Inspired Image: Kathleen of Twig & Thistle

Hello, my name is Kathleen Kennelly Ullman

You can find me at Twig & Thistle and Twig & Thistle Etsy Shop

This image comes from Growin' Up's Flickr Set (found via apartmenttherapy.com) This piece was done by Sam Spencer, an art student of Goldsmiths College in London. He was commissioned to create a piece inspired by the color yellow.

It inspires me because the yellow of the umbrellas seems so utterly optimistic and cheerful! I live in Seattle where an umbrella is part of your wardrobe and a bright yellow umbrella would just make the rain seem so much less gloomy and foreboding.

I particularly love the scale! I wish that I could visit it in person because I imagine that it would be that much more dramatic.

It makes me feel a sense of reassurance and cheerfulness just looking at this image! I could probably look at it each morning and be inspired by it's loveliness!

The 3 words it conjures up are bright, happy, alive.


I just love Twig & Thistle, which if you aren't familiar is a blog that calls itself "a collection of daily inspiration for home and life" which it completely is. Plus, aesthetically, it's really calm and soothing, which to me makes it even more inspirational. (Also, incidentally, the background pattern on the site is very similar to a fabric that I'm currently quilting, so it's feels very familiar!) I'm also very enamored with the items in Kathleen's etsy shop. Check these out!

Li'l Tweet Stitch Kit: the sweetest kit to sew a pink owl as a baby shower gift, a cute keepsake, or just a nice gift for a friend who likes to sew (like me!)
**I announced the winner of the EllynAnne Geisel books on Wednesday and I haven't heard you Carol. So, I hope to hear from you by Sunday night, but after that I need to go to the next winner in line. Fingers crossed! (If you miss the window and email me after, I promise to send you a surprise gift!).

Okay everyone, thanks for reading this week and enjoy the weekend. The forecast is calling for a sunny 75 degrees here in the city tomorrow. To which I say, HOORAY SPRING!!!!

April Print of the Month

The anticipation I feel for spring is summed up by this month's purchase (and last month's!) that I found by way of Jen's lovely blog the haystack needle. This image called Breathing Space is from etsy seller Peonies and Polaroids and it just makes me take a big, deep, lung-filling breath. Which is very helpful since I have a bit of a tendency to forget to relax as much as I should. I picked up a few frames on clearance at a craft store over the weekend and I'm planning to hang this image up just as soon as it arrives.

And the winner is...

Carol! Congratulations Carol, you're the random winner of three fantastic books from EllynAnne Geisel. If you email me at thingswemake [at] gmail [dot] com with your full name and address we'll get the books sent right out to you. Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway and shared your apron memories. They were so delightful to read. Here's what Carol said:

"My grandmother used to make aprons. For her, for my mom, for me... We had special aprons for cooking and special aprons for sewing. Normally they were made out of old summer dresses or my grandfather's worn out shirts. I found the green apron she made for me in my last trip to Spain. Now, it seemed smaller, but somehow, even bigger in love. I sewed my first apron, in my favorite colors, as a way to tell her how much she meant to me. That apron, has traveled back to America, close to me, close to my heart."

Mom's Quilt Update #2

Here is the recent progress I've made on my traveling quilt project- and since I was in the car for a few hours this past Saturday, we have two full rows done!

I'm really enjoying how the fabrics are working together and that the pieces are thin because I know that eventually, when I quilt around each rectangle, the result will be heavily quilted. And I like that. I'd gotten some new gray thread last week that's specifically meant for hand quilting since it has a thin coat of wax. This has turned out to be a life saver since I didn't realize the one I was using was actually meant for a machine. Which is why I kept getting little knots. Which was incredibly frustrating.
This is my view in the car using my jeans to hold pins. What you don't see is that I had all of my pieces spread out next to me, but luckily I had a whole row to myself so I don't think anyone minded. I was with my mom while I was doing this and it was really fun to keep showing it to her because this way she is seeing the steps involved and will likely remember the days we spent together when I was working on it.

I'm going to post the winner of the EllynAnne Geisel books momentarily, so stay tuned!!

Instant Heirloom: Julie Floersch

I saw the work of Julie Floersch a few months ago on Love Forever and was amazed—both with the designs she uses in her quilts and also that she uses denim. I love the texture and the color variations but as a quilter myself, I can only imagine how challenging that fabric must be. More than the designs though, what attracted to me about her work is that she says that "though my critical approach is forward thinking, a traditional and historic aspect still remains through the use of natural materials and an insistence on age old hand craft". Which means that she's very aware and committed to maintaining a connection with the history of her craft as she pushes it to thoroughly modern places. I love that.

image from jan & aya

image from Love Forever

image from Julie's website

image from jan & aya

Check out this great interview on Julie from New York Magazine and also this one from Brooklyn store jan & aya which recently featured her work.

