baby anne quilts

cologne cathedral

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:11:00 +0000

So, I went to Belgium a couple of weeks ago and it was amazing! I knew it was going to be amazing so that was no surprise. There were many cool things about my little trip, but one of the coolest was the nice surprise when got my train ticket and I found that I had over an hour and a half wait in the Cologne, Germany train station switching trains on my way to Belgium on September 17th.

Cologne is known for it's big beautiful cathedral begun (as it stands now) in the mid-1200s and so I hoped that would be enough time to go find and see it. I was delighted to find out that the cathedral is literally at the front doorstep of the train station so I was able to spend all my extra time straining my neck up at stained glass windows and stone saints and towering vaulted ceilings amongst chapel altarpieces and working art conservators and praying pilgrims and burning candles.

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Remember that my shop is still having a 10% off the listed price sale in celebration of EtsyBaby's first birthday...but only through October 10th!

favorite shop friday: 4th ave soap co.

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:29:00 +0000

Have I got a treat for you today....please let me introduce to you the 4th Ave. Soap Co.!

I love soap companies, I love buying things that make me feel pretty and clean and fresh. And there are so many choices out there...but when I spotted the 4th Ave. Soap Co. I knew I had found a potential friend for life. Body and bath products that are high quality, healthy, and so pretty looking that I know I'm going to become just as pretty by using them! Let me show you what I mean...

Vegan Antioxidant Facial Toner for all skin types...

Madagascar Vanilla Body Butter with butter, cocoa butter, mango butter, vitamin E, and aloe juice...

Lily of the Valley Olive Oil soap (by the way...my husband has recently discovered the moisturizing qualities of oilve oil soap and he swears by it...and I certainly wouldn't mind seeing this pretty bar of soap on next to our bathroom sink so I think it's going to be a must-have for us!)...

Pink Sugar Oatmeal Soap...

Black Irish Aftershave...

Creme Brulee Glossy Lip Balm (Mmmmmm!)...

And I need to stop there before I start showing off every one of Sarah's beautiful products and spoil of the fun of discovering them all for yourselves...and there is so much more to discover! So go to http://4thAveSoapCo.etsy.com and start feeling pretty and clean and fresh yourself!

shop announcement: 10% off sale!

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 08:54:00 +0000

EtsyBABY© is celebrating their 1st Birthday! Team Members (including ME!) are celebrating with discounts, free shipping and free baby goodies through October 1st - 10th!

You can find a list of all the participating shops with their offers here and here.

You'll find baby anne quilts on that list, too! As part of this 10 day celebration of a great team of shops, I am offering a 10% discount off all orders (before shipping) through Friday, October 10th!

Here's a taste of some of the amazing handmade baby shops you'll want to get to know during this 10 day celebration:

tadpole creations

little bird creations

knit style

baby anne quilts

a weekend with family i don't even know

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 09:53:00 +0000

So...where have I been, right?

Sorry for disappearing off the blog-o-sphere. I blame a weekend in Gotha, a few days in Belgium, my husband finally coming home to distract me, and a miserable cold we both caught. I still have the cold, but I'm getting sick and tired of feeling sick and tired so I'm determined to get back to you, dear readers, and reassure you that I still live.

But although I have lots to post about, I'm going to start off slowly...because I am still sick and tired...with a little report on a surprisly cool weekend, September 13 and 14, in the German town of Gotha meeting family I hardly knew existed.

So, here's the backstory on this strange little weekend I had. Remember last November when I was in the States visiting my family and Karl searched out his distant German relatives in Gotha and made a very cool film about it? That film was shown at his huge family's annual reunion in February and it inspired one of his uncles to visit Germany. Uncle David planned to come to Germany with one of his sons who was going to be attending a medical conference in Munich and make his own visit to these German relatives. He'd been planning this trip for months with my husband who was going to serve as a translater for him. And then Karl decided to take a trip home for his neice's wedding. So guess who got delegated to be his uncle's translator?

Now, keep in mind that although I've meet many of Karl's relatives I've by no means met them all and I can't even keep straight half the ones I have met. That's how big his family is. I mean really big. Early in our relationship we would often go to his family events and the following scenerio happened to us far more than once: someone would come up and talk to us, they'd leave, I'd ask Karl who that was, and he'd respond with "I'm not sure, I think it was one of my cousins."

