portland recap part 2: craft museum!

i got to see this exhibit that i missed last time. unfortunately the handmade nation screening was completely sold out before we could get tickets, but the crochet-a-thon with mandy was awesome!

mandy greer's new project is called mater matrix mother and medium. it will be installed in seattle's urban forest and will also include a performance by zoe scofield.
here's a photo from the project website. it's all about water, and so the work will incorporate shades of blue fabric and yarn. for the crochet-a-thon, everyone joined in to create some blue crocheted elements that will be incorporated into the final piece. it's a wonderful art creation process, that involves people coming together to create, and maybe to learn a new craft. beginning crochet lends itself especially well to this kind of free form art, as there are no 'mistakes.' i am a complete beginner at crochet, but now i am really curious to try more.

portland recap part 1: food

first stop: broder cafe on clinton street. this wonderful scandinavian restaurant does it right, from the proper brunch (above),

to delicious hash with trout.

the menu also has swedish meatballs and aebleskiver, the tiny scandinavian pancakes. i am willing to bet they are both excellent. clinton street was an old hangout when i lived in southeast portland, and it's nice to see that dots (ohh, the late night cheesy fries and velvet paintings) and clinton street video (i spent many nights picking movies from their small but excellent collection, back when we rented VHS tapes) are still around, and also cool new places like broder.

i also had the pleasure of introducing my friends to an old favorite, nicholas lebanese restaurant. this is the food to which i compare all other lebanese and middle eastern food, and it's hard to beat. i would have photos, but we were too busy stuffing our faces with pieces of the gigantic homemade pita bread straight from the oven, with all the tasty treats that come in the mezze combination. heaven.

a lovely weekend

i took a day trip to portland on saturday, and it was truly wonderful. a full day of crafts, local shopping, and delicious food. i don't want to leave anyting thing out, so i'll tell you all about it tomorrow, when i am less sleepy. for now, here's a little bunny i saw there.
some bread rising today, which was an early preview of a perfect summer day.

parker house rolls

these are my first attempt at parker house rolls from last week. i used this recipe, multiplied by 1.5. the results were pretty tasty. the recipe is meant for a stand mixer, which i used and definitely made it easier. and then i also kneaded it by hand for 5 minutes like they said to. i think i rolled out the dough a little thinner than called for, and next time i will leave it thicker. they were super soft and puffy, perhaps because a 1.5 batch has 3 packets of yeast!

japanese fabric sale: part 3 sneak peak

a few japanese obi fabrics, more details on monday!

going to japan fabric sale, part 2

i have several pieces of this lovely plum pattern on silky crepe. if you are interested in any of these fabrics, please email me directly.
3 pieces are 13" by 19", $10 each plus actual shipping; 2 smaller pieces that are 7" by 17", $5 each. all 5 pieces, $25.

orange crepe, 12 inches by 22 inches, $10 plus actual shipping cost.

these 2 images are of one long piece of crepe fabric, made up of 2 pieces with the fan design and 1 piece of the flower design with the grey background sewn between them, 48" x 14" total. $10 plus actual shipping cost.

a mixed pack of rayon chirimen crepe fabrics that i never opened! 7 pieces of fabric with different patterns, 23 cm by 30 cm each. $25 plus actual shipping cost.

i'm going to japan!

and i am ever so excited!! i've decided to move back to japan for a year, and teach english while i ponder my future. hee hee, that sounds so deep. sometimes (mostly in the middle of the night) i wonder if my plan is a little too wacky, but i really do believe that it's a great idea that makes sense for multiple reasons, and i am so fortunate and thankful that i have this opportunity. i'll be flying to osaka in 1.5 weeks, and staying with my lovely friends in kobe. i'll be teaching part time at the wonderful conversation school where i worked while i was an exchange student in '06-'08. and of course i will continue to explore japanese handmade crafts, and also to make felt.

