wise craft

fabric flower flickr group

A couple of weeks ago, this was in my in-box, a comment left on my fabric flower tutorial post:

"Thanks for your great tutorial. This morning I was searching for fabric flower ideas as I am currently in a town in India famous for it's silk weaving, today I've made some examples of your flowers from hand loomed silk in the most vibrant colors. I'm here to help the village women in the rural areas learn to make some products that they can market to western tourists or maybe even sell to retailers in larger cities so thought you would enjoy to know how your efforts may be helping women on the other side of the world!!! what is great is they don't need a sewing machine only fabric, thread, and scissors! I started teaching embroidery but think these are a great option as they really showcase the exquisite silk which is what brings people here as well as the temples. cheerio, Jane, Kanchipuram, India"

This makes me swell.  Because of this little blog, something like this is possible on the other side of the world.  Jane, if you are reading, I would love to see pictures of these.  At times like this, I am still humbled at the reach of the internet.  Thank you for taking the time to comment.

I've seen so many of the beautiful fabric flowers you've made using the tutorial I posted way back when.  I always try to save the link or bookmark it somehow, but I know I'm not keeping up.  I created a Fabric Flower Flickr group where you can post your version of these flowers, so please add yours.  I'd love to see the virtual bouquet we make!  I've never gotten tired of these flowers, and it seems like this is the time of year when I think about them most (emerging Spring, perhaps?).  I've been making them out of every odd type of fabric I can find around here, just to see how they come out.  I'm thinking of presenting this as a project for my Brownie troop, what do you think?

Its one of those days when dinner is making itself (beef stew simmered in red wine), I do love that slow cooker in the winter months.  I've chopped, minced, and thrown it all into the pot.  Now all I have to do prep the bread machine with our favorite James Beard bread recipe and dinner will be all ready when we're back home tonight.  I can't help but think about the night Ramona and her family came home to a crock pot full of uncooked food because someone forgot to turn it on.  Will not be making that mistake here.

Also, while you're tooling around blogland, please click over to Claire's and get details about the Carlos Fund Auction.

not ready to bag it

I am in lunch box mode.  Coming up with my own version of a fabric lunchbox is one of those bees in my bonnet that I can't let go of at this point.  As I write this, our house is peppered all over with fabric lunch-holding types of bags of various forms, in small vignettes that I've set up for photos and then left forgotten ("mooommmm, why is this plastic banana on my bed?").  This is my favorite version so far, but you'll probably be seeing more.  I bought that brown reproduction feedsack fabric a few days ago, I just love it.  I haven't bought new fabric in ages.

Lisa and I were conversing about slippers over the weekend and decided we must be wearing the same pair (mine are the cowboy version from here).  Yours Lisa?  My feet have never been toastier since the day I put these on.

six weird things

First off, thank you for all the quilt love!  For understanding how I felt like a proud mom all day the day I finished it.  I'm so very glad I have you to share my enthusiasm for such things, otherwise I'd be trying to slip it into every random conversation I had (its easier than you think). Like when you're at the coffee shop counter and you just want to tell the guy, "Gee, I'm sorry you are working a double shift and all, but do you know what I just finished??".  (See how easy that was?)

I've been tagged by Amandajean to identify six weird things about myself (just six?).  Yes, only six.  OK, here goes-

1. I have to read every night before bed. 
At first thought, it doesn't sound very weird, but I assure you my obsession about it puts it right into the category of weirdness.  I find it very hard to get to sleep otherwise, and I can lie awake brooding about it if I haven't been able to do it.  If I read for 15 minutes, I'm out like a light.  Peter is acutely sensitive to light when he's going to bed and gets really irritated at me if I read too long (or at all), so I can go to great lengths to be sure I get a few minutes of reading time in (let me introduce you to my collection of itty bitty book lights sometime).  Oh, and the reading has to take place in bed, even though we have a comfy chair in our room I've been directed toward on occasion.

