Posie Gets Cozy

Felt Hangover After a Long Walk in the Woods

Good evening. This is a dispatch from the assembly lines of the Posie sweatshop. It has been a while since I have taken photos and written here. How are you guys doing? It’s Andy. I know the clock says that it's late, but it has taken me this long to gather my supplies and get my work environment just right. Enough beer? Check. M&Ms? Check. The right music. Hmm. Important. Better do some research first, as I am likely to be doing this for a while. See where the time goes? It's okay because getting the workspace right is one of the perks of working for your wife, especially if she's already gone to bed with a sigh after hearing you talk about Neil Young in 1974 for the fiftyeth time this week. Better pick up another six pack, now that it is past 11. And now the dog is crying because I'm still awake. Time for you to go to bed, then, too, little little. Okay, I think I'm ready to start.

Can I just say that felt is awesome? I mean seriously. The next time you are holding some felt, look closely at it. It is like a bunch of string all mashed together. And the strings aren’t really even all the same color. How do they do that? This light brown that I am cutting here isn’t a light brown at all. I’d maybe call it a Grand-Dad’s-Camelhair-Coat. One of the pieces of felt had what looked like a pen mark on it. As I looked closer, it was a black thread, and I could just pull it right out. Neat!! How did you get in there, little guy?

And have you ever had to iron felt?

I’ve got one word for it.

Satisfying.

Look at this! All my measuring so as not to waste a millimeter of felt and then what. The hidden three inches. And then it takes another 30 minutes to take this picture. I mean, what color M&Ms should I "spill" onto the felt. Red and green for christmas, yea, but this scene has a sort of fall look to it, and it is October. Maybe one red and two greens, in the background. And where is the tape measure? The transparent ruler isn't Andy enough. Wouldn't want you guys to think that Alicia took this photo. This is taking forever!  Luckily, we've budgeted for this time. Whoop. The beer is gone. Time for bed.

Coffee. The Blessed Sap. Wait, did I really wake Alicia up last night to talk about Neil Young when I went to bed? Woops. She: "Did you finish the brown?" Me: "It is really more of a 'Haystack'." She (rolling over): "..."

Rotary cutters are cool. I wonder if we’ll make pizza tonight?

The Smith kids (nephew and niece) are coming over for a sleepover tonight, so I’ll bet we do.

I hope we either watch The Black Stallion or Wall E...

This felt is making me goofy.

What’s that?

Oh, so she can put her own leash on now. This is new. Genius!!! But puppy, I have to cut this felt.

Oh, puppy. Okay.

So that’s what we’re up to today. Alicia says hi!!

But wait... That was Friday morning and now it's Monday morning. I'm still here and have another dispatch ready. So the kids did come over. Surf's Up was what we wound up watching. Awesome movie! It really felt like a real documentary. I love how every once in a while you could hear the cameramen talking to the characters.

Woo! Matchbox cars. I know, right? A different view of the sleepover. There were crafts, cooking, and pumpkin-carving, too, of  course.

Fun times! Love those guys, but these ornament kits won't make themselves! Where's my felt, now...

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Ah, yes. Yea, it was dark when I started "setting up my work station". Table set up on paint cans for the proper height. Check. Football shirt. Check. Football water bottle. Check. Football rally towel. Check. Felt. Of course. Beer? No more beer for a while, thanks. Coffee. Check. And, Mom, if you read this, make sure Dad knows that the only reason my table and I am wearing Seahawks stuff is because the Bears have a bye-week. What could possibly slow me down now?

Touchdown!!!

It's Monday Already?

Clover and I are sooooo tired from working on ornament kits this past week and weekend that we are going to let Andy hijack the blog today. He's out having a jog right now [a jog! I can barely drag myself across the house over to the coffee maker!], but he'll be back in a bit to start writing soon. [He's very excited!]
 

