Photo by Eric Baetscher. Reused under Creative Commons License 2.5.
Off I go to Portland, OR this afternoon for Quilt Market. I have never even gone to Spring Quilt Market (I normally just go to the Fall one in Houston), so this is a big deal. I'm usually not very excited about it (thus why I haven't gone), but this year a lot of things are happening. I'll post from the road!
If nothing else, Mother's Day gives me an excuse to dig into the picture archives. Here is my mother in 1960/61 holding my sister, Elizabeth. I already raved about my mother's talent last year, so this year, let's just enjoy a new mother who bothers to put on a dress and pearls and have a formal photo taken.
Happy Mother's Day!
Check out this cool print I ordered and got last week. I ordered it from Paula Prass's shop. This print is the Audrey Lovebird and they customize it with any name you want. I got the 16" x 16" canvas print that is gallery stretched (wrapped around the edges). There was something about that girl's silhouette that caught my eye. Paula's shop specializes in frames and wall art for children's rooms and she has some gorgeous things. And, she just announced that she is the newest fabric designer for Michael Miller Fabrics. She is finalizing the line right now and so no sneak peek has been seen yet. I expect to see that line mid to late summer.
Speaking of sneak peeks, Sandi Henderson over at Portabello Pixie, (no longer the "newest" fabric designer for Michael Miller), is teasing us with teeny peeks of her new line "Farmers Market". It debuts at Quilt Market in Portland next week. I expect it to be as good as, if not better, than Ginger Blossom. She is also debuting her line of patterns next week. I wonder what she does in her spare time?
I have also been busy preparing for Quilt Market next week. It seems that Michael Miller Fabrics has taken a liking to Modern Flora and are showing it in Portland next week. (Michael Miller Fabrics is now the wholesale distributor for Modern Flora.) That means that the famous photo shoot pictures are going, along with the floor pillows, curtains and the totes. I'll be interested to see what the response to the fabric is. It is certainly not traditional "Quilt Market" fabric, so that could be good or bad. But, based on the last Quilt Market in Houston, the market is becoming less traditional, so maybe the timing is great. I just hope Michael Miller is still smitten with the fabric AFTER the show.
Anyway, I'm going to Portland and hope to meet lots of the people from Blogland, so I'll keep you posted.
This Nautical Entryway Cabinet from Pottery Barn caught my eye in the last catalog and sent me on a frenzy of finding other ideas and products for making your own painted furniture. Share in my frenzy here.
Some of you may remember the Potty Seat Incident last December. The short version is my daughter stuck a potty seat over her head and I had to cut it off with a bread knife as it wouldn't come back off. I called the manufacturer who was very concerned and I sent the seat back to them (at their request). I got a new seat from them probably in February, but just ignored it, because quite frankly, I didn't want to deal with that seat again. Well, my husband opened it up this weekend, and I have to say I was so proud. It now has a warning printed on the bottom. In French, Spanish and English no less. So next time you see a warning label on a child's item and you think "What idiot did that?". My daughter did and I called the manufacturer and told them.
On another child safety note that you would never see coming... you know those cases DVD's come in? Well, today my safety-tester daughter removed the paper insert and proceeded to put the case over her head with the hard plastic in the back and the clear vinyl (where the insert normally shows through) over her face. I don't believe she was in danger of suffocating, but seeing your baby's face smooshed behind clear vinyl is not a sight you want to see again. Just add that to your list of things to worry about.
I just received my new issue of Craft magazine, which is the print companion to the Craftzine website and blog. Their feature this issue is shoes and I don't mean just adding some ribbons to your loafers like I have done. No, they have some features on making your own ribbon tie sandals-- wood soles and all. The shoes shown on the cover are Converse soles with knitted tops and ribbon laces. Another feature explains how to add new leather or fabric uppers to a pair of existing heels. And of course, a feature on shoes would not be complete without a time line of shoe history from 15000 B.C. to present day.
Do I plan to make my own shoes? Heck no. But I love looking at and reading Craft magazine. I also read their blog, but sometimes find myself in overload over there as they post a dozen times a day, easily. Besides, the magazine has articles and features you won't find on the website. Are some of the projects weird? Yes. Are some of the projects a little too earthy, organic, artsy for my tastes? Yes. (I would not wear a jacket embellished with safety pins. And I'm sure that artist wouldn't be caught dead with ribbons on her shoes either.) But their projects are always unique and they feature a variety of crafts- sewing, knitting, sculpture, beading, jewelry making, furniture re-dos, paper art, dying fabric. It's truly a magazine about creating art from all sort of materials. And even projects that I'm quick to dismiss as "not my thing" often contain a little nugget of information or a process or a material that I can translate into a project that is "more my thing". So if you feel like you keep seeing the same ideas over and over, read Craft, because trust me, their ideas are fresh.
PS. Interesting side note, I just noticed that they have the four issues from the first year of Craft available in a boxed set.
Yes, I did shoot pictures of the Dick and Jane crib set this weekend. I successfully stripped Olivia's crib after she woke up and had it put back to its original condition before her nap at one.
Great, you say! Where are the photos and how-to's on the website? Well, I didn't get that done. Instead, we bought a sandbox and spent the afternoon playing. Sorry, but we had a great time. Dick and Jane will be done by tomorrow.
Hope you had a great weekend!
Forget cholesterol, lack of exercise, alcohol and the other 8,475 things you worry about killing you. My sister visited last weekend and announced that water bottles leached a chemical that "imitated female hormones" or some such. Initially, I was delighted-- I need some additional female hormones. Apparently, it's a little more than just a shot of estrogen. According to an article on MSNBC.com, "The chemical has been linked to neurological and behavioral problems in
infants and babies, along with certain cancers, diabetes and obesity." Oh.
Well, never fear, Nalgene and Camelbak have announced they are switching to BPA (bisphenol A)-free bottles. Camelbak's will be available May 1. A little fun fact I learned from Camelbak's website: The 7 with arrows around it is a recycling symbol, but does not necessarily indicate that the bottle was made with polycarbonate (the offensive plastic containing BPA). All polycarbonate bottles are #7's, but not all #7's are polycarbonate. I guess you have to check with the manufacturer. And the manufacturers still say that polycarbonate bottles are safe, but a panel with the National Institute of Health says “the potential for BPA to impact human health is a concern, and more research is clearly needed.”
Now I have been justified in my practice of drinking Diet Coke and limiting my water intake.
Image from Amazon.com
Well, I don't have an update on the affectionately named "pee chairs". No fabric here yet. But my pneumatic staple gun arrived, so I am armed and ready!
In the meantime, we are running the ad shown on the left in the May issue of Martha Stewart Living in the Marketplace Section featuring Michael Miller's Dick and Jane fabric. It hits newsstands April 20, I believe. Shawn at Michael Miller put together what I think is the cutest ad I've ever seen! So buy the magazine and then buy hundreds of yards of fabric. You can even skip buying the magazine, if you prefer.
So to follow up last week's sewing frenzy, I decided to make a crib set out of Dick and Jane fabric this week. I made the quilt yesterday and Maribel is sewing up a bumper and sheet as we speak. I'll shoot pics of it this weekend and hopefully, display it Monday. We've become a little baby bedding factory.
I'll put together how-tos on the pieces also. The pieces are pretty easy to put together- I think they are do-able for a beginning sewer. Besides, is the baby going to criticize your work?
