Thanksgiving Break

I hope that everyone had a nice Thanksgiving! We decided not to travel this year. Although we enjoy seeing family, the break never seems long enough to make the drive out to the Midwest. Instead, we had a meal with friends here in Atlanta. Our hosts made a spicy duck crêpe that was the star of the show. I made a chocolate marmalade torte from this book, which I have mentioned previously on my blog. The next day we fixed a meal at home of turkey breast, challah bread stuffing with apples, celery and onion, crispy potatoes sautéed in rendered duck fat (sent home with us by our friends the previous day), sage mashed potatoes, and cranberry-ginger-apple relish. It was delish.

Thanksgiving break was busy for me as I have been doing my final preparations for the Renegade Holiday Sale in Chicago this coming weekend. This week I have been coming home from work and immediately heading to the sewing machine, and working until it is time to go to bed. I think that I won't know what to do with myself after the sale is over. I wake up thinking about it and go to bed thinking about it. This is how it is with me. If I want something to succeed, I put as much of myself into it as I am able. I suppose I am a perfectionist. For some stupid reason this makes me often think of a quote from the movie Ace Ventura: "Obsess much?" Yeah, I probably do. I guess that most artists do, in some way, shape, or form.

I'll leave you with this fine specimen of high-class entertainment (which, admittedly, I do happen to find pretty funny):

What's Hanging on Our Walls

I have been intending to start writing some posts about the interior of our home, with somewhat of a focus on how to upcycle or incorporate antiques while invoking personal meaning. Below are a few snippets of what we have hanging on our walls in this particular genre.

I took this photo in our bedroom. I bought this embroidered cloth on a trip to Wales, while I was studying abroad in England. We made a stop in a small town that I can't remember the name of, and we had a short time to look around. I grabbed this and another cloth. The frame that holds the cloth was gifted to me by my friend Michelle, who worked at a frame shop during college. It is handmade from quality wood. I love the look of framed embroidery. It is nice to see embroidered cloths from a different vantage point and to incorporate texture behind framed glass.

This is an antique pastel drawing from Italy that I purchased for $10 at Providence, an antiques shop in Atlanta. The surface of the paper has a fuzzy-velvety quality. I was drawn to the colors as well as the textures. And I like it that the girl's haircut is kinda like mine. I simply pinned it up to the wall with two red tacks. It hangs in our entryway.

I had been thinking for awhile about a use for this shadowbox that my sister bought for me when I got out of college. (Gosh, I guess that it's hanging crookedly, but I hopefully you don't mind!) In the process of packing up to move to Atlanta, we accidentally broke some antique dishes. I have a very hard time throwing away antiques of any kind. These were especially meaningful to me because my mom gave me the flowered one when I was a teenager, and she gifted me the clover one around the time I got married. I think that they still look beautiful framed like this in their broken state, and I suppose that they are a metaphor for taking a bad thing and making it good. The back of the box is lined with Japanese fabric I purchased at Portsmouth Fabric Company in Portsmouth, NH. This piece hangs in our front room, which serves as both as my studio and my husband's study.

Here's Another One....

Above is one of the pillows that I will add to the shop soon. I think that this one is very much a Francine, were she to have a name. (Am I going a little crazy, naming pillows in my head? Maybe this is what happens when you starting making so many.)

Right now I am making pillows like this, from vintage fabrics on the front paired with a contrasting fabric on the back, and with a zipper closure on the bottom. I found this particular vintage fabric when I was back home in Ohio this past summer, at my favorite antiques shop. The piece was just big enough for this oblong pillow! The backing of the pillow is a pretty woven gingham that gets softer and softer with every wash.

Nice 'n Toasty

I took a look over at Toast today to see what they had in store for the winter season. I'm loving all of the plaids. I always feel like Toast somehow knows me personally and channels into their designs whatever I want but can't quite find from American companies.

p.s. How cute is the flannel hottie cover? And how awesome is it that the Brits call it a hottie? I studied abroad in England and this is one term that I never came across.

New Pillows in the Shop

I've added a couple of new pillows to the shop. I've been sewing quite a bit for the Renegade Holiday Sale and I had a chance today to post a couple of things I've made. More to come!

The Perfect Baby Blanket

When I was a little girl, I had a blanket that I called "Silky" because of its silky edges. I loved that blanket to bits, literally. I wore off all of the silkiness on the edges from rubbing it together between my fingers. Here and there, I've looked for the contemporary version, preferably one that isn't made of polyester.

I think that these Shi Shu baby blankets are nice. They are a handwoven mix of cotton and bamboo with 100% bamboo sateen trim. The combination of the handwoven texture with the smooth edge is what, to me, makes a baby blanket.

I bought a few Shi Shu blankets on Gilt today for shower gifts. The large size is typically $68-88, and Gilt has them for $38. The little snuggler blankets are only $10 each. The sale ends on November 6.