2. I can never remember to close kitchen cabinet doors. 
(Well, most cabinet doors.)  Its sounds irritating at most, but its also dangerous.  Peter has come very close to impaling himself in the head with an abrupt turn around in the kitchen.  Even when I say "I'm going to close all cabinet doors from now on, I'm going to stop this...this non-closing maddness..." I still leave them open.  I've pondered over this and think its some sort of unwillingness to commit in some way (we could go way too deep into this and bore ourselves silly).

3. I have very very cold feet most of the year. 
I go to bed every night with my "foot warm", or the more technical term the "rice sock", wrapped around my feet (I also have one that I occasionally wrap around my neck too.)

4. I don't care for white shoes of any kind. 
I have way too many shoes in my closet, but none of them are white.  Not even white sneakers.  I think this comes from realizing early on that my size 9 feet in white shoes is a lot of white.  I think I wore white shoes when I got married, but I'm sure I rationalized it by the fact that my feet were mostly covered, and nothing else would have matched my dress.

5. I drink hot drinks almost exclusively. 
(Exhibit A is morning coffee in photo above.)  Almost all year.  Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, chai.  If its a really hot summer day, I'll switch to cold water, beer, lemonade, diet coke, but I don't like coffee or tea on ice.  Growing up in North Carolina, iced tea was everyone's beverage of choice, I remember our version being almost syrupy with sugar.  Not a fan.

6. I am a piler.
I leave piles of papers all over the house.  I'm terrible at organizing paperwork, and I'm thinking that the piles I leave are that unwillingness to commit problem I discussed in #2.  This is one thing I wish I could manage better.  When I worked, my desktop literally had everything on top and nothing I needed in the drawers.  I managed to find everything, and there were never huge problems with it (other than driving those that worked with me crazy), but its a constant issue with me.  For some reason, piles of papers around me (neatly stacked) are comforting.  I've gotten so much better in recent years, but I work on it constantly.

So, there you have it.  Thanks Amandajean, this was fun...in a weird way.  I think I'm supposed to tag six more people, but instead I think I will just offer it up to whoever wants to do it.

As you ponder over your own weirdness, I leave you with my weird preoccupation for hanging things from the ceiling this week:

I'd love to have this bird mobile.

I am waiting for this from Papa Stour to arrive at my door.

I bought each of the kids a Fangst the other day to hold stuffed animals.

If you are looking for something to hang from your ceiling, look no further than here.

Sally started it.

the goodnight moon quilt

Its done!  I can't believe it...I planned to finish it in January and I did it.  Sitting on my to-be-finished pile since September, here it is.   

(I'm realizing that something looks a bit yellow in that photo above, but its the light, this quilt top was in perfect condition).  I was having trouble with this quilt top early on.  Between trying to decide what felt like the right backing and the right binding, I was getting nowhere.  Lots of combinations crossed my mind that weren't bad, but I was waiting for something that felt more right.  I "got it" when Ian and I saw the play Goodnight Moon at the Seattle Children's Theater last week.  I'm looking at the stage (the set design was so great), in particular the green bedspread on the stage bed, thinking, "where have I seen that green before?"  It suddenly dawned on me, the green of that spread, the colors of the illustrations in the book, of that set design.  The set design and crafting gods were hitting me over the head.  My quilt top WAS the green in that bedspread on that stage.  The white circles are the moons, right?  I became an obsessed woman after that afternoon.  (Shortly afterwards, I ran across this fantastic photo on Flickr of Ms. Sly Fox herself, how weird is that?)

For those that may not know, I purchased this quilt top on ebay.  I don't remember now when it was made, but the description did describe it as older (I'm thinking 50's) and it smelled incredibly musty when I got it (I could hardly stand to have it folded up in my little studio).  But I loved the simplicity of the design, that it was stitched together entirely by hand, and the fabrics were cotton and nicely softened.  I used Bac-Out, and the combination of that and a few days of airing out in the sun did the trick for the smell, there is no trace of it. I pieced the back of the quilt using two yellows, a curry shade and another slightly lighter and brighter yellow, with 2 strips running down the middle to break them up, my favorite tape measure fabric and a smaller strip of 1940's quilting cotton I've had for ages. 

