What makes an artist?

We recently visited a new restaurant (5Church Restaurant in Charlotte, NC) that inspired me in every way.  Visually this place was beautiful.  It was packed with lots of local art and the entire ceiling was painstakingly painted with the book Art of War.  My taste buds were wowed by a steak cooked in the most unique way.

We listened to John Meyer (which is never a bad thing), but my favorite part of the night was finding this little gem painted just outside the bathrooms.  It has always been hard to define what makes an artist, but this is the best description I've ever read and I wanted to share it with you.

"A man who works with his hands is a laborer.  

A man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman, 

but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist."

Thanks for the inspiration, 5Church, I will be back for seconds.

Ribbon and Legos and Dynamite... oh my!

My life has been chock full of two things lately: craft supplies and LEGO's.  Strange combo I know, I'll explain.  My first craft show is this weekend.  I've burnt my thumbs more times than I care to admit making ribbon boards, crayons, and laminating things.  I guess there's no workman's comp when you work for yourself, huh!

I've had the best time preparing for the show.  Right now my booth is all set up in the garage to give me an idea of what it will look like.

 "My First Craft Show: Mini Series" will start next week with loads of pictures and ideas, get excited!

So what's with all the LEGOs?  Owen turned five last week right before Thanksgiving.  This year we decided to celebrate his birthday during our Thanksgiving celebration rather than having a blow out birthday party... very, very good move.  I've realized that it's just not necessary to do a big themed dessert night like I usually do in order to make it a special day for the kiddos... many times, more is less.  

 I made a few cupcakes for Owen's preschool class with white chocolate LEGOs on top... a big hit!  (The chocolate mold is from Flavor Tools.)

 Then I called in some helpers to get a cake made.

These guys were great!  They did what they were told and didn't talk back.  They even brought their own tools, albeit very untraditional baking tools, but they got the job done.

At first I thought that dynamite was a bit unnecessary, but I was convinced when I saw the finished product.

A LEGO cake!  

This was so super easy to make out of a loaf pan and two cupcakes... oh, and that dynamite, my new tool of choice!

And Baby Makes FIVE!

I don't know how it is possible for one month to be so very bonkers, but here it is almost August and I haven't blogged a single time this month.  Well, that just won't do.  

I can't show you what all of my creative juices have been pouring into lately, you'll have to wait until March.  March 3rd to be exact.  I've been busy making another little one!  Yippee!! :)

You'd think by now that my body would be like, "Oh, we're doing the kid thing again?  I've got this!"  But I've been so sick.  If you've been reading for a while you know that my pregnancies tend to be very... um, eventful!  So we are praying that this pregnancy is extra boring.

I can't tell you how soothing it was though to see my sweet little one on that ultrasound yesterday, to hear that heartbeat and watch those teeny tiny little arm nubs "waving" at us.  Healthy pregnancies are nothing short of a miracle.  Life is a miracle and I don't take that for granted.

I've been so blessed to have the help of my sweet hubby.  Just last night he made the kids dinner, cleaned the kitchen and put them to bed all after working a full day of work!  What a guy!

I hope you all are doing well and enjoying these long summer days.  I love you girls too and am so thankful for your friendship!

(Pictures are from some of our July adventures... Pullen Park in Raleigh, Washington DC and Holden Beach, NC)

My Day at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo

The Original Sewing and Quilt Expo came to Raleigh for the first time last week.  This is the Raleigh Convention Center where it was held.  I couldn't be more proud of my city! The oak tree is made of thousands of tiny aluminum tiles that shimmer and seem to change shape when the wind blows.  It's really gorgeous.  Here's a video.

There were tons of exhibitors, stage presentations, make and take projects, classes and some pretty well-stocked studios where you could try out the latest sewing machines, tools and notions that may not have even hit the stores yet.

I was more than a little bit giddy to be there!  I may have even laid out my outfit the night before and made that necklace just for the occasion.

There were fabrics in designs I had never seen.  Like those from H & W Fabrics.  The shop owner, Robert, is a seasoned expo expert so he gave me tons of great tips and things to think about for my show.  (If you follow me on Pinterest this is no surprise, but I'm going to do my first real craft show in November!)

One of my favorite booths was Some Art Fabric.  Colleen Casey and her hilarious brother ran the booth.  I wish I had taken a picture of the two of them, they were quite the dynamic duo.  He is a burly man's man wearing a homemade shirt covered in sewing scissors (homemade by himself!) and she's a bubbly class instructor (I will definitely be taking a class from her next year!)  Their booth was stocked with ultra unique fabric (think, Day of the Dead stuff), patterns and handmade things.  They made these journals out of Golden Books together:

 And Owl kits out of recycled felted sweaters!

Another thing I really liked about them, aside from the way Colleen's brother spoke so highly of her, was that they didn't sell a pattern they hadn't made themselves with samples right there in their booth.  Check out this Melly and Me pink flamingo.  Awesome!

And I love this children's garment bag! 

