:: a little planning :: working on details for the next vintage button swap ::
:: a little sketching :: too many ideas :: too little time ::
:: a little paper cutting :: new stationery designs ::
:: a little print designing :: inspired by a cb2 dinnerware set ::
:: a little sewing :: apron sets ::
:: linen :: linen ribbon ::
:: wonderful packages :: from friends I've never met :: beautiful sea urchin shells from tasha :: and other goodies from hawaii :: amazing trinkets from jill's travels to asia :: japanese craft books + cute fabric from my husband's trip to japan :: more fabric from japan ::
:: seeing how a photograph can inspire one to create this :: reading one of my favorite weblogs :: oh, and i love julie's weblog :: and dawn's creations :: and shanna's work :: appreciating all the inspiration out there in this world :: the community of creative women I am privileged to be a part of ::
:: cheesecake thumbprint cookies :: blair, you've got me hooked! ::
:: seeing glimpses of art in my house :: have a wonderful weekend ::
Flyers have been posted. Postcard invitations have been sent out. The countdown is on! In eight days I'll be spending the afternoon with several of my favorite local designers at studio CRAFT. Can I tell you how excited I am? I have admired the work of all these talented ladies for quite awhile and to have them all in one room is a [shopping] dream come true. I've been a slacker on the crafting front, but have you seen what everyone else has been up to? Amazing! I have managed to make a complete mess in my studio, patches of fabric everywhere! I'm hoping these fabric patches will magically transform themselves into cute little wall+pockets in the next few days.
Have a wonderful weekend!
:: finding inspiration in all these fabric patches ::
:: sorted by color ::
:: wall+pocket 05 ::
:: fooling around with scraps of fabric :: not for studio craft, but potential christmas gifts? ::
"Thank you" doesn't even begin to express my deepest gratitude for the outpouring of love + support + kindness extended to me and my family during this valley in our lives. I have been so touched by all the kind words + prayers + good thoughts sent our way. I struggled for a long time about whether I should share about my brother's passing, something so personal and sensitive. Yet "ignoring" it on my weblog did not feel right to me. After reading every message left on my last post, as well as the personal emails, I am grateful that I made the decision to share my loss with you. Your words have had a healing effect on my spirit and soul. I suppose one never fully recovers from losing a loved one, but I have high hopes of learning to cope and to continue living a full life.
Thank you for listening. Thank you for "holding me up" during this difficult time.
Work in progress 08 + other news:
1. More patchwork wallpockets.
More WIP here.
2. Yesterday was a super good day for me. My hubby spent the morning with Big J, while I went into the city to meet up with Eireann. She is as sweet and lovely as one would expect and one of the most gifted people I've ever met. Have you seen her work? Amazing. She brought me this lovely bundle of goodies--everything is so pretty I didn't want touch it. [Sorry for the poor photo quality, I snapped this shot while the sun was going down.] I hope our paths cross again, I could spend all day chatting with Eireann.
3. After my time with Eireann, I drove around the corner to meet up with Melissa + Sam for lunch. Note to self: If you agree to meet up at the Laughing Planet on N. Mississippi Avenue, you shouldn't be waiting at the Laughing Planet on Belmont for 45 minutes. Not good. After having a "OH MY GOSH WHAT WAS I THINKING" moment, I made it to the other location for a lovely lunch with my oh-so-gracious friend. [Sorry again Melissa!]. And she even brought me some of this cute fabric. Yes, I'm lucky she's still my friend.
4. We've been having some light showers here in Portland. I noticed Portlanders rarely/never use umbrellas. So a hooded jacket or hat is essential. Here's a photograph of Baby J while we were waiting at the wrong restaurant yesterday.
5. After lunch I went to the airport to pick up my sister, brother-in-law and nephew. They'll be staying with us for the rest of the week so that means a lot of cuddling and kisses for my nephew. Its funny how Baby J looks like a giant compared to his 7-month-old cousin.
6. We'll be celebrating my hubby's birthday this week [already ordered his favorite tres leches cake from Pambiche], taking a trip to the beach and enjoying some good ol' family time. Then I have several freelance projects to finish up before we take a little road trip to the bay area. The hubby has a conference to attend in SF, so we're tagging along. This may be our first and last road trip with both boys. Although I lived in the bay area for six years, I haven't been back for three. If you have any recommendations for good restaurants or shops [I'll definitely be visiting Britex], please leave your suggestions in the comments section. [Thanks in advance!]
