{Fabric Friday} first 2 creative competition entries...

Oh wow, do I have a treat for you fabric lovers today! It's finally time to share the first 2  entries of the 5 Bundle Creative Competition. I ended up realizing (for a number of reasons) that it would be best to separate the posts. So, I will post the the next 3 entries on Tuesday (the lime green, robin's egg blue, & pinks stacks). You will have a chance to see all 5 next Friday for the final judging.  For those that are new to the blog, let me quickly catch you up. In an attempt to "destash" my studio, I held a contest to receive 5 bundles of fabric that I put together with the instructions to make something with the fabric & then send me pictures of the finished product on the 31st of March. I have to say, this has been so fun! I love the enthusiasm, excitement, & genuine interest that has been shown - not to mention the variety of creative vision. All five bundle winners really put forth so much thought & effort. I'm so impressed! I actually ended up  changing up the fabric in each bundle a bit, once I learned what their favorite colors were- which you may notice.  The first 2 bundle winners received the green/turquoise stack & the orange stack of fabric.  These were the first chosen initially & I liked how the stacks worked together - so it seemed fitting to have them in the first post together. 

This first stack of green & turquoise fabric went to Heather {ringmaster}. Heather has a fondness for Blythe dolls & has created her own version of a Project Runway finale for you. She has recently rediscovered her love of making doll clothes and from the looks of things, seems to have found her calling. Tim Gunn needs to see all of this because you really made it work Heather. Nice job!

Kari was sent the stack of orange fabrics. As you see, she made two beautiful pillows - one patchwork & one yo-yo, for her new sofa. The soft velveteen was used for a spunky, tie wearing bear for her 1 year old, Max. Kari seems to have an eye for home decor. These look like they could be seen at Anthropology, don't you think? Nice job to you too Kari! 

Didn't these gals do a fantastic job with their fabric bundles? Check back on Tuesday for 3 more wonderful creations. Next Friday you will have a chance to see all 5 together  &  be asked to vote for your favorite finished product. The winner will receive more fabric & a $20 klt:works gift card!  So be sure to come back.  

Oh, &  if you are curious :: 

Check out what Carmel is doing with her klt:fabric stash here. {the first klt:sketchbook fabric giveaway winner}

Happy Fabric Friday! 

{Real Life} icky...

Things are running at a little slower pace around here. Sayer isn't feeling too hot- he's not quite his perky self. While I was  thinking that the blooming daffodil fields were triggering allergies, I'm not so sure now. It's always hard to imagine how yucky the little guy feels because his fire station is still humming right along & he is still dealing with tons of emergencies with his fire coat & hat on. However, this little fireman is down for the count right now (but on the mend). This is the first time that he has gotten sick since he has been so verbal & not in a crib. It's been so helpful having him articulate what he needs & feels (we've had a pretty good run this winter). Last night he summed it up pretty well by telling me that, "this is no fun at all Mommy". So, we are getting some good cuddle time in, working on making an elevator for his fire station, & taking it easy today. Hopefully the fire station will be running at full speed tomorrow. 

Hope you're having a good Tuesday! 

{Everyday Inspiration} books & fun...

This was an unusual week. Chris & I had a mini vacation- about  24 hours in another country & visiting with new friends. It's pretty amazing - but with a small kiddo, and many jobs - we just never seem to get away. We met up with Daria (LaLa Shoes) & her husband in Vancouver, BC. Although Daria & I communicated regularly for the last year, we never had the opportunity to meet in person until now (they live in Croatia & were visiting Vancouver). Sayer had a sleep over at his grandparents, we were unplugged from the computer, and footloose & fancy free. A really sweet couple from Vancouver had visited Hutch Studio right before we left & passed on some great little shops to Chris -which in turn sort of created our agenda for the day. One cool shop lead to another & the ongoing theme was books, typography, & vintage finds. Which we all four love. I found this amazing book, The Big Book of Fun, ( that was printed in the early '30's) at a place called Stepback -along with some other small treasures. This place was awesome-vintage & handmade goodness. I went sort of crazy with their collection of Wonderbooks. It was sort of like my mother ship had landed in there. {photos below -except the open book- via here}

Another interesting place that we visited was, The Regional Assembly of Text. This was another special shop that showcased the owner's love of typography & books.  I think we all drooled a little bit in there. {photos below, via here}

We were looking for the recent issue of UPPERCASE Magazine & the very sweet ladies at The Regional Assembly of Text pointed us in the direction of this next place called Collage Collage. It housed lots of wonderful books, magazines, & art supplies. When we showed up, there was a children's art class happening right in the middle of the shop. I think I had a permanent grin on my face while I walked around looking at the books. It made me miss Sayer even more- he would love to take a class at a place like that. I wish it was in our neighborhood. One of the things I noticed was that they had lots of supplies for making comic books there (ie storyboard tablets for kids). {photo below, via here}

Which brings me to another thing- we visited some Comic Book shops too. Daria's husband, Tonci, illustrated a few new graphic novels that are out in stores now (Who is Jake Ellis series) so we visited a some places that were right up his alley. Of course I found some things there too- a Moomin book & a Yo Gabba Gabba comic book to bring home to Sayer. 

