This dragon went through three Southern Oregon winters and was chipped and peeling flakes of red paint all over the walkway. I was so anxious to paint it with my new find, Unicorn Spit, that I forgot to take a before photo. But here he is in all his glory. I highly recommend Unicorn Spit....

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Tiny Weaving

 After trying to make my own tiny loom out of square embroidery hoops, foam core and cardboard, I ordered this fabulous little lightweight loom from Wool in the UK. Note the giant, flat-sided needle for weaving. This is a little miracle, this loom. The first project is a rug for tiny shrine...

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Making an Afghan, #2

 The next color. I pulled out 20 rows of this color after seeing a dropped stitch on the edge. I keep repeating my Hobby Mantra, "No Hurry." Note the two boxes of tools and parts for needle work. The peackock box is filled with threads for tiny weaving and the long art box has knitting needles...

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Cabled Afghan

There's a brief moment of overwhelm when starting a large project, but as soon as I remember my hobby motto, "No Hurry," I settle down. It's all about the knit and purl of it anyway, one stitch at a time. No deadlines, no money involved, just me, the knit and purl and a beautiful piece made at the...

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Tiny Zendo

The finished Tiny Zen Shrine. I think it has everything but a hanging lantern. I love it....

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Printable Fabric

 Leftover from another project, I have packets of 8.5x11 sheets of printable fabric from Dharma Trading Co. in San Rafael, California: several grades of cotton, muslin and silk. These banners were printed on Haboti silk for tiny scrolls. I am already imagining the tiny prayer flags fluttering...

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The First Shrine #6

It's amazing, when those inspired moments happen and you just know you have the right tools, ingredients and materials for a particular project. The first funky teahouse, built with single walls out of popcicle sticks and cut with scissors and an Xacto knife, looks exactly that funky. It's so funky,...

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First Shrine #5

 I originally planned to have sliding shoji screen doors, like in the Japanese Teahouse, but decided to fix the walls and to keep the visibility to the inside open - once the roof goes on, the inside will be much leas visible. In building this structure, I keep in mind Tassajara Zen Center,...

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The First Shrine #4

 In building the first practice piece, when I copied the YouTube Video about how to build a Japanese Teahouse by AkameruKawaii, the first thing I learned was: I did not want to build my shrines out of popcicle sticks and coffee stirrers. After a disastrous attempt at staining popcicle sticks...

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The First Shrine #3

 In this first picture, I have just added the trim board that will hold up the altar shelf surface. I used craft sticks for the shelf and trimmed everything in skewers, which can be used as tiny dowels. It is a very simple design, very Zen, I think. Meanwhile, I made a series of little terra...

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