Happy Samhain!

THEME IN YELLOW

I spot the hills
With yellow balls in autumn.
I light the prairie cornfields
Orange and tawny gold clusters
And I am called pumpkins.
On the last of October
When dusk is fallen
Children join hands
And circle round me
Singing ghost songs
And love to the harvest moon;
I am a jack-o'-lantern
With terrible teeth
And the children know
I am fooling.

- Carl Sandberg

Revisiting Orchids

I created a mixed media piece two years ago (and fortunately sold it) of Cattleya orchids and a wood backdrop. The wood was done with collage and acrylic paints, the flowers and background in watercolor, and the roots were composed of hand-dyed ribbons and fibers.  I decided to recreate the piece, this time totally in watercolor. I applied the watercolor paint onto the wood area straight from the tube and moved it around with a palette knife. the rest of the painting is normal watercolor painted with brushes.

thanks for looking,
Chris

October - right now

Just one more week in October but it's going to be a big one!!!!!! I am so loving this time of year with the house open

doing lots of baking - carrot cake for my birthday and banana walnut bread so yummy with cream cheese or goat cheese (just this minute I can smell our normal everyday bread baking - oooh yum - I love warm bread with butter or in the French way, with some dark chocolate melted on it!)

My lanai has lots of plants - Christmas cactus and poinsettia - getting ready for blooming and holiday gift giving

I am truly enjoying the wonderful new cookbooks that my son sent me for my birthday - I have been wanting more cookbooks by Tessa Kiros for so long - I love the artful photos and the delicious recipes

Doing lots of art and craft - see top photo - revisiting and finishing a quilt that I started when we lived in Jacksonville a long time ago (probably in the early 1990s). I called it Lavendar's Blue (like the song) - I pulled it out of the storage bin and fell in love all over with the soft palette.

Got sidetracked this past week knitting slippers - I had planned to knit slippers for DH for Christmas so I whipped up one last Sunday - it looked small so I showed it to him and had him try it on - way too small - I recalculated the stitch count and got his two slippers knitted on Mon and Tues - then on Wed I knitted a second one to match the small one so now we both have slippers - and just in time for our first "cold front" down in the 50s at night. Now I am back knitting my Branches and Dunes lace scarf.
I will be taking a watercolor class for the next two days in which we paint with gold leaf - sounds cool!
Hope your fall is going well and thanks for stopping by,
Chris

Artichokes - againnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn?

My friend Pat brought a picture of artichokes to our weekly art group so I just had to paint my version - in autumn colors

just perfect for an autumn tablescape. Don't you love the tiny baskets of fruits and vegetables? I got those many years ago at White's in Jacksonville (the San Marco store) - I still love them!

Have a great week!
Chris

{this moment}

New autumn tessellations wall quilt

 A  sometimes Friday ritual. A single photo - a few words - capturing a moment from the past week. A simple moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.   (Idea for blog post inspired by Soulemama)

A pot of tea and a bit of lace

It's beginning to cool off a bit here (high 60s at night last weekend and mid 80s - hoping to turn off the a/c next week!) so I am back to knitting like a fiend.  I have joined in with Jane Thornley's new KAL on ravelry - here's a link to my project page Branches and Dunes scarf.  I am inspired by a bracelet that I made a few years ago

Love all the fall shades but popped with pinks.

Lace looks hard but I find it so incredibly rhythmic and peaceful - watching the pattern emerge.

I picked up a couple of CDs at the Used Book Depot when I worked last week (CDs are $1 and DVDs are $3) and am listening to them this afternoon while I knit - so peaceful and happy happy happy. The CDs are Maidens of the Celtic Harp and New Celtic Moon (the Paul Haslem Consort). Perfect knitting music - and to make it even more perfect, I just brewed a little pot of Russian tea - off to pour a cuppa (Russian tea always needs a bit of milk to soften the taste). So delicious!

Hope you are having a wonderful day!
Chris

October - right now

O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled......
- Robert Frost

Right now.....

I am hand stitching the last seam on my new autumn tessellations wall quilt - ready to sew on the borders and quilt it
I am casting on a Vineyard canopy scarf for the latest Jane Thornley knitalong on Ravelry
I am linking a few past Halloween postings over on the Paperissues blog
I am making vegetable soup for dinner
I am wishing that our markets/stores would get in some new crop apples (seems very late this year)
I am hoping that Anya will win on Project Runway (she is so incredibly creative and resourceful!)
I am enjoying the Inspector Lewis episodes on Masterpiece Mystery (love Lawrence Fox!)
I am hoping that we can turn off the air conditioning in the next 2-3 weeks (hope hope)
I am rooting for the Tampa Bay Rays!!!!!!

What's happening in your life?
Chris

Hitchcock Halloween

Some months ago Somerset Studio put out a call for Hitchcock Halloween based projects

(the winners are in the current issue)

I began this project at that time but with so many personal issues, did not finish it until this past month

I altered a 7gypsies portfolio creating a Maison du Hitchcock portfolio and then added some mood boards for specific movies. The outside cover is covered with 7gypsies paper that was Glimmer misted over a Prima mask and gaffer tape along all edges. The center image is a Gecko Galz Masquerade ephemera and I added real scissors and a feather.

I filled the inside pages with actual ads from vintage magazines, Gecko Galz ephemera (Haute Couture pages 1 and 2), and actual items - snaps, buttons, fabrics, safety pins, and clothing tags.

Dial M for Murder

Gecko Galz paper and images with October Afternoon "M" stickers, fabric and lace, and a key

Marnie

horse picture from a child's reader, a photo of mine, Gecko Galz ephemera (bump in the night) on an actual employee personnel folder

Vertigo

Gecko Galz paper and ephemera (Marie Antoinette and Bump in the Night) along with actual vintage images from ads and a photo of mine

The Birds

Stampington paper, Gecko Galz ephemera (Little Birdy, bump in the night, and Haute Couture) along with K&co vellum bird, decoupage birds, and feathers

This was a very fun project - almost too many ideas!!!

thanks for looking,

Chris