Karl's mother was the third of 13 children and I don't think anyone in the family really knows how many first cousins my husband has...everyone seemed to have lost track at 80. In fact, my brother ended up marrying one of my husband's cousins...his family it THAT big. It was bound to happen.

So...long story short, Karl has a big family and I was suddenly in charge of meeting with people I've never met before to show them around a town I've never been before and translate with some German people I've also never met before and that's how much I love my husband!

But it really turned out to be a very, very cool weekend. Karl's family was a delight (not that I was surprised, his family IS amazing!), the Germans were very gracious, we had a lot of fun and I impressed even myself with my German language skills!

I was so busy translating between families most of the time I didn't get many pictures taken, but here are a few...

Gotha is the town where Karl's grandfather, Henry, was born. His grandfather's mother, Gretchen, was also born there and she was the one who made the decision to leave for America, thus separating the German and American lines of his family.

First stop was Wolfgang's house who was the star of Karl's film. I arrived with Karl's uncle David, his son Geoff and Geoff's wife Kathleen with their two sons Jon and Will. They graciously fed us a wonderful meal including tasty Thuringer Wurst (a local specialty!). Then they gave us a tour of the Protestant church next door to their home where Wolfgang and his son restored the original church pews. Wolfgang's son, Wilfred, continues to wind the church clock taking it over from Wolfgang when he retired who had taken over the job from his own father.

Wolfgang's family invited over another cousin, Annemarie, who had some great stories of the family. We all watched Karl's finished film together and I think Wolfgang was very proud of it!

The reason great-grandmother Gretchen decided to leave Germany for America was because she and her mother was baptized into the LDS church when she was a child. After she started her own family she felt the need to move to the States where she could be closer to others of her faith. She only ever described the location of her baptism vaguely but after a bit of research we found a possible location...here is Uncle David with his grandsons at a possible baptism location for David's grandmother. Her choice both to be baptized and to relocate her family to America had obvious far-reaching consequences for Karl's family and I think this trip to Gotha was not only a exploration of family roots but an aknowlegdment of her sacrifices for giving her family the best she could.

Geoff and his sons gazing up at the birthplace of great-grandmother Gretchen.

Geoff and his son Will in front of grandfather Henry's birthplace.

More distant cousins... Klaus and his wife (sorry for the bad photo!). They weren't expecting us and we very nearly didn't find their house. But they were incredibly welcoming once I explained we were distant American relatives!

I had so much fun and I'm so glad I can no longer call these family member, both the Germans and the Americans, strangers. And I even forgave my husband for leaving me all alone to deal with this! And this post turned out longer than I intended and I'm starting to feel that cold again so I'm off to drown myself in juice and cough suppressent on the couch in front of the TV...

favorite shop friday: artquirk

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 06:00:00 +0000

One of my favorite things about living in and traveling around Europe is the architecture! And I've recently discovered Nina Clough who has a little shop called Artquirk filled with her architectural drawings of places all over Europe.

Chimneys in Dublin

A bit of Paris

Her chosen architectural subjects aren't the iconic views one would expect from some of these famous locales...but as a result you get the sense of the place, it's mood and view that only the locals really see and appreciate.

Telephone box

Flowers in Greece

Street in Riga

Nina has such a delicate style and, I think, perfectly captures the mood of the places she paints...the urban comfort of Dublin, the prettiness of Paris, the freshness of Greece...I been to some of these places and Nina's artwork only makes me want to see more!

Escape with Nina's artwork at her shop, http://artquirk.etsy.com/, where she also has beautiful images of nature, fairy tales and where you can even commission her to paint a portriat of your own home!

favorite shop friday: liza rietz

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 06:35:00 +0000

Liza Rietz designs and makes clothes. Her designs are so fresh and unique and yet so classically familiar.

I like knowing I can be the 1920s flapper (the ultimate modern woman) that I always wanted to be...

I like that I can be pretty and ruffly and feminine (like every modern woman wants to be, deep down inside)...

And I love that I can wear a gorgeous hat!

Why don't modern people wear hats anymore like they use to? Well, we can all start wearing them again because how can we resist Liza's "cloche"(French for "bell-shaped") hats? They will make our heads so much better looking!

