Nirvana

 Last night I dreamed about pecan pancakes.  Although I did not want pancakes when I woke up this morning, the seed of breakfast foods was planted in my mind, and nothing short of a big fluffy omelet would satisfy.

After scratching my itch at the Denny's in Bothell, I remembered that I'd read in a couple of blogs that there was a great quilt store up in Bothell.  iPhone let me know that Keepsake Cottage Fabrics was a mere 2 minutes away.

Holy. Fabric. Mecca. Batman.



From Keepsake Cottage Fabric's website



This place is insane.  I almost don't want to tell you about it, but I will. Sadly, I wasn't brave enough to take pictures in the store, but I'll try to grab a few next time.  Picture a weird, cutesy red barn.  Now imagine that it's all divided up into a labyrinth of rooms, and every wall is stacked three layers deep in fabric. 

Now imagine that every fabric you've ever wanted is here.

Including ones that were discontinued long ago.

Ones you thought were out of your reach.

Ones you've been kicking yourself for not buying more of when they first came out.

There was a whole section of both cotton and flannel Bliss.  Two walls of Riley Blake (including the Tone on Tone Dot Blue - see it in the picture?).  An entire ROOM full of vintage-inspired fabrics... I was in American Jane heaven.  Nicey Jane, Farmer's Market, Erin McMorris' UH-dorable bicycle fabric, and that seed pod pattern (no idea what it's called), which I bought in two different colors. They had new fabric too - the entire Central Park by Kate Spain line (which I'm using for my Postage Stamp WIP, but I had to have more of that glorious orange).

Okay, I have to stop now.  I'm worried the drool is going to short out my keyboard.  But you can be sure there will be more fabric posts coming soon... I'll be back to Keepsake again soon, and next weekend is the Sew Expo!!

Weird Seattle Part II

On a walk this evening, I took a new route through my neighborhood. It brought me home a different way, so I passed a house I hadn't taken a good look at before, even though it's just around the corner from where I live.

How cool is this art installation in their fence? The rest of the house is also kind of hip and modern, but this mural is the stand-out feature.

It's entirely made up of those giant shooter marbles encased in a wire cage. Given that this house sits in a neighborhood slowly being taken over by beige townhouse developments, I love the rebellion of this weirdness.

Weird Seattle

Friday evening I took the wrong exit to Chelsea's house, and found myself in a part of Seattle I'm not familiar with. Taking it as a chance to explore a new area, I meandered up and down streets, until something caught my eye.



In a fairly industrial part of Seattle, I spotted a green city park.



Seeing such a green space in all that brown was surprising enough.


But that wasn't what caught my eye.



Yup, you read that sign right...

Apparently these gigantic boots and hat used to be a bit of a roadside attraction, bringing in business for a gas station. When the gas station closed down, this whimsical western-wear became part of Oxbow park. If you live in Seattle, you must drive down and check this out. I'm sure any child would love the novelty of this playground.

I also think this would make a really cool site for wedding photos. I'm sure I'm not the first person to have that idea, but I can totally see some fun, funky couple posing right between those cowboy boots.

After living almost my whole life here, I love that Seattle can still surprise me.

Urban Craft Uprising

This morning Chelsea and I headed down to the Seattle Center for Urban Craft Uprising, a craft show that features independent crafters and small businesses. It was kind of like stepping inside Etsy! We saw lots of really amazing stuff, and although we didn't drop any cash (aside from the donation at the door), we agreed that we both felt inspired to get our own crafty hands active again!

This picture doesn't do justice to this dress. The lace applique work was just amazing.

Deviled eggs! Complete with paprika sprinkles! How cute are these??

We saw TONS of letterpress. I just love letterpress - something about the simplicity of the designs, combined with the richness of the texture. I'd love to learn more about this process.

How cool is this lampshade? This booth had lots of upcycled crafts, like bowls and bracelets made from old vinyl records, jewelry made from soda can tabs, and more lampshades made from safety pins and forks.

