A Bit of a Slump

I'm afraid I may have enjoyed my time off from the busy internet world a little too much. I'm still having a pretty difficult time getting up the energy to blog or even read my daily blog roll. As much as I'd hate to admit it, I'm much rather curl up with a good book!

Hopefully my little blogging slump will wear off soon. Here is another set of photos from my little trip to Portland to hold you over.

We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in NW Portland. I thought it was pretty nice. Very quiet neighborhood in an old industrial area. We also had a nice view of one of the many Portland bridges.

We found this apartment rental sign a few blocks from our hotel. $450?!? Are you kidding me?

A yummy treat after a delicious dinner at Merriwether's. Very yummy treat!

Pretty mural at the Kennedy School. I'll be talking more about this place later . . . .

Here's an insane flower I found in someone's yard, plus my shoe.

Humane Society Needs your help!

Sad,sad news today. I found out that the Berkeley Humane Society caught on fire last night. The center lost 15 cats in the fire along with their offices, cat area, and laundry facilities. Fortunately the dogs were in a separate area and all the dogs were saved.

I want to encourage everyone to try and donate whatever they can to the Berkeley Humane Society, regardless of whether you live in the Bay Area or not. This place had a great facility and was a no kill shelter. They have been around helping and saving animals since 1927 and are committed to helping animals that have special needs. Please take a second to donate whatever you can. Anything helps! To donate money go HERE!! Or visit their website to find out about other ways to DONATE.

Thanks so much for your help!

I'm Back!

Wow! Five days of no blogging, no crafting, no stitching, no Etsy, and limited internet access! I hate to admit it, but I really enjoyed those five days off! It was nice to just relax and focus on enjoying life. But now it's back to business and the real world. Sigh . . . .

While I try to get up the motivation to start crafting again here are some photos of my trip for you to enjoy. As usual, I didn't take enough photos, but I tried. I really did!We spent the first night camping at Castle Crags State Park, which is about
10 minutes from Mt. Shasta City.We got a nice site next to the creek, which I used to keep my beer cool since we
decided to pass on bringing the cooler.This stone grill is so epic. Maybe next time I'll try grilling on it.My boyfriend is a master firebuilder. It was perfect for roasting smores.

And here's a little animation I made of me enjoying my smore sandwich. Yum!

More photos tomorrow! So stay tuned!!

Embroidery Artist: Rebecca Ringquist

I was hoping to blog this weekend while on my little trip to Portland, but alas my home computer has been attacked by a crazy virus. If I'm lucky, I'll have it fixed and I'll be able to give you some fun little updates. Otherwise, I'll be back next Wednesday.

While I'm away, take some time to check out the eclectic work of Rebecca Ringquist. I love the collage quality of her textile pieces. To see more of her work, check out her website.

Portland can't come too soon!

So it looks like I'll be making my way up to Portland this weekend. Woohoo! I have only been to Portland once and it wasn't really a visit, more like a drive thru. So on this brief trip I am hoping to actually see a few new cool places, see some old friends, and drink really, really good beer. Here is my list so far of places to try and visit: Voodoo Donuts. Found out about this place via an Anthony Bourdain episode. I plan on buying the most craziest donut they have and enjoying every second of it.Powell's Books. I have my list of must-have crafty books ready to go. I hope I get lucky and find what I'm looking for!I was hoping to go to Velveteria, the museum of velvet paintings but they closed down in January! Bummer.Knittin' Kitten. This place is right up my alley as I am all about thrifting and using recycled goods for my crafty projects. And they have vintage fabric. I'm going to have to watch my wallet . . . .While searching for crafty things in Portland I came across Average Jane Crafter's Blog, who I actually follow on twitter. She has some great blog entries about her Portland experiences if you are ever looking for some stuff to do.
And if you have any Portland recommendations, please send them my way!

Blisters and Breaks

What did I do this weekend? I stitched, and stitched, and stitched. I did so much stitching that my poor little index finger is bruised and on the brink of blistering.

But lucky for me I will be taking a very much overdue break this weekend. My man and I will be escaping very briefly to Shasta county and hopefully Portland, OR too. A little camping and hiking is just what I need. Wish I had a pet kitty I could bring on my outdoor adventures like this French couple! How cute and amazing is this little backpacking tabby?!? There is a short video of him traveling HERE.

Spool 72, I love you!

My little fingers are sore due to all the embroidering I have been doing lately and I'm still not done! All this work is good but eating into my blogging time. I'm pretty sure I love reading blogs more than actually blogging at this point.

Everyday I happen upon something new and amazing, like this online clothing website called Spool 72. I am in love with everything on this site, but it was the Native American rug bags that won me over. Have you ever come across a site or store where you just want to buy everything in it? Well, yeah that's kind of how I feel about this little virtual shop.

I'm very close to buying this little beauty. I love the color combo on the necklace. This shirt brings on rustic dreams of wearing cut off jeans, cowboy boots, and tromping around a big meadow on a hot humid day. I'm highly considering making one of these bags for myself. I have some really lovely upholstery fabric that I got from the Creative Reuse a few months back. I wasn't sure what I was going to use it for, but now I just might have a project for it!

Etsy Voter!

Hi all, my hand embroidered "MOM" card was recently nominated for the Etsy's Mother's Day themed Voter. There's only 3 more days left to vote and I could really use your help! Please stop by and vote HERE. Thanks so, so much for your support!I'm thrilled with how much people have been enjoying these cards!

Winnings

Last week I received a lovely hand embroidered wooden brooch that I won a while back from the amazing Maggie Makes blog. I absolutely love this blog and feel so lucky to happen across it just by chance one day while reading another crafty lady's blog. Karen, the genuis behind Maggie Makes, offers amazing free DIY tutorials, including one on how to make yourself this pretty little brooch I won. You can find the tutorial HERE.I was already excited to be receiving this lovely little accessory so imagine how thrilled and shocked I was to find other little goodies in my package from Karen! The packaging was so pretty that I just had to take photos of it to share with you. Much thanks Karen for the goodies! I can't believe I had never heard of Baker's twine before! It comes in so many pretty colors that I just had to buy myself some of my own!Karen also sent me a roll of Kamoi Japanese masking tape. I instantly fell in love and am already stocking up on some different colors/styles for my own packaging needs. I'm thinking of embroidering onto the fabric and then making them into dishtowels.