wise craft

echo star pdf pattern available

I have finally put the pattern for the  Echo Star quilt in my shop. This is a downloadable PDF pattern, as all my quilt patterns are. When you place and pay for the order, you can immediately download it.

This pattern also contains instructions to make a pillow version of the Echo Star.

Several of you have asked about this pattern, and I'm so sorry for the delay. Working with your husband can sometimes be, um, interesting (love you Peter!).

My original Echo Star quilt and other beautiful star quilts made by the members of the Seattle Modern Quilt Guild will be on display at Island Quilter on Vashon Island as part of their June Artwalk, with an opening reception on the evening of June 7th. This is a wonderful Island, wonderful shop, and if this gorgeous weather holds out, a wonderful opportunity to walk around the island. I can wait to see all the star quilts hanging together!

 

 

bermuda bag

I'm excited to finally share a project that I made last year for the folks at Stitch. I was asked by Tricia Waddell to contribute a project to her upcoming book, The Best of Stitch: Bags to Sew. I immediately said yes, and for once, I knew exactly what I wanted to make. One updated bermuda bag, coming up.

This bag has the same wooden handles of my preppy youth, but this time they are painted, which I think gives them a summery feel on this bag. Lotta's premiere fabric collection, new at the time, seemed like the perfect palette to create the patchwork squares. I set them on point to give it a bit of a retro feel.

Look for this book out and the end of April, there are gorgeous bags in there (Malka's cover model is on my list to make)

quilt study this saturday

I am just popping in to say I won't be posting much this week. The last photoshoot for the book is this Friday (YAY!) and my paintings for Quilt Study are going up at the end of the week at Drygoods Design. There will be a reception there on Saturday night, 12/8, from 6-9pm to unveil their brand new Make*Do*Mend space and I will be there to help celebrate (read the details here). I will have about 11 new quilt-inspired pieces up by then, both acrylic and watercolor. I'm so thrilled to be asked to hang my work in their space. Some folks asked if the pieces will be available on their website and I'm not sure yet. Once all that is finalized I will let you know.

And the December inspiration image soon, if I can ever get enough light (such a rainy week). In the meantime, I will be popping around Instagram here and there.

I hope you guys are doing well! Back to regular programming soon.

november inspiration

You didn't think I'd forgotten this month's inspiration image I hope. I have been down with a head cold all week, a functional but slower and more forgetful Blair does not get much done. Today I will take it slow, have lots of tea, and rest up. Its quite dreary outside, a really good day to sit with some handwork.

I have listened to the news all week long about the damage from Superstorm Sandy and I hope that everyone on the East Coast is getting all they need and are recovering.

I took a walk this morning to gather these leaves, I knew they would be my inspiration image this month and I wanted to grab them at their most colorful. As I reached out to tug at the leaves on my Japanese Maple in the back yard (the ones on the left), they came off with barely a touch. It seems my nature walk was not a minute too soon. What are you inspired by this month? There was a time I was not inspired in the least by Fall colors, but there's really something about how they glow here in the Northwest, against the rain and the mossy rocks. They are beautiful here... but they are beautiful everywhere.

Download your full size inspiration image here. See all of 2012 inspiration images here.

Couple of things to note:

- There will be some exciting new things added to the shop next week! Honestly I can't wait to share them! I think the sketchbook project sketches I've done spawned the idea of this new collection, in a way, but then again its something I've had in my head for a very long time. You can always sign up for my newsletter and get news of when the shop is stocked for the holidays.

- My quilt pieces are hanging up at Artstream for their small works show entitled "Home". There is a reception this evening and if you are local to them I do hope you'll stop by. I've said it many times by now, but I am honored to have had my paintings travel across the country to hang for this show. Thank you Susan!

- I am working on a new set of paintings that will be part of the Ballard Artwalk and hanging at Drygoods Design in December. I had a dream about what I wanted to do for this show the other night and got so excited I almost got up to start painting at 2am! More soon. (Does this mean I'm an artist??)

