Delicate domestication

So what do you think of my studio progress above?? And the new do? Do you like my hair?

Okay sillies, this is the most beautiful, blissful picture though right? This happens to be Miss January from Bernina's 75th anniversary calender. One of the many little gifts I received as a result of spending some time with them earlier in the month. Such a gorgeous picture though, and there's that birdcage of mine too. If I could manage this studio with nothing but that swank wallpaper and those three items on her table, what simple days I would have. It will stay January here for the rest of the year, as I cannot bare to flip this dreamy image away!



So in the non-imaginary life of the studio I am making a little progress on some details here and there. In the old European tradition of fanciness that Miss Bernina lives in, I am using some otherwise stored away handmades from my Yiayia. Both windows that face the front yard have a special layer of delicate gold and emerald embroidered linens to boast now. This is a table runner that was so badly stained in the center, that it was never used.



And of course it was with a trembling hand that I actually cut into this. But I wanted to actually see this beautiful handiwork of hers. I wasn't enjoying it or putting it to any use in the drawer. Yiayia put everything to use. And the gorgeous work and color inspired the art deco style motif that I painted across the top of the shades.



The third window on the east wall has this sweetly appliqued and cross-stitched tablecloth filtering the morning sun now too. It's a square tablecloth that has nowhere to rest in this house of giant farm tables that feed masses. After receiving this as one of many wedding gifts from Greece almost 14 years ago, I think I'm pretty sure I won't have a square table anytime soon. Even on the most overcast day, the way the daylight looks through these fancies gives me a feeling of hand-washed linens drying in the sun.



Alot of the tables in here have also gotten a white bath as well as had their tops cozied up with a quilt of fabric swatches. This is the his of the his and hers computer tables. They make me feel a bit like I'm under a comfy blankey when I work on the computer. Happy yaaawn. More soon sweeties.

xo,AM

If it ain't Baroque...

So I've been coming across lots of odds and ends in the studio as I gradually reorganize and liberate my work space from ignoredom. Some of those ends have gotten more odd as they are subjected to this house of many little curious hands.



My mom has not a small obsession with gift shopping at the MoMA. Totally fine by me! I've been showered with delightful little art-y things over the years including this smart art history lesson of a folding meter stick. The glory of which should not be in two pieces as shown above. Alas, it be ever still. Perpetrator yet to be pinned with certainty.



I've tried to fix it. No luck. But a funnier luck, guess during which period of art it broke? Yup. I don't make this stuff up people. It b-roke in the Baroque period. Luckier still for the assumed perpetrator as I was so completely amused by the perfection of coincidence that I forgot to finish my interrogation and punishment. It's fine I suppose the way it is. The kids are now familiar with the Baroque period of art where otherwise they wouldn't have been. Some things don't need fixing.

Reminds me of a thread of conversation that went on over here about whether or not some new crafters think they're reinventing the wheel. There's speculation of a mood in young or new crafters that is ignoring the precious heritage of crafting with phrases like 'this ain't your grannies such and such'. I chalk up most of the scabuttle as a reaction to what businesses, not crafters, do to market their goods to someone who wouldn't otherwise take notice perhaps. I was in Joann's last week for some batting and saw soooo many younger, hipper than normal shoppers milling here and there and nabbing up lots of stuff. I thought what took you guys so long? I'll go ahead and say I was sewing before sewing was cool. I've done it since I was 5 whether it made me a dork, a weirdo, an eccentric or a professional. I've always done it. I do love the new company though.



Mostly I am thrilled that people care enough about making to talk about it passionately. I don't care what brings people to learning handiwork, or what frame of mind is fueling their interest. I'm just glad they're here. I'm thankful for all the things my mother and grandmothers taught me. And though I may look at those same techniques with a fresh set of eyes, cleverness is nothing new. Some of the reasons I do it are different than their's were. I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel. (Although I believe Kath already helped us do that for certain!) There's no need to change or fix some things. You know, if it ain't Baroque.

xoxo,AM

Super Circles

Well I can't spend all my time working on the studio, I do have to work in it too! So today you're getting a (horn sound) tu-tu-tu-tut on achieving the perfect folded edge on a circle!! My Lollipop quilt is in the works and my amazing friend Kath of Material Obsession has made me the happiest woman alive with this little trick! I am really so easy to please. Kath is way too busy being an amazing quilter to take the time to blog this, so I'm doing it for her. I know its not the most complex concept, but in my entire lifelong of sewing this one has escaped me somehow! So have a seat at the sewing circle pals!



