My flowers and I will be here!!

Photo Shoot

My gorgeous friends and I went to the arboretum and played with flowers! Both Kara and Lindsey are super creative ladies, and I had such a fun time with them, as always. I met these ladies at The Evergreen State College back in 2001. I am so glad we are still friends!

Kara sells her crocheted hats and earrings at her Etsy Shop. Check it out here

Fantasy Flowers in Bridal Blog!

My blue flower and blue flower pin were featured in Cassandra Bromfield's Bridal Blog! Cassandra is a gifted dress designer in Brooklyn, NY. Her blog is a great resource for "exquisite ideas for the free spirited that want to go the aisle fashionably."

Thanks Cassandra! Check out some of her gorgeous custom wedding and social occasion dress designs on her website. I posted one of my favs below...........

Community Crochet with Mandy Greer!

Today I finally went down to Ballard library and joined Mandy Greer and several community members in the creation of her latest crochet art project, Mater Matrix Mother. It was such a fun experience crocheting with different yarns, all in varying shades of blue. I was inspired by creating swirling waves of water using free form crochet in circles.

I was also inspired by all the people wanting to contribute to this project and learn how to crochet. Mandy is such a kind and patient crochet teacher! Curious people walked by and wandered in, asking if they could learn to crochet and help with the "river." Any piece, no matter how small, will be integrated into the full installation, which will begin mid-June at Camp Long in West Seattle.

Mater Matrix Mother is commissioned by Seattle Public Utilities and administered by Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, to honor Seattle’s urban creeks.

Check out Mandy's blog here, which also includes details about her amazing crochet costumes and installations
And look at the blog for the Mater Matrix Mother project here

Needle Felt Art

Here is the website for the needle felted "paintings" made by Stacy Polson. I saw these while I was visiting Portland. They are displayed and for sale at Gossamer, and on her site. They are huge and so amazing to see in person!

The Indigo Belly Dance Company in Seattle

I have wanted to see this belly dance troupe for years now, and last night I finally got to the Tractor Tavern to see The Indigo perform "Le Serpent Rouge." It was so amazing to see the three dancers, their elegant, serpent-like moves and luxurious costumes. It gave me a lot of inspiration for the styling of my costume for my parade costume!

The Indigo are also performing this weekend at the NW Folklife Festival on Saturday night at 7pm with some great local tribal belly dance troupes.

Portland: Land of Many Pleasures

I adore Portland.

I have never had a bad visit when I venture south on I-5. I decided to spontaneously go to PDX on Sunday for a day trip. I planned to go see Mandy Greer's exhibit at The Museum of Contemporary Craft, but it was closed on Sundays! But I decided to go anyway, because I am never disappointed when I spend time there.

The drive down was brilliant. It was a sunny, warm morning, and there was no traffic on an early Sunday morning. I visited the Waldorf-inspired store Gossamer, which had some incredible large scale needle felted wall art for sale. I bought some cotton candy pink wool roving, a new needlefelting pad, and a small square of felt to experiment with.

Then I just enjoyed the warm, sunny day exploring shops and neighborhoods alone, and then with some friends I met up with. I love not having a "plan," because there is always something delightful just around the corner!

Two shops I adored during my visit:

Artemesia, an enchanting shop full of plants, succulents, fruit trees and magical terrariums
Noun, a lovely shop full of pretty art and home decor.

I also tried the cupcakes at Saint Cupcake, and loved the Toffee Cupcake. It was the perfect treat for a perfect day!