Its the binding though, that really sets it off for me.  The orangy-red in the Clement Hurd's illustrations?  It was the absolute perfect shade.  Plus, I took my time binding it all and didn't rush through the process (as is my typical style).  In finishing the binding on past quilt projects, I have followed the method described in Modern Quilt Workshop, where you basically sandwich the binding around the edge and machine stitch through all the layers, no handfinishing required.  It makes for quick work, but this method has always turned out sloppy for me, I've never really gotten my head around the way to do it well.  But, as of this project I am now sold on a good old fashioned 'hand finished' binding.  There's just nothing that beats how nice the finished product looks to me.

The quilting itself was done all on the machine, by eye.  I just stitched through the center of each "moon" with diagonal lines going both directions across the quilt (X's and O's) with off white cotton thread.

This quilt is for Ian's very soon to be redecorated room.  It is so freakin' perfect for him, I think I need to go out and celebrate somehow.  Although, maybe I'll just stay home, make myself some tea and take one of these instead.  Let's remember the other quilt top waiting in line.  Can't get too relaxed.

home sweet home

Whew!  I did not mean to be away from the computer for so long.  The past few days have been spent working on a couple of large projects that are thiiiisss close to completion.  I've also gotten quite absorbed in a new book and find myself anxiously anticipating those moments I can sit in the quiet and read for a few minutes.  We also decided that Emma needed a desk in her room, and after much looking around and secondhand scouting, we decided on a simple table style with a separate drawer piece from IKEA.  I'm sure many of you can relate to the vortex of flat boxes I've been in the past couple of days (how do they manage to get all that packed flat anyway?).  She's happy and I'm happy that all her school papers have a home other than my kitchen counter.

I leave you with pictures from another book that I've been reading a lot recently, Home Sweet Home by Jane Cumberbatch.  I bought this one because I'm such a fan, but when it came, I initially just did a quick flip through then put it on the shelf, thinking "eh, ok".  That was several months ago, but now it feels new to me.  Again, as in several craft books I see lately, I wouldn't necessarily do the projects in the book (although I might), but the photography style, choice of fabrics, and the whole "why buy it when you can sew it" philosophy really appeals to me this way.

I thought of Alicia when I saw this comforter cover. 

The format of the book is simple, the projects are simple, as is the philosophy of Pure Style.  While this book is a totally different style and format than Pure Style, I like it and I love the inspiration.

Back tomorrow (fingers crossed).

is it too late to say i'm finally done with Christmas gifts?

Another couched pillow.  This one for a certain someone who's waiting patiently for a belated Christmas present from me (and you know who you are, Mom.).  Its taking so long to get it to the post office due to icy streets, I thought I'd give her a peek.  I love the bright spots of colors against the more somber background.  The inky navy of the pillow and the gray of the flowers are all thrifted woolens, the rest is wool felt from my stash.

The snow gods must have heard my plea.  As of late yesterday afternoon I could hear the familiar drip..drip of the snow melting around the neighborhood.  The roads are now safe (my biggest issue), and we have officially rejoined the outside world.  Not that nested and nestled inside didn't have their good moments.  Simmering bolognese sauce, quilts, kids running outside, then inside, then outside again, it wasn't that bad at all.  We watched a fantastic series on DVD, The Long Way Round.  I believe it originally aired on either PBS or a cable channel, it is a really great story of how best friends Ewan MacGregor and Charlie Boorman (I now have a huge crush on Charlie) traveled 20,000 miles on their motorcycles.  It chronicles the entire trip, starting in London, riding through Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Ukraine, finally ending up in New York.  They laugh, they cry, they're cute, its pretty much got it all in my book.

Off to buy paint for Ian's room, we've found the absolute perfect color (thank you Jane and Phoebe)

forget what i said...

about the lovely light, brightness, yadda yadda yadda....

The snow?  I'm done.  Totally done. 

Please melt.

Seriously....

