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Click on each image for details. Photos by Areaware.
Hand-knit from Scottish lamb swool, British designer Donna Wilson’s collection of creatures and oddities, now available stateside at Areaware, are packed with oversize personalities and utterly, utterly charming. (I can’t get over that kitty tea cozy!) You can even make your own monster using one of her kits, no sewing skills required.
Photo from Debbie Bliss Magazine
That baby blanket! That bag! Those cupcake-fondant-colored sweaters! Ever since I stumbled upon Royal Yarns’ sneak peek of Debbie Bliss’ new knitting magazine, I’ve had to hold myself back from licking the screen and then sobbing uncontrollably because I resemble a large cantaloupe and can’t wear any of this deliciousness until I regain my figure. (Well, assuming I have the time to knit anything in the first place with ALL THIS FREE TIME I’m going to have when the baby arrives.) More photos, if you can handle them, online.
Photo from Debbie Bliss Magazine
Photo from Debbie Bliss Magazine
Photo from Debbie Bliss Magazine
Photo by Two Trees at Etsy.com
More than a year later, I still want to escape into Shanna Murray’s world, where organic, recycled linens set the backdrop for a life of romantic, handcrafted simplicity. Murray recently teamed up with Pistachio Press to bring us evocative letterpress cards made from 100 percent recycled cotton rag. Her works of art—what else can you call them?—whisper “slow down, be still, everything will be okay.”
Photo by Two Trees at Etsy.com
Photo by Two Trees at Etsy.com
Photo by Two Trees at Etsy.com
Photo by Two Trees at Etsy.com
Handmade in Germany by artist Sandra Monat, these cuddly fabric toys are patched together from new, vintage, and organic-cotton fabrics, including designs from Harmony Art.
I can’t get enough of the Vikings. Those horns! That nose! When Harmony and Dave Susalla showed them to me at the Green Products Expo last month, I was tempted to stuff a Viking under my shirt and bolt for the exit. Dave is about 10 times bigger than I am, though, so I changed my mind.
Snowflake 66’s tops, available online at Cut+Paste, have me all a-swoon. Patched together from recycled fabrics in unexpected color and pattern combos, each shirt is exquisitely one-of-a-kind. I adore the puff sleeves and the contrast bib on this pretty little tangerine number, which some lucky, lucky girl has already snagged. She’d better pray she doesn’t encounter me in a dark alley s’all I’m saying.
Photo by Cakehouse at Etsy.com
Just look at that face! These four double-layer cloth napkins by Cakehouse were refashioned from preloved pillowcases and then hand-printed with water-based inks. Odysseus, a cat belonging to the designer’s sister-in-law, served as the model in exchange for a few months’ lodging—fair-enough, don’t you think?
Because Cakehouse works with recycled fabrics—the Brooklyn-based designer gravitates towards secondhand sheets, bedspreads, curtains, and the occasional house dress—every item is limited edition. I was tickled by the disclaimer she puts at the bottom of each page to indicate why you’ll find slight variations in each napkin: “I am a woman, not a womachine.” I might have to start using that as my e-mail signature. ($40 for four, Etsy)
Photo by Bella Knitting
No messing around with flapping scarves—or dealing with unsightly bulges under your coat—with this snug little scarflet. Click on over to Bella Knitting for the free pattern.
[via Craftzine]
» These ladybug tape measures are too adorable for words. Also, I need something like this to keep Mir-mir away from my yarn. Right now, I’ve thrown a blanket over my basket, which doesn’t look very chic. (2) #
» Ooh, I need to figure out how to knit this—out of organic cotton, most likely, because animal fibers make me break out in rashes. I know, sad, right? (1) #
Photo by Shop with Love
I saw these plush birdie cages at ABC Carpet & Home yesterday and became instantly besotted—they look much cuter in person, too. The bars of the cage are made from wire wrapped in fabric tubes to give it that structured, sculpted look.
The gears instantly went whirring, of course, which I’m sure is almost instinctual with crafty types. (It made me feel naughty, though.)
By the same artist, these magnificent oysters and the most-exquisite peacocks, ever! Green with envy, I tell you. Absolutely GREEN.
