New In The Shop

Meet Timony! He's a sweet mouse whose favorite color is yellow. He comes with his own mini denim messenger bag and scarf. The scarf does fold up and fit into the bag for easy traveling and his bag has a vintage brass button. He prefers his scarf on so he has space in his bag to collect lentils.

I had to take a break from knitting for the day and decided to switch gears a bit. A little while later, this little guy was born. His little bag and scarf were the perfect finishing touches and made him seem complete. 

For more information, please click here. 

*UPDATE* Timony has moved to Australia :)

ravelry

Slate did a really interesting article about why facebook can't match ravelry, the social network for knitters and crocheters alike. I've been using ravelry for several years now and never truly knew about Casey and Jessica Forbes. As it turns out, they're a married couple from Boston who work as a team with only two other people to run the site. They rely heavily on volunteer editors and a strict code of etiquette from its users. I thought it was an interesting read and maybe you'll enjoy it too. My ravelry handle is yesterdaydream so say hello if you stop by, okay?

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Morning Blackberries

Good morning! My blackberries have been taking their sweet time this summer and they're finally beginning to ripen. It's great to be able to walk out back and grab a few fresh berries to enjoy with my breakfast. What is difficult to show you here with this photo is their size; each berry is approximately 2 inches across! 

Do you have a great recipe including blackberries?

On The Needles...

Today was perfect for focusing on this slouchy hat I'm making for my friend Amy. It's made using Knit Pick's Dishie cotton yarn and coming along pretty nicely. It's perfect for those late nights at the lake or beach where you want to just throw a hat on and go. She chose the color of coffee and I think it will look fantastic on her.

Fregley

I can finally share Fregley with you! He was made especially for my partner Haley (The Zen of Making) and created entirely of cotton. He was my first creature to feature a cable running up his left side. I can imagine this technique being used in a few different ways and I'm already putting it to use on a new little monster in the studio now. I'm so pleased he made her happy and I know he excited to learn he was moving to Brooklyn. 

Thanks again to the Handmade Gift Exchange sponsored by Craftaholics Anonymous.

Handmade Gift Exchange - Sunflower Brooch from Haley!

My last post before this included a photo of a sunflower in my garden and then I received this lovely sunflower brooch from Haley at The Zen of Making blog! Thank you Haley for somehow reading my mind and making me such a perfect and beautiful gift. How much fun is this? I can pin it to my bag or a cardigan. Rarely, do I spend time to make things for myself. Haley's site is quickly becoming one of those where there is always something refreshing and fun waiting to enchant you. 

A special "thank you" to Linda at Craftaholics Anonymous for organizing the entire Handmade Gift Exchange and making it so fun and inspiring! Not only do I have a super creative new friend, but I'm looking forward to next year's exchange too.

Fantasia Sunflower

Today was the perfect day for finishing up what felt like a million tiny things. It was exciting to mail out my gift for the Handmade Gift Exchange and the anticipation of having it be received is making me anxious. Nothing like waiting until the very last minute to get it shipped. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone sent and received too! Mostly, I hope it's loved.

After that, took some time in the garden. Sure, it needs to be weeded and the tomatoes need to be guided through the cages a bit, but when you step back and realize it's all you and your work that made such beautiful things flourish, it's pretty rewarding. This week will be perfect for drying some thyme and oregano.

I hope you have a lovely Independence Day weekend. I'm looking forward to friends/family, watermelon, fireflies and fireworks. What are you looking forward to?

Hollyhocks!

Each year the hollyhocks multiply and multiply in the garden outside my bedroom window. I find them so lovely and beautiful in the way they open one by one. Early in the Spring, I staggered the way they're planted to space them nicely and give them enough space to delight me for years to come. Maybe I should find another color to mix within? Any suggestions?

Handmade Gift Exchange

After hearing about it via Liz Noonan a few days ago, I signed up to participate in Craftaholics anonymous' Handmade Gift Exchange. It's my first time participating in it and I've been paired up with Haley who is the brains behind The Zen of Making blog. It's twice as lovely to be partnered up with someone so inspiring and creative and I'm looking forward to surprising her.

Baby Driver

As I felt them surround us with their sweet gentle faces, I realized summer is here and look forward to seeing them again soon. I was thrilled to share them with my nephew. His excitement mirrored my own.

Solar Sewing

I found this video via etsy and thought it was pretty cool. I've recently purchased the Doodle-Stitching book and envy the technique. Artist P.Nosa is behind this video and there are many videos on his site. Have a look and tell me what you think.

