Crafty Wonderland Today and Tomorrow!

Hi Portland, 

See you there. I'm running around like crazy getting ready for this one. Should be a blast. 

Currently Stitching

I'm making a lovely scarf for myself. This pattern was inspired by some brand identity work for a client. While I was playing with different shapes for the logo I found this cool hexagon rotating shape. I took the idea and ran with it.

Renegade Recap and Happy New Year!

Big sigh. The holidays are over and I can calm down a bit. The holidays are most certainly the busiest time of year for CuriousDoodles. Put travel to California and Texas on top of that and you get a very quiet blog for a long time. But I survived, and I very hopeful that the new year will be full of good things. I want to spend more time learning how to sew clothes for myself this year. I am slightly intimidated by this type of sewing so I'm doing one project every month to get over my fears. I will try to share the triumphs and failures with you.

Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco was a blast. I really enjoyed getting to meet so many awesome customers as well as other artists like The Experts Agree , R&L Goods , and Texture Clothing to name a few. It was impressive to see so many people packed into the Concourse Center that it was hard to walk though the aisles. I was definitely feeling the handmade love, which makes me think I should keep doing this.

Product Launch: Introducing 2012 Calendar Tea Towel D.I.Y. Embroidery Kit

It's been a long time in the process, but here it is! I had so much fun with my tea towel last year, that I decided to bring it in to 2012. Wonderfully, my longtime love of embroidery has been well received by the ETSY community in the form of my STICHIES Kits. I thought it time to carry that passion over and expand into the world of tea towel calendars, a functional and beautiful addition to any kitchen.

The kits take approximately 8 - 14 hours. By the end of the kit, you feel confidant about the stitches (back stitch, lazy daisy, and the french knot). It is calming and meditative, a nice way to spend an evening. And it's really a nice feeling to lay back after completing a number and see your hard work translated directly onto the canvas.

The kit was designed for both beginners and advanced stitchers. The instruction guide goes over each stitch if you need that and I'll be creating in dept tutorials on the blog detailing each stitch. I've been compiling some good little tips through the process.

My test subject was a complete rookie, but by the end of the 2012, he felt the urge to keep going and fill in the CuriousDoodles logo and fill in his families' birthday dates. Apparently he sped up as his stitching got better and he just couldn't stop.

Part of the reason why I am interested in making kits, is because there is a lack of modern/relevant designs for embroidery. Sure, there are loads of vintage embroidery patterns which I adore, but it is a bit of dying art that I would like to see come back. I combined modern typography with dense organic stitch work. I started with big helvetica block letters and filled them in with intertwined vine work creating a different read from across the room vs. up close-up. Check out my blog post with some of the early sketches/prototypes. I did several revisions to the design once I started stitching up prototypes to come up with a design that is appropriate for the capabilities of needlework.



The towel comes with a hang tab in the upper right corner for easy hanging.

The completed kit would be a wonderful keep sake gift for a new baby or a wedding. It also makes a wonderful gift for crafty friends and family (especially those you feel have a little too much time on their hands).

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.

Crafty Wonderland Recap

I'm still recovering from an exciting weekend at Crafty Wonderland. It was a great success for CuriousDoodles and Diskgrunt. Thank you to everybody who came by this weekend. If you weren't able to make it, I would urge you to head on over to the Crafty Wonderland Pop Up Shop. There are so many unique gifts over there including most of my line of goods. Check out some pics of the shop below.

Also, I want to mention that Diskgrunt and I will be at the Formal Holiday Artisan Fair on Alberta Street this Sunday. More on that soon.

Crafty Wonderland Holiday Sale!

If you are in Portland , you have to go to crafty wonderland! I can guarantee there will be tons of really cool handmade stuff that you cannot find at a big box store.

CuriousDoodles and Diskgrunt will be sharing booth 155. Come visit us!

Saturday and Sunday 11-5pm @ the convention center hall C

Upcycled Magazine Bowls

Check out these cute bowls from indiepublic made out of upcycled magazines. They have a really great tutorial as well.

Bleach Stain Inspires New Top

I want to share a clothing reconstruction project I just completed. I got a bleach stain on one of my favorite shirts, and this project was a way for me to salvage it and turn it into something new.
Yucky bleach stain
I cut a scoop out of the front that gets rid of the stain. Then I cup up strips of other scrap material and sew them together.

Yay! I think the finished product is way cooler than the original shirt.

I am not mentally ready for this cold weather! I'm sitting here drinking hot chocolate trying to embrace the new season, but I'm not feeling it. I'm just not ready for another 7 months of cold rainy days.

Quilts as Art

Ian Hundley, an artist out of Brooklyn creates these beautiful quilts inspired by maps.


I immediately fell in love with his work! Maps are one of my many obsessions and I am happy to see such a beautiful interpretation of a map. Eventually I want to start making quilts, but for now my hands are full for now.