Category: Fabric

  • January’s creative work

    January’s creative work

    Celebrating even the tiniest of our accomplishments isn’t self‑indulgence; it’s a psychological power move. The recognition strengthens our mind in ways that build over time, especially when we are juggling jobs/work, caregiving, or leadership roles – areas where progress is often difficult to see.

  • Tuesday evening

    Tuesday evening

    Lately, I have found myself browsing the patterns posted in a Facebook group dedicated to sewing pattern destashing. It’s amazing to me the sheer volume of patterns that exist out there, not in stores, but in sewing rooms and storage areas of people across the country . Last week, a woman I have purchased from…

  • A quick gift

    A quick gift

    Whether we are making a gift to give, or making one for ourselves, these are fun, quick, and for those who sew – the materials are usually readily available in our stash. Here’s to a Winter season of stitching fun!

  • A snow day project

    A snow day project

    I have always loved Back-to-School shopping, and browsing in office supply stores. I cannot resist a new, clean notebook – of ANY size – so this fabric craft is the ideal combination of happy things.

  • Gifts from the heart

    Gifts from the heart

    [We] know from research in Psychology that gift giving is beneficial to us, in and of itself. Multiple studies have documented that “gift-giving, particularly when the giftee is someone with whom we have a close relationship, activates key reward pathways in our brain” (APA.org).

  • The true cost of hand-made gifts

    The true cost of hand-made gifts

    It’s another New Year, and the time when we all think about making resolutions, implementing changes, and improving our lives. I can think of NO BETTER GOAL than for fiber artists everywhere to start valuing ourselves more fully.

  • Scraps to the rescue

    Scraps to the rescue

    Among the gifts with the most commentary this year, my VERY last minute lavender eye pillows took the prize, which is hilarious after all my bluster about stashbusting. My tendencies to not donate, give away, or throw out any crafting supplies saved me this year!!

  • Last-minute gifts that make the grade

    Last-minute gifts that make the grade

    Some of the most challenging gifts to give are those for friends or colleagues that we feel close enough to that we want to give them a gift at Christmas, but we aren’t close enough to know where to begin in choosing a gift. We also may struggle with balancing not spending enough or overdoing…

  • My fiber-year in review

    My fiber-year in review

    I chose the featured photo (top of page) as it best reflects my thoughts on the past year, or at least the year since January 21st. In many ways, my sewing, knitting, and crocheting have helped me stay sane in a world that seemed to begin to fall apart around that time.

  • Holiday Self-Care

    Holiday Self-Care

    …we cannot give from an empty vessel. For many people, this has meant waiting for OTHERS to fill them. That’s a dicey proposition, and in many ways sets us up to fail. Caring for ourselves, even in small ways, is as close to a sure thing as it gets.