Yoko Saito and My Japanese Fabric Stash...

These two books have been on my mind for weeks. The book on the left was a 

surprise gift from Quinn's mom, Carol. It's Yoko Saito's "Scandinavian Quilts"

in the Japanese version. It's full of photos and patterns, and I can't wait to make

something from it. Thank you, dear Carol, for gifting me with this beautiful and

generous book. I can't wait to show you (and all my friends) what I plan to make first!

The book on top is called "Strolling Along Paths of Green", and is a perfect book

for this Nature Girl! I page through both of these books and dream of long walks

through woodlands and across wide open fields of wildflowers. Paging through

them is a restful and inspiring process, and I'm anxious to start creating from them.

No. These aren't shelves in a local quilt shop. They're closeup images from my

own studio. The folded fabrics are some of the fabulous, gorgeous, glorious

fabrics I purchased in Wisconsin from Primitive Gatherings last month. I had 

 one of the books with me so that I could choose what I needed to make a few

a lot of the projects within its pages. I purchased with specific pieces in mind.

More Japanese fabrics. Same shopping trip. See the peachy fabric on the upper

right hand corner of the stacks? I was tickled to find that. I know just how I'll use it.

I do have two different shades so that I can make this lovely zippered pouch.

This is the first project I'm going to tackle from the book! (Start small and grow.)

I see so many possibilities in these stacks.

I don't intend to create an entire quilt...at this point. I'm leaving my options open.

You'll see pieces of royal purple wool here, too. That's also for a specific project.

I'm constantly awestruck by Yoko's choices in subtle color variations, combined

with her use of textured and patterned fabrics. I'm going to savor every second

handling, planning and sewing with all of them to create my finished pieces.

I see many joyful days in the studio - and stitching from my favorite chair - ahead.

Something's Gotta Give...

I love our home. I love my stuff. But, I'm beginning to realize that something's got to give. My stuff is owning me these days. Have you ever felt that way? It's really frustrating.

I look at the wonderful images on other blogs that I visit and for a while, I'm transported to these lovely places of white, serene and organized. Then, I close my laptop, look around and wonder what I should do differently around here. Man, it's worse than watching HGTV! Handsome is not a white, cottage-y kind of guy so he'll never sign on for that look. I need to find a different solution.

Currently, I'm frustrated by our kitchen. There are these great display areas above the cupboards. I have things I like to have up there, but I feel like it's starting to look more like a flea market than any kind of meaningful (or pretty) display. I have a collection of pitchers and creamers that are lost up on that shelf. Then there are Toby teapots, a much-loved antique jardiniere that belonged to my mother-in-law, a huge lily pad platter that was a gift from our daughter-in-law. You get the idea.

I asked Handsome for some insight. His first comment was, "How does something utilitarian like a group of creamers or pitchers get elevated to the status of a "collection", and why should they be displayed, instead of kept in cabinets?" How could I answer this with a straight face? Has the love of my life forgotten that I'm currently collecting acorns? In my mind, the fruit of the oak tree has become fodder for a new collection. We probably weren't going to see eye to eye on this.

I pulled out an old favorite book in hopes that I'll find a new perspective. It's called Eliminate Chaos by Laura Leist. I really like her approach to identifying, tackling and eliminating the problem spots in a home. I don't need more furniture (like a display cabinet). I don't want to get rid of all my stuff. But, I need to figure this out and I'm hoping you might be able to share some of your inspiration with me.

I've made the photo from our kitchen a link to other photos of our home. It will give you an idea of our decor. Handsome has always loved Scandinavian furniture, which I used to dismiss out-of-hand - until I walked into a store with him, saw all the teak, and fell in love with the look. My issue isn't with the furniture. It's with the "spare" look that goes with that furniture. How do I edit out my stuff?

Our dining room and living room are now furnished in beautiful Scandinavian pieces. But I still love cottage elements (sigh), and we have the oak table in our dinette area that was a wedding gift from my parents. I can't part with that! Our master bedroom is Tommy Bahama. Perfect for Florida. Scandinavian? Not so much. And then, there are the little knick knacks and other items on shelves and table tops that I like having around. What do I do with those? Are you beginning to feel my pain?

Really, I'll appreciate any input you can offer.

Our Moonlight Tango...

Today, Handsome and I went to Ikea in Tampa. I'd been to an Ikea store in Minnesota with my sister a few years ago, and Handsome and I had ordered from their website when we first moved here, but we had yet to shop one of their stores together. Ikea recently opened the Tampa store and we knew that we were going to have to make a shopping date soon. Today was the day.

About twenty years ago, we were in an art gallery in Chicago and came upon the work of an artist named Marcus Pierson. We immediately fell in love with his work and purchased a piece called "Moonlight Tango". His art is whimsical and features, of all things, coyotes as his main theme. You may ask why I tell you this in conjunction with a story about shopping at Ikea today. Let me explain.

We had trekked through about three quarters of the Ikea store today when we entered the lighting department. We looked at hanging lamps, floor lamps and lamps of all shapes and sizes when right before me was the lamp! All I could think of was how perfect this lamp would be to illuminate "Moonlight Tango". I showed the "Stranne" lamp to Handsome, first to see his reaction to it in its own right, and then to see what he thought of my idea to light our sculpture.

He started to smile and agreed it would be perfect. Alright! Score a new lamp for our living room! Bonus that it would be used to accent a piece of art that has made us smile since we purchased it all those years ago.

I should also tell you that for years I resisted Modern Scandinavian design by simply saying that I thought it was cold and without character. My mind was cracked wide open about two years ago when we stopped into a Copenhagen Imports store in Sarasota. I fell in love with the natural, organic look and feel of teak and leather. I couldn't believe I had been so utterly wrong about what the Scandinavian artisans and designers had to offer - to say nothing of the comfort and clean appearance of the pieces.

We have refurnished our living room and dining room with this understated, elegant furniture and I look forward to the day when other rooms in our home will be converted to this design esthetic. In the meantime, we'll add a piece here and a piece there to that end. Perhaps there will even be another Pierson to add more of his whimsical, joyful touch to our dwelling!