- I will be doing a craft workshop at Urban Craft Uprising this year. More details on that soon, but I can't wait. This show has lots of good energy, great place to holiday shop for some handmade unique gifts.

- I am still working on my book, it is very much alive and kicking. Writing a book is such a labor of love (I thought I had some idea, but who was I kidding). I am excited to share details with you as they emerge, but if I ever disappear for a few days from the blog and am NOT sick, I probably have my nose deep in book writing. Right now the publication date is set for Spring of 2014. That's a long ways away so I won't bore you with book talk anymore for a while.

I was going to leave you with a list of links, but I think I may go rest now.

Have a great weekend everyone! Stay safe!

 

school house craft begins today!

 

(These are phone photos I took on Thursday while in Ballard at Curtis Steiner, one of my favorite stores. They are currently exhibiting a collection of paper sculptures by Ann Dunbar, which are intricate and amazing. If you are in the neighborhood, you should definitely stop in this truly one-of-a-kind store and see these sculptures.)

I'm afraid I'm a little too relaxed this week. Which would explain my absence, and the lack of a granny square afghan update post today. (There will be one next week, but in the meantime, don't forget you can still include your link in this post if you are participating in this project so it will get on the master project page.) I am having a relaxing time with Jenny, who came to visit (and look, she even sketched Gracie!) and to attend School House Craft. Which begins today! Are you going? I know Kristen and Andrea and everyone has worked hard to plan an amazing weekend. 

Marie and I will be leading the discussion of Blogging 101 for your business (Saturday, 2:45 4:15pm). I love what we've got planned, I hope to see some of you. Peter will be leading an informative discussion on Brand Development without selling out (Sunday, 2:45- 4:15pm) which I will be attending cause he's smart and I like him. Actually, I am hoping to stick around and sit in on as many discussions as I can. If you decide to attend at the last minute, you can buy your tickets at the door.

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And to you...

Thank you all for stopping by wise craft and sharing with me. As I was putting together my thoughts for our blogging class, I kept thinking about how grateful I am to have this space, to share with all of you, and for you all to care about it. The creative side of my life is so very important to me, and I truly value this space and all of you out there who share it with me. Hope to meet some of you on Saturday!

knot, thread, stitch

I was thrilled to finally get a copy of Lisa Solomon's new book, Knot, Thread, Stitch: Exploring Creativity through Embroidery and Mixed Media in the mail recently. In a world where everything seems to happen faster and faster, boy, the publishing world seems to take ages. I'm so excited about what's in this book. In additional to beautiful, original projects designed by Lisa, there are a list of very talented contributors who take her creative ideas and expand on them to give the reader lots of creative jumping off points to get started in their own unique embroidery pieces. She covers things like how to transfer a pattern, how to embroider on different kinds of materials, and of course, all different types of stitches, threads, etc.

I was asked by Lisa to contribute an embroidered hankie project for the book, reinterpreting those traditional embroidered hankies all our grandmas carried in their purses. I really had doing this project, one of those things that came at the right time creatively for me. As soon as she explained what the project was, it all seemed to come together in my head. The end result was one of those times that the actual finished project was pretty close to what I "saw". In the end, I was excited to see that all 3 versions I stitched up made it into the book.

There are a few projects in this book that I hope Emma and I can find time to stitch up for her room. I love the inspired silhouettes and Gracie may make it into Emma's room decor in stitched form. One of the nice parts of having a 13 year old is she can pretty much run with a book like this, making up her own designs based on the inspiration and techniques provided in the book.

Lisa, thank you for asking me to be a part of this wonderful book!

several things

Gosh, you guys are so great, thank you for the comments on Monday's post. I'm still at it, here on Day 8. I'm still starting stories to my friends with "When I used to eat food....", but even that is getting better, although you gotta keep your sense of humor (and honestly I'm not that hungry).

i can finally let the cat out of the bag

I have kept a secret from you lovely folks, and I'm sorry about that. I've been hinting at a large amount of work that was keeping me busy and big deadlines I was working towards during the second half of 2011. I spent the better part of each day in my studio, my days starting once the kids were delivered to school, and some days not finishing until they were sound asleep.

