wise craft

june 2013 desktop wallpaper

Is it too late for a June desktop wallpaper?

Can't be.

Download yours here.

I've gotten my creative juices flowing again and am really excited about some new ideas.

Just in time for the kids to be home from school for the summer.

I certainly don't mind having them around during the day... well, except for lunch time, when Ian rocks his chair and knocks it on the floor- the same floor that is also known as my studio ceiling- ... but really!, it's fine, I swear. They know I tend to hole myself up in the studio, and yet we all manage of get each other out of our comfort zones, just by spending time together. There will be hikes, bike rides, afternoons at the library, John Hughes movie marathon for my high school freshman, threats from me (for all ages), all rounded out with Cocktail Fridays for the adults. I'll share our first one in tomorrow's post. Because I think for sanity's sake we're going to need to discuss cocktails at least once a week on the blog this summer.

Happy Wednesday!

 

school house craft's summer camp

The folks at School House Craft are hosting a one day Blogger's Summer Camp event this Friday, June 14. If you are creative maker, artist, crafter with questions about running your creative business and managing your online brand story with online platforms like blogging, facebook, twitter, and all the other types of ways to reach potential customers, please join us! I will be a part of the morning panel, but plan to be there most of the day as well and hope to meet you all! It will be a day filled with all kinds of information from a panel of northwest bloggers, including yours truly. We in Seattle are so lucky to have the School House Craft organization right in our backyard. I hope you can join us! Details here.

the dolphins danced with us

We just got back from a relaxing Spring Break trip to Florida. I posted a few pictures during the week on Instagram and the wise craft Facebook page, but I thought I'd post some highlights here too. Stay with me till the bottom so you don't miss the video. As we were leaving the island to go to the airport, we had our very own personal dancing escort of the most beautiful, playful dolphins. Captain Dan explained that they love to play in the wake behind the boat, like kids. Such a nice reminder that we need to remember to have spontaneous fun. Enjoy!

 

 

 

tricking myself

I was thinking about something the other day. Working from home, being my own boss, really is the perfect situation for me. I have the flexibility to be available for my kids when they need me to be, I can adapt my own schedule to fit what happens in our lives and at our home. I can run out to pick up kids from school, it's great!

However, I have also begun to realize that it's very easy to put the needs of my own "work" on the back burner. Before I even realize it, a whole list of things can be listed in front of just getting into the studio and writing, pattern writing, or creating new ideas. It's my tendency to put everyone's needs before mine...for a long time, all the creative work I do has been a hobby, something I did to relax and "get away".

walk with me

 

Walk With Me from Blair Stocker on Vimeo.

We have walked through this wooded trail near our house many times. It was extra chilly in Seattle over the weekend, everything was a bit frosty when I walked it yesterday.

Thank you all so much for your comments on my last post. Sarah linked to an insightful article about this very thing, thank you Sarah. I've been slowing replying to all the comments and have been so happy to hear that so many are looking for a slower experience online like I am. Thank you friends.

I turn in the first complete draft of my book tomorrow. It's been such a long time coming, I feel like a should celebrate this first (of many) deadlines. Not sure how yet. It does mean I'll be able to do some other things on my list, which will feel good.

Enjoy your Monday!

making it merry

Christmas feels very simple and good right now. We didn't put up every single decoration we have this year. Sometimes putting every single piece of it up just feels like clutter. This year it feel like just enough.

I did make one more ornament though.

I purchased some wooden disks from Modern Needleworks on etsy. These are laser cut wooden bases for cross stitching and embroidery. I embroidered a simple geometric pattern, but when I was trying to decide whether or not this would become an ornament or a necklace, I added some sparkle with some Swarovski crystal beads.

Adding that little bit of sparkle suddenly made it seem perfect for the tree. I covered the back with a piece of leather to hide my crazy stitches and added a jump ring at the top.

I have another base I'd like to stitch up, if I could only remember where I put it.

I am going take a blog break for the holiday season. I plan to spend some time with family and finish the writing I need to do for the book. There's some movies to watch, some presents to open, an eggnog habit to kick, some family to see.

Thank you for being out there, for stopping by this space, for being excited about what I do, and for being the awesome people you are. I wish you peace this holiday season.

See you in January!

Love,

Blair

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.

my days in instagram

Hello Monday.

Are you on Instagram? (Not Monday, but you.) I am BlairS on Instagram and I just love the immediacy of it. Things happen, and sometimes one photo says it so much better than words. Sometimes lunch is worth taking a photo of. And if we're gonna cheat and have that donut, why not let everyone know with a photo? When I have my nose to the grindstone during the day and the house is quiet and, hopefully, productive, I love to sneak a peek at my Instagram feed and see what everyone else is doing at that moment. Flickr seems to have not kept up with the whole immediacy thing (their mobile app needs work), but I guess I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Flickr for many reasons, most importantly because my archived photos are there.

Here are some recent photos from my Instagram feed. I usually take at least one a day, sometimes more, and they often don't show up on the blog.

The day the rains came in buckets.

 

Ian's baby sweater that I knit for him. Made me teary when I pulled it out.

 

Gracie and her significant other, our faux fur throw.

 

Saturday's sketch.

 

Last Tuesday's sketch

 

At the antique mall with Peter last Sunday.

 

I designed a Castagram Iphone case with a selection of my Instagram photos back in the Spring, you can see it in the first photo of this post. I want to make another one with different photos next year, the case has held up to knocks and bumps and the quality is wonderful.

This site has some other great ideas.

 

it's so simple

Start where you are

Use what you have

Do what you can

 

I came across this thought on Pinterest and immediately thought "yes!". It describes so well how I live my life. And I'm not talking about just the creative side, although it has always been part of how I sew and quilt, but in every aspect of living. The act of running a small business with my husband, trying to teach my kids how to handle stress or problems they need to solve, even just staring at a huge pile of laundry. Don't go crazy and get overwhelmed. (Another favorite phrase has always been "Don't borrow trouble." The world is complicated enough without trying to solve every problem right this minute.

I stitched up this banner for my studio door using what I already had so I could remind myself that absolutely everything is doable in its own way. I could have gone out and bought beautiful new fabric and made a big production out of this project, but why overthink it?

Do you have small sayings like this in your head, that you repeat to yourself when you need them? Or maybe even a word that centers you back into reality when you're feeling overwhelmed?

4 paintings

(From left to right: Neon Navajo, Morning Star, Flutter Wheel with Toile, Turkey's Delimma.)

I finished the Morning Star and Flutter Wheel last week, soon they are all four headed to Artstream Gallery in New Hampshire. Its fun to see them all together. That second picture up there shows the sides of the pieces, which has some smudges of paint. Should I paint the edges? Leave them as they are? What do you think? A part of me likes the layers and layers of paint just seeping over the edges a bit, but not sure if you'd want to see that when the piece is hung on a wall.

The rain returned over the weekend, after a record stretch (near-record? record? I can't keep up) of no rain in Seattle. I missed it, I'll admit. Was quite happy to curl up in my chair with my crochet hook and watch it drip outside. Finally gave in and started watching Downton Abbey, almost through season 1. Yes, I love it. Peter's watching a 24 episode documentary on The Cold War. Emma is making more clay dragons and Ian is making stop motion animation movies. Gracie is napping. Tonight is baked potato night.

That's how we're rolling. 

Getting some interweb inspiration for Halloween. We need to focus on costumes this week and next. I always make this process way harder than it needs to be.

Simple, Blair...simple.

Take care for now friends.