Ok, I am finally going to take the plunge and make a real quilt for me and the Mr. The problem is, I am having such a hard time deciding which on to make! It’s a pretty big commitment and once I start there’s no turning back.

I have always wanted to make a Denyse Schmidt quilt (her Chronicle book is still one of my favorites) and I have it narrowed down to a couple. I’m leaning towards the first one but what do you think?

Our bedroom is mostly pink and brown so I’m thinking Liberty prints mixed with something a bit more modern like a Japanese fabric or even Ikat. Sounds a little crazy but I think it will work.

Oh and ps- A couple of people have mentioned that the adding part of the comments is a little confusing. All you have to do is add up the little equation. I don’t want to make things confusing but this prevents me from being over-run by spam!

Anyone who has been reading this blog for a while knows that I have a thing for cupcakes. Some of this love is purely aesthetic- let’s face it, most cupcakes are a lot cuter than they are delicious. If it’s not the too-sweet icing it’s usually the too-dry cake.

However this weekend at the Brooklyn Flea, I think I found my holy cupcake grail: Kumquat Cupcakery. Made in perfect two-bite sizes in delicious flavors like Mango Coconut and Lemon and Lavender, these cupcakes are totally sublime. Sublime!

As you can see, Mr. Loveforever was also a fan. He ate his Red Velvet cupcake so fast, I didn’t even get a chance to have a bite!

At this time, Kumquat Cupcakes are available at the Brooklyn Flea in Fort Greene and Artists and Fleas in Williamsburg. They can also be delivered to certain areas of Manhattan and Brooklyn. They are the perfect thing to keep you going over a long day of flea marketing!

I’ve been trying out some new techniques with paper in my collages on wood blocks. I wanted to make the paper dimensional in some way. I like how this one came out.

photos by Mark Winwood and Michael Wicks
Yay! Yay! The cover of my book is on Amazon! Feel free to pre-order with abandon! My only caveat is to say that the boor is not coming out exactly on June 1. It should be sometime shortly thereafter.

I will keep you all updated on events and signings and all that fun stuff!

The ampersand is definitely my favorite punctuation mark (I just love it’s shape) so I flipped when I saw this poster by design team Conor & David (see they like ampersands too!).

Reminds me a bit of this window.

Found via Hello Bauldoff, a really awesome design/visual blog.

These new watermelon pincushions will traveling along with me to the Brooklyn Flea this weekend. I will be selling a few of them along with some other fun new stuff at the New New Etsy team booth. Please stop by and say hi if you’re in the neighborhood.
Also: this is a little far off but I am please as punch to be selling my wares at Renegade San Francisco with Siri of Treehouse. I can’t wait!

Pssst! These watermelons are now available in my Etsy shop!

I am just over the moon about these beautiful prints from Mociun ’s fall line. I’ve been wanting to splurge on one of her trademark tie front dresses but I might have a to wait it out for a few month until this one here hits the stores.

One of my favorite parts of the Providence trip was the RISD alumni sale. There are so many craft sales now so it’s hard to have any expectations going in, but this sale had some really special things.

I particularly loved Ann P. Smith’s robots, made from discarded electronics and broken machine parts. I like that you can visually identify some of the pieces: a watch gear here, a metal spring there.

Smith’s robots are sold in boutiques, displayed in galleries and used as illustrations in magazines and advertisements. For more info on her and some really cool animation of a few of the robots, check out her site.

I love this collage of piles and piles of hand dyed paper garlands by designer Sophie Cuvelier.

They reminded me of an image I have had in my “archives” for a long time and sent me running for my old inspiration books.

So cool right? I especially like the messiness of the red string.

You can purchase some of Sophie’s garlands in the Selvedge shop.

Oh, I wish I had known about this last week!

The World Beach Project is a collaborative art project concepted and organized by artist Sue Lawty and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Sue’s idea was to have people all over the globe submit drawings and sculptures they have made with stones on the beach.

photo submitted by Peter, Clare, Liz, Matt, Jack, Dan, Katie, Jess James, Sue Lawty & friends in Porth Ysgo, Wales

From Sue’s blog: “World Beach was conceived as a global drawing project; a stone drawing project that would speak about time, place, geology and the base instinct of touch. Drawings made on shorelines all over the world, which although erased by the next tide or rains, would be collected within the V&A to become a permanent record of the individual human desire to make pattern.”

photo submitted by Alex Whittlesea of Minnis Bay, Birchington, Kent

“To pick up a rock, is to touch base. Touching stones gives us a primal, spiritual connection with the earth. When we handle a stone, we hold in our hands a small drawing, a tiny piece of the map; we are holding time.”

photo submitted by Chris Dunseath of Appledore, Devon

To find out more about this project and how to send in photos of your own stone patterns, click here.