Come to see me elsewhere?

Kelly wants some damn bread, originally uploaded by maybeemily.

I am mostly writing over on the Tako Fibers blog. i hope you'll keep up with me there?

I'll continue to post more personal stuff here, but perhaps not as often.

Come visit me!

www.takofibers.com

Packing up pin kits

Packing up pin kits, originally uploaded by maybeemily.

Packing things up, assembling kits, etc. I am hoping by this time next week this can return to a personal blog, and my BRAND NEW AWESOME Tako Fibers website will be up WITH ITS OWN BLOG! Yeah yeah, it will be club awesome, you are invited.

rainbow

another little sneak peek!, originally uploaded by maybeemily.

another little sneak peek! I am working my butt off trying to get all my samples done. I have put Ben to work separating out yarn and packing kits. I am ahead of schedule but still, only 3 WEEKS until the big seasonal craft shows!

On another note, I think it is funny. I have started using a particular typeface that I find lovely. It is called Lullaby. It is so pretty!
But now, I see it EVERYWHERE! I certainly wasn't the first to use it, but since it has been featured on a popular design blog I think everyone is using it! So now I feel silly using it on my new business cards. Oh well. I have a 1000 of them!

Citrus bird!

Citrus bird!, originally uploaded by maybeemily.

Yay! Citrus bird is finished! I LOVE this little chubby bird.

I made the screen for Citrus Bird back in July, but didn't have time to do all the stitching for the sample piece until this past month. But now I am happy to report that you can purchase your very own kit in the Tako Fibers etsy store!

Expect another new kit or two next week! :)

Also, I have been recently searching the local thrift stores for awesome frames for my new samples. In my searches, I found the WORLDS BIGGEST EMBROIDERY HOOP EVER!

Look at this thing!



I have no idea what I am going to do with it yet! Any ideas?

little sneaky peaky!

Another little sneaky peaky!, originally uploaded by maybeemily.

I haven't written here in a long time, because I:

a) am working on a BRAND NEW AWESOME WEBSITE just for Tako Fibers! Including an amazing fiber arts blog, how-to's for kits, and free embroidery patterns! yeah!

b) got into Urban Craft Uprising in Seattle and Crafty Wonderland in Portland! That means I need to produce A LOT of kits. A lot a lot.

c) have been busy cleaning and arranging my studio for the influx of crafting that shall occur shortly.

Anyway, above is a little sneak peak of my newest bird embroidery kit. I think I will call her Citrus Bird or Tropical Bird, I am not sure yet. I'm hoping she will be ready to purchase by next week!

Have a lovely Halloween!

Brian Vogan and his Good Buddies - Sing a Little Song

Album Cover!, originally uploaded by maybeemily.

I am so excited to share this with you!
One of the things I have been working hard on lately is my illustration work. I recently illustrated and designed this album cover for Brian Vogan and his Good Buddies. The album just came out last week, so I can finally share this work with you!

If you have kids, you should really know about Brian Vogan. He has been working with kids for many years, and knows exactly what kind of music they love. The songs are catchy, rocking, and awesome for everyone. I listen to this album all the time, and I am most certainly not in the their target audience (which is the 1-7 year olds.)

I tried to incorporate some of the songs into the artwork. For example, the gray dog on the front is the wise one from the song Gray Dog! (My favorite on the album!) If you peek inside...



You will see all the Good Buddies, as well as an extremely large Thanksgiving turkey... I suppose you will just need to buy the album to learn about that guy! (There are a few others in the artwork, can you spot them all?)



My husband is one of the Good Buddies, so I have to give him some credit... without him I probably wouldn't have had the opportunity to work on this project. (Thanks Ben!)

If you would like to purchase the album, it is available on CD Baby. You can also like them on Facebook. Peek at their page for upcoming shows!

scones from mom

scones, originally uploaded by maybeemily.

