rain, fog, quiet

so many plans this weekend... replaced by the quiet of the rain and fog. instead, i've been enjoying sewing in the coziness of my home... what a beautiful light the misty clouds cast

finished a new wool and cotton tree:

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i decided to pull out my scanner this weekend as well, and after a year and a half of not working... voila! so, as a result, boxes of photos were also pulled out. i found the image of me at age three, riding a horse... remembering in wonderment how small i was when i began to ride. i then came across this image of my grandpa walker, who i unfortunately never knew as he died before i was born. we walker's have been put on horses as soon as we can walk for quite some time now (and taught how to hold those reins!). also found this image, below, of my great-grandmother (on the left), riding in wyoming

now i realize how many years have gone by since i've been on a horse... makes me long for a ride. something to plan for this spring, perhaps!

hope everyone had a pleasant weekend

saturday shopping list - january 16th

1 ~ custom paper silhouette portrait, by papercutsbyjoe

with valentine's day approaching, what better way to show your affection than with a silhouette to forever capture that special moment with your love! (that bicycle piece pictured is super cute!)

2 ~ 2010 cloth calendar tea towel, from 1canoe2

these take me back to childhood, when we always had a cloth calender (usually with a picture of my sister and i on it!)... a vintage touch, but so fresh and new!

3 ~ federal glass mixing bowls in turquoise, from rollinghillsvintage

oh, how i've been in need of a set of vintage mixing bowls... and these are exactly in my favorite color palette!

4 ~ triple ruffle leggings dreamspun danties, by dreamspunkids

pairing these with any of your little one's jumpers or skirts? ... makes for one fancy outfit! now if only they came in my size

5 ~ gnome baby upcycled dolls/multicultural, by sewnnatural

made with vintage cottons and stuffed with wool, these gnomes have a wonderful timeless vibe... and they can even be custom made to match your child's features (i'll take one with freckles for myself!)

6 ~ blue whales paperbella mobile, by paperbella

even in a still photograph, these whales seem to move... how calming and relaxing for a child's (or adult's!) room

*visit fancypicnic for a list of all the saturday shopping lists!

happy weekend everyone!

pretty things...

1. grain, 2. marianne was difficult to please and found even paris rather drab for her taste, 3. Untitled, 4. jan-11-10 photographer's assistant, 5. Farfuglinn, 6. L'enfant, 7. DSC01437, 8. remembering back....., 9. golden mushroom, 10. collared dove, 11. Molly's Sketchbook: New Year's Garland, 12. Little Birdie, 13. Untitled

some inspirational pictures from my flickr favorites

nest on a sprig...

new mixed media fiber art in shop... 'nest on a sprig'

needle felted nest with eggs, attached with vintage cotton thread to a real branch, painted a soft blue and wrapped in a fine floral cotton

twisting floral vines created by intricately wrapping wire in a thick cotton thread

saturday shopping list - january 9th

1 ~ when i ride my bike, by illustrationbygosia

2 ~ antique mission arts sideboard, from groovygirl60

3 ~ vintage mama and baby bird, from urbanlotusvintage

4 ~ primitive wood duck decoy, from imsovintage

5 ~ the girl who knitted love sachet pillow, by fricdementol

6 ~ little white sheep wool animal, by littleloveblue

wow, i actually managed to post a saturday shopping list this week... and actually on saturday this time!

visit fancypicnic for a list of all the saturday shopping lists

and just listed two new pieces in the shop... wee blue roses on a sprig:

blue rose on a sprig

blue rose on a sprig, number 2

hand stitched blue roses, from thick felted wool, sewn onto painted branches, ready for hanging

blue roses and snow?

new blue rose wreath... available in the shop

the wreath was created using found twisting branches, and is wrapped in a fine floral print cotton. a blue rose has been hand stitched from a thick felted wool, along with hand stitched wool and cotton print leaves...

as you can see, my mind has moved into spring, however uncooperative the weather is choosing to be ;) just as i'm ready for warm weather, and budding flowers, mother nature sprinkled the white stuff over atlanta... and, while i really do love snow, i prefer it before the new year

and how surprised i was to find that half an inch of snow could virtually shut down a city? that was until i witnessed the unfortunate combination of lack of salting/plowing and people unfamiliar with snowy weather. while in new york people went on about their business with 24" of snow (school/work/play), in atlanta cars are colliding, schools shutting down, neighbors slipping on the ice (and looking around to see if anyone had witnessed the embarrassing moment... yes, yes i did)... and my sister reported that one of her neighbors could be seen scraping off the ice on the car with a set of keys... oh, atlanta ;)

happy snow day (and be careful out there)!