I loooooove kokka fabric, and these bears strike me as the perfect use for such whimsical, hip designs.

Again, this photo doesn't do justice. This is a photo of an old abandoned room, which the artist has overlaid with drawings of a mother and her two little boys. Look at how the little boy on the right is peering out through the hole in the wall. I love how reality and fantasy interact here.

This coat has three great things going for it: it's a wool coat, it's orange, and it features poppies. Love!

Finally, here was my favorite seller. This man also specializes in letterpress, but he then mounts the letterpress art onto wood blocks to create wall art pieces.

My very favorite item of the whole show:

While at UCU today, we saw lots of signs for another craft show, to be held in December in Portland:

Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Holiday Sale!

December 11th + 12th

times TBA

at the Oregon Convention Center

777 NE MLK Jr. Blvd, Exhibit Hall D

See you there! :)

The Phinney Farmer's Market

Friday I went to the neighborhood farmer's market in Phinney Ridge with my mom. I saw a lot of the same vendors as at the Lake City farmer's market, including the makers of the delicious hard cider. There were some new vendors in Phinney though, like the hazelnut stand. Here's what we got:

-Bottle of hard apple cider
-Bottle of hard berry cider
-Market bouquet
-Sweet pea bouquet
-Tayberries (a cross between blackberries and raspberries - yum!)
-Raspberries
-Honey-orange coated hazelnuts
-Yukon gold potatoes
-Bing cherries
-Peaches
-Pluots

...and, of course, we got more ice cream. :)

I also managed to find a schedule of when the neighborhood markets are this summer. Seattle neighborhood markets are in blue. Eastside and outside-of-Seattle markets are in orange:

Monday: no markets (sad!)
Tuesday: Crossroads, Renton
Wednesday: Columbia City, Kirkland
Thursday: Lake City, Bellevue
Friday: Phinney Ridge, Juanita
Saturday: University District, Magnolia, Bellevue, Issaquah, Redmond
Sunday: West Seattle, Broadway, Mercer Island

FYI Seattleites - yes, the West Seattle and Broadway markets will be open today (even though it's the 4th of July)!

Next week: Columbia City

Beautiful Crime

I realize that the common (common sense) consensus is that graffiti is bad, because it is illegal and ugly and disrespectful. However, I am occasionally struck by Seattle grafitti that transcends the tags and throw-ups you see on bus stations to become a piece of art that actually adds to a neighborhood's appeal.

Stencil grafitti especially appeals to me. Most grafitti seems to have little to no planning behind it - it's almost like improv, with the tagger painting what seems right in the moment, or what fits with the surroundings. Stencil grafitti is the opposite. The creator has to put all of the planning into pre-production, creating the stencil at home. That level of pre-planning appeals to me.

Anyway, this lovely silhouette was in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood, right outside the 74th Street Alehouse. The texture of the wood siding and the blurriness of the lines create depth in her face that I find so intriguing. So I put it to you: is this art, or crime?

Also, try saying "common sense common consensus" three times fast. Fun, huh?

$40 at the Lake City Farmer's Market

I'll be honest - I don't love summer as much as most people. My favorite time of year is September to December, because I love cold, windy days and watching the leaves turn. But there are a few things that I really look forward to every summer, and neighborhood Farmer's Markets are at the top of that list.


In Seattle we of course have the world famous Pike Place Market, but the neighborhood markets are really where it's at. The neighborhoods take turns, so that almost every day of the week there's a market going on somewhere.


I'm going to try to see if I can hit every one of them at least once this summer. Today I visited the one closest to me, in the Lake City neighborhood. I brought $40 in cash, just to see how far it would take me. Here's what I got:

-Market bouquet
-Small sweet pea bouquet (I always forget how good these smell!!)
-Bottle of hard cider
-2 lbs. of heirloom tomatoes (so good in a Greek salad)
-1 scoop of vanilla-lemon swirl ice cream


Next week I'd like to try to get to the market down in Columbia City...