WillowAK Pottery

For those with a love of quilts and other quilted items, you're in luck! Baby Quilts When I last posted, I said you'd be seeing even more quilted work, soon.  In addition to Melinda Dale's wonderful wall hangings, samples of which were posted a couple days ago, Joan Edwards has a delightful collection of quilted beauties.  Here is her recent message to me: I have seven baby quilts ranging 32" - 39" width X 39" - 46" length. I have thirteen child/lap quilts ranging 39" - 49" width X 48" - 71" length. I have twelve table mats/wall hangings of various sizes. I have ten quilted bags various sizes. A few more miscellaneous items will be included in the sale as I have time to complete them.  Table Runners And, we're talking beautiful fiber art, excellent craftsmanship, one-of-a kind! There's one more quilting surprise yet to be announced -- in a future posting.  Stay tuned.  Those of you who are unable to come on ...

Yes, it's time to show you some of the beautiful art you'll see at WillowAK Pottery on Nov. 22.  No, not the pottery, but fiber and wood pieces created by three of the guest artists  Melinda Dale, across the lake from us, will have beautiful quilted wall hangings and a collection of wood pieces created by her husband, Bill.  Melinda is both a designer of quilts,  with her patterns sold in quilt shops around the state, and a fabulous, creative quilter. What a treat it is to join her for an afternoon in her sunny quilting room, where magic happens!     Matanuska Sunrise                         Whimsical Garden    While Melinda's sewing machine is whirring, her husband, Bill, is often busy in his wood shop creating beautiful cutting boards and rolling pins, which will also be available. Bill's Cutting Boards -- Beautiful as serving trays, too! Bill's Rolling Pins an...

Wondering what will be here for the Nov. 22 Holiday Art Studio Tour?  Well, there will be guest artists with beautiful quilted pieces, wood cutting boards and rolling pins, and felted hats.  These are truly works of art; they are one-of-a-kind, handmade, and impressive! Come see for yourself and consider these fine items as gifts. Yes, there will be WillowAK porcelain pieces, felted clogs and other knit items,  and maybe some paintings, too.  A quick walk around the studio today with my iPad resulted in the following photos: Mugs waxed and ready to glaze Porcelain pendants --probably will be used in neckaces Pie plate -- or serving dish Serving bowl with swirls Serving bowl with stripes and dots Knit head bands -- perfect for "bad hair" days Felted bowls of Icelandic wool Wrap those wine bottles -- for gift giving and for serving Knit hat for the ladies -- light weight and stylish Felted wool hat with rolled brim -- ...

November 22 . . . Willow Holiday Studio Art Tour Handmade gifts galore . . . and a fun day in Willow!  Please mark your calendar and round up your family and friends to join you on the self-guided tour of three studios, many more artists!

It is one of those weeks where I'm not doing much in the studio, but am having some other fun experiences.  Monday I refreshed my training in how to tend the Willow Creek Studio for Joan and Scott, who are engaged with wedding activities this week. Also stopped to shelve books at the library, where staff is busy with inventory, a time-consuming task. Tuesday evening the Iditaquilters met and there were so many "show and tells" that we never did get to the  paper piecing program, so that will now happen in October.  Lots of beautiful work is created by the talented quilters in this area. Wednesday the knitting group met at our home; never a shortage of conversation when we gather.  Nice to have this weekly "meeting" to stay on top of community news.  Thursday a small group gathered for a fun stepping stone workshop. Designed our stones and fastened whatever was being adhered to them, and will return in a couple of weeks to do the grouting.  I brought a b...

Am happy to report that the Willow Art Studio Tour was a great success. It reminded me of a progressive social with guests moving from one studio to the next, picking up their conversations where they left them off down the road.  The energy was positive, neighbors were meeting one another for the first time, people were learning about several different creative processes, and they were buying gifts for home and friends. Feedback has been very encouraging. The door prize gift certificate at WillowAK Pottery was won by Patty Anderson of Willow.   Congratulations to Patty, and THANKS to all of you who participated in the tour.  If you missed it this time around, stay tuned.  We are planning a similar event for November -- probably on the 22nd. When we debriefed after the tour, it was obvious that not only those ON the tour had a good time; those of us opening our studios for the event also had a good time! Win-win! Next time, I must remember to have some photo...

Still liking the simplicity and richness of this glaze combo! When's the last time you worked on something for hours and accidentally deleted it all?  Just happened to me, and it's been many years since I carelessly took a fatal action while the whole document was highlighted -- and then couldn't figure out how to backtrack to retrieve the work I'd done.  Guess it means "overs" for this blogger. First things first.  Enjoyed a recent visit from Anchorage friends who came up for an afternoon. Still seems strange to have time in the middle of the day for six adults to get together for a leisurely lunch and conversation -- on a week day! No photos. When we hit 90, the photos may begin again! Had a great weekend with Jon's family, including  a quick stop in by Sara's family on their return from camping. Sunday was a nice float on Willow Creek with my three fellow floaters:   Jon on the oars. Otter on watch -- when not snoozing Else on t...