Wool Breast Pads for nursing moms

One of my dear friends is having a baby shower this weekend. When I looked at her gift registry, I saw she had organic wool breast pads on her list. It got me thinking….
I have wool and I felt. So, I came up with these felted breast pads. I used a Merino-Corriedale wool bat for the base and embellished the top with colorful tussah silk top and merino wool roving. Because this is an experiment, I made them in two sizes. I hope they work out well for her.

Betz White Pincushion Tutorial

I am completely taken with the adorable felt work by Betz White. I particularly like these cupcake pincushions. The other day, while browsing on Whip Up, I noticed that Betz appeared on the Martha Stewart show. She has a tutorial on how to make her cup o’ joe pincushions. You can read more about her appearance on the show in her blog and you can purchase her work from her etsy store. Thanks Betz!

Fascinating table on display at Scripps

I made it over to the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery at Scripps College for their 63d Ceramic Annual exhibition over in Claremont. The show was guest curated by Tony Hepburn who is the Head of Ceramics at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, MI.

Many have been critical of the exhibition by saying they felt like they were in an Ikea showroom. At first glance it may be easy agree with this comment, but any second thought would prove this notion wrong. I believe the curator and exhibition designer may have been able to help extinguish these ideas by removing duplicate items and refraining from displaying objects in a symmetrical fashion.

One thing I was very intrigued by was this table that was used for the display. I am always attracted to stylish designs that use inexpensive, everyday materials. The table was constructed from 2” thick plywood. The two white legs were galvanized pipe screwed into bases that were screwed into the table. I like it so much, I may have to make one for myself.

Recycled Design

During the opening party for MOCA’s SKIN + BONES: Parallel practices in Fashion and Architecture exhibition they had some interesting designs in the courtyard.

First there were these amazing benches that were bails of old clothing. Next, the tables were topped with crumpled wire mesh which acted as a vase for a few Tillandsia plants, also know as air plants.

The benches reminded me of this very interesting recycled clothing chair I saw a while back that was designed by Tejo Remy. Besides the great use of recycled materials, I really liked how these designs created new uses for ordinary materials.

New jewelry at my Etsy store

Here are a few of the new items I have listed in my online Etsy store.



These earrings are sterling silver hoops that I have adorned with Garnet and Carnelian gemstone beads.

This pair of earrings are made from sterling silver wire that I have hand forged into the swirly shapes. I have adorned them with Swarovski crystals.

I designed this necklace after seeing the movie ‘Shakespear in Love’. It is constructed from hand forged copper wire and embellished with vintage, olive green Swarovski crystals.

100th Second Saturday Art Walk this Saturday in Pomona, CA

This Saturday will be the 100th second Saturday Art Walk in the Downtown Pomona Arts Colony. There will be a celebration featuring fresh art, live music, food, rickshaw rides, and an antique auction. The festivities are from 4pm – 9pm.

The American Museum of Ceramic Art, in conjunction with it’s exhibition Rudy Autio, In the Round, is hosting a Drawing in Clay workshop. Designed for adults and families, people may drop in at anytime during scheduled hours from 11am – 4pm.

American Museum of Ceramic Art
340 S. Garey Ave
Pomona, CA 91766

My Favorite Stitch Markers

I really enjoy knitting in the round and have recently discovered cables. So, I need to use stitch markers all the time. I have purchased several types of stitch markers that have not impressed me.

The first type I purchased were like these split lock markers. The ridge on them was so wide that they created ladders in my knitting.

Next I purchased some metal rings with beads dangling from them that were akin to these. They were really pretty, but I found the dangles were a bit cumbersome and only added extra weight to my project. Extra weight is a problem when you are prone to tendonitis.

Finally, after being unable to find my pile of markers, I ended up tying my scrap yarn into loops. This works perfectly for me. They are extremely inexpensive, and I can color code them for meaning. Green can mean the beginning of a round, red can mean the end of a cable etc. The only downfall to these is if you knit by touch, yarn stitch markers do not have enough texture to tell you hands to ‘do the next thing’.

Super find at Michael's

I stopped by Michael's craft store this weekend to pick up some supplies to make Valentine cards for the Valentine's Day Postcard Swap happening at Flickr. I looked through the dollar bins and found this cute journal made from really thick die-cut felt. It will be perfect for keeping notes about all my current projects. It is amazing it only cost one dollar.

Art on Chung King Road, Chinatown

I made it over to the art galleries on Chung King Road in Chinatown this weekend. I have always enjoyed walking around looking at art in that area, but I and am usually unimpressed. This weekend there was a great deal of wonderful things to see. There were three galleries that have exceptional work on display.

First were the colorful New Works in Pastel by Stan Kaplan and Eric Niebuhr at the Mary Goldman Gallery. I have always thought of this gallery as a leader amongst the many on Chung King Road.

Next were the stunning paper sculptures in Organic Transformed by Rachel Portenstein at LMAN Gallery.

Finally, there were a series of captivatingly detailed drawings from Body Swallows World by Aurel Schmidt at Peres Projects.