If you're lucky enough to live in the Portland area you can visit her studio and shop in person: http://www.lizarietz.com/. Or if you're unlucky like me then you can buy them at http://lizarietz.etsy.com/.

world rivers and the rhine

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:19:00 +0000

Remember our bike ride to France a few weeks ago? Well, I had another motive to head to the Rhine that day. I wanted to participate in the World Rivers project and dip a piece of fabric in the Rhine.

"World Rivers is a global collaboration uniting people through the element of water. Individuals from around the world dip white fabric in selected rivers. The fabric is then sewn together into a magnificent curtain. International participants, like rivers flowing to the ocean, join together to form a larger whole.

"World Rivers reveals a story of water, through the personal experience of many.

"World Rivers reveals civilization's connection to water while documenting our time in history."

That description if from the website which you'll find here with lots more information on the project including lots of photos and comments from other participants from around the world.

I was asked to participate by Lee from Looking for Fiddleheads and she is further asking for anyone and everyone around the world to send her pieces of white fabric (almost any size will do) that has been dipped in a river or lake. She's in the process of sewing together these fabric pieces into a giant curtan, connecting the people and the water together.

I liked making a physical connection to my river...I think we often forget how important our waters are for us. We turn on a facet to retrive the water we use and our travels are by car and train and plane and rarely by water anymore...but participating in this project made me remember how important the Rhine is to Germany.

The Rhine was a major trade and travel route in centuries past. As you travel up the Autobahn that runs parallel to our bit of the Rhine on one side and the Black Forest hills on the other, you notice a lot - A LOT - of ruined castles on the hills that look down on the river, which means that this was a major source of power for those controlling the traffic on the river for a long time.

Not just for trade and travel, but the Rhine has been the center of political disputes as well. For centuries France and Germany has bickered over the true border between their lands...the Germans claimed the French Vosges mountains should be the border between the countries and France claimed the Rhine is the natural dividing line. As a result the French Alsace region just on the other side of the Rhine has gone back and forth between being German and French resulting in a unique joining of culture.

The Rhine is mighty, powerful, beautiful and immensly influential in the history of this part of the world. It's amazing to think how water not only gives us life but also forms our lives and cultures and histories!

You can participate, too!! Click here to see how you can become a part of this international project!

a barefoot birthday with butter

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 20:51:00 +0000

My good friend Denise turned 28 today and invited a few friends to spend the afternoon with her for a picnic and a barefoot hike to celebrate!

This is what my bicycle basket looked liked this morning after buying flowers for the birthday girl, some rustic bread for the picnic, and some fresh mint for the butter recipes I wanted to try out to go with the bread:

The group of us drove outside a town near Pforzheim where we ate our yummy picnic in a grassy field and my mint butter turned out pretty good! I made some walnut butter, too, and that was also rather tasty! I got the recipes from a German magazine so I'll share them (translated to English) with you...

Walnut Butter
1 small shallot, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 bundle of fresh parsley, finely chopped
250 g butter (about 1 cup), room temperature
150 g crushed walnuts (about 1/2 cup)
salt & pepper
Add about 1/3 of the butter to a pan with the shallot and garlic cook til the butter's melted. Then add the parsley and walnuts and cook for about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Take the pan off the heat and let cool a little. Mix with the rest of the butter then let cool completely in the fridge.

Mint Butter
250 g butter (about 1 cup), room temperature
3 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh mint
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt & pepper
Mix it all together then put in the fridge!

After our picnic we took a barefoot hike! There was a trail through a forest that was designed to be walked barefoot! We took off our shoes and walked along a soft forest trail where there were opportunities for all kinds of textures for our feet to walk on: sticks, leaves, moss, cork, pebbles. And there was a tree house and log balance beams and mud and water and every kind of natural texture your feet could possible want to explore! I've never seen a hiking trail like this and it was so much fun!

Walking on pebbles then sand...

Your humble narrator...

Knee deep and giggling in muddy water...

vermont forest quilts

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 06:55:00 +0000

I just finished a big commission to create two twin-sized quilts for a woman's Vermont home. She like my Black Forest baby quilt in my shop and wanted something similar for her summer home in the Vermont forest. I got photos of them in the garden yesterday...

