Progress Update: Stitching up the Tea Towel

I have been stitching ferociously the past few days trying to get this baby done. I'm almost there!

Blackberry peach cobbler in the middle of the day

One of my favorite parts of being a freelancer is being able to do things like this in the middle of the day.I picked these black berries from my back yard. And there are 2 peaches from Trader Joe's peach flats.

The next part is my dirty little secret. Sprinkle cake mix and lots of butter on top.

This won't last for long in the house!
This ceramic casserole was something I made while in college. I was happy to eat beautiful food out of it.

Printing Tea Towel Embroidery Kits

The tea towels have been screen printed. Hooray! Here are some shots of me at The Pull printing.
The printing process went fairly smoothly. The large format print was a little bit tricky, but we figured out a way to make it all work. Now its time to stitch it up. I'm excited to see the final project complete!

Weekend Getaway in Puget Sound

After traveling the world this past year, it has made me more grateful and excited to travel more locally. There are so many beautiful amazing places to visit right here in the pacific northwest to keep me busy for a little while. My first weekend getaway since I've been back in the states was to Puget Sound.

It was nice to get out of the house, have a change of scenery, and a quiet weekend. Not to mention the cooler temperatures were favorable compared to the heat wave happening in Portland.

Yay for moss, fog, ferns, insects, huge lakes, mud, turtles, chocolate, and wine.

Crochet with unusual materials

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Wall Art made With Nails and Rope

I'm liking the subtlety of these DIY wall art kits. You can buy the kits here. I think a map of some sort would be interesting imagery for this technique.




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2012 Tea Towel Sneak Peak

Here are some snap shot of my progress on the design for the 2012 calendar tea towel. This year it will be an embroidery kit.

This is me sketching in my local coffee shop. I'm using helvetica as a guide for my lettering. The little circle blooms ended up not working out as well for embroidery so I changed the blooms to look like this.

I'm also testing which colors look best with the design in this shot.
Stay tuned for more progress shots.

Young Coconut Juice from India

Speaking of coconuts...

I had a double take when this guy started climbing the coconut tree like it was nothing. It probably took him 30 seconds to get to the top. And he cut down some young coconut with a machete and then climbed down from the tree. The whole transaction probably took 3 minutes. Wow! I thought I was good at climbing trees, but this guy put me to shame.
I was introduced to the wonder of the young coconut juice in India. A slightly sweet clear liquid packed with nutrients and electrolytes did the trick for me on hot afternoons between yoga sessions.
pictured: myself and my yoga peeps enjoying a young coconut

Wishing I could go back to that life right now.

Making rope out of coconut fiber in India

I was continuously impressed by the resourcefulness of the Indian people. They don't let anything go to waste, including discarded coconut shells. If you let them dry out in the sun they make a fibers like this.

Then they loosen the fiber up and get it prepped for the spinning wheel. A women skillfully feeds the fibers into the wheel which then made some very strong and useful rope. I saw this type of rope being used everywhere including holding many of their structures together.

Now I wonder if there is anything laying around in my yard that I could make rope out of?

Please Vote: Connecting Threads Fabric Design Contest

Vote here on your favorite fabric. Be a dear and vote for mine design too (pictured above). Follow this link. Its on the 3rd row all the way to the left.

It's been a dream of mine for a long time to have a collection of fabric so I'm very excited about this opportunity. Thanks in advance for your support.

Hand Embroidered Book Covers

I'm loving these hand embroidered book covers that artist, Jillian Tamaki, created for penguin classics. It makes me want to buy them. Not because I'll ever read them, but because I love the book covers.

Nina Gregier: Geometric Type + Embroidery

I want to touch!


Check out more of Nina's inspiring work here.

Duncan Johnson

Artist, Duncan Johnson, collects salvage wood from nearby his home in Vermont to make these lovely sculptures. Or should I call them paintings or quilts. I'm not sure. His art transcends many mediums and reminds me of traditional quilt making. Using scraps of whatever you have around to make something beautiful.



