Sun Hat

I finished the Azure Coast Sun Hat from Simple Sewing with a French Twist and it turned out great!  I ended up adding a little extra length to the brim template, but otherwise it was a very simple and straightforward project.  I wear it on the patio as I cultivate my tiny container garden - lavender, mint, tomatoes, peppers, spinach and thyme.  I'd love to get some more vegetables and maybe some flowers, but I have to test my green thumb first!

The patio is kind of barren and full of gravel, so it took all my skill to arrange a sun hat photo that wasn't totally sad looking!  Ah, well.  

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Tutorial

I have a new tutorial up on Whip Up!  It's for a recycled sewing box made from an egg carton and is really quick and easy to make.  

Also, Fact and Fancy has some new photographs up on Flickr, including this one of my stuff on their wall!  All the items in the shop look so great, I wish I could be there to see it in person!

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Owlie

 Well, Blogger is letting me upload photos again - hooray!  I was getting pretty impatient earlier today when it kept malfunctioning.  Anyway, here is an owl sketch.  I'm thinking of incorporating it into a bigger piece, but I also like it just like this.  Drawing on book pages makes me feel like "I am going to be in so much trouble when the librarian sees this" and I love it!  

I'm sort of thinking that I might be really into owls.  Not the great horned owl kind, more like barn owls.  Yes, I think I am.  

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Interview

I did an interview with Kline Art Studio about my work/shop/life - check it out if  you can!

The new postcards are up in my shop, too!

I have some new photographs to post, but Blogger is being difficult.  I'll try again later...

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Never a dull moment!

I finally received the postcard sets I've been waiting for!  There was a minor problem with my first order, but now everything is fixed and I'm really happy with them.  I've made up sets of five postcards with photographs of Domaine de Marie Antoinette - her hamlet and the Petit Trianon.  I'll be putting a few sets up for sale in my Etsy shop in the next day or two!

In other news, I got an exciting email from the exhibit curator at Tohono Chul Park, where I submitted some work for a juried show called "Please Touch Again!".  It's for artwork that has tactile qualities and can be enjoyed through senses other than sight.  They want to use this piece in the show AND on their promotional materials!  I think they'll be doing brochures, a newsletter, press releases, etc.  I'm really excited about it!  Plus, I get to know that I have an accepted piece a month before the actual notification date.  : )

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Tagged!

Random photo - ticket stub from a Picasso exhibit!

I got an Etsy package and love it, so I have to share the info.  I ordered a 3 for $5 selection of lip balms from The Little Soap Boutique and they are wonderful - full of vitamin E, cocoa butter, almond oil, you get the idea - and they keep your lips feeling moisturized for a long time.  They smell great too - I got the coconut, cafe latte, and pina colada flavors. 

And I've been tagged by Girl with Curlz!  Here it goes...

1. Five kind things I do for myself:

    Buy books without feeling guilty - lots of books!

    Start each day with a cup of tea.

    Ride my bike everywhere.

    Get my required 8 hours of sleep.

    Basically, I do whatever I want!  

2. Five kind things I do for friends:

    Cook tasty, vegetarian meals.

    Call my mom and sister - they're my most important friends!

    Make handmade gifts

    Listen.

    Give compliments freely - we should all know how great we are!

3. Five kind things I've done for a stranger:

    Let people cut in line at the grocery store

    Pick up and return things dropped by unknowing people.

    Give my spare change to people who need it.

    Give more free compliments - if I like someone's shoes, I tell them!

    Pet peoples dogs (I ask first) - most dog owners appreciate interest 

    and love directed at their pet!

4. Five hobbies I enjoy

    Photography

    Reading

    Watching foreign films

    Needlework of all kinds

    Growing plants on my little patio (sometimes successfully, sometimes 

    not!)