Sequins, Sparkles, and Sweet Stitches

Pretty little bags of sugared candy beads and sequins pile up on my work table, and I am making progress, which feels so good in a week that has felt more like slogging through molasses than what commonly passes for "progress." These are for the Walk in the Woods ornament kits, which are coming together around here and making me happy. (A few people have asked when the kits are going to ship, and, as mentioned in the original blog post about these kits and on the order page, we are aiming to ship all kits around mid-October, so start watching for them after next week! Oh, and I forgot to say yes — the patterns will be available as downloadable PDFs in a few weeks, too.) I love the busywork of actually putting together kits so much. I love going through all of the packing slips and seeing so many names I recognize from orders past, comments, emails, real-life and pen-pal friendships. I love that a little piece of our life here is going out to your cozy homes all over the world. I think about it a lot, and it makes me so happy to imagine you receiving them, and opening them, and making them. There is just something cool about that, so thank you for being part of it.

This year, I am also very excited to announce that I will also be able to make these kits with you in actual real life on a couple of occasions! The first is a very special one-day event hosted by the lovely Emily Ruth and Friends called Come Play: Portland on Saturday, November 7. Emily has such a totally adorable way of saying everything, I am just going to let her tell you about all the details when you click on the Come Play: Portland link, but in her words

we hope you will join us for this day of
sweet stitches,
old & new friends,
yummy treats,
& creative fun...

I can't wait to go play! :-) I hope you can come!

Long Days

Thank you very sincerely to anyone who has been patient with all the email problems I've been having. As one problem has gotten solved, another problem has cropped up, but I am hopeful that all will be well soon. Right now it appears that all email going to aliciaATaliciapaulsonDOTcom IS actually getting to me, though anyone sending mail to that address will also receive an error message. But I've been assured that this is temporary, and will be corrected soon. Enough of that! I HOPE.

I have been so busy working on a million things that I haven't had a moment to relax, but I can't wait until I do. I do not do well when I have to be this busy. My voice rises to a fever pitch and starts worrying any animals and small children who happen to be in the vicinity of my conversations. I went in and looked at my fabric stacks longingly this afternoon, and that was fun for a few moments, especially when I noticed that I had some room at the top of those shelves. Happy sigh. I truly love having just the right amount of empty shelf space — I keep it like that, so there is always room to accomodate things when inspiration hits. I don't like it when everything is all filled up.

My mom and I took a mini-break and went to the mall for lunch today and I bought a new duvet cover because I have wanting one for about five or six years now and just couldn't find the one I wanted. Who knew they made Liberty duvet covers? I didn't. I thought it was darling. I got that instead of the mountain-house dress. Both so cozy, it was hard to decide, though I have historically chosen bedlinen over clothes. I think I was the only 7th grader I knew who spent her allowance on sheets.

Apple Time

Thank you for the Seattle recommendations! I am going to print them all out today and do some research, and then I'll take some photos to show you what we wind up doing. You all were amazingly consistent in your recommendations! I've never been to Bainbridge Island, so I'm thinking, that! Especially if the weather is nice, and I think it's supposed to be. The Pink Door is right down the alley from our hotel, and we have been there before and loved it, so we probably will have dinner there again. I will also try to run into Pike Market to get donuts (we do usually do that) and stop at the Polish pottery store and maybe identify an early Christmas present to add to my collection? I love Polish pottery. But you knew that.

We finished getting all of the domestic and overseas ornament kit orders out yesterday (everything that came in before yesterday, that is). Yay!!! And phew. Please watch your mailboxes, and, as always, if there is anything missing from your kit, let me know right away and I will dispatch whatever you need immediately! Thank you again for your enthusiasm about these, seriously. This was by far the biggest number of kits we have ever endeavored to assemble and ship at one time, and I am so grateful for the opportunity. I need to send a tremendous shout out to Andy Paulson and Clover Meadow Paulson for all their help. I sincerely hope that you enjoy every minute of working on these. We have loved creating them for you.

I am going to be tweaking the Posie web site to offer downloadable PDF patterns for the Ice-Skating Afternoon Ornaments, as well as the Clothespin Dolls (both the Santa Lucias and the Country Girls) today, and also create new Flickr groups for you to upload your project photos (I am so anxious to see the Tanglewood Bags!), and just generally get that all organized. I'll put links up on the blog here when I get that done. It always makes me happy to have the Posie web site organized. I am not very good at staying on top of things at Flickr but I want to try harder to do that.

Now. Apple time. Time for my favorite pie, sour-cream apple pie. Recipe tomorrow!

Ice-Skating Afternoon Felt Ornament-Making Kits Now On Sale!