We are still working on moving. Our basement is finally not insane! We still have a lot to do this week. We are living with my parents during this between-time. Living with my parents is odd, because I have not lived with them (as in, in the same house as them) since I was 14.

It takes a little getting used to, but it is quite nice to wake up to fresh brewed coffee and warm-out-of-the-oven scones with homemade jam.

Sharing the polaroid love

, originally uploaded by heather.

I wanted to share these gorgeous little cards from Heather. Be still, my palpitating heart.

In other news, cleaning our house and moving sucks. blah. i hate carrying stuff.

Amy Butler Anna Tunic

new tunic dress thing, originally uploaded by maybeemily.

I have had this pattern in my stash for about a year now, and haven't had the perfect fabric or occasion to make it. But! Last Friday I went to a lovely wedding, and the week before I could not decide what to wear to this fantastic event. With a free night or two I was able to sew this up fast!

I think I have a better picture of the whole mini-dress somewhere in all those wedding photos... When I find it I will post it!

The pattern was very easy to follow, but had lovely details. The yoke neckline is so elegant! My changes were:
Increased the bust and waist inches
Added back darts
Used a wide grosgrain ribbon as a belt
Added a lace hem

I have had this beautiful fabric in my studio for a while! I bought it from EmilyMe on Etsy. It has a lovely drape, and the screenprinted flowers are so opaque and bright! (For a better photo of the fabric, check out the SOLD etsy page. You can really see the ink standing up off the fabric. All of the fabrics that she has are AMAZING and I highly recommend you take a peek.

Why would someone do this?

Why would someone do this?, originally uploaded by maybeemily.

For the past few weeks, we have been watching the progress of this beautiful mural by our house. The community voted on an amazing design by local artist Todd Lown. (The other finalists had AMAZING work as well! I would have been happy to see any of them go up.) Its one of the most fabulous murals that I have seen in this city!

Its disheartening that somebody decided, not only to tag the mural last night, but to write "NOT ART" on it. What kind of hateful thing is that to write? Does the person who wrote this hate murals? Did their suggestion not make it to the finals? Did they not understand that this is a project supported by the local community? If you don't like something, use the correct channels to complain and voice your opinions, there is no need to ruin it for the rest of us.

They didn't limit their scrawl to just one, small, easily painted over area either. They tagged the ENTIRE MURAL, every 20 feet!



Way to support your local artists. This makes me so mad.

This mural project has its own facebook page, the 46th Street Mural Project. Show some support! If you live in the area, sign up for their next volunteer painting party! Or just send them some love over there and let them know you support the project. (well, you know, if you DO support the project!)

cannon beach

photo, originally uploaded by benjaminjaybaier.

We just returned from a lovely weekend in Cannon Beach, Oregon. One of my dearest friends from high school invited us to spend the weekend at his family's house. Even though we indulged in a bit too many marshmallows and lemonade-gin-fizzies, we really had a lovely time. And lucky us, gorgeous perfect weather!



I was not very good at taking pictures this weekend, so please note that these lovely photographs are all by Ben.





Our view:


Taffy:

you like my new haircut?

new haircut!, originally uploaded by maybeemily.

I am a pretty big wimp when it comes to cutting my hair. I usually opt for the same styles. Its not because I don't want to change, but usually I don't trust my hairstylist (NO OFFENSE, my dear Jordan who usually cuts my hair!) to make those decisions for me.

When your friend is going to school to cut hair, and they are incredibly creative and talented at everything they do, AND they know your taste just perfectly, well, that's when I let them decide how to cut it.

Astrid, it is brilliant!

Here is a before picture:



As you can see, it is much better now :)

embroidering brother

embroidering brother, originally uploaded by maybeemily.

my brother is super cool. he helped me at the Seattle Square last Saturday, and learned how to embroider while he was there. He embroidered an awesome robot army.

I truly believe all 18 year old boys who like ladies should learn how to embroider, as the ladies really like it!

yay knitting!

yarn in a bowl, originally uploaded by maybeemily.

