Here is my little art doll from the @quiltynook zoom class with @mirjamtextiles yesterday. 💙
The prompt was to create a goddess or spirit of a theme or value, using fabrics that hold meaning.
With no prior planning, I chose to make a Winter spirit using fabric I ice-dyed. I added a peaceful, content face with rosy cheeks. Halfway through the class Andy texted me a photo of bird tracks in the snow, such perfect timing, so I finished it off by embroidering the little sign of life.
What I learnt in this class:
I need creative community.
I know what I’m doing!! 😅 I can trust myself, from initial idea to my handiwork! Why don’t I remember how much time I’ve put into this practice & see its value?!
I can start and finish something in 2 hours.
I can create using whatever I already have. So many great repurposing ideas!
I can create something without overthinking, perfection or a reason. Art doesn’t have to be perfect or useful.
All good nudges in the right direction I appreciated.
Thanks @zakfoster.quilts for the show & tell & for creating such a community of makers. ❤️
#quiltynook #artdoll #winterart #handembroidery fiberar
This has been me for the last few weeks- cozy, content and crafty. (@andyjpizza sneakily sketched me one night recently as I stitched.) I am thankful for a lovely end to the year with family & friends and I plan to hold onto this curled up, creative me as much as possible in the year ahead.
Lots to be excited about- our new book, writing whatever comes next, a plan for a big fiber art project & some garden and home DIY projects.
Happy New Year, friends & family both sides of the world, it’s time to dream about the year ahead! ❤️🎆
I made a new star for our Christmas tree! 3 layers of wool felt, stuffed & hand stitched, with hundreds of beads and sequins added for pattern and sparkle. The gold border alone has 300+ sequins! I left a pocket on the back to slot onto the tree. It was such a nice meditative process to carefully pick up a sequin/bead on my needle and stitch it on, watching Christmas movies with my Mum knitting and my Dad doing jigsaw puzzles or reading beside me. Such sweet, quiet & crafty time together.
My mum liked it so I gifted it to her to take home to 🇬🇧 so now I need to make another for next year! 🎄
#christmastree #treetopper #feltstar #handmadedecorations #sequins
Here’s my second handmade gift of the year! For my nephew, an Indianapolis Colts & Pacers fan. All cut and stitched carefully by hand.
Stockings are a special part of Christmas in our immediate family & I absolutely love that even though I haven’t sold them for years, I have slowly built up an extended family collection of these in the UK & US as more children have been added to the family. Loved making these for my niece and nephew and researching their favorite things to build a design for each. Hope they’re filled with treats and goodies next week! #feltstocking #indiana #handmadestocking #stocking
Now they’ve arrived safely I can share the Christmas stockings I made my niece & nephew. Wool blend felt, hand cut & hand stitched by me and designed by uncle @andyjpizza .
This one celebrates her love of dogs and features a puppy cast that includes many family pets.
I love it so much! 🥹
#stocking #feltstocking #dogstocking #felt #handstitched
Here are my fabric seeds for the ‘Sowing Seeds’ collaborative textile exhibition by @kayla.powers at @saugatuck_arts
I loved this simple prompt to make little stuffed shapes and decided to use only recycled clothing and old wool sweaters for my 10 seeds. I let button holes, seams & textures shine, showing hints to their previous structures, I even added a few decorative stitches to a few of them.
The textile art exhibition explores ecology, biodiversity and our relationship to the living world. Visitors will be invited to take a seed home with them, symbolizing reciprocity, abundance and planting seeds for the next generation. 🌱💞
Open call to make and contribute seeds. Scan the QR code to find instructions and a printable pattern!
I took a little idea and instead of writing notes for ‘later’ I made myself stop and actually MAKE something. The only rules- sit down, stay there, make something from start to finish. I was wiggly and resistant at first but I got there.
I made a nasturtium leaf, one of my favorites. I observed how they stand and sway in the breeze, the leaf shape, the patchwork-like sections. I used scraps from old wool and cashmere sweaters and I reinforced inside with a plastic lid from my recycling bin and found a pipe cleaner for a stem that I intend to wrap.
#creativereset #creativeprompt #fiberart #fiberartist #textileart #textileartist #nasturium
And before it falls too far back in my camera roll and memory, here are some visual details and scenic photos of the 2 other cities we visited- Florence & Rome.
Aside from the night of cocktails on the Grand Canal in Venice, the Florence sunset on the hill was one of my absolute favorite parts of our trip. It was absolutely stunning and you earn it by walking all the way up the hill. There was something so beautiful about sharing something as pure and simple as a sunset with hundreds of people from all around the world. We sat with a glass of beer/wine & sang cheesy songs & took selfies with the kids. It was a moment that even within it you know it’s a life highlight. My 10 year old loved it so much she asked to go back the next night. 😍
Florence felt like taking a deep breath after the hustle and bustle of Rome.
Rome is like a history theme park, ancient buildings, churches and statues are everywhere and it hardly feels real. Too much to do in just a few days & a little overstimulating at times but we loved it.
We ate so much pasta and gelato but walked 7-9 miles a day even with 4 kids in tow. We loved to eat at big food markets so we could try all kinds of things and also all cater to our kids tastes. We stayed in airb&bs so we could go food shopping & cook breakfasts and dinners, wash our clothes and play uno after my toddler niece was in bed. This trip was a dream & the quality time with all my UK family was something I’ll treasure forever. ❤️
So much inspiration collected around Italy. 😍Many core memories made. Instead of our usual trips back and forth between USA & UK to see my side of the family, we made a plan to all meet up in Italy instead this summer. I feel so lucky to have had this experience. My heart is full from all the family time & I’m refreshed and inspired. Here’s a few visual highlights, colors & details from Venice (& the nearby colorful island of Burano) & Bologna but honestly it’s hard to narrow it down to highlights because it was overwhelmingly beautiful & fun-filled.
BIG NEWS!!!! @thethreadhouse and I have a new @iseeinvisiblethings book coming out called 🌌MYSTERIOUS THINGS!✨
We are SO EXCITED to share this with you and your kids! We have poured so much fun, mystery and love into this project. 📚
Out 2026. More soon!
Started off my day and my week on one of my favorite trails. Ohio is so alive with greenery and birds right now, I can hardly be inside! I paused at the pond to watch as I always do, I could stand there for hours just listening & watching from the secret hideout with my binoculars.
Amongst the 33 varieties of birds spotted/recorded were two green herons. One of my absolute favorites! Love the colors against the duckweed pond.
#greenheron #noticingnature #noticingthings #bird
