Here are some more photos from our rainy weekend hanging around the house. Hannah from Lily & Thistle generously sent over some of her beautifully illustrated MiniMe paper dolls for the girls which kept them happily occupied through the rain. The dolls are personalized to look like your child with your choice of skin, eye, hair color and style and her name at the bottom. I wish my children always looked as sweet as these paper dolls. They come with a sticky strip so the clothes really stay put and a CD so that you can print out more dolls and outfits (if say, your daughters accidentally tear one when they are fighting over it). Also included is a set of All About Me pages for your daughter to complete.

These dolls led to all kinds of great imaginative play involving my daughters as characters. Here, they were playing Sleeping Beauty so my older daughter made a spinning wheel. Be sure to check out Hannah’s shop to see more of the lovely artwork she has created for these dolls. So sweet.

Another project from the weekend was this zippered pouch. My five-year-old embroidered this as a gift for her friend (with a little help on that back stitch). We added some pencils and a drawing book.

And during a rain break, the kids painted some fabric with squirt bottles and diluted fabric paint. We probably should have stopped there, but we didn’t so the fabric is really covered in paint. I might make some patchwork pillows from it. Another addition to the project pile.

I was excited when STC Craft asked if I’d like to interview Kaffe Fassett for the blog tour promoting his new book Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts, co-authored with Liza Prior Lucy. They sent me a review copy so I was able to look at all the fabulous quilts.

If you’re not familiar with Fassett’s work, he is a leading textile artist who creates knitting, needlepoint and quilt designs. Head to any quilting shop and you’ll see ladies swooning over his fabric and designs. I’ve always had a great deal of respect for his beautifully designed and technically magnificent quilts shown in his books over the years.

But I must admit, this new book has caught my attention more than the others. I found these quilts to be simpler in design with the focus on geometric form. The book focuses on the sources of inspiration with photographs from around the world of places that have inspired Kaffe on his travels. From a tire yard to a mosaic wall, you can see what sparks his creativity and hopefully you in turn can find inspiration in your own surroundings. You needn’t travel far; just simply pause and look at things in a new way.

Here is my Q & A with Kaffe:

I understand that you come from a creative family. Many of my blog readers are mothers like myself, trying to nurture creativity in their young children. How did your childhood influence your art?

Interesting question. I’m working on my autobiography at the moment and addressing that question. Mom was a frustrated artist who poured all her creative urges into my education. She saw that I got to the Kabuki Theatre when on in our nearest city or the Balinese dancers or Shakespeare film knowing I’d get so much from them that I couldn’t get from Country life.

It seems to me that your fabrics often feature jewel tones, reminiscent of a traditional Asian color palette. What appeals to you about these colors? How has your interest in color evolved over the years?

When I used to try and do what I thought people wanted I did a very muted pallet. As I got into my studio and did what was closer to my heart I realised I was into a rich depth of colour but I try to evolve and antique faded tones are appealing to me more and more.

Do you make a distinction between decorative arts and fine art?

Not really. I just love what moves me and catches my eye. A great painting or a beautifully designed hat band can equally light me up. I have a great fondness for beauty in every day objects that furnish our lives and make them easier to get through.

With the emphasis on geometric forms, these quilts seem more modern to me than your past work. Do you think about how to make this traditional art form relevant in today’s world?

I don’t know if the quilts are modern or not. I just try to make them as full of life and intriguing as possible and yes the traditional art form of quilts is very relevant to today (in my humble opinion). The form is timeless, we just need to imbue it with our personal harmony of colour.

I see more and more young people trying their hand at quilting, but I think that for many it has skipped a generation. People are picking up skills on their own rather than being taught by their mothers. What do you see as the future of this medium?

I’m afraid I don’t really fret about the future. All crafts are ways to express ourselves in life. I can’t imagine we will ever out grow our need to show how we feel about living. We might get distracted for a little by all the new technology but sooner or later will all feel the need to make something beautiful.

We’ve had a relaxing rainy weekend at home, so there’s not much to do but eat. With each change of season, my interest in cooking is renewed as new produce becomes available and I crave new flavors. In anticipation of the hot weather, it’s been all about basil for me this month. So we decided to make some lemon basil ice cream with our ice cream machine. About a month ago I had some basil gelato, but I didn’t like the pieces of frozen basil in it, so I made our ice cream with basil flavoring by simmering it in the milk and then straining it, then we added the lemon flavor for balance. My kids liked this ice cream, but I have to say that my children are forced to eat all kinds of unusual things, so I’m guessing many kids might not like this. Here’s how I made it if you want to try it.

Ingredients:

• 2 c. milk
• 1 bunch basil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 lemons (zest only)

Simmer the milk with the basil over low heat until the basil leaves wilt and turn brown. Remove from heat and strain the milk removing the basil. Mix in the sugar while the milk is still warm and then refrigerate this mixture. Zest the two lemons and set this aside. I always put my milk and cream in the freezer for about 10 minutes before I make the ice cream so it will be ice cold. Remove from the freezer and mix the basil-infused milk with the cream and lemon zest.  Pour the mixture into the bowl of the ice cream maker. Mine usually takes about 30 minutes to turn into ice cream.

Then we made this carrot ginger mixture that I tossed in with our salad, but it would also make a great dip with crostini. My five-year-old helped me with this one. We used the food processor to mix carrots, ginger, garlic, olive oil, rice vinegar and salt. Then we mixed in black sesame seeds and added some green onions for garnish. Both of my children liked this, but they draw the line at onions, so I didn’t mix them in with the carrots. Our salad was simply red leaf lettuce and edamame tossed with this carrot mixture.

