Summer Projects Update and Friday Link Love

 I thought I'd take a moment to update you on where I am with my summer projects since it's been a while. I've been working on the baby quilt a little bit each night and am so close to finishing up the body—and then I get to move onto doing the binding, which is my favorite part since it means I'm almost done!

I like that the quilting on this one has been pretty minimal (as compared to this crazy beautiful one) and that I just might finish it before my friend has her baby. Above you can see the back.

The other project is my embroidery, which I started while on vacation. I've been working on this in the car, while traveling and also while I was on the beach last weekend and I've definitely gotten over the hump on this one too. That patch of green leaves in the center was a bit of a mental challenge, so I'm really happy to be done with that part. I love how this is turning out and love how I've been learning a new way of stitching.

Link Love: a few things I've found around the web this week that I just love
1. Summer Hair Challenge: the ladies at No More Dirty Looks are running this challenge that I am doing today—which is really hard since I have super curly hair and it's crazy humid outside!

Some time in the next week, when you get up in the morning, shower, shampoo and condition your hair using nontoxic natural products, comb it when you get out of the shower, and that’s it. Once it’s dry, send us a pic.

I'm being brave because I love the idea of breaking our reliance, or at least becoming aware of our reliance on chemically laden products. (Found via Beauty Schooled)

2. The colorful floral fabric dresses in this vineyard wedding make me swoon.
3. My tomato herb risotto recipe on ReadyMade which I am making again tonight.
4. The fabric jewelry from Vadjutka.
5. Pasta with corn pesto from Tim at Lottie + Doof sounds delish, if only we didn't clean out our pile of sweet corn last night. I guess it would be a good excuse to go get more!


Enjoy the weekend everyone!

Have Embroidery, Will Travel (With a Few Thoughts On Balance)

When I was getting ready for vacation, I knew that I wanted to pack a portable sewing project (my current baby quilt is a bit too much to cart around in the backcountry!). Luckily, I was in NYC and had the chance to stop in at Purl Patchwork's new location—heaven—where I picked up this Indian Paintbrushes & Daisies Crewel Embroidery Kit.

I've never done this sort of project before, but it came with meticulous directions which were helpful. Interestingly, I actually saw a lot of these specific wildflowers while in Montana/Idaho, so it all worked out quite well though it will take me a while to finish this—it frames out to be 10x20 inches.

I mostly worked on this in the car between destination as it seemed like all I wanted to do during our other downtime was to read. (If you are into food, definitely get a copy of the Best Food Writing 2009. It's quite the enjoyable read!)

I had a lot of time to think while away and I definitely got a heaping dose of perspective about my day-to-day life. I think we all tend to overextend ourselves a bit, so it was completely amazing to have time to sleep as much as I wanted/needed to, to read without worrying that I was missing an email, to take unhurried walks, to have long conversations where I could really listen without feeling like there was something else that needed doing. I know that part of this is simply the point of vacation, but I came to the realization that I want to try to do something to bring a little more balance, a little more of the feeling that I had for much of the past two weeks, in to my daily life—to my days when I can easily spent 10-12 hours in front of a computer not necessarily ever really focusing on just one thing.

It's tricky because I strive to be good at what I do, to keep up with relationships, to cook from scratch and support local foods, to make time for sewing and quilting- but there is also the simple reality of having a house to keep up with, email to return, bills to pay, which all together sometimes feels like too much. (When do we sleep?) It's like we're just rushing through one day to get to the next. Which is exhausting as I am sure that you know.

Plus, while we were on vacation Josh and I took a big step—we're going to be getting married next summer! It's terribly exciting (and he proposed by the most scenic river/waterfall that alone nearly made me cry) and it will mean that we have a lot of planning to do. And I want to enjoy it and figure out how not to miss the important everyday moments, whether big or small, since they matter so much.

So I'm going to be trying a few things including:
1.) Staying off of the computer on Sunday. This already sounds hard to me (I have so many wedding blogs to look at for inspiration!), but I think unplugging one day a week will do wonders for my state of mind—and it will give me time to bake, cook and simply enjoy other things.
2.) Staying off of the computer when I get home from work, whenever possible. The 10-12 hours can happen by 6 or 6:30, so I'm working on enjoying dinner followed by a walk, a good book, or simply time to catch up with loved ones.
3.) I'm going to be blogging less. Since my community here at TWM is so important to me, I want to be sure that I am giving you quality posts and insights into other artists. I think it will be hugely helpful for me to start posting 3 times a week to give myself a bit of a break. The last thing I want is for this to start feeling like an obligation and I think this adjustment will go a long way in keeping this a very happy place for me to spend some time.

