Transported

trans-port 1. v.t. to carry (goods, people or animals) 

from one place to another...to cause (a person) 

to be carried away with strong emotion. 

Only a few days in to the "enchanted journey" course, 

(see the Magic of Myth) 

and I'm already stunned by my own realizations and connections -

yes, I'm gleefully transported, to say the least!

 Since starting the course, I've happily taken to

stitching and reading my way through each evening, 

a comforting space that seems to encourage 
valuable connections and insights.
In the spirit of evoking sprites, 
spring time-colored flosses slip through my fingers as I work

 Rebecca Ringquist's Blanket Stitch sampler.   

Then when enough new stitches are made, turning  
the pages of another Grimm brothers' fairy tale 
is nothing short of entertaining, 
and enlightening....

With great anticipation and excitement,
I'm looking forward to each class, each assignment 
and each discovery. This course has already become
a meaningful platform for personal growth, 
and I'm anxious to see how the coming weeks unfold!

In the event that Elizabeth offers this course again, 

which I hope she will,

I'm refraining from sharing details of our class work, 

discussions and readings so as to prevent spoiling what would be

your own experience, should you take the course. 

For a better idea of "the Magic of Myth, an enchanted journey 

with Elizabeth Duvivier", click here. 

You'll be so glad you did. ;)

Now, to bring it all together, 

the enchanting Priscilla Ahn:

Priscilla Ahn, Dream

Fairy Tales Divine

From "The Giant Who Had No Heart In His Body", Illustration by Kay Nielsen

If you've ever received a gift 

that literally stopped you in your tracks, 

rendered you speechless, caused you to tear up, 

and most important, had you treasuring that gift for ever more,

then you already know how I felt upon receiving this 

Christmas gift two years ago from my very dear friend, Tracy. 

This reprinting of fifteen Scandinavian fairy tales was originally 

published in 1914, illustrated by the Danish artist Kay Nielsen. 

As you can see, even by my amateur photo above, Kay Nielsen's 

Art Deco-inspired illustrations are something to behold. 

Curling up with these fairy tales, ginger tea and a soft 

hand knit blanket transports me to a wonderful other world.

I'm pretty sure Tracy would be pleased to hear that.

 I'm currently reading these fairy tales and a few others

 as more than a lovely way to pass chilly winter evenings - 

it's all leading up to the highly anticipated online class, 

The Magic of Myth, led by Elizabeth Duvivier,

the founder of Squam Art Workshops.

The course is sold out, so I feel fortunate to 

be taking part in the whole experience. These next six weeks

hold the promise of discovery, creativity and growth,

and I'm ready! 

What treasured gift(s) have you received?

 I'd love to hear.

Spring In an Envelope

With winter still hanging on, this burst of spring

made my walk to the mailbox well worth the effort!

 This is the first of 3 Dropcloth monthly samplers, 

made by the lovely Rebecca Ringquist, 

which I recently won over at the inspirational

City Stitching with Christine Haynes.

Rebecca's packages always deliver cheer!

This time, she tucked in two of the sweetest hearts 

cut from other samplers she's made. 

Her thoughtfulness and attention to detail instantly transform 

an ordinary package into something truly special.

Amidst all that cheer, the star of the show is the sampler!

I can hardly wait to pre-thread my needles with happy colors 

(clearly inspired by the wrapping paper) 

and explore one of my favorite stitches, the blanket stitch.

If you'd like to try your hand at embroidery, 

Rebecca's samplers are the perfect way to begin. 

For starters, her drawings are irresistibly fun and sweet.

Rebecca's knowledge of embroidery is enviable.

Each month's sampler focuses on a specific embroidery stitch 

so you can master it just in time for the next month's sampler to arrive. 

My friend Marjorie had a fantastic idea: 

she purchased one of Rebecca's subscriptions for her 

Home Economics classroom to help teens learn embroidery basics. 

I want to be in Marjorie's class!

Rebecca has a Flickr pool so you can check out how other stitchers have 

handled her Dropcloth samplers. 

Get your needles ready!

To keep the spring time energy flowing, 

enjoy this beautiful and uplifting escape!

Órla Fallon performing Mo Ghile Mear from her latest DVD "My Land"

Telling Our Stories

Labor Day 1916, Garment Workers NYC

Is anyone watching The American Experience on PBS.org?

I recently watched the Triangle Shirt Factory Fire video
and just had to share it.