It reminds me of an idea I was exploring a while back with fused plastic quilt like pieces.


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Happy Friday!

I was so happy to stumble apon this huge pile of chairs while I was in Shanghai. I hope it delights you as well.

Graffiti Spotting in SE Portland

I've noticed I easily get stuck in my routines doing the same things over and over, so when I got back from my travels I decided to put a conscious effort into having exploratory walks in other neighborhoods in Portland. One of my favorite things to do while traveling is taking long walks without any purpose or expectations. I want to continue this now that I'm back in my routine. I always find visual eye candy along the way like this really cool graffiti spotted on Belmont St.

I'm pretty sure Jesse Reno and Charlie Alan Kraft created this street art.

I just love seeing little details like this on the sidewalk of Belmont St. It makes me happy.

Crafting in a Foreign Country

While I was visiting Kyoto, Japan I had a hankering to make things. I found this perforated faux leather at a sewing store in the neighborhood and I had never seen anything like it. I immediately knew I needed to buy some of this to experiment with it. I ended up making a much needed case for my ipod touch. I had been lugging it around in a sock of all things for 5 months before I finally made a proper case.

I was so inspired my all things shashiko and zakka during my stay in japan. I love this traditional pattern that is found in all the shashiko books, so I decided to give it a try. The design wraps around the front to back. The perforated leather is very easy to embroider into which made it ideal for crafting in a foreign country because all i needed was needle and thread. No sewing machine necessary :) I've been using this pouch for several months and am very pleased with it. It feels good in the hands. The stitching provides a nice texture to hold. I'm thinking about using some of the sides scraps to make a embroidered cuff.

Excuse the poor photo qulity of the last one, but this was a process shot of me working away in my bed in a Kyoto hostel.

Dreaming for Joy

Thousands of red buttons make up this installation, Dreaming for Joy, by artist Ran Hwang. I wish I could see this installation in person. I can only imagine the joy I would feel when realizing what the bird was actually made of. I love thinking about the logistics and problem solving behind art. Like where the heck do you source a million red buttons from? And what were the steps to make a sketch into reality?

Check out the artist's website here.

Happy Friday!

WORDS from Everynone on Vimeo.

Naturearte: Intricate Leaf Cut Designs

While gathering inspiration for my 2012 calendar I came across an amazing artist I want to share with you. These intricate leaf cuts take a huge amount of patience and delicate handy work. I am so impressed with the amount of detail he can get in each leaf.

"All the work of cutting, drying and framing has been self-taught. I have cut many leaves and the vast majority of them have ended up in the trash, but I am slowly perfecting a method that will not break the leaves."

Check out his website, Naturayarte, for more inspiring leaf cuts.

Tear Away Wallpaper

I have a lot of experience ripping wall paper down and putting new from my childhood. My mom was known for her wallpaper expertise in her circle of friends and so anytime she had a wallpaper job I was her assistant. Now, as an adult, I am usually turned off by wallpaper. It's usually just too much for a room. And the patterns can feel old and dated so quickly after they are put up. That is why I usually just stick to paint.

But this this tear away wall paper by znak is opening my eyes to the possibilities and future of wallpaper. Wall paper can be expressive, creative, organic. It can change over time. I like all of these things. It's more of a collaboration between the designer and the home owner.

What are your thoughts on wallpaper?




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Rock and Wood Hostel in Shanghai

I've stayed in many youth hostels during my trip around the world, and this is the first one I've felt blog worthy. Rock and wood blew away my expectations with beautiful architecture. The over sized dining table made out of a huge plank of wood was my favorite part to this public meeting area. I felt comfortable working on my craft projects here for hours. People would come and go and ask what I was doing. I felt very comfortable. After chatting with the barrista, I found out the owner is an architect and has designed many of the famous hostels in China. I don't remember his name so if any one knows please leave a comment.

The coy pond and private alcoves in the garden made calming retreats after a long day of exploring the city. Every detail was just right. I definitely recommend staying here if you are going to Shanghai.