Sees. Wants. Gets.

A pattern he is likely to repeat.

(like me at the pie table.)

hope everyone had a relaxing weekend with those you love~
xo,Anna

Coupla things & Happy Thanksgiving!

Its gonna be a short work week & I wanted to stop in first and share a few things, and if you're on the mailing list, sorry for the overlap in info, suffer through it or click through pilgrim!

* First and most important, I fully intend to wear one of two things over the next several days : an apron : or : a pile of yarn- under which I will be making things I don't need and maybe a few gifts for people who don't need things either.



* I have a new collection of aprons and dishtowels in the shop and I am super excited to say that included in this group are some fun little girl aprons~My girls are always tying my half aprons up to their underarms, so they are giddy with anticipatory-holiday-baking excitement over these!



* Overwhelmed with thankfulness for all that we have, I know I'm not the only one who'd like to spread a little love around at this time of year. And without a doubt there are more families in need these days than ever. We will be donating a portion of all of our kitchen linen sales for the rest of 2009 to help feed hungry families in our area. So this a simple way for you to shop for yourself or to gift a loved one, and help us with a worthy cause.



* My Folksy Flannel collection is here, there and everywhere!

* Be sure and check back in next week for a giveaway and more about the fuzzi-luvi properties of these fabrics. I've been sewing a bit with them for the family and want to share.

In other news:

* Roman just turned six months old and I have given up on the floor quilt thing most days because he seems to find his way off of it before I am back to my chair. For a while the quilts that we put down got bigger and bigger, but now I am realizing that I am just going to have to sweep the floors more.

* Isabela has resolved to keeping her hair long instead of cutting it short because she says its good for thinking. When I asked her to clarify, she said you know when you're taking a math test and you have to run your fingers through your hair to figure out a hard problem. Of course.

* Salt dough is fun. The little girls and I made some a few days ago. I think the dough is smoother and easier to knead if you use a recipe with vegetable oil. (Though could this be why it isn't drying very well? Prolly.)

* I want to paint the dining room white.

* Well, creamy-whitish.

* I'm thinking I should not try to do that before Thanksgiving.

* Though I do think a roasted turkey would look so pretty surrounded by creamy-white walls.

* Roasted turkey fingerprints on creamy-white walls would be less pretty.

* Nevermind.

* I like asterisk-style-writing.

* Less pressure to make sense.

* HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

xoxoxox, Anna & family

And you thought the mountains were for hiking

The mountains are for shopping! Between studio sessions of my class last weekend, the girls and I were able to get in some very enjoyable (a little too enjoyable) shopping. While almost every shop in Gatlinburg boasts an amazing supply of leather, fudge, knives and swimwear, and other's are called Cooter's Funhouse, there manages to also be some serious little jewels among the shopping venues. I found myself in the Arrowcraft shop/gallery 3 times within 4 hours in one day. I could not get enough. The only thing that kept me under control was the fact that we only had two cars to get everything home.



First this gorgeous little vase, is my personal token to remember my time spent at Arrowmont. At the risk of sounding entirely too Zen, it is just so completely what it is. A pure example of gorgeous handcrafted, handglazed pottery of Southern Appalachia.



You can't grow up in East Tennessee as I did and not be aware of the craft history and inherent traditional art disciplines of this region of the country. It seems I was too cool for such simplicity and spent most of my younger years ignoring much of what was around me in search of apparently bigger, presumably more fashionable and deceivingly better artistic endeavors. But walking into this one shop was a little bit like walking into the surroundings of my youth with wiser eyes. Every piece of art and handcrafted item was waiting there in a new light... as warm, lovely and accepting as a great aunt that you've continually forgotten to send letters too.



So what did I do? I hauled half of it home, by golly gizzards!! Just kidding, sort of. But, for instance, these wooden toys for my Roman's first Christmas beckoned from the store shelf more compellingly when I was able to read about the man whose been making them himself for decades as opposed to similar made by who-knows occupying gift catalogs only when trend au currant says they should. Am I making any sense? I felt a connection. Like I wrote already- everything is just exactly what it is and made by folks who are just exactly who they are... a ceramicist, a woodworker, a handloomer, etc.



In a world where so many (including me) try to be and do so much all at the same time, I found the reminder of artistic simplicity so refreshing, beautiful and pure. I don't know where this blanket is going, and I have no need of blankets but it reminded me far too much of the handloomed wool blankets my Greek grandmother used to make (which I must share with you one day) that I couldn't pass it up.



And what is a trip to the mountains without outfitting the feet in a new pair of moccasins? A wasted trip, I tell you! All the girls, littlest to biggest, got a new pair and we're already wearing them in. (I had a pair exactly like Isabela's -second from the left- when I was little.) A perfect layer of warmth between me and an increasingly chilly wooden floor.