I wrote a book.

With homemade scribbly spreadsheets and sometimes impossible deadlines on the calendar, I worked together with Jane Armstrong and Xiaonan Wang of Armstrong/Pitts Studios and Our Little Book Company to create a book of projects and a body of work that I truly love. We have been scheming, styling, and photographing. This book is about the very heart of what I love to do and love to share with you here on the blog. Its about turning a house into a home. Its about filling that home with keepsakes and momentos that hold meaning to those that live there. About surrounding yourself with handmade things that tell your story. There's something for everyone, and it gets to the heart of what I love about my own handmade world. Its found, repurposed, salvaged, and redone.

I cannot spell out all the details of when and where this will be available for you to buy, but I will. Soon.

Actually I'll probably scream it.

The book has the working title of wise craft right now. I have no idea what the final title will be. In the meantime, here's a little video that was filmed late last year by Scott Pitts, also of Armstrong/Pitts Studios.

 

Our Little Book Company: Wise Craft from Our Little Book Company on Vimeo.

When I began this blog back in 2005, I was a stay-at-home mom with 2 small kids who liked to make things. Plain and simple. I thought that creating an online space seemed interesting, maybe could help me remember some of those moments that seemed to go by in a flash, and it could be a place where I could keep track of all the things I made. You out there, read and commented. As the years have progressed, wise craft has become so much more than just an online space. You are friends. This space is my happy, creative home. Your presence here has encouraged me to continue doing what I so dearly love... making, sewing, knitting, crocheting, creating a home for our family. There is much more to come, and I thank you for sharing this space with me.

Love, Blair

handstitching, babble, and habit

I am once again honored to have a project in Stitch Magazine's Spring 2012 issue, in the "Sewing Unplugged" section, on newsstands now. This pillow was handstitched and designed many months ago and I sooo enjoyed doing it. It came at the perfect time for me, I had just finished a big deadline, was ready to enjoy the holidays, had not committed to huge amounts of handmade gifts, and was able to sit and enjoy stitching away on this pillow, a design inspired by some coins I saw on our kitchen counter (I guess you really never know where inspiration will come from). Thank you Stitch

I am also honored to have my humble little space named as one of the "Top 50 Mom Craft Blogs". I am in the midst of some amazing company on that list. If you've got a few minutes, you can lose yourself in those links. Thank you Babble!

Last, but not least, I am excited to be posted with good friends over at habit all during the month of April. I always love being invited back to post there, something about compliling the images for habit really make me slow down and take note, something that is always important to do in the midst of our busy lives. Thank you Emily and Molly!

Thank you to all who commented about the April inspiration wallpaper and my March blahs. I am continuing to feel better and I really think its very much weather related. The vitamins are helping, as is cutting off my nightly glass of wine, and feeling the sun on my face whenever I can. And speaking of sun, wasn't our Seattle day beautiful today?

 

 

 

stitch gifts

I did a holiday project for the first ever issue of Stitch Magazine devoted to holiday sewing, Stitch Gifts.

I decided to do a project with those gorgeous Swarovski Crystal Elements sew-on beads that I love so much (I did a pillow project using these beads previously). Its funny to think how totally unsparkly I am in my day to day life, but I adore these beads. I thought it would be fun to dress up a plain cardigan with a mixture of crystals. The finished sweater reminds me a little bit of those beaded old lady sweaters I used to wear in college. (Hey, I guess I once was sparkly after all.)

You can buy beads for this project online at Fusion Beads. The Swarovski color mix I used is called Lexi, but there are some really pretty combinations of colors in their mixed collections. I've already made another one of these sweaters for my mom, a black version with the Suede mix, which was made and shipped out of the house so quickly I never took a picture of it. So fun to make these! If anyone out there tries these beaded projects I'd love to hear about it!

Thank you all for the birthday wishes and thoughts on my last post!