The Devil Hat

I've been making a few of these hats and will introduce them October 30th at our next craft fair. The show is at a local high school and their mascot is a devil. For more information, feel free to email me. 

The Girlfriend Scarf

Sophistication and classic design make this the perfect gift for your girlfriend (or yourself, I won't tell). The Girlfriend Scarf was created with a luscious textured shell pattern using a high end yarn in shades of pinks, taupe and sage green. It looks even more beautiful in person and makes a perfect gift because you don't have to worry about size with this piece. Find out more here.

Vintage Marguerite

So, my lovely mother showed me the most beautiful hand crocheted bedspread made by my great grandmother who passed when I was a young girl. It is so detailed and weighs a ton. To imagine the time this piece took is simply daunting to me.

I looked for it on ravelry and learned the vintage pattern's name is Marguerite and although there are some people charging on other sites, I was able to find a pdf link to the entire Priscilla Crochet Book Bedspreads free (page 33). I believe the original book was 25 cents and published in 1914, though my grandmother would have created her's a bit later. The techniques shown in this book are brilliant and invaluable.

I'm happy my mother shared this piece with me as it has allowed me to know more about a women I barely remember and imagine the time and love she put into this wonderful piece. The bobbles and perfect stitching is most amazing.


What stories from long ago have been shared with you?

New In The Shop

I've added a new hat to the shop and I'll make it especially for you in any size. See more about it here. It is even more adorable in person.

Undressing My Mother

Undressing My Mother - My brother sent this to me this morning. It's so lovely and stirring he said. He's right.

Happy it's Fall

Charlotte Mann

Charlotte Mann's trompe l'oeil style walls and floors are an inspiration.

Charlotte is a British artist known for her wall drawings and drawn room installations. These densely detailed 1:1 scale drawings of rooms in rooms are invariably made with thick black marker pen on a white ground. The images above are from work she did in Milan, Italy at the Fontana shop. Her perspective is amazing.

How fantastic would this idea be for a backdrop pin a portrait?

A Look at Smithville

 

This dollhouse opens in the front and was owned by the grandchildren of Hezekiah Smith. He had more than 40 patents for many different inventions and improvements. He also invented the Star Bicycle, seen below.

He was quite eccentric and provocative for his time and his life story is one of betrayal, love and fury. He trained his pet moose (above) to pull a cart and also had a small zoo on the property. His mansion is a lovely place to visit and the grounds surrounding the estate are breathtakingly beautiful. More information on Hezekiah Smith may be found here and here. I also have many other photos of the property in my flickr.

See Dot Run

I'm not a fan of CGI and special effects that require them, but usually catch myself fascinated by old-school animation and good ol' camera trickery instead. Maybe that is why I love this little (literally) stop-motion animation and should also mention "Dot" broke the Guinness World Record for Smallest stop-motion animation character in a film.

Dot wakes up in a world that seems to be unraveling. Fleeing an encroaching wave of loose threads, Dot, a girl who is just 9 millimeters tall, runs across coins, pins, nuts and bolts and jumps on a bumblebee to fly away. Finally she saves herself by knitting the threads into a sleeping bag.

Mountain Man

I fell instantly in love with Mountain Man's Song "How'm I Doin'" a few days ago while listening to this mix. Today, I found their site and the video above. I hope you fall too.

Damien Jurado

 

There is a site aptly named The Canal Sessions and it is a project by producer Maarten Besseling and music journalist Matthijs van der Ven who both live in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Their most recent offering includes of one of my favorite musicians, Damien Jurado.

Damien was an artist before he was ever a musician and didn't learn to play guitar until he was 20 when he began by making homemade tapes using found sound and field recording techniques. His music is both heartbreakingly beautiful, captivating and has a quality unlike any music, making it feel as tho it's always been there. The stories they tell are personal and vivid.

The Canal Sessions features three videos in all and includes many photographs of the session. Please have a look at the entire performance here.

Cooper: Photographer Cat

The photo above was taken by a cat named Cooper. That's right. One day per week, his people fasten a lightweight digital camera to Cooper's collar, which snaps a new photo every 2 minutes. He had his own exhibition and is easily the most talented cat photographer I've seen. Cooper himself is quite a handsome fella too. The site features a gallery of photos, a cat cam feed, videos and news.

Escif

My cousin Jasmine sent me a link for the artist Escif who apparently does some really eye-catching street paintings. It's pretty difficult to find too much information, but more can be found on Escif's Flickr and here too.

No Hole In My Head

Frozen for Winter

wash and uncap

boil just long enough to easily remove skins

set on a plate, tops down and slide the skins off

halve and cool

Adding a sprig of fresh basil before freezing locks in a fresh flavor. I use Big Mama Plum tomatoes and usually start them as seeds myself in recycled newspaper pots I also make. They are meaty and enormous and make beautiful sauces. There are minimal seeds in this type of tomato, so there's no need to remove the seeds, unless you really want to. 

Today, I skinned and halved one bushel and expect to have another before the season it finished. Happy gardening!

Anastassia Eilas

Anastassia Eilas is making art in the least likely of places, inside of toilet paper rolls. Using paper that is similar to the roll itself, she gives the illusion that the scenes taking place inside of the rolls are actually part of the roll themselves. The detail and depth of each little piece is pretty amazing, especially considering the scale. She claims it only takes her an hour to complete one, which is also pretty impressive.

Lovelies

 TheMeasure

 sewlola

GarterLady

Ruffles are so timeless and beautiful. I have found the few featured here to be breathtaking uses of the technique. So feminine and rich, with subtle hints of blues.

Scrumptious Bobbles

This beautiful piece can be worn up or down. It's so soft, warm and squishy; you're going to love it. For more details, please take a look here.

We will be adding several new items to kick off the Fall line, so please be sure to check back for those.

New In The Shop

Introducing the Mistress Cowl. It's made to draw attention to your personal beauty while keeping you warm with this incredibly soft wool blend. More information on this piece may be found here.

By Your Side

Beachwood Sparks' "By Your Side" was in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and I've had it stuck in my head ever since seeing it last Thursday.The movie was cool, the soundtrack is fun and Michael Cera has mastered awkwardness like I've never seen before.

It was a NYT Critics' Pick:

"There are some movies about youth that just make you feel old, even if you aren’t."Scott Pilgrim vs. The World," based on a series of sprightly graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley, has the opposite effect. Its speedy, funny, happy-sad spirit is so infectious that the movie makes you feel at home in its world even if the landscape is, at first glance, unfamiliar." -A. O. Scott