Where the Magic Happens

Okay, first of all, I'd like to make clear that I love my job(s). But, like any love, it drives me crazy. The worst is that few people get it, thinking that freelancing and working from home means I can goof off in my pajamas all day. And while I may be in my pajamas, I still have work to do, and living and working in the same space can prove difficult. Above is the picture of my "studio" which is actually the corner of my bedroom. This is why I'm the only person over the age of twelve who has a twin bed by choice. And while things are a bit cluttered, the commute is easy and I'm already home for lunch. The pajamas help too.

Because It's Pretty

One of my dear friends is living with me for awhile, and the day she moved in, I gave her a tour de kitchen cabinets. Then she asked about the dish rag/towel system. This, I realized, rivals Soviet bureaucracy in the levels and sub-levels and exceptions (i.e. this towel is for spills, but not greasy ones, and not on the floor, this towel can be used for grease, but not meat grease, etc.). Most importantly, my vintage tea towel collection. Occasionally used to cover rising bread or soaking beans, these beauties are otherwise there just to be pretty. In my constant struggles with privilege guilt, consumerist guilt and an ever-changing comfort zone with material things, I'm coming to peace with my collections of stuff. It's there because it's pretty, and it makes me happy. I acknowledge the need for the utilitarian, but I celebrate the need for the beautiful. Drawers and drawers full of the beautiful.

Foresight: Thrift Store Find of the Week

I bought this set over the summer... Hand embroidered placemats and napkins for $1.50.

Thrift Store Find of the Week

I'm having a Thanksgiving dinner party, and I am totally geeking out about it. I have lists and charts and menus everywhere. I went thrifting to find funky placemats and gravy boats, and I found this awesome table runner. It's just so... perfect. And all mine for $1.80. 

An Excellent Idea

Think about all those empty storefronts on Chicago Avenue and so many artkids to fill them...

Check it out.

A Lovely Little Window

Today was cleaning day. A reclaim-my-house sort of day. Days like this make me remember how cute my apartment is. Like this curtain I made a few months ago. 

My friend and I have become big fans of the Kane County Flea Market in St. Charles, Il. I was admiring the ladies' handkerchieves, all the cute embroidery and patterns and fancy edges. Impulsively, I bought a dozen, took them home and decided to find a way to show them off. I tacked them together and hung them up. The sun looks so pretty coming through, and it blows back and forth in a lovely way. It fits with my vintage-y kitchen, and I get compliments all the time!

A Little Old-School Embroidery

I have the hots for my friend's dish towels. It's true. Her grandma embroidered these great flour sack towels with strawberries and apples and puppies and they are just so cute.

 My mom found me these great potholders at the thrift store (actually, The Community Clothes Closet I mentioned a few posts ago). It got me thinking about embroidery and how colorful and vintage-y it is. And how easy it is... hmm... maybe I need to start taking a needle to some of my plainer kitchen towels. Embroidery floss is cheap, and it's a total fake-it-til-you-make-it kind of craft (my favorite!). Why stop at fruits and vegetables? I might have to start adding trees and bicycles and birds and naked ladies (my favorite!) to everything I own. I love the (free!) old school patterns at Needlecrafter (especially the animals) and the more contemporary patterns at Urban Threads. I've been looking at the beautiful embroidery traditions in Mexico and India, too. Happy stitching!

Color Schemin'

I've been known to complain that there just aren't enough colors; you're designing your characters' palettes only to realize that there are no colors available to you that are quite right. Even when (and perhaps especially) you render in paint, where there are theoretically limitless options. I'm always struggling with color, and falling in and out of love of one or another. Color is fantastic when it's good and terrible when it's not good (like saba nigiri). After contemplating a heirloom tomato I'd brought home from the farmer's market last summer, a friend of mine noted the gorgeous colors produced by nature, and that any manufactured likeness would just be wrong or not nearly as amazing. I've been testing this theory, and see his point, but I've also seen some exceptions. These are some great fruits-of-the-earth color palettes; let's contemplate. 

Cutting in line

I always have a mental list of all of my projects, some I need to do (Nick needs undershirts, Brian's jacket needs to be aged), some I want to do (paint that old bookcase, sass up my messenger bag), and some I dream of doing (taking apart my favorite summer dress to make a pattern, patching and embossing that leather chair).  And then, it happens. Some little idea just takes over your brain and you can think of nothing else until you satisfy that urge. It's the line-jumper projects that get you into trouble. Everything else on the list is demoted, once again, for these pesky budgers. They always look simple enough, and perhaps you already have the supplies on hand, and you're sure you'll be done before dinner. Not so. 

This simple project from Sew, Mama, Sew, suggested for kids, but currently fermenting in my mind, reminds me of Tibetan prayer flags in a really fun, whimsical way. Watch out, world, and prepare to be decorated.