Giveaway Baby Doll

Check here for a chance to win a beautiful little dolly from MaRiAS blog.

Let me know if you become a follower of her blog; we will both get an extra entry if you do!

QUILT SALE and a couple pretty pics!

Finished two skirts, a top and a flower hair-tie last night at 2AM! I am pleased with the results, and they are already on their way to a couple lovely ladies. The earth-tone skirt was for the custom petal skirt giveaway winner. I wish I could've given every entrant a prize, but rest assured, there will be more giveaways in the future.

To celebrate my first Etsy sale, I'm offering $10 off any $75 heirloom quilt, or $5 off any quilt / bedding set less than $75. Simply purchase the item and I will refund your discount via Paypal. Offer ends Monday, 19 July 2010, at 10PM Pacific time.

Ascent

Our car overheated at the bottom of Mt. Lemmon, so we hiked where we were, waiting for the engine to cool. So much sun!



Alice was a champion hiker. She said 'Alice's hikewalk, Mama's hikewalk, Daddo's hikewalk,' and wanted to stop to climb every 'big rock' we passed.



I thought it was beautiful here so I stopped for a drink and to take a photo. I didn't notice the cloud at the time, but doesn't it look like a fairy or angel?

When we returned to the car, it was better so we chanced it and drove higher.




And there were a lot of 'biiiiig big rocks.' Lots of them. As we rose, the dry brush was replaced with pines and aspen.



We made it to my favorite hiking spot, just beyond Summerhaven.



In the forest I always feel weightless and completely balanced. We showed Alice ferns, gave her a piece of mica to look at, listened to birds and the sound of running water below us.



There were some fallen trees around the trail. Alice played with a pine 'broom' and pocketed pinecones.



We did make it to the stream. Alice and I waded into the cold water very, very briefly.



She would have liked to stay there longer. I wished we could spend the night in this forest, or maybe stay forever.



We sat quietly to see if fairies would come.



On the way back, we looked for the pine broom, but it was gone.



No matter. The pine needles on the ground are a miracle, as are the rocks one can find below them.

Filling the tinderbox for dreams.

How Are You Today?

My daughter will be receiving her very own custom Bamboletta Doll in the next few days! She has no idea. Alice hasn't met Monet, because I wanted the first Bamboletta she met to be her own and I knew Alice's custom would be here eventually. I have carefully obscured Monet from view during Alice's waking hours. I'm relieved the custom doll will be here soon because there have been a few close calls! The doll will have curly hair like Alice.





I miss being able to comfortably go hiking in the middle of the day. I want to take Monet out into the desert, but it's just too hot right now!

The searing summer lingers well into what, to my Midwestern sensibility, should be fall. When I was a preteen and teenager in Nebraska, I remember Halloween getting 'canceled' because of the snow. Here in Tucson, the weather can blister through November.
It's officially monsoon season, but our house has only received the barest sprinkling of rain. Late afternoon, though, sunlight careens through dust in the air kicked up by nearby storms, and it can look wonderfully eerie.


















The last two days, Monet has dreamed of a doll named Polly. Polly is newly arrived at my mother's (and grandmother's) home in Nebraska. Polly's dreams must be filled with cicadas and crickets, visions of lightning bugs, rich loamy soil in my mother's beloved garden. Here is a photo of Polly beneath the pine tree, surrounded by hosta. Dresses like this will soon be available for purchase at Dreaming Monet's Etsy site. The pattern was worked up by Mom. Don't you love these colors on Polly?

Lastly, I knit Monet a cardigan, experimented with an upcycled cami and played around with a new skirt idea. Poor Monet, I made her try it on all at once, which hurt her eyes. She does like her new sweater, though!

The browns & golds quilt is done, along with its matching pillow. I couldn't wait until daylight to take good photos, so I enlisted R's help to take some photos at midnight. I'm proud of this quilt. I stabbed myself many times while hand quilting and came to the conclusion I need some better needles--and maybe protective gear for my poor fingers!

Behind the quilt is a custom playsilk (canopy-sized) by Beneath the Rowan Tree, in case you are curious! I had a little extra Paypal this spring and requested a playsilk that was like a pine and aspen forest.

Monet wanted to wear her grey upcycled cashmere sweater from Reggie's Dolls today. Just like my daughter, who when asked what she would like to wear, asks for her dusty pink jacket. No matter that today it was 108 degrees. You can see Monet's grey sweater peeking out in the photo below.


We had clouds today and I discovered tom yum soup at Trader Joe's in the freezer section and it's vegetarian. I hope it's good because I bought two. Trader Joe's also sells magnificent bags of seeded rolls made with some spelt flour--they are in the freezer section and I was happy they were stocked tonight. Last night I made an impromptu 'creamy' vegetable soup from scratch when the temp slid closer to 100 than 110.

I'm going to cut out the next project before I head to bed for the night. Monet is all ready for bed, and still refusing to remove her sweater! She says it reminds her of brisk days in the garden, and she loves that feeling more than she minds being warm.

Waiting for Rain

Today I uploaded the first seven items straight from Monet's dreams to my Etsy store.


Today Monet woke slightly to find herself in a mesquite tree under another enchanting quilt. She looked down to see a matching skirt. She looked up and the sky bore signs of rain. She smiled and slept again.