nothing like a good book...

this is a beautiful book ('the abby aldrich rockefeller folk art collection') i found a few years ago in the montague bookmill, a used bookstore housed in an old gristmill on the banks of the sawmill river in massachusetts... this was while on a road trip to massachusetts with my wonderful brooklyn crafting friends

i would definitely recommend stopping by for a browse and a bite to eat, overlooking the river, if you are ever in the northampton area... we went during the snowy season... so lovely

vintage folk art definitely has an influence on my work, from colors to images... and this book provides an abundance of inspiration. the cover alone is a wonderful display piece!

such fun days were had, during the weekly craft get togethers i shared with these beautiful women! another great inspiration for my work

'springtide' is now available in the shop

hand embroidered and hand stitched fiber/textile piece on canvas, mounted on a vintage metal embroidery hoop (see the post below if you'd like to read of the inspiration for this piece)

some sore fingers... but well worth it ;)

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**and, please take a moment to read this blog post over on littleloveblue... about companies copying designs from indie crafters, in order to produce cheap wholesale knockoffs... urgh!

in progress... 'tree'

'in progress' is an apt title for all of my creations right now... everything is in various stages of development, from the idea phase, to sketches, to half finished works in progress... i see a spring burst of finished works coming soon!

busily working on a new 'tree' fiber art piece... as you can see, i am still in the process of hand embroidering the trunk and branches with vintage thread (a process which my fingers feel by the end of the day!)

i've embroidered this piece free hand based on my sketches, as opposed to first inking my design on the canvas

the leaves will be three dimensional wool and cotton hand stitched, in shades of soft blues and greens

once completed, this fiber and textile piece will be backed with wool and mounted on the vintage metal embroidery hoop, ready for hanging or propped in a cozy corner

i was inspired to create a new tree on canvas, after coming across this old sketch of a tree i did for one of my theatre design classes back in college... the structure of a tree is a recurring theme in my work, whether in my soft sculptures or in my wall art. every spring i'm sure to feel the surprising wonder of a bare winter tree with the first soft hints of color

i really could arrange and photograph fabrics in harmonious colors and prints all day long!

oh, and shopping for new (or often vintage actually, but new to me!) fabrics, or happily finding a package of fabrics awaiting me in the mail... there are no words! i have several new fabrics making their way to me right now, which have already inspired many new ideas. can't wait to hold them in my hands so that i may begin stitching them into new forms!

you can see more images of this work in progress on my flickr page

looking ahead

happy new year (and new decade), everyone! i'm excited to begin work on new ideas and creations for this year... as you can see from my flickr page, i've been goofing off and relaxing for the holidays... a tula photo shoot today! i think i've created a monster. while seemingly annoyed with the picture taking to begin with, she now keeps jumping on the arm of the chair and 'posing' so that i'll take her picture again ;)

now that the important business of getting new kitty shots has been taken care of, i'm ready to return to creating and getting new work out into the world of 2010

hope everyone has been enjoying a relaxing holiday!

'tis the season

mmm, the holidays are my favorite time of the year, and pulling out the christmas wares gets me all giddy every year! i was fortunate enough to score some of these lovely cypress evergreen boughs off freecycle that someone had just clipped during their tree pruning ... adds that perfect christmas aroma to the room (haven't purchased my tree yet). and it looked so lovely, i went back today and gathered some more for my deck!

these little gnome ornaments from ikea are just so sweet (especially with the sweet treats tucked inside!) i had intended these for the tree, but they made the perfect little garland... i always loved pulling holiday treats right out of the decorations when i was a child... candy canes off the tree, little chocolates hidden inside ornaments. looking forward to my niece and nephew emptying these for me ;)

the lovely beeswax candles are from buzzhandmade, while the stockings were a gift - handmade by my mom

what a joy to have a fire under a freshly decorated mantle!

holiday conifer

i'm excited to add some more of my holiday collection to the shop over the next week or so... just trying to finish up a few custom orders this weekend. i did add this new originally designed conifer to the shop... i'm just loving this gray, red, and white cotton, and have made a few more coordinating pieces, which will also be added to the shop

busily creating holiday nests, tree toppers, trees, and wreaths, and hoping my hands stay strong this week for the onslaught of ideas floating about in my head!

