Rabbit Girl Crafts

I’m back this week with another Friday Finds, my weekly round-up of needlework, art, and book news from around the web.

I’ve been going through a stressful period recently, which has taken a toll on my health and my personal time for stitching or anything else, but I’m trying to pull myself out of this funk and reclaim my time. So, here we go…

Here are this week’s links:

• New York Magazine says embroidery is “the new status craft.”
• Sometimes I get stuck in a reading rut. If you want to break out and try a new genre, this article in the Wall Street Journal has some tips and suggested books for creating new reading habits.
• “For the first time since it debuted in 2016, the entire National Parks quilt exhibit will be on display in Illinois…at four Forest Preserve District of Will County locations.” YAY! This is right near me. I’m totally going.
• Artist Windy Chien tied a different knot every day for a year. Interesting project.
• A street vendor in Vietnam dresses his cat in little outfits, and the photos are hysterically funny.

Video of the Week

Every week I post a round-up of needlework, art, and book news from around the web.

Here are this week’s links:

• Ah, these are so pretty! Embroidery artist Vera Shimunia “paints” color landscapes with needle and thread.
• Can’t make it to the British Library for the Harry Potter exhibit? Now you can visit “Harry Potter: A History of Magic” virtually thanks to Google.
• If you’re a bookworm who also loves paper planners, Little Coffee Fox has some neat ideas for tracking your reading habits.
• The Artstor blog looks at the enduring significance of the quilts of Harriet Powers.
• This University of Chicago medical student knits anatomy study aids for his fellow classmates. Knitted kidneys, anyone?
• “Jerry and Marge Go Large” is a fascinating article about people who hack state lottery systems to win big money. CRAZY story.

Video of the Week

With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, March is the month for luck, so here is a classic “lucky” song.

Friday Finds is my weekly round-up of needlework, art, and book news from around the web.

Here are this week’s links:

• A look at artists who are painting and adding adding embroidery to teabags.
• The Spruce has a free embroidery pattern to stitch a mushroom mandala. Cute.
• Sweet profile of a Washington State resident, Eric Miller, who has stitched portraits of all of his children in cross-stitch.
• The NY Times asks, “What’s the Right Age to Read a Book?“
• Kate Kato makes some wonderful paper sculptures inspired by nature.

Video of the Week

I don’t know what this says about my sense of humor, but I own all three Trip films with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, and I cannot get tired of watching them. Here’s a clip from the most recent The Trip to Spain.

Friday Finds is my weekly round-up of needlework, art, and book news from around the web.

Hello all,

Still very little stitching going on here. I miss it. A lot. I need to carve out some time for myself. I just requested a couple of days off during the university’s spring break in the first week of March. I am hoping it will be a few days at home to read, sew, and make stuff.

In the meantime, here are this week’s links:

• Easily the biggest needlework news this week is that Linda of Lizzie*Kate announced her retirement. So many stitchers freaked out that she had to post an update letting people know that she’s not running out of stock any time soon.
• This is Colossal links to a short video interview with embroidery portrait artist Cayce Zavaglia.
• Good tips for keeping your creativity alive while working a traditional 9-5 job.
• The New York Times featured a fun gallery of vintage Valentines from the Huntington Library this week.
• Interesting, colorful, and kind of disturbing…Check out the work of Mexican street artist Victoria Villasana which combines portraiture and embroidery.
• Averyclaire has released a new French boutis pattern and kit for a lovely zippered bag. I’m still working on my scissors case…

Video of the Week

This was a song that my husband selected for our wedding playlist. Awwwww.

Friday Finds is my weekly round-up of needlework, art, and book news from around the web.

I am home from work today due to the major snowstorm in the Chicago area right now. So far I have been using the extra time to get ahead on planning in my online courses. No matter how prepared I am, it takes forever to build things out in Blackboard, which can get very frustrating. But, it is what it is…

Here are this week’s links:

• The Visual Arts Center of Richmond, Virginia has an exhibition going on now called “The Embedded Message: Quilting in Contemporary Art.” The exhibit page links to the websites of some of the artists featured in the show, and it features a video with one of the artists.
• “Do Audio Books Count as Reading?” I appreciated this perspective from a writer with a visual impairment who learned to love books primarily because he was able to listen to the stories. I am doing most of my reading via audiobooks right now, which I listen to on my commutes to and from work, because I no longer have the free time to sit and read a paper book.
• Mary Corbett has indexed all of the embroidered kaleidoscope patterns she has featured over the years into one handy post.
• Still need a quick stitch for Valentine’s Day? Stitch one of these cute conversation hearts in this free pattern and tutorial. It could be easily adapted for any perforated paper or plastic canvas.
• Finally, I love this visual tour of “35 Literary Bars and Cafes from Around the World.” More places to add to the travel bucket list…

Video of the Week

Harry Connick, Jr. “A Wink and a Smile”

Hey there! Every week I share my weekly round-up of needlework, art, and book news from around the web.