To keep it going, I'm tagging these bloggers:

Affectioknit

Plain Jane Creations

mushroommeadows

    

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Fortune Cookie Gift Tags

I made these fortune cookies from leftover fabric and thought they would be great to use as To/From tags on gift packages!  There is a great tutorial on sewing the cookies here.  You could even write the recipient's "fortune" on the back of the tag!  Just attach the fortune cookie to the package with double sided tape or slip it under the ribbon.

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Palette

I'm putting together a new tutorial and working on making the Azure Coast Sun Hat from the last post.  Although I can tell right now that the brim pattern is too small for an adult head (and I have a small-ish size head circumference).  Adjustments will be made!  I'm so glad it's Friday - have a great weekend!

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And the list keeps growing...

Here is a flannel blanket I finished last night...

My list of to-do projects is pretty long, so I'm excited to start something new.  Right now the list is looking something like this:

1. Knit sweater for my brother - I want to make the Cambridge Jacket from Interweave Knits Summer '06, but I'm looking for a cotton yarn to substitute for the wool.

2. Make this pet bed!  My kitties have been demanding a cushy new bed for a while now.  

3. Make the Sweet Chemise from Simple Sewing with a French Twist.

4. Make the Azure Coast Sun Hat from the same book.

5. Try making recycled, fused plastic bibs like these.  So cool!

Of course, who knows what order I'll end up doing things in - and new things may pop up in between.  I guess I'm just spontaneous like that!  

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Girl Detective

My favorite books as a kid were Nancy Drew mysteries.  What were yours?  

I love these illustrations!  They're inside the covers of the old books and make you want to read the entire series so you can know the story behind each one!

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Endless Blue

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Sewing...

I've been trying out some patterns from Amy Karol's "Bend the Rules Sewing" and I loooove them!  Very simple, but with special little details.  

Here is the Swing Swing Smock (not quite finished, hence the cropped photo)...

And this is the Simple Bib, which was a great excuse for me to finally buy a snap setter!

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes to make gifts!  The photography is really inspiring the instructions are easy to follow.  

The gallery selling some of my photographs here in Tucson is having its opening on Sunday!  

Dahlia's Gallery and Boutique

June 15, 2:00 - 6:00pm

2201 North Stone Avenue

Appetizers and Refreshments by Athens on 4th Avenue

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Color and Texture

I love the unexpected color and texture in the landscape around Tucson!  When I get tired of all the sand and stones, I just have to open my eyes and really look around.  That's when I start to see this:

A purple cactus!  I had no idea!

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I'm participating the Etsy Yart Sale from June 11 -20!  

Check out the discounts!

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Local Yarn Store

I recently discovered a wonderful yarn shop here in Tucson called Kiwi Knitting Company (it's on East 6th Street).  They even have a whole "Veggie Room" of natural fibers for vegan knitters!  It's like heaven.  

The purple yarn is Queensland Collection Soft Wave and the multicolored stuff is Himalaya Yarn Tibet Recycled Silk.  I've already used some of the Soft Wave to knit this spiral-y thing.   Not sure what I'm going to do with it, but I found the pattern somewhere in Interweave Knits and wanted to try it. 

 

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Finished!

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ABOUT ME

Hello, I'm Rachel!  I am an artist, pattern writer, nursing student, cat lover, and frequent library visitor.  I live in an old house in Tuscaloosa, Alabama with my husband and cats where I knit, crochet, mix essential oils into all kinds of stuff, study, and generally have a good time.  I also run a wonderful Etsy shop full of DIY patterns, zines,  and fiber art!  

Cornflower Blue Studio is a blog about creating a fresh, simple, beautiful life filled with special details.  My goal is to help readers add fullness and joy to their everyday activities through DIY projects, craft skills, healthy recipes, and inspiration from Mother Nature.  I believe that everyone should love their home, practice creativity, and feel inspired.

My work has been featured in Wedding Nouveau Magazine, Crochet Today Magazine, the Frankie Magazine website, and the Stylelist Home page of the Huffington Post.  

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The Great Outdoors

It's hard to focus on just one thing...

... in the middle of endless possibilities.

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A Finished Painting

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