Ironic.

The other day I decided to design a dress to wear for the upcoming wedding season (I've already got a few save-the-dates on my fridge!) and I found an amazing picture for inspiration. 

Oh man. My style is pretty simplistic and while I greatly admire this designer's aesthetic, it's generally a bit out of my realm. But surprises are around every corner. Like this little number. And this headline: "Fashion Loses an Icon:  Alexander McQueen Found Dead at Age 40."

I refuse to let this blog turn into 2010's death list. Instead, I wish to pay my respects to an amazing designer.

And look freakin' hot at these summer weddings.

XOXOXO

Sentiments.

I found this at Cosmo Cricket's blog and I love it. I am a fan of FYIs. For example, 

FYI.

What a Day.

Well, the silliest thing set me off. I got a text from a friend of mine.

"Captain Phil died today."

Whoa. Okay, seriously, I'm not usually a reality show person. But Deadliest Catch is amazing. I love it. My favorite Captain? Yep, Phil Harris. In fact, the whole crew of the FV Cornelia Marie. And now he's dead. 

So if the higher ups don't give us more than we can handle, why is their sense of humor so jacked? Why is it, when there are so many things that could have made me cry over the last few trying months, I lost it over the death of a reality show celeb? SERIOUSLY! I find out my good friend is having emergency surgery on her kidneys, and I cry over PHIL??!!

Maybe it's those baby blue eyes. But wow buddy, you got a hold on me. Apparently. Sheesh.

My answer to this, as it is to a lot of things, is to get back into my studio and create. Just do something. And I will show you what I've been working on in my next post. 

This post is for you, Phil.

Inspiration

I have yet to bloggerize one of the key ingredients in any artist's life: INSPIRATION. Luckily, it's everywhere and therefore not hard to talk about. The hard part is narrowing it down. How many feeds can I subscribe to? I sure am grateful to have access to all these blogs and websites that I follow. But wow does my brain get full! I have these moments of excitement where I forget how to speak. Here are some things I've picked out, in no particular order.

via Paper Crave (above photo and following two photos)

I love the stitching on paper. So cute!!

via Oh Hello Friend

I always see this shelf in crafty rooms. I love it. Ikea has one, but they would like over $60 to ship it to me. Sad face.

via Somethings Hiding in Here

Even something as simple as a calender on a board makes me swoon.

P.S. there's a PDF of this calender in the blog credited above. Do it.

via Around the Block Designs from Kate Conklin

via FabricWorm

 a dress made with Anna Maria Horner fabric! So cute.

Birch Fabrics for Monaluna "Circa 50" new fabric line, comes out in March!

So, after writing up this blog guess what happened. Duh, I totally got inspired!! I going to re-do my craft room. It's going to be glorious. I need a hardware store and a priest, stat. 

Loves!

Henry and Owlie

I made Owlie for Henry and sent it of to Chicago with the Brie Quilt. I think it turned out well for my first time! Perhaps, for more ease of use, I should have used just cotton instead of minky and chenille. But nothin's too good for my poo. 
After it arrived in Chicago Brie sent me a video of Henry playing with Owlie, and he loves it! He's very picky about his toys, but he took to Owlie immediately. Gotta Love that poodle.

And here's Henry and me in July of 2008. 

Wendy Slotbloom's "Frolic" for In The Beginning Fabrics

I'm obviously totally in love with Wendy Slotbloom. In addition to her other lines (see them here ) "Frolic" (entire collection here ) is an awesome example of fun, bright colors, and whimsy. Owls, woodpeckers, raccoons, squirrels, and even a treasure map are included in this line, along with her signature florals and some checks. The squirrel treasure map has to be my favey fave, I'm a sucker for line drawings and the movement of the squirrels reminds me of my kitten jumping across our furniture. ;) Hey, don't forget to check out Lilypond, Feathered Friends, or Bloom. They all just make me happy!

Did you know that In The Beginning Fabrics is local to Washington State? While owner Sharon Evans Yenter has created quite a following for herself with such adorable fabric lines as Housework Whenever!, her son Jason also designs for the company, and other designers such as Keri Beyer are rapidly gaining in popularity.

blowing the dust off my bloggerness....

Just completed the quilt that was never meant to be a quilt; by that, I mean this quilt started out as an experimental backing for another quilt. It turned out to be just too much awesome for one quilt, and I made it into its own.

It uses designer fabrics by Wendy Slotbloom (Bloom), Amy Butler (Daisy Chain), Heather Ross (Lightening Bugs and Other Mysteries), Lizzy House (Red Letter Day), Robert Kaufman (Hot Couterier), and Patricia Bravo (Art Gallery) in addition to some other (unidentified) pieces. Since this was suppose to be a backing, I pretty much went through my scrap bin and picked out pieces that coordinated. A plain white backing, simple quilt on the diagonal, and a fun curvy border finishes it off. Soon it'll be off to Chicago, but not before I experiment in a new plush toy for Henry....and yes, I'll take pictures of that, too.

Next project (aside from the plushy): a queen sized quilt for my parent's bed. Biggest quilt attempted to date. *nerves*