After talking about it for at least a year–if not longer–my colleague and I held our very first stitching group get-together at the library where I work this week. Two students came, which is a great start. One student is an accomplished crocheter, and she brought her own projects to finish. The other student took advantage of one of the cross-stitch kits I put together, and I gave her some pointers to help her get started on the project. It was really fun, and I got to put some stitches in my Prairie Schooler ornaments, too. We plan to make it a monthly event. Yay!

I hope to have some more updates and stitchy stuff soon! In the meantime, here are this week’s links:

• Did you know that documentary filmmaker Ken Burns collects quilts? Some are now on display at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska.
• These miniature food embroidery designs by Japanese artist ipnot are incredible.
• I love the idea of keeping an inspiration sketchbook. It would be nice to collect everything in one place.
• TNNA experimented with a hotel suite format for its Winter 2018 show, similar to the Nashville Needlework Market, and this reviewer was not impressed.
• Spoonflower shares ideas for embellishing maps with embroidery.
• This retrospective of the art of Ed Emberley at the Akron Art Museum is a great excuse to travel to Akron, Ohio before July 15.

Video of the Week

I’m in the mood to do another theme this month, so let’s feature (what else?) some favorite love songs for the month of February. My husband and I danced to this one for our first dance at our wedding.

Friday Finds is my weekly round-up of needlework, art, and book news from around the web.

Oh, there has been no stitching going on around here recently. The spring semester started at work and I am teaching two classes in addition to my full-time job as a librarian, and I am barely keeping my head above water. I love my classes–and the students–but course preparation, teaching, and grading is taking up all of my free time in the evenings and weekends.

I am trying to keep in things in balance, but since this is only week two of the semester, I need some time to adjust to the new workload.

In the meantime, here are this week’s links:

• Adorable story about two friends and their mutual love of needlework.
• The 112-year old Cone Denim White Oak plant, “the last major manufacturer of selvage denim in the United States,” is being closed.
• The finalists for the 2017 National Book Critics Circle Awards have been announced.
• This interactive sculpture made from clear packing tape on display at the Des Moines Art Center is both fascinating and terrifying. I’m not sure I could climb through that.
• “Textile Artist Creates Nature-Inspired Embroidery Art That “Grows” Beyond Its Frame.”
• This is how I feel about my cat right now.

Video of the Week

Rob Thomas “Someday”

Friday Finds is my weekly round-up of needlework, art, and book news from around the web.

Here are this week’s links:

• I soooo needed to read this article over at the Textile Artist: “Diagnosis: Artistic paralysis” doesn’t just accurately describe the feelings of creative paralysis but also provides tips for how to break out of the cycle.
• Sweet profile of a local needlepointer who recently won an award for her work from the American Needlepoint Guild.
• I’ve featured the work of Ulla Stina Wikander before, but she has some new sculptural objects covered in needlepoint and they’re pretty cool.
• A woman in the U.K. creates amazing felted wool tapestries depicting scenes from the Middle Ages.
• So, apparently people are shelving their books backwards? Moby Lives shares some hilarious responses to the backward book-shelving trend.

Video of the Week

Another fun song for the new yer and fresh starts: “Best Day of My Life” by American Authors.

Friday Finds is my weekly round-up of needlework, art, and book news from around the web.

Here are this week’s links:

• Author and illustrator Meera Lee Patel shares 3 ways to channel your fears into creativity.
• Are you a maker or an excuse maker? The Textile Artist blog has some tips for reaching your creative goals in 2018.
• Do you love SALs? Stitching the Night Away has a comprehensive round-up of stitch-a-longs happening this year. Beware: This list is massive and may cause out-of-control stash enhancement. You’ve been warned.
• Shea Goitia creates colorful abstract embroidery pieces inspired by coral reefs.
• Need some lighthearted books to get you through the rest of winter? Book Riot has a list of top 25 favorite cozy mystery series.
• Have an old pair of jeans you can’t bear to toss? Give them a facelift with this tutorial for embroidering jeans through a combination of appliqué and free-motion machine sewing.

Video of the Week

I’m continuing the theme of “fresh starts” with this week’s video. You’r life doesn’t need to be falling apart to dance along to this upbeat tune by Jason Mraz.