Here’s a bed I sewed for Mir—he’s a boy kitty, for those who’ve asked—last night, following a great tutorial I found online. I used leftover fabrics from previous projects, as well as fiberfill salvaged from a couple of discarded pillows. I’m no big whiz with the sewing machine, but this was an easy-enough project that took under an hour. Considering how pricey pet beds can be (upwards of $60, I believe), this was a low-impact and zero-cost endeavor that—according to my sister, anyway—looks store-bought.
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Psst, Debbie Bliss books and yarns at 50 percent off. (I’ve locked my credit card away and thrown away the key.) (0) #
A man after my own braaaiiins, Matt Cipov. You can find his zombie prints (and more), printed on paper with recycled or partly recycled content, at his store.
Art by Matt Cipov
Art by Matt Cipov
Art by Matt Cipov
Art by Matt Cipov
Photo by Wired
A Very Special Interspecial Reunion
A lion that was raised by humans, but was released into the wilds of Africa, reunites with his former handlers a year later. What else can Treehugger say but “OMGKITTIES!!!11!!!”
Wired’s Artifacts from the Future: Fusion Food
Possibly coming to a produce store near you: Monsanto’s Cinna-Del, the only GM apple that expresses both cinnamon and sugar, only $26.99 per kilo!
Penguins March into New Patagonian Marine Park
Squawk if you’ve heard this one: The government of Argentina is creating a new marine park along the isolated Patagonia coast to officially safeguard more than half a million penguins and other rare seabirds, according to the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society.
Peace, Love, Earth: Yeah, Baby
Designer Anna Mkhitarian reinvents that tired hippie standard—the ol’ peace sign—into physical, wearable mantras that, though unsubtle, remind us what our groovy voyage on Spaceship Earth is all about.
Global Warming Wants to Eat Your Flesh
We’d have used a picture of flesh-eating bacteria diligently at work, but all our options made us want to disgorge the contents of our stomachs, so here’s a nonthreatening—dare we say even cuddly?—microscopic look at the insidious beasties themselves.
Photo by Secret Leaves
Ann Hirschfeld and Sharon Derry are the co-conspirators of Secret Leaves, a charming St. Louis, Missouri-based company that breathes new life into discarded books and vintage papers by transforming them into scrap journals, photo albums, and note cards. I spoke with Ann about her love of old paper, and the growing role the environment plays in running their business, right down to the smallest detail.
1. How did Secret Leaves come about?
Sharon [Derry] had a card/paper arts company called Papeterie, and I worked part-time for her here and there helping to assemble the journals. A little over a year ago, we were talking on the phone and she spoke of her desire to start a web-based paper arts business. She wanted to pursue it full-time but was not interested in doing it alone. She wanted a partner. I immediately said, “Pick me!” We met a few times to discuss her goals for the business and she did—pick me. This was April of ‘06 and we’ve been working together ever since. It seems like we’ve come a long way already.
Photo by Free People
Free People, the neo-bohemian sister company of Anthropologie, has such a delightfully spirited, eclectic eye. (Who would think to sew pom-poms around the border of a clutch? But it works!) How stupendous, for instance, is this vanity stool? Homespun yarns are whipped around its legs, while its seat is cushioned and covered with fabric cut from a vintage quilt.
This would make a lovely weekend project for a thrifted find if you have deep reserves of patience to draw upon. And if you don’t have a felonious cat who shreds your furniture and sneaks off balls of yarn when your back is turned. Otherwise, it’s $128, which isn’t altogether absurd considering how much work was involved.
Photo by Free People
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Thanks for all your comments, everyone! My patented Random Randomizer has awarded Felt Frenzy to one Loretta Dunne. Huzzah! (0) #
99 Ways to Cut, Sew & Deck Out Your Denim by Faith Blakeney, Justina Blakeney, and Ellen Schultz; illustrated by Kira Lillie
Packed with—count ‘em—99 solutions to restyling a pair of worn, retired jeans, 99 Ways to Cut, Sew & Deck Out Your Denim by Faith Blakeney, Justina Blakeney, and Ellen Schultz is a ripping powerhouse of inspiration, especially if you think (like I used to) that old denim can only be remade into A-line skirts and hobo bags. Well, those are in here, too, but so is the gorgeous wrap skirt pictured below the fold, along with clear, easy-to-follow instructions on how to put together a baby dress, a sun hat, a dog jacket, and several styles of purses.
The Essential Bordertown (Borderlands) by Terri Windling, Delia Sherman
