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Weenie Dash 2012

Wed, 02 May 2012 13:05:33 -0400

Zoe (pictured above) and I are excited to be participating in this year’s Doggie Dash- a walk/run to benefit the Oregon Humane Society. Any bit of help goes a long way, so if you feel so inclined, you can donate here and let us know if you have a furry friend in who’s honor we’ll be dashing!

Collect / Driftwood

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:25:20 -0400

It turns out we have quite a little driftwood collection, all gathered from the Oregon coast and Vancouver island. Dreaming up a little project with these guys, but wanted to catalog them in their beautiful natural state just in case.

Stitched / Journey Egg

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:12:05 -0400

This stitched egg is inspired by the PS3 game Journey. It’s such a beautiful game it would be impossible not to be inspired by the imagery, music and tone of the game after playing through. Highly recommend it even for (especially for actually) non-gamers, as it’s short and sweet and great insight into what gaming can and hopefully will be moving forward. If you’re not into playing, take a look at the trailer here.

Make / Pendleton Ipad Case

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 12:42:00 -0400

Finished the first of my sewing projects- a case for Tyler’s new toy. Pendleton wool + leather chord + cool button.

I might need to get a more serious sewing machine as I feel like I’m about to beak mine with all these heavy fabrics-but until then, onward we sew!

Ruler of the Roost!

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 12:18:57 -0400

Super proud that Capt. Benedict was the winner of the Hatch egg contest! Thanks so much to everyone that voted- it seems like breakfast at my favorite spot Roost will be an appropriate way to celebrate!

Successful trip to the Fabric Depot- if all goes well these will...

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 17:10:16 -0400

Successful trip to the Fabric Depot- if all goes well these will become an iPad case + apron

Capt. Benedict

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:01:24 -0400

Yesterday my computer took a sick day, so I got into the easter spirit and did a bit of egg decorating.

I love easter season (eggs, bunnies, tulips- these are some of my favorite things) and have meant to enter the Hatch egg decorating contest for the past couple years, but never got around to it. Full disclosure, the Captain is a wooden egg, but of real egg size standing proud at 2.5” tall.

Because of the nature of my illustrations I tend to get really caught up in making things look perfect, but Capt. Benedict reminded me that imperfections are what making painting fun and interesting- hopefully I’ll get to get my hands covered in paint again very soon.

Week 3 / Macrame Plant Hanger

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 21:36:56 -0400

I’ve been looking to make a plant hanger for a while, and finally got my hands on this Vintage Craft Book with a great tutorial. Had a lot of fun making those pretty knots. Next week maybe some painted rocks?

Week 2 / Plush dog, real dog

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 19:17:29 -0400

This week was a bit crazy with the opening of the Triforce Tribute show we’ve been curating, but thankfully I was able to sneak in some sewing. I’ve been wanting to make something plush for a while so I used some fabric scraps to make Zoe a new toy in a shape she’s familiar with.

The photoshoot became a bit more about the model than the toy, but who can fault us when she’s so doggone photogenic?

Week 1 / Stitched / Arrow Valentine

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 13:49:53 -0500

In an effort to MAKE MAKE MAKE more and do silly things less- I’m shooting to do an end-of-week photo inventory starting this week. The above is a mixed stitching (fabric painting + embroidery) made for my valentine. Really enjoy this technique, so I’ll be experimenting with it more to see what else comes of it.

Work / The Forest Floor

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:05:47 -0500

It’s taken me a bit longer than I hoped for, but I’ve updated my shop with the stitched pieces from the Forest Floor, a solo show I had last year. These were inspired by living in the pacific northwest, using the shapes (feathers, fugi and leaves) as canvases for colorful pattern exploration.

This collection took me about 3 months to complete including designing the patterns + stitching. Creating new patterns for some of the shapes became a challenge at times, but in general it was a pretty fluid process. The metal embroidery hoops give them a bit of history- like they were made decades ago and lost in someone’s attic until now.

Since I tend to design in sets I’m hoping to start working on a new collection soon- the process of which I’ll do my best to document and share here.

2011 / Happy Holidays!

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:00:21 -0500

It’s been a busy ending to the year and I haven’t posted much, so I’ll share this festive little stamping project. I’m looking forward to a 2012 full of new projects and fun experiments.

Hope everyone has a great holiday season- I’ll be dreaming of a little cabin in the woods surrounded by snow and stocked with a full supply of sugar cookies and hot cocoa.

Adventures / Cape Disappointment

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:37:00 -0400

This past weekend in celebration of our first wedding anniversary, we took a little family camping trip out to the coast to Cape Disappointment State Park. Just a 15 min drive north of Astoria into the great state of Washington is this magical place with miles of pacific coastline, a jetty and not one but two(!) lighthouses.

I have a bit of thing for lighthouses, the idea is so haunting and romantic, men working in a tower of light guiding ships at sea away from the rocky coastline. A brochure for the North Head lighthouse revealed that a keeper’s wife jumped into the ocean to her death because she couldn’t stand the constant crashing of the waves against the cliff.