Good morning! Please allow me to officially introduce the Ice-Skating Afternoon Craft Kit, my limited-edition kit to help you create these three hand-stitched, hand-embroidered felt ornaments, now on sale in my web shop!

Included are the Ice Skate, with a pom-pon for good measure:

The Hot Cocoa Cup, to warm you up:

And the Gingerbread Girl, the sweetest of all:

Each Ice-Skating Afternoon Ornament Craft Kit includes:

9 pieces of wool/rayon blend felt in assorted colors
12 skeins coordinating DMC cotton embroidery floss
3/4 yd rick-rack (for hangers)
2 yd wool yarn (for pom-pon)
Stitching instructions
Pattern templates
Illustrated embroidery tutorial

You will need to have your own:

Wool batting or Polyester Fiber-fill
Sharp embroidery needle
Dressmaker's chalk pencil or fabric marker
Dressmaker's chalk carbon paper
Iron-on transfer pencil
Sharp fabric scissors, paper scissors, and scallop scissors
1/16" diameter hole punch (for apron)
Small pom-pon maker, or small pieces of cardboard

My sincere goal is to be able to offer as many kits as I can possibly make and still get them to you by the end of October. Please order now to insure that you will receive one! If you're just arriving here, please see this post and this one for more general information about these ornaments.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

• As noted, we are in the process of putting these kits together, and they will be shipped to you sometime in October, depending on how quickly we can get everything together.
• More information about how things work in the web shop, including answers to shipping and payment questions, can be found on my FAQ page.
• A downloadable PDF pattern will be available soon for those of you who already have all the supplies you need. Please stay tuned for that — I'm working on it now!

Thank you!!!

Maybe the To-Do List is Under this Pancake?

My favorite: a Swedish pancake with a sprinkle of sugar, rolled up and eaten with my hands on Sunday morning. With good, hot coffee. In front of open windows. While looking out at my hostas and hydrangeas. Yeah.

Sigh. I'm so behind. I don't even know where my to-do list has got to. I need to find it. Oh well. Back to work! I'm going to try to answer all my emails today, and get some assignments done, and mail some stuff off, and hopefully, hopefully get caught up. I don't like the feeling of being behind. I frequently feel that way, too. Thanks again so much for all the window love, and again for the Tanglewood enthusiasm over the weekend — I am still so thrilled about that, and will put a Flickr group together for those (I mean, when I find the to-do list, I'll put that on it). But I am so anxious to see the finished bags.

One thing I know I need to do: I keep meaning to point you toward three interviews I was so flattered to be asked to give recently.

Sweet Becky asked me some excellent questions about business and blogging at her site about inspiration and creative entrepreneurs, A Hidden Pearl.

The lovely Lisa Lam of Craft Boom has an incredibly lively and informative blog for crafty-business types and anyone interested in online marketing, and also asked questions from a perspective I don't think I'd really thought about before. Great questions.

The ever-generous Bee Clinch, one of my favorite crochet designers, recently started a new blog called Chain Creative. She asked me about crocheting and blogging recently, and I loved doing this one.

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to mention these, but I hope you enjoy them! I love doing interviews because it gives me a chance to really think about the specific topics and figure out what I really feel about them, but it takes me forever to finish them. I just don't know where the time has gone this summer, or this weekend.

Possibly into the approximately seventeen hours I have spent watching ABCFamily and cross-stitching a nine-foot-long gingham valance for my new dining-room windows. Possibly. I'm not sure. But possibly.

Blueberries and Bundles

Thank you for all the Tanglewood orders yesterday!!! Wow — I'm so thrilled that that went over well, you have no idea. I was really hoping it would, and I seriously can't wait to see what everyone makes. More fabric for the Precious Bundles arrived yesterday, which was perfect timing because I had almost perfectly sold out of the bundles I'd already put together (which almost never happens — you almost never get the number exactly right). So those will be available indefinitely, and I'll show you something else I did with those little patches next week — obviously, you don't have to use them for the bag, if you have something else in mind. I have now sewn together approximately six-hundred-and fifty 2-inch fabric patches in the past two months. I'm not even kidding. I'm not sure what to think about that, but I was very happy almost all the way through, I would say until about the last eight or nine, where I just let out one long soprano-like scream the whole time, so it's been a good run overall. And definitely let me know if you have any troubles with the patches or the pattern, and I'll do my best to correct that, pronto. Thank you again!

