Gehring Road

and my wallet groaned...

  Images found here

Oh my.  Penguin Classics has mounted a full assault on my wallet and I wave the white flag here... these are so lovely. Hand embroidered (yes, I said embroidered!) by artist Jillian Tamaki, these are available for preorder here. Due in the fall (October to be exact) they will be on my shelves soon after. These are so lovely.  For more on the process and some works in process, visit Jillian's blog. Oh my... embroidered... loveliness. Happy Thursday!

spoonflower

The Spoonflower fabrics that I ordered a while ago arrived today, and I think they really are perfect for what I intend to do with them... I'm not all that concerned about them laundering as they will be mostly used in small projects and bags. The prints are by Heather Ross and are seemingly only available for a short time, they're here if you are interested. I took a few pictures up close...

...the quilting fabric (the flowers) is a bit thin, but will do just fine, I'm in love with the colors...

... the flowers in this shot are on a test swatch of the linen-cotton blend, and I wouldn't order it again, but I'm glad to have a bit of a stronger material for a market bag I'm planning. I love the cotton sateen (the girl playing with horses fabric) and wish I had purchased the flowers in the same fabric, so I might buy just a wee bit more. 

Overall, the fabrics are just what I thought they'd be... the quality just isn't there for me to justify a big purchase, and I would not use these on anything that required heavy washing. I really love the idea behind Spoonflower and I hope that they continue to improve their printing and their fabrics. I think with support of designers like Heather Ross that might happen, so I see her intent (I think!) in producing some fabrics just through their company. In the end, I'm really happy with the little bits of the fabrics I picked out and can't wait to get started on some projects with these. Happy Monday! 

into the woods

We ventured up into the woods today, chopping and splitting and stacking for the coming cold months... it seems so strange yet so right to be preparing for one season while welcoming the start of another. Soon, we'll be planting things in the garden thinking of fall and the canning season ahead. And so it goes... So up we went to Stonewood Camp, home to Rob's mom Connie and her husband Chip. When looking through the photos from today (which are mostly of the goats... I love their eyes but not when their attempts to knock one over) I was struck at how few pictures of the actual work we did today I have... that pile of sawdust is really it. The stacks are there though, and the wind and the sun will do their work on them, drying them out and making them the very thing that will get us through the fall, winter and into next spring. My face (wind burned or sun burned, unclear as to which) tells me that we got quite a bit accomplished in our morning... Rob's back agrees which my face. I hope this Sunday finds you happily busy, energized from the weekend and ready (I'm trying!) for the week ahead. 

special treat

Those mini banana cream pies were dessert tonight while we watched some basketball (go UCONN!). Rob spent the evening making pie crust, custard, candied bananas... to make the most amazing dessert... just because I asked... sigh. They were so tasty, so unexpectedly flavorful, think cinnamon and nutmeg custard not the vanilla/fake banana pudding I thought they would have at the base... (when I mentioned this to Rob he said, "did you read the recipe before you asked for these? Sheepish...) you really have to try these. Recipe found here. While we're not eating the spoils of Rob's kitchen adventures, we managed to get a closet cleaned, some words with friends games started (the waiting in that game kills me...), some papers graded and some pictures of fabric taken. Such a lovely, quiet and treasured weekend so far... I hope you are enjoying these days as much as we are! 

pinteresting

Oh Pinterest... how you've revolutionized (really organized) my loves (not Rob and Kylie) but those inspirational things I find in my wanderings on the internets. Here's the low-down: Pinterest is a site where you create "boards" then pin items found online to those boards that are then available to be viewed by yourself along with your fellow pinteresters. Before this (say, last week) I was keeping track of things I found interesting on my computer, wasting a whole lot of space. I'd find something that sparked my interest, drag it into a folder and often, forget that it was there. Though the things I found are organized, I can't see them all at once and there are many images missing sources - not so useful. Pinterest allows me to organize those items that I love, comment on them, and also keep a running list of where those items were found... really perfect.  I now have a Pinterest button on my computer, so as I am browsing, say sewing projects on Flickr, I can pin and post those items I'd like to try onto my "craft." board. Anything can be pinned - quotations, pictures, vacation destinations, recipes, projects, hair styles, wish lists, catalogue items... anything... and everything.

