Friday weekend wishes!

The humidity here in Wisconsin has left for a few days. All the windows are open in the house and the air conditioning is off. Lovely Friday!  The Relax stone above was a gift that makes me keep smiling. Relax-breathe-relax. Something we all need these days. Can't hardly open the paper, look at the tv or check in to the world without getting uptight about all the happenings around the world.

But taking it each day at a time-using knitting, crocheting, quilting, beading, drawing, painting, reading-whatever lowers your blood pressure a bit--is what we should all be doing.

For me it is a blend of Nature/Gardens/Flowers and my crafts. Right now I am in the beginning stages of a new quilt/bead embellished wall-hanging that shows my love of trees. I'll snap a few pics of it in progress so you can see where I am with it. Having handwork ready is something that relaxes me and quiets me. I hope you can find a few minutes this weekend to relax and reflect on your blessings. I know I'll be trying to do the same!

Garden Time

This summer is amazing. After the slow start everything around me is so green and growing.  I've actually spent quite a bit of time-in small daily patches-in the flower beds. Having a strong 16 year grandson to help with the heavy lifting has been great.

(It's interesting what you can talk about when you're side by side in a garden! Great way to stay in touch with the grandkids.)

I've also been making time to focus on daily sketches. Using a pen for the initial work, it's been good to study what is in front of me and get it down on paper. From that beginning I've been adding watercolor paints or using pencils for color. Simple sketches that help me capture the beauty in a single bloom or whatever catches my eye.

Back to the blog!

Hmmmm....where did the time go?  No excuses just will try to be back on some kind of a regular basis. Even weekly would be a miracle apparently!  I'm in love with retirement and the time it affords for reflection, exploring art and journaling, nature in a slower view, and-most of all-time with my family and friends.  It has taken the full year to believe that time is, finally, more on my side.

Sketching, watercolors, mixed media art pieces, and stitching-I love going from project to project.  And the summer is just beginning here so there is so much  ahead of me!

 Mixed media piece for a dear friend.

 Ink sketch with water colors-magnolia tree in front yard.

 Stitched and beaded art quilt expressing my love of the sea.

 Mixed media/stencils/ink/watercolors.

Ink and watercolor sketch.