September Inspiration

September Inspiration
The four of us went to the beach the other day for some inspiration, and ended up collecting a few treasures that we’ve been having fun with ever since. Small pieces of driftwood, feathers, broken shells, beach glass, those kinds of things. We originally went to collect a few smooth rocks. I wanted a few more to crochet around. One of us wanted rocks to paint into dragon eggs, and another one wanted an interesting rock to use a door stop. Whatever the reason, we were all game for a little beach combing.
That same afternoon, I started painting tiny patterns on smaller pieces of driftwood. It was so fun just letting my mind just wander and “play” with a little paint, not really thinking about what the outcome would be. A little neon paint here and there seemed to be the perfect touch.
Here’s what I’m working on this month:
– I am speaking at School House Craft on Saturday (9/22) at 2:45. In our “Blogging 101” class, Marie LeBaron of Make and Takes and we will be sharing the ins and outs of why blogging is an important and fun aspect of running and promoting your handmade business. (My husband, Peter, will be speaking too!) This is a very inspiring weekend, a great way to kick off Fall.
– I am busy creating new original art for Home, an upcoming, end-of-year show at Artstream Gallery in New Hampshire. More details coming soon, it may be textile pieces, may be paintings, I’m not quite sure yet, but I’m very excited about this show and honored to be included.
– I am so excited to be joining my granny squares together. The timing is perfect here, weather-wise! If you want to join the Granny Square Sampler Afghan crochet-along, you can start anytime by following all the weekly crochet assignments on the Sampler page.

How to Weave Ojo de Dios


In our house, weaving Ojo de Dios (also known as God’s Eye) are a fun summer pastime. I actually first made these as an adult, with my daughter’s 3rd grade Girl Scout troop many years ago, and I’ve love their graphic simplicity ever since. They are easy to make, quick to learn, and meditative to weave. They are certainly pretty in their simplest form, but over the years we’ve added some simple customizations into ours that I’ll share below. Grab some scrap yarn… or twine…. or Para cord …or fabric, a few sticks from the yard, something icy to drink, and start weaving!
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More Adventures in Dyeing


Last week I accidentally splattered oil from a new jar of almond butter on this shirt. It’s been a favorite of mine for about 2 years (bought on sale at Anthropologie). I tried all the tricks I’d learned in my college Textile Science classes, but it still had a slight yellow tinge across the front. Not easily visible in this photo, but it’s there.READ MORE

Fabric Dyeing

Another thing I played around with last week was fabric dyeing.
fabric dyeing
I have always wanted to try this. I did a very small bleaching experiment a few years ago, but nothing since. And I love the idea of dyeing my own fabric to get a certain color- plus, it’s your own fabric when you dye and create it’s color, right?READ MORE

DIY Wood Burning a Pendant

 
wood burning
I decided to do some creative playing last week. It’s an important part of the creative process for all of us, and boy was it fun for me. One of the things I made were these wood burned pendants for Emma and myself. I thought I would share how to make them, it really couldn’t be easier.
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