Tuesday's Gifts

I am undone by autumn light! ...its long shadows and brilliance astound me...literally 3 of my lines of November's gratitude list have to do with it.  I am a lover of colors, and I think autumn light does something indescribable for color.

 This beautiful little angel given to me by someone dear, has a broken wing.  Later I will glue it with some really great stinky glue.  But she has captured me with her peace even with her broken wing!  We have adopted 3 broken kitties over the years.  The last one we named Harry Potter---he seems to be endowed by his Creator with magical love. 

Harry Potter

Lily, one of our broken kitties

 

 

Chula, once a very frightened little kitty

The past 2 days I have watched a miracle unfold as the 3 (loving, angry, and fearful)  PLAYED TOGETHER!!!  I never thought it would be possible.  But Love truly does heal even anger and fear.  Even mine.  For this Love of God I am soooo grateful.
 

 

And finally, today, I go into my studio to work/sew/embroider...grateful today for the joy of doing work that I love...and for this gift of MY Creator.  It has truly been a healing art for this soul.  I am so happy that Emily is doing tuesdays unwrapped now...It is the perfect break from the busy holiday stuff, to slow and be grateful for the ordinary in my life.  Here is her link to find more blogs tuesdays unwrapped blogs:
http://www.chattingatthesky.com/2011/11/29/tuesdays-unwrapped/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ChattingAtTheSky+%28chatting+at+the+sky%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail

May you see all your blessings in front of you today!
Love, Kathi

Skies of Blue

Cherry  Blossoms are starting to come out!  I'm hearing Duke Ellington singing in my head...

"I see  trees of green...red roses too

I see 'em blooming, for me and for you...

and I think to myself, what a wonderful world

"I see skies of blue...clouds of white

bright blessed days...dark sacred nights...

and I think to myself...What a wonderful world...."

The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky

are also on the faces...of people going by...

I see friends shaking hands, saying how do you do?

They're really sayin, I love you

I hear babies cry...I watch them grow

They'll learn much more...than I'll ever know

and I think to myself, What a wonderful world...."

So, I had to sew a cherry blossom dress for a wee one!  This one fits an 18-24 month girl...I love it with the eyelet top and bloomers

These little capri bloomers come in all sizes up to 4T...great with anything!

"Blue skies smiling at me! "

I couldn't make up my mind whether I liked this daisy and blue skies dress better with red or a black and white polka dot ribbon-sash, so I made it available with either!!  I think hot pink or lime would be really pretty, too!

"...and I think to myself, what a wonderful world
...oh, yeah!"

Dylan always wore the hat and his boots on backwards to garden!!!
Hope your are experiencing some wonder in your world today!

Taking Time

  

"Nobody sees a flower, really.

It is so small.  We haven't the time

and to see takes time, 

like to have friends

takes time."

-Georgia O'Keefe

 

This weekend I needed to rest my mind.  We worked outside Saturday, cleaning up the yard, planted a few things and Chloe, cut some beautiful flower arrangements. 

Camelias floating in my Japanese ikebana bowl

Today, I went out  to photograph some of the beauty in my own yard that I walk right by, forget to be thankful for, or worse, am too busy to even see.  We planted the camellias to celebrate our anniversary #17, and the crabapple tree was the year before...they are finally really budding and blooming...some  good things take time!  The roses we planted for our 15th anniversary  (15 old roses)  bloomed right away, but are so much fuller and bigger now  (we just had our 21st in January!)

 

  I tend to be impatient, and struggle to trust that the peonies really will come back again this year!!  This weekend, I took some time to really see, to talk to a friend, write a far away friend, plant with my husband and cut flowers with my daughter...I laid on the grass and took photos of crabapple blossoms and iris.  And it was good!

Laura Bray over at  www.katydiddys.blogspot.com had a great blog today about Sunday rest, and has a fun week of blogging planned.  Check it out!  

I hope you had a restful weekend and are re-energized for this week!

I feel spring!

This is one of the dresses I finished this weekend!  It really makes me feel happy looking at it, and I am hoping it will do that for a little 3 or 4 year old girl.  When I am working on these little girl clothes, it brings up such great memories of my daughter running and playing in the garden and park with her brother and her little friends!  Chloe was a flower lover, and frequently picked flowers for me from my giant garden...often the flowers were pulled out roots and all!! But of course, I loved it!

 

What I hope to figure out soon is the whole scanning in process!  I used to paint children, and would love to share some photos of those paintings with you here..but the photos aren't digital.  (This was back in the prehistoric age of F_I_L_M!)  I loved to photograph them in gardens or at the lake or parks doing their thing, not posed, and then paint them. 

 

Here's another little treasure that sold already, but I thought I 'd share anyways.  It is made from beautiful vintage organza-like cotton dotted swiss in blue and white.  I totally fell in love with this vintage rose trim, too.  And the fabric for the apron has little flocked daisies running down it!  TEA PARTY!!  and Alice in Wonderland!  

These ties in back are upcycled and reImagined from a vintage apron.  I just love recycling!!

Happy Birthday, My dear Chloe

 

Seventeen years today ago I was in L.A. sleeping through a relatively easy labor and then giving birth to my precious daughter, Chloe.  How very fast have flown those years, and so full of joy, laughter (hers is and has always been fabulous and contagious!) , the inevitable tears, the shared treasures, watching her as she has danced and sung, explored through writing and photography, poured many a cup of tea party tea, loved and given to so many friends (human and 4-legged) and blossomed into the beautiful young woman she is today.  I am so VERY PROUD of her!!!!   Her brother is baking her chocolate cake, her dad is making her favorite steak dinner, me, I'm still knitting ?????, and her friends are joining us to watch what she's been dying to see, YES, the season premiere of LOST!!  We celebrate her!

                               

 

 

                                             In Ireland last spring

 

 

        HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHLOE!!!!
LOVE, MOM

That Glorious Autumn Glow

This weekend really brought autumn to us here!.....its colors, the smells, and my favorite, the long low lighting! I really wanted to get out in it for awhile, even if it meant leaving my knitting. I was privileged to have my daughter and her friend join me for a bit to take some pictures. I was struck by not only the reds, orange and gold we expect on the fall leaves, but by the deep plum in the shadows of the leaves! and the many shades of greens!

Hats for the wee ones

Here are some of my berets and hat tributes to autumn's brilliant color. You can find these by clicking on my etsy button or the mini etsy pictures.