My blog friend always finds the most interesting and beautiful art and events to read about and see. I love checking in and seeing what she’s found, and today, well, it made my heart beat a bit faster than usual. In fact, I almost have to think she posted it just for me!
These wonderful animal illustrations from . She’s got that you can download (free), give to the kids to color, or as , use them as crewel patterns. As I like to stitch most of my gifts, I’ve been thinking about stitching animals for kids, and I think I might have to use these!
But as I explore even more, I am just swooning over her and kits. I am totally drawn to these. I think it is because they are printed on fabric (if you know me, I am obsessed with anything printed on fabric, and well, just fabric in general), and two, I am completely drawn in to each design, I just love her illustrations.
I am really intrigued by cloth kits. Some, I must be honest, I wouldn’t make, but I would make Louise Elliot’s kit in a heartbeat, and anything from especially:
There is something wonderfully satisfying about quiches for me. I find it hard to believe that before a year ago (or so) I had never made a quiche before. Daunting task I suppose, until I tried it. They are so freakin’ easy and quick and pretty much always delicious. This one was fresh garlic, Walla Walla Sweet Onions, fresh spinach, cheddar cheese, eggs and some half and half. I was a little worried that it wouldn’t work so well after pouring in the egg/half and half mixture and it disappeared. But I wasn’t about to add another egg. Oh, and I coat my pastry shells (yes, this one was from the store…I know I know), with egg white. I bake them at 350F for about 40 minutes, but always check after 25mins and decide how much longer it needs to stay in the oven.
I am not a fan of leftovers, they are almost always hard for me to eat (except the foods that get better the next day…pizza, lasagne, quiche….), so sometimes, I toss my leftovers into a quiche and you’ll never know that they were leftovers. I’ve done it with salsa and beans YUM! lasagne filling, Indian food, almost anything. And they are always a treat!
I think you might remember that I’m a big fan of and his NYT blog . Well he posted this lovely recipe for . It made my mouth water! I learned something new: toasting cumin seeds to bring out the flavor. WOWZA that’s all I have to say. After toasting the cumin seeds, I crushed them with a rolling pin as I am sans spice grinder. I didn’t have any ginger and I can see how it would totally add to the dish, but it was absolutely yummy without it. And the best part. For those of you counting – 0 points on Weight Watchers. I think it has just a bit too much flavor for Iz, the cumin is perhaps a bit to “sweet” for her. But I can’t get enough of it. The recipe makes a big batch, so we’ve been eating it for 3 days so far and I’m not tired of eating it.
I think the one thing that I’ve really learned over the past 6 months is to enjoy food. Enjoy finding it, whether it be growing it myself, picking it up at the local farm, the farmer’s market or even the produce section. Taking the time to make things from scratch as much as possible. Sometimes it’s just not possible (although I’m learning everyday…so it could be possible). I take my time preparing and cooking the way needed, then once it’s on the plate, really, really enjoying each and every bite. The other big thing I’ve learned is that if it doesn’t taste good, don’t eat it. I’m off to make lunches…
Remember this photo of my Inspiration Wall in my Studio?
This is a that’s been added to the , and I’ve been following the pool ever since. I’m always looking for and collecting things that inspire me. They got on my mantle, board or in a notebook (one of MANY!). But I love looking at other’s inspiration boards. I love the and love even more that there’s now about the creators of these inspiration boards.
Lately – I’ve been inspired by raw edges.
I love this piece on the cover of the latest . I love this magazine. I could tear the whole thing apart and hang it all on the wall. I love the garments in the feature article. If you have a chance to pick it up, it’s worth it. Lovely.
I read this really wonderful article about DIYers and the difference they are making in the world. They aren’t screaming from their soap boxes, they are just doing. Quietly, they are changing the world, one project at a time using found items, re-purposed items and making things new again (I can’t seem to find the article, if you know which one I’m talking about – let me know so I can link to it).
I think if I try to change everything in my life at the same time, I would go crazy, so I try to change at least one thing a week. Once it was switching to phosphate free laundry detergent, then fabric softner, then not using the dryer. I’m using Happy-Sacks instead of plastic bags. I bring my own bags to shop with, even to stores that aren’t selling groceries. I use old clothing and bed linens for sewing projects. And I read blogs and learn about other ideas.
My favorite today, and OH-SO-OBVIOUS!!! On – there’s a . Of course, why are we buying plastic? I’ll never buy another plastic shower curtain. Bad.
So – another small step today. And this has another thing brewing in my mind…
Is anyone in the Western Ma area interested in participating in a ? I’m going to see if we can get one started here. I’m looking for interested folks who can volunteer to help sort, lead workshops and organize. Email me – zannestar(at)luckystitches(dot)com if you are interested in learning more or want to help out.
I should really be helping with the roof….but I’ve been clicking away:
This line of hats from is SO CUTE!
I’ve been catching up on and , wondering if they will be doing this year (I really hope so…I have my idea – just want to get an early start this year – you know madness around the holidays can make them not fun.)
made , and looking at her post, I think I’ll need to make a few! I am also inspired by her .
When I was in Seattle, I was able to visit IKEA. It’s been a few years, and it was hard not to throw everything in my cart. I picked up some really cool placemats and some shopping bags (these would fit into my suitcase). But I’ll be going back in a few weeks to pick up some chairs for , so I’ve been perusing ikea hacker for creative ideas. would be perfect in the new space. hmmm.
So, I’m sure you’ve heard, but in case you haven’t, there is this great new site: . It’s a daily read for me. The way it works is wicked cool. People submit links. Links to blogs, news, websites. Other people can vote on the links, making them more popular and then they pop up on the home page. TONS of info on EVERYTHING. Perfect for me, I love to find out about new things, find new blogs and websites. My daily list of reads is updated constantly. Plus – !
And just for fun, I’ve added a sk*rt button at the bottom of my posts, just in case there is anything you want to share…
That’s right. Send a t-shirt, a skirt, a scarf, hat, bag, bib, onesie, and he’ll hand and machine embroider it with his sporozoan. He’ll send it back with his art embroidered on it in the SASE you sent with your article. You can find out more about the sporozoan on his and .
Ok, I should really be working on my little freelance project, Iz is at school, and this time is supposed to be devoted to my project (no worries, I’ll still make my deadline this week, but this “free time” is so rewarding and I just have to share what I’ve been clicking on…)
:: Actually just stumbled on this one this morning, from somewhere…was it ? It was so many clicks ago, I can’t remember. Love it. Love the guest moms, love the products. Is now a daily read.
:: She does some great tutorials, and finds some wicked cool vintage fabric and patterns.
::LOVE LOVE LOVE her patterns, and when she writes about Philadelphia, I get a little homesick. Plus, she finds some of the coolest stuff.
:: Totally inspiring, there is so much creativity out there, and this is the perfect place to learn how to do something. I really want to do .
:: I’ve been reading Megan’s blog for years. I loved her . I love it when she talks about and meal planning, and I really want to make the she made, and if we ever move back to Seattle, her is awesome!
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