saturday shopping list - oops

little grey donkey, by littleloveblue

(oh how i wish i could snatch him up!)

handwoven throw in christmas red, by lindahighhandweaver

wee three gnomes, by thetinyhouse

wing dress in madras, by verypurpleperson

okay, okay, i meant to post the 'saturday shopping list' on saturday (makes more sense, right!), but i'm running about three days late in general these days with everything, so i figured why not

as you can see, i'm thoroughly excited about the holiday/winter season this year, and i'm so looking forward to adding christmas loveliness to my new home in a few weeks time. i've also been enjoying this ridiculously long autumn here in georgia... has it been a long fall elsewhere?

i'd been told that the autumn beauty made georgians forget the humid summers here (although this summer was actually pretty decent... not really so different than the normal brooklyn summers i'm used to... but perhaps that was unseasonal); but, wow, trees blooming in waves for three months? beautiful autumnal temperatures, allowing you to wear your autumn apparel without covering up with coats, scarves, and hats in november? i'm actually rarely comfortable with any temperature (my body doesn't seem capable of regulating either heat or cold!)... really, 68-72 with a soft sunshine is my ideal comfort zone; and, oh, how many lovely days we've had just like that

it all makes the long months of bundling up in layers of coats and scarves seem so much more bearable when it is actually confined to the winter season! i will admit that i'm hoping for some snow this year... especially now that i can bundle in front of the fire and watch the flakes swirling in the woods behind my house

hope everyone is enjoying their autumn... any great thanksgiving ideas? i'm always eager to hear of fun family traditions

grosgrain giveaway and eye candy lusciousness

well, it's time for another fabulous grosgrain giveaway... this time i'm hoping to win for a certain best friend of mine who is expecting her first baby next spring... you know who you are ;)

this is a guest giveaway from layla grace, for a 'little giraffe blanket in chenille dot' with a matching 'little giraffe security blanket in chenille dot'... your choice of color! looks so deliciously snuggly

to enter yourself, you can simply link to the giveaway on your own site... click here for details

and, if you haven't discovered the loveliness of grosgrain, CLICK right on over there! along with lovely guest giveaways, kathleen shares many wonderful sewing tutorials, along with giveaways of her own creations. and, i will just say it now... her garments and pictures are so absurdly beautiful! such luscious eye candy. i still giggle every time i see the lengths she went to not only in her sewing but in the staging of the photography! i had to include some pictures of her work:

*** p.s. you can vote here for a grosgrain dress in the 'dare to design' contest on shabby apple

sewing for independence

while conditions for women in the dr congo are already deplorable, women left widowed face financial ruin... left with very few options for ways to support themselves and their children. in the virunga national park, death among park rangers is very high (125 deaths in the last 10 years) as rangers continue to put their lives at risk to protect the park, the extremely endangered mountain gorillas, and other wildlife. while emergency donations for rangers widows through the iccn (you can donate on the gorilla.cd website) greatly help these families in the short term, a new program is helping these women gain financial autonomy

with help from the igcp (international gorilla conservation program), a group of 32 women are learning the skills of sewing... giving them the opportunity to learn a skill that will ultimately give them a way to support their families. upon completion of the program, each woman gets her own sewing machine to set up shop independently!

you can read more about the ranger widows, the work the rangers give their lives for, and ways you can help, over on the gorilla.cd blog

apple pickin'

well, it was that time of year again... pick your own apples (or apple pickin' as it's called here in the south!). this year, it was a drive up to ellijay (the apple capital of georgia), with a stop along the way to eat a picnic lunch by a lovely lake. thanks to my sister's in-laws for the amazing 'picnic', which included clam chowder, pasta, and bread with a variety of cheeses (my picnics usually consist of peanut butter and jelly!)... complete with jack-0'-lantern grilled cheeses for my niece and nephew. i should have captured a picture of this lovely spread, but i was too busy eating ;)

this picture reminds me of a gateway to a fairyland!

yummy rome beauty

we were there for the last week of the harvest, and enjoyed munching on the delicious rome beauty variety, which ended the season. my niece shouted 'hooray' everytime she picked an apple, while my nephew waited excitedly for his turn with an 'apple cannon.' we finished the adventure with some apple donuts and apple cider slushies (again no pictures of the food... you can see a pattern here!)

'hooray'

apple cannon

i had to include these two pictures as well... these side eyes are a flash forward to the teenage years! makes me laugh every time