Finding time to craft

I always start off with the best intentions for my craft blog, but never seem to follow through... I guess my biggest struggle is just finding the time to craft. As well as this, I need to balance my craft projects with my jewelry design projects. It would be so much easier if I could just choose one hobby and stick with it, but that really wouldn't work with my A.D.D. personality.

My big craft project for this fall is a baby quilt for my friend at work who will be giving birth to a baby boy any day now. The quilt has missed 2 baby shower deadlines and I'm hoping to have it complete by Christmas! So far I've managed to cut out the quilt squares and plan how I will arrange them. That's it! I'm missing white sheeting for the background still. I've realized the quilts I like the most have lots of white space in them. Without it, they can get really busy. I love texture and pattern, but not when it's competing with everything around it. I chose a sock monkey theme (fabric by Erin Michael for Moda) for my friend's quilt because she is definitely not the "cutesy" baby type. The nursery is painted chocolate brown, and I think these prints will work out well.

Dia de los Muertos

Day of the Dead is a Mexican celebration which takes place every year on November 1st and 2nd. During this time, families create elaborate alters to celebrate the memories of their loved ones who have passed away.

Today Saul and I are remembering his sister Lourdes Carolina, and his grandmother "Abuelita Lulu".

ATC swaps & Stitched by Hand

Wow - was that a loooong blogging break! I guess summer is a bit like that as usual routines, and vacations seem to interrupt the normal flow of things. I haven't been crafty at all this summer. Leaving me feeling completely blank about how to fill up my blog space. I'm still working on fixing up our new place, painting, rearranging and planning how to turn my small walk in closet into a jewelry studio. That will be my project for this long weekend. I'll post some before and after pics next week.

In the meantime I thought I should share a photo of this amazing embroidery work by the very talented Penny Nickels. I was the recipient of her work in a Flickr ATC swap (stands for Art Trading Card) back in June. You can look at the Card I stitched for Purple Crayon, here. In my haste to pack up an move I forgot to take any pictures of it for myself!

There is another "Old School" sewing competition going on with the Stitched by Hand group on Flickr that looks like a lot of fun. If you love embroidery and hand stitching you should check this out too. The deadline to sign up is Sept 6th.

Have a great long weekend!
Jodi

new huaraches!

Hola,

It's been great to have a laptop and internet access on this trip to Oaxaca, although it's like existing in two completely separate realities....

I thought I would share a picture of my new huaraches which I am completely smitten with! These are not the traditional huarache style with the woven leather, but I like them just the same. They were still made by hand and have that stiff new leather feel and smell which I love. If you would like to see more images of daily life in Oaxaca you can check out my flickr set titled Oaxaca Mexico.

Hasta luego!
Jodi

textile inspirations

Today as my husband and I made our way to his Grandmother's house for lunch here in Oaxaca Mexico we stumbled upon this exposition by American Designer Christina Kim. Her line Dosa is carried in exlusive stores in the United States and London England.

The goregous textiles shown here were stitched by hand and dyed in India. A few years back my mother in law also knit beautiful wool sweaters for her line with intricate cables. You can see the passion Christina has for preserving textile tradions by the groups of people she chooses to work with. I was so happy to discover this latest work of hers on display here in Oaxaca.

And the winners are....

Bari and Carly! Congratulations, and thanks for your comments on my blog. The earrings are in the mail and should hopefully arrive some time next week. I have been an absent Blogger this past month. After stating publicly that I am committed to my blog and updating it more often I proceeded to slack off! My only excuse was moving and then not being able to set up the wireless network with my husband's old PC and my Mac. They just weren't getting along and it required a professional IT guy to come and sort things out...

This Saturday we are off to Oaxaca Mexico to visit my husband's family for 3 weeks. I will do my very best to post some pictures of my trip along the way. We'll be taking a laptop with us so it should be possible! Oaxaca is full of rich textile traditions. The weaving and embroidery from this state is incredible. I'll try and capture some of this on my blog to share everyone.

Hasta Luego!

Blog Give away!

Hi!

I realized this morning that my 1 year blog anniversary just passed on May 19th. Although my ChicaCraft blog got off to a rather slow start and I only managed 30 posts in 1 year, I can feel it's momentum starting to grow. At least I am just as enthusiastic about the craft blogosphere as I was a year ago. In fact I am even more enthusiastic than ever, and for this reason I think it's time to give back to the blogging community! I really feel I've made a few friends through my blog and that is the most rewarding part of it all for me. Reaching out and connecting with other women who share my same creative interests and passion for fabric!

I don't have many sewn crafts on the go because I'm moving in 1 week. I do however, have lots of jewelry that would like to find a nice home. So, if you happen to drop by my blog before Sunday May 25th at 10pm, please leave me a comment and say hello and introduce yourself! Up for grabs are the two pairs of earrings shown here. The first pair are faceted aqua marine clusters with sterling silver lever back ear wires, and a finished length of 2 1/2". The other earrings are mother of pearl with a longer finished length of 3 1/2" Let me know in your comments which pair you would prefer.

If you are interested in any of the other jewelry I design, you can take a look over on my other blog Astarte Designs. I had great plans to re-open my Etsy store this month but the imminent move changed all my well laid plans! Hopefully by the end of August I'll have time to set up my shop again.