Botanical Tea Towel

Hooray! My first ever, limited edition tea towels have arrived.  I am so excited for this next step and couldn't be happier with how they turned out.

The lovely folks at Orchard Street Press did an excellent job getting the soft color I was going for, using water-based inks and a beautiful, nubby natural towel.

Those of you who are fans of my botanical Gocco prints will love this new application. They are big, absorbant, and will feel softer with each use.

Head on over to the shop to pick one up - makes a great housewarming gift!

amymarcella.etsy.com

hello again

exploding mountains

New pillow! I am not yet sure if this will go to etsy or not...

Also, a wedding invitation I did recently:



I am working on this year's calendar and some more pillows and pin cushions this week - this is the busiest time of year for me to get ready for the holiday season, and HOPEFULLY Art vs. Craft in November. Wish me luck!

inspiration where you seek it

I needed a kick in the pants to get started with next year's calendar, so I visited the Boerner Botanical Gardens.





Butterflies, chipmunks, and beautiful aromas accompanied me on my very slow stroll through the grounds. Sometimes when I am doing something I enjoy, I have to remind myself to STOP THINKING and just be there. I was not on anyone else's clock today, so I really could just take my time. For those of you familiar with my work, you may be able to imagine what will come of these patterns and textures (oh my, am I excited about the lily pads!).

Speaking of patterns:

productive amy

i have been doing some serious nesting lately. The pillows above are for someone else, but I kind of want to keep them for myself!
Tom got a new light for my studio - a giant lightbulb so I can always have bright ideas. It makes me smile.
I finally hung some artwork above our couch. We have lived here for three years already, but everything I did there just seemed not right. Finally I collected all the small pieces we had all over the house and decided I liked them much better all together. I can list where the art came from if you are interested, but for now I need to get back to sewing!

Also, I really want to paint our fireplace white, but Tom is very against it. Any other ideas as to how to make it less....dark and outdated?
have a happy week ~

weekend project

hello! I have been a busy bee lining up work and projects and planning what my next move is. Times are tough, and this economic crisis is affecting everyone around me. Honestly, I am starting to be very nervous. I know it will get better, and I feel good about that, but for now I have been finding ways to hunker down and tighten the purse strings.

One goal I set last week was to make something from this lovely book that Katie gave me for xmas this year:
French General: Home Sewn: 30 Projects for Every Room in the House.
There are a lot of adorable projects in this book, and they really focus on using antique linens and flea market fabric, which I don't have in my collection at all. I just used whatever fabric I have in copious amounts, which ended up being from Ikea.

This project was the French Pouf Floor Pillow. It's huge! Rather than logically think about how large this was going to be, i just started cutting out the pattern and whistled contentedly. It's 3 feet wide. My dog is only 10 inches from nose to tail.
I still need to add more stuffing and attach the middle buttons, but i am pretty happy with it over all. Plus, I learned something new, and what better time to become better at my craft than now?

more things

New items will be live in my etsy shop later this evening! This is Gold Series #3, in a small edition of 17. I also have 3 Moleskin Journals in this design.

experimenting:


I am working on some textile designs, and playing with color and pattern. These prints are my first attempt, and soon I will make something out of this canvas. My main goal with this test is to see if / how my designs translate to fabric, so for now I am keeping it very simple with freezer paper stencils and good old fabric paint. I hope to get some yardage screen printed in the future, but not necessarily with this pattern... I am loving the possibilities!

Mary Flanagan Woolens

As I was saying, on Friday I had the pleasure of visiting the workshop of Mary and Scott, of Mary Flanagan Woolens. I have been using their wool exclusively on my pillows for about a year, purchased from Purl.
They are located in Pickett, WI in a house surrounded by farmland and green fields with hay rolled up neatly and cows grazing quietly. As my mother and I navigated the back roads, we relied on a GPS tracker/map/stern voice of reason "No, turn RIGHT on Hwy B! You missed it! Turn around!" Of course, looking at a tiny screen in my lap (I was not driving) rather than the real life scenery and directional signage caused us to drive in the wrong direction for 20 minutes, but oh well. It was still pretty. I love driving through the country and imagining rebuilding the interior of a beautiful barn to be a multi-functional studio with sky lights and vast fields of wildflowers and maybe a few chickens.


It was so interesting to learn a bit more about the process and background of Mary and Scott. They hand dye all of their wool, giving it a consistent dye saturation and reliable color. I am always drawn to the "Party Mix" collection myself, but the range of other colors is really impressive. I brought home a 6-pack of patterned wools, dyed to match my usual solid Party Mix collection - I think it will be perfect for the Fall collection of pillows.


If you would like to catch up with Mary and Scott, they will be at the Hand-Hooked Rug Show in Green Lake, WI. It is open to the public and will be at the Green Lake Conference Center on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 from 5:30 to 8:00 pm and all day Wednesday the 17th from 8:30 am to 8:00 pm. You can also see their traveling schedule for trade and non-trade here.


Thanks again Mary & Scott- I hope to stop by again in the near future!

field trip

Today is a very exciting day - I am heading to Pickett, WI to visit Mary and Scott of Mary Flanagan Woolens. I have been using their wool felt on my pillows for the past year and I love the color saturations and quality of the hand-dyed wool. After purchasing from Purl repeatedly, I did a little research and discovered that Mary Flanagan is based in my neck of the woods!

So off I go on a little field trip. I will share my experience here next week - have a great weekend!

new pillow, etc.

I have a new pillow ready to go to Blush (located on the corner of Water Street & Buffalo in Milwaukee). I will also be updating my etsy shop in the next week or so...

more fabric love

Round Flowers by Seven Islands:

Robot Line by Kokka:

Hot Couturier #12 from Contemporary Cloth:

Menagerie, also by Kokka:


fun choices for a modern child's room, or really any room...

Purl Soho
Contemporary Cloth

just kidding, here i am!

i am dream shopping while i enjoy my morning coffee, and if i had a regularly paying job i would possibly splurge on these:

i am actually in love with them. oh, Frye. Tom wears Frye's for motorcycling, and i want to match him. Or, I just want super amazing quality boots that i will wear until i am dead, and i think these are it. I can't explain my fascination with this pair - they are the right combination of awesome and cowgirl and i think they have a good sense of humor. they Facebooked me and I accepted.
I am also obsessed with this dress from Anthropologie, but alas. The life of a freelancer does not require cute outfits on most days.

Last night I saw Mama Mia! and I have to say it was SO GOOD. I didn't think i would like it, but I was taken with the Grecian scenery and dreams of ditching my entire life here and moving to Greece, working in a bar, and dancing with locals. I have that same dream about Spain and even Mexico. I could be happy with that life, but I think the student loan officers would find me somehow.
I also loved the emphasis on all the gorgeous Josef Frank textiles:

it was all so visually delicious.

over and out.

EDIT:: did you know Urban Outfitters saves your CC#, so all you have to do is hit "yes, send them to me i need them right now" and all of a sudden you have ordered boots you can't afford with one click? it's true. i almost hit that fateful button, then i closed the window! oh, the torture! i am going to still think it over. the boots are also available on Zappos, for $4 more.

Daisy Janie / Scoutie Girl

Hooray! My pillows are featured this morning on Scoutie Girl. Scoutie Girl is run by Jan DiCinto, who also makes wonderful handbags from her own original fabrics. Thanks for the great compliment, Jan!

Scoutie Girl