sakura

springtime in japan means cherry blossoms!
i haven't had time to post about all the crafty things i would like to recently, so for now here's a cherry tree in bloom. and i promise i will be back soon; i have lots more to share with you!

bright and green

i've been drawn to this fabric every time i see it, and now it's finally in the shop! i love the feeling of the print, somehow it reminds me of scandinavian textiles, and i love how the animals are abstracted. i think another reason why i like it so much is also the bright colors, especially all the green.
it's hard to be patient when it seems like spring is just around the corner...but hiding. and this year i'm so excited about my little garden which makes it that much harder to wait. but remember the mini sunflower kit i bought? they came up! actually now the leaves are fully open, but this picture is from last week. and it still kind of feels like magic, that moment when the first green appears from the ground.
since my strategy for my first garden in kyoto is simply to buy the starts when they are for sale, it's a surprise every time i go to the garden store. last weekend was eggplants and tomatoes already. the good thing is that everywhere here delivers, including big bags of potting soil and planters. the bad news is that i have to wait until friday...i hope these little guys can hang on for a few more days in their tiny pots. and today it even snowed while i left them outside on the balcony!
this strawberry (and the honey in the jar) came from the handmade market at kamigamo jinja on sunday.

ok spring, you can come out now!

out like a lamb

today was a mix of sunny and rainy, so i guess we can say march is going out like a lamb. this needle felted sheep is from the book 'felted wool small things'. there's one copy left in my etsy shop. if you want to see more photos from this book, the flickr set is here.

check out these sweet sleepy sheep from etsy seller namolio.

march has flown by, and i am proud to say that i was able to successfully post here every day of it! i enjoyed the discipline of daily posting, and i think i will try to keep it up for april.
my other goals for march were to join and attend a yoga class regularly (i did that too!). cutting out sugar and drinking less coffee are ongoing projects... (wink).

pretty flowers and giveaway winner

my walk to the post office is very short, and these days there are always lovely flowers along the way.
and the winner of the felt flower giveaway...lucky number 2! congratulations yamani, your flowers will go out in tomorrow's mail.to pick the winning number, i used a die from monopoly, a game i haven't played in years (although i did play one time after college, and my friends got into a huge fight). but i love the game pieces, from when my brother and i used to play monopoly for hours and hours as kids. here's the wheelbarrow, for everyone thinking about spring and gardening.

it's raining daffodils...and roving!

happy first day of spring! flowers are blooming everywhere. the crocus have been up for a while, and now wee daffodils are all around. we had a sudden downpour, but now the skies are blue.another sunny springtime mix–yellow wool roving. part of the great spring destash of '09 happening in the shop. i'll be listing more roving today and tomorrow.

hmm, suddenly i have the urge to make felt daffodils.

felt bunnies made by feltfinland

The gang, originally uploaded by feltfinland.

these adorable bunny rabbits are made by flickr user feltinfinland.

have i mentioned how much i love flickr? it's so easy to find beautiful inspiring work! since i've resolved to post here every day in march, i thought it's a good opportunity to share some flickr finds too.