old children's books

There was a whole cabinet full of old children's books at the house we stayed in while in Maine. Two in particular caught my eye: Manners Can Be Fun by Munro Leaf, and The House in the Tree by Karen Gunthorp. The first one is such an entertaining read, even for adults, and it's actually still in print. I loved the illustrations in the second one.

used books

I found these beautifully illustrated used books from a used book store near our house recently. The children's books are only 50 cents apiece, so I go there every once in awhile to look for new (old) books for Oscar. I was really excited to find the Paul and Ann Rand one. I've never heard of the other two authors but really love the illustrations.

Pretty old books

Hello friends! Sorry for the long absence. Work has been busier than usual, leaving me with little energy in the evenings for blogging or crafting. I hope it lets up soon so I'll be able to sew and put new things in the shop!

This past weekend I went to the Alameda Flea with my treasure-hunting buddy, Traci. I saw these old books and loved the beautiful patterns on the covers. I love the contrasting labels too - so perfect.




Oh, we're leaving this weekend for France! This will be my first time in Paris - I can't wait!

curly

Some twisty curly leaves I found in the front yard. Such beautiful shapes.





Here are a few books I'm eyeing, and think you guys might be interested too. I'm especially excited about the Japanese-y one and the Lotta one.





Linen Wool Cotton
Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing for Baby
Weekend Sewing
Quilts, Baby!

orla love

I dutifully made the trek out to a couple of local Target stores this morning in hopes getting my hands on the new Orla Kiely line. It looked like much of the tableware had showed up on the shelves before today, as much of the items were picked through already. I still managed to nab a few goodies though.






I first discovered Orla when I was in Tokyo a couple of years ago. I happened to walk into an Orla Kiely store in a shopping center there and could not believe my eyes. Patterns that were simple and bold yet classy. Deliciously colorful but not in a way that was too loud or distracting. Everything was of course way out of my price range, but I was thrilled to be able to take a small souvenir with me: a catalog that is a piece of art in and of itself. I pulled it out the other day for some inspiration and thought I'd share some pages with you.















Oh, and I'm on Twitter now!

More garage sale finds

Ever since finding the globe at a garage sale, I've been on the lookout for more signs around the neighborhood on weekends. It's so much fun finding hidden gems for just a couple of bucks. Talk about guilt-free shopping! Below are my most recent finds - a genuine Italian leather vintage purse, a little coin purse, and an old Penguin book with an irresistible cover.




Oh, and everything was only $1.75. Crazy, huh?

Old books

Traci took me to an old/used bookstore near my house the other day where everything is around $0.50. Pretty exciting. I got the book of poems simply because the cover is so beautiful.
















And then I found a quilt book published in 1970. I love how playful they are.

Christmas is over but...

I've got another gift or two left to give.. (wrapped in a drawstring pouch I sewed, which I then stamped with a little tree I carved out of an eraser - forgot to take a picture of it until now!)
















..and I got a bunch more gifts over the weekend when my brother and my new sister-in-law came back from their honeymoon in Asia. They brought me so many goodies from Hong Kong that I nearly fainted. Fabric, trim, and a stack of sewing books! One of them is in Japanese (shown in the first picture - I've seen and drooled over this one before in blog-land), and the rest is in Chinese, which is fabulous because I think I'll actually be able to read most of it. Apparently there is an entire district of Japanese-y things!

Lena's new book

I've been reading Lena Corwin's blog for some time now and my appreciation for her style and designs has grown immensely. She uses color freely but keeps it simple and delicate. I like that.

I'm sure most of you have heard of her new book, Printing by Hand. I just received it today and cannot be more excited. I know, it wasn't too long ago that I got Lotta's printing book, but this one has more detailed information and instructions. And of course, both are full of inspiring photos and you just can't have too much of that from your favorite designers!





I've been itching to start printing on fabrics, but it seems to require so much preparation (as well as tools and materials), that I know it's going to take me awhile to get started. One of those things (again) where I need to just do it instead of waiting for everything to be perfect.

Lotta prints

It finally came in the mail!



Lotta never fails to impress me with her patterns. I've been wanting to print on fabric and paper (apart from my printer) for a long time, and this just makes me all the more eager to get started.





And there's another exciting package that I'm waiting for. Will share when it arrives!

Kinokuniya finds

Recently I stopped by the Kinokuniya book store near me to browse around. I didn't see anything that I *had* to have in the crafts section, so I was wandering over to the stationery when I saw this and stopped dead in my tracks.
















I love Japanese patterns. How can anyone resist a cover like that? Of course I had to buy it.






























It's too bad I can't read Japanese, but I've been flipping through this book quite a bit, trying to figure out what makes these patterns so appealing. I love how they're so simple, often just one or two repeating elements and colors. It's been good inspiration for me while working on my craft faire goods.

Something else I picked up at Kinokuniya -- I'm thinking maybe they would look cute if they were framed in 3 small, square, dark wood frames...