Lettergirl

Wednesday Book Club.

My beach read last week was Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones, which was thought-provoking but not too taxing for spring break.  The story is told in two sections, by two narrators, and you start the second part of the book prejudiced against that second narrator, but then learn to love her too.  It's a compelling story, the kind that leaves you still wondering about the characters a few days after you've closed the book.

The link is for a review on Goodreads.  Do you use Goodreads?  I dutifully read their monthly email about what's new, but can't seem to get myself on board with using the site itself.  It seems taylor-made for me, a reader and a diligent listmaker.  If you use it, I'd love to know how and why.

Spotted on vacation: admirable work ethic.

I wish I could always take 2 weeks of vacation.  It really takes me the first five days to sink into it:  going with the flow, leaving the expectations behind, appreciating the pace & lack of schedule.

Twice during my week in southwest Florida, I was drawn to noticing someone's work ethic.  I'm quirky that way.  Seeing someone get it right makes me feel all tingly.

The first was J.N. Ding Darling, whose studio is recreated at the wildlife refuge on Sanibel Island.  In addition to being an ecologist, he drew thousands of political cartoons in his career.  (I think it was over 15,000.)  I got the shivers when I read about him at the exhibit -- maybe because it was earlier in the week and my brain was seeking structure, maybe it was my obsession lately with being more prolific.  (I've been dwelling on that for weeks now.  Another post or two on that for sure.)

The second was the first base coach at the Class A ball game we went to on Saturday night.  (The Minnesota Twins train at Fort Myers in the spring, but we arrived the very day they left for the regular season.  Luckily we could still catch a minor league game at their field.)  I always feel naive when I realize how many jobs there are that I've never considered, and here was this guy doing one of those jobs and into it.  Work was getting me down a bit before we left on vacation -- just the constant need to be thinking ahead when you're self-employed (which was a heck of a lot easier in 1992 when I started, than it is now in 2013).  Seeing someone so in tune with his job, so right for it, reminded me that I am right for mine too.

Today is the last day to enter my quote giveaway on facebook.  The comments make for some yummy reading!

Spring Break.

Between finishing up work, going to school conferences, and waiting for my car to be towed, I never got around to posting that I'd be away on spring break this week. Of course, I thought I'd make time first thing Monday morning...but I'm always much more lazy on vacation than I think I'm going to be. Especially this year: instead of hiking the Badlands or touring the Oregon Caves, we're at Fort Myers Beach. Sorely needed after a long Minnesota winter!

New: drop-in hours at the studio!

Come visit me at the studio! 

My studio will now be open on the last Tuesday of every month, from 11am to 2pm: you can get a glimpse of what I'm working on and pick up a little handmade something while you're at it.  (Hey, you could even bring your lunch -- I'd love to get caught up!)

First open studio is tomorrow:  Tuesday, March 26th. 

Find me at:  2500 University Ave West, Studio D6,
in St. Paul (near 280 & University).

Lettergirl Pillows at Spoonflower.

I finally have a few photos of the pillows I stitched up from my custom fabric at Spoonflower. 

The fabric is called Four Love Pillows and when you buy a yard (starting at $17.50) you'll get four different pillow fronts, with four of my favorite quotes.  You can also buy just a fat quarter and get only the green pillow shown here.

Before I stitched the pillows together, I added some embroidery:  this one has a simple running stitch inside the border.  And the one below has little seed beeds stitched into the scallops:

I'd love to see what you can do with the Four Love Pillows fabric!

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Now for sale at Spoonflower.

Love Your Letters Studio Workshop: next month!

I'm so excited to announce my first workshop at my new studio in St. Paul:  Love Your Letters, in person.  We'll spend two hours together on April 18th improving your handwriting -- with worksheets, inspiration and resources to help you keep practicing. 

AND for this first workshop only, I'm offering a special bonus to all participants:  a 1/2-hour follow up session during the month after the workshop:  that's thirty minutes to ask me questions and get one-on-one guidance for your specific challenges.  (We'll schedule the private sessions at the end of the workshop on the 18th.)

Register here.  This is a daytime workshop; if evenings are better for you, please leave a comment here, as I will add an evening class in May if there's enough interest.

 

Love Your Letters Workshop, back in stock.

I've revised my Love Your Letters Workshop one more time -- now when you join the class, you can be part of our new private group on facebook.  More conversation, more ideas, more inspiration.  (If you've already purchased the workshop, email me or leave a comment below with your facebook username and I'll add you to the group.)

And if you need even more handwriting goodness, I'll be having a local studio workshop next month.  Details coming soon!

Wednesday Book Club: wish list.

On my wish list:

Creative Thursday by Marisa Anne Cummings.  I've been needing a creative push lately and thinking about "challenges" that some artists use to keep their head (and hands) in the game.  I always felt like time spent on those sorts of projects was -- for me -- spinning my wheels. Too many other ideas to work through!   But I'm trying to rethink that and get my feet wet with plain old creative play for the sake of play.  This book may be the manual I need to get started.

Embellish Me by Laurie Wisbrun.  Even the cover is inspiring!

New from Sarah Fielke:  Hand Quilted with Love.  If you need more encouragement, I reviewed another of her quilting books here.

A Month of Sundays by Cheryl Arkison.  I don't really need another book of family craft projects, but they're always good for inspiration in one form or another.

Love Scarf, continued.

The first thing I've made exclusively for my fall trunk show.  Imagine wrapping yourself in this quote by Longfellow:

Once I've stitched the lining on, I'll post a photo of the scarf in action.  But even without finishing it, I can tell you that this is one project it'll be hard to part with come October.  Love it!

Wednesday Book Club, Nourish:Spring.

The darling Anna Dvorak has done it again:  a simply amazing cookbook devoted to the flavors of spring (second in her Nourish series).  Inspired by her world travels and years of recipe development (not to mention local cooking classes), Anna provides recipes that a) sound fabulous and b) sound like something I could actually make on a weeknight.  Vegie sushi rolls, anyone?

Try a sample recipe on Anna's blog.  Read more about the cookbook series here.