Those of you that follow this blog know that I love to take photos. Well, along with "unplugging" from the computer, I took a break from the camera too. I brought it with me because I really did want to document our trip & take tons of photos of Daria & her husband. But, I guess I just really wanted to be in the moment. I find that when I get behind the camera, I sort of go into my bubble. Because of this, the photos of the shops are from their websites & I only have 3 photos of Daria & I. They are quick & blurry. However, if our day was a comic book... we may have looked a little like this. 

It was such a nice getaway- & particularly fun to be with people that had similar interests. I have some cool treasures to fill up this beautiful handmade bag that Daria gave me. But most of them I can hold in my memory. All in all, this book sums up our trip- The Big Book of Fun. Hope you are having a great weekend! 

{Fabric Friday} butterflies by hand...

{Abigail Brown Butterflies}

{Maja Backstrom - Butterfly Fabric}

{Greenolive Textiles- Flutterby Fabric & Modgreen Pod Fabric}

Ever since Sayer announced that he loved "butterflies & firetrucks", I've been on the lookout for unique butterfly fabrics. I'm particularly drawn to fabrics that are made by hand & found these lovely examples while cruising through Etsy. On my search, I also ran across some beautiful fabric butterflies by Abigail Brown. Butterflies have a way of calming me down & making me feel rather hopeful, how about you? Thought it was a nice way to end the week- Happy  Fabric Friday! 

*Be sure to stop by next Friday for the 5 bundles Creative Competition - submitted photos. 

Have a great weekend!

{Real Life} Go climb a tree...

When I was rummaging around in a box of pictures yesterday, I found this one. I had the funniest feeling when I saw it- total familiarity. It's nice to know that I haven't changed much over the years. I like that I still let myself dream big & try to do things that may seem unreachable or unrealistic. It's because of this characteristic that I started klt:works, this blog, & in turn met some wonderful people. Some of these wonderful people have turned out to be some of my best friends over the last year & I find myself longing to hop on a plane to enjoy some coffee & conversation in real life. Well, I'm excited to share that I get to finally meet a friend that I have been communicating regularly with ever since I wrote this post here - tomorrow! We've been planning this meet up for months & it involves an anniversary getaway & the need to cross the Canadian border.  So.... just go climb a tree. You never know what will happen or who you will get to meet on the way up.

{Music Monday} First day of Spring 1999...

On the first day of Spring in 1999, Chris & I got married in an old mansion that is home to a textile & quilt museum. It was about 70 degrees & all of the daffodil fields were in bloom. The La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum (aka the Gaches Mansion) sits on the top of a hill in La Conner & at the time, we lived just down the steps in an apartment above the stores on the main street of town (near the water). Our wedding was inspired by the mansion, the 1930's, & old Fred Astaire movies. So it was entirely shot in black & white photos. However, the odd thing to think about, is that this was right before digital cameras took over. So... we only have boxes of negatives- nothing digital. I actually remember trading some of my old oil paintings for all of our negatives with our photographer. I went through our box of photos today & wanted to scan & post a few- it was fun sifting through them. (My brother was my "maid of honor" & Chris' sister was his "best man".) 

We watched tons of old Fred Astaire's & Ginger Rogers movies & studied their dancing before the wedding. Cheek to Cheek was our first dance. Happy Music Monday & Happy Spring! 

{Fabric Saturday} Drool worthy fabric + 5 winners...

I've been drooling over this collection of Scandinavian fabric at Hus & Hem ever since Louise (thirtyfive flowers) posted about it on her blog. I suppose that my many times cruising through this collection may have influenced my fabric choices a bit for this "Textile Love" Etsy treasury that I just made. I wanted to put together a small collection of textiles that are either vintage or hand screen printed because I'm particularly fond of both. It's just nice to have a documented list of some of my favorite patterns, colors, textile designers/printmakers & shops. You can view the treasury live here.

But wait... there's something else I want to say.... I have some winners to announce for the  5 Bundle Creative Competition! Again, I had to use a random method to choose the winners- this time random.org helped me out. 

And the 5 creative competitors are :: 

1. Kari Firak  2. Ringmaster  3. Pop-i-cok  4. Heather  5. Amy Freeto 

(& Carmel- the winner of the fabric stash giveaway- is invited to play of course too). 

So, if you see your name, make sure I have your address so I can send you your bundle. You can email me at kristin{at}kltworks{dot}com. Can't wait to see what you all come up with. Remember, I will post pictures of of all 5 creations on the April 1st Fabric Friday post. Thanks to all of you who entered & shared your fabric stories. This isn't the end of my stash. There is more fun to had so stay tuned...

Happy weekend everyone!