The video is fifty minutes well spent if you're at all interested 
in learning about the real sacrifices and determination
of our fore-fathers and mothers so that 
we might have a better life and better working conditions. 

If you have another three minutes, 
give a listen to Utah Phillips telling the story of  

the Lawrence Textile Strike of 1912, 
another pivotal point in the shaping of "the people's right 
to control the conditions of their labor." 

Bread and Roses, performed by Utah Phillips 

As Utah Phillips said,

"This is our history, and these are our people,

so you darn well ought to learn it, right?"

Now those are words I can get behind, 
and since I didn't learn these stories in high school  
there's no time like the present!

Enjoy!

Studio Snapshot

Silk sari strips stitched over eco dyed habotai onto linen.

What an enjoyable commission piece to be working on through   

what is becoming a very long, hard winter. 

Lately, David Gray has been playing in the studio

and I thought you might like this video:

Be Mine.

Thought it was appropriate for February. 

I recently added a few bags to my shop.

Knitters love this bag style because it deceptively 

holds a whole sweater! 

Not limited to knitting,

it makes for a great purse or travel project bag.

Did you see all those pockets?

This is my favorite bag to sew, and with spring fabrics  

piled high in the studio, more are on their way.

Questions? Leave me a comment. :)

The Sugar Buzz Princess

I was honored to be a recent guest at my niece Breezy's Princess party. 

The kingdom was outfitted with sparkling crowns and gowns, 

glittering magic wands, pinks a-plenty, and a delicious

princess cake!

Look carefully at the above picture and you'll see Breezy's two finger

technique for the classic Frosting Swipe.

So much to learn from this skilled three year old.

Making gifts for Breezy is always a blast.

These were last year's gifts, 

and this is what I made for her this year:

Frankie the Bloodhound keeping careful watch over Princess Breezy's foot stool.

The entire time I was sewing I imagined her 
easily grasping the soft handle, slinging it over her shoulder and
toting the portable stool/table where ever she roamed. 
Well, that's exactly what she did! 
Mission accomplished. 

Here is Susan's fantastic, easy to follow tutorial on her blog,
http://www.livingwithpunks.com/. 

The only change I made was to use two bags of poly fill. 

In case you don't have a three year old handy, 
Susan recently posted her grown up version.
Happy sewing!

You know how you're either one of those people who 
always wins the prize, or you're just not? 
I quite often find myself in the "just not" category,
until this week when I received an exciting email from 
the lovely Christine over at christinehaynes.blogspot.com!
"Vintage inspired sewing for the modern seamstress." 
Speaking of which, I can hardly wait to download 
her Emery dress and get sewing! I'm so happy to have been
introduced to her. I only wish I lived closer to take any
of her classes at Fancy Tiger in Denver.

Back to Christine's recent generous giveaway, 
which you can read about here,  
I won a three month embroidery sampler subscription
from the fabulously talented Rebecca Ringquist.
Hooray!
 Ever since Rebecca began her stitch sampler club
I've wanted to sign up. Eager to expand my stitch vocabulary, 
I can now dive in! Did I say Hooray?!!

Thank you Christine and Rebecca. 
The ripple effect of your friendship and your talents 
is far-reaching!
Keep up your inspiring work and contagious enthusiasm
for all things stitched.
Life is good!

Holy Comfort Food!

 That's right. 

Take a moment.

If you need a remedy to this bone chilling winter

bake up some of these piping hot, homemade

 soft & chewy pretzels!

 This recipe by Two Peas & Their Pod is the first I've tried 

and it received instant rave reviews at our house!

The instructions are easy to follow, easy to execute, 

and the steps move right along.

Before you know it, you've got beautifully browned, soul-warming, 

salty comfort that fits right in your hand, well, two hands if

you're a dipper. Speaking of which, I didn't make the dipping sauce, 

but the recipe included with these pretzels looked mouth-watering. 

Instead, we dipped into prepared honey mustard and plain mustard.

Both are highly recommended.

If you try making these soft pretzels (and dipping sauce) 

for someone who occupies a soft spot in your heart, 

or for the kids when they come in from the c-c-c-cold, 

or just because, let me know what you think!

Fellow Downton Abby fans, doesn't this silver tea strainer 

look like it came straight from Mr. Carson's silver cabinet?

When a very dear friend recently gifted this treasure to me, 

it was the first I had seen anything like it. 

Then, I saw Episode 8.  :)

Now, keep warm by cranking that oven and baking some pretzels!