The pattern is my own invention with green tree forms against blue and I hand-quilted leaves with white thread in the tree tops and floating down to the ground below.

Each quilt has a slightly different pattern, as you can see. She wanted the solid green and blue to match the color scheme of her summer home and I gave them a white binding to hold the colors together.

The backs have three rows of uneven stripes.

I like how they turned out. It's always fun to work with pretty patterned fabrics but using all solids in this case helped to concentrate the design on the trees and quilted leaves...there's both a simplicity in the fabrics and a complexity in the patterns. An idea I see in a lot of Amish quilts. Not that my humble quilts can stand up in the same room as the brillant work of the Amish...but I like being inspired by brillance!

keeping happy while karl is gone

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:07:00 +0000

A week ago today Karl flew out to the States to visit his family.

The first time we ever spent a significant amount of time apart in our marriage, I noticed that I didn't laugh much without him around. I realized that I laugh every day with Karl. I love that about our marriage. Every day there is laughter in our home. I still notice that lack of laughter when we spend time apart.

Karl won't be home for another couple of weeks, but, until then, I'm finding ways to distract myself from missing him and finding other things to make me laugh.

I have discovered a couple of blogs recently that keep me in stiches on a daily basis. Go Fug Yourself is some fashion fun from Jessica and Heather. They make the world aware of the awful - or rather fugly (fugly = "fantastically ugly") - clothing the rich and famous are choosing to wear. Now, I have no interest in fashion or being a fashion police, but these chicks point out the obvious in such a hilarious way I consider reading their blog as daily excercise for my abs! (This photo from Aug. 18, 2008...I would recommend reading its description!)

Cake Wrecks gives me the giggles, too. My sister pointed me in the direction of this blog of professional cakes that "go horribly, horribly wrong." Just looking at these strange cakes would give me laughter enough, but Jen's hilarious commentary takes the cake! (Sorry for the pun. I couldn't resist.)

But I've got more than blogs to keep me company. A few years ago Karl gave me all three seasons of the original Star Trek series for my birthday...yes, I'm a little bit of a Trekkie (and Karl is so proud!). So I've been going through all the seasons this past week. Original Star Trek is so much fun! The show really has some fascinating themes and thought-provoking comments on human nature...but so much of it just makes me giggle! I mean, who knew there were so many beautiful alien women in the universe for Kirk to womanize! Enjoy this little clip from one of my favorite episodes...

So that's what's been distracting me from missing my Karl the past week. But during the next two weeks I'll be distracing myself with some fun little trips!

I'll be spending a couple of days this coming weekend visiting with some of Karl's family in the German town of Gotha and then I'll spend of few heavenly days on my own here...

favorite shop friday: electric boogaloo

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:26:00 +0000

My sister, Susan, is married to a very cool guy. He's also a bit of a science nerd.

I first met Andrew when I went out for their wedding and when I first got there it was explained to me that I wouldn't be able to meet him for a few days becuase he was at "crack camp" learning how to safely disassemble an illegal crack cocaine lab. He works for the police department identifying confiscated illegal drugs where he is known for decorating his desk with novelty marijuana leaf Christmas lights. He's such a cool guy but he's also a bit of a chemistry nerd! That's why I'm very much looking forward to Susan and Andrew having kids because I already have the perfect baby shower gifts picked out for them!

Electric Boogaloo specializes in artwork for the nerdy baby!

Susan will get to review her baby's ABCs with nerdy flashcards where A stands for Atom and Z for Zoological Oddity!

Andrew can prepare his toddler for school by reviewing Newton's three laws of motion!

And their baby will be able to learn to count in prime numbers with this prime numbers counting chart!

As my sister's little family star-gazes at night they'll be able to remind Junior of the Hertzprung-Russel diagram that charts out the relative ages and phases of stars with this pretty print!

The art is beautifully rendered and the science is proven and even though I've never considered myself a science nerd I'm feeling the need to start learning my prime numbers. Tiffany, who is the science nerd behind all this wonderful nerdy baby art, has a blog (http://www.electricboogaloo.net/wordpress) and a shop (http://electricboogaloo.etsy.com/ or http://www.tiffanyard.com/) for the nerd in all of us!

doors and windows 5

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:18:00 +0000

Strasbourg, France

Dublin, Ireland

Riquewihr, France

Baden-Baden Altes Schloss, Germany

Meersburg, Germany

a day worth the sunburn

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 06:25:00 +0000

On Saturday I had another race day!