*1* Determine the diameter of your circle, draw it onto posterboard and cut it out. Then cut your fabric larger than the circle by about 1/2 an inch all the way around. Good news, the fabric circle doesn't have to be cut perfectly. BUT the poster circle does.



*2* Lay down a modest length of foil, then your fabric circle right side down, then your poster circle centered in the middle.
*3* Fold the foil towards the center of the circle all the way around, letting the fabric fold in tightly with it. Smooth the edges of the circle with your fingers to get out any bumps.



*4* Now press the the foil down all along the outer edges with your iron on a med-high setting.
*5* Turnover and repeat until you've gone all the way around.



*6* The foil edges will be hot, so fan yourself from the excitement and say 'super circles are simple' six times.
*7* Now in happy jiffy-pop mode, peel back the foil and remove (you could use the same foil once or twice more).



*8* Gently pull out the poster circle from the newly creased fabric circle.
*9* Now turn it over and just look at it and feel happy!



Now you can machine stitch, hand stitch, or applique your circles onto whatever you please!! This also would work well for other shapes, ovals, leaves, flowers, etc. Now go tell Kath how cool she is.

OH! And Happy Birthday Mommy! You love nothing if not perfection in sewing, so this tutorial is hereby dedicated to you. Although you probably already knew how to do this and didn't tell me yet. Or likely you told me but I wasn't listening. I love you.

xo,Anna Maria

Clean Monday

Okay so thats it. I'm a minimalist now.

Oh alright, you obviously know I'm lying. I couldn't be even if I wanted to. But I must say I do like the look of a simple, clean space now and then. Doesn't happen often around here of course. Friday night, what started as Jeff saying he needs a better spot to work in the studio turned into a weekend long renovation process that is still just in it's beginnings. He started by building a new sewing table for me so he could have the old one that he built that I stole from him (I know). Then the whole room needed reorganizing. Such a troublemaker. Then I was whining (again) about the horrible carpet which we've yet to think of the most sutiable replacement for. Jeff lifted up a corner and found vinyl tile! We had no idea.



I am of course aware that I might be the only person to dance with joy at finding dirty avacado green school floor tile under their carpet. But for a studio that sees it's share of stain and spill acrobatics, it couldn't be more perfect. Every surface in this used-to-be rec room whether it was trim, door, wall or rug was the shade of ecru dying. And I do like a good neutral really. I know its hard to believe me. But everything? Ish. I was so excited that someone put a color in here once, any color! I've held off on painting for the first 3 years of living here though, thinking that an almost canvas colored room was a perfect enviroment to create colorful things in. Nope, its not. Not for me. That beautiful ugly floor has given me lots of thoughts on the color of this space & it'll continue to tell me what to do. I am only painting one wall at a time, because each wall serves a different task in my work, therefore I think they should all be different.

So I will share over the coming weeks, how this place gets transformed. One wall, one color, one space at a time. For today though, the first day of Great Lent for us Orthodox known as Clean Monday, this glacial blue is perfect. I'll be cooking meatless dishes for 40 days and I am so thankful that the vegan diet started trending on several years ago. All those cookbooks are a dinner saver around here. Not to mention the ever growing vegetarian sections at the market.

Whew, all that indulgence last week happened just in the nick of time!
xoxo, AM

Flicky Friday

Well my little samples of Chocolate Lollipop are settling in just fine with their new friends. This is a shot of my sewing spot that is at the end of my fabric wall and my sorting table. So its a toss up between needing even more storage space or more time to sew up all those supplies sitting on the shelf. Both, I think. I am currently working on my husband to build me a new table from some old doors leftover from the kitchen remodel. I'll keep ya posted on that one.

In other news, I am FINALLY flicking! with the rest of the world (see fun flickr badge in right column, I am so proud) It's gonna take me a while to upload everything there, but it'll be tantalizing to organize all those photos. And so many intriguing groups and photo pools there too! What took me so long!? Oh and I already started a Chocolate Lollipop group to chronicle all those lovelies that you'll no doubt be whipping up this spring. I'm early on that and late on starting a Bohemian Beauties group...but I've gone ahead and added that one too. I've seen so many wonderful things out there, and now you have a spot to share them. You know who are! Upload those flickin' photos!

Have a great weekend! xo,AM