i'm in the mood for swapping

I am working on a swap with Alison and it is the first swap I have done in awhile. It has reminded me how much fun it is to put together a present for a blogfriend. In searching through my stash to pick just the right fabrics for her I have come across a few things I'd like to put out there for potential swapping!
I'm taking pics of everything...so check back in later today for some swapping goodness!!

craft books galore

I mentioned about a decade ago that I was clearing out my craft books and I finally have a stack to sell. I am posting them here for all of my blog friends before I post them for sale on ebay.
You can e-mail me with the title of whichever book you are interested in, I will try to remove each book from my blog as they sell as to lessen the confusion. I am offering free shipping on them (to the US and Canada) and will gladly ship anywhere else for the actual cost of shipping! e-mail me at sakidesignspurses(at)yahoo(dot)com.
I ordered all of these from Japan originally!
xo
alexia
click on each photo for an enlargement!


Amigurimi Petit
$8.00






Emi's Teddy Bear Collection
$16.00
These are too cute! Change the faces a little for more unique look but the patterns are great!






Teddy Bear Book
$12.00
This one has some real cuties.




well that's all for now!!
xo
alexia

more quilting

Made another baby quilt last week for some friends expecting a girl...here's the front

and the back

and a shot of the binding and ric rac I added to the back.

I did a loopy floral pattern for the quilting and I like the way it turned out. I also want to try another quilt using the ric rac in the binding again, I love ric rac!

flea market find

The Nashville flea market has always been good but lately it has drawn more vendors that sell the things that I really like...vintage clothes, buttons, fabric and linens. I went last month with Jemina and found this awesome dress. I love the fruity print and the white ric rac.

and a close up of the print...

I was thinking the other day about some of my attempts at using a vintage pattern to make a new dress...many of them just don't end up having the feel and look of some of my authentic vintage dresses...even the ones I have made using vintage cloth. I think a substantial part of the appeal of vintage dresses is the way they are worn in in all of the good ways and washed so many times that the fabric takes on that soft hand. I would love to get my hands on a chemical that can age fabric the way a couple hundred washes does. Anyway, I look forward to this month's flea market...I think it is next weekend. It'll be sweaty as hell but totally worth it!

nature or nurture ???

I was having fun last week scanning some old photos and it got me thinking about how it is that my desire to attempt to live a creative life runs like blood in my veins. And I came across this photo. To me, it was a great example of how creative my parents were and still are. It is a christmas portrait of our family on my second christmas. A cute little tree and a cute little portrait.

When I started to look closely at the detail in the photo I first noticed our matching outfits. My mother made each of our outfits; dad's vest, my little jumper, and her own circle skirt. Mom's attempts later on to match my two sisters and I, whenever humanly possible, in clothes created by her are forshadowed in this photo. Well then I looked at the wall at the stockings hung in a row...all made by mom, quilted and embroidered. My Dad has set up the photo, using his camera and tripod with the timer carefully set. His care in arranging us and the camera for a family photo is an annual occurance. His enthusiasm for photography is something I share. Then in the background peeking out on the tree is a christmas angel that mom made, stitched and glued and placed on the small tree that dad must have chosen. Beyond just the chrismas trimmings visible there are gifts wrapped and tucked away that both of them have made from scratch. And of course waiting in an envelope is the illuminated letter written from santa/dad in a swirling script that would be repeated year after year for each of us girls. Those showers of creativity I grew up surrounded by have certainly influenced my view on the world. My parents set an example of the creative life both in their expressions at christmas and their vocational choices. Their example was learned by my sisters and I, and I hope that every time I hear fear sneaking into my conciouness to steal away a creative endeavor I can ignore it. This simple family photo reveals a glimpse of a lifestyle that carries with it a value higher than financial gains and retirement funds, spiritual enlightenment through creativity is something I believe in and I witness those efforts in my community of friends everyday.
Have you thought about family or innate influences on your creativity? Are your creative outlets something that was influenced by a particular person in your life? These, to me, are such interesting questions. And for those of you with children is setting an example of an imaginative, creative life a priority high on your list?

five years

My husband, Rob, and I celebrated five years of marriage this year. I am so thankful to have Rob. I am blessed to have met someone that understands me beyond anything I could have imagined, someone that is willing to pursue a crative life with me, that is a reader and a thinker, a dreamer, a romantic, an organizer (thank god!) and loves to see movies as much as I do.
Five years is just the beginning, we are still learning about each other, learning how to live with each other, finding our way together. Getting these two paths to become one is about so much growth. I have streched my comfort zone and learned so much because of my husband and I hope that we can continue to challenge each other in all of the good ways. I trust him and love him dearly and look forward to learning to speak the same language. ;)
Here we are in Utah almost two years ago...that was a trip to remember!!! I'll tell that story another time...

summer cold

I was down last week with a terrible summer cold, which started most inconveniently while we were out of town on a memorial day trip! I hate being trapped inside with the summer knocking on your window but it is always great to have a sick movie marathon. I watched...too much CSI, village of the damned, trainspotting, war of the worlds, a few episodes of unwrapped and batman begins. Nothing like a lot of action to lull a sick girl to sleep. :)
Thankfully I have been feeling much better since the end of the week!

spring summer designs

so here are a few of the jewelry designs I have been working on. I must admit I've take the first few weeks of no school to slack a little, but I have accomplished a few new things in the creative department.

these are called lime fizz
here's another pair...

these are called pink turtle
The pics are a little soft but it's tough to get close ups!
I have also been working on some purses...and getting some onto etsy.com.

and

I have been using ultrasuede for straps lately and I'm really liking it. There have also been such great prints to choose from this year. Can't wait to get my hands on some of the newest Amy Butler stuff.