I spent a sunny day at the horse races enjoying all the hats and horses. This time I wore my own race day hat I got just for the occasion...

Here are some of my favorite photos of the day! (Click on any photo for a larger view.)

All you need to enjoy a day at the races: a hat, some shade, and some bubbly!

First of all: cute parasol! Second: hot dress, mom!

This horse was a beautiful white/grey color...when he was wet with sweat after the race he turned pink!

I got this shot as this jocky was thrown from his horse...

Jockey groupies!

favorite shop friday: something's hiding in here

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 09:03:00 +0000

Something's Hiding in Here is one of the many creative endevors of Shauna and Stephen and I suppose the best category for their shop would be novelty. But that doesn't quite seem to do it justice.

Novelty: an article of trade whose value is chiefly decorative, comic, or the like and whose appeal is often transitory (definition from dictionary.com).

Ok, I guess their Paint by Number USA is mainly decorative...

...and their faux (real) bois charm is quite comical (get it?...it's real wood that's painted with fake wood grain!!...get it?!...hee hee!...)...

But I'll have to put my foot down with "tranisitory appeal". I mean, what is more timeless than a mustache on a stick?

The fake mustache has always been comical (and decorative, come to think of it) and always will be!

And take a look at these report card pennants...

...won't those elementary school grades of fail and incomplete haunt us all forever? (Don't worry...this set also includes "very good" and "pass.")

And, I don't know about you, but my wishes will continue to be granted by tossing coins in a fountain, blowing out all my birthday candles, and pulling on one of these...

But as I mentioned...this wonderful shop with anything but a transitory appeal (if you ask me) is only one of the many creative endevors of Shauna and Stephen...to keep tabs on all they do (including catching a glimpse of their truely incredible studio and home) don't miss thier blog: http://somethingshidinginhere.typepad.com/. And buy all of the above items (including many more variations of the fake mustache) at http://somethingshidinghere.etsy.com/.

nienie day

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:59:00 +0000

I didn't start reading blogs until I started writing a blog. I started with the blogs of people I knew. I then was introduced to a few blogs by people I didn't know. And that's when I started to realize what an incredible thing blogging can be. I began to be daily inspired by...well, by all of you. By your creativity, by your joys and sorrows, by your humor, by your unique perspectives. I find blogs amazing because they prove how amazing we can all be. I am a wife, a sister, and a daughter, a homemaker and an art historian, a quilter and a small (very small) business owner...and I would not be as good at these things without all of you and if I fall short of my aspirations (and, believe me, I do!) it's not because you have not already shown me what I could be and do!

I discovered the NieNie Dialogues some time ago and I didn't hesitate to add Stephanie's blog to my sidebar (maybe you've discovered it, too?). Stephanie has a beautiful family, a delightful home, and creative talents that I can only aspire to (and I do!). She's not only a beautiful woman she is an obviously amazing mother and homemaker and is completely in love with her husband! She takes incredible photographs of her life and I'm so grateful she shares her talents with us through her blog...I have been inspired by her more than once!

Recently, however, tragedy has struck the NieNie family. Stephanie and her husband were involved in a small airplane crash and they now need help in their recovery. And so, once again, the blogging community is putting me in awe! Another creative mom I aspire to someday be like, Design Mom, is declaring today NieNie Day! Head over to her blog for a silent auction to help raise funds for the family and for a super-huge list of blogs participating in today's festivities with special posts and more auctions. If you've been in the mood for some fresh blog reading...today's your day! You can also simply click on the button below to donate financially to the family (all funds will go directly to medical bills and household managment as they recover).

favorite shop friday: sodeco

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:59:00 +0000

Wall graphics seem to be all the rage right now. I've noticed a lot....A LOT...of shops on Etsy.com that sell vinyl wall graphics to apply to your home walls and most of these shops have really great designs. But I recently came across one shop that really stood out to me...Sodeco.

Sodeco are Denise and Ana in Toronto and they have created - I think - some of the most unique and beutiful wall graphics I've yet seen. They are simple, elegant, and beautiful.