Believe it or not, there were actual quilts at the Quilt Expo... shocker, right!?  I just sorta stood there and stared at this one for a while.  It's called "Dare to Live Your Dreams" by Lynn Dell Swapp from Utah. (Is it just me or have you noticed that all amazing crafters are from Utah?)

Need a close up of that detail?  Look at those shingles.  I would probably have a hissy fit getting each of those just right.  My goodness!  And the "turned" banisters... that's amazing!  Lynn, I want to give you a high five!

Here's another one that caused me to gawk.... err, hoot.  It's called "Hoodies Owl on Green Tree" by Hoodie Crescent from New Jersey.

 People, I couldn't have said it any better myself...

After seeing all of that amazingness I needed to put my hands on some fabric.  Perfect timing... as I turned the corner there was the booth for my most favorite fabric store in Raleigh... Wish Upon a Quilt.  I need to head over there one day and do a whole blog post about them.  I have to suppress a squeal every time I walk in there and you all NEED to see a picture of what I'm talking about.

I met the cutest lady who works at Wish Upon a Quilt.  She and her 92 year-old Uncle Bob make these miniature ironing boards together, the Lil Buddy Pressing Board.  He cuts the wood and she sews the reversible covers.  Great for a small craft room!

Wish Upon a Quilt never disappoints with their selection of fabric.  Cathy had just returned from Quilt Market (By the way, that's on my bucket list... Quilt Market and Gift Market and I want to see a whale, I digress...) and she had tons of great new things.

I loved how eager everyone was to share their skills and techniques.  Quilting requires so much patience and time.  It could quickly become a lost art if someone isn't willing to take the time to teach.

I came away from the Expo learning a lot about some things I wasn't expecting.  I wore my necklace and carried my camera, which made me stand out a bit.  I was given the opportunity multiple times to speak to what I write about on my blog and what I make... things I'd usually much rather type about than talk about.  Armed with a back pocket full of business cards I would hand them out to anyone who asked about my camera and my necklace.  At the end of the day I'd almost given away every one of them!  Funny, I gained so much confidence realizing that my blog is legitimate and the things I make are both admired and desired by others.  I like moving my online passions in to "real life" conversations and interactions.  It gets me so excited for November!  Yippee!!

Thanks for coming to Raleigh, Original Sewing and Quilt Expo!

 I'll be the first one in line again next year!

How to Dye Yarn The Williamsburg Way

My heart throb and I celebrated eight years of marriage with a trip to Williamsburg recently.  If you've never been, Colonial Williamsburg is a living history museum.  It's 301 acres of land with tons of restored and furnished 18th century buildings.  There are costumed interpreters of history telling us what life was like in that town on the cusp of the Revolution.  (Williamsburg was once Britian's largest and wealthiest outpost of empire in the New World.)  

There are also over nineteen different types of trades and crafts practiced on site using the 18th century methods.  That's where my heart really started racing... I loved getting to see all of these tradespeople.  The cabinet makers were doing woodworking with tools made just down the street at the blacksmith's shop!  It's a working town that sustains its self with items made by the craftspeople who work there.  

All the while I'm getting to look at this view... nice! :)

I asked a million and one questions while I was there, maybe too many?  I got myself into a little bit of trouble.  What can I say?

My favorite spot was talking with the weaver.  In the 18th century, most of the cloth used was imported, but when embargoes ban imported cloth the weavers became very important.  They would spin the yarn on site using wool or cotton.

They would weave the yarn into dish cloths or table runners or even windmill sails using this cantilever loom (which was made by the cabinet shop on site... duh!  That in itself was a total work of art.)

Now let me share a little bit of my ignorance.  I've always pictured the colonists walking around in gray and white, black or maybe brown.  Oh no, my friends, they wore way more bold colors than you would expect!

The gorgeous colors they would wear came from nature... walnuts (brown), cochineal bugs from South America (red), indigo from South Carolina (blue), Spanish log wood tree (purple), Madder plant root (orange) and turmeric from India (yellow).

We had the privilege of watching weaver Max Hamrick dye green yarn.  Green is special.  A weaver may apprentice for seven years before he finally mastered the art of dying yarn green.  The process is difficult because it is an over dye.  First, the yarn is dyed the perfect shade of yellow and allowed to dry, then it is submerged for the perfect amount of time in a cauldron of blue dye, rinsed and allowed to dry.

When it is first pulled out of the cauldron oxidation takes place right before our eyes and the yarn slowly turns colors as it is exposed to the air.

And that is the closest I get to enjoying chemistry!

They seem to love it though.  It takes a special person to keep trades like this alive all while wearing period dress and answering the millions of questions from pesky onlookers like myself.  I love how passionate they are about history and their craft.  It makes me want to set up a cauldron in my front yard and go to town dying some yarn.  I wonder if the Homeowners Association would be cool with that?!

Kitchen Progress

Well, the kitchen remodel is coming along... We've knocked out two walls, hung new drywall, reconfigured the cabinets and gotten our new countertops installed.   All that's left now is to grout the new backsplash and I'll have tons of pictures for you.  I've learned a few things along the way.  What to do and lots of what not to do tips for remodeling your kitchen... stay tuned.   Here's a teensy little peek.