We spend a long time walking along the coast admiring the miles of debris that looked like a driftwood graveyard bleached by the sun. Zoe enjoyed this part most of all, helping me hunt for the best pieces of wood to bring back home.

A great weekend in a beautiful setting with my favorite person/furry one. I definitely recommend camping on the coast if you ever can, even just the smell of the ocean is amazing. We came back refreshed and ready to get back to making, hopefully some fun projects will come of the inspiration from this getaway. More photos on our flickr.

Recipe / Thai Peanut Sauce

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:32:55 -0400

A spontaneous lunch idea is now a blog post, because this Thai Peanut Sauce is so amazing I can’t keep it to myself. It tastes just like the sauce at my favorite Thai restaurant ever, Taste of Asia in my hometown of Sarasota FL. It’s sweet, peanuty and delicious- I’m going to use it as a dipping sauce, a salad dressing and maybe even as toothpaste. The recipe yielded enough to have a jar to keep and one to freeze.

The recipe is via She Simmers, a great blog with simple but authentic Thai recipes. Do yourself a favor and make this, I promise it won’t disappoint.

Drinks / The Vermonter

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 16:58:00 -0400

This year for Tyler’s birthday celebrations I made some homemade rhubarb syrup and came up with a drink in his honor, I call it The Vermonter.

Rhubarb is in season, so now is the time to make a batch of syrup and try it out with your liquor of choice. Add it into Dark n’ Stormy’s, Mojitos, and Margaritas- add a bit of it to a gin and tonic, or combine with champagne for a special Bellini. The rhubarb syrup can be a bit sweet, so adjust the amount depending on how sweet you like your cocktails.

The Vermonter

2 parts Rhubarb Syrup
1 part whiskey of choice (Buffalo Trace or Bulleit is recommended)
Splash of club soda
Squeeze of lime

Combine syrup, whiskey and ice and shake. Pour into glass, top with club soda and squeeze of lime. Stir gently and garnish with lime. Enjoy!

Project / Utensil Roll

Mon, 23 May 2011 20:25:00 -0400

As the weather (very slowly) warms up here in the Northwest, I’m getting excited about getting to grill, swim, and best of all- go camping!

We’re still working on clearing out some time for our first camping trip of the summer, so in the mean time I’m planning on making some camping supplies, starting with this utensil roll.

Based on a roll from Duluth Pack- I pushed my still-shaky sewing skills and with a bit of planning and pateince, am very happy with the results. The material is a heavy duty vinyl that will hold up even if the rain surprises us at the campground. Next up I’ll be working on a firewood carrier of the same material.

Sneak Peek / Upcoming work

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 13:07:23 -0400

I’m too excited not to share a peek of the largest (5in x 9in) and most complex stitching I’ve completed to date. It probably took me around 10 hours to complete, over the course of a couple weeks. It’s part of a series of pieces for a upcoming show of my stitched work.

More details to come soon…

Friday Fun / Joy of Jello Wallpapers

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 16:28:36 -0400

We spent the past week in Florida catching up with family and trying to spend some time in the sun. One of my favorite things to do while back home is to go thrifting, since my hometown (Sarasota, FL) is chock full of great thrift shops. I found a great little cooking booklet called ‘The Joy of Jello’- filled with great photography and wonderfully awkward recipes, like an ‘Avocado Strawberry Ring’, and the ‘Ring Around the Tuna’.

Enjoy a bit of color on your desktop, and maybe be inspired to make something wonderful with Jello this weekend, I know I sure am!

1280 X 800 // 1440 X 900 // 1680 X 1050 // 1920 X 1200

Shop / Tote Sale

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 15:16:57 -0500

In order to make room for more upcoming stitched items, my stitched totes are on sale for $20!

Grab them in my shop.

Weekend Adventures / Pendleton Woolen Mills Store

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 14:25:29 -0500

After fighting some kind of cold/flu bug all week, Tyler and I needed to venture out for some fresh air this weekend- so we took a much anticipated trip to the Pendleton Woolen Mill Store.  

Pendleton is best known for their blankets with bright colors and Native American patterns (and these National Parks blankets, wow!), but they also have a vast home collection as well as a clothing line. The company was started in Pendleton, OR where they still have wool mills, but they are now headquartered here in Portland. 

In addition to their fabrics, The Woolen Mill Store featured their blankets, some of their housewares, and a giant room with some of their beautiful tapestries.

They also had some closeout fabrics and scrap bins where we found some treasures.

We made it out under $20, with a bag full of beautiful fabrics! As soon as we got home I got to work and made Zoe a sassy new collar.

She seemed to be happy with it. Mission accomplished!

Pendleton fabrics can be found online, but their selection seems to be a bit lacking.
I definitely recommend a visit to the store if possible.