My seven-year-old is always an advocate of pretty food, so when I told her that we could carve the watermelon to make a bowl, she jumped at the idea. I cut the bowl and she used the melon baller to scoop up all these watermelon globes while making a sticky mess of the counter and floor. Then she added blueberries. This would be great for the Fourth of July. For more ambitious watermelon carving ideas, check here.

Diaper Pouch Tutorial from Noodlehead.

Quilted Placemats from Pink Penguin.

Ribbon Embroidery Pillowcases from The Purl Bee.

Gathered Clutch Tutorial from Noodlehead.

Felt Bag from Scandinavian Needlecraft via Design Sponge.

Origami Waterball Garland from Hurried Homemaker.

Wet Bag from A Lemon Squeezy Home.

Pouf Foot Stool from Design Sponge.

I’ve been paying a lot of attention to the publications coming from Chronicle Books lately since my book will be added to that list soon, so I was excited to see this book from Kathreen Ricketson of Whip Up. The book is Whip Up Mini Quilts: Patterns and How-to for More Than 20 Contemporary Small Quilts.

As the name implies, the book features mini-quilts – and from some of your favorite crafters including Malka Dubrawsky, Alison Brookbanks, Betz White, Alicia Paulson and more. I think this is a nice book for anyone who likes to sew, but small quilts are always a good idea for those just getting started with quilting. Now I almost never follow project instructions (yes, strange coming from a person who writes instructions), but rather use sewing books as inspiration — and there are lots of ideas here.

One of my favorite quilts is Power-line Sky by Meg Spaeth. I love the simplicity and the way it seems to capture the essence of a photograph. And I like the option of a one-piece design or patchwork, but they look great together.

And for those you looking to make something a little more difficult, there’s A Little Birdie Told Me by Kellie Wulfsohn, pictured below. Since there are many contributors to this book, there are a variety of styles and difficulty levels. Mini-quilts are nice because they can serve as affordable artwork for your bare walls and they can be made quickly. This book makes me want to get some quilting done this summer. Now, if only I could find my scissors.

Even though summer doesn’t officially start until June 21, today was the girls last day of school and it’s already getting hot here in Atlanta. So I am thinking about how to entertain these kiddos and was looking through the summer crafts that I posted about last year.  So check it out here.

I made some little baby shoes for twins yesterday. A boy and a girl. Oh, baby shoes are the sweetest, aren’t they? I used the same pattern that I mentioned here, again making them non-reversible and I also increased the size of the opening a bit by decreasing the size of the heel piece. I used all organic fabrics — the outer fabrics can be found at Modern Organic Fabrics and the inside flannel is from Near Sea Naturals.

The winner is #51, Jenny B. Congratulations! And if you didn’t win, be sure to check out all the great patterns from Leila & Ben.

See how your kids can help you with the party decorations this summer with my post over at Alpha Mom.

Looks like Alpha Mom is having some issues with the server, so if you have trouble accessing the link, check back again later!

Today’s giveaway is from Leila & Ben – a small business run by two mothers who make sewing and crochet patterns. With these cool patterns for boys and girls, you can make something fun and stylish for your kids to wear. Check out all of their great designs here.

The giveaway is for this adorable dress in multiple versions. The winner will receive a sewn dress in the size of their choice (12M – 5T), plus a copy of the .pdf pattern in both the smaller sizes (3 months – 12 months) and the larger version (12 months to 5T). So you can make these dresses for years to come! To enter the giveaway, simply take a look over at Leila & Ben and then come back here and tell us what you like by leaving a comment on this post. This giveaway is open internationally. Enter before Saturday, May 22 at midnight eastern. I’ll choose the winner with the random number generator and announce it here on Sunday.

Check out the Leila & Ben blog here and also take a look at their free downloadable kids’ vest pattern here.

Like many of you, I’ve been thinking about the Gulf Coast lately. Growing up in Alabama, I spent many vacations there and for the past five years or so our family has made an annual visit to St. George Island, a pristine barrier island in the Apalachicola Bay area. This island is home to many amazing species of birds and wildlife and it’s sad to think about these beautiful areas being damaged by the spill. I feel that we’re all culpable to an extent due to our dependence on oil (I drove my car 8 miles already today), but I’m sickened by the oil industry’s seeming lack of regard for our earth. Anyway, you can visit the National Audubon’s Society website to help the birds affected by the oil spill.

I put together this seashell shadow box with some shells collected from the the beach last year. These are coquina shells that are shaped like little butterflies. I used a shadow box and hot glue to adhere them to the fabric, but I think a tacky glue or epoxy might be a better choice if adhering your shells to a hard surface.

A note about my shells: I found these on the beach after the animals had left them. It’s important to note that you probably shouldn’t ever buy shells because you can’t be sure about how they were gathered.

Embroidered Moleskine Journal, $16 from By Belinda.

Vintage Lime Green Canvas Shoes, $27.13 from Metro Vintage.

Orange Crochet Trim, 100 cm for $2 from Indya Crafts.

Ticking Stripe Buttons, 5 for $6.25 from Designs by Nancy.

Small White Circle Link Fabric, fat quarter, $4.50 from Ikoplus.

Butterfly Tags, set of 10 for $9 from Royal Buffet.

Orange Letterpress Printed Notecards, set of 6 for $14 from Vandalia Street Press.

Chocolate Ice Cream Cone Trinket Box, $25 from Fruit Fly Pie.

Fiesta Natural Soap, $5.50 from Fairy Bubbles.