Crafters for Obama

Tonight, Obama and Clinton will hold their debate here in Austin. I'm so jazzed (even though I'm going to have to record it and watch it later, 'cause I have a group meeting tonight) and there is such a cool feeling in the air around here. It's the first time in ages that I've felt excited about the political process, and that I've felt really energized and excited about a candidate.

Yep, I'm an Obama girl. And my mom .... whew boy ... I think she's going to be president of his fan club. She's been cracking me up over the last few months - emailing articles, videos, calling me when he's speaking on tv, wearing her Obama t-shirts - she is head over heels in love with him. (not like that ... she's excited about what he can do for America)

So I was very excited to see support for him pop up in the crafting community via Julie Ree's blog. She's set up a fund raising campaign specifically for crafters who support Obama. You can donate to his campaign in the name of crafting! I love that.

She's voiced her support more beautifully than I can at the moment, so I'll present her words here, and encourage you - if you feel so compelled - to donate to his campaign in the name of crafting and help her reach this goal. It really is one of those "if everyone just donated $15 ... " kind of thing - she's about a quarter of the way there. And then add the Crafters for Obama button to your web site and share the word.

Thank you, Julie!

from Julie's web site:

"It's about more than policy changes. It's about a sea change in attitude among the American people. He's asking us to step up, pitch in, and work together to transform our country. He has inspired me to think about how I can engage more in my community, how I can serve others, and what role I will play in the future of my country. I am proud to be inspired by him. Imagine what kind of change we might see if he were given the chance to inspire the whole country as President?

I invite you to join me in supporting Barack Obama. This crafting community is an extraordinary group of thoughtful, hard-working, strong women. I think his message will resonate with you as it has with me.

....

You can also easily and quickly donate to a fundraising campaign I have set up. My campaign, Crafters for Obama, has a goal of $2000. Help me meet this goal. In this month alone, Obama's campaign has received contributions from more than 249,000 people, 90% of whom have contributed less than $100. Help us keep the momentum of this grassroots movement.

And when you're ready to support Barack, won't you add the "Crafters for Obama" button to your blog to show your support? It's in the top right column, and I invite you to display it proudly on your blog. I have great reason to hope. Instead of a politics of murk and muck, I see a path, however winding and long it might be, that can lead us toward renewal and hope. I want our country to be on that path."




Beautifully said, Julie. Thank you! And readers, please (if you agree, of course) post about this on your blog, and let us know you did with a link in the comments here. Thank you!

New patterns on Sublime Stitching Web site!

Yipeeeeeee!

The embroidery love just keeps on flowing. New patterns are up on the Sublime Stitching web site and -lordy- are they fabulous! Must. Order. Now.

Check out some new artist series patterns from Julie West and Lisa Petrucci.

And then grab hold of your jaw, 'cause it's gonna drop when you lay your eyes on the Forest Friends transfers. HO-LEEE-CRAP. I was thinking I was getting kind of tired of forest animals - they are on just about everything in craftland, and since I have a daughter who is a forest animal freak (her bedroom is a "magical forest" - seriously - with these and this on the walls) I get my fill of little forest critters.

But leave it to Jenny Hart to put her awesome spin on a trend and make it all cool and new and fresh for you. There's a stag in there - that's my daughter's favorite - and a cutie little hedgehog.

And then the Tattoo Alphabet - complete with little extras like daggers and a tattoo-style banner - are super cool. Hooray for new embroidery fun!

I'm off to order now. I might be able to get something done for my daughter in time for her seventh birthday on the first of March .....






(all images from the Sublime Stitching Web site)

Some Linky Love

I don't feel like I've been making much this last week - I've had sick kiddos, work and more work, and just one of those random weeks where I can't seem to get in to the craft room and get to makin'.

I am continuing with my sewing classes, and am about half way through the Beginning II Sewing Series. I'm making this wrap dress out of a blue knit. I'm not much of a blue person (unless it's a nice aqua) but for some reason I really like this fabric. It's kind of a peacock blue. I've never sewn with a knit before, but I figured this would be a good time to start - with Leslie right there as I go. I'm nervous as all get out, but since I get to take my time with this project, I think it's going to turn out pretty darn cool. We spent all of the last class just altering the pattern to fit us, and cutting the pieces. It feel awesome to know I'll have a dress that is custom fit to me.

So - since I haven't been making stuff this week (since the last sewing class) here's some fun stuff I've been reading on blogs. Enjoy!

Indian Mirror Embroidery - This is an awesome tutorial for Indian mirror embroidery - I've got to give this a try. I found the link to the Joyful Abode blog through the Flickr Embroidery group.

