The Gnome's Garden in the Foothills

The little gnome, tired from a days work in his homestead garden, rests beneath the apple tree to the lullaby of a babbling brook...

He's just a little forest gnome,

the Olympic Mountain foothills are his home,

and he dreams and dreams under the apple tree

of all tomorrows adventures that will be.

I recently made this custom order for a friend to send as a gift to a family who moved away from their little  Olympic Peninsula homestead to be near family in a far away land. They were missing the Pacific Northwest and dreaming of returning one day. Having grown up in the foothills of the Olympic Mountains, and having that landscape infused into my being, I was happy to make this needlefelted wool wall hanging to remind them of that rugged, beautiful place. May their dreams of returning come true!

Tidepool

Growing up by the Straits of Juan de Fuca, where rocky beaches abound, I spent a lot of time playing around tidepools and observing the little worlds they held. I have always been drawn to tidepool art. One of my favorite artists, Margaret Owens does these beautiful ceramic tiles of tidepools and sometimes makes tidepool bowls. You can see her work here at http://www.tidepooltile.com/.

The very first wall hanging I needlefelted was a tidepool. I had this whole vision of seaweed, starfish and crabs. I had so much fun making it, that I have since made many tidepool wall hangings.

I just finished this one as a custom order for a friend and another is in the works!

A Homestead Dream

Some dear friends of mine just had a beautiful baby boy, and asked if I would make a wall hanging as a gift for their midwife. She had told them about her dreams to one day have a little homestead with a garden, fruit trees, chickens and a cow. Being a homestead dreamer myself, I was happy to work on this project and had a lot of fun doing it. When I was finished, I thought, "I wouldn't mind living on this homestead myself!" I hope that it brings her many hours of happy homestead dreaming.

Campfire at Sunset

Nothing is more peaceful than an evening campfire as the sun sets over the mountains. The cheery, crackling glow casts little dancing shadows all about, and the smell of woodsmoke puts a mind at ease. It would be wonderful to end every day with just such a campfire.

I made this needlefelted wool wall hanging of a sunset in the mountains a while ago, but lately I felt like it was missing a camper to enjoy it, so I added the tent and campfire.

I sure wish I was there!

Mujeres de Maiz Raffle

After hearing a lot of interest from readers in the benefit raffle for Mujeres de Maiz Opportunity Foundation for which I created this wall hanging, "The Women of the Corn", I looked into it and folks are indeed able to enter the raffle who live out of the Olympic Peninsula area. Tickets are 2$ each or 3 for 5$ and all proceeds benefit the work of Mujeres de Maiz Opportunity Foundation assisting women and children in Chiapas, Mexico.

Here is the artwork up for raffle on December 8:

Women of the Corn: needlefelted wool wall hanging from Mountain Hearth Handcrafts

 

Coastal Mountain Starshower: needlefelted wool wall hanging from Mountain Hearth Handcrafts

Olympic Mountain Homestead: needlefelted wool wall hanging from Mountain Hearth Handcrafts

Upper Dungeness Camp: quilted wall hanging by Ann Colley

 

Fishing the Upper Hoh River: quilted wall hanging by Ann Colley

 

Ruby Beach: quilted wall hanging by Ann Colley

Shi Shi Beach: quilted wall hanging by Ann Colley

So, here's the raffle information:

To purchase tickets for the drawing, and get more information, email Ann at mailto:gacolley@yahoo.com.%20$2 The drawing will be on December 8th, and you will be notified by phone if you are a winner. Artwork will be mailed to you if you live out of the area. All proceeds will go to Mujeres de Maiz Opportunity Foundation.

To visit Mujeres de Maiz's website, click here :
http://www.mujeresdemaizof.org/lang/en-us/

Mushroom Kingdom

Deep in the misty forest, King Bolete and Queen Bolete stand tall and regal in purple cloaks on their stump throne. All the other Chanterelles, Amanitas and little mushroom subjects are gathered around to listen to their royal decree. With this warm, wet fall in Oregon, it's a good year to be a mushroom!

Women of the Corn

My latest needlefelting project is this wall hanging for a raffle fundraiser benefiting Mujeres de Maiz Opportunity Foundation, a grassroots non-profit organization based in Sequim, Washington helping young women in Chiapas, Mexico. Mujeres de Maiz provides access to education for indigenous women in a seamstress cooperative, including literacy training, secondary school, vocational courses and college or university degrees. The raffle prizes will also include some beautiful quilted art by my mother, and other local handcrafted items. To learn more about this organization, visit their website at http://www.mujeresdemaizof.org/lang/en-us/.