however, as i am packing and organizing my things, i have decided to have a little blog sale. starting with these japanese haori coats, which are traditionally worn over a kimono. they could be worn as a jacket, or used as a source for beautifully patterned fabric. i'll post a few more times today and tomorrow with other japanese fabric. email me directly if you are interested, feltcafe@gmail.com, and i will update each item to note when it is sold.

plum haori coat, pattern of waves (detail at the top of this post), crepe fabric. $35 plus actual shipping cost.
purple haori coat, polyester fabric. $20 + actual shipping cost.
red stripes haori coat, silk, $45 + actual shipping cost.

house portrait tea towels printed by leanne graeff

check out these excellent tea towels printed by leanne graeff and available in her etsy shop. they can be ordered as a custom design based on a picture of your own house. what a lovely housewarming present!

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).

twilight roosting felt works by elizabeth armstrong

Twilight Roosting , originally uploaded by studiofelter.

these lovely creations were made by the very talented felt maker elizabeth armstrong. you can see her flickr stream here.

sevilla rock collection from skinny laminx

heather moore of skinny laminx is a genius fabric designer from cape town, south africa. her new collection, sevilla rock, is based on cave paintings, and it's gorgeous. these are just a few of the patterns and colors.the sevilla rock collection will be available for sale as tea towels, aprons, cushion, shopping bags and zip pouches. tea towels are available now in the skinny laminx etsy shop. via design*sponge.

rainy saturday

it rained all day. but something i was waiting for in the mail finally arrived, i had a great trip to ikea, and a lovely dinner and evening with friends. and i made the midnight deadline to blog today. just barely!

don't forget...earth hour tomorrow night

where ever you are, on saturday march 28th, you can be part of earth hour by switching off your lights for an hour, at 8:30 pm your local time.

felt art by mummysam

check out these lovely pieces made by mummysam. using 100% wool felt, she creates soft sculptures with free motion stitching and hand embroidery.
i love the little felt houses, of course!
and she also makes flat works. she sells all of it in her etsy shop, and i first heard about mummysam via jars of cute.

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.

great PR advice on design*sponge

in addition to curating one of the must-read design blogs, grace bonney of design*sponge has done a lot to support young designers and women in business.

today's 'biz ladies '09' feature on d*s is all about PR, with this great overview by alisa carrol, and more detailed advice about putting together a media kit from the smart ladies of BAKERY. really great concise and insightful advice for anyone with their own crafty business.

fashioning felt; an exhibit in nyc

the cooper hewitt design museum currently has an exhibit entitled 'fashioning felt' that is all about felt! the image above is from the exhibit website, and features the work of andrea zittel, one of my all-time favorite felt artists (white felt dress, center top) and also the lovely felt/lacquer work of jorie johnson (lower left) as well as other stunning felt creations.

it's so great to see felt getting showcased like this. from their website:

This exhibition will explore the varied new uses of felt—an ancient material, believed to be one of the earliest techniques for making textiles. Made by matting together wool fibers with humidity and friction, felting requires little technological expertise and is an extremely versatile material. The exhibition will begin with historic examples of felts, showcase innovations in handmade felts, and feature contemporary uses of industrial felt in a range of fields, including product design, fashion, architecture, and home furnishings. The exhibition is being organized by Susan Brown, assistant curator, Textiles.

check out their blog about the exhibit to see a comprehensive felt video that serves as the introduction to the show.




and also these fabulous sketches by feltmaker janice arnold who has created a mongolian style felt yurt for the exhibition! yes, that's right, a yurt. awesome.

this shows looks like it is truly amazing. it will be at cooper hewitt through september, and i think that it may travel after that.

yoola

i love these new pear designs from yoola, made of crocheted wire.

you may have seen the striking work of this israeli artist before, like these pomegranates. so pretty, and such a wonderful combination of material, form and craft.

yoola also makes smaller items and sells tutorials and kits if you want to try this fabulous idea yourself. in an article for the etsy stork shop makeover series, she talked about the process of diversifying her shop. i love that she weighed the pros and cons of making tutorials available, went for it, and was successful.

weekend breakfast

banana's foster french toast, at the new portage bay cafe in south lake union. yummy.

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.