7. If you made it this far in the post, give yourself a pat on the back.
The cooler weather around here has put me in the mood for fall. I love fall clothes--sweaters, jeans, skirts with tights, boots, boots + boots [oh, how I love boots!]. I'm hoping to make some nice fall pants for the boys using patterns from this book. Six of the twenty-six patterns are for boy's bottoms. I'm thinking corduroy, wool + denim.
ISBN4-418-06120-7 :: Everyday Bottoms
[I just love how they designate each pattern with a "letter" from the alphabet. So cute!]
More WIP here.
P.S. Thanks for all the nice comments regarding my patchwork wallpocket. Another one is in the works.
working on orders :: mailing out packages :: cutting fabric for patchwork project :: resisting the urge to start new projects :: more blackberry picking :: watching Big J take a nap :: looking forward to a relaxing weekend
More WIP here.
Thank you for all the kind words regarding Appah's return. We are a happier family now that we are all under one roof. Big J didn't want Appah to go to work this morning, but was quickly distracted when I told him we would be meeting up with some of our favorite friends. He associates Sam + Melissa with all things good--cars, trucks, fun toys. We spent the first part of our play date at Bolt, perusing all the lovely fabric, notions and buttons. I left the store with some new additions to my growing orange + blue fabric collection.
The Quilter's Studio book [ISBN4579110390] is inspiring me to start some new patchwork projects.
I also want to make some patchwork potholders and oven mitts. Speaking of which, I received the loveliest package from Australia. Soo was so sweet and sent me a little "thank you" gift for hosting the vintage button swap. I literally tore open the package, squealed with delight [how did she know I love handmade oven mitts and Donna Hay magazines] and rushed to the computer to email her about how much I loved the gift. The Donna Hay magazine is a special kids issue and is full of beautiful photographs [you just can't beat the photo styling in her magazines!]. Thank you, Soo!
But before I begin any new projects, I must work on a few orders and a new freelance project. I am also on a self-imposed swap moratorium because I have a few outstanding swap packages to finish up and send off. Oh, and I had the brilliant idea of taking out everything from the closet and sticking it all in the middle of my studio, which somehow has spread all over the room. I really need to clean up the mess because it makes me a bit crazy in the head every time I open the door. If only I could just wiggle my nose...
Although I only post a few work in progress projects each week, in reality I have dozens of WIP projects laying around in my studio. I am trying my best not to start any new projects until I've completed at least a few of them. But everytime I look at this darling Japanese craft book I am tempted to start yet another project. [I think this might be my favorite book cover. I love the little girl's smock, her loose bun and the cute little blue sewing machine. So sweet.] Maybe I'll just trace one pattern, cut out the fabric and create another WIP pile?
I've been meaning to make myself some personalized stationery for a long time. You would think that being a custom stationery designer means I have stacks of stationery lying around. Well, not the case. I tend to make only a few extra for each project, all of which need to be placed into an album [another WIP project--an album of my custom stationery designs!]. So using the design from Baby J's thank you cards, I created some notecards for myself. That was the easy part. Now I must sit down and write some belated "thank you" sentiments. [I really believe it is never too late to send a thank you card.]
[Other Work In Progress projects here.]
My husband is flying out today for a three-week business trip to Asia. I'm trying not to think about it too much, but this will be the longest time he has been away from home. I'm going to miss him a lot, but I think the boys will miss him even more. Fortunately his company will cover some childcare expenses, so we have decided [much to my husband's encouragement] to have our babysitter come over three mornings a week to watch the boys. I think they will enjoy the extra attention and hopefully this will allow me to work on some custom orders and freelance projects. I'm hoping to do some cleaning and organizing as well, but my main focus will be to keep my stress level as low as possible and to enjoy my alone time with the boys. This means I'll probably be a little quiet over here for the next three weeks.
I'll leave you with a photograph of Big J on his big brother's "motorcycle". He loves to push the button which plays music and bounce up and down. It is very cute. The outfit he is wearing is the butt of many jokes in our household. My husband picked it up on his last trip to China. Obviously my husband didn't look at the outfit carefully because it is a little girl's outfit [racerback tank with a heart emblem] and the words "Naturally Jojo" emblazened across the front of the tank and short leg. This is what I like to refer to as an "inside" outfit, only to be worn "inside" our house and nowhere else. We call Baby J "Jojo" when he's wearing it. I was going to post this photograph with the title "Why I won't ask my husband to buy anymore clothes for the boys on his business trips". [Just kidding, my husband usually has good taste.]
Work in Progress, week 3.
1. Patchwork bib for Baby J. [I'm loving black + white these days.]
2. Girly aprons. [What's better than gingham? Seersucker gingham!]
I was able to cross off a few things on my "to do" list this week, including these baby gifts. I seem to be stuck on a circle + leaf motif .
