Lovely Threads by Yumiko Arimoto

I love the idea of an abstract drawing, made with thread, that's wearable. 

Must be meditative to do. You can find more of Yumiko and her brand sina here.

Oh baby baby baby

It's baby central here at the church with my second grandchild due to arrive next month. Tiny things are so satisfying to make, same amount of achievement with 1/4 of the work and materials. Here are some things I've been busy with in the last month.

The quilt I made was inspired by a mini Flying in Formation quilt by Jaybird Quilts and can be found here. Julie Herman, the designer and quilter helped me find fabric online in the same color range she used. My friend and client John Kubiniec from Big Rig Quilting was kind enough to help scale the quilt pattern to a crib size.

Folkware Patterns, my favorite when my children were little for sweet little shirts and dresses is still around and has an amazing array of authentic historic and ethnic patterns. So the Mexican baby shirts I made have been created for 100's of years by Mexican mamas and grandmothers. I went with flannel and my own embroidery.

Lastly the baby shoe tutorial, so quick and easy you can make 2-3 pair in an evening, came from Heather Bailey. She has a flickr site you can upload your finished product to. She just asks you use it for personal use only. 

Lively Lovely Letterform

I can't seem to get enough of Maricor/Maricar. Twin sisters from Australia that make letterforms especially cozy. Thanks Grace, nice posting.

Sweater Babies

While editing some piles for the new year, I came across a basket of old sweaters. I got inspired to repurpose them and I've made a little gang of squishy, soft, cashmere, marino wool toys. With a new grand child on the way, it's been a nice sit by the fire project. So much fun, I can't stop. And yes, I went a little nuts with the embroidery.

Karen Ruane's Lovely White Work

With the heat wave we've been having on the east coast, my eyes keep craving and landing on white. And Karen Ruane's work is one of the loveliest collections of white I've seen lately. Using traditional embroidery and stitching methods, she combines paper, cloth and thread into some wonderful compositions and constructions. Her etsy site is called ContemporaryStitches and is here You can find lots of up close up beauty on her flickr site here. I can image so many fabulous garments inspired by her buttons alone.
Here are her responses to the questions I like to ask artists-
What inspires you lately?
I am constantly inspired by patterns and techniques associated with vintage domestic linen. Lace like my grandmother would have owned, blankets, table linens and other domestic cloth. These for me provide a link to my female predecessors and inform who I am and what I create.
What was your first memory?
My first memory is from when I was around 2 1/2 years old, being woken in the night by a baby crying. I later learnt that my little brother had been born in the night.
Can you describe the best thing you saw on your last walk?
I am not much of a walker as such when it comes to the countryside anyway. I do however walk what seems like miles around exhibitions and the last time I did this, about 10 days ago, I saw amazing, creative and refreshing work from New Graduates at New Designers in London. There is so much talent out there and the promise of more to come.
What are the five things that would make a perfect day of work?
In my dreams....I would wake to an inbox full of orders. I would have the house completely to myself for a full 24 hours. The house would be spotless meaning I didn't have to satisfy my compulsion to clean. I would not have to cook for anyone at all and those four things would allow me to complete the fifth which would be a whole day of sewing without interruption.
Can you describe the best pair of shoes you have ever owned?
Would it surprise you to know that I do not own a single pair of shoes? I am sure I have in the past but can I please substitute that for boots? I have a pair of black Ecco boots that are so soft my feet hurt without them. They lace up the front, just like a corset. They have been to San Francisco, New York, Sweden...everywhere I go, they go.....
What are you doing this weekend?
This weekend I may have my dream of having the house completely to myself...I shall embroider, I shall stitch, I will be in heaven.

Buttoned Up Beauties

Some sweet little button/brooches from Birthine from Copenhagen, Denmark. Incredible craft, color sense, and of course good use of red thread. Makes me want to loose a button or two. Happy Friday!

Red Threads

I can't seem to get enough of embroidery lately. And I think a lot of the world feels the same way. I don't know is it's my Swedish petticoat showing but I'm really loving the red threads I see out there. Some choice stitchers I've come across lately- First from rocks in my dryer, second from whimsiology, third from liliesovalley, no. 4 from minceco, five by foxesandrobbers, six by courtney, and the last by chartreuserepublic.