I'm curious about how all of you find balance in your lives as I know for certain that I am not the first person to go through all of this. I would love to hear how you are handling it, so please comment away if you've made any changes that have really worked for you! And also, if you have any nuggets of wisdom as we're about to enter wedding planning, please share that too!

And thank you for listening. That was quite the lengthy post.
Happy weekend!

Embroidered Fabric Love for Lou Lou & Oscar

Lou Lou & Oscar is one of my new favorite embroidery shops and I am very drawn to these little guys from Lisa Aaron. 

From Lisa:

I adore Scandinavian design and all things Zakka. Beautiful fabric is my passion. My creatures are made using material from Linum & Himla of Sweden, Green Gate of Denmark and the UK's own Cabbages & Roses. I am lucky enough to be able to source most of my fabric locally.

 How could you not be a fan of that—and these?!

I'm actually going on vacation soon (so soon it's a little distracting) and I've been trying to decide on what type of stitchery project to bring with me. We'll be in the car for a decent amount of time and I know that I just don't feel right without a needle and thread—and I'm thinking a sweet little embroidery project might be the way to go.

Link Love: Up A Tree

I am enjoying all of the leafy goodness that is happening around my house and it's made me more in tune with nature-inspired crafts. Here are some of my current favorites.


Above is the most darling Cherry on the Tree Swing embroidery pdf pattern from comfortstitches. I love Aneela's whimsical designs and that her blog is such a fantastic source of both quilting and embroidery info.

I'm going through a bit of a brooch phase and while it was hard to choose something to highlight from Lou Lou & Oscar from Lisa Aaron (go look at her etsy shop and you'll see why), this sweet Little Wooden Brooch fit for today. It's printed with a midnight blue ink and would be completely fetching on a simple blazer.

I believe that we're a little past cherry blossom season, but that might make enjoying this Three Piece Cherry Blossom cross stitch set from Whimsy and Charm all the more appropriate. Tanya actually mostly makes "tsumami kanzashi", which is the process of taking small squares of silk and folding them (sort of like origami) into individual flower petals. i then take these petals and form them into a lovely little flower." So be sure to take a look at that part of her shop as well.



I'm going to try to remember/find time to take some photos of the yard and house this weekend to share with you on Monday—I'm on iris watch as they are getting pretty close to blooming!

Inspired Image: Helen Summers of Thimbletop

After a brief hiatus, I'm bringing back the Friday Inspired Image series! I know, it's exciting stuff. I'd love to feature some of you right here on a future Friday, so if you have an image that speaks to you that you'd love to share, email me at thingswemake [at] gmail [dot] com and I'll give you a chance to share the spotlight! Now for Helen's pick, which I particularly love because I'm also from near Philly...

Hello, my name is  Helen Summers

You can find me at  thimbletop.etsy.com

This image comes from thetransitpass.wordpress.com/

It inspires me because although I am currently living in Western Massachusetts, I'm originally from just outside of Philadelphia, so the inside of 30th Street Station is a very familiar and inviting space for me.  I love the open space, and every single time I go in I am struck by how much I love the ceiling pattern.  I have spent plenty of time sitting on those benches after having just missed that train I was supposed to take, and every time I do I end up passing the time staring at that ceiling and imagining all of the various ways that I could use that pattern in a new embroidery project.

I particularly love  the way it captures the feeling of that huge, airy space in the main area.  Particularly as spring is finally approaching, this picture reminds me of being able to just sit and enjoy the atmosphere (and the people-watching).

It makes me feel more connected to my friends and family in PA.  I actually just visited this past weekend, and I am reminded of the amazing feeling of walking up the steps into that station and just immediately feeling right back at home.

The 3 words it conjures up are breezy, open, home.

***
Helen makes embroidered pieces with a sense of humor. Here's how she describes it:
"I learned to sew when I was about nine years old and my mother first taught me how to sew a basic rectangular pillow. When I was ready to stuff my first project, she tried to teach me how to turn the fabric inside out to hide the seam. I refused, arguing that I had worked hard on my careful stitching and wanted to show it off, not put it inside the pillow where no one could see it.

As the years have gone by my sewing has changed and advanced, going through stages of dresses and shirts and bags. However, it seems that I have finally come full circle. Through embroidery, I have once again discovered my love of creating stitches that everyone can see. I think that my nine-year-old self would approve of the fact that I try to keep a sense of humor in many of the items I make."

 And with those nice thoughts, I bid you lovely weekend!