I'm going to take a blog break here and get these orders out, and lay low for a bit this weekend. Next week we are embarking on our first major (maybe it's actually minor, but to me it seems major) remodeling project — I'm crazy excited, I can't even tell you how excited. Anyway, in the spirit of home improvement, a few housekeeping things:

1. Above is a photo of a blueberry clafoutis I made the other day. Several people have written to ask me questions about the cherry clafoutis I made a few weeks ago, including someone who said they tried it and it didn't work (I can't remember who that was, I'm sorry). So I made it again, and baked it at the right temperature, and it came out looking wonderful, so I think the recipe is okay. There are lots of clafoutis recipes out there, and the ratio of eggs to milk to flour that they use varies widely, I've found. It's worth trying a few to find one you like, since this is so easy and lovely — a big, custardy blueberry pancake, really, with more custard than pancake. And you can use any kind of stone fruit — I like more clafoutis than fruit, so I just tossed in a little container of blueberries, and I think with the cherries I used one of those square things. How big are those little green square things, anyway? Is that a pint? [Rolling eyes at myself.]

2. Many people wrote in after listening to The Splendid Table on NPR on Sunday to warn about the dangers of sun tea, discussed on the radio just that afternoon. I'd never heard this before, but apparently brewing tea in a jar in the sun only allows the temperature of the water to reach 130 degrees F — perfect for brewing bacteria. So it sounds like it's best to keep it overnight in the fridge. More info about that is here. I've made about five different kinds of tea this week, using some of the many recipes suggested — and thank you again for so generously sharing those — and I'm going to ask a self-confessed tea guru to tell us what she knows (Miss Howard, please begin work on that book report, won't you?) next week. My next goal is to figure out how to make a good glass of Thai iced tea, which I have never successsfully done. Mine's always weak and tan, instead of yummy and orange like it is in the restaurant. I can't get this right. Yet.

3. What else. I forget. Oh yeah, corgi picnic! Well, I'm sorry to say there really aren't anymore photos of the corgi picnic. With a dozen corgis hanging around and the weather scorching and me in a skirt (forgot those corgis are short, and to take their photos you really have to be in the dirt, so that didn't work). I just put the camera down and watched them . . . not play. It was so bizarre. Everyone was commenting on how nonchalant their dogs were about the whole thing. Apparently, when at the corgi family reunion, the corgis take on a very so-what, who-cares, when-can-we-go-home? kind of attitude toward each other. I could not believe it. Perhaps it blew their minds or something, being confronted with so many others when they thought they were The Only One in the World (at least ours thinks that). She was like, "I really don't know what we're doing here. Let's go over there and sit by that tree by ourselves, like we usually do." Naturally, Clover Meadow was the prettiest girl there, and we have encouraged that kind of thinking, so what can you expect. Unfortunately, it wasn't a fenced-in area so everyone was on a leash, for the most part, so they didn't really get to run and play. But just seeing them together makes me laugh. They look so serious, and then we just bust out laughing right in their faces. Ah, corgis. I love them.

4. Who's psyched for 90210 redux? I am.

Back soon! Thanks again! xo

Tanglewood Sale: 9 a.m. PST Today!

They're finally ready: The Tanglewood Bags all sold now — thank you!), the Tanglewood Bag Sewing Pattern, and the Precious Bundle: 48 Patches for You to Make a Tanglewood Bag will be in my web shop at 9 a.m. PST this morning! Yippy!

There are only a few bags — very few. If any of them do happen to sell at the same time, I will have to give them only to the first orders that come in; if you aren't first I will send you an email as fast as I can letting you know, with my apologies. Please refresh the page frequently to see what has sold before placing your order. I know this is a total pain but it is my best available system for reasons too boring and numerous to mention right now, so I really do apologize for the annoyingness of this. And I sincerely thank you for your patience.