Tea Wallets - my pal, Leigh, cracked me up when we went to NYC a couple of years ago. We went to a great place for breakfast, and she whipped out her own bag of tea. I laughed, but when I tried her tea, I got it - it was worth bringing her own. When I saw these Tea Wallets on DIYnamite (via a tutorial on Craftster) I instantly thought of her.

Side table makeover - I love this makeover Dabbled did on a side table. It now serves as a great play stove. This is the kind of project I always want to do for my kids, but never get around to. I need to change that. My parents made a little wooden kitchen for us when we were kids, and we loved it. They still have it at their house, and now the grandkids play with it whenever they visit.

Painting shadow box - Book Hou crafts has a beautiful shadow box project. I love this.

Loving Hands Quilt - From the Back and Forth Project gals. This is such a beautiful and thoughtful project. I love it! I'm just trying to figure out who I can do this for now .....

It's probably a good thing that this week was slow in craft land for me. There are several projects that will be popping up in the next few weeks for me. One is a super secret project that I can't wait to reveal, the other is a fun project my friend and I are putting together for the Back and Forth project. I'm also going to try to work on something for my daughter for her birthday ... which is in just a couple of weeks ... (yikes!) I'll be finishing my dress in the next few weeks, and I've got a few ATCs in the works, so a little calm before that productive storm is a good thing.

Capping off the week with more embroidery love

A perfect end to a week kicked off with a rocking embroidery night .... Nora Ankrum from the Chronicle was at the event and wrote about it on the Chronique blog.

Best. Headline. Ever.

I'm seriously considering stealing it as a tagline of sorts. I'm so glad that my message of embracing imperfection is getting out there. ;)

I start my second sewing class tonight, and I'm super excited. The first class meets in a fabric store for three hours - just how I want to spend a Friday night (for real!) I've already got a stack of patterns that I scored at recent $.99 sales, but I'm not sure what garment I'll make yet. I need to post a picture of the skirt I made last weekend at our last Beg. I class - it's reversible!

Until next time - keep on poking holes in perfection!

* The shoes she mentions in the story are actually my sister's. I covet them. She let me borrow them almost two months ago ... I really need to get those back to her ... maybe ....

What's this? Craft Lab on my DVR!?

As I mentioned before, I love my crafty tv and was pretty bummed to hear that shows like Craft Lab, Uncommon Threads, etc. were being put on indefinite hiatus or sent to the wee hours of the morning time slots. I have my DVR set to record these shows any time they come on, so they will catch them no matter the unfortunate time slot. For about a month, I've sadly had not Craft Labs or Uncommon Threads on my DVR .... until today.

I was just scrolling through my list of recordings, and some where between Zoboomafu and Frontline - there it popped up! It recorded yesterday and today ... and at 1:30 pm on DIY.

Have they listened?

We still need to let them know that we like that Craft Lab is back and in a good time slot, and we want them to keep it that way and bring Uncommon Threads back!

75 people + One Room + Embroidery = heaven

We had a fun night tonight - the kind of night where I come home and still have to pinch myself and say, "Really? This is part of my job? Seriously? I'm that lucky? Dang!"

I'm wound up, but also tired, so the post will be short and sweet with plenty 'o pictures to show how much fantastic fun it was to teach 75 people embroidery ... in one room ... in three hours.

We were lucky enough to be invited to hold a Stitch Lab event at Design Within Reach in downtown Austin. It's an amazing furniture store - the kind where you walk in and want pretty much everything in there (ohh .... the aqua leather couch ... it has my name written all over it ....) Leslie thought a hand embroidery night would be fun, and of course, I'm not going to complain about that. Long story short: we ended up with more than 75 people in this amazing furniture store and taught them all some basic embroidery.

It was amazing. Imagine a beautiful, artful space, filled with small groups of 10 or so people hunched over embroidery hoops. There was lots of talking, lots of laughing and lots of fun creative connections. Pretty much heaven to me.


















The people were so fantastic, and were very receptive to the crafty goodness of embroidery. There were all ranges of ages, women and men, and they all seemed to really enjoy picking up the needle and floss and get to stitching. Several people talked about having not embroidered in decades, or how they used to watch their grandmothers embroider, and it was great to hear their stories. Mostly, it was just great to see people laughing, connecting and enjoying the craft. Honestly, my little embroidery-loving heart was down right overflowing. It was almost too much to handle.

So I'm still wound up, but still exhausted, and really needing to get in bed. So enjoy the pictures of the stitchy fabulousness!

These gals were adorable and had a blast stitching up their napkins.
Jenny Hart and the Sublime Stitching gang donated the transfers we used on the napkins. They were perfect for fun stitching! Thanks, Jenny!

Lots of laughter and fun.
Victory! A sassy, fun napkin and a new skill all in one night!

Mmmmmm .... floss .... Participants picked a few colors and got ready to stitch!

Must. Go. To. Bed. I'll be dreaming of embroidery.