Dog diadem

You can order your wall graphic in a variety of colors, they are easy to apply and remove, and Sodeco will even do custom orders if you have something new in mind.

AND, these girls are so cool that they are offering all of you here on this blog a 15% discount on any order! Just add the code "etsydecals" in the comments to seller section at check-out, then wait for a revised invoice before paying. And they do ship around the world so no matter where you are you've go the chance to make your home that much more beautiful!

Find all of these designs and many more from Sodeco (and go get that discount!) at http://sodeco.etsy.com/.

tour de france

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 08:14:00 +0000

We live very close to France. About 14 kilometers, actually. We often hop over the border to see a movie (the French play American movies in their original English language more often than the Germans who seem to prefer to dub over movies into German), go to a yummy restaurant, or buy French groceries (and yes, we love to say to each other "Let's go the France, today!"). But ever since we moved here we've been wanting to ride our bikes over to the border. On Saturday, we finally did!

This past week I've been making cookies, eating cookies, sitting on the couch finishing up a big quilting project, and watching athletes half my age breaking world records at the Olympics so maybe I just felt inspired to get us off our butts, but we finally had a non-rainy Saturday and so we ventured out to France!

We made our first stop just a couple of blocks from home to buy some sweet and declicious white raspberries from the self-serve food stand as a biking snack and then rode on through several little German villages and beautiful fields and orchards and nature preserves toward the Rhine.

This house smelled so good as we rode by!

Then, just before we reached the Rhine river...Karl got a flat tire!

So we walked our bikes the last quarter of a kilometer or so to the ferry that crosses us over to France.

Goodbye Germany!

Once in France we walked into the little town laying just on the other side of the Rhine and found a grocery store with bike-repairing supplies and made camp in front of a closed resturant to make repairs.

We muched on our bakery snacks bought in one of the German villages then made our way back to the Rhine, having accomplished our mission and tired out by that flat tire.

An old World War II barrack on the French side of the Rhine, not used since the French were trying to keep the Germans on the other side of the river:

In passing through one of the German villages, we noticed the local Bicycle Society was having a Summer Festival so we made a stop for some festival food.

We made one more stop at the self-serve food stand for some homemade pickles and plum jam and felt very satisfied (if exhausted) arriving home having finally accomplished this little goal we made for ourselves so long ago! Take that Olympic medalists!

Home again...the well-stocked self-serve stand in our little Oberweier:

It was such a lovely day! But, now...back to the couch...

schwäbisch gmünd library

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 06:50:00 +0000

The Hospice of the Almshouse Brothers in Schwäbisch Gmünd was founded in 1269 and in 1434 a half-timber building for the Almshouse was built as part of a complex of Alms buildings and a mill surrounding a pretty courtyard. Today, that half-timber Almshouse is the town's public library. I originally ducked into the library to find a toilet to use and was awe-struck by the building itself. I ended up spending about an hour in the buliding, first wandering through it's wooden-beamed rooms, then sitting in a corner to read in this old and incredible space.

See? Didn't I tell you this was the coolest library ever?

My favorite space was this room called the Uhrenzimmer. It was built in 1596 as an office for the Almshouse and is now apparently used for weddings. I found my way there, found the door open, and just as I stepped inside this stunning room but I before I could get the camera out of my bag, I was shooed out as the room was getting prepared for a wedding. So all I can show you is the door into the room with the little hanging sign on the doorknob letting us know that there is a wedding in session. But imagine the kind of room (dark wooden walls, floors and ceilings with old Renaissance windows) that beautiful wooden doorway would lead you to and that's exactly what lays beyond it!

favorite shop friday: cathy cullis

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 07:16:00 +0000

Cathy Cullis is an artist. Her ink is thread and her paper is linen, newsprint, and yellowed novels and the result is beautiful!

With trailing threads, unfinished fabric edges, sketchy figures, there a sense of the improvised in her work but, as Cathy puts it, her pieces are still "carefully constructed, considered." In fact, Cathy calls her work "visual poems" and I think that's the best way to describe them because they are certainly lyrical and while they have an abbreviated quality there is quite a depth to them, I think.

Expected to believe:

Fashionable:

Her pieces can but framed but can also be worn like this beautiful pendant and brooch:

Cathy's beautiful work can be found at http://cathycullis.etsy.com/.

schwäbisch gmünd churches

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:48:00 +0000

We visited three different churches during our day in Schwäbisch Gmünd and they were all very different from each other.