Moving on to the pattern! I'm psyched about the pattern! It's available as a downloadable PDF only, so you'll need Adobe Reader to see it and print it. It comes with a full-size bag template, so all you need to do is print, cut, and tape the pattern pieces together — no need to enlarge. The instructions are fully illustrated, like a tutorial, so each step has a photograph or diagram to walk you through; however, as I mentioned before, I wouldn't really recommend this pattern for a beginning sewer. There's a lot going on here, and while none of the tasks involved are particularly difficult, each does take a fair amount of precision-sewing and patience. The results are well worth the effort — I don't think I've ever made anything I like as much as this bag, and carrying it has been great. But it's not a quick-sew; it's a whole day. And since this is a brand-new pattern, please let me know if there's anything that just looks wrong — I'll make every effort to correct that, and appreciate the head's up.

Lastly, instead of putting together entire kits of supplies, I decided that the most important part of this bag is the carefully edited collection of fabric patches that I've assembled for the front. So I'm offering a limited edition of Precious Bundles: 48 Patches for You to Make a Tanglewood Bag. I did all the work for you here, baby! Each collection includes the finest-quality cotton calicos, as well as eighteen patches of six different Liberty of London Tana Lawn fabric — I started with over a dozen different prints of Tana Lawn from several sources, and I think they are just so gorgeous together, however you shake and serve them. Everything's pre-cut. Each bundle is unique, though similar to and incorporating many prints from the other bags you'll see pictured in the web shop (though all bundles will have the dark olive, as above, as their solid color). I don't know how many of these bundles people will want to order, but I plan to keep renewing the supply if there is enough demand. If they go quickly today, there will definitely be more coming this week.

Okay, I think that's it! See you at 9!

Lemony and Hot, with Quilts

I did not take many photos over the past week, alas, but that's good, really — it was nice not to have to think in that way for a while. But I couldn't resist taking this one of these lemons, ready to be popped in the oven for Sparkling Roasted Vanilla Lemonade from the current issue of Martha Stewart Living. I made it when Melissa & Co. came for dinner Saturday, and I think it went over well. It was puckery tart. But I guess that's what lemonade is about. I think I'll add two cups of sugar next time, to be honest.

On Sunday it was scorching hot outside for the second day in a row — mid 90s. I cajoled Andy Paulson into going with me to the International Quilt Market, the industry trade show that was here in Portland last weekend. It was wonderful to meet some of the people I have been corresponding with over the years. The talented Liesl Gibson was there with Oliver + S, her so-sweet and ever-lovely line of children's clothing patterns. (Beautiful Liesl, your final box finally arrived yesterday and it looks like a giant sat on it — !!! — oh honey I'm sorry! Who knows what journey it was on all week!) Fresh Cut's Heather Bailey is just darling and her new fabric lines are gorgeous, like everything she touches. Anna Maria Horner's incredible booth was worthy of a Broadway musical — it was amazing, and her new line of home decor fabric, Drawing Room, is stunning. Tanya Whelan of Grand Revival's luscious Ava Rose prints are so pretty. Walking into her booth, it was almost impossible for me not to want to curl up on that bloom-covered (display) bed and sit and chat (and by then my feet were killing me!). We got to meet Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom and oh! I love that lady. Warmest smile, huge heart. So happy to give her a big hug, as she has always been so kind to me. I was hoping to meet Joelle and Jennifer Hoverson, but was getting tired and on my way out when we literally crossed paths at an aisle intersection (I recognized them and nervously said hello), and they were so gracious and lovely. I was also so lucky to run into my friend Charlotte Barnard from Country Living magazine. I adore her. Her enthusiasm and sincere interest in everything just inspires me. The best editors are like that, don't you think? So full of interest in the world around them. She is just the coolest. I saw Amy Butler several times from afar, but she was always surrounded by fans and I was too shy to go over. And naturally, since I rarely leave my house past 6 p.m., I missed the meet-and-greet with Heather Ross and Denyse Schmidt at Bolt on Friday (but I was serving lemonade anyway). Still — all this talent for an entire weekend in the City of Roses. Psych.

That's a lot of links. Phew! I hope I got them right. I stand in bewildered awe of all of these folks, honestly. When you go to any kind of show, it's impossible not to appreciate everything that everybody puts into it — from all the work that got them there in the first place, to the incredible about of engineering and elbow grease that gets those booths to stand, to those sincere smiles that greet every potential customer. It's hard work. I've done a few in my time and I truly appreciate what goes into this stuff. You all are awesome. Thank you for everything you do!