I'd love to hear from you if you are a crafter who keeps an eye on the past. Did you learn from a relative and try to keep those techniques alive? Is there a certain style you try to incorporate into your work? Or if you're not a crafter, I'm curious if you've become more aware of this as the handmade movement has gathered steam. Drop me a line at thingswemake [at] gmail [dot] com or post a comment. And thanks!

Weekend Project: Homemade Tagliatelle

What you see above is the delicious result of a few hours in the kitchen yesterday-tagliatelle with basil pesto. After learning how to make fresh egg pasta last summer on vacation at an organic cooking school in Tuscany (yes, I was that lucky!), I've resolved to make pasta at least once a year. My great grandparents, particularly my Pop-pop Andy, used to make "homemades" regularly and it makes me happy to carry on the tradition. This was the second time I made them on my own and I am SO happy to report that they turned out far better than the first time. I had no problems what-so-ever and I really feel like I understand what the dough is supposed to feel like when it's ready to rest (which happens, for me, after about 12 minutes of kneading). It didn't stick together, it cooked to a perfect al dente and I was very proud of my contribution to Easter dinner. Here's a little peak at my process.

I made two batches, so this is the first one. Ingredients in the pasta were about 400 grams of semolina flour and 4 eggs. I used a fork to break up the eggs and whisk them together, gradually pulling in the flour. Once it was together enough, I started mixing it with my hands until it formed a ball that I could knead.

I'm pretty sure this is exactly what my Grandmom Theresa's hand looked like when she was kneading and I now totally understand why she had such strong forearm! It's very hard work, but I've gotten the hang of the mechanics so I let the soothing nature of the repetition take over and distract me from the hard work.

Here are the happy dough balls resting. After kneading each until the dough was elastic and smooth, I let them rest for 15-30 minutes, lightly covered with a towel. (One good way to tell if they have been kneaded enough is to push your finger into the dough. If a slight indentation remains and slowly bounces back, it's ready.)

After resting, I cut one ball in half and used a rolling pin to start rolling out the dough. Once it's thin enough, I start passing it through the pasta machine. This picture is after about two more times through the machine. One of the things that I had trouble with the first time I made pasta at home was that it got two thin because instead of relying on the feel of the dough, I followed the recipe exactly. With our pasta machine, I go to the second to last setting before cutting, #4, (the recipe says to go to the next to last which would be #5). This adjustment made a huge difference.

Here you can see me passing a piece of dough through the machine. Each time you put a piece through it needs to rest for a minute or two, which allows for a nice slow and steady pace.

I covered our dining room table with a cotton table cloth and laid out all of the pasta to dry for about 2 hours. It was all carefully straightened so that none of the pieces were touching (which would make them stick together) so this picture is as I was gathering them up to put into boiling water. It cooks fast and only takes 2-3 minutes. I love the texture of this type of pasta and am thining that if I only made one batch at a time, I could do this on a more regular basis. If I get my own pasta machine that is!

And here below is the other food highlight of the weekend at home with my parents, my sister Katie and her hubby Dave and my Aunt Chrissy.

Ricotta pie! My mom went all out and made a lattice top to the pie, which she told us she used to do when we were little. It was a great touch because it means that there was more crust with each slice, which in my book is always a plus, especially when you are eating pie for breakfast as we always do on Easter. I'm looking forward to enjoying leftover slices for the next day or two!

Inspired Image: Susannah of Unraveling

Hello, my name is Susannah Conway

You can find me at www.susannahconway.com and www.inkonmyfingers.typepad.com

This image comes from photographer and all-round nice guy, Mathias Meyer

It inspires me because I am in love with Polaroids and I haven't been able to stop thinking about this image since I first saw it a year ago. Mathias and his wife got married during a trip to Australia in 2008 and they recorded the day with Polaroids (and cupcakes). It's the combination of her simple dress and bouquet, that amazing necklace and the soft dreamy quality of Polaroid film.

I particularly love the way this photograph encapsulates what Polaroid photography is all about - capturing the moment in an instant. Most wedding photography is a major production of lights, fancy cameras and sweat; to me this Polaroid shot captures the intimacy of their wedding day so much better.

It makes me feel nostalgic and happy. If I ever get married, I want the day (or more likely, the quiet afternoon) recorded with Polaroids only.

The 3 words it conjures up are beauty, romance and simplicity.




Susannah is a brilliant photographer herself, so I of course couldn't end this post without sharing some of her work with you. Here are some of my favorites from her etsy shop.

Fall in love

White Roses

Cupcakes of Happiness

If you are planning to celebrate Easter or Passover this weekend, I wish you a lovely holiday. And if you aren't, I wish you a lovely weekend! See you back here on Monday with tales of my adventures in homemade pasta...