Fabric Heaven

I was blog surfing this morning, and ran into fabric heaven. Yes--that's right: heaven. So I thought I'd share with you, naturally, in case you would like a little piece of heaven yourself.

Piece #1: Amy Butler apparently has a new bedding line out at Bed Bath & Beyond. What's that you say? Did you say you love Amy Butler? Yes, I know. Me too.


A few of you possibly know that I'm obsessed with bedding. I can't resist the urge to change my linens around at least once a season--usually more. I love all of it. Quilts. Duvets. Pillow Shams. Faux fur throws. All of it. The more the merrier, in my opinion. My husband, of course, disagrees, which is why I may not be actually purchasing Amy Butler bedding. But I will, no doubt, find myself wandering the aisles of Bed Bath & Beyond and dreaming of it nevertheless.



Piece #2: Lotta Jansdotter sells fabric remnants! Did you hear me? Isn't that fantastic!? She even sells some of them in adorable linen pouches.



I want them. All of them. For placemats and quilted throws and pillow covers.


And yes, I know that this...again...has nothing to do with food (the alleged theme for this week of posting). But this fabric is frankly WAY more interesting than the beets I have in my refrigerator--a recent delivery from the farm. What am I supposed to do with beets, I ask?

I don't have to ask the same questions with fabric.

You understand.

Dining in Style

A Place for Placemats...
I had the best time creating these placemats, complete with chopstick holders, for this week's subscriber raffle! The whole project, from pattern idea to printed stencils, was taken from the pages of Lotta Jansdotter's two books, Lotta Prints and Simple Sewing.


Shamefully, I admit that we eat many dinners on the sofa (I know...a no-no on several accounts), so it was nice for me to remember how...well...nice it is to have fun dining accessories. Kinda makes me want to actually sit down in my newly decorated dining room and have dinner there for a change. (I'm not sure pretty placemats can convince my husband, though....)

Creating a Creative Habit
While I was stitching these up, it couldn't help but think about how these little daily bursts of creativity have become almost habit for me. I'm starting to get to the point where my day feels incomplete if I haven't touched some fabric or snapped some lovely decor shots or knitted a few rows (yes...after a brief hiatus, I'm back to knitting...).

This creative habit, of course, is what I'm trying to inspire during today's economy. Something about daily interacting with raw resources, and then turning them into new and useful things--well, it starts to seep into your attitude, nurturing thankfulness and appreciation for the small things. And it also imparts a teensy bit of empowerment. Not bad for placemats!

Appreciating the Simple
How about any of you readers out there? What kinds of activities are making you appreciate the simple things these days? Share by commenting below!

(oh...and in case you're wondering how you can enter to win the weekly raffle prizes, I'll tell you! Simply sign up for my weekly newsletter, where I share insider updates, previews of what's to come, and how to win prizes, of course!).

Previous Related Posts from this Series:
Creative M.E.S.S.
Sewing in Good Company
The Creative Hour
Creative Salvation!

Monday Malaise Busters

What has the power to get me out of bed on a Monday morning?  The lure of projects, of course!  I finally pulled these beauties from my bookshelf (gifts from friends and family over the holidays) and am ready to start stitching.  Stay tuned this week as my projects develop!

Lotsa Lotta!

Lotta Jansdotter is one of my most favorite textile designers in the biz today.  I first ran across her work in a Blueprint magazine (Blueprint has since gone out of print), and since that time she's popped up all over the place.

I was excited to see that she recently published a book about printing, and wasted no time getting my hands on a copy.  Since then I've been happily printing fabric using her nifty stencils. 

I love her organic designs, and have found that her style is difficult to find.  All the more reason to take advantage of her stencils and printing ideas!  

If you like simple, nature-inspired designs, and are not intimidated by a little do-it-yourself printing, grab a copy of her book.  Or, just visit her website and get some of her products (sans the DIY).  

This post is part of August's Summer Squeeze series.  

Stay tuned for September, when we'll get back to the basics and talk about building a livelihood by meshing career and home together.