I keep forgetting to introduce everyone to Pierre!

All the little Evies I know love giraffes.  I guess they are the new cool animal.

Pierre is happy to be so trendy.

I just finished sewing the binding on this quilt, and, of course, I didn't even  include the binding in the picture. Silly Jennicakes!  I swear, I need to take a class on how to take a picture of a quilt in its entirety.

Who else loves trifle?  This quilt reminds me so much of that dessert - lots of fluffy cream and berries, and the fabrics are all stacked up in layers.

I have a serious love for rickrack on quilts, and this is the best rickrack I've found.  It's woven cotton and oversized and just the perfect scale for a quilt of this size.

1. veg waltz, 2. carrot samba, 3. kitchen rhumba, 4. radish rock

The embroidery you see is for a set of kitchen towels I made for a very, very old friend.  She and I spend a lot of our talking time cracking up over the same stuff that used to crack us up when we were kids. 

For example, does anybody remember the Disney album, Mousercise?  We used to do that all the time and crack up over the song lyrics.  (Actually, they're funnier now than they used to be.)  The song "Pig Out," in particular, has some really bizarre lines, and the lettering on these vintage transfers reminded me of the song.

Really, there is nothing like laughing hysterically over one's needlework.

I wish I could make something this beautiful and meaningful for everyone I know, every time the occasion presents itself, but I just can't.  These towels were possible because I knew I'd be getting a visit from my friend two months after her birthday, and felt okay about presenting a belated gift.  And believe me, I used those extra two months to variegate those celery leaves.

Why can't there be more hours in a day?  I have a lot of friends… 

I'm so excited to have created a pair of quilts!   I feel like I've hit an aesthetic milestone, even if what I've accomplished has more to do with fabric choices than anything else. 

It's going to be a real struggle for me to put these up for sale, and not just hang them up in my living room…

I didn't post for Quilt Monday because I was quilting on Quilt Monday!  Does anybody else do that?  I think it's a great way to ease into the week.  Without having to leave the couch too much.

And it's only Tuesday, and I already have a ton of Flickr Faves for the week.  I'm just posting four, as I want to talk a little bit about them: 

1. i want one, 2. c, 3. Earl Scruggs, 4. Ziggy Zag

1. I want one, too.

2. I also want one of these.  I'll need to learn how to make one.

3. Yes, that is Earl Scruggs, bluegrass pioneer, in Golden Gate Park.  I got to see him (and so did about a million other hippies) at Golden Gate Park on Saturday, and it was WILD.   He'll be 83 soon, and the crowd yelled "Happy Birthday, Earl" in unison between songs.  Judging by his picking ability, Earl will still be with us for a while, so I hope I'll get to see him again next year.

4. Why am I not feeling the fall palette yet? Is it because pale blues and greens are still so pretty?  Or is it the warm weather we're having this week?

Check out this picture of the mask I sent to Carrie Sommer of Sommer Designs.

With the natural light - or lack thereof - being what it is in Northern CA this week, I wish I could get her to do all my photography these days. 

Nothing's worse than a WIP Friday where working doesn't seem to, well, work.  I was all set to bind a quilt today, when I realize I'd cut the binding too narrow - but not until after I'd sewn it to the front of the quilt.  Ripping it out was a serious drag.

On top of that, I can't seem to get the printer to work, which puts me behind on the big batch of masks I want to send to Funky Utopia early next week.  I am adding a new design in a really cute font, but until I can get that font on paper, there'll be no design and no new product.  Boo.

The good news is that my advance copy of CRAFT Magazine arrived via UPS this week, and my head is still spinning!  This magazine is AWESOME!  I loved Jean Railla's column on "Why Making Stuff Is Fashionable Again."  Jean writes:

Painters, photographers, rock stars, actors, and designers are the folks our culture holds up as heroes….  Everyone from twenty-somethings to baby boomers were raised to believe that making art is the ultimate contribution - and the most gratifying.

Preach on, Jean!

What's so great about CRAFTis that it's a really maker-focused publication.  I remember when I was younger, my mom and I would always do the crafts that were readily available/in fashion - plastic canvas needlepoint, puffy painted t-shirts, and the like.  These were fun pastimes, but I don't think we became true "makers" until we started quilting.  Becoming a quilter, as opposed to somebody who liked crafts, was a major lifestyle and world-view change.

This is why I'd recommend CRAFT to anyone who considers him or herself a maker.  Yes, the projects may seem far out.  Am I going to make myself an LED tank top?  Um, no.  Homebrew hard cider? Thank you, no.  Embroider my own skate board?  Don't have one.  Still, I feel I'm a better crafter for having read about those projects, and I'm totally inspired by the craft-as-a-way-of-life ethos that seems to be the driving force behind the whole magazine.

I love that CRAFT is not 160 pages of advertising for, say, a chain of fabric stores.  I love that the first issue alone features Jean Railla, embroidery superstar Jenny Hart, features the fabulous Blythe fashions at Sew Darn Cute, and gives a nice shout-out to the bounty of craft that is The Sampler.  It's really great to see these folks get recognition.

On a personal note, I really enjoyed meeting CRAFT editors Carla Sinclair and Natalie Zee at Bizarre Bazaar San Francisco this year.  They couldn't have been nicer to the vendors, and more importantly, couldn't be more engaged in the workings of the crafty business community.

So WIP Friday was practically anything but, but like anything else, it could have been worse - I could be stuck here without an awesome new magazine.

Click here to subscribe to CRAFT.