth

Whilst getting ready for the waldorf dollmaking workshop, some very pleasant Ozzie bought all the silks from the last batch, prompting another quick dying session...and so it goes... another session in September will be set for those who wanted to join the fun and were postponed, sorry, just not enough time or energy to do it all in July!

Faeries in Topanga

So many friends came to play...

Found this laying around this morning...must've been made by a fairy visitor..

I whipped this up as an example piece for a class I'm teaching soon on woolly painting with steam techniques...

..just couldn't wait to post more pics..see how sad I am???

Hooray?

Huzzah! Whoppee! great..etc etc..

Challah's back today from her long Summer vacation which means we are vacating the Top and it's hilly realms and moving the troops back to the Tree House by the Sea. Thank you to Challah and her family (particularly Zoe the Wonderdog) for allowing us to play in your world for a while, it's been lovely.

The rose garden is back in bloom...

El Matador yesterday....magical beach in Malibu...

Um, yes, grapes too....although the sugars haven't formed yet..
still had to taste!

Daydreaming..

Oh boy it's August already???? Playing around today with Little Gandalf, swimming, laying around on the trampoline whilst taking silly pics of our belly buttons, feet and noses reminds me of being on a desert island...oh yes..here's one I finished earlier in the week..it's on Etsy now so you can buy your very own island!!





It's mostly wool, with some moss, shells, stones and coral embedded into it, I may have to make a turtle and mini-mermaid to visit sometimes....

Le Quiche Cheydleur

I've been neglecting my garden of late and I'm not proud of it...I can only hope that the tomatoes, aubergines and this years' big experiment of melons on a trellis survived my stay in the hills and visits from the Hairy One and fellow green thumbs! I'm sure today's earthquake didn't shake anything loose!

My poor corn stalks have most certainly been eaten by Johnny, Abigail and Elizabeth (Squirralle) so my plans of roasted, creamed and frozen corn will come from the store this year! Here's my favourite quiche recipe that's great for breakfast, lunch or dinner (see table below!)

1 x frozen pie crust or make your own deep dish style with any unbleached grain
3 large eggs
splash of milk ( could be 1/2 cup?)
1/2 small onion coarsely chopped
1 cup of your fav strong cheese
1/2 cup fresh chopped toms from the garden of course!
1 can of creamed corn (for those like me who have none growing now!)
fresh basil, sea salt, ground pepper, garlic powder to taste - I like lots of everything!

Pre-heat oven to 375 0 and prick crust, pop in for 5 mins to avoid soggy bottom
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, quick whip and pour into hot crust!
Bake until middle is firm, about 40-50 mins and serve!

For brekkie add sausage, with baked beans on the side!
Lunch - add broccoli into mix and serve with green salad and my favourite for dinner is add everything you can lay your hands on( potatoes, courgette etc...and serve with a pile of chippies! Ha HA!
Enjoy!

6 Degrees

of Little Gandalf...
Six years on and he has reached the grand ol' age of reasoning! Quite adept at playing strategy games ( Risk LOTR, Mastermind and Stratego LOTR) he donned his pirate gear for a hunt and a pirate ship cake sailing on blue jello water!

Scape sickness..

Oh yes, it's all about the playscapes....I'll soon be sick of frollicking in the springs, tree root, stream heaven they pull you into....that's it! I'm out and onto something else for a while!! (maybe)
Gather my strength and get more felted fruit done and due before the end of the month for an NFEST Challenge and a piece you may recall named Still Life with Woodpecker! The Entwife sits patiently for her skirts and the wooly painting started below should be done before I leave the hill here on the 4th/5th...the one eyed baby doll below is for Scissors' beautiful son hopefully sometime before I see her for the Taos Wool Festival...anyone going???

Ouch!...actually the head is too small, so I'll use it for the dollmaking workshop in August and make another...yes, please do measure your diameter before progressing and maybe stop drinking whilst sewing...?

Silver Springs Bridge used to be Gnome Knoll...

Tree root cave with resident seed gnome watches water rushing by...

in process...First layer of wooly painting - prep for a class to be taught in Sept...

Oh, and a cake for the pesky pirates that will insist of having mega birthday parties every year!
laters potaters....

40, 50 & 9?

No, not really a math puzzle but possibly an equation of interesting numbers and moreover a realisation (with an S, yes! spell checker...) this is my 50th post, a small but notable milestone, in my 40th year that my shining star son Donovan Boy turned 9 today ( bawl!). You see, I went and blinked and life jaunted me to here and now, I'm not sure I was paying enough attention...

Early this morning at exactly 1.06am - I lay awake hearing him breathe, watching him sleep and remembering the first time I did just that. Closely holding him in my arms and staring in wonder. Who was he and how I could possibly be the guardian of one so sweet? A magic nine years and he is strong of will, dreamy, imaginative, sure of himself, sensitive and loving life. Curiosity abounds while he hunts around the garden for leaves, twigs, or another gray hair of mine to pop under his new 'toy' and examine at 400x. His eyes sparkle, happily digging a huge sandcastle, discovering a new slimy friend and many shiny treasures at the beach, ending with an outrageous slice of chocolate fudge cake and a "This is the best birthday ever"!
Yes, it is...every year....

Lucky Charmer...

Mascot, omen, or just lucky ?
This rather huge hopper came by for a little light refreshment ( or possibly just a poop), right in the middle of our work table, he perched majestically for a while, even pretending to ignore the kerfuffle of stabbing hands - to wool, not him silly - With a harumphing hop of madness (creative spelling is ok in my realm, ta!) the Squeal of winkies sent him/her on it's way....
Busy hand shots are some of my favourites from this series of workshops...the second round of fab felters were styling up a storm. Spicy is creating a whirlpool marsh...Soggy adds to her Virginia inspired spring and leechy swampground, and Ski cut her original mat in half ( yes with real SCISSORS, so there!) and the kids jumped right into the mermaid lagoon creations..

Wild One finished her 'Woodland Falls to Beach" vision splendidly...
Hard at work and Koi created a masterpiece 'Fallen log" ready for framing...