Have a warm weekend!, xo, AM

Mrs. Horner teaches a class

I had the privilege this past weekend of teaching a fine art studio class to art teachers from around Tennessee at their annual TAEA conference at Arrowmont School for Arts & Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tn. Thats right. I taught teachers. I know. Who would think they would need me for that. Well, my own former h.s. art teacher roped me in to be an instructor for the second year, and it was again, so, so enjoyable. I couldn't have had a more eager group of smart and fun people to work with, eager most likely bc they seldom have the chance to make their own art and naturally they seemed at ease to not be in charge of a bunch of kids for a change. Somehow, I could relate.

The basis for my two-day class was "reinventing textiles" through painting, drawing, and collage as shown in my piece above entitled "remedy". I got to share my fabric scraps (which they devoured like a bunch of students) and then got to watch lots of interesting things happen.



The studio was huge, well lit and made me a bit nostalgic for the good ole art school days. Arrowmont is an amazing, beautiful facility and if you ever get the chance to go and do one of the zillions of workshops they offer every year, you should jump on it. Below are just a few examples of my teachers' ...erhh... students' works in progress.







Joining me in the studio both days (along with Roman in tow) was Juliana, who is never afraid to do her own thing alongside people doing completely different things. I certainly didn't think she would "take" my class, but stealing my chalk!? Come on.



Okay, honestly, most of class time she was working on a graphite self-portrait based on some photographs we did together. She is hammering away at a batch of college applications and portfolios to submit, so she kind of used her time wisely.



Except when distracted by chalk.

The rest of the brood, as led by Jeff, had loads of fun hiking on dangerous trails where signs posted read "falling deaths have occurred", playing arcades, eating corn dogs, going on chair lifts, eating pancakes, dangling from precipices, eating taffy, swimming in mountain lodge indoor pools and all other sorts of things they never would have done had I been in charge.

I think they were so completely glad that I wasn't in charge and I am so completely glad that they all survived. Just barely survived, I am sure to emphasize to Mr. Horner continually.

More on our Gatlinburg shopping next! xo,Anna

Little Folks~Dobby Dots

I am in love with sewing again. I never stop liking it, but honestly I am lurving it again. Plugging my own fabric aside (just slightly), it is just so refreshing to hold new fabrics in my hands that really feel and drape differently than anything I've ever designed myself. I will confess it feels a bit empowering, too, to think it up, do it and then have it in my hands and set into crafted reality what was just a musing of the mind last winter.



More than just the fun, textural, little, nubby dots that run through these 4 "square dance" prints and 8 "pastry line" prints, the joy I am taking by playing out all the uses for that block design in "square dance" is just so satisfying. The goods are 55" wide, and the block is printed in two sizes, on the yardage. 4 of the larger blocks spread side-by-side from selvedge to selvedge, followed by two rows of 8 smaller blocks below and then it repeats. And the yardage is also designed so that either way you cut it, you can keep the squares in line.... leave as is for curtains, cut on the width for borders, cut on the length for scarves, or cut out by the block for quilts, pillow fronts, baby dress panels, blouse yokes....etc. ETC!



And because good enough is never enough, I thought we should have a spectrum of sorts to mix in with all of it. Color names of the "pastry lines" from the top: saffron, olive, water, marine, lilac, magenta, coral, and toast. The scalloped stripes run lengthwise on the bolt.



I would say the weave of this dobby dot substrate is slightly more "open" than the very buttery, tight voiles, but the surface gives almost the tiniest little bit of sheen to them, reminding me of silks.



Itty bitty nubby wubby baby pants.



A dreamy little hemline on a new dress for Isabela....



...which is topped with a dreamy yoke. Not done yet, but lots of these sew-ups are some of the items we'll be using in the print ads for Little Folks, which we'll begin shooting tomorrow.

Thanks for having a look. I feel so, so, so happy to do what I do. Particularly lately. Thanks for peeking in, as you do, and have a lovely evening! xo,Anna

The Color of Stew

I have been so busy finalizing the new patterns and getting them off to be printed, sewing some beautiful clothing with the new fabrics for the girls which will be used for some print ads and just simply trying to keep up with laundry and this house. Normally I don't even include any housework in the list of things I am trying to get accomplished, so even mentioning that here means things are finally starting to slow a tiny little bit after what seems like months of non-stop non-stopness.

Today I insisted upon a slow stew. Which included a slow shop around the grocery with coffee in hand and a sleeping baby in the cart. (Can you think of a better way to shop?) After the ingredient chopping was complete and the bubbling was just beginning, I also insisted upon a slow walk around the yard with my camera. Everything I found through the lens plus the warm smell of beef stew that hit me once I came back in the door reminded me why I seldom feel the need to leave this house. Especially this time of year. But it also inspired me to get out the doors a bit more instead of just looking through them.

And such is the color of our stew.

If you're in search of warm and wonderful slow cooking to inspire your palette/palate, don't forget about the famous soup entry post from about this time last year. A soup cookbook in itself! (and for those of you that skim posts: No. The contest was over a year ago. But we'll come up with a new one here soon.)

Be back tomorrow to continue sharing the rest of the Little Folks fabric family.
g'nite, xo,Anna