i like craft & design
Julie Ansiau felt creations called “popquilts” are absolutely amazing. I’m amazed. I want all of them. My personal favorite is the Chiclets, I ate so many growing up!
See more here.
We are super excited to tell you about the Atlanta Institute of Stitches & Crafts, your new school for modern crafting!
From their site:
We want to create an environment that is both inspiring and reminiscent of all of the great things we loved about school. From lined writing paper to great school supplies, and most importantly feeling like you’re part of a great community of like-minded individuals, school has some great potential for crafty fun. Our website is set up to instill the same feeling when navigated, with categories and menus that remind us how fun being a part of a group of learners & sharers really was (or could have been!).
You should check out their Course Catalog and sign up for a great class. And keep up with them on their blog. We think this is exactly what Atlanta’s craft community needs!
{Our own Christy was profiled on their site here!}
Hooray — thanks ICE for the shout out!!!
i w
Atlanta Institute of Stitches & Crafts
I haven’t written anything in ages and it’s mostly because I’ve been super busy. I generally like to keep the personal business out of my blog because there are just so many other beautiful things out there, but this I think you’ll find interesting!
In the last couple of months I’ve been working on starting a craft school in Atlanta with a great partner, a place where all the crafters can come together and find something inspirational or supportive of their craft. We’re encompassing all crafts (that we can) including fabric crafts, yarn crafts, ManCraft (yes), paper crafts, and pretty much anything else we can get our hands on. We have a team of instructors that is growing (hooray!) and a million amazing ideas & plans!
We’re set up like an old-school school for modern crafting, trying to bring in all the lovely things we miss about being in school. Awesome school supplies neatly packaged, fun craft kits, and even custom pencils & notepads for taking notes in class. I don’t know about you, but I was a total geek about school supplies and things looking nice, so that’s our inspiration! Plus, our mascot is an owl which is just cute — you can’t deny that.
We are hosting our classes in various locations in Atlanta (art galleries, handmade boutiques, oh my!) and love that we can give people a class in a great space. We are aiming toward having our own space some day where it can be a workshop space with small retail to sell the craft supplies we recommend and use. We’re imagining it as a place where anyone can come and hang out, hopefully be inspired, and have all the tools they need to create there. We also envision it going other places one day: Chicago Inst. of Stitches & Crafts? San Francisco Inst. of Stitches & Crafts? You get the idea. We are also planning a Kickstarter campaign to hopefully launch March 1 so keep your eyes peeled to spread the word and support some creative dreamers! We have awesome incentives lined up for our donation levels, so no matter where you are you can benefit from what we have to offer!
Visit our site at stitchesandcrafts.com
I’m stepping down off of my soap box now!!
I made some appliqued pillows for the couch, a sinister vampire grin and orange sateen bats. I made them to go along with the awesome vintage design pillows we got from Target (I always love a Target Halloween!). Sewing a pillow cover for inserts is always the way to go, because it’s so easy to change out the cover on your pillows when the occasion calls for it.
The little pumpkin in the middle is a costume I’m still working on for a 9-month-old baby girl, made from the same velveteen I backed the throw quilt with. Nothing is cuter than babies in sparkly tights, so I’m adding some hand detailing with metallic embroidery floss around the eyes, nose, and mouth of the jack-o-lantern to give it a shiny glow to go with the tights. It will have a tiny tulle skirt to go on the baby so the pumpkin puffs out more. More photos when I’m done with the costume!
I’ve been slowly spooking up the house this month and my favorite handmade thing this year is the quilted blanket I made from a single piece of cotton from Alexander Henry’s 2010 Halloween Collection. The fabric is just too beautiful and interesting to cut up, and so I decided to do long stitches around the images to quilt the piece, attaching it to the backing (made from luxurious orange and green cotton velveteen). The binding is a creamy white with small patches of black interspersed. It is a lap blanket/throw size, perfect for cuddling up on cool Autumn nights! Nothing beats the softness of velveteen.
