what can I say

I've been tinkering away at a new project and decided to give you a few glimpses of my work in progress. I'm not sure why, because I can't give you the full reveal or tell you anything about it for awhile. Ain't I a stinka? Well, believe me, it's agonizing for me not to blab about every little thing going on here in the BW Studio. (Just ask my husband how it is when he comes home from work. The poor dear.)

The project involves delicious felted wool in yummy colors....

...buttons, trims, little stitches...

...peeks of prints...

...whimsical touches....

The good news is, I will be teaching some "live" workshops (meaning in person!) later this year and this little work-in-progress is to be one of the projects featured! I'm hopeful that I can let more of the cat out of the bag soon.

P.S. Thanks for all of the lego love comments from the last post! That was fun...

building character

photos altered by the iPhone app, LEGO Photo.

Between bad head colds, days off from school and a husband working a lot of overtime, the past week or so has been discombobulated. Laundry has piled up, my work projects have come to a halt, and meal planning has gone out the window. Amidst the chaos there is one thing I am certain of: We are a household held together by Legos. Thank goodness for the hours of creative entertainment those little colorful blocks provide. The boys build, they play, they invent. They share (mostly), they pretend, they imagine...

I feel compelled to write a little booklet called, "Everything I know, I learned from playing with Legos" or "Life Lessons Learned from Legos" or some such titled book. An excerpt:

"It takes patience to find just the right piece"

"If a something doesn't fit, it doesn't fit. Wanting it to fit is not enough."

"Sometimes in life you have to stop looking in order to find what you need."

"If you step barefoot in the dark, you may find what you are missing. The hard way."

"Even the most plain and simple thing can be part of an amazing masterpiece."

"Sometimes you have to just pick up the pieces and start over."


Are you a Lego household?

**********************************************
By the way, thank you for all over your votes over at Poppytalk. You guys rock! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Fingers crossed!

nom nom nominated

Wow! I've been nominated for a Poppy!


The Poppies are a virtual awards event from the popular design blog, Poppytalk. There are 12 individual categories, like Favorite Handmade Textiles, Favorite Handmade Art, Favorite Photographer, etc. Now you can vote for your faves within each category. What a great way to celebrate the Handmade Community!

I'd be super grateful if you would vote for Betz White for the Favorite Handmade Eco Artist category for The Poppies by Thursday, January 28th.

This is the description of the Eco category from The Poppies:
"Eco meaning products made with the environment in mind. From repurposing/recycling, processes that are easy on the earth such as printmaking using soy-based inks, etc. (Organic, recyclable, reusable, repurposed, conflict and cruelty-free, ecological footprint)."

I'm honored and excited to be nominated. Between my organic print collections and my books based on recycling/repurposing, I strive to "stitch beautifully, tread lightly" and I hope to inspire you to do the same! If you're so inclined, you can vote for me right here. (and be sure to vote for your faves in the other categories while you're there!) Thanks so much for your generous support!

DIY branding

Way back in fashion design school I got the notion to experiment with a wood burning tool on leather. I thought, hey, if a hot iron can brand a cow, maybe I can add some cool detail to a plain piece of suede. Fast forward to my latest how-to article in Make magazine.

This time I fired up my ol' summer camp wood burning tool to make a one-of-a-kind bag out of this thrift store find. I love the idea of customizing leather and suede items. Think of it! Belts, cuffs, wallets, even shoes! Do it for the shoes, people.

For all the details, check out page 131 of issue #21 of Make, now on newsstands!

Craft Hope for Haiti

I wanted to let you know about a group called Craft Hope. Last week they put together an etsy shop to raise money for Doctors Without Borders in Haiti with 100% of the proceeds going to them. Crafters, such as myself and many many others have donated beautiful handmade items to the shop.

The best news is that people are shopping like crazy at this little etsy shop. So far in TWO days they have raised $7,000 for Doctors Without Borders! Amazing! I am truly inspired by everyone who has donated, shopped and to the wonderful organizers of Craft Hope for putting it together.

Please, if you haven't taken a peek at the goodies at the Craft Hope Etsy shop, check it out! They are listing new items everyday so there is always something new. Hooray for hope!

Squeak and Spike

What's better than a coupla' new friends in your life? Especially when they are sweet, fun loving and always there for you. :) Meet my new critter friends, Squeak and Spike! The pdf pattern for making your very own is now ready in my etsy shop.

There's a Mama size and a Baby size. The pattern has complete directions for creating both critters, the mouse and the hedgie. I used felted wool sweaters to create these, but any cuddly fabric would work, such as fleece, velour, sherpa, etc.

How cute would these be for Valentine gifts? Make them in bright colors, pink and red, or natural grays and browns with little pink ears.

Aww, they're holding tails! Theirs are made with felted i-cord but there are so many options: a braid of yarn, a thick crocheted chain, upholstery cording or a strip of thick sweater felt. Their eyes are beads and their noses are felt balls.

Hello, Hedgies! Spike and his mama ought to be on cute overload. My son is completely in love with them and has already adopted them into his menagerie of stuffed animals.

And surprise...each critter has a little felt heart on their tums, that's just how loving they are. *mwah*!

Can you tell we are having a major cute-fest over here? Reminds me of my days designing for the kids apparel industry. I loved when our samples came in from the sample room. Little baby garments all hanging together on a rack. We'd pick them up and dance them around to our own squeals of delight. Yeah, it could be a little nauseating, but when you make baby clothes, it's all about the cute.

If you're all about cute, I hope you'll check out the new pattern. And remember, just one month until Valentines Day! :)

sneak squeek

Just thought I'd give you a *sneak squeek* of a little project I'm working on...

...sweet little somethings to make for your sweet hearts...

I plan to have the pattern for these new little friends in my etsy shop tomorrow!