I'm participating in a Ravelry KAL (knit-a-long!) for this lovely sweater: Featherweight! It is a simple and lovely pattern so far. If you are on Ravelry you can peek at it when I get my pictures up!

Urban Craft Uprising recap!

Tako Fibers vendor table, originally uploaded by maybeemily.

Yay! Pictured above is how my vendor table turned out at this years Urban Craft Uprising summer show! Posing with the table is my dear friend Brytt, who kindly helped me out the first day of the show. (Thanks, Brytt!) The lovely banner was made by Liz, and it is the cutest thing ever.

On Saturday I presented a demo on DIY Embroidered buttons.

It went so well! My students made beautiful buttons like these:






And some had never even embroidered before, but were very pleased with their results!



Sunday was busy busy busy! Many people came back that had come on Saturday. Also, Sunday was the big Bastille Day celebration at the Seattle Center, so I think a lot of people wandered over from that. Liz helped me out on Sunday, and whenever we weren't helping customers we were practicing our embroidered button skillz:



The feeling for the whole event was very different than the Winter show. At this show, I felt like everyone was looking and contemplating more. There were not as many impulse purchases. It also seemed that people were looking to purchase for themselves (and not for gifts) so they were a bit choosier!

After a long weekend of selling, I left happy (and with a lovely tympan notebook from ilfant!)


Check out all my pictures from the show in my UCU flickr set, and also be sure to peek at the UCU flickr group!

I'll hopefully see everyone at the winter show!

A quick Urban Craft Uprising note...

Spice Rack Lollipops, originally uploaded by thischarmingcandy.

It is getting late, and I still haven't uploaded my photos from Urban Craft Uprising to my flickr. I will write a more detailed post later, but I wanted to let you all know that it went very well! I even ran out of business cards! Note to self: order more than 200 next time!

When Liz or Brytt was watching over the Tako Fibers table, I made my way over to This Charming Candy. Holy crap. You guys... YOU. MUST. TRY THIS CANDY! Its better than I ever could have dreamed. I have recently become very interested in cardamom. Their Vanilla - Cardamom lolly is amazing. AMAZING. I had a little sample of Sweet Grapefruit as well - I had no idea lollipops could have such intense and complex flavors!

Anyway, I highly recommend you order some RIGHT NOW!

And I'll tell you about the rest of the show later :)

New kit in the shop!

jeweled bird contents, originally uploaded by maybeemily.

yeah yeah, just listed the jeweled bird in the shop! Those french knots sure do take a long time, otherwise I would have put it up sooner!

I hope you love it!

Featured on the Etsy Blog!

blue bird embroidery, originally uploaded by maybeemily.

I love waking up to good news! My little blue bird kit was featured in the Etsy Finds email and on The Storque yesterday. Thanks Etsy!

...

Things are winding down here in Emilyland! Tonight I am having a group of friends over to help me with all the last minute kit assembly. After that, I just need to pack everything up, and I'll be ready for Urban Craft Uprising this weekend! Hope to see you there!

Boxes! And July!

boxes all stacked and ready to go, originally uploaded by maybeemily.

Urban Craft Uprising is just one week away! I am a little stressed, but things are going well over here in Emilyland. This morning Ben stamped and stickered 100 boxes for the new kits!

My to do list is still pretty long, so unfortunately I will not be partaking in July 4th bbq festivities this year. But, I am planning on making cole slaw, and enjoying it over here in the studio. Liz and Brutus are going to join me, and we will have a grand ol time enjoying our cole slaw and fiber craft.

Have I mentioned that Brutus is the cutest little winker ever? No? Judge for yourself:


Happy July!

*** if you are available this week, and would like to help with last minute assembly, do let me know! I will feed you and give you drinks!

Meet my husband

What!, originally uploaded by benjaminjaybaier.

Please meet my husband, Ben!

Now that you have seen this picture, you know exactly what he is like.