felt and crochet yourself and apartment

I won't lie, when I first saw this picture, I was looking more specifically at the benches and trying to figure out if we could easily do that ourselves in our own apartment, if it would be easier than this long journey of getting ahold of some palettes (which by the way a student of mine offered to give us some from his business... just before he went on vacation (the week before i'm going on vacation... so thats been put on hold). 

so as i was looking at the benches in the picture and looking around our own apartment as I looked at the picture again I noticed the awesome and how could you have missed it the first time bright rug in the center of the photo. it turns out that it is braided and felted wool, and it's just one piece made by fashion designer Dana Barnes, who began making them solely based on the need to soundproof her warehouse studio apartment for her young children. through pinterest I found this blog post and through that blog this post on the new york times site.

you should go check out all of the awesome photos and the story at the times site. 

skirt yourself

i saw this fun photo at craftgawker... and followed the link to the blog recipe for cute. 


it's my first time visiting her blog and it looks fun and sweet and very crafty. she posted about this skirt that she made by a completely photographed step by step tutorial ! It looks fun and comfortable. Oh to have a sewing machine.... wait... -oh to be able to sew. 

Three Red Apples

When I was younger ( I don't remember exactly how young.. too young to drive.. too young to go out by myself in general... but big enough to use a needle responsibly?... big enough to want to use a needle responsibly.) I remember that my grandma Rogers would teach me bits about how to needle point. i think i made something with a little dog on it? thats probably still in a trunk i have of fond memories from her. i distinctly remember a few things from my time visiting her. walks to the nearby mall for a small order of mcdonalds french fries, needlepoint, moth balls?, and her sugar free (she was diabetic) delicious orange no bake cheesecake. my mouth waters at the thought of that cheesecake. you know the feeling, when you can remember exactly how a spoonful feels on your tongue. ...yeah.

well, although i remember vaguely how to do a needlepoint/cross stitch... i would by no means say "I can cross stitch" I could probably do it for myself... but I wouldn't let someone else depend on my ability. kind of like swimming. But I haven't made anything since those fond memories with my grandma. Then. I saw these pieces.... and they really make me wish that I still did it, or kept at it, or just made it a part of my resume :D I originally found out about this work from the site: Epheriell Designs . And I love it! It's from an Etsy shop called 

Three Red Apples

After seeing those, who wouldn't wish that they still had that handiwork ability?


(After rereading what I wrote I realized maybe the correct word is embroider? or are needlepoint cross stitch and embroider all the same? I'm not sure...)