Tag Archives: embroidery

Elsewhere: Knitted boyfriend, handmade shoes, and how macramé can change your life

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knitted boyfriend bryr clogs pam allen and more

— The Dutch artist and her knitted boyfriend, funny and adorable

— French guys learns macramé to fund his South American wanderings, winds up with jewelry designs on a Paris runway

— I’m enticed by the process shots in the Tiger pillow installment of Design Sponge’s Embroidery 101 series (see also embroidered sunglasses at HonestlyWTF)

— In awe of handmade shoes

— Really great interview with Pam Allen, of Quince and Co, on the challenges of producing a natural, American yarn  (lots of good stuff at A Verb for Keeping Warm’s blog lately — poke around while you’re there)

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In other news, a little birdie tells me Juniper Ridge is discontinuing the truly amazing jumbo cedar sachets. Which is tragic. Fortunately, I ordered lots, because I love them, so there are a still a few dozen available over at Fringe Supply Co. But be aware they may be the last of their kind.

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Elsewhere: Yarn news, Q&A’s, inspiration and more

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yarn news, Q&A's, inspiration and more

Yarn news:
— Quince and Co. has released their first alpaca blend yarn, a worsted-weight beauty called Owl. I tend to love alpaca in the skein and not so much in the finished product, but have high hopes for this one. In addition to being blended with wool, it’s woolen-spun, so hopefully not so dense and oppressive feeling as I find typical alpacas to be. And I love even more that it’s overdyed, so the natural tone and heathering of the wool come through the color. Can’t wait to get my hands on some of this. There’s also a new pattern to go with: the Sherwood Mitts by Pam Allen.
— My local yarn store, A Verb for Keeping Warm, is collaborating with Sally Fox on a California wool. They’ve got the first samples in hand, but I haven’t been in yet to plead for a chance to squeeze it. I’ll post more once it’s actually up for sale. I’m super excited about this.

Some good Q&A’s:
— with knitwear designer-photographer Carrie Bostick Hoge at A Butterfly in My Hair
— with knitwear designer Tara-Lynn Morrison at Beaux Mondes
— with Alpaca rancher Sara Bender at Blue Sky Alpacas blog
— with knitwear designer Helga Isager at the Knitterly blog
— and I love love LOVE this video profile of denim artisan Loren Cronk at Anthology’s blog. Magnificent.

Pretty, inspiring things:
— Heather Taylor on cochineal dyeing at Beatrice Valenzuela’s home
— home tour with a weaver at Design Sponge
— Um, Wooly Heads — not sure what to say or think about that one (thanks, Jo!)
— and Karen Barbé’s great embroidery sampler on a simple canvas tote

Speaking of canvas totes, I shipped my first wholesale order this week — a big box of the High-fiber totes went out to In the Loop in Plainville MA (between Boston and Providence). So if you’re in the vicinity, look for it in their new location next week. The popularity of this tote bag continues to thrill me, especially as I’ve been receiving orders for them from around the globe. I love picturing it walking down the streets of Vancouver and Lyon! And also love it when people post pics of theirs to Instagram — that really warms my cockles. So thanks again to everyone who’s been shopping at Fringe Supply Co., and helping to make this blog possible in the process.

What are you working on this weekend?

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Blog Crush: Resurrection Fern

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blog crush margaret oomen resurrection fern

I know I have mentioned and linked Margaret Oomen a lot around here over the past year, so it’s no surprise to anyone that I admire and am inspired by her. But I wanted to say that in a more direct and formal way by adding Resurrection Fern to the annals of Blog Crush. Oomen makes, crochets, dyes and embroiders incredibly lovely things, plain and simple — and not just her unparalleled covered stones,  (for which she contributed a basic pattern to The Purl Bee). But I also love the blog for being so thoroughly genuine, and I have deep respect for how mindfully Oomen appears to live her life.

Also, her new kitten, Usher, is a dead ringer for my Slim.

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Elsewhere

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soule stitching garance hats oomen pinecones

I’ve been working like a fiend the past month or so and am also approaching the three-week mark on some pretty significant sinus distress, so there’s been no knitting in my life* and it’s really making me nuts. I’m starting to wonder whether I’ll finish anything else before New Year’s! But thankfully, the rest of the world is carrying on without me —

– I loved this Amanda Soule post: Stitching, all of us

– Garance Doré, of all people, started a Wool Hats board on Pinterest

– Margaret Oomen killed me some more

OK, actually, I haven’t had much bandwidth for web browsing either. If you’ve seen (or posted!) anything lately you’d like to share in the comments, please do. And of course, I’d love to hear about what you’re making!

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*although I’ve still gotten in some tutoring, which can be more rewarding than knitting myself

Things that make me want to embroider

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embroidered toast judith klausner

Hard to believe I started working on this post shortly after Things that make me want to crochet — last January! — but I get hung up every time I try to do it. There are just way too many amazingly cool instances of embroidery out there. So I had a little talk with myself, and we agreed that I would get through it by just picking a few, with the understanding that this is likely the first of multiple roundups under this heading. I mean …

above: Embroidered toast by Judith G. Klausner (don’t miss her Oreo Cameos while you’re there)

below left: Bags from Plastic Bag as Humble Present by Josh Blackwell

below right: Smallest Forest just using up leftover thread, no big deal

embroidered plastic bags and color grid

Elsewhere

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knitting sewing embroidery links

Loveliness and oddities in this edition of Elsewhere:

— I hadn’t heard of Beci Orpin’s blog or her book, “Find & Keep,” before seeing that wonderfully wacky pompom-head photo ricocheting around Pinterest, thanks to The Design Files. Love.

— Remodelista pointed the way to textile artist Mister Finch’s Flickr stream, full of astonishingly beautiful bugs and vegetables, some of which (?) he sells on Etsy

— WhipUp is running a series of interviews with indie knitwear designers about their process

— Quince & Co has posted this year’s call for scarf patterns

— So so pretty, must make

— Have you taken your sheep for a walk lately?

— And HAhahahaha, a Fendi Baguette you can embroider yourself — $995

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Blog Crush: Cathy of California

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cathy of california blog crush

I know I’ve mentioned Cathy of California a time or two before, but she really warrants an official Blog Crush. Cathy Callahan is a vintage-crafts buff in Southern California with an apparently amazing collection of mid-century craft and fiber-arts books, which she shares images from. The blog is really that simple. Posts tend to be occasional and brief, but I experience every single one of them as a little burst of inspiration. I have her own book (“Vintage Craft Workshop”) on my wishlist, and I recently discovered that we have at least one mutual friend, so maybe I’ll wrangle an introduction one of these days. Meanwhile, I’m a devout fan.

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