Lucky Me, Unlucky Husband

I had a wonderful surprise when I went in to the Red Door Gallery on Saturday. Sandy, the gallery manager, had the perfect display for my jewelry. I have spent hours on the internet trying to find something that would work well. I guess I should have been looking for an eye glass display instead of a jewelry display. This unit was donated to the gallery by a local eye doctor.

I've been sewing like crazy trying to get a new supply of earrings ready for the fall and winter. I received a custom order for a large pendant last week (thanks Alli) which inspired me to get back to work on my jewelry. I have a bit more sewing to finish before I can start to assemble and solder. Here's a sneak peak at a few items in the works.

I took the day off of work on Monday so I could drive my husband to get his wisdom teeth taken out. Look what I found our road trip to the dentist. I've been looking for a field of mature sunflowers to photograph for several years. I will try to make it back a bit later this month when the seeds start to darken. I plan to take the photos when the sun is not so high in the sky. Also I'd like to spend more time here. I felt a bit guilty leaving my husband sitting in the car icing his jaws. I thought he was awfully sweet for letting me stop.

This last photo is a shot of our journeys end. The approach to our farm from the east is through a walnut grove. I love the way the sunlight filters through these trees no matter what time of day it is.

Blue Green Treasury - Lovely !

I just heard that one of my flying geese pendants is featured in knock your socks off Etsy Treasury. The choices are gorgeous. Thanks Whimbrella! Stop by and check it out!

Color and inspirations

If you've visited my Etsy Store you know I make miniature quilt block jewelry from my hand dyed fabrics. These are foundation pieced quilt blocks enclosed between two pieced of glass and then sealed with lead free solder.I was recently asked to choose my favorite colorways in my jewelry collection. Here is what I decided on. They are all reminders of childhood memories. This brooch reminds me of a Maxfield Parrish sky in one of his paintings. My mother used to read us stories from "Poems of Childhood" by Eugene Fields and Illustrated by Maxfield Parrish. The illustrations in that book were so dreamlike.

This pin reminds me of the fields of sunflowers near our favorite lake in Minnesota. This is a favorite memory for myself as well as my sister.

My mother had an aunt that lived in New Mexico. Over the years we have all treasured the craftsmanship of lovely pieces of turquoise jewelry that came from my mothers visits to the area. This is the first pattern I designed for a pair of earrings. I love the flying geese pattern. The colors in this jewelry came from my first attempt at dying a color gradation. When I saw the result I was hooked!

This last piece was inspired by the only piece of clothing I still own from my childhood. It is a printed cotton sundress from Sears with a picture of Winnie the Pooh and Piglet printed on it. I'll have to dig it out to photograph it some day. It's so adorable. I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Mine was full of fun and family times.