**UPDATE: Due to a camera malfunction, the pattern is slightly delayed. I should have it ready in the shop Thursday 1/14/10.**

finally finished

I's like to share with you my finally finished Shalom Cardi! (You may remember my first attempt, which I did not rip out but gifted to a taller-than-I-am friend. She loves it!) This was my second attempt which I am very happy with. The yarn is called Esperanza from Schaefer Yarns.

My friend Laura helped me out a great deal with my gauge swatch and blocking tips, etc. (Thanks Laura!) She also suggested taking 2 rows out of each yoke section to help with the proportions, and I think that was a good call. I'm even happy with the cool button I found to finish it all off!

I'm loving it! Check out other people's Shalom Cardi sweaters over at Ravelry. Now I'm back to knitting a pair of socks I started a year ago! Here's to hoping I finish them in 2010!

What are you knitting?

Book Review: Applique Your Way

As luck would have it, I received a new book in the mail (gratis) to review as part of the blog tour for Appliqué Your Way by Kayte Terry, published by Chronicle Books.

I love appliqué and have used it in my work for years. It's a wonderful way to revamp what you have and make it look fresh and new. I was curious and anxious to get my hands on this book since I heard of it's release.

First, I'll go over the basic details of the book:

• List price: $19.95, paperback
• spiral bound for easy use during crafting (lies flat!)
• a thorough (yet not excessive) section on techniques
  
• 35 projects, most designed by Kayte, some contributed by others
• patterns/templates included in an envelope in the back of book

I found the techniques section to be clear and informative. There is good basic information describing the tools and methods needed for achieving the projects on the pages that follow. Although I would consider this to be simple beginner information that is inviting to a new crafter, I did learn a few handy tips I didn't already know. Kayte's tone is friendly, fun and non-intimidating.

Just under half of the projects are embellishment ideas applied to readymade garments or accessories, such as the Kimono Flower Trench and the Falling Leaves Ballet Flats. The rest are complete start-to-finish sewing projects, such as the Into The Woods Pillow and the Doily Trivets. The project instructions are primarily text with occasional hand drawn diagrams of details. For that reason, I'd suggest this book for crafters that are new to appliqué but have some sewing experience. The inclusion of loose pattern sheets in the back envelope is always a plus, however, it appears that some of them are not printed at actual size and would still require enlargement. (I am not entirely sure of this, but will check with the author and update this post with correct info)

click pics to embiggen

If you're interested in trying appliqué, I encourage you to flip through this book at your local book shop. I found the style of the projects in the book to be young, vintage inspired, and somewhat "shabby chic". The book's design and styling is hip with an "Anthropologie" vibe with matte finish photography. Check out the book's listing on Amazon for the "look inside" feature to view the Table of Contents. Unfortuntately, it does not show any photography of the projects. Please visit the other "stops" on Kayte's blog tour for more peeks into her book!

New! Now with less *fling*

click to enlarge photo collage

I've been mulling over some kind of New Years post for a few days now. Part of me wants to just blurt out any dream or aspiration that I have for the new year and another part wants to hold them close. The truth? I spend most of my time charging ahead to the next idea, the next deadline, the next thing on my To-Do list. I've had decent luck just flinging myself forward and I feel very fortunate for all of the opportunities that have come my way. But don't get me wrong, I don't always land on my feet after said *flinging*. At times I miss the mark, land on my you-know-what then get up and try again. I think in the coming year I will attempt less fling. Less fling and more focus.

Maybe it's because I'm feeling more vulnerable these days. Maybe I've never given myself a chance to slow down long enough to really look at the bigger picture. Or maybe I've been avoiding it.

Sometimes in order to see where you're going, you have to look back at where you have been. Have you reflected on your accomplishments this year? I'm going to give it a whirl...for the sake of my own perspective.

In 2009 I...

• had some great PR in a variety of magazines: Sew Hip, Studios, Family Fun, Living Crafts, Stitch, Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Crafts, Sew News, etc.
• saw the release of my 2nd book, Sewing Green
• went on a Blog Tour and a few book signings for Sewing Green
• taught workshops in: Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, New York, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania
• was a guest on 2 segments of the TV show Cultivating Life, to air Summer 2010 on WGN America
• started selling pdf patterns of my projects in my etsy shop
• featured in the book Blogging for Bliss
  
• achieved a longtime goal of designing and producing my own organic fabric collection: Family Cottage followed by Indian Summer.
• received some greatly appreciated attention for my fabric line from many blogs such as Craftzine, Decor8, True Up, CAGW, Indie Fixx, Whip Up, Tiny Decor and more.
  
• designed a group of felted illustrations for holiday Kleenex boxes sold at Target.
  
• produced my first online workshop, Felt & Stitch Holiday which drew participants from 11 countries!
  
• participated in 2 holiday shows: Holiday Heap in Baltimore (1st time!) and the Luvable & Hugable exhibit at gallery hanahou in NYC (3rd time!)
  
• regularly posted on my blog and added nine free tutorials over the course of 2009 (see sidebar!)
  

...and in between all of that I managed to wrangle two kids, help with homework, keep them and my husband fed and in clean clothes (most of the time), volunteer in the art room at school and go on a summer vacation. Phew! Not too shabby...though I do need a little more balance. Focus, balance, time to catch my breath and take care of myself.

Looking forward I do have some big ideas, but I am proceeding with a little caution, armed with a few "no's" to dole out every now and then.

In the meantime, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for stopping by this space, saying *hey* and making everything I do feel worthwhile. I'm honored by your presence over the last few years and I hope you'll stick around for more to come. :)

Come and Gone

Frosty was here

Out with the old, and in with the new. Here's to endings and beginnings and all of the stuff in between. Wishing you a happy happy New Year!