The first was St. John's, a Romanesque church built between 1220 and 1250. It was being restored and the inside floor of the church was littered with the original gargoyles and saints from the outside of the church.

I climbed up the church tower where I got a beautiful view of the next church we visited...

The Holy Cross Cathedral is a Gothic church built btween 1315 and 1521. It had a big beautiful organ and pretty side chapels and gorgeous windows!

The last church we visited was really a chapel. Two chapels, actually. And it was very unique! St. Salvator was built on a hill overlooking the town in 1617. The path going up the hill has little chapels containing sculptural vignettes of Christ's Life.

The two chapels (an upper chapel and lower chapel) were built into caves with beautiful carvings both inside and outside cut into the rock.

All three of these churches were very beautiful and represented a completely different era in architecture. It was so neat to see a mini history of church design all in one afternoon!

schwäbisch gmünd

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 07:42:00 +0000

Yesterday, Karl had to go to a small town called Schwäbisch Gmünd (say "shvay-bish g-moondt) on the far side of Stuttgart and I decided to tag along. The town was charming! As Karl was busy with business, I wandered around the charming town, and then we met up together and wandered around some more. Here is some of the charm we explored...

We actually also saw three very interesting churches and the coolest library I've ever seen but I'm going to save those photos for another day!

favorite shop friday: swellkid

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:46:00 +0000

Carrie's wonderful shop, Swellkid, helps us learn our ABCs by taking us back to the day when boys dressed sharp and Q stood for Queen for a Day!

These retro alphabets are so much fun! They'd be great for a baby's room or your own rooms.

Carrie will also gladly take cutsom orders so that your letters can stand for whatever you want: M for merry-go-round, modern, or...?

Find her swell alphabets at http://swellkid.etsy.com/.

etsy baby shower

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:44:00 +0000

There is a regularly-held virtual baby shower held by Etsy sellers...it's kind of cool: any seller or buyer on Etsy can add their name to the mom-to-be list and several sellers are assigned to ship them a free baby or mommy gift. I've participated before and it's pretty fun to meet new babies around the globe!

Here is the little quilt I made for this spring's baby shower for Boxie's new little baby girl (front and back views):

I just used scraps I had on hand to do a pink and yellow tummy-time quilt. It's fun to surprise a distant mom with a little bundle of love! And Boxie let me know that her little angel is already getting a lot of cuddle time with it! I love knowing my quilts are getting the cuddly love they were made for!

i just thought this was kinda funny...

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 07:32:00 +0000

The 31. Annual European Juggling Convention is in town! How cool is that?!

Outside the convention center as I walked by last night there was juggling galore along with other juggling-related activities like tight-rope walking and unicycle riding.

And, have no fear, there was an ambulance on hand to take care of any juggling-related injuries.

I had no idea that the juggling community was so well organized that they had conventions!

And what do they do at juggling conventions? Discuss the latest technological advances in bowling pins? PowerPoint presentations on the physics of throwing and catching more things in the air than you have hands to hold? Sale subscriptions to some industry-related magazine called something like Juggling Today?

And this convention is going on all week! Is there really that much going on in the world of juggling to convene about? I am really really curious as to what goes on at this convention! Besides lots of juggling! Actually...maybe that's enough. I imagine jugglers and the sons of jugglers aren't the popular kids in school and maybe it's just enough to get together with your fellow jugglers and for once not be the weird guy that can throw and catch a dozen balls in the air at once.

favorite shop friday: be happy now

noreply@blogger.com (heather) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 08:24:00 +0000

I love the name of today's shop, Be Happy Now, because you can't be but happy looking at Jenny's absolutely charming, happy artwork!

Someone tied to the tree:

Happy Rain:

Creatures that live in the sky:

She just finished her degree at an art and design academy where she wrote and illustrated this charming book for her final project...but you can buy her other tiny books filled with her artwork, too.

Jenny lives and works in Jerusalem and has so much creativity coming out of her not even the toilet rolls are safe from her artistic eye!

Her artwork can bring you instant happiness, I'm sure! Find her happy shop at http://behappynow.etsy.com/.