I've loved, loved, loved seeing what other people are finding inspirational online, it truly has been a really fascinating way to, yes, waste a wee bit of time, but more so, organize things I love, places I'd like to see (Adventure.) and even things we want to accomplish (Garden. is next!). So much fun, I tell you. If you'd like to try (and are fully prepared for the addiction), send me an email while Pinterest is in it's testing stages and you can be a part of the community too. Happy Thursday... I'm off to do some pinning (the non-quilt related kind for now...) 

book love

Today, I have two new obsessions...these absolutely stunning editions of some of my absolute favorite classics (in cloth/hard bound) and a little site that allows me to organize all of my loves (love!) called Pinterest (are you there too? more on that tomorrow!). I can't believe that I've missed these editions, and they've been out for quite some time. They're by White's Books and called Fine Editions... they are indeed. So far I've found these beauties...

... and I just love them...and might have ordered one or two (ok, three... can you guess which ones?) maybe even more so than these Coralie Bickford Penguin Classics that I've been collecting for a while now, shocking I know! Let's just say, I love cloth bound books. It's just so lovely to have books that can be displayed and though I don't judge a book by its cover as a rule in life, I love that my favorite classics have a design aesthetic. 

So, did you guess? Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice are on their way.  A happy day indeed. I hope this Wednesday finds you happening upon lovely things and enjoying where the week takes you.  

newness

Well, we knew it wouldn't last and our daffodils that poked their heads out last week were covered with a new coat of snow yesterday... ah, well such is life. Today I find myself waiting for a new storm, bundled up in front of the fire with some lovely reads. Last Minute Knitted Gifts made its way here, though I'm eagerly anticipating the start to my kitting classes before I tuck in to that one. I love this series and have made several projects from Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts (that baby quilt is a life-saver!) and I can't wait to get to know the projects in this new addition to my crafting book collection. Along with the new knitting book came Modern Log Cabin Quilting... I'm so pleasantly in love with this brand new book. Amazon suggested it, I took a look at the author, Susan Beal's other books and went for it, I'm so glad I did. Some really, really lovely projects in this book and I'm already planning on adding some projects to the Crafty List as soon as I sit down and delve in.  Here are some loves from the book...

... lovely find, I'm officially inspired. Wishing you a lovely start to this new week, happy Tuesday! 

happy equinox

We had a 73 degree day on Friday... we opened the windows in the house and just allowed the air to be...it was delicious.  And just like that, Spring has finally arrived. Under that snow, things were beginning to peek out just as usual, just as they always do, just as they should.

I am doing my taxes (another sure sign of Spring), folding fabric and helping Kylie chase the sunlight (prime napping territory, you see) around the floor with her dog bed.  Rob on the other hand, is preparing for the coming winter... up to the woods he has gone to cut down fire wood for the coming cool months. The distinct change in season is something I love about our little home, and just as assuredly as the seasons begin anew, the seasons change. There is something decidedly lovely about that. To every season... a very happy Spring to you and I hope this weekend finds you loving what it brings. 

it's national quilting day... so I bought some fabric

 Heather Ross for Spoonflower fabrics 

A very happy National Quilting Day to you and yours... I did little quilting (really some loft organization) but I did pick up a very, very small bit (swatches really) of Heather Ross' new Spoonflower fabrics. The small bit is really a case of my leeriness at Spoonflower quality. I've heard it isn't so great, but I love these new fabrics and am going to use them on infrequently washed things only.

We also bought a new television today so the very, very small bit of fabric was really a topper to a fantastic day. We are not big television watchers, save PBS and our local channels. We do however love movies and so we're loving that we can watch Netflix and our Flickr photos on our TV, so tonight finds us gazing at Super Moon and enjoying all things new. Happy Weekend to you! 

a little taste of thanksgiving or tortillas two ways

This wrap has become a staple in our house... easy dinner (sometimes lunch), and so delicious. Who doesn't love the taste of Thanksgiving in March when you've successfully blocked out the post-Thanksgiving I-can't-look-at-turkey-again-ever feeling and are looking for something a little easier to make (and enjoy)? Let me walk you through the steps...

... heat a tortilla (everything tastes just a bit better warm in this one), in the center plop (more than you'd think, it's ok to over-do it here) stuffing. There are loads of options here, instant stuffing if you're in a rush or some that you have left-over is even better, make sure it is nice and herb-y...

 
... cover with turkey... we use the thickest turkey we can get, again you can use left over turkey breast or even the regular deli turkey would give you the same flavor...

... some (not me) in our household like cranberry sauce, and you can add that as well... mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, anything you have would be excellent in this as well... add what you like or have on hand...

... we love the organic butter lettuce mix we have at our grocer and the flavors it adds, so on it went, then wrap it up... I fold the two sides in first then scootch the bottom up...

... really easy and tasty, we're loving this dinner... it is super satisfying and you can really add what you have on hand which we love... and for dessert...

... a wrapped sweet, sorry this one's taken, you'll have to find your own! Happy eating!