The painting above is by my very talented husband and is hanging in Emma's bedroom at my in-law's place in Colorado.  I love it so much, like a painting of a painting.  I'm trying to convince him to pick up a paintbrush again.  I'm not known for my subtlety.

the sun is beautiful

especially when the snow on the ground reflects and floods it into the house...

It seems to cast the light higher.  Everything is very "white" and clear.  My friends in Seattle, do you see it?

We have been in the house, for all practical purposes, going on about five days now.  Between having sick kids and icy roads, I'm happy here at home.  Although our house is showing definite signs of a very lived-in look.

(See Claire's handiwork there on our coffee table below?)

I did sneak out on Saturday for the nicest lunch with Daria.  I think I could have talked with you for hours more D.  We'll have to do it again soon.  On the way home I kept thinking of things I forgot to ask you.  Next time...

More snow expected tomorrow.  It seems the more it snows, the more I bake.  (I wish I could say the more it snows, the more I work out, but so far that's not the case, oh well!)

nicely tufted

I am all about tufted cushions of any kind at the moment.  Just ask Peter.  As we discuss plans to spruce up the house here and there, the number of times that word...tufted...comes out of my mouth is well over the legal limit.  Let's just say, on a limited budget, I'm tufting where and how I can.  Peter and I have had a sofa fund in the making for quite a while, and we finally ordered the living room sofa of our dreams yesterday.  And....yep....its tufted too.  So I hope my love affair continues.

This bench is in our dining room and serves as extra seating, usually for kids, whenever we share a meal with guests.  I have heard more than one child complain of how hard the seat is.  How can I let this happen?  A set of tufted cushions will provide some comfort for those grown-up dinners!

These are made from some old IKEA sable brown velvet curtains that almost got taken to goodwill ages ago.  Something told me to save them.  Very simple 20" x 20" pillow forms inserted into a shell, then slipstitched shut, then the button sewn through all layers in the very middle of the pillow creates the tufting.  My original plan was to use some great vintage black shank buttons I got in the mail last year from Molly, but was out of needles that would fit through the shank, so these pearl buttons are temporary.  This project idea came to me from this lovely book. I love this book so so much.  It has been by my bed for a week.  The photostyling and projects are just lovely.  I probably won't sew much straight from the book, but this is just the kind of inspiration I would pull from my bookshelves time and time again, when looking for ideas. 

Speaking of books, did you see that Lotta is coming out with a sewing book?  You can preorder it now.  And Amy's book can be preordered too.  Amy, we are so proud of you!!  Yep, its going to be a fantastic summer of craft books.

I haven't gotten back to many emails and comments this week.  Other things have taken a front seat (like playing several rounds of this game with my sick child, who's much better today).  Lately, it seems if I take the time necessary to answer and get back to everyone, it leaves no time to post or sew (or attend to my family).  So my replies have been more sporadic, I hope you understand. Thank you for such sweet words and lovely comments, you really make my day, often.

simple meaningful everyday life in my kitchen

All the talk of slowing down, enjoying life, and gaining meaning from simple things has resonated with me this week on many levels.  One small step toward this for me is cooking.  I am reacquainting myself with my kitchen and have resumed meal planning a week at a time as I once diligently did. I love my kitchen, I love spending time there, but I have neglected it a little lately.  But no more.  A little time spent meal planning with a stack of my favorite cookbooks on Sunday morning, with a trip to the market later in the day, takes a huge amount of stress off my shoulders and creates enjoyable, simple (I'm no chef) meals every night for the following week.  I wonder if that's why I have lunchboxes on my brain?

When Emma was younger, every night at dinner we used to start a little conversation with her, asking her what was the rose and what was the thistle of her day.  I learned it from a friend and have always loved it.  Both are flowers in their own way, one obviously beautiful, the other with a different kind of beauty, but still a beauty if you look at it and really think about it.  One with a sweet smell, one with prickly petals.   I think we'll start doing that again.  Dinnertime these days is a much noisier experience than it was back then, but I can't help but be honored that two little people in the world can't wait to share something they think is super duper important with me.

Happy Friday dear friends!