Poppied

I nurture my poppy plant all year long. It's growing larger and larger each year and blooms more and more too. The flowers now reach my waist and though I've tried unsuccessfully to start another from this beauty, I've not had luck. I'm still happy with this one Jurassic sized specimen. 

 

I find the poppy to be stunning and showy. I hope to make some progress this weekend with the gathering of old things for a yard sale I've been procrastinating with, but I wanted to share these photos with you and wish you a lovely weekend. What are you doing for fun today? What are your wishes for the upcoming summer?

New In The Shop

Just wanted to share with you new of the new monsters in the shop. Above is Verdasco and below is Sheena. They're both pretty cool, but Sheena insists she is cooler. Verdasco enjoys playing tennis and eating biscuits.

Rainy Day

Happy to see the pines and evergreens start their new growth. I believe we all have some room for it.

Got Owls?

There are a few owls in the shop right now! They are perfectly stitched and looking for new homes. They are a hoot to have around and each has huge safety eyes too! Do you know someone who would love to have one? Have a look here.

Alexa Meade

Alexa Meade uses acrylic paint applied directly onto her subjects. Sometimes, she also paints an entire vignette around them, making your perception of the real and painted blurry. She is a 24-year-old artist from Washington, D.C. who compresses a 3D concept into a 2D plane. I am in awe and amazed by her work. It's bright and bold!

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Our First Spring Show!

Reminder!
We will be at the Spring Craft Show & Bake Sale in Florence, NJ. There will be many vendors showcased and we're pleased to be one of them. The show will be held April 16th between 9am and 3pm and there will be refreshments sold, egg decorating (plastic eggs & stickers) and the Easter Bunny will be making an appearance too!

We are all ready for Spring and are proud to introduce some new items such as dolls, creatures, gift sets, purses, egg-shaped bags and much more. Hope to see you there and we'd love for you stop stop in and say hello.

The address of this event is: American Legion Post 194, Broad & 6th Streets, Florence, NJ 08518 and if further information is needed, please email Christa.

Also, we are on facebook and twitter where you can keep in touch as well as see our new items (we post special discounts there too).

Springing Ahead!

I can't help but to be excited about Spring being here. My seedlings are inches high, my gardens are in the process of being cleaned up and I even noticed my little robin coming home to check out her empty nest. I posted some photos of her beautiful blue eggs last year. Inspired by her and also by having the honor of watching her tiny fledglings take off each year, I've created a small nest with removable eggs. It's in the shop and I plan on making a few more of these for the shop in the next week, so check back. 

What inspires you most in the Spring?

New In The Shop

I was inspired to make a needle felted monster for my little niece who just turned seven. She will love him so much (he's the purple guy on the right). During the process of creating him from a puff of wool, I fell in love with the technique and created a few more. Murray is the guy on the left with the three eyes and three legs. Vitelli is the blue guy and those are his records which fit into a pocket on his back. George is the red orange guy holding a purple flower. 

Each of these little colorful characters stands between 6-7 inches tall and can be found in the shop.

Inside Out

"I wish for you to stand up for what you care about by participating in a global art project, and together we'll turn the world...INSIDE OUT." -JR

Can art change the world? Yes! Have a look at the 2011 TED Prize winner's wish here: 

from TED.com:

Working anonymously, pasting his giant images on buildings, trains, bridges, the often-guerrilla artist JR forces us to see each other. Traveling to distant, often dangerous places -- the slums of Kenya, the favelas of Brazil -- he infiltrates communities, befriending inhabitants and recruiting them as models and collaborators. He gets in his subjects’ faces with a 28mm wide-angle lens, resulting in portraits that are unguarded, funny, soulful, real, that capture the spirits of individuals who normally go unseen. The blown-up images pasted on urban surfaces – the sides of buildings, bridges, trains, buses, on rooftops -- confront and engage audiences where they least expect it. Images of Parisian thugs are pasted up in bourgeois neighborhoods; photos of Israelis and Palestinians are posted together on both sides of the walls that separate them.

JR's most recent project, "Women Are Heroes," depicts women "dealing with the effects of war, poverty, violence, and oppression” from Rio de Janeiro, Phnom Penh, Delhi and several African cities. And his TED Prize wish opens an even wider lens on the world -- asking us all to turn the world inside out. Visit insideoutproject.net ...

"I would like to bring art to improbable places, create projects so huge with the community that they are forced to ask themselves questions."

JR, Beaux Arts Magazine