FestForAll & a little more love

I've been busy getting ready for FestForAll, which is this weekend in downtown Baton Rouge. There will be music and food and about 100 artists, so I'm really excited (and really hoping for gorgeous weather!).

If you go the festival, stop by and stay hi! My booth will be at the corner of Lafayette St. and Convention St., in front of PJ's.

Check out the schedule of performances and events for FestForAll here. There's something for everyone, and it's free!

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I've been playing email tag with Frank McMains, an excellent local photographer (check out his blog, lemons and beans ) for a while now, trying to meet up at one or another market so we can talk about tea towels and food photography. This all started a few months ago when he bought a towel from me to see if it would work as a prop. We still haven't managed to meet up, but he's been playing around with some food and a tea towel and here is the result. Oh, delicious!

 photo: Frank McMains

After reading the accompanying blurb on Frank's blog, I think there's an added bonus with this shot : contemplating that waffle covered in crawfish etouffee... oi! I might have just drooled on myself a little bit. Thanks Frank!

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chauvin sculpture garden

Last weekend was the Folk Art Festival and the Blessing of the Fleet in Chauvin, LA. I'd been to the Sculpture Garden (home of the Folk Art Festival) about 10 years ago, so it's been a while and I'd forgotten how amazing it is. I took quite a few pictures- here are a few of my favorites.

this one takes my breath away

Amazing! For more information about the Chauvin Sculpture Garden, visit here.

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blog love!

 I'm thrilled that 5 o'clock crows tea towels were selected to be part of a Mother's Day gift guide over at goodLife {eats}! And there's even a giveaway!!

5 o'clock crows tea towel : hand dyed batik on linen

pattern : trellis / colorway : cantaloupe

If you're not familiar with goodLife {eats}, you should take a look. On this food blog, Katie Goodman serves up gorgeous photographs alongside a staggering number of delicious-sounding recipes. My "to try" folder is bursting! Do yourself a favor and go check it out.

new colors, new patterns, horray!

I've been working hard on getting some brand new tea towels sewn up and photographed. I love these springy new colors and patterns!

tea towel : hand dyed batik on linen

pattern : trellis / colorway : seaglass

tea towel : hand dyed batik on linen

pattern : pause / colorway : lake

tea towel : hand dyed batik on linen

pattern : chevalet / colorway : wisteria

See more here! 

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around the studio

I've been working on getting a new batch of tea towels sewn up, in my etsy shop.

Here are the first two!

tea towel / butter / trellis

hand dyed batik on linen

see it in the shop

tea towel / butter / trellis

hand dyed batik on linen

see it in the shop

tea towel / butter / trellis

hand dyed batik on linen

see it in the shop 

tea towel / butter / trellis

hand dyed batik on linen

see it in the shop 

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amy casey

I really love Amy Casey's paintings.

 escalating

22" x 30"

pulling in the slack

22" x 30"

neighborhood web

22" x 30"

big cities, small towns

41" x 54"

uncertain times

32.5" x 41"

Amy has a wonderful website with tons more work. Take a look!

 

via benign objects

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* and art : fabio zanino

I've been thinking a lot about Fabio Zanino's work lately. I can't get it out of my head, actually.

Deconstruzione III

Contexture • Selezione

Decostruzione VII • Ordigno artistico inesploso

In his statement, Zanino says, " The Decostruzioni are born out of this artistic research: the words leave behind their original purpose and meaning to become pure shapes. The surface of road signs and warning signals is cut into smaller pieces and then re-assembled into abstract artworks, in accordance with the following pattern: objet trouvé » de-construction » assemblage, where iconoclastic act and street art draw from each other."

 

via ette studios

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fabric, fresh out of the pot

I've been boiling out fabric on and off all day today. I love taking the fabric out of the pot and hanging it up; it's my first chance to get a good look at the pattern and color.

hand dyed batik fabric, freshly boiled

fabric: 100% linen / colorway: lime / patterns (l-r): chevron chevalet, privet trellis

I love this new colorway! It makes think of some of my favorite summery things, like limeade and mojitos.

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spring fever, the jam report, and the fabric tornado

I've been hit hard this year by spring fever! I need to channel this energy in productive directions, so I've been working hard on getting my studio cleaned up and organized a bit. (I love it when I don't feel like I'm living in the midst of a fabric tornado.) But it's so gorgeous outside, I don't want to be inside working, or cleaning, or anything! These are the kind of impossibly and perfectly gorgeous days that I remember fondly in the dead of summer.

 poppies in our front yard : morning

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I've finally finished making jam from the flat of strawberries I bought last week (and since the price dropped again this weekend, it about killed me not to buy a second flat to have another go at it). For the first batch, I just made three jars as a test. I really, really overcooked it, so when all was said and done, it was more like gummy bears in a jar than jam, but edible to be sure. I think it might have some potential with sweet and spicy glazed meatballs.

Batch two was really undercooked and texturally challenged. I tried mashing the strawberries by hand instead of just putting them in the food processor, so I ended up with a few jars of thick strawberry juice with chunks of strawberries on top. I think this has excellent glazed meatball and glazed pork roast potential, but I don't think it qualifies as "spreadable" or "jam"... really it's more like a thin sauce with optional chunks.

After all of that, I was overjoyed with batch three. 

Batch 3 : success!

Oh, so much more successful, horray! I used the food processor, so the jam had an even consistency, and I just barely undercooked it this time, so while it's more saucy than jammy, it's still spreadable on toast. I love how bright red it is, and the taste.. mmmmmm. So strawberry-y!

 so delicious!

(The recipe I used is the beginner Strawberry Jam from this book. )

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Back in the fabric tornado, I've been working on some new patterns as I'm getting ready for FestForAll (May 1-2 in downtown Baton Rouge, right around the corner!). I'm dyeing up some linen in the new patterns, and I'll be boiling my first batch out this afternoon. I can't wait to see the final results!

a pile of linen yardage waxed in my new chevron pattern : ready to dye

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textiles and art : louise riley

I'm so amazed by the work of Louise Riley.

 Bjorn

 Mia

Embroidery on mattresses - I'm stunned. Did I already say "amazing"?

There's so much more great work on Louise's website and her blog.

And check out this interview by Joetta Maue (the woman behind the fanstatic blog Little Yellow Birds).



(via crafty crafty)

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where does the week go?

It seems like the weeks are flying by lately. I start Monday morning with the best of intentions, and then somehow it's Friday afternoon and I'm saying "huh, what happened?". Don't get me wrong, I'm getting lots done around the studio, focusing on new patterns, new products and arts markets. But making mode and computer mode seem pretty incompatible lately.

I think I should confess to a bit of spring fever too. It's so nice out, the birds are singing, there's a bit of a cool breeze - it's one of my favorite times of year. Not to mention that strawberries are in season. This year I decided to indulge myself and make some jam. I've been wanting to try it for the last few years, so it's finally time!