Saturday, August 28, 2010

exploring and stitching...

an afternoon of exploring

recent post and pics from resurrectionfern and lilfishstudios have me daydreaming about fungi and walks in the forest. i decided it was high time i got out in the woods myself, as life seemed to have me forgetting that recently. so today i headed to nymph falls park for a little hike. i was in search of mushrooms, but i quickly determined a few showers here and there had not been enough to bring forth the fungi in abundance, not just yet anyway. it's been a hot, dry summer on the whole, but soon enough we will be overrun with mushrooms. but anyway, there were still a few to be found, not to mention some other prizes if you kept your eyes open (see that big frog in the centre square?).

stitching outdoors

i brought my basket with me with a few stitching supplies, so that i could sit by the roaring water and work on some rocks i have been playing around with. after playing with large animals, i decided to try the very small, and i've been stitching barnacles. the first one is probably headed for a friend who is (just today!) moving to calgary, far away from the ocean, and might need a little west coast reminder so she comes back once in awhile. but i'm enjoying them, so i am making a few more, which will for sale soon. yes, i have decided to go ahead with a shop on etsy. details are still in the works and i will let you know as soon as things are up and running. we are going away for the first week of september, so i think it's easiest to wait till i return before diving into things.

steller sea lion

i made another little guy too. my version of a steller sea lion, a big bull with a ruff of thick fur around his neck. these guys get up to 1100kg, aptly referred to as the "grizzlies of the sea", but this one here is a bit less threatening, don't you think?

with all these little creatures i am making, i'm trying to stick to animals that can be found on or around my island home for now. my mind is buzzing with ideas; there are so many to choose from - elk, bears, seals, eagles, deer, herons, just to name a few. and that is just the big ones; the barnacles have me thinking about mussels and other shellfish, seastars and many tide pool wonders. this could keep me occupied for awhile. i think next i'd like to get a bit more feline - there's only one big cat on vancouver island, can you figure out what it is?

5 comments:

kate said...

Well I know what it is, but we'll see if someone off island knows!

Great pics of Nymph Falls, love it there. We usually go late fall for some reason, I guess to see all the water.

nicole said...

Oh my goodness, your sea lion is so adorable!

My guess is that there are cougars on your island...

sula said...

I was going to guess cougars too! I bet you can make him as sweet as your sea lion.

Your work is darling.

Rachel said...

I'm guessing cougar as well...although if you have another big cat up there, I'd love to know about it.

And I have to say, I'm loving your critters so much (this sea lion is so cool) that if you ever get around to doing an elk, I would probably beg you for the chance to buy/trade it off of you! Something to keep in mind. ;)

k said...

you guys are of course all correct about the cougar. thanks for all your nice comments.

kate - yes, i was thinking i should head back there when the water really starts going!

rachel - i actually am planning some elk in the near future, so i will keep you posted!